Education Technology Investment Buys Mixed Results

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Computers, the Internet and education technology have the potential to revolutionize schools and learning, but not without good policies that will help teachers use the new tools to raise student achievement, according to a study released on Friday by the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE).

"We are looking at the multitude of ways in which technology will fundamentally alter the traditional notion of American education," said NASBE Executive Director Brenda Welburn. "The very basics of the school building, the school day, even the classroom teacher at the blackboard with students sitting at their desks are all open for reconsideration."

The nearly $7 billion that America spends annually on technology and learning has resulted in "islands of innovation," according to the report "Any Time, Any Place, Any Path, Any Pace: Taking the Lead on e-Learning Policy".

The authors also note that the quality of programs varies across the country and that poor and minority children have little or no access to technology. Twenty school-board members from 16 states worked for eight months studying the impact of technology in an effort to give education leaders a tool to develop sound e-learning policies.

The task force, headed by Maines State Board Chief Jean Gulliver, came to the conclusion that e-learning is valuable and should be "universally implemented as soon as possible."

"Our work is a clarion call to policy-makers to set thoughtful and coherent policy on issues surrounding e-learning and technology in schools," said Gulliever. "And I am very pleased that it offers concrete state examples on a range of topics, including online assessments [tests] and online courses."

The NASBE study found that by restructuring the public schools to maximize technology, states could administer tests online and provide high quality teaching to all students regardless of where they live. But the report cautions that states would have to make major strides in providing access to equipment and the Internet at schools.

Corine Hadley, a member of the task force and president of Iowas State Board of Education, said technology, whether in the classroom or at home, changes basic ideas about when, how and where schools teach.

"The implications for the teacher-student relationship, standards, assessments, accountability and traditional geographic boundaries are fundamental issues with which state and local boards of education will have to wrestle," she said.

Florida, Kentucky and Illinois have already set up virtual high schools and each offers a different model. Still, many states are resistant to such sweeping change.

The Milken Family Foundation, Lightspan Inc. and NetSchools Corporation supported the research for the report.

Tiffany Danitz, Stateline.org