Marc My Words: Learning Technology in Our Schools – How We Can Help

The dog days ofsummer are here and the kids are going back to school. So let’stake a break from private-sector e-Learning and focus on publiceducation.

This is important.Across the country, public schools are in trouble. There’s nomoney. The Federal government basically is broke and most Stategovernments are under water. Increasing debt has led to a cut in alltypes of services, including education. Everywhere, educators aretold to do more with less.

This all comes at atime when we are asking more of our schools. Not just to teach thethree R’s, but to give our kids the skills and perspective to copewith an increasingly complex world. Parents turn their preciouschildren over to the schools for 12 years and expect to get highlyeducated, productive citizens in return, ready to compete with abillion other kids around the globe. No small feat.

As a member of mylocal board of education, I see the challenges our schools facefirst-hand. And I know that we in the learning technology field canhelp.

Visit yourneighborhood school and look around. In the library, you will seecomputers connected to a host of databases. Some libraries are now sodigitized that they are actually shrinking as they provide morevirtual services. After a slight tinge of horror, I’ve learned thatthis can be a good thing. Activity in traditional library servicesmay be down, yet online access is thriving.

Teachers are movingfrom chalkboards to whiteboards to PowerPoint. Use of tools likeMoodle and Blackboard is growing. More technology? Sure. Moreinstructionally effective? It depends on teacher know-how,administrator support, school board advocacy and investment, andcommunity involvement.

Unfortunately, fortoo many schools, shiny new technology can be intoxicating. You getnew stuff, as if the “getting” was the bottom line, but you neverreally think, systematically and pedagogically, about how it willenhance learning. Yet some schools are using technology ininteresting and valuable ways. Like using computers to add richnessto classrooms, incorporating online research, multimedia,simulations, collaboration, and content creation tools to enhancecreativity and critical thinking, and bringing the outside world intothe classroom, giving kids a bigger window to see what lies “outthere.”

What you will likelysee less of is asynchronous online courses, aside from the occasionalvirtual presentation, because they surface all kinds of issues forschool culture, characterized by some deep and highly intransigentbeliefs about what can and can’t be done. How can e-Learningprograms that allow students to finish at different times reconcilewith 50-minute periods and 16-week semesters? What would the role ofteachers be if computers actually delivered the instruction? Howwould school districts budget for all of this? What about security?And this is just a taste of the ongoing challenge.

E-Learningprofessionals have been there. We have overcome a host of barriers todevelop processes and programs that work. We can modify theseapproaches for schools. We can push school districts to rethink whatthey are doing, and we can demonstrate cost-effectiveness. Some saythat changing public education is like turning a battleship in abathtub. That’s understandable. But I also know that schools willstart to fail if we don’t rethink how kids learn and how to bestuse modern learning technology. It’s not a panacea, but animportant tool. And our kids, who are growing up as digital natives,are certainly ready for it.

Eight suggestions

So, what can we do?Here are eight ways you can help in your own school district:

1. Go to school board meetings and ask how your schools are implementing technology. Ask for demonstrations, not just words. Bring an example with you to show them what’s possible.

2. Make absolutely sure technology literacy is a key component of the curriculum. Don’t simply assume that if kids have computers at home, they’re all set. Work with parents on this.

3. Lend your expertise. Join your local school district technology advisory committee. If there isn’t one, start one. Schools need all the (free) help they can get.

4. Support school libraries and librarians. They are key drivers of much of the digital action in the schools.

5. In spite of the economic crunch, push your school district for more funding for learning technology. Help schools understand the value of getting the technology – and the pedagogy – right. Look into consortiums with neighboring school districts, county groups, and State agencies. You need not do all of this alone.

6. Press for grants and stipends for teachers who want to experiment with learning technology. Give them the means to make it happen, and then share your success stories.

7. Support teacher professional development in learning technology. Peer mentoring and in-service days have the potential for skill building in this area, if done right.

8. Finally, and most importantly, fight the perception that technology is an unnecessary luxury. Technology is an integral part of 21^st century life and 21^st century learning, yet it is amazing that we often expect our schools to function as if they are still little red schoolhouses on the prairie.

We may not all havekids in school right now but we’ve all been there. We know what animportant investment education is. Look at your workplace, youremployees, and your business. Ask yourself what the consequences willbe down the road if public education fails now. Ignoring theeducation crisis is the epitome of short-term thinking. Learningtechnology alone will not save the schools, but it can help. It justneeds a little leadership from us.

Disclaimer: This article is my opinion alone and does not represent the positionof the Hillsborough, N.J. Board of Education or the Hillsborough,N.J. School District.