What should kids know? New technology standards set
expectations
 Before completing second grade, kids should be able to use a computer
keyboard and mouse and operate a VCR. By eighth grade, students should know
how to detect bias in electronic information sources. And before graduating
from high school, students should be able to apply intelligent agents and
computer simulations to real-world problems.
These are just a few of the technology standards for students recommended
by the International Society for Technology
in Education (ISTE). In a new set of standards released in June, ISTE
lays out a blueprint for what students as young as 4 years old should learn
about computers and other technologies.
The standards have been criticized by some educators, who say they emphasize
the development of technical skills over the importance of learning how
to use computers to master subjects like math and history.
But the biggest criticisms, so far, are that the standards are advocating
exposure to computers at very young ages.
"Children can manipulate a mouse at age 3 or 4 or 5," Jeffrey
T. Fouts, a professor of education at Seattle Pacific University, told the
New York Times. "It can be done. But a better question is: Should
it be done at that young age?"
Jane M. Healy, whose new book Failure to Connect looks at what
is good and bad for children who use computers, told the Times that
"there is absolutely no demonstration [for young children] that the
technology improves anything -- except a child's enthusiasm for playing
with a new gadget."
Lajeane G. Thomas disagrees. Thomas, the project director of the National
Educational Technology Standards Project, which is developing a host of
new standards for using technology in education (including the ISTE standards),
told the Times that people who say educational technology substitutes
multimedia sizzle for content "do not have a clue about how technology
should be used."
Among other things, the standards for grades pre-K to second grade include:
* Using interactive books, educational software, and elementary multimedia
encyclopedias to support learning.
* Demonstrating positive social and ethical behaviors when using technology.
* Gathering information and communicating with others using telecommunications.
Special standards were developed for four different levels: pre-kindergarten
to second grade, grades three to five, six to eight, and nine through 12.
For a printed copy of the standards,
which costs $5, call (800) 336-5191.
Librarians set tech standards, too
School librarians are also weighing in on what kids should know to succeed
in the Information Age. Among the top priorities are learning to evaluate
information critically, appreciating literature, and recognizing the importance
of information in a democratic society.
The nine standards, announced at the American
Library Association (ALA) conference in June, are meant to guide school
media specialists and other educators who are looking for ways to teach
their students literacy in print, nonprint, and electronic formats.
"Student achievement is the bottom line," says Ken Haycock,
president of the American Association of School Librarians. "Knowing
how to obtain and use information properly is increasingly essential both
for students' success in school and for their personal and professional
development as socially responsible adults."
The standards cover three areas: information literacy, independent learning,
and social responsibility. Each standard includes several "success
indicators" and "levels of proficiency."
* Standard 1: The student who is information literate accesses information
efficiently and effectively.
* Standard 2: The student who is information literate evaluates information
critically and competently.
* Standard 3: The student who is information literate uses information
accurately and creatively.
* Standard 4: The student who is an independent learner pursues information
related to personal interests.
* Standard 5: The student who is an independent learner appreciates literature
and other creative expressions of information.
* Standard 6: The student who is an independent learner strives for excellence
in information seeking and knowledge generation.
* Standard 7: The student who contributes positively to the learning
community and society recognizes the importance of information to a democratic
society.
* Standard 8: The student who contributes positively to the learning
community practices ethical behavior in regard to information and information
technology.
* Standard 9: The student who contributes positively to the learning
community participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information.
For a printed copy of The
Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning, contact ALA, 90
E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; (800) 545-2433.
Schools need more technology -- now
A majority of American business leaders and voters say equipping schools
with technology should be one of the nation's top educational priorities.
But according to a national survey by the Milken Exchange on Education Technology,
they're troubled that state governments are failing to move fast enough
to address this need.
The survey, released in June at the Milken Family Foundation Education
Conference in Los Angeles, was sent to voters, legislator-members of state
education or appropriations committees, and business executives of U.S.
companies with 25 or more employees, including 50 executives of Fortune
500 companies.
Speaking at the national conference, Intel Corp. chief executive Craig
Barrett said the nation must do a better job of making computers part of
teaching. Failure to foster a technologically savvy workforce, he warned,
could lead to economic hardship in the future.
"I don't look at it just as an education issue," he said. "I
look at it as a crass economics issue. There's a compelling need to get
computers integrated into the educational process."
Some of the key findings of the Milken survey:
* Voters consider educational technology a higher priority than reducing
class size or repairing school buildings. About 75 percent of voters favor
spending any federal budget surplus on educational technology, while 70
percent say they advocate using the money to repair school buildings, and
58 percent would use it to reduce class size. Only 14 percent of voters
say they would delay spending on educational technology because there is
insufficient evidence of its impact on student achievement.
* State legislators are more satisfied with the status quo than voters
and business leaders are. Roughly one of every two legislators surveyed
believe their state is spending enough money on educational technology.
Only 28 percent of the public and 29 percent of business leaders say they
are satisfied.
* About 65 percent of voters predict research will eventually show technology
has a major impact on improving education. About 36 percent say they are
concerned about the lack of evidence thus far.
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They might not be World Cup material, but these little "bricks
with a brain" -- born at the MIT Media Lab -- are already scoring goals
with Lego enthusiasts worldwide. Demonstrated for the first time this summer
at the RoboCup in Paris, Lego Mindstorms
comes with a miniature built-in computer so kids can design robots that
move, rotate, and respond to light and touch. "The philosophy behind
Lego Mindstorms is to allow children not only to understand technology,
but also to become creative masters of it," says Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen,
president and CEO of Lego Group. "This happens when they design, construct,
and program their own real, intelligent inventions." The price of this
inventiveness? Around $200 for a 700-piece set that includes one programmable
brick. |
How teachers use the web
Teachers and students are more likely to use the Internet for research
than for anything else, according to a company that tracks marketing and
education trends. Teachers are less enthusiastic about employing the Internet
for classroom presentations and other Internet uses such as online projects,
e-mail pals, and electronic field trips.
Quality Education Data (QED), a
research and database company in Denver, surveyed 400 teachers in randomly
selected curriculum areas (language arts, math, science, and social studies)
about their attitudes and use of the Internet for instruction.
About 70 percent of teachers say they use the Internet for research at
least once a week. Another popular use of the Internet among teachers is
to access curriculum materials: 66 percent of teachers use the Internet
for this purpose at least once a week. Nearly half of the respondents say
students use the Internet for research at least once a week. Other uses
were not even half as common as research.
The number of teachers with access to the Internet at home grew by 10
percentage points last year, to 56 percent. According to the survey, home
Internet use influences whether teachers use the Internet in their classrooms.
The proportion of teachers using the Internet in teaching rose by 17 percentage
points from last year's total, to 65 percent. When asked how often they
used the Internet in their classrooms or at home, 81 percent of the teachers
reported that they use it at least once a week. This number, according to
the report, suggests that teachers are using the Internet in teaching on
a regular basis, rather than sporadically.
Other findings:
* 81 percent of schools have policies addressing acceptable Internet
use.
* 44 percent of teachers say they trained themselves on how to use the
Internet.
* Nearly half of teachers (46 percent) use the Internet for professional
development.
To order a copy of Internet
Usage in Public Schools 1998, Third Edition, contact Quality Education
Data, 1700 Lincoln St., Suite 3600, Denver, CO 80203; (800) 525-5811.
CEOs speak out on technology training
Better preparation, more resources for training, plus incentive systems
for integrating technology into the curriculum -- these professional development
essentials are key if schools are to reach so-called Target Tech status,
says a group of business and education leaders.
Last year, in its School Technology and Readiness (STaR) Report,
the CEO Forum on Education and Technology
identified typical school profiles ranging from "low tech" to
"target tech" in terms of hardware, connectivity, content, and
professional development. (See "STaR Report:
Rate your school's digital prowess," January 1998.)
This year, the group zeroed in on professional development. Specific
recommendations, announced in July, are arranged in four categories:
1. Schools of education must prepare new teachers to integrate technology
effectively into the curriculum. Here the group calls for increased technology
funding for schools of education, as well as technology requirements for
accreditation and for new teacher licensure and certification.
2. Current teachers must be proficient in integrating technology into
the curriculum. Every professional development program should include a
relevant technology training component, the CEO Forum says, and every teacher
should have ready access to a computer. Additional recommendations include
technology requirements for continuing licensure, increased resources, and
long-term training plans.
3. Education policy makers and school administrators must create systems
that reward technology integration into the curriculum. Technology integration
and innovation should be reflected in teacher and administrator evaluations,
the group says, as well as in student performance assessments and curriculum
standards and measurements.
4. Corporations and local businesses should partner with school of education
to provide support and share best practices in the technology integration
process.
An updated "STaR Chart," by which schools can evaluate their
progress from low tech to target tech, is now available on the CEO Forum
web site, and a second national STaR
assessment is expected in February 1999.
Kids feel the pain of too much computing
Brendan Connell knows the dangers of too much computer time all too well.
Last year, his Maryland high school had to provide him with a personal note-taker
because he suffered debilitating wrist pain caused by repetitive use of
a computer mouse and keyboard, according to the Washington Post.
Connell, 18, an honor student at Montgomery Blair High School, told the
Post he had been using computers for nearly 13 years, often for hours
of uninterrupted work. Last year, he began to notice a numbness in his hands,
followed by a tingling in his arms, and a burning sensation in his wrists.
Connell was eventually diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, a severe form
of repetitive strain injury (RSI) -- and evidence that his muscles, tendons,
and nerves had been damaged by prolonged typing or use of a computer mouse.
RSI symptoms are showing up increasingly on college campuses. At the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, the student health service
diagnosed 220 cases of RSI last year -- a 44 percent increase over 1995,
according to the Post. At Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.,
the Post reported, 100 students sought help for the ailment
from the Student Disability Resource Center this year, compared to just
one student in 1991. And at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, a
1997 survey found that 22 percent of students, faculty, and staff reported
RSI symptoms.
Medical experts say kids set the stage for RSI by using poor posture
or working long hours at computer terminals without breaks. "Students
are using computers earlier and earlier," Anita Barkin, director of
student health services at Carnegie Mellon, told the Post. "They
are using them in elementary school and high school. By the time they come
here, they've already gotten into some bad habits."
E-Wire is prepared with Associated Press (AP) reports. | 
