I. A Short History

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I. A Short History

• Instructional Use of Technology

John Schiess, Pittsford Central Schools St John
Fisher MSTE Club, February 4, 2003
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A Chronology of Computer Use in Schools
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Instructional Model
http//memory.loc.gov/ammem/ammemhome.html

• 1800s - Early public schools adopt the
  teacher/manager model with the teacher as the
  primary manager of instruction and assessment in
  a single classroom.

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Famous Quotes

• "Books will soon be obsolete in the schools."

• Thomas Edison 1913 (just after he had invented
  the Kinetophone) "It is possible to teach every
  branch of human knowledge through the motion
  picture. Our school system will be completely
  changed in the next ten years.
• http//www.edtechnot.com

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• 1946 - First vacuum tube-based computers
  developed universities help in computer
  development effort technology used in war
  effort.

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Pappas or Schiess ???
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Famous Quotes...

• It would appear that we have reached the limits
  of what it is possible to achieve with computer
  technology, although one should be careful with
  such statements, as they tend to sound pretty
  silly in 5 years.
• John Von Neumann (ca. 1949)

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• 1963 - Vocational Education Act passes with new
  money supporting the use of technology in schools
• mainframe and minicomputers are using batch
  processing methods that do not fit well with the
  single teacher-as-manager -of-learning methods in
  used in most schools
• the cold war and the competitive space
  exploration effort continues with President
  Kennedy's call for the science to be developed
  that could put a man on the moon.

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• 1965 - Elementary and Secondary Education Act
  brings new money into schools for technology.
• Mainframes and minicomputers are put into place
  in some schools, but most are used for
  administration or for school counseling
• the cold war continues as President Johnson
  expands the war, with 125,000 American troops in
  Vietnam

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• 1971 - Intel's first microprocessor developed
  the first microcomputers (PCs) are developed
• a few software companies begin to develop
  mainframe and minicomputer- based instructional
  programs
• 18-year olds given the vote.

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• 1975 - Apple 1 PCs are donated to schools some
  schools have adopted mainframes and minicomputers
  and refuse to consider PCs
• Four Nixon administration officials convicted in
  Watergate cover up
• The war in Vietnam ends and the government of
  North Vietnam invades and takes over South
  Vietnam.

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Famous Quotes...

• There is no reason for any individual to have a
  computer in his home.
• Ken Olsen, President, Digital Equipment, 1977

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• 1984 - Reagan re-elected
• 31 states use 13,000 PCs for career guidance, but
  there are still relatively few computers in
  classrooms
• The Apple Macintosh computer is developed
  computer-based tutorials and learning games are
  developed by commercial software manufacturers.

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• 1986 - 25 of high schools use PCs for college
  and career guidance
• K-8 schools buying mostly Apple II and Macintosh
  computers, high schools buying mostly DOS-based
  clones.

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• 1990 - Multimedia PCs are developed
• schools are using videodiscs
• Simulations, educational databases and other
  types of CAI programs are being delivered on
  CD-ROM disks, many with animation and sound
• the cold war ends.

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Famous Quotes...

• If the automobile had followed the same
  development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce
  would today cost 100, get a million miles per
  gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone
  inside.
• Robert X. Cringely, InfoWorld magazine

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• 1994 - Digital video, virtual reality, and 3-D
  systems capture the attention of many, but fewer
  multimedia PCs than basic business PCs are sold
• Object-oriented authoring systems such as
  HyperCard, Hyperstudio, and Authorware grew in
  popularity in schools
• Most US classrooms now have at least one PC
  available for instructional delivery, but not all
  teachers have access to a computer for
  instructional preparation.
• http//www.educationplanet.com/search/Computers_an
  d_the_Internet/History_of_Computers/startat10/

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• 2001 Ratio of students to computers is
  approximately 51
• Over 99 of schools have Internet access
• Government has renewed interest in CAI systems.

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Famous Quotes...

• The great thing about a computer notebook is that
  no matter how much you stuff into it, it doesn't
  get bigger or heavier.
• Bill Gates, Business _at_ The Speed of Thought

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II. Instructional Technology 1980 to present
Commodore 64
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• When computers first made their way into schools,
  the software and limited amount of hardware meant
  that the most that could be achieved would be
  teaching about computers.
• Instruction about the various components of a
  computer system
• Study of the possible impact of computers on
  society
• Small amounts of elementary keyboarding and
  computer programming.

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• The next focus in the evolution of educational
  computing was an extension of the 'computer
  awareness' focus, in that it involved more
  'hands-on' activity for students.
• Students Were
• Learning what computers are
• Study of of the jargon
• Taught how to use to an elementary level, some of
  the common applications such as a wordprocessor,
  spreadsheet and database.

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• Towards the mid-eighties, the educational use of
  computers began to be espoused as a use which
  supported the curriculum. (a de-emphasis on the
  computer itself as an area of study.)
• Computer as Tutor present computer assisted
  instruction or tutorial material to students
  mainly drill and practice programs.
• Computer as Tutee This implies involving the
  student in a form of computer programming type of
  activity as a 'thinking' or 'thinking about
  thinking' activity. 'Logo', a language created by
  Seymour Papert was widely in use by students
  involved in this type of activity.
• Computer as Tool Children using the computer as
  a tool were using software such as a
  wordprocessor, spreadsheet or drawing program,
  database management system or even communications
  packages for participating in the computer
  pen-pals program.

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• The next main focus was of ensuring that computer
  based activities were embedded within the
  everyday activities of the learning in a
  classroom.
• The use of a computer was to be as a resource, an
  aid to learning just as other teaching aids were
  utilized.
• The use of the Internet as a resource, coupled
  with multimedia production is the main thrust of
  this focus.

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III. Stats, Critics and Proponents
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• The facts are clear. Two decades after the
  introduction of personal computers in the nation,
  with more and more schools being wired, and
  billions of dollars being spent, less than two of
  every ten teachers are serious users of computers
  in their classrooms (several times a week).
• Dr. Larry Cuban

Why???
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• FACT Almost eight out of ten public school
  teachers have computers at home and use the
  machines to prepare lessons, communicate with
  colleagues and friends, search the Internet, and
  conduct personal business.

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• FACT Most teachers use computers at home far
  more than at school.

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• FACT Both at home and at school, older as well
  as younger teachers are serious and occasional
  users.

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• FACT Most teachers believe that computers in
  school improve both teaching and learning.

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• CONCLUSION There are few technophobes among the
  majority of public school teachers who use
  computers at home and school.

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A conundrum

• As part of a new law that takes effect this fall,
  the U.S. Department of Education will launch a
  five-year, 15 million project to study the
  effects of technology on education. Though the
  study is slated to kick off this fall, the
  structure and depth of the study is still being
  decided--typical of the "build it first, think
  about it later" government mentality. The new
  law, called No Child Left Behind, also requires
  that 25 percent of technology funding be
  allocated for training teachers to use the new
  tools.

http//www.redherring.com/insider/2002/08/classroo
m082102.html
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Famous Quotes...

• Whats wrong with education cannot be fixed with
  technology. No amount of technology will make a
  dent.
• Steve Jobs, CEO Apple Computers

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On the other hand

• Teachers who have been identified as teacher
  leaders in their schools, in their district and
  in their fields were 10 times more likely to be
  teachers who used computers themselves and have
  integrated the use of computers with their
  classroom instruction.
• Ferdi Serim, Consortium for School Networking
• http//www.education.ucr.edu/breilly/320/serim.pdf
  

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IV.A Question of Equity
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Census stats

• http//nces.ed.gov/quicktables/Detail.asp?Key347

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Use of Computers at Home
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Use of Computers in School
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Internet Use by Income
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No Child Left Behind
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No Child Left Behind - Assumptions

• Ratio of students to school computers will reach
  one-to-one by 2005-2006
• Current Internet Access 99 of schools and 87 of
  classrooms.
• Federal Technology funding up 113 over the last
  5 years.

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No Child Left Behind - Proposals

• Projected 700 M in technology funding for
  2002-2003 (Title I) with 25 for professional
  development
• Development of portals for reporting to parent
  and community
• Development of district and state data
  warehousing for accountability reporting
• Web-based software comprehensive reading
  curriculum
• On-line training for teachers and administrators
• 61.2M for NYS

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NCLB what does it mean to you?

• pushed to technology acquisition
• pushed to technology professional development
  for teachers
• spent on figuring out if students are learning
• Public schools will be scrutinized in public like
  never before