What is the role of technology in education? Does the
integration of technology, through initiatives like blended learning programs, into
the everyday teaching and learning practice consistently improve education outcomes?
This all important question has been chronicled broadly and furiously
debated. Viewpoints vary widely with numerous published reports detailing the introduction
of technology into the education environment and its impact on learning
outcomes.
The conclusion: The data is all over the board!
There have been several stories published that support the
correlation of improved test scores and increased graduation rates to the introduction
of technology into the learning environment, while other reports telling the story
of programs that had a negligible effect on these key metrics. Additional headline
grabbing articles in the press told of multi-million dollar investments in
technology, mostly for one-to-one programs, that endured challenges and fell
flat (here and here).
The programs that haven’t made the grade share a common set
of hurdles that can often be attributed to one or more of the following
shortcomings:
- An incomplete strategy
- Poor stakeholder buy-in, and
- Overall poor execution
- Sound in strategy
- Gained system wide buy-in, and
- Benefited from excellent planning and strong execution
Benefiting from the application of the learnings provided
by the early one-to-one learning programs and with the improvement
opportunities the passing of time has allowed, the education industry has progressed
up the overall blended learning maturity curve. As a result, select examples (here and here)
of recent one blended learning initiatives, have improved. But we are still not
uniformly where we need to be.
A meaningful conclusion can be drawn from the decidedly
different outcomes the programs referenced above achieved. In the successful
programs, educators used technology as a tool as a component of broad initiative
to enable the blended learning approach. They didn't just port their content
online and continue teaching as they've always done. They fundamentally changed
the method of teaching, their learning practice, to afford each student a more personalized
learning experience. By integrating technology into the overall learning
experience, it has allowed students to self-determine the pace, place and have
flexibility when they learn so they can achieve and demonstrate mastery of academic
standards on their schedule. The blunt force application of technology without
changing the teaching and learning practice can’t paper over, or create a fast
track to achieving the desired, or using a more appropriate word, needed outcomes.
Unfortunately, much of spend in education that has been
directed at classroom technology in the past didn't always involve changing the
practice. It was put into the environment and often just used as a different
medium to teach the same as was done in the past. For example, interactive
white boards were being placed in classrooms en masse 5 to 10 years ago, but
most often they just ended up replacing the old chalkboard instead of
encouraging student engagement. Early laptop programs, where machines were put
into student’s hands with the hope of improving collaboration and blended
learning experience, often ended up being used as expensive digital readers for
e-textbooks. The chart below, provided below by the Cato Institute, highlights the
historic disconnect between the hope of technology in classrooms driving improved
outcomes and reality of technology usage without an accompanying change in learning
practice. As can be seen in Figure 1, total spend on a student throughout his
or her K-12 education has nearly tripled (adjusted for inflation), up 288%,
from 1970 to 2010 as standardized test scores were flat for reading and math
and actually marginally lower when it comes to science scores.
Figure 1. Trends in American Public Schooling Since 1970. http://www.cato.org/blog/new-naep-scores-extend-dismal-trend-us-education-productivity
The U.S. education system needs to produce productive 21st
century citizens who are college and career ready as well as technologically proficient.
To accomplish this goal, a holistic approach to planning and implementation
needs to be followed. A recommended
framework to help guide educators and administrators plan for the adoption of blended
learning programs is listed below:
Solicit inputs, in a public forum, from all
stakeholders (students, teachers, administrators, community, IT) regarding
expectation and concerns regarding the implementation of a blended learning
program. Talk about the vision and objectives and the role of each participant.Formulate a strategic plan that captures the
specific objectives of the program and the framework to achieve those
objectives.
- Socialize the plan to all stakeholders. Be open to change and adjustments based on further input.
- Identify the overall program leader who has decision making authority to assign the resources to be successful. Recruit a champion or leader from each stakeholder group to be part of the leadership team.
- Identify and establish targets for key metrics that will be used to measure success.
- Don’t be afraid to make some mid-course corrections. If something isn’t working and a better path is identified, gather consensus and make the change
- Over communicate status, issues, concerns to all stakeholders. This is a system change and everyone needs to have access to information, and a path to provide inputs, so they are continually engaged.
- Form communities to help leverage the experience and work of others. Community types may include:
- A network of educational institutions that share common goals,
- Educator communities to share best practices, digital resources, learning objects
- Student communities to share resources, peer reviews, discussion forums
- Parent communities to share thoughts and ideas
- Any other stakeholder group where communication and sharing will help!
