[Bridging_the_digital_divide] must have technologies for schools

[bridging_the_divide at touchsmart.net]

CoSN profiles 'must-have' technologies
By Corey Murray, Assistant Editor, eSchool News
November 4, 2004

Datacasting, radio frequency identification (RFID) chips, student web 
logs (blogs), and intelligent essay graders are among a dozen 
technologies likely to emerge as must-have solutions in the nation's 
schools, according to a report unveiled Nov. 3 by the Washington, 
D.C.-based Consortium for School Networking (CoSN).

The third in a series of CoSN-sponsored reports dedicated to emerging 
technologies, "Hot Technologies for K-12 Schools" examines the 
usefulness of such heretofore little-known technologies in schools and 
begins to explore how such innovations might be used to transform 
learning in the 21st century.

To develop the guide, CoSN's Emerging Technologies Committee (ETC) 
initially identified five key educational issues schools are facing 
today--the instructional process, assessment and evaluation, diverse 
learning styles, the building of communities, and improving the 
efficiency of school administration.

In considering which technologies to include, the report's authors 
devised a list of technologies they felt would not only make a 
fundamental impact on education, but would be economically and 
financially feasible enough for schools to begin integrating sometime 
in the very near future.

"Most schools embracing technology today have primarily focused on its 
deployment for administrative purposes or for the back office," said 
Keith Krueger, CoSN's chief executive officer, in a statement. "Our 
hope is that this guide will provide technology leaders with a 
strategic understanding of technologies that can truly transform their 
schools over the next three to five years."

On the instructional front, one technology that is just beginning to 
crop up in schools is datacasting. A descendant of streaming video, 
which enables students to view snippets of teacher-selected educational 
videos from their desktops, datacasting provides similar 
capabilities--but with higher-quality results, says Gene Broderson, 
director of education for the nonprofit Corporation for Public 
Broadcasting.

Unlike streaming video--which has been criticized for hogging precious 
bandwidth across school networks and sometimes appearing blurred and 
sluggish, Broderson said--datacasting enables students to view content 
in full-screen, broadcast-quality video and sound.

Instead of streaming videos directly to students' desktops, Broderson 
said, datacasting lets educators download whatever content they need to 
a central server, so it can be accessed whenever it's needed. Often, he 
said, the videos are accompanied by corresponding lesson plans, 
interactive student assignments, and other teaching materials.

In the assessment and evaluation category, CoSN's report looks closely 
at emerging concepts known as pattern analysis and performance 
projection. According to Karen Greenwood Henke, who helped spearhead 
research efforts on the project, "these are technologies that help 
administrators make sense of the data schools are collecting."

With the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) demanding a move toward more 
data-driven decision making in the nation's schools, Henke said, 
administrators must consider solutions that are capable of analyzing 
patterns "not really apparent to educators."

Henke suggested pattern analysis and performance-projection tools could 
be used to help gauge how students are likely to perform on 
standardized tests. Through personalized charts and graphs, she said, 
the technology will provide educators with a way to more accurately 
target remediation for struggling students.

"Universal design" is another emerging technology concept garnering 
attention from the nation's top ed-tech enthusiasts. With the 
reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
(IDEA) slated to take place during the next session of Congress, 
Raymond Rose, vice president of the Concord Consortium, a nonprofit 
educational research and development organization based in Concord, 
Mass., says the pressure is on for schools to begin looking at 
solutions that meet all students' needs--and not just those with severe 
disabilities.

Under the concept of universal design, Rose said, technologies are 
beginning to emerge that can be used for dual purposes--to the benefit 
of everyone within the school system. The concept, he said, is similar 
to that of building a wheelchair ramp. Though the ramp is built 
specifically for students confined to a chair, it can be equally useful 
for students with temporary ailments--or even those with too much in 
their hands, who might have difficulty navigating traditional steps.

"Schools need to think about tools that will meet all students' needs," 
Rose said.


According to the report, administrators also are increasingly concerned 
with technologies that spur greater community involvement and 
communication throughout the school system.

Technologies such as programmable phone systems, which enable 
administrators to send out pre-recorded messages to parents and 
stakeholders, are already coming in handy in some parts of the country, 
says Tom Rolfes, education IT manager for Nebraska's office of the 
chief information officer.

Instead of relying solely on television and radio stations to get the 
word out about school closings on snow days, for instance, schools can 
use their own prerecorded messages, sent out simultaneously to every 
parent of every student. That way, he said, administrators needn't 
worry if students will show up at school only to find themselves locked 
out in the cold.

Rolfes also touched on the growing importance of comprehensive student 
information systems used to track and monitor student progress, as well 
as the use of blogs as an increasingly popular tool for building 
stronger school communities--spurring much-needed communication among 
students, parents, and educators.

Also highlighted in the report: a concept known as RFID.

Darrell Walery, director of technology for Consolidated High School 
District 230 in Orland Park, Ill., projects the use of RFID chips--tiny 
microprocessors capable of holding and storing all types of student 
information, from lunch accounts to daily student schedules--eventually 
will help administrators keep better attendance records and more 
accurately track inventory of library books and supplies.

Though the technology still remains cost-prohibitive for some 
schools--with RFID readers costing in the range of $1,000 to $2,000 
apiece--the chips themselves are relatively cheap, Walery said.

And that's not the best part.

Walery reports that the attendance-taking capabilities alone have saved 
some early adopters up to 90 hours of instructional time per day 
district-wide, adding, "This is something that is going to be important 
in the next few years."

Other technologies covered in the report include highly portable large 
storage devices; digital assessments; sound-field amplification; 
multisensory, customized learning tools; and advanced learning 
management systems.

When deciding which technology options to pursue, CoSN offers these 
four suggestions: (1) look for solutions that will engage and empower 
students; (2) think about how the technology will be implemented and 
used before you purchase it; (3) vet purchasing decisions with 
concerned stakeholders, including community members and parents; and 
(4) try to identify unintended consequences--from potential 
instructional and legal hurdles to security issues, privacy concerns, 
technical glitches, and financial headaches.

"A critical factor in the success of deploying technology within a 
school environment is that it be embraced not only by teachers but by 
parents and the community as well," said Steve Rappaport, chairman of 
CoSN's ETC. "To broaden adoption, it's important these technologies are 
convenient, customized, content-rich, collaborative, creative, and 
compliant."

A final version of the report is expected to be available no later than 
Nov. 15.

Links:

Consortium for School Networking
http://www.cosn.org

eSN Online Store (upon final report's availability)
http://www.eschoolnews.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=26

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=5361
---

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President
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