Applications of Information Technologies
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Appendix Appendix A Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies This appendix presents a series of case studies funded, the range of educational needs found in the exploring the applications and uses of technologies military, the uses of information technology to ad- in a variety of institutional settings. All were cho- dress these needs, and the extent to which these sen to depict current, state-of-the-art uses within programs may be applicable to the civilian educa- institutions where application has been successful. tional sector. The seven studies describing information tech- Two other sections–information technology and nology in the public schools were selected to in- special education, and information technology in clude examples from the Northeast, Midwest, the home—are also included in this appendix. Since South, West, and Far West regions of the United special education is a field, not an institution, OTA States—and to include rural, suburban, and urban did not fully explore the uses, impacts, and effects school settings. In choosing sites to visit, the of these technologies in this area. However, be- major criterion was that activities involving tech- cause the technologies will considerably affect the nology were already under way and well-estab- schools in general, OTA examined the possible ap- lished. These cases were also selected to cover a plication of these technologies for teaching the variety of instructional uses of computers; com- gifted and the handicapped. In a similar vein, OTA puter literacy, computers as instructional delivery took a broad overview of educational services that systems (CAI-CMI), and computers as tools for are now available to be delivered directly to and problem-solving. in the home. Three case studies of applications of information technologies in corporate instructional programs are presented to illustrate computer-assisted in- struction, computer-managed instruction, comput- Computers in Education: er-based simulation, video disk, and teleconferenc- Lexington Public Schools ing. The studies have been drawn from the airline, Lexington, Mass. high-technology, and tobacco products industries. Use of information and communication technol- The Computers in Education program of the ogies has affected all aspects of library services. Lexington, Mass., public schools was selected for With a broad overview of different applications study because the district is considered to be a within different types of libraries, there are exam- leader in the application of computer technology, ples of new and innovative programs that are local, with experience and expertise that spans over 15 county, statewide, and national in scope. years. Located next to Route 128, the home of a As in libraries, information technology has thousand high-technology companies, the district changed the nature of educational services pro- typifies a community where parents’ technical ex- vided by many museums. Recently, more and more pertise, leadership, and support have had a signifi- museums have been incorporating information cant impact. The Lexington experience illustrates technology, particularly computers, into both their a variety of computing applications, developed by exhibits and their educational programs. A survey individual teachers with leadership from the dis- of the uses of the technology in museums and a trict’s long-range planner and computer specialist. case study on a new childrens’ museum in Wash- The program also demonstrates a major planning ington, D. C., are included to demonstrate current effort involving teachers, administrators, and par- programs. ents. This 2-year effort has resulted in a com- All branches of the military have made substan- prehensive blueprint for computers in education tial investments in research and development that depends on the district’s continued ability to (R&D) on applications of information technology handle financial constraints (Proposition 2½) to education as well as investments in ongoing pro- through frugal budgeting, redistributing available grams utilizing these technologies. Descriptions of funds, and forming new partnerships with the some of the military’s educational programs are community (town government) and the private sec- included to illustrate the types of programs tor. 187 188 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education Fifth grade students (at left) at Fiske School, Lexington, Mass., gather about their homeroom’s computer console, linked to the Lexington School System’s mainframe Digital Equipment Corp. computer, housed at the Lexington High School. The computer is made available to all of the students in the class, much as are books, activity files, maps, records, and educational materials of all nature. Their homeroom teacher assigns students to the keyboard on a rotating basis, giving them assignments which enhance their computer literacy The Setting Lexington is also a relatively homogeneous, af- fluent, middle-class community. The school-aged Lexington, one of the suburban towns that sur- population is 95-percent white, 3-percent black, rounds Boston, is located in the heart of the and 2-percent Oriental. Seventy percent of high State’s booming high-technology area. Many of school graduates go on to a 4-year college. Lex- the Lexington parents and community members ington boasts of having the largest number of are employed by the nearby technology industries merit scholars in the area, in part because there in white-collar technical and managerial positions. are many “smart kids” in the system, but also There has been continual and strong community because “our program is rigorous and interesting. ” involvement and support for the schools, with a A total of 5,625 students are enrolled in grades tradition of community participation in town gov- K-12 in seven elementary, two junior high, and one ernance and decisionmaking. high school. Five years ago, the district, accurately Contrary to trends in other districts, 90 percent projecting serious enrollment declines, planned of Lexington parents send their school-aged chil- and prepared for significantly fewer students. dren to the public schools. Assistant Superintend- Over that period five schools were closed and 150 ent Geoff Pierson observes that the flight to pri- teaching positions were abolished, while teacher/ vate schools has not occurred because “there is student ratios were held constant and the number consensus about what the schools are doing and of instructional programs was increased. Accord- parents feel that the schools represent their chil- ing to Superintendent John Lawson, declining en- dren’s interests. ” rollments, continuing inflation, and the passage of App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 189 Proposition 2½, resulted in the allocation of fewer tions—e.g., budgeting, accounting, scheduling, at- resources to the public sector. tendance, and student and personnel data. Project However, Lawson states that the school admin- funds also supported the purchase of a DEC PDP istration and the school committee have avoided 11/40 and peripheral hardware. Shortly, this serious problems by planning carefully and spend- system was also used to support instructional ac- ing frugally, “In an era of limited resources we tivities at the secondary schools—primarily in have had to develop better priorities, monitor our math and science, but also in other areas. successes, and determine where we want to go Parents soon began to push for computer use in next. ” Not all parents and staff have been happy the elementary schools, locating unused terminals with the budget decisions and allocation of re- at work, donating personally owned equipment, sources, but they agree that Lexington has fared and helping the schools get the hardware installed. better than other districts in the State. There is In addition, parents and math specialists trained consensus that the over $17 million 1981-82 budg- teachers, Because teacher acceptance and use of et, with a $3,024 per pupil expenditure, supports computers was minimal, parents took over opera- a comprehensive, high-quality educational pro- tion of the terminals and trained additional parent gram. volunteers to enable pupils at all elementary schools to participate, These computer activities Computer Applications in continue to build general computer awareness and the District comfort and to engage students in problem-solving activities, drills, and games. When microcomput- The district’s first computer, a Digital Equip- ers came on the market, the Lexington computer ment Corp. PDP-8 with 14 terminals, was pur- activitists were ready to move. chased with Federal funds by the mathematics de- The first four Commodore PET microcomputers partment in 1965. Math-related computer courses were purchased with discretionary funds in 1978, were first offered to high school students, and a and a half-time position for a computer specialist year later to junior high school students. As teach- was created. A year later, an additional 35 PET’s ers and students became involved, interested par- were purchased with Federal Title IVB funds and ents worked with them to develop software, to ex- PTA gifts. At the beginning of the 1978 school pand programing skills, and to train others. year, workshops were offered to reach all teachers Spearheading all of the computer activities, to integrate them into instruction. The plan was Walter Koetke, computer coordinator (no longer to diffuse computers among the schools.