roundtable: Subject: OTA REPORT (FWD)(FWD:CITS, WITH SAMPLE LETTER FOR OTA
roundtable: Subject: OTA REPORT (FWD)[FWD:CITS, WITH SAMPLE LETTER FOR OTA
Subject: OTA REPORT (FWD)[FWD:CITS, WITH SAMPLE LETTER FOR OTA
W. Curtiss Priest (BMSLIB@mitvma.mit.edu)
Fri, 07 Apr 95 10:09:28 EDT
Message-Id: <9504071410.AA05419@a.cni.org>
Date: Fri, 07 Apr 95 10:09:28 EDT
From: "W. Curtiss Priest" <BMSLIB@mitvma.mit.edu>
Subject: Subject: OTA REPORT (FWD)[FWD:CITS, WITH SAMPLE LETTER FOR OTA
To: Telecommunications Policy Roundtable <ROUNDTABLE@CNI.ORG>
From: Perry _ Brown <p_brown@sacam.OREN.ORTN.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list <ntplan@inet.ed.gov>
Subject: OTA REPORT (FWD)
Friends---
Excuse the interruption, but the Office of Technology Assessment released
a new report last Tuesday, April 4, that has great implications for this
ntplan! The conclusions are just DYNAMITE! The announcement follows
what I have written.
>From the announcement: "Curriculum integration is central if technology
is to become an effective educational resource, says OTA, yet integration
is difficult, time-consuming, and resource-intensive." This statement is
the key to improving education. We seem to be spending so much time
worrying about how to get machines in the rooms that we may be dooming
ourselves to abject failure! Teaching hardware usage, word processing
and spreadsheets is NOT curriculum integration. The problem is---WE'RE
NOT SURE WHAT THE BEST FORM OF CURRICULUM INTEGRATION IS!! What a great
area for the "feds" to attack! Sure, we've got some studies of
hand-picked teachers teaching mostly hand-picked students, but are we
SURE this will apply to the masses---I think not! At the local level
(or even the "block-grant" state level), we won't be able to effective
construct a large enough study to find out the definitive answers--and
that's what we need. Curriculum and teaching methods have always been
the keys to student success---we have already tried the strict hardware
approach during the Apple //e era---let's get it right this time. For
public education, this may be the last chance.
I apologize in advance for this diatribe. In case you can't guess---I'M
PUMPED!!!!
Hope you enjoy what follows as much as I am.
-Perry-
*
OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
U.S. CONGRESS
WASHINGTON, DC 20510
*
*
TEACHERS AND TECHNOLOGY: MAKING THE CONNECTION
*
The OTA report "Teachers and Technology: Making the
Connection" is now available. Ordering information and
details about electronic access are at the end of this file.
*
INADEQUATE ATTENTION TO TEACHER SUPPORT CAN BAR BEST USE OF
NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CLASSROOMS
*
TVs and VCRs, telephones and voice mail, computers and
networking capabilities are essential tools of the teaching
trade today, but limited support to assist teachers to use
new technologies presents a major barrier to effective use
in schools, says the Congressional Office of Technology
Assessment (OTA) in a new report released today. Helping
teachers use technology effectively may be the most
important step in assuring the maximum benefit from
investments in educational technologies, suggests OTA.
Projections suggest that by spring 1995 U.S. schools will
have 5.8 million computers for use in instruction--about one
for every nine students. Total public K-12 instructional
technology expenditures for 1993 were estimated at $2.13
billion. However, OTA finds that a substantial number of
teachers still report little or no use of computers for
instruction.
According to OTA, most teachers have not had appropriate
training to prepare them to use technology effectively in
teaching. Currently, most funds for technology are spent on
hardware and software, and, on average, no more than 15
percent of these budgets are allocated to teacher training
and support. Teacher issues and needs have been
shortchanged, OTA concludes. For example, only one teacher in
eight has a telephone in the classroom, yet such tools--whether
advanced telecommunications or simple voice mail--are
invaluable in helping teachers communicate with parents,
colleagues, and administrators.
Even in schools where technological tools are in place, they
are not always within teachers' reach. For instance,
although more than one-third of all public schools have
access to the Internet, only 3 percent of instructional
rooms (classrooms, media centers, technology labs) are
connected.
Perhaps the greatest barrier to technology use, says OTA, is
lack of teacher time--time to attend training or workshops,
to experiment with machines and explore software, to talk to
other teachers about what works and what doesn't, and to
plan lessons using new materials or methods. Without
significant changes to the rhythm of the school day or
changed incentives, this barrier will remain immense, says
OTA.
OTA finds that technologies offer teachers the ability to do
many traditional teaching tasks efficiently and quickly, and
they can support entirely new teaching and learning
opportunities that may be critical to the next generation of
learners. Many teachers find that technology can help them
improve student learning and motivation, address students
with different learning styles or special needs, expose
students to a wider world of information and experts, and
encourage student initiative and collaboration. Technology
can also help teachers with daily activities: update student
profiles with electronic software; videotape student
presentations to assist with performance assessment;
assemble current materials for next week's lesson through an
electronic database.
Although schools have made progress in helping teachers to
use basic tools such as word processing and databases, they
still struggle with integrating technology into the
curriculum. Curriculum integration is central if technology
is to become an effective educational resource, says OTA,
yet integration is difficult, time-consuming, and resource-
intensive.
OTA points out that technology can also be a valuable
resource for improving teacher education and professional
development. Today's technologies offer a means for moving
beyond the old models of professional development to more
flexible use of training resources and time; from "one-size-
fits-all" workshops to "just-in-time" training and support.
Video can extend the range of student observation into
classrooms with the best teachers, wherever they are
located. Telecommunications networks can link student
teachers and faculty mentors. Despite this promise,
technology is not central to the teacher preparation
experience in most colleges of education in the United
States, and most new teachers enter the classroom unprepared
to use technology as a regular teaching tool.
While the appropriate federal role in education has always
been debated, in considering policy for technology,
decisions can be made to allow for variation, change,
experimentation, and differing goals, building on the strong
traditions of state and local control of education and on
emerging examples of public-private partnerships. There is
much that both the federal government and the private sector
can do to continue to develop and support technology, and
help teachers in their teaching and professional activities,
OTA concludes.
The report was requested by the Senate Committees on Labor
and Human Resources and Appropriations; and the House
Committee on Education and Labor (now the Committee on
Economic and Educational Opportunities).
OTA is a nonpartisan analytical agency that serves the U.S.
Congress. Its purpose is to aid Congress with the complex
and often highly technical issues that increasingly affect
our society.
For copies of the 304-page report "Teachers and Technology:
Making the Connection" for congressional use, please call
(202) 224-9241. Copies for noncongressional use are
available from the Superintendent of Documents for $19.00
each. To order, call (202) 512-0132 (GPO's main bookstore)
or (202) 512-1800 and indicate stock GPO stock number 052-
003-01409-2. Or send your check for $19.00 a copy or provide
your VISA or MasterCard number and expiration date to:
Superintendent of Documents, PO Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA,
15250-7974, [FAX (202) 512-2250]. For a free 8-page report
summary, please call (202) 224-8996. Federal Express
service is available for an additional $8.50 per order.
VIDEO AVAILABLE
OTA has also produced a 20-minute video to accompany the
written report. The video highlights innovative uses
of technology by teachers. For information about ordering
the video, call (202) 224-8996 or e-mail pubsrequest@ota.gov
ELECTRONIC ACCESS
Readers can access this report electronically through OTA
Online via the following standard Internet tools:
WWW: http://www.ota.gov
FTP: otabbs.ota.gov; login as anonymous, password is your
e-mail address; files are in the
/pub/teachers.tech directory
Telnet: otabbs.ota.gov; login as public, password is
public.
Additional features of OTA Online are available through
client software with a graphical user interface for
Microsoft Windows. This software is available free through
the WWW home page or by contacting the OTA
Telecommunications and Information Systems Office, (202)
228-6000, or email sysop@ota.gov Direct questions or
comments on Internet services by email to netsupport@ota.gov
|===========================================================================|
|{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ P E R R Y B R O W N }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}|
|===========================================================================|
| Anderson County Schools |Internet: p_brown@sacam.oren.ortn.edu|
| Office of Technology | Office: (615) 463-7435 |
| 115 East Broad Street | Office: (615) 457-5400 |
| Clinton, TN 37716-3610 | Fax: (615) 463-7213 |
|===========================================================================|
| Anderson County Schools bases its existence on this thesis: all students |
| can become productive, fulfilled, inquisitive citizens, who are an asset |
| not only to themselves, but to their communities, states, and nation. |
| For this reason our mission is to enhance students' lives by motivating |
| them to learn and grow through whatever resources technology can provide. |
|===========================================================================|
The Office of Technology Assessment is critical to the future of
information networks, education and communities. An important
study on Teachers and Technology will be published in the next
month by the OTA Division on Human Resources.
Write letters of support to preserve the Congress' access to
high quality reports on technology and society.
Representative Robert S. Walker
Science Committee
2369 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 201515-3816
Fax: 202-225-1116
Rep. Ron Packard
Chair, Subcommittee on Appropriations for the Legislative Branch
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Fax: 202-225-0134
Sen. Connie Mack
Chair, Subcommittee on Appropriations for the Legislative Branch
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Fax: 202-224-8022
Senator Patty Murray
Senate Appropriations Committee
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Fax: 202-224-0238
Senator Jim Jeffords
Senate Appropriations Committee, Washington DC Subcommittee
513 Hart Senate Bldg
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
email: vermont@jeffords.senate.gov
Senator Robert Bennett
Senate Appropriations Committee, Washington DC subcommittee
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Fax: 202-224-6717
Senator Barbara Mikulski
Senate Appropriations Committee
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Fax: 202-224-8858
March 18, 1995
Representative Robert S. Walker
Science Committee
2369 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 201515-3816
Dear Representative Walker,
As a citizen of a middle class town, and as a supporter of
good education and the success of our country I strongly urge
you to retain the Office of Technology Assessment.
For example, the POWER ON study on educational software has
been the bible for many schools and teachers about learning
to use software in the classroom.
You recently expressed concern about the ability of the OTA
to respond quickly to legislative needs. This is a perceptive
concern and one that needs to be addressed.
As you know, the Office of Technology Assessment provides
a caliber of review and research that far exceeds the
Congressional Research Service. It is that quality of information
that has required additional time.
I suggest that you consider restructuring the OTA to better
meet the needs of Congress. When members of Congress request
a study from OTA, have those members instruct OTA about the
required time frame. I suggest that the OTA can still do
excellent work if time frames of 3-4 months were required for
some issues. Using some of the new information technologies
will help achieve this goal. The OTA can establish Internet
listserves for each advisory panel and speed the process, while
reducing costs associated with such panels. Sub-contractors
can be required to provide their findings in electronic formats
under Thomas, and thus provide advanced information, prior to the
final OTA report.
The OTA is an excellent example of a national resource that
should be retained. We hope you will give strong consideration
to these suggestions.
Very truly yours,
Curtiss Priest
466 Pleasant Street
Melrose, MA 02176
_______________________________________________________________________________
| W. Curtiss Priest, Ph.D., Director *********************** |
| Center for Information, Technology, & Society * Improving humanity * |
| * through technology * |
| 466 Pleasant Street *********************** |
| Melrose, MA 02176-4522 BMSLIB@MITVMA.MIT.EDU |
| Voice: 617-662-4044 Gopher or WWW to our publications: |
| Fax: 617-662-6882 gopher.eff.org (under similar organizations, CITS |
| WWW: http://www.eff.org, under Documents & File Archives, under Gopher |
_____________________________________________________________________________|
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