Overview: Research on IT in Education

Executive Summary: This paper is designed as background reading for PreK–12 educators taking IT short courses and workshops. It presents an overview of the current research on information technology (IT) and some of its roles in improving education. There is an increasing body of research supporting effective ways to make use of IT as one component of a school improvement plan and as an aid to improving student learning. This paper focuses on long-lasting ideas, ideas that will not quickly become outdated by the continued rapid pace of change in IT and in other areas of technology.

School improvement is always a current issue in education. The problem is complex and challenging, with a variety of approaches being tested at any particular time. As Fullan (1993) points out, the problems in today’s educational system are deeply rooted in ongoing changes in science and technology, in educational research, and in our society. The expectations for our educational system have changed markedly during the past few decades. Many of the newer expectations are rooted in the rapidly increasing capabilities and availability of information technology in schools. A glimpse into possible futures of IT in education is given in Moursund (1999b). An excellent summary on the current status of the Science of Teaching and Learning is given in Bransford, et al. (2000).

IT and School Improvement

In this document, IT includes the full range of computer hardware, software, and connectivity needed:

to represent and solve complex problems requiring powerful computer systems;
to create and use interactive hypermedia; and
to communicate synchronously and asynchronously with people, databases, and machines throughout the world.

Instructional uses of IT can affect curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Here are six important types of IT use that are contributing to improving education.

1. IT can be an aid to achieving the various “traditional” goals and objectives of education. Computer-assisted learning (Kulik, 1994; Mann, et al., 1999) has been shown to have a strong positive effect in student learning. On average, students learn more than 30-percent faster in computer-assisted learning environments, as compared to traditional school environments. Moreover, on average students learn somewhat better in a computer-assisted learning environment. The average improvement is an increase by .35 standard deviations, or moving from the 50^th percentile to the 64^th percentile. There have been hundreds of studies of distance learning projects in which a variety of delivery systems such as the World Wide Web (WWW) were used. On average, the findings tend to be “no significant difference, or slightly positive” as compared with traditional methods of delivering instruction (No Significant Difference Phenomenon). Thus, there is rapidly growing acceptance for using distance learning to make courses and other learning opportunities available to students who do not have easy access to courses taught in traditional classroom settings.
IT is an integral component of every academic discipline, providing both useful tools and becoming an important part of the discipline content. In many disciplines, if a student does not learn the IT components of the discipline, the student is not getting a “modern” education in the discipline. Business, graphics arts, math, and the sciences provide very strong examples of this situation.
IT is an important academic discipline in and of itself. Some schools have decided that it is quite important for students to learn something about the discipline of IT, while others have opted against this approach. As early at 1983, there was a strong push for computer and information science to be a part of the secondary school curriculum (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983). Many schools provide a program of study that prepares some of their students to take an Advanced Placement exam in computer and information science.
IT-based assistive technology can help many students (Warger, 1998; Assistive Technology [Online]). Assistive technology is defined as any item, piece of equipment, or product, whether acquired commercially, off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. Good examples of this type of IT use are found in voice input systems and speech output systems that are used by a number of students.
IT is an integral assessment tool in computer-assisted learning and in portfolio assessment. Computer-based testing is an effective assessment tool and is seeing increasing use (Educational Testing Service).
IT can be used to help implement research-based improvements and is currently routinely used by teachers in instructional delivery, preparing lesson plans, gradebook applications, and in collaboration with other teachers. Electronic collaboration: A practical guide for educators (LAB, 1999) provides a comprehensive introduction to teachers on how to use electronic collaboration to explore issues of teaching and learning, and as a component of professional development.

Each of these six types of IT use in education can be used as an effective component in a school improvement plan. The capabilities of IT are continuing to improve quite rapidly, and the number of computers available for student use is also increasing. Thus, there is substantial need for continuing research on effective ways to make use of this IT. A number of authors of individual research studies and meta-studies indicate that additional research is needed (Kosakowski, 1998; President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, 1997).

Moreover, many of the research studies include a statement that professional development is essential to having IT make a significant contribution to improving student learning. Without high quality and well prepared teachers, the potential of IT in education cannot be achieved.

Improving Education with IT

Two encompassing goals of IT professional development are to improve the quality of education that children are receiving and to help create an educational system designed to meet the diverse needs of a diverse population. Education is a complex system and is highly resistant to change. In addition, IT is a complex and rapidly changing field. This means that improving education through appropriate use of IT is a challenging task.

Most approaches to educational reform are overly simplistic and not rooted in the research of successful methods. Fullan (1999) indicates that the accumulated research and practitioner knowledge needed to significantly improve our educational system is readily available, but appropriate implementation is quite difficult. For example, many schools have invested heavily in IT hardware facilities, but have failed to provide appropriate amounts of professional development for their teachers. President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (1997) suggests that on a nationwide basis, Pre K-12 schools should be spending twice as much on IT professional development as they are currently spending.

In the past, the individual school was usually considered an appropriate unit of change in educational improvement projects. The present trend moves the unit of change from an individual school to the school district and addresses systemic change in this larger educational system. In either case, a full range of stakeholders—including the teachers and their top-level administrators—need to be involved. There needs to be a plan for making use of IT to improve student learning and achievement. Fullan (1999) argues that a simultaneous bottom-up (teacher level) and top-down (school administrator level) approach is needed to produce significant and long lasting educational improvement.

The research literature on systemic change in schools and school districts is compelling. At both a federal and a state level, funding agencies are pushing for and funding widespread implementation of these research and practitioner-based systemic change models. An excellent summary on a variety of educational reform (school renewal) efforts is given in the April 1999 issue of the Phi Delta Kappan. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (1998) provides an analysis of 64 widely implemented educational reform programs. Secondary School Principals and National Educational Association (1999) examines 24 school reform models. The U.S. Department of Education is funding implementation and research on a variety of school reform models (Office of Educational Research and Improvement). An extensive analysis of roles of IT in educational reform is given in Distance Learning Resource Network (DLRN).

In recent years, the US Federal government has invested heavily in IT in education. An excellent summary of current evidence on the effectiveness of IT in education is given in papers prepared for the Secretary's Conference on Educational Technology in U.S. Department of Education (1999). While there is growing evidence that values using IT in education, it is clear that IT is no panacea. Rather, IT should be viewed as a valuable component of educational reform.

The business world is also quite interested in schools learning to make more effective use of IT (CEO Forum). Businesses channel large amounts of grant money and used equipment to schools.

The Pace of IT Change

Widespread implementation of IT into Pre K-12 education did not begin until after the advent of microcomputers. In 1983, estimates are that there was only one microcomputer or timeshared computer terminal per 125 students. By 1998 the ratio was about one microcomputer per six students (Becker & Anderson, 1998).

Many people argue that the current ratio of students and teachers per microcomputer is still too low to make a significant difference in our educational system. For example, they point to the business world in which each worker who has need for computer access has their own terminal or microcomputer. There is a growing set of research studies on PreK–12 environments in which every student has a computer. Sandholtz et al. (1997) reports on a ten-year study of the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow (ACOT). This extensive study provides strong evidence that a one-to-one computer ratio, substantial staff development, and empowering teachers to make changes in curriculum and instruction can lead to major improvements in student retention, attendance, and student learning. Rockman, et al. (1998) reports on a major multi-school project in which each student has a laptop. The results that are emerging in this longitudinal study tend to be consistent with the ACOT results.

The microcomputers of today are thousands of times more powerful than microcomputers of 1980—and, indeed, are more powerful than the million dollar mainframes of 1980. Today’s software is far more versatile and user-friendly. The Internet (which includes the World Wide Web) has emerged as a very important aid to communication as well as the storage and retrieval of information. There is now a huge installed base of microcomputers in business, government, research, people’s homes, and in education at all levels.

This trend of increasingly powerful microcomputers and computer networks has been going on for more than three decades. Kurzweil (1999) provides extensive evidence that the current pace of change will likely continue for at least another 15 years—and then may increase to a still faster pace of change! Moreover, Kurzweil gives a number of examples in which computers are already as good as or better than humans at solving certain types of problems such as chess and medical diagnosis. Needless to say, continued progress in artificial intelligence is presenting a challenge to our educational system. If a computer can solve a type of problem that we are having students learn to solve in school using non-computer methods, what should students be learning about solving this type of problem? This is a question facing all teachers.

IT National Standards

National Standards have been established in many different Pre K-12 curriculum areas. The Midcentral Regional Educational Laboratory has a focus on standards and their web site is quite extensive.

ISTE has developed IT national standards for PreK–12 students and for preservice teachers (International Society for Technology in Education). A summary of the standards for PreK–12 education is given below. The web site (ISTE) contains detailed performance indicators for students completing each grade level. The ISTE-developed standards for preservice teachers are designed to prepare them to teach in schools helping students meet the ISTE student standards.

ISTE has worked with a number of non-IT content area standards groups to develop lesson plans that help students meet both IT and non-IT standards (International Society for Technology in Education, 2000).

ISTE’s National Educational Technology Standards

ISTE’s National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) reflect the collective research and analysis of a large number of IT education researchers and practitioners. The NETS document divides the educational technology standards into six broad domains.

Domain 1. Basic operations and concepts:

Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems.
Students are proficient in the use of technology.

Domain 2. Social, ethical and human issues:

Students understand ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to technology.
Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software.
Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.

Domain 3. Technology productivity tools:

Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing models, preparing publications, and producing other creative works.

Domain 4. Technology tools for communication:

Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.
Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences.

Domain 5. Technology tools for research:

Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.
Students use technology tools to process data and report results.
Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness to the specific tasks.

Domain 6. Technology tools for problem solving and decision making:

Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions.
Students employ technology in the development of sophisticated strategies for solving problems in the real world.

Stages of Concern and Levels of Knowledge

This section contains a 10-level scale of IT stages of concern and levels of knowledge for teachers (Moursund, 1999a). The scale is useful in helping individual teachers and the teachers in a school chart a path toward increasing IT expertise designed to help their students get a better education.

Complete Novice: I have never used a microcomputer. I don’t know how to turn one on and make it go. When the opportunity to gain such knowledge has been made available to me, I have not taken advantage of it. It may be that I have a negative attitude toward this technology.
Awareness: I have an awareness of microcomputers and other IT but I do not make personal or professional use of them. I do not engage my class or staff in discussions about IT even when I realize that this would be relevant to the topic at hand. I do not make use of IT in developing instructional materials or administrative materials. I am somewhat techno-phobic.
Informational: I have a novice level of microcomputer and other IT knowledge and skill. Although I sometimes make use of these facilities, my level of knowledge is not adequate for professional use. I lack the knowledge and skills needed to make use of IT in developing instructional or administrative materials, and in integrating use of IT into my professional work. I am concerned about gaining more general information about their potential uses in my professional work.
Personal: I am beginning to make use of microcomputers and other IT in my professional work. I am concerned about how using this technology will affect me personally in my professional career as an educator.
Time: I am concerned about the time needed to learn about and to keep up with the rapid changes in IT in education. As I continue to learn, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by how much there is to learn and how much time it takes to keep up.
Practitioner: I make quite a bit of use IT in my professional work. I routinely integrate IT into the teaching and/or administrative work that I do. I am concerned about the effects my use of microcomputers, networking, and other IT is having and should be having on students and staff, and on my professional work.
Collaboration: I occasionally help a colleague to handle an IT hardware or software problem in an informal, one-on-one setting. I share what I am learning about use of IT in teaching and in administration and I encourage my colleagues to make such uses of IT. I am concerned about doing more extensive work with my peers so that we both learn more about IT in education.
Refocusing: I am comfortable in making routine professional use of IT and in helping my colleagues to learn IT. I am concerned about learning new ways to use what I already know and about expanding my horizons. I want to help facilitate substantial changes in my department and my school.
IT Leader: I am a technology leader and high level facilitator. I routinely present talks and workshops at conferences. I am concerned about continuing to maintain and improve my leadership and professional development skills, in my school, school district, and beyond.
Educational Leader: I am an educational leader, with broad interests in how to improve our overall educational system. Although IT remains one of my primary interests in education, I am concerned about appropriate and cost-effective ways to better meet the educational needs of all students and all other stakeholders in our educational system. I have an interest in national and global educational systems. I am concerned about the complexity of educational systems and how to improve these systems.

The Importance of Professional Development

Although computers and other IT have been used in the Pre K-12 curriculum for more than 40 years, the field is still in its infancy. A satisfactory level of appropriate hardware, software, connectivity, teacher knowledge and skills, and IT-compatible curriculum, instruction, and assessment has not yet been reached in most schools. Professional development—and building on the steadily accumulating research and practitioner knowledge—are essential if IT is to achieve its potential in helping to improve our educational system

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