The information age poses a new set of challenges and questions for American schools. The quality of our nation’s political, social, and economic future will depend on the ability of young people to become active members of society who understand how to access information and determine its significance, draw independent rational conclusions, and communicate findings. A contributing democracy requires informed citizens capable of independent and critical thinking. Continuous recycling is becoming the norm in American business, but are future employees prepared to contribute? The preparation of our youth society for the world of work in the industrial age has been insufficient.
While the nature and strength of our national economy is not the only driving force behind school reform, it is powerful. Global competition, new technologies, scientific discoveries, changing production techniques and the reengineering of work are driving economic and social change.
If the educational reform movement of the last few decades has shown anything, it is that public education is not fulfilling its obligations to our youth. America’s children are not learning enough in basic academic subjects. Furthermore, our schools have not adapted to the culture of the information age, a culture that values knowledge and technology as its core assets. Educational reformers are proposing a number of new approaches to learning. Concepts of education and schooling are being expanded by exploring the value of ideas like charter schools, magnet schools, distance learning, voucher programs, and new systems of government. As for the individual classroom, reformers recommend higher academic standards, higher teacher expectations, core curriculum, technology, etc. Incorporating technology into the learning process has been encouraged for decades, but exactly how to do it remains unclear. The business world couldn’t function without cutting-edge technologies, so why are schools so slow to adopt them?
For children of the 1970s and 1980s, “technology” could have implied a wide variety of ideas, from the specter of the nuclear holocaust to fantasies of a 21st century embellished with flying cars and domestic robots. At the “click of a mouse” (a foreign phrase to the average citizen of the Reagan years), they are connected to the entire world. However, many cannot access and use this asset.
The use of technology is not an educational panacea. It is the new instructional strategies and high performance standards that cause improvements in achievement; Technology is just a tool. But it is an important enabler of education in the 21st century.
There are teachers and school administrators who fail to connect the importance of technology with the lives of young people. These educators offer a variety of reasons for not embracing the integration of technology into the curriculum: lack of funding; lack of time; lack of confidence in the role of technology in the learning process; and lack of opportunity for professional training in the use of technology.
The conviction that educational technology is important to the learning process is rallying the support of government, business and educational leaders. They understand that American education can no longer afford to operate with a system designed in and for the industrial age. Information is everywhere. Yet our schools are large bureaucracies, institutions that are slow to embrace change. Therefore, there are important barriers that must be faced.
As a nation, we must commit to providing a quality education to our citizens. Every child needs to be positively encouraged and realize that with perseverance and hard work, goals can be achieved. Using technology to entrench existing teaching practices, in effect automating the status quo, would be a huge mistake. The focus should be how technology can be creatively applied to enhance teaching and learning.
In addition, it is imperative to address the fears and concerns of teachers. Teachers must have the opportunity to see new methods in action, realize their importance, and be convinced of the tremendous benefit to children. Teachers need access to hardware and training. They need time to become familiar with how technology can enhance learning and how administrative tasks can be carried out more efficiently. Of great importance is satisfying the teacher’s need to interact with others who are struggling with the same experiences.
The integration of technology into the curriculum must be intertwined with learning techniques that can improve student performance. These strategies include: (1) learning in a context that interests and challenges the student, (2) learning by participating in the process, (3) learning by reproducing, (4) learning by receiving immediate feedback on performance and (5) learning by practicing different parts of the task separately and then incorporating them into the task as a whole.
A knowledge society requires citizens who are lifelong learners, people who explore and share ideas and benefit from each other’s thoughts. Technology is a simple but integral means to that end. Teachers in the 21st century must be prepared to maximize the learning of all children; willing to share their knowledge and experience; ready to share your heart; and, dedicated to helping all children find success in their world. New technologies can help them do that. We cannot delay any longer.