Subpart 1 – Section 2413 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 mandates that in order to be eligible for federal grant money, state must provide…(13) A description of how the State educational agency will ensure ongoing integration of technology into school curricula and instructional strategies in all schools in the State, so that technology will be fully integrated into the curricula and instruction of the schools by December 31, 2006.
Yet, in a “Large-Scale Research Study” by Barron et. al. (2003), conducted in one of the largest district in the country, of 2,156 participants reporting, only 17% could report having more than five computers in the classroom and fully 39% didn’t even have access to a lab.
How can we even begin to talk about technology being “fully integrated?”
Barron, A., Kemker, K., Harmes, C., & Kalaydjian, K. (2003). Large-scale research study on technology in K-12 schools: Technology integration as it relates to the national technology standards. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 35(4), 489-508.
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Subpart 1—State and Local Technology Grants. Retrieved April 12, 2009, from ED.gov Web site: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg35.html
I suspect huge amounts of spinning on all sides. Here's a survey from the turn of the century which is more optimistic than yours. You pick the facts that make you look good. I trust yours farther than I trust these. http://atto.buffalo.edu/registered/ATBasics/Populations/UDesign/stats.php
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure it's more optimistic, because I'm not sure it addresses the same metric. In fact, my point is becoming that despite all the bragging about how computer/Internet penetration in schools, it's not really being used all that often by students. See...
ReplyDeletehttp://schooltechaccess.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-mission.html
Everyone tries to look like they are in compliance with nclb but children are being left behind in droves and not just in technology. NCLB is expensive on all fronts and computers et al can't complain as loudly as teachers or parents. I found a great web site that illustrates this. It is http://nclb2.ecs.org/Projects_Centers/index.aspx?issueid=gen&IssueName=General and has a database that "grades" each state in NCLB- thoroughly - except for technology compliance. It's just lip service, folks. We see a lot about what say they are going to do and not what they actually do.
ReplyDeleteThere are teachers who still can not check their own Email, are we talking “fully integrated” or "integrated enought for government work"?
ReplyDeleteIs there a NCLB suggestion on ratios?