Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

November 1982

NTIS order #PB83-174664 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 82-600608

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 Foreword

Over the last decade, American education has come to face a number of new demands that must be met with limited resources. Many of these new demands arise from the rising dependence of our society on technology as a basis for domestic economic growth, international competitiveness, and national security. In October 1980, the House Committee on Education and Labor, its Subcommittee on Special Education, and the Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Technology of the House Committee on Science and Technology asked OTA to examine the extent to which information technology could serve American needs for education and training. This report documents two basic sets of conclusions: 1. The so-called information revolution, driven by rapid advances in communication and computer technology, is profoundly affecting American education. It is changing the nature of what needs to be learned, who needs to learn it, who will provide it, and how it will be provided and paid for. 2. Information technology can potentially improve and enrich the educational services that traditional educational institutions provide, distribute education and training into new environments such as the home and office, reach new clients such as handicapped or homebound persons, and teach job-related skills in the use of technology. The OTA report provides an overview of the issues relating to the educational applications of the new information technologies. It examines both the demands that the information revolution will make on education and the opportunities afforded by the new information technologies to meet those demands. Rather than focusing on a single technology, it examines a wide variety of new information products and services such as those based on the combined capabilities of computers, telecommunications systems, and video technologies. Similarly, the report surveys a broad range of educational providers, and examines how the application of information technologies may affect their abilities to provide education and their respective educational roles. OTA acknowledges with thanks and appreciation the advice and counsel of the panel members, contractors, other agencies of Government, and individual participants who helped bring the study to completion.

///. . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education Advisory Panel

Willis Adcock Robert Hoye Assistant Vice President Director, Instructional Technology Texas Instruments Inc. University of Louisville Joel N. Bloom Judith Lozano Director Superintendent of Southside School District Franklin Institute San Antonio, Tex. Science Museum and Planetarium Maurice Mitchell Colleen Cayton Chairman of the Board Maxima Corp. National Public Radio Robert L. Chartrand Sarah Resnick Congressional Research Service President Media Systems Corp. Mark Curtis President Vic Walling Association of American Colleges Stanford Research Institute L. Linton Deck Nellouise Watkins Fairfax County Schools (Virginia) Director, Computer Center Bennett College Sam Gibbon Bank Street College Joe Wyatt Vice President for Administration Harold Howe, 11 Harvard University Harvard Graduate School of Education Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education Project Staff

John Andelin, Assistant Director, OTA Science, Information, and Natural Resources Division

Stephen E. Doyle* and Sam Hale,** Interim Program Manager Communication and Information Technologies Program

Fred W. Weingarten, Project Director Prudence S. Adler, Assistant Project Director*** Dorothy Linda Garcia, Analyst Beth A. Brown, In-House Consultant Susan F. Cohen, Congressional Fellow Linda G. Roberts, Consultant (Senior Associate, Department of Education on detail) Elizabeth Emanuel, Administrative Assistant Shirley Gayheart, Secretary

Teresa Richroath, Secretary Jeanette Contee, Wordprocessor

Contractors Christopher Dede, University of Houston Beverly Hunter, Brian K. Waters, and Janice H. Laurence, Human Resources Research Organization Sharon Lansing, Consultant Kathryn M. White, Editor, Writer Renee G. Ford, Tifford Producers, Ltd., Editor, Writer Deeana Nash, Collingwood Associates

OTA Publishing Staff

John C. Holmes, Publishing Officer John Bergling Kathie S. Boss Debra M. Datcher Joe Henson Doreen Cullen Donna Young

v Acknowledgments

The following individuals contributed as contractors or reviewers during the course of this study.

Richard Ballard, TALMIS Corp. Paul Larkin, Prince Georges Community College Charles Benton, Films Inc. Joe Lipson, WICAT George Blank, Creative Computing Tom Loftis, Office of Personnel Management Robert C. Bowen, McGraw-Hill Book Co. Arthur Melmed, Department of Education Dee Brock, Public Broadcasting Service Andy Molnar, National Science Foundation John Cameron, Department of Commerce Richard B. Otte, National Institute of Education Sylvania Charp, School District of Philadelphia Richard Robinson, Scholastic, Inc. Richard Diem, University of Texas at Worth Scanland, U.S. Navy San Antonio Patsy Vyner, Close Up Foundation Seymour Eskow, Rockland Community College Fred Wood, Department of Agriculture Albert Goldberg, WCISD Andy Zucker, Department of Education Jim Johnson, University of Iowa Valerie Klansek, Upper Midwest Region Resource Center

Photo Credits

All photographs by Ted Spiegel, @1982, except for the following: Pages 17 and 31–IBM Corp. Page 36 (unnumbered) —National Science Foundation Page 150 (unnumbered) –U.S. Department of Agriculture Contents

Chapter Page Chapter Page I. Summary ...... 3 Videotex and Teletext ...... 49 Background ...... 3 Information Networks ...... 50 Findings ...... 4 Electronic Conferencing ...... 51 The Information Society...... 5 Advanced Business Services ...... 52 Role of Information ...... 5 5. Educational Uses of Information Information Technologies ...... 6 Technology ...... 55 Impacts on Institutions ...... 7 Findings ...... 55 New Needs for Education and Functions of Educational Technology, . 55 Training ...... 8 Passive Instruction ...... 55 Case Studies on Information Interactive Instruction ...... 56 Technology, ..,...,...... 8 Learning Environments ...... 58 Potential Technological Solutions . . . 9 Information Resource ...... 59 Policy Issues and Options ...... 10 Administration and Instruction Issues. ...,..,...,...... 10 Management ...... 60 Options for Federal Action ...... 11 Distribute Education ...... 60 2. The United States as an Information Testing and Diagnosis...... 62 Society ...... 15 Capabilities of Educational Technology 62 Findings ...... 15 Cost and Effectiveness ...... 63 Economic and Societal Impacts of 6. The Provision of Education in the Information Technology...... 16 United States ...... 67 Changing Economic Base of the Nation 19 Findings ...... 67 Social Change and Education in 3. Implications for Economic Growth America ...... 67 and Human Capital...... 25 Findings ...... 25 Elementary and Secondary Education . 70 Public Schools. ..,...... 70 Knowledge and Growth ...... 25 Education and Growth ...... 27 Status of the American Public School System ...... 71 Human Capital Theory ...... 28 Future of the American Public Need for Technical Education ...... 29 Information Literacy...... 29 School System ...... 72 Private Alternatives to Public Information Professionals ...... 32 Information Scientists ...... 34 Schools ...... 74 University and the Four-Year Colleges, 78 4. Trends in Information Technology . . . . . 37 Public Role of Higher Education, . . . 78 Findings ..., ...... 37 Status of American Colleges and Communications...... 37 Universities ...... 80 Cable ...... 38 Two-Year and Community Colleges. . . . 83 Satellite Communication . . . . .,...... 38 Proprietary Education...... 85 Digital Telephone Network...... 39 Status of Proprietary Schools . . . . 85 Local Distribution Networks ...... 40 Characteristics of Proprietary New Broadcast Technologies ...... 41 Schools ...... 87 Direct Broadcast Satellite...... 41 Markets Served by Proprietary Low-Power Broadcast ...... 41 Schools ...... 88 Computers ...... 42 Applications of Information Desktop Computers ...... 43 Technology in Proprietary Hand-Held Computers ...... 44 Education ...... 90 Human Interface ...... 45 Future Uses ...... 91 Storage Technology ...... 46 Future Uses by Other Industry Video Technology ...... 47 Segments ...... 92 Video Cassette Recorders ...... 47 Education in the Home...... 92 Improved Quality ...... 47 Status of Education in the Home . . 92 Filmless Camera ...... ,...... 47 Libraries ...... 94 Video Disk...... 47 Education in the Library ...... 95 Information Services ...... 48 Status of Libraries ...... 95

vii Contents—Continued

Chapter Page Chapter Page Museums...... 97 Case Study 1: Children’s Television Museum Education ...... 97 Workshop ...... 126 Status of Museums ...... 98 Case Study 2: Development, Business and Labor ...... 99 Production, and Marketing of Role of Education in the Workplace . 100 PLATO ...... 128 Industry-Based Training and Case Study 3: Computer Curriculum Education...... 100 Corporation ...... 133 Trend Toward Decentralized Case Study 4: CONDUIT ...... 135 Instruction...... 101 Training: Investment. Expense. . . . 102 Relationship With Local Educational 8. Conditions That May Affect the Institutions and Industry- Further Application of Information SponsoredEducational Institutions 102 Technology in Education ...... 141 Information Technology in Corporate Available Data on Educational Instruction...... 102 Applications...... 141 Factors That May Affect Microcomputers and Terminals Disk . 141 Instructional Use of Technology . . . 103 Videocassette Recorders and Video Implications ...... 105 Cassette Recorders and Videodisk 143 Union-Sponsored Training and Climate for Use of Information Education...... 105 Technology in the Schools...... 143 Education Programs ...... 105 Hardware and Educational Software Other Types of Instructional Vendors: Views of the Education Programs ...... 106 Market ...... 145 Information Technology inUnion- Conditions Affecting Commercial SponsoredInstruction ...... 107 Courseware Development ...... 146 Summary of Current Conditions ...... 147 7. State of Research and Development in Educational Technology . :...... 111 Findings ...... 111 9. Federal Role in Education ...... 151 Introduction and Background ...... 111 Education Legislation ...... 151 Changing R&D Climate ...... 113 The Early Years: 1642-1860 ...... 151 Federal Funding...... 114 The Years 1860-1930 ...... 152 Private Funding...... 114 The Expanding Federal Role: Federal Commitment to Educational 1950-1970’s ...... 154 Technology R&D, Fiscal Year 1982 116 The Courts and Education ...... 157 Discontinued and Consolidated Federal Role in Museums ...... 160 Projects ...... 118 Federal Role in Libraries ...... 160 Continuing Projects...... 119 Effect of Federal Telecommunication New Grants for Fiscal Year 1982 . . . . . 121 Regulation and Legislation on Federal Support for Educational Education...... 161 Research Laboratories ...... 122 Governmental Control of Educational Technology R&D Support Telecommunication...... 161 by Other Nations ...... 122 Governmental Control of Education . 161 France ...... 123 The Federal Communication European Commission ...... 123 Commission and Educational United Kingdom ...... 123 Telecommunication Services ...... 162 Implications of the Present Federal Instructional Television Fixed Role in Educational Technology Services ...... 163 R&D ...... 124 The Public Broadcasting Service . . . . 164 Present and Future Support for Low Power Television and Direct Educational Technology R&D . . . . . 125 Broadcast Satellites ...... 164 Case Studies of Landmark R&D Cable Television ...... 164 Dissemination Efforts in Telecommunication Legislation and Educational Technology ...... 126 Educational Services ...... 165

. . . Vlll Contents—Continued

Chapter Page Table No. Page The Protection of Information Index ...... 263 Software: An Overview ...... 166 Types of Software ...... 166 Legal Protection for Software . . . . . 167 Legal Protection: Issues and TABLES Educational Options...... 172 Appendix ...... 174 Table No. Page l. Percentage Share of the U.S. 10. Implications for Policy ...... 177 Economy-by Sector ..., ., ...... 20 Arguments for Federal Action. ..., . . . 177 2. Some Representative Growth Figures Arguments Against Federal Action . . . 178 for the Information Industry...... 21 Congressional Options...... 179 3. Percentage Employment in the Option 1: Subsidize Hardware . . . . . 179 Business Sector by Sex and Years Option 2: Subsidize Software . . 180 of Education Completed ...... 27 Option 3: Assume a Leadership Role. 180 4, Unemployment Rates by Sex and Option 4: Incorporate Technology Number of Years of Education Initiatives in General Education Completed ...... 28 Policy ...... 181 5. Achievement Test Score Averages, Appendix A—Case Studies: Applications 1972-79 ...... 31 of Information Technologies...... 187 6. Requirements for Computer Specialists 32 Computers in Education: Lexington 7. Percentages of Engineering Graduates Public Schools, Lexington, Mass. 187 and Trends in Shares of World Trade 34 Computer-Using Educators and 8. The Growth of Cable Television in the Computer Literacy Programs In United States...... 38 Novato and Cupertino ...... 194 9. Projected Demand for Satellite Novato Unified School District, Communications in Number of Novato, Calif ...... 197 Transponders ...... 38 Cupertino Union School District, 10. Chief Characteristics of Voice v. Data Cupertino, Calif ...... 200 Communication ...... 40 Technology Education and Training, 11. U.S. Installed Base of Personnel Oxford Public Schools, Computers by Market Sector 44 Oxford, Mass...... 203 12. Micros in Schools ...... 44 Computer Literacy Program: Lyons 13. Number of Public Elementary/ Township Secondary School Secondary Schools and Estimated District, LaGrange, Ill, ...... 209 Percentage Distribution, By Level of Minnesota Schools and the Minnesota Instruction and Grade Span Served: Educational Computing School Year 1978-79 ...... 71 Consortium ...... 214 14. Revenue and Nonrevenue Receipts of MECC: A State Computing Agency . . . 214 Public Elementary and Secondary Instructional Computing, Houston Schools, By Source, 1977-78 ...... 72 Independent School District, 15. Number of Postsecondary Schools Houston, Tex...... 221 With Occupational Programs, By Information Technology and Control and By Type of School Education in the State of Alaska . 227 Aggregate United States, 1980...... 86 EDUCOM ...... 233 16, Number of Postsecondary Schools Industry-Based Training and With Occupational Programs, By Education Programs...... 235 Control and By Type of School Information Technology and Libraries . 237 Aggregate United States, 1980.., . . . . 87 Museums...... 242 17. Percent Distribution of Men and Military Uses of Information Women by Control of School ...... 89 Technology...... 245 18. Department of Defense Training and Direct to the Home ...... 252 Personnel Systems Technology R&D Information Technology and Special Program Elements and Funding Education...... 256 Levels–Fiscal Year 1981-82 ...... 116

ix Contents—Continued

Table No. Page Table No. Page 19. Training and Personnel Systems A-2. Five-Year Breakdown of Computer Technology R&D Program: Selected Hardware Costs ...... 210 Project Topics—Fiscal Year 1981 -82... 117 A-3. Advantages of On-Line Services . . . . . 240 20. National Science Foundation R&D A-4. Number of Students and Cost of Budget, Fiscal Year 1982 for Selected Various Types of Individual Training Program Areas ...... 117 Fiscal Year 1982 ...... 247 21. Department of Education R&D A-5. Cost of R&D in Training and Budget, Fiscal Year 1982 for Selected Personnel Systems Technology, in Program Areas ...... 118 Thousands of Dollars, Fiscal Year 22. Department of Defense R&D Budget, 1982 ...... 247 Fiscal Year 1982 for Selected Divisions 118 A-6. Number of Ongoing Instructional 23. Projected Federal Expenditures for Technology R&D Work Units By Educational Technology R&D, Fiscal Service and Department of Defense Year 1982 ...... 118 Total, April 1981 ...... 247 24. Continuation Grants for Educational A-7. Summary of Military Video Disk Technology R&D, Fiscal Year 1982 . . . 120 Projects ...... 252 25. New Grants for Educational Technology R&D, Fiscal Year 1982 . . . 121 26. Federal R&D Funding for Educational FIGURES Technology Fiscal Year 1982 By Type Figure No. Page of Technology ...... , , . . . . . 122 1. Shifts in Employment...... 30 27. Public School Districts Providing 2. Installed Base Micros Total Universe Students Access to at Least One and School Installed ...... 44 Computer for Educational Purposes: 3. Quality of the Public Schools: Opinions United States, 1980 ...... 142 of Parents With Public School 28. Availability of Computers Within Children ...... 73 Districts: United States, Fall 1980 . . . . 142 4. Secondary Schools Providing Special 29. Total Shipments of Microcomputers in Programs ...... , ... , ...... 75 Public and Private Schools Operating 5. Private Elementary/Secondary School on the Elementary, Secondary, and Tuition and Fees by Family Income Postsecondary Levels and Forecasts Racial/Ethnic Group ...... 76 of Courseware Sales ...... 143 A-1. Software Development Model ...... 212 30. The Educational Courseware Industry . 144 A-2. MECC Timesharing System Port 31. What Are the Industries Competing Distribution by User System, 1975-81 217 for Business ...... 146 A-3. Sample “Fail Safe” Parent Letter. . . . 224 A-1. Sources of Funds for Computer A-4. Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Mean Hardware and Software, 1980-81 . . . . 207 Composite Scores, HISD, 1971-81 . . . 225 Chapter 1 Summary Information technology Is proving to be invaluable to people of all ages Chapter 1 Summary

Modern society is undergoing profound large degree, by these technological develop- technological and social changes brought ments, they must adapt through education about by what has been called the information and training. Already there is evidence of revolution. This revolution is characterized by demands for new types of education and train- explosive developments in electronic informa- ing, and of new institutions emerging to fill tion technologies and by their integration into these demands. The historical relationship be- complex information systems that span the tween education and Government will be af- globe. The impacts of this revolution affect in- fected by the role that Government plays in dividuals, institutions, and governments–al- enabling educational institutions to respond tering what they do, how they do it, and how to the changes created by these technologies. they relate to one another. If individuals are to thrive economically and socially in a world that will be shaped, to a

Background

Historically, the Federal Government’s interest in educational technology has been spo- radic—rising as some promising new technology appeared and falling as that technology failed to achieve its promise. Attention was focused, moreover, on the technology itself and not on the broader educational environment in which it was to be used. In the late 1960’s, for example, the Federal Government funded a number of research and development (R&D) projects in the use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI). Interest in the projects waned, however, given the high costs of hardware and curricula and the failure to integrate computer-based teaching methods into the institutional structure of the school. Over the last decade, Federal funding for R&D in educational information technology has dropped precipitously. At the same time, development and applications of information technology have advanced rapidly in many sectors. Public schools, beset by problems that such technology might mitigate, have lagged behind in adapting to technological changes. In view of this situation, OTA was asked in October 1980 to reexamine the potential role of new information technology in education.

3 4 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education —

The assessment was initiated at the request clude communication systems such as direct of: 1) the Subcommittee on Select Education broadcast satellite, two-way interactive cable, of the House Committee on Education and low-power broadcasting, computers (including Labor; and 2) the House Subcommittee on Sci- personal computers and the new hand-held ence, Research, and Technology of the Com- computers), and television (including video mittee on Science and Technology. disks and video tape cassettes). This report examines both the demands the The assessment was premised on three ini- information revolution will make on education tial observations and assumptions: and the opportunities afforded to respond to The United States is undergoing an infor- those demands. Included in its scope are a mation revolution, as documented in an survey of the major providers of education and OTA assessment, Computer-Based Na- training, both traditional and new, and an ex- tional Information Systems. amination of their changing roles. The full There is a public perception that the pub- range of new information products and serv- lic schools are “in trouble,” and are not ices rather than any single technology is exam- responding well to the normal educational ined, since the major impact on education will demands being placed on them. Public most likely stem from the integration of these schools in many parts of the country are technologies into instructional systems. faced with severe economic problems in For this report OTA has defined education the form of rapidly rising costs and re- to include programs provided through a vari- duced taxpayer support. These pressures ety of institutions and in a variety of settings, are forcing a new search for ways to im- including public schools; private, nonprofit in- prove the productivity and effectiveness stitutions that operate on the elementary, sec- of schooling. ondary, and postsecondary levels; proprietary A host of new information technology schools; training and education by industry products and services that appeared capa- and labor unions; instruction through the mili- ble of fulfilling the educational promises tary; and services provided through libraries anticipated earlier are entering the mar- and museums or delivered directly to the ketplace with affordably low cost and home. Information technology is defined to in- easy accessibility.

Findings OTA found that the real situation is far ● Information technology is already begin- more complex than assumed above. In sum- ning to play an important role in provid- mary, the assessment’s findings are: ing education and training in some sec- The growing use of information technol- tors. ogy throughout society is creating major ● Information technology holds significant new demands for education and training promise as a mechanism for responding in the United States and is increasing the to the education and training needs of so- potential economic and social penalty for ciety, and it will likely become a major not responding to those demands. vehicle for doing so in the next few dec- The information revolution is creating ades. new stresses on many societal institu- ● Much remains to be learned about the tions, particularly those such as public educational and psychological effects of schools and libraries that traditionally technological approaches to instruction. have borne the major responsibility for Not enough experience has been gained providing education and other public in- with the new information technology to formation services. determine completely how that technol- Ch. l—Summary ● 5 .— —

ogy can most benefit learners or to predict major national effort, whether federally possible negative effects of its use. Given inspired or not, to introduce these new this insufficient experience, caution technologies into education. should be exercised in undertaking any

The Information Society

Role of Information manufacturing, and service—some now have begun to define and explore a fourth, the infor- For the foreseeable future, information tech- mation sector. One analysis has shown that nology will continue to undergo revolutionary this new sector, if defined broadly, already ac- changes. The microprocessor-an inexpensive, counts for over 60 percent of the economic ac- mass-produced computer on a chip-will be- tivity of the United States. come ubiquitous in the home and office—not only in the easily identifiable form of the per- Many firms involved directly with informa- sonal computer or word processor, but also as tion are large and growing. Two of the largest a component of numerous other products, corporations in the world, AT&T and IBM, from automobiles to washing machines and principally manufacture information products thermostats. High-speed, low-cost communication links will be available in such forms as two-way interactive cable, direct broadcast from satellites, and computer-enhanced telephone networks. New video technologies such as video disks and high-resolution television will be available. These technologies will be integrated to form new and unexpected types of information products and services, such as videotex and on-line information retrieval systems that can be provided over telephone or air waves directly to the home. It is impossible to predict which of these technologies and services will succeed in the competition for consumer dollars, or which will appeal to particular markets. It is, however, reasonable to conclude that they will radical- ly affect many aspects of the way society generates, obtains, uses, and disseminates information in work and leisure. The growing importance of information itself drives and is driven by these rapid technological changes. Until a few decades ago, the information industry—that industry directly involved with producing and selling information and information technology-was relatively small in economic terms. It is now becoming a major component of the U.S. economy. While most economists still talk about Personal-type computers are used for instruction in many the traditional economic sectors—extractive, classrooms throughout the Nation 6 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

and provide information services. Moreover, Digital Telephone Network.—The shift to business in general is beginning to treat infor- digital transmission will allow telephone lines mation as a factor of production that takes its to carry more information at higher speed and place beside the conventional factors of land, with greater accuracy, providing better link- labor, and capital. In addition, the Govern- age of information between computer termi- ment is beginning to treat information as an nals. important element of national security. While defense officials have always been concerned Broadcast Technologies.—Some distribu- about the disclosure of military information— tion technologies in the entertainment market such as troop movements or weapons design may also have important potential educational —they are now also concerned about the inter- uses. For one, the direct broadcast satellite can national leakage of more general U.S. scientif- transmit a program directly to a home or of- ic and technical information that other coun- fice, bypassing a cable system. For another, tries could conceivably use to pursue economic low-power stations, which restrict transmis- or military goals that are in contrast to our sion to a limited geographical range, provide own. a low entry cost to licensees and are subject to less regulation than are traditional broad- In addition to serving as an economic good, cast stations. access to information is becoming increasingly important for individuals to function in soci- Computers. —The design and uses of com- ety effectively as citizens, consumers, and par- puters have advanced to the point where there ticipants in political processes. Relations with is now a mass consumer market for computers government at all levels are becoming more and computer software. Moreover, networks complex—whether they involve dealing with that link privately owned computers have ex- the Internal Revenue Service, applying for panded access to information. Desktop com- social benefits and services, or seeking protec- puters are becoming more common in the tion from real or perceived bureaucratic abuse. home, the small business, and formal educa- Individuals are confronted with the need to tional settings. The use of hand-held com- evaluate more sophisticated choices and to puters, cheaper and more portable than desk- understand their rights and responsibilities top computers, has also increased. Along with under the laws and regulations intended to computer development have come advances in protect them in the marketplace. the interface between humans and computers —input/output technology. Input technology Information Technologies is the process of putting information into the computer—either by typing it, speaking to the The rapid evolution of the following tech- computer, or showing the computer pictures. nologies in the last few decades has shaped the Developments in output technology are occur- information revolution: ring in the areas of low-cost printers, graphics Cable.–Cable systems–wherein data and (particularly color graphics), and voice. programs are transmitted over a wire rather than through airwaves-are growing rapidly. Storage Technology. —Data programs are The newer systems offer more channels, and stored on a variety of media for use in the com- some offer two-way communication. puter: silicon chips, floppy disks, and hard disks. Improvements are being made in such Satellite Communication.—Satellites have technology for both large and small comput- stimulated development of new types of tele- ers. vision networks to serve cable subscribers and earth station owners with specialized program- Video Technology.–Significant developing. ments in several areas of video technology are Ch. l—Summary ● 7 likely in this decade. Video cassette recorders Banks, on the other hand, are beginning to are already important consumer devices. The compete with computer service bureaus in pro- filmless camera, which combines video and viding more general on-line information serv- computer technology to “write” a picture on ices to businesses and homes. a very small, reusable floppy disk, may soon The U.S. Postal Service, along with Con- be available. gress and a variety of Federal executive and Video Disks.— Resembling a phonograph regulatory agencies, is considering the degree record, a disk that stores television program- to which it should compete with private tele- ing is of considerable interest to educators. It communications firms in the provision of elec- is durable, inexpensive to produce, and capable tronic mail services. Large computer firms of storing a large amount of data and pro- such as IBM are moving toward direct com- grams. petition with traditional telecommunication common carriers such as AT&T for the provi- Information Services. -Several of the afore- sion of information. Telephone companies may mentioned information technologies are now offer “electronic yellow pages” that could rival being integrated to provide new types of serv- the classified advertising business of news- ices. For example, several countries now use papers. the existing television broadcast medium to bring information services to homes and of- Those institutions principally concerned fices. Using a teletext system, the user can with the collection, storage, or transfer of in- select a page for special viewing as it is transformation will feel the greatest effects. They mitted in segments over the air. In a videotex include both private sector firms—in fields system the user can preselect a page from the such as publishing, entertainment, and com- central system for immediate viewing. Close- munications—and public or nonprofit organi- ly related to videotex are the information net- zations such as libraries, museums, and works that provide owners of desktop com- schools. How they handle their product—in- puters and terminals with access to computer formation–may differ from the handling of and data services and to one another over com- tangible goods by other institutions because munication networks. Through electronic con- information has characteristics that differen- ferencing, geographically separated individu- tiate it from tangible goods. For example, in- als can participate in meetings. Variations information can be reproduced easily and rela- clude audio conferencing, which uses telephone tively inexpensively. It can be transported in- lines; video conferencing, which supplements stantly worldwide and presumably can be the voice connection with television images; transferred without affecting its original own- and computer conferencing, which involves ership. Thus, copyright or other forms of pro- transmitting messages through a central com- tection for intellectual property—data bases, puter that then distributes them as requested. programs, or chip designs-is important to the growth of the information industry. Impacts on Institutions While the business of selling information Impacts from the information revolution are has always existed in some form–e.g., book being felt by government at all levels and by publishing, newspapers, or broadcasting–the the military, industry, labor unions, and non- growth of this sector and its movement into profit service institutions. Traditional services electronic forms of publishing will create con- provided by these institutions now overlap in flicts with traditional societal attitudes about new ways and offer a wide variety of new serv- information. The concept of information as a ices based on information technology. For ex- public good whose free exchange is basic to ample, firms as diverse as investment houses the functioning of society is inherent in the and retail stores now compete with banks by first amendment to the Constitution and un- providing a variety of financial services. derlies the establishment of public libraries

l– 8 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education and schools. This concept conflicts with the the service professions, such as law and med- market view of information, which recognizes icine, will be transformed. that there are inherent costs in the provision While some sociologists suggest that the ef- of information. Adopting new information fect will be to “deskill” labor by lowering the technologies will entail extra costs that must skill requirements for workers, more anticipate be borne somehow by the users of those tech- that a greater premium will be placed on lit- nologies. eracy, particularly technological and informa- The conflict between the view of information tion literacy. The latter argue that an increas- as a market good and the view of it as a “pub- ing number of jobs will be in the information lic good” affects public institutions in a num- sector or will require the use of information ber of ways. Public nonprofit institutions find systems. Moreover, new forms of production themselves increasingly in competition with and information handling will create new jobs private profitmaking firms that offer the same requiring new skills. Vocational education and or similar services. Institutions such as librar- industrial training programs will be needed to ies, schools, and museums are beginning to feel teach the skills for jobs such as robot mainte- pressure to incorporate both nonprofit and in- nance or word processing. come-generating offerings in their own mix of An advanced information society will place services. To the extent that previously free or a premium on skills oriented toward the crea- very low-cost and widely available information tion of new knowledge and the design of new services such as education move into the pri- technologies. Thus, while there is some current vate marketplace, access to them may become debate about a possible surplus of college limited, either because of their cost or because graduates, generally speaking many experts of their restricted technological availability. see a growing gap between the demand and Periodicals previously available at news- supply of graduates in engineering and sci- stands, for example, may be available in the ence, and particularly in computer engineer- future only via computer or video disk. ing and science. New Needs for Education A key element in all of these educational and Training needs is that they will constantly change. In a rapidly advancing technological society, it The information revolution places new de- is unlikely that the skills and information base mands on individuals, changing what they needed for initial employment will be those must know and what skills they must have to needed for the same job a few years later. Life- participate fully in modem society. It may also long retraining is expected to become the norm be increasing the social and economic prices for many people. that will be paid by those who do not adapt to technological changes. For instance, Case Studies on Information spurred by increasing domestic and interna- Technology tional economic competition, U.S. industry is expected to adopt computer-based automation In addition to using existing information for in a major way. Computer-aided design, robot- this assessment, OTA undertook case studies ics, and other new computer-based manufac- designed to gain insights into the successful turing technologies will, within the next application of information technology in edu- decade, transform the way goods are manu- cation. Accordingly, OTA examined well- factured. Automation will not be restricted to established programs in public school sys- the factory, however. Office automation will, tems, industries, libraries, museums, the mili- according to some, have an even more revolu- tary, special education, and direct to the home tionary effect on management and on clerical markets nationwide. These case studies are work in business. Over the longer term, even presented in the appendix. Many of the find- ——.

Ch. l—Summary ● 9 ings presented in this assessment reflect ob- formation technology to improve the ability servations made in these studies. The most of foreign students and the physically and important of these observations is that infor- mentally handicapped to communicate. mation technologies can be most effectively applied to tasks when they are well integrated Some experts suggest that the use of com- in their institutional environments. puters by students teaches them new ways of thinking and new ways of solving problems that may be more appropriate in an information age. They suggest that a generation that Potential Technological Solutions grows up with computers will have a signifi- OTA found little evidence of current hard- cant intellectual advantage over one that does ware limitations that would limit the applica- not. Many educators criticize such a view as bility of technology to education and, hence, being too technology-centered. At the very call for major research efforts. Continuing least one can predict, however, that computer research in the general fields of computer and computer-based information services will science and engineering, coupled with innova- be ubiquitous by the next century, and that tive private sector development will provide learning how to use them effectively is a basic the necessary hardware base. The only excep- skill that will be required for many and per- tion is the area of technology for the handi- haps most jobs. (In response to this view of capped, where it is not clear that the opportu- future skill requirements, many schools have nities for developing specialized technology placed a high priority on computer literacy as could be met without some Federal support the first instructional use of the computer.) for R&D. There does appear to be a need, how- Although experience with educational tech- ever, for R&D focused on developing new technologies has demonstrated that they offer a niques and tools for software development, variety of potential benefits, it has also dem- human/machine interface, and improving the onstrated that technology cannot, by itself, understanding of cognitive learning processes. provide solutions to all educational problems, If properly employed, information technol- nor should it be imposed on an educational ogy has certain characteristics that suggest system without sensitivity to institutional and it will be invaluable for education. For one, in- societal barriers that could prevent the realiza- formation technology may be the only feasi- tion of educational benefits. These barriers in- ble way to supplement teaching capability in clude: schools faced with reduced teaching staffs and larger class sizes. For another, information Institutional Barriers.--New educational technology is capable of distributing education technology must be designed for ease of inte- and training, both geographically and over gration into the schools and other educational time. Services can be provided in the home, institutions that will use it. Some adaptations at work, in a hospital, or in any other location of curricula, schedules, and classroom organi- where and when they may be needed. zation will be needed, but the changes are not likely to be extreme. Many of the electronic media, such as video disks or microcomputers, allow learners to use Teacher Training.–Widespread use of tech- them at their convenience, instead of being nology in the classroom will require that teach- locked into specifically scheduled times. Com- ers be trained both in its use and in the pro- puter-based analysis, combined with a flexi- duction of good curriculum materials. Too few ble, adaptive instructional system could diag- teachers are so qualified today. Schools main- nose and immediately respond to differences tain that they are already faced with a short- in learning strategies among students and, age of qualified science and mathematics hence, could be more educationally effective. teachers (those most likely to lead the way in Finally, much work has been done on using in- computer-based education). Furthermore, 10 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

there is little evidence that most of the teacher —e.g., copyright, patents—for their informa- training colleges in the United States are pro- tion products as a barrier to investment in viding adequate instruction to new teachers development. in the use of information technology. Skepticism About Long-Term Effects.– Lack of Adequate Software.--OTA found Some educators are seriously concerned that general widespread agreement that, with few the long-term effects on learning of substitut- exceptions, the quality of educational soft- ing technology for traditional teaching meth- ware-curriculum material designed for educa- ods are not sufficiently understood. While tional technology-now available was, in gen- acknowledging that computers or other tech- eral, not very good. Curriculum providers do nologies may have some limited utility in the not yet use the new media to full advantage classroom for drill and practice, or for instruc- for several reasons. In the first place, many tion in computer literacy, they fear that any of the technologies are still new. It takes time widespread adoption of technology for educa- to learn how to use them, and the early at- tion could have deleterious effects on the over- tempts suffer from this learning process. Sec- all quality of learning. ond, production of high-quality educational software is expensive. Some large firms that Cost.–Even though the cost of computer hardware and communication services is drop- have the necessary capital to produce educa- ping, investment in educational technology tional software hesitate to risk developmen- still represents a substantial commitment by tal money in a relatively new and uncertain financially pressed schools. Costs of software market. are likely to remain high until a large market Third, the programmers and curriculum ex- develops over which providers can write off perts qualified to produce educational soft- developmental costs. In some cases the cost ware are in short supply. Finally, some firms of information products and services may be cite the lack of adequate property protection passed on to users for the first time.

Policy Issues and Options

Issues response to these national needs would be both appropriate and effective. The impact of information technology on ● Redressing inequities: In both the OTA education will confront Congress with a num- study on national information systems ber of important policy decisions in several and in this assessment, OTA found con- areas: cern that a significant social, economic, ● Education and training for economic and political gap could develop between growth: OTA found that trends in auto- those who do and those who do not have mation and the growth of the information access to, and the ability to use, informa- sector of the economy will probably pre- tion systems. People who cannot make ef- sent the United States with severe man- fective use of information technology may power training problems over the next find themselves unable to deal effective- decade. These will include a persistent ly with their government and to obtain shortage of highly trained computer scien- and hold a job. Both social and economic tists, engineers, and other specialists; a concerns may motivate Congress to take need for retraining workers displaced by action to improve literacy in American so- factory and office automation; and a need ciety. for a more technologically literate work ● New institutional roles: OTA found that force. Congress must decide what Federal many public educational institutions are Ch. l—Summary ● 11

under severe strain, to the extent that current educational use of technology was many question their survival-at least in the lack of adequate educational software. their current form. Actions directly re- There may be a role for the Government lated to the use of information technology in reducing the risks software producers could also have important impacts on currently see that inhibit major invest- these public educational institutions, both ment in quality courseware (educational by enhancing their productivity and by software). Many of the existing successful helping them offer a modern, computer- packages, such as the Sesame Street pro- and communication-based curriculum. Al- grams for television and the PLATO com- though the States have primary responsi- puter-aided instruction system, were de- bility for control of the public schools, veloped with partial Federal support. On decisions and policies set at the Federal the other hand, good software may be level have influenced the nature of pub- forthcoming if the producers see a suffi- lic education and will continue to do so. cient quantity of hardware in the schools to provide them with a viable market. Options for Federal Action –Directly fund technology acquisition by the schools: The Federal Government Assuming that Congress decides there is a could directly underwrite the acquisition significant need for Federal action to address of hardware and software by the schools. these issues, there are a number of possible ac- Such a program would create a market for tions it could take. educational products that would attract producers, and it would accelerate the in- ● Direct Intervention.— Congress could take action to increase and improve the use of troduction of technology into the schools. information technology in education. Most On the other hand, such an approach may of the following options would principally promote premature and unwise purchases affect the schools. A few would have a of technology by schools that are unpre- broader effect on the provision of education pared to use the technology effectively. and training in other institutions. It is also counter to some current trends –Provide tax incentives for donations of and attitudes in Congress concerning the computers and other information technol- proper Federal role in education. ogy: H.R. 5573 and S. 2281 are examples –Provide support activities: The Federal of such initiatives. They are intended to Government could assume a leadership accelerate the rate at which schools install role in encouraging the educational sys- computer hardware and to respond to pos- tem to make more effective use of infor- sible inequities in the abilities of school mation technology by funding demonstra- districts to direct funds to equipment action projects, teacher-training programs, quisition. However, some experts have and the development of institutions for noted that the personal computer indus- exchanging information about successful try is on the verge of moving to a new gen- implementations. OTA found evidence of eration of more powerful machines that a high degree of interest and motivation may have much greater potential for edu- by both schools and parents that could be cational application on a more sophisti- more effectively channeled with appropri- cated level. Donations of older equipment ate Federal leadership. Such a program could freeze the schools into dependency would not address the financial limita- on obsolescent systems. Moreover, such tions that currently prevent many institu- incentives do not address problems such tions from acquiring technology and soft- as the need for software, teacher training, ware. or institutional barriers to effective use. Adapt a General Education Policy.—Con- –Subsidize software development: OTA gress is considering various forms of educa- found that the most-often cited barrier to tion-related legislation that may affect, and 12 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

in turn maybe affected by, the new informa- age a combination of both by using Federal tional needs of society. Examples are bills funding to leverage private investment. concerning vocational education, veterans’ ● Elimination of Unintended Regulatory Bar- education, education for the handicapped, riers.--Some legislation and regulation not and foreign language instruction. Such leg- specifically directed at education may create islation, if drafted with the intent to do so, barriers to the effective application of edu- could encourage the development of more cational technology. Telecommunication effective and economical technological alter- regulation, for example, can affect the cost natives to current programs. of technology, access to communication channels, and the institutional structure of ● Support R&D.–Federal civilian agency education providers. support of R&D in educational technology Moreover, protection of intellectual prop- has decreased substantially over the last erty, principally copyright law, was identi- decade. OTA found that, to make the most fied as a major determinant of the willing- effective use of technology, there was a need ness of industry to invest in educational for R&D in learning strategies and cognitive software. The current state of the law was development, methods for the production of seen by many industry experts as inade- effective and economical curricular soft- quate and, hence, as creating a barrier to the ware, and the long-term psychological and development of novel and innovative soft- cognitive impacts of technology-based edu- ware. However, to the extent that such a cation. Congress could consider policies to: barrier does exist, it is not clear whether its 1) directly support R&D in these areas, 2) removal lies in new legislation or in the encourage private sector investment from gradual development of legal precedent in both foundations and industry, or 3) encour- the courts. Chapter 2 The United States as an Information Society To facilitate the storage and accessibility of an increased amount of information, the main card catalog at the Library of Congress is being converted to computer records. Thousands of entries are stored on the correctable magnetic disks. Twenty of these disk packs are entered into one optical disk (seen atop the magnetic packs for permanent record). These optical disks can be randomly accessed and are connected to a printer. They contain an amount of information that was formerly held in 144 card drawers Chapter 2 The United States as an Information Society

All societies depend to some extent on information—to conduct trade, to govern their society, and to transmit culture and social mores. Because of this, past inventions such as writing, arithmetic, and the printing press have stimulated profound changes. Similarly, development of new information technologies will also deeply effect present-day society. Many of these effects will be in the realm of education.

Findings l

● The United States has become an informa- It has been suggested that the creation, use, tion society, dependent on the creation, use, and communication of information are essen- and communication of information for its tial components of the infrastructure of a economic and social well-being. “postindustrial society” such as that of the

● United States.’ As a consequence, many soci- Computer, data communication, and video etal functions are completely dependent on in- technologies have become a large and essen- formation technology. For example: tial element of U.S. society, central to the handling of information by individuals and ● Airlines use computer networks to control organizations. passenger reservations, schedule equipment usage and maintenance, and prepare ● In the past, information technology inven- flight plans; and the Federal Government tions such as the telephone have fundamen- uses a large computer-based system to tally altered social institutions and individ- control the resulting air traffic.3 ual behavior; thus, it is reasonable to expect ● Banks and other financial institutions that current and future innovative develop- rely completely on computers and world- ments will have corresponding effects, par- wide communication networks for manag- ticularly on activities such as education that ing accounts, clearing checks, exchanging depend on information. funds, and providing a wide variety of ● Trends in the use of information technology new financial services.4 are creating new demands on education in ● Major Government agencies, such as the terms of who is to be educated, when educa- Internal Revenue Service and the Social tion occurs, what is to be taught, how it is Security Administration, require large, to be taught, and what it is to cost. automated information systems to handle the accounts of hundreds of millions In a complex, highly technological society, of clients. demands grow for quick access to and use of large amounts of information in order to con- ‘D. Bell, The Coming of Post-Industrial Society (New York: trol economic, social, and political processes. Basic Books, 1973). ‘Airport and Air Traffic Control System, OTA-STI-175 (Washington, D. C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assess- ‘Much of the information presented in this chapter is based ment, January 1982). on OTA’S previous study, Chnputer-lked National hforrna- ‘Selected Electronic Fbnds Zhnsfer Issues: Privacy, Security, tion Systems: Technology and Pubfic Policy Issues, OTA-CIT-146 and Equity—Background Paper, OTA-BP-CIT-12 (Washington, (Washington, D. C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assess- D. C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, March ment, September 1981). 1982).

15 16 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

● The operation of national defense depends of our social institutions. Furthermore, institu- on complex computer-communication sys- tions and social processes such as education, tems, both for day-to-day management of which are so dependent on the communication the military establishment and for com- and use of information, will be most affected. mand and control of modem sophisticated The basic goals of education are the commu- weaponry. nication of knowledge and skills, the transmis- ● Multinational corporations depend on in- sion of culture, and the instilling of basic liter- ternational networks of computers for acy. * Since all of these require that education such applications as production control, be closely linked to information processes, edu- management, and financial administra- .- cation will be deeply affected, both in content tion. and form, by the technological revolution. Since these and other users of information in the United States are relying increasingly on sophisticated computer and communication systems, it is reasonable to anticipate that in- *Definitions of literacy vary among experts. For purposes of this report, a simple definition will be used. Literacy means formation technology will have significant ef- the ability of an individual to engage in the normal modes of fects on the structure and operation of most information exchange in a society.

Economic and Societal Impacts of Information Technology

The uses of information and the institutional has included the telegraph and telephone, structures established to collect and communi- broadcast communication, photocopiers and cate it have long historical traditions. For facsimile transmission, the computer and its thousands of years, recordkeeping systems related software-considered, in itself, to be have been a basic tool for government, com- an important technology. These inventions merce, and finance. They have allowed the for- have directly affected the collection and use mation and management of large organiza- of information. For example: tions. Libraries and museums have existed as ● The speed with which information can be archival and reference resources from earliest communicated has been increased. Com- times–perhaps even earlier than the fourth munications that less than a century ago century B. C., when Alexander the Great built took days, weeks, and even months, now his library. Education also has always served occur within fractions of seconds. basic societal functions. While the definitions ● The quantity of information that can be of education and the institutional structures collected, stored, manipulated, and trans- selected to provide it have differed over time mitted has been increased. Data storage and for each particular society, education has systems can hold trillions of characters always entailed transmitting the values, cul- of information that are instantly accessi- tural background, and basic communication ble through a computer. (One trillion char- techniques (literacy) necessary to function as acters of storage contains information a member of society. equivalent to over 1 million books.) Technologies such as writing, mathematics, ● Information can be more widely distrib- paper, the printing press, and the camera were uted and has become more accessible. developed to improve the handling of informa- Data communication systems provide in- tion. Over the last 100 years there has been stant access to information and to the a rush of new information technologies that technology to analyze and use it. Ch. 2— The United States as an Information Society ● 17

Scanning electron micrograph of a portion of a programmable logic array with locations for up to 4,000 logic elements. The array was fabricated with the one-micrometer FET technology. Reducing the minimum device dimensions to one micrometer resulted in an increase in speed Of a factor of 3 or 4, and a reduction in power dissipation by a factor of 10, as compared with previous FET circuits

c The ability to use information to account . The need for mass literacy: The availabil- for past actions and to predict future ity of printed material to the general pub- events has been improved. The invention lic has not only made mass literacy possi- of writing made possible the keeping of ble; in the long run, it has also made it historical records. Computers analyze necessary. It has created a world in which complex statistical models to support it is necessary to be literate in order to management decisionmaking. fully participate in economic, political, and social activities. In fact, mass literacy These improvements in the quantitative and has become a basic necessity for economic qualitative aspects of information handling growth.’ Now, with electronic media, defi- will profoundly affect individuals and organizations that communicate and use information in some of the following ways: 18 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

nitions of literacy must incorporate the Thus, the recent provision via cable tel- ability to communicate and use informa- evision of several new networks to serve tion technology. the interests of more specialized audi- ● An altered relationship between individ- ences and the appearance of small special- uals and organizations: The challenge of ized newspapers serving individual neigh- the Reformation to traditional church au- borhoods may be harbingers of greater di- thority, the demise of the feudal system, versity in services and decentralization of the great intellectual spurt of the Renais- control. sance, and the birth during the 18th cen- ● Changes in the political process: Instant tury of political democracy were all due, domestic and worldwide communications in part, to the fact that most individuals change political behavior and serve to in society could obtain access to informa- shape public opinion in new ways and in tion and could communicate their ideas. new time frames. Computers allow large- If access to information is further en- scale and rapid polling of public attitudes hanced by new technologies, individuals and, through sophisticated mailing sys- and groups may seek to increase their par- tems, the formation and coordination of ticipation in governmental and organiza- geographically distributed special interest tional processes. If access, on the other groups. Because they allow for instant hand, is not enhanced, communications public reaction to political decisions, some technology might provide a new means by experts anticipate that new information which organizations mold social thought technologies may bring about a return to and cultural mores and exert their author- a form of political participation that, ity.6 although involving much larger numbers ● Altered structures in organizational de- of people, is reminiscent of the “town cisionmaking processes: Technological meeting. changes can affect the nature of decisions, ● Effects on culture: Although the new in- the way they are made, and who in an formation technologies will undoubtedly organization makes them. New patterns affect culture, it is unclear exactly what of decisionmaking can, in turn, affect rela- their effect will be. More people have ac- tionships between organizations and be- cess to creative products than ever before. tween organizations and their clients and And yet the media have, as their critics employees.7 have pointed out, often served the lowest ● Trends toward centralization or decentral- common denominator of taste. It is also ization: Overall, the trend in communica- unclear whether information technology tions during this century has been toward will serve to increase uniformity or to pro- centralization. For example, more and mote the diversity of the culture and val- more large cities are now served by single ues of society. newspapers, and a few large networks ● Intellectual effects: The technology that dominate the distribution of broadcast society uses to codify and transmit ideas television programs. However, access to may affect how people conceptualize and low-cost computers and data communica- try to solve problems. Some experts have tions capabilities can potentially provide suggested that information technology organizations and individuals with the may break a limiting mental mold forced ability to tailor applications to their own by writing upon Western thought, and needs and goals. that it may provide new ways to deal with the very complex and difficult problems facing society.8 ‘A. Moshowitz, The Cbnquest of Will: Information Process- ingin Human Affairs (Reading, Mass.: Addison Wesley, 1976). ‘H. Lucas, Why Information Systems Fail (New York: Colom- bia Press, 1975). 8S. PaDert.. Windstorms (New York: Basic Books. 1980). Ch. 2— The United States as an Information Society . 19

Extrapolating the general historical impacts public access cable will place a greater that information technology has had in the premium on the ability of individuals past suggests that modern technological to use these technologies in their work, trends may have a number of effects on edu- at home, for their social organizations, cation: and for political participation. Media literacy will include computer literacy ● The nature of Literacy for society is chang- —the ability of individuals to use an ining, as it did when the printing press was formation system to help them at home invented. While the goal of mass literacy, and at work. While individuals will not defined as skill in reading and writing, has need to be experts in computer science, been met–at least in the developed world they will need to know how to use com- —new goals as to who should be literate puter programs and information banks and what skills literacy should include and how to evaluate critically the re- may now appear: sults they get. 1. Who should be literate: Universal liter- The rate at which new information is gen- acy—defined as skill in reading and erated is accelerating. The dominant em- writing for all people—will have to phasis will be on lifelong learning, retrain- become a societal goal. The growing ing, and updating knowledge, rather than complexity of society, coupled with the on schooling that is terminated at an early automation of unskilled jobs, will make age on completion of a standard curricu- it increasingly difficult for semiliterate lum.9 Educational curricula will increas- individuals to lead useful and produc- ingly focus on learning how to learn rather tive lives. International economic com- than on learning facts. petition and a predicted tighter labor The organizational structure and behavior market in the next few decades will of educational institutions will change. place a greater premium on skilled, pro- Schools, particularly public schools, are ductive labor. Illiteracy is costly to so- often large bureaucracies specifically de- ciety not only because it is expensive signed to collect and transfer information to support the unemployable but also in an organized fashion. Some experts because society must forego the social have questioned whether they can ever and economic contributions that the il- adapt organizationally to a new techno- literate, had they been educated, might logical environment and to new social otherwise have made. needs. They foresee as possible either the 2. What skills literacy includes: The term emergence of completely new types of literacy may come to include media lit- educational institutions based on informa- eracy—the ability not only to receive tion technology, or the radical transfor- critically information presented via ra- mation of existing schools. ’” dio, television, and film, but also to ‘Stanley M. Grabowski, Preparing Educators of Adults (San communicate using these media. While Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1981); Charles A. Wedemeyer, Learn- programing in these forms has previ- ing at the Back Door (Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin ously been done by large organizations Press, 1981). ‘“M. Frobe, et al., Telecommunications and Higher Educa- of experts, developments such as the tion, Occasional Paper #3 (Pittsburgh, Pa.: Institute for Higher video cassette, the video disk, and the Education of Pittsburgh, 1981).

Changing Economic Base of the Nation

The U.S. economy has undergone fundamen- an. Then, for several decades, manufacturing tal changes during this century. A hundred dominated. Now, the service sector predomi- years ago, the economy was principally agrari- nates, measured both in terms of its contribu- 20 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education tion to the gross national product and in terms economy, it will face even more severe finan- of the size of its labor force. (See table 1.) The cial problems than plague it now. In fact, if service sector, as usually defined by econo- other portions of the service sector are about mists, includes economic activity that does not to undergo significant increases in productiv- result in a tangible, storable output or necessi- ity, as some observers expect, the pressures tate a large base of capital equipment. Given on education to improve its productivity may this latter categorization, transportation and be intensified. communications are usually classified as The appearance and growth of what some industries rather than services. Education is economists refer to as the information sector classified as a service. has paralleled the growth of the service sec- Productivity growth in the service sector tor. This portion of the economy, comprised compared with that in other sectors has been of both service and traditional industries, in- particularly low. This relative lag in productiv- cludes those enterprises that make the ma- ity is more significant as the size and impor- chines that handle information, run the com- tance of the sector grows. Some experts sug- munications networks, and use technology to gest that because of the use of economies of provide information products and services. scale, new management techniques, and infor- An overall analysis of the input/output mation technology, the service industry is on structure of this sector, which was made for the brink of a major improvement in produc- 12 1966, determined that the information sec- tivity.” They argue that, to the extent that tor accounted at that time for over 60 percent services are more resistant to such improve- of the economy. This study defined the infor- ments than are other sectors of the economy, mation sector very broadly and analyzed it at their costs will become too high. Thus, those the national level. It has not been repeated for areas of the economy, such as manufacturing, subsequent years. Analytical efforts have, in- that show growth in productivity will also stead, been directed at refining the analysis show wage increases reflecting, to some ex- and at looking at smaller segments of the econ- tent, that growth. If similar wage increases omy. take place in a sector that has not experienced a corresponding improvement in productivity, Nevertheless, the original calculations are the real labor costs will grow relative to those still useful in illustrating the importance of in- in other sectors. formation and information technology in the U.S. economy. They also document the growth This analysis suggests that if education in the number of U.S. jobs requiring the han- does not improve its productivity at a rate con- dling of information and information machin- sistent with the overall improvement of the ery. Because information workers are general- “T. Stanbock, Understanding the S&vice Economy (Balti- ly assumed to require literacy skills more than more: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979). workers in other types of jobs, these trends suggest that the country is experiencing a rise Table 1 .—Percentage Share of the in the level of literacy needed to find and hold U.S. Economy by Sector jobs.13 The definition of functional literacy 1948 1961 1976 may need to be altered to include the ability 14 Employment to use computer-based knowledge. Agriculture...... 10.8 6.9 4.2 Industry ...... 43.2 38.6 35.1 Service ...... 46.0 54.5 60.7 l~M. p t, The Information Economy, Dissertation GNP ora Ph. D. Agriculture...... 9.84 4.2 3.1 (Stanford Calif.: Stanford University, 1976). Industry ...... 46.8 45.0 41.2 1gE. Gi.nzberg and G, J. Vojta, “The Service Sector of the U.S. Service ...... 43.9 50.8 55.7 Economy, ” vol. 244/3, March 1981, pp. 48-55. SOURCE: T. Stan bock, Urrderstarrdhg the S&vice Economy (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins IJ,liversity Press, 1979); V. Fuchs, Service krdusfries and ECO. 14R. J. Seidel, R. E. Anderson, and B. Hunter (eds.), &mputer nom/c Growth, NBER working paper 211, Stanford, Literacy (New York: Academic Press, 1982). Ch. 2— The United States as an /formation Society ● 21

Another economic trend is the growing in- Table 2.—Some Representative Growth Figures formation marketplace. The publishing indus- for the Information Industry try has existed since the invention of the print- Mainframe computers 1965 1975 1985 ing press as a relatively small sector of the Number installed ...... 23,200 62,800 77,600 economy. Now, stimulated by social pressures Value in billions of dollars . . $7.65 $33.6 $89.1 and new technological possibilities, it is growing into a large and important sector of the Desktop computers 1975 1980 1985 15 Number installed ...... 4,000 326,000 10,579,000 U.S. economy. (Some illustrative growth fig- Value in billions of dollars . $0.05 $2,4 $36.7 ures for sectors of the information industry are shown in table 2.) Newspapers ...... $17.79 There are several indicators of this trend. Magazines ...... 3.43 First, even in the current economy, the infor- On-line data bases ...... 1.0 Time sharing ...... 2.455 mation industry is growing at a rate of over Broadcasting/cable/special communications . . . . 28.5 20 percent per year. The computer-based data Computer software ...... 5.5 retrieval market alone is projected to grow Total ...... $58.675 from $1 billion in 1980 to over $6 billion in NOTE: Figures have been compiled from best available information Estimated probable error runs – 150/0 to + 50/0 1985. Second, very large international corpora- SOURCE LINK tions such as Westinghouse are buying into the information business, and large traditional publishing houses such as McGraw-Hill are ac- activities as creating potential competition for quiring high-technology operations in anticipa- their businesses. Others see the potential for tion of their competing in a very different type new information services made available by of information marketplace in the next decade. a restructured, competitive communication industry. The plan announced by AT&T for entry into the information business is viewed with con- Another indicator of the increased impor- cern not only by potential equipment manufac- tance of information in the economy is the turers and providers of communication lines, changed nature of international economic com- but also by newspapers and other traditional petition. The attention of policymakers con- information publishers who see AT&T’s new cerned with U.S. industrial strength is now focused on competition in innovation. Com- petitive strength is seen as dependent on the development of new technology, of new prod- “H. S. Dordick, et al., The Emerging Network Marketplace ucts and services based on that technology, (LOS Angeles: Center for Futures Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Southern California, and of new manufacturing techniques to make December 1978). those products. Chapter 3 Implications for Economic Growth and Human Capital ---

I This Ph. D candidate is using a console connected with Columbia University’s Computing Center. A small modem connects the computer console and graphic plotter with the mainframe computer at the computer campus facility. The graphics plotter is displaying the composition of a six-element super alloy used in the space shuttle turbines and a preliminary predictive phase diagram relating to the six-element alloy’s performance under stress Chapter 3 Implications for Economic Growth and Human Capital

The principal goals underlying Federal involvement in education have historically been: 1) to contribute toward national economic well-being, 2) to assure national security, and 3) to provide an equitable distribution of economic opportunities to U.S. citizens. Because future Federal education policy will presumably continue to be predicated on one or more of these or related goals, OTA examined the links between education, technological trends, and these goals.

. .

Findingu s

● Strong evidence exists for linking economic ● The rate at which automation can be intro- growth with the creation of new knowledge duced and the contribution it makes to the and the transfer of technology into the pro- growth of productivity will partly depend duction of goods and services. Knowledge on the ability to retrain workers for new creates new goods and services, improved jobs, either within the same industry or in production techniques, and better manage- a new industry. Their ability to be retrained ment and organizational strategies. will in turn be determined, at least in part, by their levels of literacy and their familiar- ● Many experts believe that there is a close ity with information technology. link between the level of education and the productivity of workers—even though such ● There is a severe shortage of engineers, com- a relation is complex and difficult to estab- puter experts, information specialists, and lish analytically. other trained workers needed to support the ● The link between education, training, and growth both of the information industry it- economic growth is becoming more critical self and of the use of information technology because of structural shifts in the economy in other sectors of society. toward the service and information sectors. ● The failure of the U.S. education system to ● While greater access to education and train- respond to the changing needs of the infor- ing cannot directly create new jobs and may mation society at a rate comparable to that not increase overall wage levels, there are of foreign competitors may impose serious strong positive correlations between work- economic costs in the form of low growth ers’ educational levels and their employabil- rates and reduced competitiveness in world ity. markets.

Knowledge and Growth

A number of studies have postulated links the U.S. economy1 and in that of developing between information, technological innovation, and economic growth. The relationship ‘E. F. Denisen, Accounting for Slower Economic Growth between knowledge and economic develop- (Washington, D. C.: Brookings Institution, 1979): (Kendricks ment has been studied both in the context of article). 95 26 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education countries.2 In one analysis, nearly two-thirds of the economic growth that occurred in the United States between 1948 and 1973 was attributed to increases in the size and quality of the work force and to the development of new knowledge. Other studies have examined the direct contribution of research and development (R&D) to economic growth.3 There are several ways in which the links between knowledge and economic growth may operate: ● Better and more timely information can lead to better organizational structures and to improved management decisions, which can lower costs by more efficient allocation of resources, to better scheduling of production, and to better economic planning. ● Technical innovation leads to new or improved products and services and in some cases to the emergence of new industries that are more competitive in the marketplace. Most of the firms in the Fortune 500 deal in products and services that did not exist a century ago. ● New technology can lead to more efficient production methods that improve manufacturing productivity. Some anticipate that the new computer-based flexible High school students in Oxford, Mass., work with a learning aid that familiarizes them with electrical and manufacturing systems will provide the electronic wiring patterns. This helps them prepare for critical technological underpinning for entry-level work in the burgeoning electronics industry U.S. reindustrialization. in Massachusetts. The school board of this old mill town in southeast Massachusetts hopes that their creation of OTA has found strong support not only a young labor pool skilled in electronics will help draw among economists but also in the business new industry into the town community for the view that the availability of literate, well-educated workers is an impor- in specialized education and training programs tant determiner of productivity and economic are strong indicators of such concern. 4 growth. The interest that business has shown Education and training may affect the con- in the performance of public education, and the tribution that workers make to productivity growing investment that industry has made in at least three ways. First, education and training improves the productivity of the work ‘T. W. Schultz, Investment in Human Capital (New York: Free Press, 1971). force if it allows workers to use current pro- ‘E. Mansfield, “Research and Development, Productivity, and duction techniques more effectively and to Inflation, ” Science, vol. 209, Sept. 5, 1980, pp. 1091-1093; adapt more readily to new techniques. Second, J. Walsh, “Is R&D the Key to the Productivity Problem?” the growth rate of new industry is determined, Science, vol. 211, 13, Feb. 13, 1981, pp. 685-688. 4A. W. Clausen, “The Quality of Public Education, ” Vital in part, by the availability of individuals Speeches, 1981. trained to fill the new types of jobs created by —

Ch. 3—implications for Economic Growth and Human Capital “ 27 innovation. Finally, the process of innovation The suggestion that U.S. economic growth requires individuals trained to do R&D at all and competitiveness are dependent, in part, levels from basic research to product develop- on the production of new information and on ment. the literacy of the work force has serious im- A number of labor economists have sug- plications for Federal and local education gested that the link between education and policy. A decline in the performance of the educational system could be costly to U.S. economic growth is becoming more important because of structural shifts toward the service society in terms of lower productivity of the and information sectors. Eli Ginzberg and work force; less flexibility for industry to adopt new production methods and manage- George Vojta state, “Human capital, defined ment techniques; higher unemployment rates, as the ‘skill, dexterity, and knowledge’ of the particularly among the disadvantaged; and de- population, has become the critical input that determines the rate of growth of the economy creased R&D, particularly in the basic sciences and the well-being of the population. We con- and engineering. tend that the competence of management and the skills of the work force . . . determine the ability of enterprises to obtain and utilize effectively other essential resources . . . "5 . ‘E. Ginzberg and G, J. Vojta, “The Service Sector of the U.S. Economy,” Scientific American, vol. 299, March 1981, pp. 48-55.

Education and Growth

In this century, particularly since World Table 3.—Percentage Employment in the Business War II, there has been a steady increase in the Sector by Sex and Years of Education Completed number of years of education completed by 1948 1959 1969 1976 American workers. This trend is illustrated in table 3. The degree to which this growth in school years completed . . . . 44.4 1.0 0.5 0.3 education level is accompanied by an increase Elementary, 1-8 ...... — 32.0 21.2 12.7 High school, 1-4 ...... 43.3 48.7 54.7 54.5 in the skill levels of jobs held, however, is a College, 1-4 ...... — 14.7 19.0 25.7 matter of some debate. While some see the ex- College, 5 or more ...... 11.5 3.6 4.7 6.9 tension of education as evidence of the expansion of skills, others see it as a devaluation of school years completed . . . . 32.4 0.5 0.2 0.3 Elementary, 1-8 ...... , . . . . — 22.5 14.5 8.4 the high school and college degree, or, in other High school, 1-4 ...... 56.1 63.8 68.6 65.9 words, as an inflation of the certification re- College, 1-4 ...... — 12.2 15.2 22.7 quired to obtain work that is no more—and College, 5 or more ...... 11.5 1.0 1.5 2.8 SOURCE E. F Denisen, Accounting for Slower Economic Growth (Washington, may even be less –demanding than before.’ D. C.: Brookings Institution, 1979),

An increase in job skill requirements could classifications remain the same; and 3) rapid- take place in three ways: 1) industrial growth ly changing job requirements could place a and sectoral shifts in the economy could create premium on employees’ flexibility and on their more jobs demanding higher skill levels; 2) the ability to be retrained in new skills. availability of a more highly trained labor pool could encourage employers to raise their per- Justifiably or not, education is, generally formance expectations, even if the basic job speaking, a major factor in the competition for jobs, and those lacking the requisite educa- ‘Randall Collins, “The Credentials, ”Society: A Histur-icd Sociology of Education and %ratifi”cation (New York: Academic tional level are less employable. Unemploy- Press, 1979). ment rates by education level are shown in 28 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education table 4. Two conclusions are suggested by the Table 4.—Unemployment Rates by Sex and data: Number of Years of Education Completed 1970 1979 ● Education is an important selection criterion for employers. High school, 1-3 years ...... 4.8 8.3 High school, 4 years...... 3.4 5.5 College, 1-3 years ...... 3.8 4,2 ● More sensitive to fluctuations in overall ...... College, 4 years or more ...... 1.2 1.8 employment rates than their more skilled counterparts, less educated workers are High school, 1-3 years ...... 6.8 10.4 more likely to lose their jobs when unem- High school, 4 years...... 4.6 6.0 College, 1-3 years ...... 4.0 4.3 ployment rises, and less likely to get them College, 4 years or more ...... 2.0 3.0 back when it drops. SOURCE Chronicle of Higher Education, citing BLS data

Human Capital Theory

Human capital theory regards expenditure ● Particularly at higher levels of education, on education as an investment in improving individuals may decide to continue their the quality of labor input to production, hence education for another year not because it as a factor of production. Because of the in- would increase their lifetime income re- vestment focus, worker income is regarded as turn, but rather because they want to de- the measure of return. Researchers have dem- velop special talents and to pursue other onstrated correlations between both current personal goals.8 and lifetime education levels and incomes. In ● According to screening theory, education the 1960’s, human capital theory formed a ra- does not “add value” to labor as such, but tionale for much of the Federal education merely serves to prescreen the most able policy that aimed at improving educational op- workers.9 There is a difference of opinion portunity as a means of fighting poverty.7 between those who advocate screening theory and the proponents of human cap- Most experts agree with the concept that, ital theory with respect to how much sig- in many cases, education and training can nificance should be attributed to screen- create a more productive worker. However, ing when calculating the return on invest- many raise objections to human capital ment in education. theory, both with respect to the analytical ● An increase in the social investment for basis of the field and to the policies’ implica- improving the quality of the labor pool tions that have been drawn from them. Chief does not necessarily serve to increase among these objections are the following: overall levels of employment or to raise ● The assumption that individuals make wage levels. Hence, by itself, investment their decisions about education and career in education is not an effective strategy, opportunities based on their reading of either to raise the income of the disadvan- the labor market is questioned. taged or to increase employment.10 ● Improvements in the quality of labor and the resulting increases in productivity are not necessarily directly reflected in a con- 8S. Rosen, “Human Capital: A Survey of Empirical comitant rise in salaries and wages. Reaearch,” in Research in Labor Economcs (Greenwich, Corm.: JAI Press, 1977), vol. 1, pp. 2-39. Hence, the societal payback from further ‘K. J. Arrow, “Higher Education aa a Filter, ” Journal education may be underestimated. Economics vol. 2, 1973, pp. 173-216. ‘“?’he Productivity R-oMem: Alternatives for Action (Wash- ‘Chronicle Mar. 16, 1981, p. 2; G. S. ington, D. C.: U.S. Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Jan- Becker, Human Chpitd (New York: Columbia University Press, uary 1981); L. C. Thurow, The 2%ro Sum Society (New York: 1975). Baaic Books, 1980). Ch. 3—implications for Economic Growth and Human Capital ● 29 . .

Need for Technical Education

The labor market is too complex to be described in simple terms of oversupply or under- supply. It can be generally said, however, that while the American work force does not appear to be undereducated in terms of the years of schooling or in terms of the number of high school and college graduates needed to meet overall employment requirements, there do seem to be deficiencies in what students have learned in school and severe shortages of graduates trained in certain job areas. And while the demand for traditional full-time, degree- oriented education may be leveling off or even slackening, the demand for specific or continuing job-related education is growing. In particular, the trend in the U.S. economy toward a growing service and information sector is creating an increased demand for education in engineering and science, especially the computer sciences, at all levels. If these needs are not met, U.S. economic growth and international competitive position may decline. The clients for technical education can be loosely categorized into three groups, according to their respective needs: 1. The general work force–workers in all occupational categories, from blue collar to the professional, who increasingly need to gain literacy in information technology. 2. Information professionals-specialists who program, operate, repair, and in other ways directly support information products and services. 3. Information scientists and engineers— technical experts who conduct research, develop new products and applications, or teach at the college level.

Information Literacy

Economists, educational experts, and busi- ematics, and, in particular, information tech- ness leaders assert that there is a growing nology.11 need in U.S. society for at least a minimum “Schultz, op. cit.; R. J. Seidel, R. E. Anderson, and B. Hunter level of literacy in science, engineering, math- (eds.), Cbmputer Literacy (New York: Academic Press, 1982); 30 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

As stated by the president of the Bank of Figure 1 .—Shifts in Employment America: 1929 Total goods . . . increasingly, business is looking for and Agriculture the better jobs are going to, individuals with Mining and construct ion some modicum of computer literacy. Basic Manufacturing communication and data-processing skills are among the hottest commodities in the em- Services ployment sector today.12 1948 Total goods The shift in the United States from a man- Agriculture Mining and ufacturing and agricultural economy to an in- construction formation and service economy is creating Manufacturing more jobs with information handling require- Services ments. The occupational mix in the service sec- 1969 tor is compared with that in other sectors in Total goods figure 1. Furthermore, traditional jobs will in- Agriculture Mining and creasingly require the handling of automated construct ion equipment, a trend that is already visible in Manufacturing the office. With the advent of automated infor- Services mation systems, the skills required of a cler- 1977 ical staff are changing. Moreover, the job skills Total goods Agriculture of a secretary in the wired office of the future Mining and will be substantially different from what they construction are today. In fact, the concept of “secretary” Manufacturing may disappear altogether. Services I I 1 1 1 1 I 1 I A similar trend may also occur in the fac- o 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 tory, where robotics and other forms of com- Percent of labor force puter-aided manufacturing are beginning to Shifts in employment since 1929 are charted for the goods- transform the way that goods are produced. producing industries and the service sector. The service sector includes distributive services such as communications, utilities and There, automation will require that the worker wholesale trade; retail trade; consumer services such as learn new skills oriented toward operation and restaurants, dry cleaning and recreation; producer services such as control of computerized equipment. (Some ex- accounting, banking and legal work, and nonprofit and government services including health, education, and national defense. perts maintain that few of the current 20 mil- SOURCE E Glnzberg and G J. Vojta, “The Serv[ce Sector of the U S lion jobs in the manufacturing sector will re- Economy, ” Sclent(flc American, March 1981 main two decades from now.) Faced with these pressures for a more tech- clines in achievement have been noted in sci- 13 nically literate work force, the schools are ap- ence and mathematics. parently falling short of supplying those Historical trends over the last decade in the needs. achievement levels of students for selected ● Overall achievement levels of high school subject areas are shown in table 5. The well- and college graduates, as measured by the documented decline in the science literacy National Assessment of Educational Prog- “National Assessment of Educational Progress, Three Na- ress, are steadily falling. In particular, de- tional Assessments of science, report 08-5-00 (Denver, Colo.: Educational Ccnn.mission of the States, 1978); National Assess- ment of Educational Progress, Changes in Mathematical (continued from p. 29) Achievement report 09-MA-01 (Denver, Colo.: Educational R. J. Marano, “Educational Disenfranchisement in a Technolog- Commission of the States, 1979); Science Education Databook ical Age, ” Vital Speeches, 1982, p. 222. 1980 report, SE 80-3 (Washington, D. C.: National Science Foun- 12Clausen, op. cit. dation, 1980). Ch. 3—implications for Economic Growth and Human Capital “ 31

Office design model for information gathering and communications is in use in many modern offices and has changed the design concept of many offices throughout the business community

Table 5.—Achievement Test Score Averages, 1972-79 (numbers in thousands)

1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 526 527 533 538 533 531 529 English composition ...... 516 517 517 532 516 512 514 Mathematics Level I ...... 541 537 545 546 547 541 537 American history and social studies . . . . . 492 498 498 493 492 496 480 Biology ., ...... 535 532 545 543 543 544 547 Chemistry...... 568 572 581 567 574 577 575 Mathematics Level II ...... 665 666 665 657 French ...... 544 553 553 552 554 Spanish ...... 539 547 535 554 542 Literature ...... — 525 526 521 522 Physics ...... — 592 593 591 580 German ...... 555 551 553 550 European history and world cultures . . . . — 531 526 507 516 Latin ...... — 524 517 508 524 Average SAT scores for takers of achievement tests* Verbal ...... — — — — 501 504 507 508 Mathematics ...... — — — — 553 553 554 554 “Data not computed prior to 1976. Data for 1976 are estimated from scores of individual achievement tests for that year SOURCE Science Educatton Databook, Nattonal Science Foundation, derived from the Admissions Testing Program of the College Board, Nat(onal Report, College Bound Sen(ors, 1977, p 8, 1978, pp 13.14, 1979, pp 13-14 rates of students does not necessarily imply disadvantaged backgrounds, it may be that a failure of the schools themselves. Declines literacy rates have declined because more in student performance might stem from social selectivity factors are operating now than in factors that are independent of the classroom. the past. Moreover, because the schools have had to ex- ● There has been an insufficient response by pand to accommodate an increasing number schools to the need for increased mathe- of students, some of whom have come from matical, technical, and computer literacy. A sociologist studying how schools in a dis- The NSF report to the President also ex- trict heavily populated by high-technology in- amined the status of technical literacy in other dustry responded to the increased needs for countries. To the extent that there is a connec- technological literacy concluded that these tion between technical literacy, economic pro- schools have in fact ‘moved away from a sci- ductivity and growth, and national security, ence and technology curriculum.14 The Nation- the comparisons should be worrisome. Exam- al Science Foundation (NSF) and Department ining the state of science and engineering edu- of Education, in their report to the President cation in West Germany, Japan, and the Sovi- on science and technology- education, concluded et Union, the report observes: that the secondary schools were not carrying 15 . . . these countries are educating a substan- out their responsibilities effectively. The tial majority of their secondary school popula- report notes that the divergence is widening tion to a point of considerable scientific and between the amounts of science and mathe- technological literacy, in part because they matics education made available to the few apparently believe that such literacy is impor- who wish to become professionals and to those tant to their relative international positions. who do not, a divergence further increased by In addition, the report states that the Soviet a general lowering of performance standards Union has elementary and secondary level cur- and expectations. A shortage of mathematics ricula in science and mathematics that “sur- and physical science teachers and the erosion pass that of any other country. ” (A British of the teacher support system weaken the ca- study of engineering education noted that in pacity of the schools to provide quality in- Japan, even high school students majoring in struction to all students, majors and non- the fields of humanities and liberal arts obtain majors alike. enough knowledge in science and mathematics ‘Elizabeth Useem, “Education and High Technology In- to attend engineering school and compete suc- dustry: The Case of Silicon Valley,” unpublished August 1981, cessfully.) 16 Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Education, North- eastern University, Boston, Mass. ‘b&ience and Engineering Education for the 1980b and 16Engineer& Our FWzuw report of the Committee of Inquiry Beyond (Washinton, D. C.: National Science Foundation and De into the Engineering Profession. Her Majesty’s Statement Of- partment of Education, October 1980). fice, London, January 1980.

Information Professionals

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has Table 6.—Requirements for Computer Specialists prepared a study of the growing demand for (data in thousands) professionals trained specifically in computer 17 Occupation 1980 Projected 1990 skills. Its estimates, shown in table 6, indi- Systems analysts ...... 243 400 cate that 685,000 new jobs will be created and Programmers ...... 341 500 250,000 replacement openings will occur over Equipment operators ...... 522 850 Data entry technicians ...... 266 230 the next decade, creating a need for nearly 1 Service technicians ...... 83 160 million new professionals trained in computer Total ...... 1,455 2,140 skills. SOURCE: Employment Trends h Computer Occupations, Bulletin 2101 (Washington, D. C.: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statlstlcs, The estimates of BLS are probably conserv- October 1981). ative, since only traditional computer job categories were examined. Other types of jobs like- include design engineers to create new types ly to become important over the next decade of microelectronic chips, industrial engineers trained in computer technology to support 17 Employment ~ndg h Cbmputer @cupations, Bulletin 2101 (Washington, D. C.: Department of Labr, Bureau of Labor what some experts see as a necessary surge Statistics, October 1981). in industrial automation, information special- .

Ch. 3—implications for Economic Growth and Human Capital ● 33 ists to help the average user make effective the number of people of traditional college use of automated data systems, marketing age will be growing more slowly and may and management personnel for the emerging consist of an increasing proportion of ed- information industry, and content producers ucationally disadvantaged students. for entertainment and information services. ● It is possible that, assuming no decrease in levels of support for vocational educa- OTA was unable to find any reliable estimates of the projected growth of these types tion, the community college and voca- of jobs. However, these jobs will no doubt add tional programs may be able to meet many of these needs. It is noteworthy, to the total demand projected by BLS of however, that some concern has been ex- 2,140,000 specialists by 1990. These numbers pressed by business about the mismatch are significant because all of these jobs require between current vocational programs and individuals with similar types of knowledge the needs of industry. (See ch. 6 for a dis- and work skills. Thus, employers will be com- cussion of vocational education and in- peting to fill such jobs from the same limited dustrial training.) pool of information specialists. ● Since computers are a relatively new tech- Against the requirement of nearly 1 million nology, the industry has had to live with new jobs, NSF projects that there will be a personnel shortages from the start. One total of 157,000 baccalaureates and masters response has been to hire graduates from level graduates in the computer professions. other fields and train them in computer Projections of community college and public science and engineering. All the major and private vocational education graduates computer firms have extensive training over the next decade have not been made. In programs, an approach that is less feasi- the academic year 1977 to 1978, these schools ble for smaller sized companies. produced about 67,000 graduates trained in ● The rate at which computer science and the computer field. engineering training programs can grow may be limited not only by the existing Several observations can be made: shortage of experts but also by the fact ● The enhancement of productivity in the that, with salary scales that are un- computer field will likely affect jobs at the competitive in comparison with private lowest levels first. For instance, advances industry, educational institutions may be in programing languages may decrease unable to hire qualified faculty. the need for entry-level program coders. ● The generally inadequate educational However, neither BLS nor NSF examined preparation at the secondary level could the structure of these jobs in any detail; reduce the pool of potentially qualified furthermore, they did not look at trends college entrants, an eventuality which in skill requirements. could compel colleges and universities to ● Some of the jobs included in the BLS es- lower admission standards for computer timates do not require college degrees. science majors and to require extensive While no estimates have been made of the remedial programs at the undergraduate number of jobs requiring lesser skills in level. proportion to the total number of jobs, they are probably concentrated in the The U.S. position in relationship to other categories of data entry, equipment opera- countries is also unfavorable. As shown in tion, and repair. Some low-level program- table 7, of the four Western industrialized ing jobs may also be available. countries examined, the United States pro- s The production of entry-level computer duces the fewest number of engineers meas- science and engineering graduates will ured as a percentage of the relevant age group. need to be sustained during a period when The percentages of engineers produced in each 34 “ Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Table 7.—Percentages of Engineering Graduates country correlates directly with the growth in and Trends in Shares of World Trade their share of international trade over the last decade. While this is not proof of a cause-effect Share of world trade Engineering relationship, it does suggest that one may Country graduates 1963 1977 exist.

SOURCE: National Science Foundation

Information Scientists

Doctorate-level graduates in engineering ● Engineering programs are experiencing and science are needed to support innovation repercussions from an oversupply of two and growth in a high-technology society by decades ago followed by strong student conducting research that builds a foundation antipathy in the late 1960’s and 1970’s. for new development, conducting applied re- ● Computer science programs have experi- search and product development, and staffing enced their strongest growth pressures in college-level computer science and engineering a time of general retrenchment in aca- programs. NSF found that the most serious demic budgets. shortages of Ph.D.’s are in computer sciences ● A shortage of top-level, research-oriented and in engineering, the two areas that are at faculty prevents the growth of graduate the leading edge of technological growth. The programs; 10 percent of the faculty open- production of Ph.D.’s in the computer sci- ings in computer science were unfilled in ences and in engineering has not grown signif- 1980. icantly over the last decade. In fact, in the case ● High private sector salaries and tight of engineering, it has dropped. The situation basic research funding are drawing the may be even worse than the numbers indicate, best faculty out of the classrooms and since NSF estimated that in some depart- laboratories. ments nearly half the engineering graduate ● High salaries for programmers, analysts, students are foreign nationals. While some for- and engineers at the baccalaureate and eigners may stay in the United States and master levels are attracting students enter the U.S. labor pool, others will return to away from Ph. D. programs. their native countries. Several factors have been mentioned as underlying the Ph. D. shortage: Chapter 4 Trends in Information Technology

Chapter 4 Trends in Information Technology

Electronics technology in general has evolved rapidly over the last few decades, but the changes now taking place in communications, computers, and video technology are, perhaps, the most profound.

Findings

● The next decade will see a wide assortment home, school, and business. Many of these of new information technology products and products and services will, at least initial- services offered to the consumer. Many ex- ly, be directed to upper-income consumers. isting products and services, such as the ● telephone or television set, will be altered Educational users are not likely to stimulate and enhanced by incorporating microelec- the development of technology specifically tronics technology. oriented to their needs. Rather, they will use products and services designed to serve ● These new products and services are being other consumer markets such as business provided by a rapidly growing business sec- and entertainment. tor called the information industry. This sector is composed of both new firms ex- ● New firms in the information industry may perienced in technology, and some tradi- play key roles as new providers of educational publishing and entertainment com- tional hardware and curricula. Curricula panies that are adapting to technological may also be provided by a few traditional advances. textbook publishers that are moving into new information technology markets. ● While it is not possible to predict with certainty which of these products will succeed ● Automated work stations, such as word in the marketplace, it is clear that a wealth processors, are beginning to incorporate of new technology will be available to the training and job assistance software.

Several new types of communication tech- ● Much larger volumes of data can be car- nologies are being developed and installed. ried over the lines. They will offer the following improved capa- . An international data communications bilities: network is evolving that will allow the establishment of high-speed communication ● The cost of communications, particularly links between virtually any two points on high-speed, long-distance data transmis- the globe. sion, will continue to drop. ● Users will have a variety of communica- Specific communications technologies con- tion services available to serve different tributing to this picture are two-way cable, needs. satellite communication, digital telephone net- ● Communications networks will be easier works, new local loop distribution technolo- to use, so that users can build distributed gies, and new broadcast technologies, such as networks of interlinked computers and the direct broadcast satellite and the low- terminals. power broadcast. 37 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Cable

Cable television transmits the signal to a tel- cases, less than 12. Some modem systems now evision receiver directly through a wire rather being installed provide over 100 channels. It than through air waves. Its principal advan- has been estimated that by 1990 over 50 per- tages are better reception, the ability to direct cent of the homes served by cable will have specific signals to specific receivers, and the access to more than 30 channels.1 This addi- availability of more channels for use. tional channel capacity is important for educational purposes, since it implies the potential Originally viewed simply as an antenna availability of a wider variety of programing shared by a community, usually in an area aimed at narrower audiences (called narrow- with reception problems or with limited local casting). The content of television program- service, some cable systems have been in place ing no longer must be determined by a limited for over 30 years, and their growth has been number of channels serving a mass market. slow. Cable now, however, seems to have passed a critical threshold and is growing Two-way access means that in addition to rapidly. This growth is spurred by the availa- receiving programing from the cable center— bility of a number of new services and, in the the “head-end”-- the user has a communica- view of some, by the deregulation of the cable tion channel back to the center. In current industry. The number of past and projected systems such as the Qube system in Colum- installations of cable in homes and the number bus, Ohio, the viewer has a hand-held key- of local community franchises for new cable board through which he can make responses networks to serve them are shown in table 8. to program inquiries. Some two-way systems allow the connection of security devices such The principal technological differences be- as fire or burglar alarms and meters that can tween older and new cable systems are the be read remotely for utility billing. numbers of channels and two way access. Older cable installations provide only a small number of channels into the home, in some ‘LINK, New Electronic Media Program.

Table 8.—The Growth of Cable Television in the United States

1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 Operating systems ...... 400 640 1,352 2,490 3,506 4,225 6,000 Total subscription households ...... 150,000 650,000 1,275,000 4,500,000 9,800,000 16,000,000 33,000,000 SOURCE LINK

Satellite Communication

In slightly over a decade, communication Table 9.—Projected Demand for Satellite satellites have become a major component of Communications in Number of Transponders the national and international communication 1985 1990 1995 network. The past and projected growth of Data ...... 124 74 117 communication satellite usage for a variety of Voice ...... 288 660 1,008 Video-conferencing ...... 20 100 200 services is shown in table 9. These projections Video-television ...... 100 200 225 of growth depend on assumptions about what Total ...... 432 1,034 1,550 new services may be developed and about how NOTE: Projections vary greatly. much satellite capacity may be available. SOURCE: U.S. Satellite Systems Inc., Fi/ing Before FCC, Nov. 23, 1981. —.

Ch. 4— Trends in Information Technology ● 39

Availability is affected by technical, economic, Satellites stimulated the development of new and regulatory factors that are independent types of television networks formed specifical- of the existence of a potential market. ly to serve cable subscribers with specialized programing in such areas as news, sports, re- Different studies have resulted in striking- ligion, minority interests, movies, and fine ly different estimates of communication sat- arts. This programing is distributed over a ellite usage. The numbers shown in table 9 combination of satellite and land communica- are estimates based on these studies and are tion lines to the cable center, where it is then thus useful only to indicate trends. redistributed to the subscribers’ homes. The growth of communication satellites is closely connected with that of cable systems.

Digital Telephone Network

The basic technology of the telephone net- store and process it. Most electronics technol- work and its use is changing. The principal ogy on which the telephone network is becom- shift is from an analog-based system to a ing dependent is digital. Central office switch- digital-based one. In analog transmission, the ing is computer-based, as are most new PBX human voice (or any sound pattern) is trans- (Private Branch Exchange) systems on the formed into electrical wave form, similar to the market. A new generation of telephones based way music is stored on a record as a series of on digital microcomputer electronics is also wavy lines. Digital transmission, on the other appearing. hand, encodes the information as a series of discrete pulses. In a manner similar to that of A service already being offered is “packet- Morse code, different sequences of pulses rep- switched” data transmission, which is de- resent different numbers. The sound wave is signed specifically to carry data between a encoded as a series of numbers and then con- computer and either another computer or a verted into sequences of electrical pulses on computer terminal. In this type of system, the line. digital information is packaged in small pieces The shift to digital transmission will pro- called packets. A packet contains information foundly affect both the potential uses of the about the source and destination of the data and the relationship of that piece to the whole network for data transmission and the types of sophisticated communication services that message. The packets are transmitted separately through the network, sometimes tak- can be provided. Digital technology allows the ing different paths, depending on which paths transmission lines to carry more information are free at the moment. at higher rates. Moreover, transmission is more accurate. Distortion of analog signals The telephone network was originally de- does not usually affect normal voice conver- signed for human conversation, not for com- sation; however, computer data transmission puter data transmission. That the require- is far more demanding. Digital coding allows ments of these two types of communication for error correction. are significantly different is shown in table 10. The digital communications network com- Packet switching systems incorporate combined with the presence of computers, both puters into the network in such a way as to within the network and at the terminal ends, make it far more efficient for data transmis- will provide a basis for a wide array of new sion. It is cheaper, faster, more accurate, and communication services that unite the com- eliminates some incompatibilities between the munication of information with the ability to various types of equipment on the network.

1. . 40 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education — —

Table 10.-Chief Characteristics of marketplace-which of these advanced serv- Voice v. Data Communication ices the telephone companies will be allowed Voice Data to provide in competition with other com- Transmission panies in the information business, and what speed ...... Low Very high the rules of competition will be. The implica- Characteristics of tions of the recent reorganization of AT&T, message ...... Infrequent bursts Nearly constant of data use of line agreed on between AT&T and the U.S. Depart- Length of time ment of Justice, are still not clear, although connected to the telecommunications and information serv- network...... Minutes Hours ices marketplace will be affected. Congress Sensitivity to distortion ...... Very low Very high may wish to legislate in certain areas of tele- SOURCE: Off Ice of Technology Assessment. communications policy that it still feels to be unresolved.

Packet systems, because they lease tele- Digital data communication services have phone lines from AT&T and produce a dif- been particularly important to higher educa- ferent type of service for their own customers, tion, which has been experimenting with their are called “value-added carriers. ” They are use to form nationwide computer networks. under Federal Communication Commission For example, the Edunet system facilitates (FCC) regulation. Other future services that the exchange of educational computer pro- link computers and communication lines will grams and the sharing of unused computer not be so clearly classifiable as common car- resources among institutions. Under sponsor- riers, since computers within the network and ship of the National Science Foundation, at its nodes will provide services that look like university computer science departments are data processing and storage. For this reason, forming a network of their departmental edu- they may not be regulated. cation and research computer systems to allow scientists all over the country to share pro- It has not been completely decided–either grams, resources, and ideas and even to work by the courts, by the regulators, or by the on joint research projects.

Local Distribution Networks

A local exchange is that part of the telecom- within local areas. Some channels of two-way munications network that provides point-to- cable service will be withheld from general point service within a given geographical area, home use and sold to Government agencies, ranging from a single office building to an en- school systems, and businesses to form their tire metropolitan area. The telephone company own private cable-based communication net- has historically been the provider of this serv- works. Local franchises in a few areas (e.g., the ice; however, competitors, stimulated by de- New Orleans, La., agreement with Cox Cable) regulation to make use of new technology, are are already providing for this type of facility.2 now developing technologies that promise to change the economics and form of local data Other firms are experimenting with packet transmission. communication systems that use broadcast media. Networks for interoffice communica- Thus, for example, some experts predict tion are also being developed, principally by that as an outgrowth of the potentially large firms interested in the office automation capacity of cable transmission technology, the next stage of cable services will be the provi- ‘Cable TV’s Third Wave: tial Broadband C%xnnmnication sion of full two-way data transmission services Services, NRM, vol. 2, 6. LINK, New York, 1981. Ch. 4—Trends in Information Technology ● 41 market which will make it possible for dif- they will provide a mechanism to distribute ferent types of computer equipment located programing among schools in a district or in different parts of a building to communicate within a school; they will facilitate the shar- with one another, transferring data and proc- ing of expensive resources; and they will allow essing work as needed. Finally, a new form of educational services to be directed outside the broadcast transmission, called cellular radio, school—to homebound students, to students will greatly increase the availability and use with special needs and interests, and to voca- of mobile telephone communication. tional students at their workplaces. Both regional and office technologies promise a number of benefits to educational users:

New Broadcast Technologies

A number of recently developed communica- means of distributing educational programing, tion technologies will make new services avail- particularly in rural areas where providing able for the distribution of programing. While adequate education and other social services most of the industry is focusing on applica- is still a costly and difficult process. tions in the entertainment market, these serv- A number of market, technological, and reg- ices will also have important potential educa- ulatory issues, some of them international in tional use. scope, must be resolved before a DBS system can become operational. Many questions re- Direct Broadcast Satellite main about the potential utility and market In a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) system, for such types of services. Will DBS simply a satellite transmits a program directly to a compete with current cable offerings, and if receiver in the home or office, bypassing the so, what are its advantages? Would high-reso- intermediate step of using cable. Several com- lution television find a viable market? Are panies have applied to FCC for permission to special provisions needed to encourage its use offer this service, and, if approved, it would for such public services as education? Final- become available toward the end of the 1980’s. ly, many users are competing for the increasingly fewer available frequencies of the elec- The applicants have different views of the tromagnetic spectrum and for orbital “park- forms a DBS service might take, ranging from ing places” for satellites.** Would current or traditional pay television to new video potential uses of these resources allocated to technologies such as high-resolution televi- DBS be more productive, more economical, or sion. * One applicant would use it as a more of greater value to society? highly developed form of network transmission to cable and other redistributors, rather Low-Power Broadcast than to home consumers. It is noteworthy that at least one applicant, COMSAT, has included In 1980 FCC began to consider applications an educational channel in its proposal. If avail- for licenses to establish low-power television able, DBS could be a relatively inexpensive stations. Such stations broadcast with restricted power that limits their range to a few ● A ~levi9ion ~iver “draws” its picture ~ a number of dots miles (10 to 15 miles or even less). on the screen. Its resolution, the fineness of detail that can be displayed, is fixed by decades-old transmission standards. The **Broadcasting equipment such as satellites transmit their higher resolution displays that occur in computer graphics sys- information on an assigned radio frequency. When this frequen- tems are technically feasible. Because more information must cy is being used for one purpose, no other use of the same fre- be transmitted to produce more image detail, substantially quency can be tolerated in geographical areas where the two greater bandwidth is needed for transmission. signals might interfere with one another. 42 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

It is estimated that low-power stations will Low-power stations can be connected and require a relatively small capital investment used to distribute programing from a central to set up, possibly as little as $5,000. Further- source similar to the way that cable operates more, since the stations have a restricted now. Programing can be distributed by satel- range, many more licenses can be granted lite or by less exotic means, such as by mail- within any geographical region. FCC’s stated ing video cassettes. A network of inexpensive purpose for promoting low power is to provide low-power stations could serve as an econom- greater diversity of ownership and program- ical way to provide television broadcast to ing than that traditionally available over the regions with low population density. For ex- restricted number of broadcast channels cur- ample, the Alaskan Public Broadcasting Com- rently serving an area. The advantages of low mission has authorized an experimental net- entry cost and license availability may make work of low-power stations to serve the res- low-power stations attractive as a medium for idents of Bethel, Alaska. Similar systems are distributing educational programing and pro- also being developed in Canada to serve re- viding other public services. mote northern regions.

Computers

The fundamental technological base for com- In addition, networks of computers now puter hardware has undergone revolutionary allow the owners of even a small computer to changes over the last decade that are expected gain access to special resources—hardware, to continue in the next. In 20 years, computer software, or data bases—and enable them to designers have advanced from using vacuum communicate among themselves. Moreover, tubes, through solid-state transistors, to using software, which instructs the computer how microelectronic integrated circuits on single to do specific types of work, is becoming silicon chips the size of a dime. Researchers available in the commercial market. In the are now developing the ability to print elec- past, computer operators were faced with the tronic circuits in the sub-micron (less than 1 problem of developing most software them- millionth of an inch) range. selves, an expensive task that required computer expertise. Now, there are enough users These developments have had an enormous with similar computer hardware and needs to influence on the way computers are used and form an attractive market for software. on who uses them. A mass market for computers and computer software has developed that serves retail consumers. Where computer Other consumer devices that use microcom- ownership and operation used to be restricted puter technology to increase the capabilities to large, expert organizations, it now poten- of traditional consumer products such as type- tially extends to millions of homes, small writers, automobile carburetors, television businesses, and schools. Contributing to this sets, or thermostats are also being marketed. trend is the fact that the cost of computing In some cases, entirely new products, such as has dropped steadily and rapidly-to the point computer video games, are being developed. that so-called desktop computers can be pur- However, these are not designed to be used chased for no more than a few thousand dol- as computers. lars. These small machines have the capability of computers that two decades ago sold for These general technological trends are re- hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it is an- sulting in the availability of a number of spe- ticipated that their price will continue to drop. cific products. Ch. 4—Trends in Information Technology * 43

Desktop Computers interested in electronics. This company became a major competitor in the market. Desktop, or personal, computers are small machines that retail for prices ranging from Atari, originally a small firm manufactur- less than a thousand to a few thousand dollars. ing video games, but now a subsidiary of They are based on microelectronic technology, Warner Communications Co., followed soon using inexpensive memory and computer after. Most recently, giant firms such as IBM, chips commonly available on the market. Most Xerox, and Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) current desktop computers are based on one have entered the market. The growth of this of two basic chip designs that use an 8-bit market is continuing, albeit at a slower pace, word as their fundamental unit of informa- stimulated by use of computers for entertain- tion. * Newer models are appearing, however, ment and games, education, household man- that use a more recently developed 16-bit word agement, and hobbies (e.g., computer-gen- chip. (Larger word-size generally results in erated art or music). faster computation and more memory direct- Another market, originally unanticipated, is ly available to the machine.) that of the small business user. It started slow- The owner of a desktop computer has a wide ly, principally because professional users were variety of attachments available. These “pe- often nonexperts who needed more reliable as- ripherals” allow the computer to perform var- sistance and better software than the manu- ious tasks—such as printing results, drawing facturers were originally willing to provide. graphs, communicating over the telephone However, growth of the business market has line, storing information (e.g., on magnetic been rapid, and most experts expect that it tapes or disks), and even generating musical will predominate in this decade. sounds. While the computer manufacturers Finally, many manufacturers see the educa- themselves offer a selection of peripheral tion market as one with great potential. Ap- devices, many have been designed and mar- ple, Atari, and Tandy have set up nonprofit keted by independent firms. The role played by these small independent firms has undoubtedly stimulated innovation in the small computer field and, by developing new applications, accelerated the growth of the market. Over the last 5 years, the structure of the market has undergone substantial changes. Desktop computers were originally developed and sold by small entrepreneurial firms such as Apple, one of the most successful to date. However, an unexpectedly broad consumer market rapidly developed, and in response, larger, more consumer-oriented firms entered it. Tandy Corp., for example, entered the desktop computer market with a machine called the TRS 80. While not a computer company, Tandy had a national network of retail outlets—Radio Shack—through which the small computers could be sold to consumers

*An s-bit Word is a quantity of information roughly large enough to contain a single alphabetic or numerical character, A 16-bit word can contain twice as much information. Software selection available at a Yonkers, N.Y., store 44 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

organizations intended to encourage the edu- Figure 2.— Installed Base Micros cational use of computers. (The past and pro- Total Universe and School Installed jected growth of the desktop market is sum- marized in tables 11 and 12, and fig. 2.) 22

Growing along with the desktop computer 20 - industry are the firms that provide the pro- / grams for these devices. Nearly all of these companies are new, started by one or a few programmers with a bright idea. Their packaged programs make the computer useful, and therefore attractive, to most customers. Given the current size and expected growth of the personal computer market, a single successful program can make a firm’s fortune and estab- Y lish it in the business. Like the independent peripheral industry, such software companies have been a major force in expanding the use of desktop computers. For example, the availability of VISICALC, a budgeting and plan- u ning program offered by Visicorp, has been Jan 1982 1987 1992 cited as the principal reason that some businesses bought desktop systems. Similar- ly, the availability of sophisticated word- SOURCE: LINK processing and accounting packages has opened the business market to small and documenting the program, handles all the computers. standard publication jobs of production and In some ways the small computer software marketing. Some programmers are beginning to business resembles that of traditional book be well known. Their names are attached to publishing. A software company often pur- the software packages just as those of authors chases rights to distribute packages written are to books; and, just as with books, cus- by independent programmers. The company, tomers often show preferences for software which may also assume the costs of testing written by particular programmers. Hand-Held Computers Table 11 .—U.S. Installed Base of PersonaI Computers by Market Sectora (units in thousands) The hand-held computer is somewhat larger than a normal pocket calculator, contains a 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 microcomputer chip and sufficient memory to Home/hobby ...... 700 1,327 2,357 3,407 4,798 Business/professional . . 1,236 2,345 3,975 6,025 8,428 allow simple programs to be entered and run, Total ...... 1,936 3,672 6,332 9,432 13,226 and sells for only a few hundred dollars. It is aBa~ed ~rl IIX Survey of Desktop Cornwters. both much cheaper and considerably more SOURCE: LINK. portable than the desktop computer.

Table 12.—Micros in Schools (installed base)

Purchased by school district School level Total for Total Hardware for K-12 Grades K-8 Grades 9-12 College 1981 installed Totals ...... 10,400 16,800 22,800 30,000 80,000 145,000 SOURCE: LINK. Ch. 4—Trends in Information Technology ● 45

Its portability, however, is also the source expensive terminal. Although containing with- of its limitations: the keyboard is small and in itself some computer power, the hand-held difficult to use for entering large amounts of computer could also be used in conjunction text; the display is limited to a single line of with a communications network connected to text or numbers; and no convenient, fast, bulk one or more larger computers. In an educa- storage such as a floppy disk is attached. tional setting, for example, students might use These deficiencies may be overcome by design- their personal hand-held computer by itself ing the hand-held computer to plug into other wherever possible. For assignments that re- hardware devices, thus sacrificing its porta- quire more capacity, the hand-held could be bility. linked over a phone line to a larger system at the school. One promising application of the hand-held computer for educational use will be as an in-

Human Interface

Much research and development (R&D) in computer use. On the other hand, according computer technology is directed at making to this theory, a properly designed program- computers and humans communicate with one ing language can actually guide the user to the another more easily, a process referred to as solution of a problem. It was this latter obser- input/output. The input function has two basic vation that led to the creation of a program- activities: 1) instructing the computer in the ing language called LOGO, which was de- task that it is to perform; and 2) reading data signed for educational use. This language or instructions into the computer quickly, ac- teaches children new patterns of thinking curately, and inexpensively. The output func- about problems, patterns not only more at- tion refers to producing results that are un- tuned to the use of computers, but also— derstandable and easily used either by a according to some experts—more powerful for human or, increasingly, by some other com- solving very complex problems. puter or machine. Data have traditionally been typed into the New languages are being developed to help computer, either directly or through punched both experts and nonexperts program com- cards or some other intermediate medium. puters more efficiently. Many of these lan- Technology is now appearing on the market guages are tailored to specific applications— to input directly, either by speaking to the such as educational use. For the professional computer or by showing it pictures. Present programmer, the goal is to develop languages voice input capabilities are quite limited, that allow increased productivity—either however. Only a few hundred words can be rec- faster and more accurate programing, or the ognized, and these only in a few specific voices creation of more complex programs. For non- for which the system must be trained. During expert users, the goal is to provide a language this decade, experts expect that significant ad- closely related to their language and problem- vances will be made in both vocabulary size solving styles. and number of speakers that can be recognized. An interesting application of a hand- Computer experts see a close connection be- held computer would be as a personalized voice tween the language used to program a com- input device that is tuned to respond only to puter and the mental problem-solving strategy the owner’s voice. of the person using it. If the logical structure of the programing language is significantly The principal developments in output tech- different from the user’s mental processes, the nology have been in the areas of low-cost language can actually be a barrier to effective printers, graphics, and voice. Printers have 46 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education historically been an increasingly expensive sophisticated capabilities are coming on the technology to add to small computers. Pre- market. Limited, but inexpensive and useful, dominantly mechanical, they have not shared color graphic capability is already available on in the price reductions experienced by elec- most desktop computers. While elaborate, full- tronic devices. Recently, however, stimulated scale graphics would be useful for engineering by the growing small-computer market, a design education and for simulators—say, for number of firms have developed inexpensive flight training-the limited capability avail- printers that use electronics more extensive- able on small systems has not yet been fully ly. These “dot-matrix” printers, selling for a exploited for many educational uses. few hundred dollars, print characters as pat- Voice output technology, while still prim- terns of small points. Besides cost, other ad- itive, is also improving steadily in price and vantages of the dot-matrix printers are that performance, although it is unlikely that ac- they can produce a wide variety of type fonts curate reproduction of human speech will be without changing the print mechanism and achieved in this decade. Texas Instruments, that they can be used to print graphic with its successful “Speak and Spell” line of material. products, has illustrated how useful even a Lately, the most active computer peripheral limited capability can be for educational market in new product development has been applications. * color graphics output. Systems can now display solid shapes, in full color, with shading *Spe~ ~d SwlI i9 a sm~ hand-held device with a keyboard to reflect light sources and surface textures. and display. It speaks a word to the learner, who types in that word on the keyboard. If the word is spelled correctly, the device While this technology is still very expensive, moves on to the next word. If not, after giving the child another prices are dropping rapidly, and new and more chance, it displays the correct answer.

Storage Technology

Technology for storing data is steadily im- probably as important to the development of proving, for both large and small computer the desktop computer as was the microproc- systems. The most significant developments essor, itself. The floppy disk, which comes in for educational use are those storage technol- 5 ¼- and 8-inch sizes, is most typified in word- ogies used by software publishers for the data processing systems in its 8-inch form. It pro- and programs they sell. The storage medium vides a low-cost, rapid, and reliable storage must be cheap, durable, easily handled, hard medium for the small computer. Programs are to copy (in the view of some firms), and, most now commonly distributed on floppy disks. important, usable by purchasers on their There is currently a debate about whether soft- systems. ware firms will favor floppy disks or ROMs as the medium of choice for distributing their Many desktop systems are designed to op- products. Disks are cheaper to reproduce, erate programs stored permanently on silicon while ROMs are now harder to copy and chips in a high-speed memory that cannot be “pirate.” changed. This so-called “read-only memory” (ROM), is plugged into a socket on the com- Now, economical bulk storage systems that puter. Its most common form is the game car- use hard disk technology are becoming avail- tridge for the Atari and other electronic game able for small computers. These systems have packages. many times the capacity of floppy disks and are much faster and more reliable. However, The other major memory technology for they are also more expensive and do not pro- small computers is the floppy disk, which was vide a facility for data backup. — ———

Ch. 4—Trends in Information Technology ● 47

Video Technology

Like the computer and communications in- awkward to use in small rooms. The goal of dustries, the consumer entertainment sector, researchers is to develop a true flat display principally television, is also making techno- screen, since the market for such a technology logical advances. This decade is likely to see would be large, not only for entert ainment, but significant developments in several areas of also for use in computer systems. Since man- video technology: video cassette recorders, im- ufacturers are keeping their progress in this proved quality (high-resolution, flat screen, area quiet, it is hard to predict the likelihood large screen, high-fidelity sound), filmless of success. cameras, and video disks. High-resolution television, another area of intensive development, may be closer to tech- Video Cassette Recorders nological realization. However, its widespread Video cassette recorders have already be- adoption will be hampered by the need to use come important consumer goods. Based on different broadcast formats on transmission consumer surveys, their principal home uses channels with much higher capacity, as well seem divided between viewing movies, par- as by the viewer’s need to purchase expensive ticularly those not readily available at local new receivers. For this reason, CBS is propos- movie houses or on network television, and so- ing the use of direct broadcast satellites for called “time-shifting.” Time-shifting means transmitting high-resolution programing. recording a program at the time it is broad- Cable is another possible transmission medi- cast for later replay. (According to a recent um. Initial users are likely to be institutional court ruling, such practice may be in violation users, such as theaters, that can afford to pur- of the copyright law, although the court also chase receivers and pay relatively high trans- acknowledged the difficulty of its enforce- mission costs. ment.)3 Filmless Camera Video cassette recorders have become an established consumer technology despite their The Japanese firm, Sony, recently an- lack of standard recording format and their nounced the development of a camera that op- restricted marketability (to the relatively erates electronically. The camera, which small upper-income bracket). It has not been combines video and computer technology, difficult to produce and sell tapes in different “writes” a picture on a very small, reusable formats, and time-shifting use does not depend floppy disk. The picture is then viewed on a on common standard formats. television display. The initial version is expensive, and its performance is limited by the Improved Quality resolution capability of current television displays, which is much lower than that of film. R&D is under way to develop basic new However, the future availability of high-reso- video technologies that promise better per- lution television displays will allow a picture formance. Although none of these has yet quality as good or better than that of film. reached the market place, experts think that at least a limited number will be available in Video Disk this decade. A technology eliciting much interest from The flat and large screen protection systems the education community is the video disk, a that are currently available are expensive and medium that stores television programing on 3Universal City Studios v. Sony Corp., 659 F. 2d, 963 (9th a disk resembling a phonograph record. Edu- Cir., 1981). cators and information publishers are excited 48 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education about its potential because such disks are does not offer recording capability, it is not durable, and copies are cheap to produce. Each useful for those who want to record from disk has two sound tracks, which may be broadcasts or create their own video tapes. played singly or together, and individual frames on the disk can be addressed and The laser system stores information as viewed. Moreover, the storage capacity of a transparent or reflective spots on the disk. The disk is high-56,000 frames on a side. Com- reader uses a laser light beam that either puter data and programs can also be stored passes through or reflects from the disk sur- on such a disk. face. No physical contact is made with the disk surface, and the reading accuracy is immune These characteristics suggest that a video to damage to the disk surface. Currently avail- disk coupled with a small computer would be able laser disk systems record on one side. a very flexible and powerful device, allowing However, at least one firm will soon offer a on the same disk a combination of moving se- technology that stores information on both quences, still pictures, and text, all under in- sides and that can read both without having teractive control. to flip the disk. There are a number of competing technol- The principal benefits of the laser system are ogies for recording and reading the informa- its ability to lock onto a single addressed tion on a disk. However, they can be regarded frame and to move at random, under computer as two basic types, capacitance and laser. The control, through the information stored on the capacitance system, marketed by RCA, stores disk, as well as the durability of the disk itself. the information on a disk in a spiral of tiny Its chief drawback to date is cost. grooves, much smaller than, but similar to, those on a phonograph record. The informa- The principal market for laser video disk tion is read by a needle that physically rides systems has been industrial and military in the groove. RCA has marketed its capaci- users. Experts differ on whether this tech- tance system directly to the upper-income nology will become common in the home and home buyer, selling it principally in competi- school. For this to happen, the cost of a tion with video cassette records as a medium computer-controlled video disk reader must for viewing movies and other packaged pro- drop substantially from its current price, gram materials. However, since the system which runs well over $1,000.

Information Services

The new information technology described apart. * This technological merger is taking in this chapter will form the basis for a wide place in two ways: variety of information products and services ● The technologies are becoming integrated for the home, office, school, and other loca- into each other. The digital telephone net- tions. The most significant ones will incor- work uses computer technology; distrib- porate the integration of several technologies.

The three areas of information technology– *Thig Overlap creates regulatory problems, ShlW the commU- computers, communications, and video-have nications industry is regulated and the computer industry is grown up separately, connected only by their not. The FCC recently concluded an inquiry, “Computer II, ” motivated by this growing overlap, which was intended to better joint dependency on microelectronics. Now, it distinguish computer services from communications is becoming increasingly difficult to tell them (5-FCCINQ). —

Ch. 4—Trends in Information Technology . 49

uted computer systems use telecommu- While some of these new information serv- nication services; video disks are con- ices are described below, the list is not com- trolled by microcomputers. plete. It is possible to predict with some cer- ● New types of information services that tainty what technological capabilities will ex- make use of all three technologies are ist over the next decade or two. It is not possi- being planned and offered. For example, ble, however, to predict how entrepreneurs will Pergamon Press offers a patent search use those capabilities to bring innovative serv- system that integrates a personal com- ices to the marketplace. The new information puter, a video disk, and a remote data technology base that is being developed and base accessed by telephone to allow at- installed offers a rich opportunity for such torneys to search U.S. patents. invention. Several sectors of the industry are also beginning to overlap: Videotex and Teletext ● High technology-communications and Some European nations, along with Japan computers. and Canada, have been developing a tech- ● Traditional print publishers—news- nology that uses the existing television broad- papers, magazine, and book publishers. cast medium to bring an information service ● The entertainment media-film, televi- into homes and offices. sion, and radio. ● Other information-dependent firms– A picture on a television screen is composed banks and credit card companies. of several thousand lines. During the transmission of the television signal that-paints the pic- To some extent, mergers of previously in- ture line-by-line on the receiver screen, there dependent business sectors reflect normal are a number of times when no useful infor- business growth through diversification, but mation is being transmitted. These so-called the firms also see their various business ac- “blanking intervals” are needed to allow the tivities as becoming more closely related. receiver and transmitter electronics to catch Thus, diversification within the information up and get ready to display the next line. industry has become a way for companies to While some of these intervals are used to syn- protect themselves against technological ob- chronize and control the picture display, many solescence. The industry overlap is motivated of them are unused. Information can be trans- by two trends: mitted in these intervals. A properly modified ● Computer and communication technology television receiver can pick out the informa- is becoming central to the provision of tion and, on command from the viewer, display many traditional information services. it on the screen, either alone or on top of the For example, some providers of two-way existing picture. cable services plan to offer an electronic In a teletext system, several hundred or newspaper. Furthermore, traditional pub- even thousands of pages of information are lishing is becoming increasingly dependent on the use of electronic systems. continually being transmitted. (It may take several seconds to transmit the entire volume ● Unique new services are appearing that of data.) The user selects a page for viewing; can be interpreted as a blend of more traditional businesses. For example, AT&T the television set then waits for that page to has been considering offering an in-home come along in the information stream, picks it out, stores it, and displays it on the screen. information service that, while resembling an electronic version of the yellow pages, Videotex is a more sophisticated version of competes in the eyes of some newspaper this service. It requires two-way communica- publishers with classified advertising. tion between the viewer and the transmitter. 50 c Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

The viewer requests a specific item from the services offer access to a wide variety of data central system; that page of information is for a broad customer market. Specialized serv- then transmitted on the television signal to the ices provide narrow, but usually deeper and viewer’s screen. more sophisticated, information services to customers with special needs. Some firms The term videotex is sometimes used more serve home, professional, and small business broadly to include all on-line service designed users, while others serve large industrial to display information on demand. Such sys- clients. tems may use cable, telephone lines, or new packet broadcast technology to distribute There are no clear dividing lines between their products. The advantage of videotex is these markets. In general, however, the large- that a larger data base can be made available scale specialized data bases tend to be expen- to the user, since the entire data base does not sive, and using them requires a great deal of need to be transmitted continually. It also computer processing, at either the provider’s allows for interaction between the user and the or customer’s end of the telephone line. Sys- central data base. One could, for example, ex- tems oriented to individual customers tend to amine a catalog of merchandise or an airline be less costly and less specialized. schedule and then complete the transaction by buying a product or making a reservation. Be- For example, using ordinary telephone lines, cause it allows individualized interaction with owners of small computer systems can connect a data base, the videotex system may offer val- with on-line services such as The Source and uable opportunities for educating and training. CompuServe. Companies like these offer a wide variety of information to subscribers. Al- Broadcasters and information publishers in though originally oriented to the needs of the the United States have been experimenting in home consumer, these firms are beginning to a small way with various forms of videotex expand their network offerings to the business and teletext services, in most cases using market. Their services now include direct technology developed in Europe and Canada. access to United Press International and A recent proposed rulemaking by FCC opens Associated Press news wires, stock exchange the way for their widespread introduction. The transactions, weather information, transpor- principal problems in the commercial develop- tation schedules, restaurant and film reviews, ment of this type of service will be identify- sports scores, and even computer programs ing information markets, assembling an ade- that can be directly loaded into the home or quate and marketable data base, and pricing office system from the company’s network. recorders for home television sets at a level where they can be purchased for use in the A number of newspapers are conducting ex- average household. periments to provide electronic newspapers. Customers paying a special access charge will Information Networks be able to get news summaries and special features such as horoscopes and weather. Two- Closely related to videotex are various serv- way services such as bill paying and teleshop- ices that have developed to provide owners of ping will also be offered to network sub- desktop computers and terminals with access scribers. Customers can view lists of products to computer and data services over commu- and prices and put an order into the system. nication networks. This business is expected After the product is delivered, the customer to grow rapidly over the next decade. Some will be billed via credit card. Some banks are experts project over $6 billion in annual bill- experimenting with in-home banking services. ings by 1985. In addition to communication with the cen- Providers of these services distinguish their tral network data bases, customers can ex- markets by the nature of the services offered change messages with one another through and by the types of clients they serve. General the system, allowing a simple form of “elec- Ch. 4—Trends in Information Technology “ 51 tronic mail.”* The network services also use ● Bibliographic and reference data bases for this two-way communication to provide elab- research, are offered by DIALOG Infor- orate games that can be played by several cus- mation Services, Inc. (a subsidiary of tomers simultaneously. Lockheed) and the National Technical In- formation Service (NTIS) of the U.S. Gov- While The Source and similar firms sell ac- ernment; also the New York Times Infor- cess to a wide variety of services, other com- mation Service, which offers indexed ab- panies offer more specialized products. Dow stracts and full text retrieval of news ar- Jones, for example, sells access to its stock ex- ticles appearing in a number of magazines change data base. A customer with an Apple and newspapers. or other small computer and a communica- ● Medical information are provided by the tions interface buys a special program for the Medline service of the National Library computer from Dow Jones and subscribes to of Medicine; also, Harper and Row’s the data base. Using the home computer, re- HARFAX service publishes an on-line cent transactions can be monitored and his- pharmaceutical data base. torical trends analyzed. ● Legal information, such as the Legis data Some firms offer large sophisticated data bank of citations and the Pergamon on- bases designed primarily to serve institutional line collection of patent information. customers with special information needs. Ex- ● Econometric information such as offered amples are: by Data Resources, Inc. ● Natural resources data such as the petroleum reserves estimates developed *For examp]e, Con=essman James Coyne uses The SOUrCe as a way to stay in electronic communication with his constit- by the Department of Energy and offered uents. by the I. P. Sharp Co.

Electronic Conferencing

With electronic conferencing, a meeting is puter conference, the participants do not conducted in which geographically dispersed need to be connected at the same time. In participants talk with one another over tele- addition, since each message in the dialog communication lines. There are three catego- is stored as computer data, it can be in- ries of electronic conferencing, depending on dexed to topic, date, sender, and so on. the technology used: This facility allows a complete running, indexed transcript to be available to the ● Audio conferencing, which uses the conferees at all times. telephone: individuals at different locations are linked together by a conference All of these conferencing modes offer an al- call wherein both a loudspeaker and a ternative to traveling for meetings, thus sav- microphone system are used at each lo- ing energy and time. Additionally, because cation. computer conferencing offers time-independ- ● Video conferencing, which supplements ence, it is even attractive for use within a the voice connection with television im- single office for meetings between busy execu- ages of the participants or of display tives. charts, tables, or other graphics under Extensive research has been done on the use discussion. ● and effectiveness of different types of telecon- Computer conferencing, which transmits ferencing systems.4 Each has its own advan- messages through a central computer that stores them and forwards them on 4J. V. Johansen and K. Spengler, Electronic Meetings (Read- request to another participant. In a coming, Mass.: Addison Wesley, 1979). 52 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education tages, disadvantages, and costs. Video con- Turoff at the New Jersey Institute of Tech- ferencing, for example, will be more expensive nology (the EIS system) and by the Institute than computer or audio conferencing; however, for the Future (the PLANET system). Com- computer conferencing offers time-independ- mercial systems are now appearing on the ence. market. Infomedia, a small California-based firm, is marketing its NOTEPAD conferenc- Experimental computer conferencing sys- ing system to large industrial and government terns have been operated for some time by clients.

Advanced Business Services

AT&T is planning to offer an advanced data handle incompatibilities between different communications service known as ACS (Ad- types of computers and terminals and can also vanced Computer Service). This service, prin- manage the flow of work among several inter- cipally designed to serve major corporate connected computers. The network can even users, will integrate high-speed data commu- offer a customer data storage and retrieval, nications for computer applications with such as well as computer-processing services. uses as teleconferencing (video and audio) and Data networking has been of interest to facsimile transmission. Satellite Business Sys- higher education for several years. Post-sec- tems is planning to offer a similar service, and ondary education institutions may find fewer other firms may also enter the market soon. technological barriers and lower data com- One principal advantage of these new communications costs if they link their computers puter-based communication systems is that and use teleconferencing for teaching and they will allow the integration of communica- management. Industrial firms that install tion services economically over a single high- ACS-type services almost certainly will use capacity channel. Incorporation of computers them to provide education and training for within the network will provide the customer their employees. with more flexibility, since the network can Chapter 5 Educational Uses of Information Technology An elementary school teacher in Lexington, Mass., prepares a program for presentation to her students Chapter 5 Educational Uses of Information Technology

Since the development of the radio, people have proposed that communications technology provide major improvements in the delivery of education. Research on “teaching machines” dates back to the 1940’s, before the general introduction of computers into the marketplace. Since that time, there has been continual research, development, and implementation of techniques for using information technology in various aspects of education. OTA investigated what is known and what has been proposed about possible applications of information technology to education.

Findings

● Information technology is capable of becom- for specialized industrial uses–e.g., flight ing a major resource for the delivery of edu- training for airline pilots-or education and cational services over the next decade: training for the handicapped. — It can be an effective delivery mechanism for most existing forms of education. ● It is impossible to predict with certainty the — It provides capabilities for responding to technological base that will exist for educa- new demands that traditional school- tional use. Some of the products and serv- room education cannot meet adequately. ices now projected for the next decade, and . The cost of information products and described in chapter 4, may not survive the services for educational applications will competition for the consumer’s money. This continue to drop with respect to other uncertainty may inhibit the rapid develop- items in the educational budget. ment of software and services particularly oriented to the education market. ● The principal benefits will be realized from combinations of new technologies rather ● The provision of high-quality, reasonably than from any single device. priced educational software is the principal c Most educational applications will be based technological challenge. Low-cost hardware on hardware technology that is originally will be widely available to most homes, of- developed for a broader consumer market. fices, and schools. The only exceptions will be devices designed

Functions of Educational Technology There are a variety of ways in which comput- Passive Instruction ers and communications technology can provide educational services. In some cases, dif- The oldest instructional use of information ferent types of applications will require differ- technology is simply to present information. ent technologies; in other cases, the same type The textbook is the traditional passive instruc- of technology can be used to provide different tional system. Projection media-slides, film- types of services. strips, overhead transparencies, and pictures 55 56 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

—are more modern forms. Educational radio of schedule. The VCR, in particular, allows— and television have experienced quiet but copyright law permitting-instructors and steady growth since the late 1950’s and early students to copy instructional programs off 1960’ s.’ Video cassettes and video disks will the air and play them back at some later time. provide even more flexible tools for presenting Video cassettes and video disks will provide video-based instructional material. alternate modes of broadcasting for the distribution of instructional material. The best known recent examples of passive instructional programing are the ‘(Sesame Passive instruction systems have the follow- Street” and “Electric Company” programs ing characteristics: produced by The Children’s Television Work- ● All educational decisions are in the hands shop with partial Federal support. These proof the providers; what information is to grams were intended to supplement, not re- be presented, for how long, in what se- place, normal schooling. Sesame Street is in- quence, and even—in the case of such cur- tended to teach preschool children some basic rent instructional broadcasting—the concepts and learning attitudes. Electric Com- schedule—when it is shown. pany is principally aimed at supplementing ● The boundaries between entertainment, reading instruction at the grammar school public information, and educational serv- level. ices can become blurred. A Shakespeare At the other extreme, a full alternative to play, a concert, or an informational series traditional education is the “Open Universi- such as the successful Cosmos series car- ty” in Britain, which has conducted a full col- ried by the the Public Broadcasting Sys- lege degree program for over 11 years, based tem, may all be considered important in- principally on passive instruction using the structional resources as well as entertain- broadcast networks. In the United States, the ment. Corporation for Public Broadcasting is developing an educational program along similar Interactive Instruction lines in cooperation with universities across the country. This technology is used to teach a specific subject or skill directly to a student, guiding New technology for video production is also the learner through a sequence of steps involv- having an impact on educational uses. Com- ing the presentation of information, drills, and puter animation systems have become consid- exercises designed by an instructor. Interac- erably less expensive than older, hand anima- tive instructional systems require the student tion techniques. Video processing uses com- to communicate with the device, allowing the puters to perform elaborate modification of system to vary the pace of instruction, select video images. Both of these technologies are among alternate sequences of presentation, widely used in commercial television and mo- test for understanding, and alter the content tion pictures, but they are also particularly at- according to the specific needs of the individ- tractive for instructional application in which ual. concepts and processes that are subtle and difficult to visualize need to be illustrated. Computer-assisted instruction is the best Complex physical processes, such as fluid flow known interactive technology. A student sit- or load stresses on structures such as bridges, ting at a computer terminal works through a can be simulated on a computer and displayed series of “frames” that teach and test under- as dynamic graphic images. In addition, video standing.* If the student is progressing slow- cassette recorders (VCRs) and video disks ly, the computer branches to an alternate style promise to relieve students from the dictates *A ‘{ fr~e ” i9 a &splay on the television screen in a SAI 9y5- IP. J. Dier and R. J. Pedone, Uses of Television for Instruc- tem. The term dates back to programed learning research in tion, 19761977, NCES/CPB, 1979. which a frame was a unit of material presented at one time. Ch. 5—Educational Uses of information Technology ● 57

Capitol Children’s Museum, Washington, .,. but the student’s discovery of . . . is followed by the sense of reward for D. C.—Consternation is a constant in the wrong responses . . right responses which makes the anxiety first phases of instruction . . of exploring the unknown bearable of presentation or a remedial section. If the The video disk is a good example of how new student has mastered that section, the com- technologies can be combined to form instruc- puter jumps ahead to more advanced material. tional systems. The video disk contains an ex- The Plato system was one of the better tensive data base of text, still images, and film. The computer controls the sequence of known experiments. It was developed by representation and, using an educational pro- searchers at the University of Illinois and Con- gram contained on its floppy disk and infor- trol Data Corp. With principal funding from mation stored in the remote data base, inter- the Federal Government, the system originally 2 acts with the student. combined a new type of interactive graphics terminal with a large multiterminal computer The video disk, for example, might contain system and an elaborate language specifically several thousand images of microscope slides. designed to create instructional programs. The data base would have full descriptive in- While Plato was originally a very expensive formation on the subjects illustrated by the experimental system, most of its underlying slides, indexed in various ways. Educational concepts survive in commercial instructional software on the computer would take a stu- systems now marketed by Control Data. dent through sequences of slides and text presentation, providing information and adminis- Four factors have more recently revived in- tering tests. While the computer program terest in interactive instruction: 1) the rapidly would be designed to achieve a specific instruc- declining costs of computers and the advent tional purpose, the slide catalog and data base of the desktop computer, 2) the escalating would be intended to be more widely appli- labor-intensive costs of traditional schooling, 3) an improved understanding of how to create cable for research and education. instructional packages, and 4) the development of alternative delivery mechanisms that ‘L. F. Eastwood, “Motivation and Deterrents to Educational link the computer with other technologies, Use of ‘Intelligent Videodisc’ Systems, ” J. Ed. Tech Systems, such as video disk and interactive cable. vol. 7(4), 1978-79, PP. 303-335. ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Several experiments are under way to devel- are substantially different from tradition- op instructional packages using combinations al teaching skills. of video disks and personal computers. The ● Some experts suggest that smaller in- Minnesota Educational Computing Consor- structional modules can be designed to fit tium is developing a series of video disks in into the regular course of instruction, per- basic economics. The first disk of a planned mitting a gradual introduction of educa- 6-disk series has been produced and tried in tional technology. Others maintain that the classroom with favorable results. Other the principal educational benefits of tech- companies are developing products aimed at nology are lost with such an incremental the industrial training market; and a few approach. firms, such as IBM, are already using interactive video disks for employee training. Learning Environments Interactive instructional technology has the The interactive instruction technology de- following characteristics: scribed above can be used to create a special environment-a language, simulation, or data ● It allows the system to customize teach- base–that can be manipulated by the student. ing to the particular level of understanding, learning style, and ability of each For example, special computer languages, individual student. such as LOGO, can help learners gain particu- ● The system can be designed so that stu- lar problem-solving skills. Languages such as dents can pace themselves. VISICALC, a system designed for business ● Because individualization and self-pacing users of small computers, can be a powerful may not fit well with traditional school- tool in teaching accounting principles and fi- ing, large-scale implementation of inter- nancial planning techniques. active instructional technology in the Another form of learning environment is the schools may engender substantial institu- simulation. A simulation of a laboratory exper- tional resistance. iment for a physics course, for instance, might ● Instructional software is often divided present on a television screen a variety of into discrete packages, each designed to weights and springs. The student would be teach a specific skill or item of informa- allowed to “connect” them in various config- tion. An instructional curriculum (say, a urations, to apply forces of prescribed amounts fifth grade mathematics course) is a col- at different points in the arrangement, and to lection of these packages, which, for a full measure and record the results. Working with course, may number into the hundreds. this system for only a few days, a student ● Extensive design effort is needed to cre- would learn some basic principles of mechan- ate each module. The material to be ics. As another example, large-scale simula- taught must be broken down into frame- tions can be made of physical processes or of sized pieces. Tests of understanding must equipment that might be too expensive or dan- be devised, and the paths that students gerous to use in person. Simulated nuclear are most likely to take in going through powerplants provide vehicles for training new the material must be anticipated. operators; simulated aircraft are used for pilot ● Because they are so carefully tailored, in- training. teractive curricular packages are inflexible. They are not generally useful for any For medical education, computer-controlled purpose, clientele, or environment other robots can be used to simulate injured or ill than the specific one for which they were human beings. A small computer presents the designed. student with an instructional sequence where ● The skills required both to produce soft- proper techniques are illustrated using a com- ware and to assist students with its use puter-controlled video disk. The student then Ch. 5—Educational Uses of Information Technology ● 59

of city management and international politics that require very large computer systems. The Defense Department makes extensive use of computer-based simulations to train senior decisionmakers in crisis management. Using information technology to provide a learning environment has several implications: ● An instructional program can be applicable over longer course periods and for a greater variety of educational uses than can an interactive module that concen- trates on a single teaching unit. c Since the interaction is so flexible and is directed in large part by the students, in- At Fort Gordon, Ga., Signal Corps Center, video simulation is used to teach repair techniques. If instructors were to use structors and students need documenta- actual equipment, it would have to be returned to a repair tion and supplemental curriculum materi- shop for costly work and expensive ‘downtime’ als appropriate for using the system to meet their particular educational objectives. Except for large simulations (such as flight trainers) that may require special hardware, the principal cost of “learning environment” applications will be in developing these supplemental curricular materials. Developmental costs for the programs will, in general, be written off against a much larger customer base. ● Because it fundamentally changes both content and the way material– is presented, use of an automated learning environment may require extensive changes in course content or even a broader rede- The actual coil shown on right, whose removal and respacing sign of an entire curriculum. would require costly downtime for the instructional radio set. The student is given the learning experience by TV instead, testing his notion of the proper technique against solutions Information Resource stored on the random-accessed video disk General information literacy is needed for practices on a dummy equipped with sensors all individuals to work and to participate ful- monitored by the computer, which, in turn, ly in an information society. In addition, for presents the results to the student. most professions, specialized computer and communication-based systems are rapidly be- Simulations of economic and social systems coming indispensable tools of the trade. Stu- are used to teach political science, economics, dents must learn how to use these services as and management. Business management part of their early training. games are one of the earliest educational applications of computers, and they have been For these reasons, in addition to being an deeply integrated into the curricula of many instructional tool, the computer in education business schools. Other educational applica- is viewed as an intellectual and problem-solv- tions range from simple economic simulations ing resource, akin to the library or laboratory. on small computers to elaborate simulations Information services will need to be both 60 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education broad enough to support general education Many college and university libraries have and specialized enough for particular subject been among the leaders in this movement— matter. Examples of specialized systems in- first in automating their management, then clude computer-aided design systems for in- in providing users access to computerized bib- dustrial engineering students, on-line legal or liographic services. Their ultimate goal is to medical information retrieval systems for use provide full-text, on-line retrieval. As these by law students or doctors, and automated ac- trends continue, the computer center and the counting and financial analysis systems for library will actually merge into a single, auto- business students. mated information utility. In addition to these specialized resources, Regional and national networks will provide students in all fields will need constant access scholars with access to information and com- to information services and computer facilities putational resources anywhere in the country. for their work. One engineering school is ex- EDUCOM, a nationwide consortium of univer- perimenting with providing a desktop comput- sities and colleges, has been developing this er to some of its entering freshmen, with a concept for several years and now offers its view toward giving computers to all students members access to EDUNET, a nationwide rein the future. A graduate school of business source-sharing data communication network. has already adopted a similar policy for its entering students. The leader of the movement Administration and to provide all undergraduate students with Instructional Management computer access has been Dartmouth College, which, for well over a decade, has operated Information technology can be used by the with a policy of universal computer literacy teacher to help plan coursework and manage and free student access to computer terminals. the classroom. Computers not only assist with mundane daily tasks such as grading and rec- The role of the computer as an educational ordkeeping but can also help keep closer track resource on campus is blending with the view of the daily accomplishments and problems of of libraries as automated information centers. individual students. Teacher attention can, thus, be more focused on individual student needs. Teleconferencing via radio, television, or computer allows teachers to exchange experiences, develop curricula, and coordinate educational programs among a number of schools in a district.

Distribute Education The distribution of services to those who need them has always been a difficult problem for the educational system. For as long as education has been provided by schools, the distribution problem has been responsible for institutional constraints of both time and location on the student. That schooling takes place on a physical campus, attended principally by young people, may be more reflective of the limitations of the traditional schooling system than it is of the current needs of society for Software Library of the Columbia University Computer Center. Software is placed into the computers on an hourly basis to education. Chapter 6, which examines the the department utilizing the computer state of the educational system, concludes that Ch. 5—Educational Uses of Information Technology ● 61

cast satellite or low-power television allows educational programing to be broadcast at low cost to small rural communities and even to individual residences. Video cassettes, video disks, and personal computer programs can be distributed physically by mail. ● Specialized educational services to small populations: Some groups in society that have very specialized needs for educational services are not concentrated geographically. Only by providing courses regional- ly or nationally can a critical mass of students be assembled to justify the expense At the Oxford High School, Oxford, Mass., students operate of the course. Information systems pro- the Digital Equipment Corp. mainframe computer that vide that wider market. For example: controls the student records system for the school district . Advanced professional training, especially continuing education in such a significant gap may exist between the forms fields as medicine, law, and engineer- of educational needs of a modern information ing, in which knowledge advances at a society and the traditional institutional forms rapid rate. of educating. — Unusual educational needs, such as accelerated science programs for the Information technology is a tool that can ad- gifted or courses conducted in a foreign dress these two distributional problems–dis- language. tance and time. In the past, television and — Instruction in subjects for which expe- radio have been used for this purpose, often rienced teachers are scarce or courses to good effect. However, their applicability has conducted by outstanding scholars and been limited both by the need to use expen- leaders in a field. sive and scarce broadcast facilities to serve a ● Education for the homebound: For a num- relatively small clientele and by the inability ber of reasons–e.g., illness, physical to provide interactive services. handicap, or age—many individuals in Modern technology removes these barriers. society cannot travel physically to attend Communication facilities such as cable, direct a class. Information technology can pro- broadcast satellite, low-power television, and vide educational services directly to the video cassette and video disk will greatly in- home, hospital, or workplace. crease the number of information channels ● Job-related education and training in the coming into the home and office. Two-way workplace: There are a number of barriers cable, remote conferencing facilities, and opti- to workers who wish to take job-related cal video disk microcomputer systems provide instruction. Attending regular classes is the capability for interactive education. difficult due to competing demands on their time, travel to a campus maybe bur- Among the particular applications of infor- densome, and there is reluctance on the mation technology for distribution are the fol- part of some older individuals to sit in a lowing: classroom and compete with younger stu- ● General educational services to dispersed dents.’ Information technology, by bring- populations: Some geographical regions need to provide schooling to a sparse pop- ‘R. L. David, “Adult Higher Education: Thinking the Un- ulation spread over a large area. Commu- thinkable, ” Adult (%ntinuing Higher Education Chrference, nications technology such as direct broad- Region V, Appalachian State University, April 1977. 62 “ Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

ing the course to the workplace, can re- ● Continual testing of students’ progress move some of these constraints. and levels of understanding is an important pedagogical tool, even in a nonauto- Testing and Diagnosis mated teaching environment. However it is very demanding of a teacher’s time. Computers have been used for some time to Automated systems will allow much clos- grade and analyze the results of college admis- er monitoring of student and class prog- sion exams, intelligence tests, and a variety ress in a normal classroom environment. of psychometric examinations designed to ex- ● Automated teaching systems depend on plore the values, attitudes, and thinking pat- continual testing and evaluation to direct terns of individuals. Educational testing can the presentation of material. be thought of as having four basic roles: ● Automated instruction may lead to a de- ● Strategic: Testing helps assess a stu- coupling of instruction from institutions dent’s general levels of understanding and —in the sense that a student moves free- learning strategies. It is used to deter- ly between home, job, and school for mine what classes and courses of study coursework. This trend will create greater a student should pursue, and what in- need for strategic testing to determine structional approaches would be most ef- appropriate instructional programs for fective for him. After a course, testing students. ● measures the skills and knowledge that Institutional decoupling will also require the student. more testing for purposes of certification. ● Tactical: Testing also takes place during Traditionally, an engineering degree was instructional sequences to determine how obtained by following a course of study the student is progressing through the at one department. Certification was the course and to detect and diagnose difficul- degree earned by successfully completing ties the student might be having. the program. ● The accelerating growth of knowledge is ● Gatekeeping: Testing plays an increasingly important role in supporting decisions pressuring professions such as medicine, on admissions to institutions and to pro- law, and engineering to require retraining grams of study. It is a basis for allocating and periodic renewal of certifications. ● scarce resources (e.g., admission to a pres- If traditional forms of education become tigious college or university) and for the increasingly expensive and, hence, scarce, granting of licenses to practice profes- gatekeeping requirements will inevitably sions. continue to grow in importance. The cur- ● Certification: Testing plays an important rent competition for entry into medical role in certifying the-knowledge and skill school illustrates this trend. ● of individuals, qualifying them to pursue On the other hand, automated learning professions such as medicine or law, or at- systems may make certain types of educa- testing that they have progressed along tion and training far more accessible and certain educational or training paths. affordable. If that occurs, gatekeeping may take place not on entry to the educa- Modern information technology will likely tion program, but in licensing to practice. have several effects on testing:

Capabilities of Educational Technology

None of the technologies and services de- bilities required to support all of the applica- scribed in the chapter 4 overview has the capa- tions listed above. Hence, the growth of an ex- Ch. 5—Educational Uses of /formation Technology ● 63 tensive automated education network will de- cation. Thus, the basic message is that differ- pend on the integration of information tech- ent information technologies will need to be nologies. linked in order to provide all of the capabilities needed for extensive automated learning Each particular technology-cable, personal systems to be developed. As shown in chapter computers, etc. –has some but not all of the 4, such integration is already taking place for capabilities necessary to provide effective edu- other applications.

Cost and Effectiveness

For many years, the cost and effectiveness ● For many educational and training needs of educational technology has served to cir- —e.g., educational services to the home- cumscribe the debate about whether and how bound, to geographically isolated regions, it should be used. OTA found that: or to the workplace—there are few viable alternatives to the use of technology, pro- There is a substantial amount of agreement that, for many educational applications, infor- vided that it works adequately. In a grow- mation technology can be an effective and ing number of instances, teachers quali- economical tool for instruction. fied to teach in certain fields—such as science, mathematics, or bilingual education This conclusion is based on a number of ob- —are difficult to find. In these cases, tech- servations: nology may be the only means by which ● Research exists, some of it dating back such education can be provided. years, to suggest that students do learn This is not to say that there are no poten- as well or better from educational technol- tial limitations or dangers in the uncritical use ogy than from conventional means. Lit- of educational technology nor that there is no tle evidence exists to the contrary. Much need for additional research in the field. In of the past debate centered around wheth- fact, in the eyes of some critics, a number of er technology was more effective than questions remain unanswered. conventional means and hence warranted substitution for traditional classroom Will access to computers reduce the abil- instruction. 4 ity to practice and learn basic skills? ● Costs for labor-intensive education and Some parents and teachers are concerned training methods continue to climb faster that student use of hand calculators may than the inflation rate, while costs for in- lead to the atrophy of simple computa- formation technology continue to drop tional skills. Some modern word proces- precipitously. These trends will result in sors incorporate spelling correction facil- a steadily growing number of applications ities, and future systems will probably in- in which technology-based instruction is corporate simple grammatical analysis clearly the most cost-effective method. and correction. Will use of such technology decrease a student grasp of writing mechanisms? ‘See, for instance, W. L. Schraumrn, Bighfedia Little Media (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1977); A. Bork, “Inter- Does the medium have characteristics active Learning, ’ Amer. Journal Physics 47(l), January 1979, that, when exploited, distort the educa- pp. 5-10; L. J. Seidel and M. L. Rubin, Computers and Chnrnu- tional message or produce subtle side ef- nicatkms lrnph”cations for Education (New York: Academic Press, 1977); J. Edwards, et al., “How Effective is CAT? A fects? Some observers, for example, have Review of the Research, ” Educational Leadership, November suggested that television educational pro- 1975, pp. 147-153; and R. Dubin and R. A. Hedley, The Medium grams such as Sesame Street may rein- May Be Related to the Message: College Instruction by TV, Center for the Advanced Study of Educational Administration, force short attention spans. A similar ex- University of Oregon, Eugene, 1969. ample is the finding of some developers 64 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

of interactive computer-based reading ● If, over the long term, education is pro- programs that, in order to maintain stu- vided principally by technology, what are dent attention, shorter passages must be the unintended long-term impacts on so- used on video screens than would be cial, cognitive, and psychological develop- needed to maintain student attention for ment? Very few answers to this important reading exercises on paper. question are known. However, since it ● Most research on technology-based educa- would take several years before techno- tion has focused on the development of logical and institutional changes could well-defined skills, such as arithmetic create such a possibility on a massive computation or foreign-language vocabu- scale, there seems to be adequate time to lary. While proponents argue that com- study it. puters can encourage the development of ● Do particular characteristics of informa- new problem-solving skills,5 critics sug- tion technology subtly favor some types gest that education of the more general of students psychologically or cognitive- conceptual skills could suffer. ly? Do differences exist that tend to favor performance by sex, age, social class, or values? These questions are important ‘S. Papert, Windstorms (New York: Basic Books, 1980). when dealing with issues of social equity. Chapter 6 The Provision of Education in the United States Access to new information technologies can be provided In a number of, and In many nontraditional, ways. In the Oxford School District, Oxford, Mass., computer programs are provided by bus throughout the school district Chapter 6 The Provision of Education in the United States

Within all societies there is an educational system that is both central to and dependent upon the rest of society. Its role, its functions, and the resources available to it are determined by the very social institutions for whose maintenance and effectiveness it is responsible.1 Thus, while all societies educate, the particular form that any educational system takes will depend in large measure on the nature of the society of which it is a part.2 How a particular educational system evolves will also depend on the nature of the decisions made about it. For within the constraints established by the socioeconomic order, there are a variety of possible educational outcomes.

Findings

● Recent social and economic developments vate good, and decisions about education have fostered a reevaluation of how educa- are made in the market instead of in the tion should be treated—as a public or as a governmental arena, private good. — individuals and groups that can afford to ● Because they are capable of providing spe- buy educational services may be more cialized educational services to narrow seg- satisfied with the kind of education that ments of the educational market, the new they receive, but information technologies will make it easier — fewer social resources may be made avail- to produce and distribute education in the able to support what traditionally have marketplace. been regarded as the public benefits of ● If education is increasingly treated as a pri- education.

Social Change and Education in America

All societies educate; education is necessary and roles necessary to function in and to act to either maintain or to structure the social upon societies.3* order. Education mediates between individu- Individuals and societies have differed with als and society. It is the means by which soci- respect to how they believed educational deci- eties transmit acquired knowledge, attitudes, values, skills, sensibilities, and symbols from ‘Ibid; see also, Charles Weingartner, ‘‘Redefining Education one generation to the next—and thus the in a Changing Present for an Uncertain Future, ” paper pre- means by which individuals learn the skills sented at meeting of Chief State School Officers, Orlando, Fla., winter, 1980; and Charles E. Bidwell, “The School as Formal Organization, ” Handbook of organizations, James G. March ‘Lawrence A. Crernin, Public Education, Basic Books, 1976. (cd.) (Chicago: Rand McNally & Co., 1965), pp. 972-1,969. ‘Herbert A. Thelen, and Jacob W. Gretzels, “The Social Sci- *SocietA factors may affect an educational system in ZUIY ences: Conceptual Framework for Education, ” The School lb number of ways. Factors such as population size and structure, view, vol. LXV, No. 3, autumn 1957, p. 346. family and social organization, working patterns, patterns of (continued next page)

67 68 . lnformational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

sions should be made. Plato and Aristotle be- made in the political arena; and most educa- lieved that education was so important it tional activities have been supported, if not should be monopolized and controlled by the financed, with public funds. This practice of state. Rousseau, on the other hand, was op- treating education as a public good reflects, posed to all formal schooling, believing that in part, the traditional American belief that nature was the best teacher. John Stuart Mill education plays an essential societal role. Con- took a middle position. Strongly in favor of trasting the attitude of Americans towards public support for education, he feared the con- education with that of Europeans, Alexis de sequences of public control over education. Tocqueville, the well-known commentator on Mill said, for example: American society, noted in 1831: The objections which are urged with reason Everyone I have met up to now, to what- against State education do not apply to the ever rank of society they belong, has seemed enforcement of education by the State, but to incapable of imagining that one could doubt the State’s taking upon itself to direct that the value of education. They never fail to education; which is a totally different thing. smile when told that this view is not univer- That the whole or any large part of the educa- sally accepted in Europe. They agree in think- tion of the people should be in State hands, ing that the diffusion of knowledge, useful for 1 go as far as anyone in deprecating. All that all peoples, is absolutely necessary for a free has been said of the importance of individual- people like their own, where there is no prop- ity of character, and diversity in opinions and erty qualification for voting or for standing modes of conduct, involves, as of the same for election. That seemed to be an idea tak- unspeakable importance, diversity of educa- ing root in every heads tion. A general state of education is a mere The public benefits that Americans have contrivance for molding people to be exactly like one another; and as the predominant pow- associated with education have changed over er in the government-whether this be a mon- time and in different historical circumstances. arch, a priesthood, an aristocracy, or the ma- In the earliest years of American history, edu- jority of the existing generation.4 cation was, for example, considered essential for the survival of the new democratic Nation. Writing in 1859, Mill expressed an attitude Later, with the need to acculturate immi- toward public education that was greatly at grants into society and to unite a divided Na- odds with the one then prevailing in the tion in the aftermath of the Civil War, it was United States, where the crusade for public considered the means for building a Nation of schools was at its height. If Mill were to write citizens. At the turn of the century, education these words today, however, he would find a was expected to train and socialize American more receptive audience. For today, serious youths for participation in a modem, industri- question is being given to the question of alized society. More recently, Americans have whether or not education should be treated as a public or a private good. goods will not be produced privately, and thus they must be In the United States, education has tradi- produced by government. There are only a few pure public goods, one example being national defense. There are, however, tionally been treated as if it were a public some goods, like education, that are impure public goods. These good.* Most educational decisions have been combine aspects of both public and private goods. Although they serve a private function, there are also public benefits associated with them. Impure public goods may be produced social and economic mobility, the availability of leisure time, and distributed privately in the market or collectively through and personal resources all serve to establish who, in a society, government, How they are produced is a societal choice of sig- will be educated. Similarly, the level and configuration of social nificant consequence, If decisions about impure public goods organization determine, in part, the kinds of institutions that are made in the market, on the basis of personal preferences are adopted perform the educational function; while the level alone, then the public benefits associated with them may not of economic, social, and cultural development determin e, in part, be efficiently produced or equitably distributed. Edwin Mans- the idea of what, in a given society, constitutes literacy. field, Macroeconomics Theory and Applications, New York, ‘John Stuart Mill, On Liberty. 1970. *~blic g~s refer to those goods whose benefits are avail- bAlexis de Tocqueville, Journey to America translati by able to everyone and from which no one can be excluded. These George Lawrence, J. P. Mayer (cd.), Anchor Books, 1971. Ch. 6— The Provision of Education in the United States . 69 seen in education the solutions to some of the from the profound changes taking place in the Nation’s thorniest social problems. larger social environment. Among these developments are: To guarantee that these public benefits would be provided, Americans established a ● an increase in the level of education that whole range of public institutions-elementary individuals need to participate effectively and secondary schools, 4-year and communi- in society; ty colleges, libraries, and museums. Moreover, ● an extension of the period of time during to assure that private educational institutions which individuals can and need to be edu- served public goals, they supported and regu- cated; lated them. ● an increase in the diversity of the educational clientele and thus an increase in the Americans were able to treat education as diversity of the demand for education; a public good because, having similar needs ● a decline in the public resources available and agreeing essentially upon the rules by for education, resulting in part from: which they lived, they were able to agree upon — an increase in the cost of producing the kind of education that they wanted to pass 6 education, on from one generation to the next. Given this — a questioning of the public benefits as- consensus, there was little conflict between sociated with education, and what was a public or a private educational in- — a loss of confidence in the institutions terest, or between what was a local or national providing education; educational goal. ● the emergence of new institutions that, Although highly institutionalized, the under new circumstances, find it profit- American educational system has been quite able to market education; and, successful in adapting to meet the changing ● the development of the new information needs of society. It has been transformed from technologies that allow educational insti- a system designed to meet the needs of an tutions to provide specialized services to agrarian society to one tailored to meet the specific sectors of the market. needs of an urban, industrialized society. It These developments, taken together, will has been changed, moreover, from a system have a major impact on the educational sys- structured to meet the educational needs of tem and on the institutions that have tradi- a privileged few, to one more structured to tionally been responsible for providing educa- meet the diverse and sometimes conflicting tional services. Taking advantage of the devel- needs of a growing and heterogeneous popula- oping market for special kinds of educational tion. services, new profitmaking institutions are Today, however, society is undergoing emerging to provide education. To compete in changes that may affect the nature of the sys- this growing and increasingly segmented mar- tem itself. Some of these changes originate ket, many traditional educational institutions within the educational system; others stem may have to curtail some of the services that they provide, retaining only those that have ‘Rush Welter, Popular Education and Democratic Thought the greatest economic and political return. in America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1962); David Changes such as these are, in fact, already oc- Tyack and Elisabeth Hansot, “Conflict and Consensus in Amer- ican Public Education, ” America SchooLs: PubL”c and l?riva@ curring in almost all sectors of the educational Daedalus, summer 1981. system. 70 ● Informationa/ Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Elementary and Secondary Education

Public Schools schooling as a way of preserving the social, economic, and political system. By educating The traditional American belief in the public American youth in common, public schools, virtues of education is nowhere better illus- they hoped to inculcate them with a common trated than in the historical commitment to set of patriotic, Protestant, and republican a system of public schooling. It is highly values.8 symptomatic, therefore, that today serious questions are being raised about whether or With the industrialization and urbanization not elementary and secondary education of American society, it was expected that would be best served if it were provided schooling would serve not only to prepare through the mechanism of the market. American youth for a common political role as citizens, but also to prepare a growing num- A legacy of the past, the public school sys- ber of people from increasingly different social, tem is a unique and typically American insti- economic, and ethnic backgrounds for an in- tution. For, while educational institutions are creasingly differentiated set of economic roles. publicly supported in many societies, in no To perform this economic function, the public other country have they been established with schools were restructured in accordance with such deliberate purpose and public expectation business principles. 9* Vocational education or been conceived of as being such an integral and guidance were introduced as part of the part of the political, social, and economic educational curriculum. Assuming that the order. majority of Americans would be working at Clearly recognizing the important role that industrial jobs, educators believed that voca- education could play in building a nation, the tional education would serve not only the best interests of the individual, but also the best Founding Fathers did not leave its develop- 10 ment to chance. They strongly advocated pub- interests of society. 7 lic support for schooling. * In fostering educa- In the period that followed World War II, tion, however, they made little distinction be- support grew for the view that the social and tween its public and private aspects. If Ameri- can youth were provided with the knowledge *Welter, op. cit.; Tyack and Hansot, op. cit.; Robert A. necessary to preserve their liberties, all school- Carlson, The Quest for Clmformity: Americanization Through Education, John Wiley & Sons, 1975; “ Public Education as ing, it was believed, would serve the public Nation Building in America: Enrollments and Bureaucratiza- interest. tion in the American States, 1870-1930, ” American Journal of Sociology, vol. 85, No. 3, November 1979. The American commitment to public school- ‘David K. Cohen and Barbara Neufeld, “The Failure of High ing grew in the wake of the Civil War. This Schools and the Progress of Education, ” America Schools: Public and Priva~ Daedalus, summer, 1981; Tyack and commitment was so intense that it gave rise Hansot, op. cit.; and Sol Cohen, “The Industrial Education to a national crusade to establish public Movement, 1906- 1917,” American Quarterly, spring 1968, pp. schools. Concerned about the problems of re- 95-1 10; Martin Trow, “The Second Transformation of American Secondary Education, ’ International Journal of timparative construction in the South, the influx of Cath- Sociology, vol. 7, 1961. olic im migrants, and the advent of industriali- *TO uni~ the school system and to make it more efficient, zation in the North, Americans saw public educational reformers began to standardize textbooks and curriculum, to grade classes, to train teachers in approved methods, and to improve the supervision of the schools. Businessmen ‘Bernard Bailyn, Education in the Forming of American played an important role in bringing about these changes. View- Society (New York: W. W. North, 1980); Lawrence A. Cremin, ing education as a public good, businessmen looked to the public !Zhd”tions in American Education, Basic Books, Harper 1976. schools to expand wealth and improve productivity. Concerned *There W- veV little formal schooling in America Untfl titir about strikes, labor turnover, and increasing worker absentee the Revolutionary War, Throughout colonial times, education ism, many businessmen hoped that public schooling, and vo- was conducted informally in the home and in the church. The cational education, in particular, would socialize a growing formal schooling that did exist was of marginal significance, number of irnmigrant youths for the workplace. serving only those who were training for specific roles. ‘“I bid. Ch. 6— The Provision of Education in the United States ● 71

economic well-being of the Nation depended Table 13.—Number of Public Elementary/Secondary not only on the efficient production of goods Schools and Estimated Percentage Distribution, By Level of instruction and Grade Span Served: and services, but also on their equitable dis- School Year 1978-79 tribution. As a growing and upwardly mobile school-age population began to compete for Percentage educational rewards, the question of distribu- Level a and grade span Number distribution Total schools ., ...... 87,006 100.0 tion and access became central to the educa- b 11 Elementary schools ...... 53,192 61.1 tional system. This new emphasis on equity Preprimary only ...... 902 1.0 had a profound effect on the American school Preprimary to 2nd ...... 1,052 1.2 system. For, in addition to fulfilling apolitical Preprimary to 3rd ...... 2,215 2.6 Preprimary to 4th ...... 2,920 3.4 and an economic function, the American public Preprimary to 5th ...... 8,116 9.3 school system was increasingly called upon to Preprimary to 6th ...... 25,618 29.4 serve as an agent of social change.12* To im- Preprimary to 7th ...... 790 0.9 Preprimary to 8th ...... 7,229 8.3 plement the extensive goals provided for in the 4th to 6th ...... 746 0.9 legislation of this period, the Federal Govern- Other spans with highest grade ment became increasingly involved in the preprimary to 6th...... 3,604 4.1 Junior high or middle schools . . . . . 12,020 13.8 funding, operation, and ‘administration of 5th to 8th ...... 928 1.1 school activities.13 6th to 8th ...... 2,888 3.3 7th to 8th ...... 2,132 2.4 7th to 9th ...... 3,790 4.4 Status of the American Other spans with highest grade 7th to 9th ...... 2,282 2.6 Public School System Secondary schools including high schools ...... 16,639 19.1 The American public school system is a rel- 7th to 12th ...... 4,045 4.6 atively large enterprise. In the school year 8th to 12th ...... 417 0.5 1978-79, it included 16,014 school districts in 9th to 12th ...... 7,584 8.7 10th to 12th ...... 2,813 3.2 which there were 53,192 elementary schools, Other spans with highest grade 12,020 middle schools, and 16,639 secondary 10th to 12th ...... 1,780 2.1 schools including high schools14 (see table 13). Combined elementary/secondary schools (preprimary to 12th) . . . 1,145 1.3 Schools not classified by lowest Public education accounts for a significant c and highest grade ...... 4,010 4.6 portion of public expenditures. In 1977-78, aLevej of school jS a classification by highest grade served Elementary includes $84.9 billion was spent on elementary and sec- schools with no grade higher than 8th Junior high and middle schools have no grades higher than 7th, 8th, 9th and no grade lower than 5th, 6th, or 7th ondary education. Of this total the Federal Secondary schools have as the highest grade IOth, 1 Ith, or 12th

bLowest grade of elementary schools may include prekindergarten, kindergarten, Government contributed about $8 billion, or or 1st grade about 9.5 percent15 (see table 14). cschools in this category have grade spans that are unspecified, ungraded, or unclassified NOTE’ These national estimates are based on information reported in 1978 “Cohen and Neufeld, op. cit. by all States except California, Georgia, and Massachusetts. Each category was inflated equally to represent a known national total of 87,006. ‘zCohen and Neufeld, op. cit. *This wa9, for example, the goal of the Elementary ~d Sec- SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD) 1978-79 Survey, unpublished tabulations ondary Educational Act of 1965, the most comprehensive and significant educational legislation passed during this period. Conceived of and marketed not only as an education bill, this act was a major piece of antipoverty legislation. Between 1958 Measured by the goal of providing univer- and 1978, for example, Federal expenditures on education in- sal public education, the public school system creased sixfold. The Federal Government became so involved with the operational activities that it presented an unprece- has been a reasonable success. Americans to- dented challenge to the authority of the States and localities day are better educated than ever before. to control public school programs. Moreover, many of the barriers to education ‘gSteven K. Bailey, “Political Coalitions for Public Educa- tion, ” America schools: Pubfic and Private, Daedalus, sum- that once served to limit an individual’s ac- mer 1981; Tyll van Geel, Authority to Control the School Pro cess to the socioeconomic benefits of society gram (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1976). have been removed. However, despite the cen- “Digest of Education Statistics, National Center for Educa- tion Statistics, May 1980. tral role that the public school has played in ‘sIbid. American society and the numerous accom-

—, 72 .Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Table 14.— Revenue and Nonrevenue Receipts of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, By Source, 1977-78 (amounts in thousands of dollars)

Revenue receipts Total revenue and Federal State Local and other non revenue Percent Percent Percent Non revenue receipts Total Amount of total Amount of total Amount of total receipts $84,969,058 $81,440,326 $7,699,042 9.5 $35,005,584 43.0 $38,735,700 47.6 $3,528,732 SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, 1980

plishments that can be attributed to it, the Future of the American American public is becoming increasingly dis- Public School System enchanted with public schools (see fig. 3). Many educational commentators have ar- Several explanations have been suggested gued that if public schools are to survive, edu- for this loss of support.” It has been sug- cators will have to adopt a more limited set gested, for example, that the school system of goals, which, although less ambitious, will has suffered from: be more likely to gain public support.” Suc- ● a general loss of confidence in and support cess in this endeavor will depend, to a large for all public institutions; degree, on future societal developments. The ● the association of public schooling with prognosis according to educational futurists unpopular social policies such as busing is not particularly good. Instead of providing and desegregation; the basis for a national consensus in support ● the decline in overall school performance of public schools, demographic, economic, and as measured by traditional indicators societal trends may, in fact, serve to intensify the centrifugal tendencies already at work in such as test scores; 18 ● the public backlash against what appears the educational system. to be the unprofessional behavior of some Forecasts of demographic trends suggest, unionized teachers; for example, that Hispanics, Asians, and other ● the concern about inflation and increased cultural groups with specialized needs will taxation; soon comprise a major portion of the school ● the dissatisfaction with American youth population. Moreover, the increase in the num- and their culture; and; ber of school-age children living with a single ● the disintegration of the political coalition parent or two working parents will force that has traditionally provided support schools to provide more supervision and social- for the public schools. ization. Instead of cutting back on their educa- The loss of a common base of support for tional activities, schools will have to cater to the public schools has had a negative effect a growing variety of educational needs. on the conditions under which they have had Economic forecasts also cast doubts about to operate. Forced to appeal for their support the future of public schools. If economic to a number of increasingly distinct and di- growth rates remain slow, and inflation and verse interests, the public schools have had to interest rates continue to be high, the schools take on a multitude of new and often conflict- will be in intense competition with other serving tasks at a time when they face the pros- ice sectors for reduced human and economic pects of reduced economic and human re- resources. Faced with the loss of personal in- sources. —— come because of increased levels of inflation “Michael W. Kirst, “Loss of Support for Public Secondary Schools, ” &hools: fiblic and fiivaa Daedalus, “Graham, op. cit.; Tyaclc and Hansot, op. cit.; Bailey, op. cit. summer, 1981; Bailey, op. cit.; Patricia Albjerg Graham, “Lit- ‘Christopher Dtie, Potential eracy: A Goal for Secondary Schools, ” America Schools: fib unpublished report pre- fic and Private, Daedahzs, summer 1981. pared for the Office of Technology Assessment, March 1981. ———

Ch. 6— The Provision of Education in the United States ● 73

Figure 3.—Quality of the Public Schools: Opinions of Parents With Public School Children “Students are often given the grades A, B, C, D, and F (FAIL) to denote the quality of their work, Suppose the public schools themselves, in this community, were graded in the same way. What grade would you give the public school here—A, B, C, D, or F?”

Percentage distribution of responses

100

0 1974

SOURCE. “The Condltlon of Education, ” 1981, National Center for Education Statistics 74 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education and high energy costs, the American public is, provide the rewards of public status or person- in general, less willing to finance educational al esteem. Since teaching salaries are not com- expenditures through additional taxation. petitive with those in private industry, many This reluctance is likely to increase as the of the most highly qualified teachers—espe- number of families with school-age children cially those with qualifications in math and declines and the number of those beyond child- science—will give up teaching to sell their bearing age increases. skills on the open market. Well qualified women—a traditional source of high quality edu- Faced with their own problems of increas- cators—are particularly likely to seek out the ing costs andshrinking resources, Federal and wider range of employment opportunities now State governments will be unable to fill in the available to them. 21 financial gaps. Continued high inflation will also reduce the economic resources available for public schools. Because of inflation, the Private Alternatives to costs of education are increasing twice as fast Public Schools as the rate of increase of revenues for education. Thus, in 10 years, if inflation continues Conflicts over public and private control of at its present rate, educational institutions will education have always existed. While reserv- have only one half of the revenues (in real ing for itself the dominant role in educational terms) that they have now.19* matters, government in the United States has always recognized that private individuals The problem of scarce economic resources have an interest in the outcome of educational will be matched by a problem of scarce human policy decisions. It has generally been recog- resources. The problem of human resources is, nized, for example, that parents have certain however, not so much a problem of numbers— rights—based on notions of liberty and pri- for the supply of teachers may very well ex- vacy—in determining the education of their ceed the demand-as it is a problem of qual- children. ity. A decline in highly qualified educators is already evident. Few entering-college fresh- In order to take into consideration both pub- men select a career in teaching, and, more sig- lic and private concerns, the responsibility for nificantly, those that do are generally among educational policy and administration has tra- those who have the lowest academic qualifica- ditionally been allocated to the States and to tions. 20 Increasingly, there are fewer incentives local jurisdictions where, given more homoge- for well qualified individuals to enter the neous populations, public decisions about edu- teaching field. cation would be most likely to reflect private concerns. 22 Parents whose needs were not ade- Given the financial problems facing schools, quately met by public education were allowed a career in teaching is no longer considered to the option of sending their children to private be secure. Given the loss of public support for schools. education, a career in teaching is less likely to This arrangement, which served in the past to reconcile public and private educational ‘eIbid; Kirst, op. cit. *Wh,i,le ~ public schools likely to suffer a loss of economic needs, is thought to be increasingly less effec- resources, the problems created will be greater in some areas tive, as the assumptions upon which it is based than in others. The urban schools in the Northeast will be the become increasingly less realistic. For exam- most seriously affected because the recent migration of people ple, as the Federal Government assumed more away from the area has caused a significant loss of taxable resources. The economic problems in the area of the sunbelt, on authority over educational policy, the charac- the other hand, will be ameliorated by an influx of population ter of schooling has become less subject to which will increase the area’s tax base. ‘“’’ Introduction,” America Schools: Public and Private, local influence and control. Moreover, since Daedalus, summer 1981; J. Myron Atkin, “Who Will Teach in High School, ” America Schookx fiblic and Priva@ Daedalus, 2’Atkin, op. cit. summer 1981; Dede, op. cit., 1981. ‘zVan Geel, op. cit. .

Ch. 6— The Provision of Education in the United States ● 75 many local communities are no longer com- schools, a considerable number of which have prised of homogeneous populations, there is closed due to lack of resources.28 also less likelihood that public decisions-even Unlike public schools, private schools are when they are made at the local level—will be 23 relatively independent of public control. Ac- synonymous with private, individual needs. countable to a governing board of trustees, Conflicts over public and private educational they are free to determine their own objectives interests have grown along with the enhanced and the means by which they pursue them. Al- importance of education in American society. though the types and levels of courses vary Because education has come to be regarded as significantly between schools, private schools the essential means for gaining access to socio- are generally distinct from public schools inas- economic rewards, individuals now believe much as they offer less work experience, less that they have more of a stake than ever be- bilingual education, and less alternative fore in the outcome of decisions about it. In schooling (see fig. 4). this sense, individual interests are likely to Demand for private school education ap- diverge from those of government. For where- pears to be also related to the quality of public as government is committed to providing school alternatives. Private school enrollments equal access to educational opportunities, an individual, if he is to compete successfully for 28Digwt of Educational Statistics, op. cit. socioeconomic rewards, must gain an educa- 24 tional advantage. Figure 4.—Secondary Schools Providing Special Programs Private dissatisfaction with public decisions

about education has led some people to seek experience alternatives to public school education. Tradi- credit tionally, that alternative has been the private or independent school. Although such schools Credit by have always provided a considerable propor- contract tion of all elementary and secondary education, they are today experiencing a revival of interest .25 There are today in the United States 14,300 courses

private elementary and 4,700 private second- Gifted and 26 ary schools. Of these schools, 85 percent are talented religiously affiliated, and 65 percent of these program are associated with the Roman Catholic Church. 27 Private schools provide educational services to one out of every nine students. Enrollment in the fall of 1978 totalled 5,000,158. Having declined substantially since the 1960’s, enrollment is more stable today. Declines in enrollment have been greatest in Roman Catholic 231bid. Zicohen and Neufeld, op. Cit. “William A. Oates, “Independent Schools: Landscape and a Public school Learnings, ” American Schools: Portraits and Perspectives, ~ Private Catholic school Daedalus, fall 1981; James Coleman, “Private Schools, Public Schools, and the Public Interest, The Public Interest. =Other private school ZdDigest of Educational Statistics, OP. cit. SOURCE’ “The Condition of Education,” 1981, National Center for Education 270ates, op. cit. Statistics 76 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education are highest in those areas where public schools Figure 5.— Private Elementary/Secondary School are experiencing the most severe problems. Tuition and Fees by Family Income Racial/Ethnic Group Private school enrollments are highest in the All students metropolitan cities of the Northeast, where 21.3 percent of all students attend private schools. Of all students in the North Central

Region, 11.5 percent attend private schools as Family income compared with rates between 7.8 and 7.9 percent for the West and the South. The lowest rate of private school attendance, 2.8 percent, is in the nonmetropolitan areas of the West.29 Demand for private school education is also related to the ability of individuals to pay for it. Levels of family incomes distinguish those $20,000 to students who are enrolled in private schools $24,999 from those who are enrolled in public schools, and those students who attend religiously affiliated schools from those who attend the more expensive, unaffiliated schools (see fig. 5). While 21 percent of all public school students come from families with annual incomes Black of $25,000 or more, as many as 37 percent of all private students do. And, whereas 35 percent of the students attending religiously af- I 1 I I I I I I 1 1 1 filiated schools come from this income bracket, 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 there are over 56 percent in unaffiliated schools who do. Students coming from families of this income level are also among those who are most likely to spend $1,000 or more on tui- 30 tion and fees. ~ $500 to $999 Because cost is a major factor inhibiting in- SOURCE” “The Condition of Education, ” 1981, National Center for Education dividuals from choosing private alternatives Statistics. to public education, much of the discussion about public and private school education has of individuals for the purpose of buying any focused on public policy options that call for type of educational service in the market. The public subsidization of private educational nature and potential impact of any particular costs. The options that have been most fre- voucher would vary, therefore, according to quently proposed and considered are the tui- who receives how much money, from whom, tion tax credit and the educational voucher. under what conditions, and for what purposes. The educational voucher has generated such Although not a new idea, the educational diverse interest and support in part because voucher has only recently become a topic of it is a general concept for which there is no one public debate in the United States. Interest in the voucher has grown with the public’s in- particular model. Included under the rubric of an educational voucher could be, for example, creased disillusionment with the public school any sum of money (or financial credit, such as system. Initially championed during the 1960’s as a way of providing aid to parochial a tax credit) provided by any class or group schools and of circumventing desegregation ‘gThe Clmd-tion of Education, 1981, rulings, during the Nixon administration, it ‘“I bid. was proposed as a way of providing education- Ch. 6--The Provision of Education in the United States s 77 al assistance to disadvantaged groups. Today uted according to one’s ability to pay. Op- it is receiving attention, if not the support, of ponents are concerned, moreover, that vouch- a wide variety of diverse interests each of ers might be used, as they have in the past, which seeks to bring about structural changes to facilitate segregation.32 in the educational system. Acknowledging these problems, some pro- Although many different versions of the ponents have suggested that the voucher be voucher idea have been proposed, all educa- regulated to prevent them.33 To assure open tional voucher proposals have one essential access to private schools, regulations have element in common. They all assume that ed- been proposed, for example, that would set ucation should be treated as a private, rather limits on tuition and that would guarantee than a public good. While acknowledging that that a certain proportion of the student bodies education merits public support, voucher ad- of all schools be selected at random. However, vocates would generally argue that the present a basic problem with the regulated educational system of public schools, responsible as it is voucher would be that the more complex the to a political body, produces poor-quality ed- regulations, the less likely that individuals ucation. They see the voucher as a way of participating in the system would be able to allowing government to continue to support take full advantage of whatever benefits it of- education without having, at the same time, fers. This could be one reason why the pro- to sacrifice quality and diversity to public con- posals for the regulated vouchers have re- formity. They argue that if parents were to be ceived less public attention and support than given public vouchers with which to buy edu- those for unregulated ones. cational services in the marketplace, then In 1978, a tuition tax credit bill was ap- schools, forced for the first time to compete proved in the House of Representatives, and for students, would have not only to improve gained 41 new votes in the Senate. In 1980, the general quality of their educational serv- the Republican Party supported the voucher ices but also to tailor these services more concept in its party platform, and the concept specifically to meet the needs of their clien- 31 has clearly gained in popularity. Most recent- tele. By providing diversity and accountabili- ly, the Reagan administration has proposed ty as well as the encouragement of high-qual- its own tax tuition plan. Dissatisfied with the ity education, the educational voucher would, private benefits of the public school system, according to its proponents, benefit both in- more and more Americans regard the voucher dividuals and society. as a way of reducing the costs of educating Voucher proposals have been strongly crit- their children in private schools.34 icized on the grounds that, once implemented, Designed as it is to cater more specifically they would recreate many of the same prob- to particularistic needs, the voucher is an idea lems that the public school was established to that should be well received in the segmented rectify. In encouraging diversity, critics argue, educational market that will characterize the the voucher system may exacerbate socioeco- future. Public pressure to adopt some kind of nomic disparities and cleavages. They contend a voucher system will probably increase. that a voucher system would discriminate against the poor, because in an unregulated market, educational services would be distrib- 321bid. ‘sIbid. “George I.a Naoue, Educational Vouchers, Cbncepts and Ckm- 94Jean Rosenblatt and Hoyt Gimlin, “Tuition Tax Credits, ” troversies, Teachers College Press, 1972. Editorial Research Reports, Aug. 14, 1981. 78 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

University and the Four-Year Colleges

As semiautonomous communities of facul- century, when Americans began to regard col- ties and students, universities are organized leges and universities as having a unique soci- for learning and for research. Although they etal role.38 Unlike institutions of elementary still retain many of the institutional features and secondary education, which were expected of their medieval heritage—a name, a central to prepare the general population of youth for location, a degree of autonomy, a system of adult roles in society, institutions of higher lectures, a procedure for examinations and education were expected to recruit those who degrees, and an administrative structure or- qualified for leadership positions. And, where- ganized around faculties—universities have as elementary and secondary education schools evolved over time to meet changing societal were designed to transmit the general, or pop- needs .35 ular, culture from one generation to the next, colleges and universities were expected to American colleges and universities were able transmit the total knowledge base of society. to monopolize the field of higher education They were to be responsible, moreover, not because they were relatively autonomous, eco- only for the transmission of knowledge, but nomically self-sufficient, and comprehensive also-through the pursuit of research-for its in scope-capable of serving the multiple goals 36 creation. Believed to have a special under- of higher education. Today, they no longer standing of society, universities were called on enjoy these advantages. As knowledge has in- to bring about its improvement.39 * creasingly come to be viewed as an important economic resource that can be bought and sold Two events–the land-grant movement and in the market, colleges and universities, faced the alliance during World War II between the with increasing costs and with competition universities and the Federal Government— from private, profitmaking institutions, have strongly influenced this development, giving had to consider undergoing some radical the American university a distinct character. changes. Involving the university in the daily life of the Nation, both of these events served to reinforce the public aspect of the university’s role Public Role of Higher and to enhance the public’s involvement in the Education affairs of the university. Although originating in the private sec- Democratic and populist, the land-grant tor,37 * American universities have become movement called on the universities to extend semi-public institutions, regulated and sup- the benefits of education to all segments of ported, to a large extent, by government. This society. Responding to the Nation’s rapid in- development occurred near the end of the 19th dustrial and agricultural development, it called

“Clark Kerr, The Uses of the University (Cambridge, Mass.: ‘8 Shils, op. cit. Harvard University Press, 1972). ‘gIbid. ‘Edward Shils, “The Order of Learning in the United States *ArneriC~ colleges and universities were particularly Well From 1865-1920: The Ascendancy of the Universities, Miner- suited to play the role prescribed for them. Bringing together va, vol. xvi, No. 2, summer 1978. faculty members from all disciplines, they were unique centers ‘7 Shils, op. cit; and Martin Trow, “Elite Higher Education: of intellectual stimulation. The income they derived from teach- An Endangered Species?” Minervq vol. xiv, No, 3, autumn ing made them economically self-sufficient. And because their 1976; Ernest L. Boyer and Fred M. Hechinger, Higher Learn- work was not circumscribed by practical necessities, faculty ing in the Nation Service (Washington, D. C.: The Carnegie members were free to work on basic research in areas of their Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1981). own intellectual interest, Notwithstanding a growing focus on *The f~st Universities to be established in the UniW sta~s research, the multidisciplinary nature of the university pre- followed the traditional European model. Serving primarily the vented it from becoming limited in scope and helped to foster wealthier members of society, they were specifically established a public belief that the pursuit of knowledge was, in and of itself, to educate youth for leadership positions in the fields of an important societal goal and one that the colleges and univer- theology, law, and education. sities were alone capable of achieving. Ch. 6—The Provision of Education in the United States ● 79 on the universities, moreover, to expand be- ert a considerable influence on university yond their traditional role of training gentle- affairs. 43* men as preachers, lawyers, and doctors, and— While continuing to support research, the through applied research-to develop the more Federal Government, in the late 1960’s, also practical applications of education. Provided for under the Merrill Act of 1862,40* land-grant began to provide funds to assure that all qualified students would have access to higher colleges, open to children of all backgrounds education. 44* In fiscal year 1978-79, the Fed- were established to provide education in fields eral Government spent approximately $14 bil- such as agriculture, engineering, home eco- 45 nomics, and business administration. Unlike lion to meet these goals. Today, nearly 40 the traditional colleges, the land-grant colleges percent of all students receive Federal aid, and 75 percent of all university expenditures for were not isolated communities. Through their 46 agricultural experiment stations and their scientific research are federally funded. service bureaus, their activities were designed Measured in accomplishments, it is clear to serve the State.41 that the alliance between Government and the Although the land-grant movement estab- university has been quite successful. American universities have been responsible for many lished the Federal Government’s interest in higher education and served to legitimate the of the Nation’s most significant achievements. university’s involvement in public affairs, Since World War II, for example, American there was no significant interaction between scholars have received more than half of all the Nobel Prizes awarded for science. And Ameri- Government and the academic community until World War II, when several major uni- can research dominates the world’s scientific and technical literature, accounting for ap- versities were enlisted to conduct research for proximately 40 percent of the articles written national defense. This wartime collaboration 47 each year. Moreover, the American univer- established a precedent by which the Federal sity system has been remarkably successful Government began to look to the universities for help in executing national goals. In ex- in providing extensive and varied educational resources to a broadly based and increasing- change for its assistance, the Federal Govern- ment provided the academic community with ly diverse clientele. 42 financial aid. * An increasingly important 43 Kerr, op. cit. source of funding, the Government came to ex- *Feder~ finding Was used to support research in about 10 major universities. Most funds were spent for research in the physical and biomedical scienms and in engineering. Only about 4~he Merrill Act of 1862. 3 percent were used to support research in the social sciences, *’l’’ his law provided land to the States, the proceeds of which and almost nothing was spent for the humanities. University were to be used to teach in the fields of agriculture and me- decisions to accept Federal funds for research occurred outside chanical arts. Subsequent legislation provided Federal finan- of the normal academic decisionmaking process, and often deter- cial support for research and the operation of the land-grant mined how the universities would distribute their own funds colleges. and facilities. “Morgan, op. cit. 4’Kerr,42 op. cit. Kerr, op. cit.; Patrick M. Morgan, “Academic and the Fed- *The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the National Education Act eral Government, ” Policy Stu&es Journal vol. 10, 1981; D. Bok, of 1965, and the Educational Amendments of 1972 provided “The Federal Government and the University, ” D. Bok, The the legislative basis for increased Federal involvement in Public ~ntires~ winter 1980. academic affairs. In this legislation, the Federal Government *Feder~ ~volvement in higher education increased markedly endorsed the view that higher education was a vital national after World War 11. By 1960, the academic community was re- resource and one to which all Americans should have equal ceiving about $1.5 billion from the Federal Government, 100 access. times as much as it had received 20 years before. Most of these “Sloan Commission on Government and Higher Education, funds were spent on research-related activities, and were chan- 1980 Report. neled to a limited number of universities and to a limited group 48 Morgan, op. cit. of departments within universities. 4’Boyer and Heckinger, op. cit. 80 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Status of American Colleges faculty members are being selected more on and Universities the basis of their ability to attract research contracts and grants than on their ability to Today there are in the United States approx- teach or even to publish.52 imately 1,957 4-year colleges and universities, 549 of which are public and 1,408 private. Re- Once the undisputed center of research ef- flecting the pluralistic nature of American forts in the United States, American univer- society, they include a wide variety of institu- sities are today competing strenuously with tions. All together they enroll about 4,115,000 one another and with business and govern- full-time students.48 Over the past 10 years, mental research institutes for money and re- institutions of higher education have ex- sources. In the present economic and educa- panded rapidly in size, in number, and in the tional climate, most universities are finding kinds of services that they render.49* During it difficult to compete. The cost of equipment for advanced scientific research is extremely the same period, higher education has been 53 made available to a much broader section of expensive to buy and to maintain. Faculty the population.50* members, drawn by the superior research opportunities and financial benefits offered by The expansion of colleges and universities private firms and government, are leaving the to meet the growing demands for education universities and taking their research teams has, however, affected their future viability. with them.54 American colleges and universities are, for example, no longer semiautonomous institu- To make themselves more financially inde- tions. Heavily supported and regulated by pendent, many universities and colleges have government, they have lost considerable con- begun to sell their educational services to new trol over some of of their own internal affairs. clients and to deliver them in new forms. In In recent years, the Federal Government has an effort to capture some of the growing adult come to determine such issues as who should market for education, universities, as early as be taught what, by whom, and how.51 1963, began to develop programs of continuing education. Many colleges and universities The American university is, moreover, no now offer degree courses through correspon- longer economically self-sufficient. Funds dence programs. To compete more effective- derived from teaching can no longer be used ly with proprietary educational institutions, to subsidize university research. In fact today several colleges and universities have shifted the reverse is true. Revenues from research the focus of their curricula from the arts, cul- now pay the overhead for many of the univer- ture, and leisure activities to vocational needs. sity’s more traditional functions. As a result, Taking advantage of some of the new infor- more than ever before, departments are being mation and communications technologies, sev- designed to suit the needs of research, and eral universities have, moreover, begun to igThe ~n~”tjon of Education, Op. Cit. broadcast courses over cable TV and to pack- ‘gIbid. age instructional materials on video disks and *DUr~g the 1970’s, the number of institutions of higher education increased by 241 percent, the number of students at- video cassettes for sale to businesses or to 55 tending these institutions increased by 290 percent, and the other educational institutions. number of degrees conferred upon graduates increased by 251 percent, ‘“I bid. s~stephmie y~ctiski, “Universities Take To the Market *Increased access to institutions of higher education is in- Place, ” IVew ScientisL December 1981; Will Lepkowski, “Re- dicated by the changed racial and ethnic composition of the stu- search Universities Face New Fiscal Realities, ” Chemical and dent body. For example, the difference between the percentage Engineering News, Nov. 23, 1981. of blacks in the total population and the percentage of blacks ‘g’’ Graduatx Universities-A New Model,” scien~ December in the student body decreased significantly during these years. 1981. This changed composition of the student body can also be seen biLepkowski, op. cit- in the increase in the number of degrees that were conferred 5Kpatsy Vyner, Telephone Survey on Use of Teleco=unica- upon female and minority students. tions Technologies at Post Secondary Institutions unpublished ‘lBok, op. cit; Morgan, op. cit. paper, 1982. Ch. 6— The Provision of Education in the United States ● 81

Operating more and more in the market sec- longer afford to pursue major research efforts. tor, universities are also beginning to sell and And many larger institutions have had to to patent the results of their research.56* Many curtail some of their research departments. of these arrangements are being made with the Others are beginning to shift their educational cooperation of business. Moreover, several focus from one that emphasizes the liberal arts faculty members acting independently have to one that prepares students for careers in a joined with suppliers of venture capital to es- great variety of new and expanding technical, tablish new companies in fields such as genet- semiprofessional, and managerial occupations. ics and electronics.57* This public/private development may have far- If universities are to keep pace with their -reaching consequences. If more and more col- competitors in the profitmaking sector, it is leges and universities begin to function as sin- clear that, given diminished Government fund- gle-purpose organizations, they may find that ing, they will have to make some new finan- they face much stiffer competition from the cial arrangements with industry. This develop- growing number of other single-purpose insti- ment has caused some concern within the aca- tutions now seeking to provide education in demic community. Meeting in Rome, Italy, a the marketplace. number of biologists recently identified some Information and communication technolo- of the issues that might arise if universities gies have potential applications for all aspects become deeply involved in commercial ven- of higher education. They can play an impor- tures. To preserve their proprietary rights, tant role, for example, both in providing a universities might, for example, begin to liberal education as well as in training in- restrict the free exchange of information, a dividuals for specific roles in society. They can process upon which so many of the universi- serve, moreover, to facilitate research and the ty’s traditional functions depend. In an effort storing, retrieving and sharing of knowledge. to preserve traditional values, some academics Many of the ways in which the new technolo- are now trying to develop guidelines for col- gies can be used will be of special interest to laboration. 58 those universities which, in the face of shifting Today, as the demand for knowledge and the demands and shrinking resources, are search- cost of its generation increase, many colleges ing for new ways to become more economically and universities are finding it more difficult and socially secure. to be all-purpose “multiversities.”* Unable to They might be used, for example, to provide obtain Government or industry funding, many faculty support in routine and remedial learn- small liberal arts colleges, for example, can no ing situations. The need for such support is likely to increase in the future, given an in- “Lepkowski, op. cit. *FOr ex~p]e, stanford University recently sold the design crease in the costs of providing higher educa- of their software chip of a music synthesizer, developed by one tion, an increase in the number of college of their music professors, to Yamaha of Japan for $700,000. students who will come from minority back- “’’The Academic-Industrial Complex,” Scien@ vol. 216, May 28, 1982. grounds, an increase in number of adults seek- *For exmple, Hoechst AG, a German pharmaceutical f~ml ing higher education, and an increase in the recently provided $70 million for the founding of a new depart- need for job retraining. Many colleges and uni- ment of molecular biology at the Massachusetts General Hos- pital. In exchange for this contribution, the Massachusetts Gen- versities are already using and developing new eral Hospital has agreed to grant Hoechst exclusive worldwide ways to apply information and communication licenses to any patentable developments that result from com- technologies for these purposes. At North pany-sponsored research. Harvard Medical School has a similar agreement with E. I. du Pent de Nemours. In exchange for a Carolina State University, for example, stu- $5 million contribution to build a new genetics department, Har- dents and faculty members worked together vard has agreed to grant Du Pent licenses to market any com- to develop a successful video tape instruc- mercially useful research for which it has paid. 681 bid.; and Yanchinski, op. cit. tional program that teaches strategies for 59 *The km “m~tiversity” was coined by Clark Kerr. It refers studying and learning. to university communities where teaching and research activities coexist but are performed in and by different sectors bvTelescan: The Digest of the C%nter for hxirning and Tele of the university. communications, VOL 1, issue 1, October 1981. 82 ● informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

The new technologies can also be used to ex-

tend the boundaries of the university to provide teaching facilities to those who would otherwise not have access to them. Many colleges and universities have, for example,

joined with public broadcasting stations to broadcast college credit telecourses as part of a new Adult Learning Service to be coordi-

nated nationally by the Public Broadcasting Services. 60 Members of the health community have, moreover, used video teleconferenc-

ing to provide continuing medical education to professionals throughout the country.61 Communication and information technologies can also be used to distribute scarce teaching and faculty resources across many campuses. Recognizing the potential for sharing, ‘“I bid. “James J. Johnson, “A Case Study: The Healthy Pulse of Medical Video Teleconferencing, ” satifi”~ ~munjcat~on~, May 1981, pp. 19-23. Ch. 6— The Provision of Education in the United States ● 83 several colleges and universities have formed tween universities are already being estab- consortia to advise and assist them in the use lished. Some will provide individual users ac- of media-based materials. A telecommunica- cess to library resources and scientific data tions task force was recently formed at the Na- bases, while others, like Bitnet, will allow tional Association of State Universities and faculty members and students to communi- Land Grant Colleges,62 for example. cate with their colleagues at different colleges and research institutions and provide an en- While the use of computers in college and vironment in which they can exchange ideas university teaching has traditionally been 65 and information, and even coauthor papers. limited to the fields of math and science, it is By extending their traditional boundaries, the increasingly being extended to other areas as new information and communications technol- well. Viewing computer literacy as an essen- ogies may help the universities to adapt to the tial element of any general education, a num- changed needs and circumstances of an infor- ber of liberal arts colleges, such as Harvard mation age. and Wells, now require that all of their students become familiar with the computer. However, at the same time, and for many Faculty members and students have experi- of the same reasons, they may also serve to mented in using the computer to teach a wide undermine those aspects of the university that range of courses including drama, English lit- have traditionally set it apart from–and erature, psychology, and the classics.63 Where above—the rest of society. Semiautonomous students on a campus have ready access to communities’ universities were expected to computers, they are using them more and operate by a special set of rules and standards more not as an adjunct to, but as an integral that would foster the development and the part of their learning routines.64* preservation of knowledge as a goal in and of itself. And members of the academic commu- By facilitating sharing, information and nity, assumed to be loyal to these goals, were communication technologies can help reduce called on to serve as independent observers the costs of and increase the resources avail- and critics of society. The widescale deploy- able for performing university research. Net- ment of information technologies may affect works to transmit data, voice, and video be- —— the university’s ability to perform this role. 6ZT~leScn, M@JUne 1982. 3 Increasingly linked to outside groups, the uni- ‘ ’’ The Wired University IS On 1ts Way, ” Business Week versity community may be less able to func- Apr. 24, 1982. “Ibid. tion as an independent source of knowledge *La~t Yem, for exmple, 60 of the entering students at Rens- and as independent observer of society. selaer Polytechnic Institute were given computers as an experiment to see how they would be used. Within a short period s5Bitnet L~s Yde Unjversjty, City University of New York, of time, these students became very comfortable with them, Columbia University, Princeton University, Rutgers Univer- using them as extensively as students who had brought their sity, Penn State University, Brown University, Boston Univer- own computers to campus. sity, and Cornell University.

Two-Year and Community Colleges

More than any other educational institution, suited to take advantage of, the new informa- the American community college has ex- tion technologies. hibited an ability and willingness to adapt rapidly to changing societal needs and cir- Community colleges emerged at the end of cumstances. Experienced in reaching out to the 19th century to accommodate the grow- provide nontraditional services to new cating number of youths who, seeking some kind egories of students, community colleges may of postsecondary education, either were unpre- have a special need for, and be particularly pared for or could not find room in the tradi- 84 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

tional college and university system.66 Some tional opportunities. Their growth during this of these new colleges were extensions of sec- period was phenomenal. Enrollment increased ondary schools; others were 4-year colleges by 930 percent, and, on the average, one new converted to 2-year programs. Referred to as college was established every week.69 junior colleges, they provided a general college Today there are 1,194 2-year community col- curriculum designed to be transferable to 4- leges in the United States, approximately year colleges and universities. three-quarters of which are publicly supported. Today, as the change in their name sug- Together they constituted in 1979a $52-billion gests, community colleges offer a curricula enterprise.70 In 1980, community colleges en- more oriented towards the needs of local com- rolled 1,718 full-time and 2,733 part-time stu- munities. Having continually added new func- dents, and employed about 87,000 full-time tions as the need arose, community colleges and 115,400 part-time faculty members. Al- now provide a wide variety of educational serv- though their distribution varies from State to ices. These include:67 State, they account for a substantial proportion of higher educational enrollments in all academic transfer programs; of them. In 1979, one-third of all students, and terminal general education programs; 27 percent of all full-time students were en- technical productive skills programs; 71 rolled in community colleges. life skill programs not related to employment; Although a large portion of all students of remedial programs; higher education are enrolled in community cultural, social, and recreational pro- colleges, community college students differ grams; and significantly from those who have historical- counseling. ly attended 4-year colleges and universities. As compared with those in the more tradi- To provide such a wide variety of programs tional institutions, community college stu- and services, community colleges have em- dents are more likely to be older, registered ployed untraditional organizational structures part-time and in noncredit courses, to come and educational techniques. Willing to adapt from lower economic backgrounds and from the institution to the needs of their students, minority groups, and to be in greater need of they have followed policies of open admissions, 72 remedial instruction. made use of the special skills of nonacademic, part-time faculty members, allowed flexible Because of their demonstrated ability to scheduling, and offered courses off-campus in adapt to change, and to attract new groups such remote places as nursing homes, prisons, of students, community colleges, unlike most and storefronts.68 other institutions of higher education, are predicted to grow throughout the 1980’s. Because of their organizational flexibility, Their future will, however, not be without their open-door policies, and their aggressive- problems. ness in recruiting new students, community colleges benefited more than any other institu- As total levels of enrollment decline, all tions of higher education from the postwar educational institutions will begin to compete baby boom and from the national emphasis for the same categories of students. Once alone during the 1960’s on providing equal educa- in marketing their service to nontraditional 68FO~ ~ hi9toV of community colleges, sw Ralph R. Fields, groups of students, community colleges may, The Cbmmunity CWlege Movement (New York: McGraw Hill, 1962). “Clark Kerr, “Changes and Challenges Ahead for the Com- WD8 W. Breneman and S. C. Nelson, FhIancing ~mmunity munity College, ” Clxnmunity and Junior Ckdlege JoumaL vol. GW.Zeges: An Economic Perspective (Washington, D. C.: The 50, May 1980. Brookings Institution, 1981). “Barbara Guthrie-Morse, “Agenda for the 80s: Community ‘“Ibid. College Organizational Reform, ” Community CWege fiview, ‘i Ibid. spring 1981, pp. O-8. “Ibid. Ch. 6—The Provision of Education in the United States “ 85 in the future, have to compete with high tion, community colleges are more dependent schools to provide adult basic education, with than most on public funding. area vocational centers and proprietary in- In recent years, State governments have stitutions to teach vocational and commercial assumed greater responsibility for and control skills, with company-based training programs 74 over community college affairs. In a period to provide job specific instruction, and with of increased costs and declining revenues, 4-year public and private colleges and univer- State policymakers, now responsible for a sities to teach part-time and general education much broader area of educational activities, courses .73 may have to reevaluate the rationale according Community colleges will also have to com- to which educational funds are allocated. Com- pete with other institutions for scarce public munity colleges may be particularly vulner- resources. Charging relatively lower tuition able in such a reevaluation, since there is less fees than other institutions of higher educa- general recognition of, and no longstanding tradition to publicly finance, many of the func- “S. V. Martorana and Wayne D. Smutz, “State Legislation, tions that they perform.75 Politics, and Community Colleges, ” Cbrnmunity College % view, winter 1980; S. V. Martorana and W, Cary McGuire, “Re- cent Legal Action Affecting Community Colleges: A National 74Breneman and Nelson, op. cit. Survey, ” Cixnmunity Cblfege Review, fall 1976. 761bid.

Proprietary Education

Proprietary educational institutions are neurs or as family operations.76 The over- profit-seeking institutions that offer programs whelming majority of these schools are still closely geared to preparing students to enter individually owned today, but corporate own- specific jobs and occupations. Over the years, ership is now the most common form of pro- four types of proprietary institutions have prietary school organization.77 Most schools evolved, each appealing to a distinct educa- are small. The average private school enroll- tional market. They include trade and tech- ment (includes nonprofit) in 1978 was 153, nical schools, licensed occupational schools compared with an average enrollment of 556 (e.g., cosmetology and barbering), independent during the same year for public postsecondary, business schools, and home study schools. noncorrespondence schools.78 Most private and profit-seeking, preschool, According to biennial surveys of postsec- elementary, secondary, and preparatory ondary schools that offer occupational pro- schools are not considered part of the programs, conducted by the National Center for prietary educational system, perhaps because Education Statistics (NCES), the number of they are less occupation-oriented and their cur- riculums tend to be more traditionally structured. “Donald E. Mellon, The Role of the Entrepreneur-Educator in Private Business Education in the United States From 1850 to 1915: A Study in C%mch”tioned Entrepreneurship, 1975 doctoral dissertation, New York University, Graduate School of Status of Proprietary Schools Business Administration. “Steven M. Jung, Proprietary Vocational Education (Colum- Proprietary schools have existed as distinct bus, Ohio: National Centir for Research in Vocational, The Ohio institutions in the United States since the State University, 1980). “Evelyn R. Kay, Enrollments and Programs in Noncollegiate 1880’s. Many were typical small businesses of Postsecondary Schools, 1978 (Washington, D. C,: National the time—established by individual entrepre- Center for Education Statistics, 1979). 86 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

proprietary schools had increased from 5,814 need for additional and expanded occupational in 1978 to 6,141 in 1980, of which 4,151 (67.6 training attempted to join two separate educa- percent) were accredited. 79 Of the 1.5 million tional systems—craftsmen education, which students enrolled in 1978 in all public and pri- prior to that time had been in the hands of the vate noncorrespondence postsecondary schools, craftsmen themselves, and academic educa- 61 percent (or 928,000 students) attended pro- tion, which had developed around the concept 80 prietary institutions. An unpublished NCES of scholarship. Attempts by educationally in- survey indicated in 1980 that total postsecond- novative individuals to place the preparation ary occupational enrollments had increased to of craftsmen in the same context as academic 2.4 million and that the number of students education met resistance from more tradi- attending all types of noncorrespondence pro- tional educators. However, the need for oc- prietary schools had risen as well. (No compre- cupational education remained. hensive enrollment figure for 1980 is available Vocational education developed as a sepa- at present.) Cosmetology/barber schools, busi- rate branch of what was then the traditional ness/commercial schools, flight schools, and education system, but traditional academic trade schools were the largest groups of pro- school standards-such as length of programs prietary institutions operating in 1980 (see and methodology-were superimposed on this table 15). As indicated in table 16, more of new type of educational experience. This re- these schools are accredited than any of the sulted in a vocational program that was too other types of proprietary institutions. abstract and” . . . lacked the desired technical There are an estimated 250 home study knowledge and practical skill.”82 schools in the United States. The 70 of these While public and nonprofit vocational educa- that are accredited have some 1.5 million tion programs continued to develop over the students enrolled annually .81 years, the need to which proprietary education It has been suggested that vocational educa- had become at least a partial response began tion began to evolve when those seeing the to take shape. A study of personality characteristics of 19th to early 20th century private ‘g’’ Statistics of Postsecondary Schools With Occupational Programs, ” National Cknter for Education Statistics Early business school founders indicates that those Release, September 1981. 80Kay, op. cit. 82Melain L. Barlow, “Our Important Past, ” in The Future of “Interview with Michael P. Larnbert, Assistant Director, Na- VocatiomdEducatio~ Swanson, Gordon I. (cd.) (Arlington, Va: tional Home Study Council, fall/winter 1981. American Vocational Association, 1981).

Table 15.—Number of Postsecondary Schools With Occupational Programs, By Control and By Type of School: Aggregate United States, 1980 (universe data)

Private Independent Type of school Total schools Public Proprietary nonprofit Vocational/technical...... 689 591 85 13 Technical institute ...... 107 2 96 9 Business/commercial ...... 1,388 3 1,348 37 Cosmetology/barber ...... 2,128 3 2,125 0 Flight school ...... 928 1 926 1 Trade school ...... 773 8 739 26 Arts/design ...... 250 0 233 17 Hospital school...... 859 171 51 637 Allied health ...... 384 117 220 47 Junior/community college...... 1,116 905 86 125 College/university ...... 647 260 11 376 Other...... 224 0 221 3 Total ...... 9,493 2,061 6,141 1,291 SOURCE: “Statistics of Postsecondary Schools With Occupational Programs, ” National canter for Education Statistics Ear/y Re/ease, September 1981. Ch. 6—The Provision of Education in the United States w 87

Table 16.—Number of Postsecondary Schools With Occupational Programs, By Control and By Type of School: Aggregate United States, 1980 (accredited schools onlya)

Private Independent Type of school Total schools Public Proprietary nonprofit Vocational/technical ...... 661 591 64 6 Technical institute ...... 92 2 83 7 Business/commercial ...... 743 3 731 9 Cosmetology/barber ...... 1,713 3 1,710 0 Flight school ...... 714 1 712 1 Trade school ...... 420 8 398 14 Arts/design ...... 146 0 136 10 Hospital school...... 809 171 39 599 Allied health ...... 301 117 161 23 Junior/community college...... 1,112 905 84 123 College/university ...... 647 260 11 376 Other...... 25 0 22 3 Total ...... 7,383 2,061 4,151 1,171 alnclurjes all Schools accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting association, whether Institutional or specialized. or eligible for participation in cerlain Federal programs SOURCE: “Statistics of Postsecondarv Schools With Occut3atlonal Proorams.” Natior)a/ Center for Ecfucat/on Statistics Early Release, September 1981 “ who were successful in their ventures pos- Characteristics of Proprietary sessed both educational expertise and business Schools know-how. More often than not, in the early years, ability as an educator was subordinate Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic to that of entrepreneur. of proprietary schools is their flexibility. Because they are operated as businesses, they At the end of this period, however, the en- are constantly monitoring the needs of their trepreneur without considerable sophistication respective markets, for their survival depends in educational matters was unable to compete on how well they meet the needs of their cli- 83 Perhaps the entrepreneurial in the industry. ents who are seeking adequate preparation for skills of these early business educators and employment. The balance that must be main- their counterparts in trade and technical tained between providing suitable training and schools enabled them to identify significant making a reasonable profit results in continu- markets, while their educational skills enabled ous assessment of and changes in operation them to translate market needs into educa- and instruction.85 tional programs. Proprietary schools are totally dependent on Some view proprietary education as filling student tuition income. Rarely if ever are they a vacuum in occupational training that was endowed or do they provide student scholar- created by the failure of continued develop- ships. As a result of the Education Amend- ment of apprenticeship education and the ments of 1972, their enrollees are eligible for public vocational education system in the financial assistance from such Federal pro- United States. In Europe, where these two grams as Basic Educational Opportunity types of educational experiences are thriving, Grants and Federally Insured Student Loans. no private vocational school system has In comparisons of the costs of private versus evolved .84 public vocational education programs, in- ‘3 Mellor, op. cit. cluding Federal and State assistance to public “Dorothy Kile Cann, proprietary Vocational Schools: An Al- institutions, proprietary school programs are ternative Lifestyle for the Disenchante&Disadvantaged paper presented at the National Center for Research in Vocational 86A. H~vey Belitsky, l+jvab Vocational Schools ~d Theti Education’s Employability Conference, Columbus, Ohio, Oc- Students: Limited Oh~ectives; Unlimited Opportunities (Cam- tober 1981. bridge, Mass.: Schenkman Publishing Co., Inc., 1969). 88 s Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education less costly, although tuition for students necessary for successful, long-term employ- enrolled in private, profit-seeking institutions ment.9O is higher.86 The course offerings of these institutions Markets Served by tend to be shorter than those of their public- Proprietary Schools ly funded counterparts, and liberal arts re- A 1980 study that used 1975 data suggests quirements are usually not a part of their cur- that, in general, proprietary school students ricula. Because enrollments are much smaller share the following characteristics: than those in publicly funded vocational schools and their administrative structures are ● A larger percentage are female and black less complex, they can develop materials and as compared with students in community introduce new courses more quickly in the oc- colleges; cupational fields that are in demand in the in- ● They are more likely to come from lower dustrial job market (e.g., data processing). income backgrounds and be older, mar- More often than not proprietary schools in- ried, and out of high school for a longer clude as course content only those principles time; and which are directly related to and necessary for ● They are more likely than community col- mastery of a specific occupation. A year-round lege-freshman to receive financial aid-from schedule of day and evening classes is com- Federal funding sources. The most fre- mon.87 quent source is the Basic Education Op- portunity Grant, which supported 4 out Instructors in proprietary schools tend to of 10 students. The greatest source of dol- be selected because of their work experience lars is the Guaranteed Student Loan and craftsmanship rather than on the basis of Programs. their experience in the classroom or their academic degrees. They are not tenured employ- Further comparisons in the study of students ees, and are constantly evaluated in terms of within the proprietary school sector reveal their achievement of student satisfaction and their diversity: graduate employability .88 In some proprietary ● The enrollees in independent business schools, instructors also serve as placement schools are largely women, while enrollees counselors. This is seen by some school admin- in trade and technical schools are consid- istrators as yet another way to ensure that erably older and are comprised of a high what is taught in the classroom is appropriate proportion of veterans, married students, preparation for entry or reentry into the job and minorities. market .89 ● More trade and technical school students Another characteristic of proprietary school come from wealthier families than do education is its emphasis on the development those in business schools. of what might be called widely accepted work ● Independent business school students are behavior in enrollees. Students are expected more likely to participate in college work to attend classes or risk suspension, to com- study programs, and trade and technical plete assignments in a timely fashion, and, school students are more likely to support especially in business school programs, dress their studies through GI benefits and according to common business standards, money earned from full-time work.91 since all these characteristics are seen as

‘aJung, op. cit. ‘Ibid. a7Belitsky, op. cit. olMWci L. Cox, charac~rigtics of Students “Cann, op. cit. prietary Schools and Factors Influencing Their Institutional “Interview with Stephen Friedheim, President, Association Choice 1980 doctoral dissertation, University of California, Los of Independent Colleges and Schools, falllwinter 1981. Angeles. .

Ch. 6— The Provision of Education in the United States s 89

A study of proprietary schools and colleges of the profit-seeking educational system as im- conducted in 1975 found that students who at- portant markets. Prior to and during World tend proprietary schools are, for the most part, War II, for example, extensive amounts of ignored by institutions of higher education. training for industry were carried out by trade, Proprietary schools do not compete for stu- technical, correspondence, and home study dents with colleges and universities, but in- schools. After the war, however, there was a stead meet a specific market need. Their great- dramatic drop in the volume of contract train- est potential impact on higher education is in ing, as companies who had not already done diverting Federal assistance from collegiate so began to establish their own in-house train- institutions.92 ing capabilities.93 In the 1978 survey of postsecondary schools Although relations between proprietary with occupational programs conducted by school educators and nonprofit educators have NCES, 32 percent of men and 38 percent of been and continue to be strained due to their women attended private schools (includes non- different views about the profit motive in edu- profit). The survey results show that, during cation, State education agencies and local the period 1974 to 1978, more women than school districts are beginning to approach men were enrolled in private (includes nonprofit-seeking institutions to operate special profit) schools. As illustrated in table 17, programs. The Vocational Education Act of female enrollments fluctuated from 52.9 per- 1963 cleared the way for public agencies to es- cent to 54.2 percent. Enrollments for males in tablish contractual relationships with proprie- private schools increased significantly from 61 tary schools where such schools can “ . . . percent to 67 percent during the same 4-year make a significant contribution to attaining period. Increases in enrollment levels in pri- the objectives of the State plan for vocational vate schools from 1974 through 1978 accounted education and provide substantially equiva- for most of the enrollment growth in postsec- lent training at a lower cost; or provide equip- ondary occupational education. ment or services not available in public institutions." 94 While individual enrollees represent the primary target audience for all types of propri- Despite this enabling legislation, contract- etary education programs, business and indus- ing between public and proprietary institu- try, as well as State and local education agen- tions remains at fairly low levels. In 1977, con- cies, have been looked on by some segments tracting between local school districts and private vocational schools made up between “J. Michael Ervin, The Proprietary School: Assessing Its Im- 0.6 and 1 percent of Federal outlays for voca- pact on the Cdegiate Sector (Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, Center for the Study of Higher Education, tional education under Part B of the Voca- February 1975). tional Education Act. Barriers identified to more extensive utilization of proprietary Table 17.—Percent Distribution of Men and schools included a distrust of the profit Women by Control of School motive, a concern over highly publicized

Control Total Men Women abuses of Federal student loan programs by Public ...... 100.0 58,5 41.5 some profit-seeking institutions, and the Private ...... 100.0 47.1 52.9 absence of administrative systems that would Total, 1974 ...... 100.0 51.0 49.0 encourage more working agreements.95 Public ...... 100.0 54.7 45.3 Private ...... 100.0 45.8 54.2 Total, 1976 ...... 100.0 48.8 51.2 s31n~rview ~th willi~ A. Goddard, Executive Director, Na- Public ...... 100,0 53.1 46,9 tional Association of Trade and Technical Schools; Interview Private ...... 100.0 45.8 54.2 with Michael P. Lambert, falliwinter 1981. Total, 1978 ...... 100.0 48.0 52.0 giEducation~ ‘1’eSting servi~, Education Policy Research in- SOURCE Evelyn R Kay, Enrollments and Programs m Nonco//egiate Postsecond stitute, Private Schools and PubLic Policy (Washington, D. C.: ary Schoo/s, 1978 (Wash Ington, D C Nat tonal Center for Educat!on Office of Education, September 1978). Statistics), p 5 ‘sIbid. 90 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Applications of Information the investment required for equipment and 96 Technology in Proprietary software result in few applications. Education Proprietary Business Schools All proprietary education industry leaders Video tape, closed-circuit television, compu- and school administrators interviewed in this ter-managed instruction (CM I), and computer- investigation expressed awareness of the in- assisted instruction (CAI) are all in use at pres- creasing role of information technology. How- ent in profit-seeking business schools. Video ever, differences of opinion exist as to how tape is by far the most common form of tech- useful such technology is in specific types of nology being applied, closely followed by CMI, proprietary institutions. It is interesting to which is used for tracking applications, enroll- note the applications of information technol- ments, financial aid, grading, and placement.97 ogy within a group of institutions forced to be At Johnson and Wales College in Providence, wary of high administrative costs, and known R. I., closed-circuit television is used to link for their ability to be flexible and responsive two classrooms and to provide better viewing to frequently changing needs in their respec- of cooking demonstrations for students at- tive markets. tending the culinary arts program. An electronics school affiliated with John- Trade and Technical Schools son and Wales also makes use of closed-circuit Little or no use of any form of information television in selected classroom sessions. Al- technology is being made by accredited trade though cost remains a major deterrent to fur- and technical institutions. This type of pro- ther use of these and other technologies, the prietary school tends to be highly instructor- administrator of this school feels that pro- oriented, to emphasize learning by doing, and prietary business schools will be forced to to restrict the amounts of theory presented in make greater applications of technology in the the classroom to that which is directly job- classroom, given what he calls the “video 98 related. Video tapes are sometimes used to orientation” of today’s students. demonstrate equipment operation and to pro- Coleman College, located in LaMesa, Calif. vide individuals with performance feedback. and founded in 1973, offers programs in data Costs associated with the use of educational processing and computer electronics to a stu- technology are cited as a reason for its limited dent body of 800. Closed-circuit television is use. Data processing schools are the only pos- utilized in every course offered. The college has sible exceptions. two large viewing rooms as well as individual viewing stations for student use, and its own Licensed Occupational Schools video tape studio. Video tape is used to record lectures prior to delivery, and then to highlight To date, schools of cosmetology and barber them with graphics. Coleman has a CM I sys- colleges have made very little use of informa- tem used to monitor student progress, to se- tion technology in their occupational pro- lect appropriate readings, and to administer grams. The most commonly utilized forms of testing.99 technology in the cosmetology field tend to be video tape, used to record remarks of visiting ‘Interview with Gerald Donaway, Executive Director, Na- instructors or to demonstrate particular proc- tional Association of Trade and Technical Schools, fall/winter 1981. esses and/or techniques, and audio cassettes, sTIn~rview with ~phen Friedheim; also interview with Jack used to record instructor presentations. Al- Yena, Executive Vice President, Johnson and Wales College, though the potential for the use of educational fall/winter 1981. ‘aIbid. technology is recognized, the relatively small ‘Interview with Coleman Furr, Chairman of the Board, Cole size of most licensed occupational schools and man College, fall/winter 1981. Ch. 6— The Provision of Education in the United States ● 91

Home Study Schools the National Home Study Council (NHSC) established a forum for educators known as the At present, the home study industry re- Green Chair Group to predict what shape mains very print-oriented. The National Radio home study will take by 2000. Institute (NRI), a wholly owned subsidiary of McGraw-Hill, Inc., and the largest technical In addition to a series of papers produced correspondence school in the country, with an by selected individuals, the end-product of the average annual enrollment of 60,000, uses a effort will be a predictive model, developed CMI system that permits student examina- from a Delphi survey series administered to tions to be graded, annotated with personal- group members. From the first round of ized comments and mailed back to the enrollee papers submitted to NHSC in 1981, it is clear within a 24-hour period. The admissions and that these educators see extensive use of in- financial records of NRI have just recently formation technology in “distance educa- been converted to a computer format. Lesson- tion’’—the new name they have coined for grading records will be automated in the next home study–in the very near future. While phase. they see the continued use of print media, some predict that in most homes there will be As part of a video cassette repair course now interactive video and voice units with hard- offered by the school, two instructional video copy capability that may be utilized by dis- tapes have been developed that soon will be tance educators. Others feel that home study distributed to enrollees. Plans for 1982 call for students will be offered a choice of straight lec- the addition of CAI to the microcomputer ture or interactive systems similar to today’s technology course, which begins by taking the PLATO. There is speculation that laser-based student through basic electronics and ends holography will be perfected to the point that with microtechnology. A TRS-80 computer, in- it will be used to bring the instructor—life- cluded in the cost of the course, is shipped to sized and three-dimensional-into the home. each student after successful completion of a There will also be interactive computer simula- certain number of lessons on basic electronics. tion capability. Enrollees learn how to repair the computer and how to develop and run simple software pro- Some see enrollment as a process that will grams. Through CAI units, to be added next be handled through home-based electronic de- year, students will learn how to do elementary vices or through home study industry-spon- programing in BASIC. Cost is a major deter- sored centers set up for this purpose. Industry- rent in conversion of additional courses to supported regional counseling centers will CAI, video disk, or any other form of tech- operate as nonprofit cooperatives. Counselors nology. 100 will be trained and compensated by distant education suppliers who are cooperative mem- Future Uses bers. Satellites will be the most likely mode of transmission and will create a climate in By far the segment of the proprietary school which transnational education programs will industry doing the most to encourage addi- be commonplace. tional applications of information technology Technologies currently available, such as in future education programs is the home video tape, video disk, CAI on microcom- study group. A recent review of current prac- puters, and cable will increase in use. One tices in home study suggested that greater use panel member expressed the view that in the of educational technology is one way to ensure 101 future information technology will allow dis- regeneration of the industry. In May 1981, tant educational institutions to offer their stu- Ioorntemiew With John F. Thompson, President, National dents personalized instruction and services Radio Institu@; also interview with Louis Frenzel, Senior Vice comparable to those of residence training pro- President, Ptiuct Development, National Radio Institute, fall/winter 1981. grams, while at the same time continuing to ‘“’ Louis E. Frenzel, “Ten Reasons Why Home Study May Not allow them “ . . . to study at their own pace Survive the 80’s, ” NHSC News, fall 1981, pp. 11-18. and to have a full-time job while they are pur- ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

suing a program of study. ” One representa- be applied in the future in their institutions. tive cautioned however, that the major prob- For example, local television stations may be lems in application will come, as they have to used to broadcast courses emanating from in- date, from “ . . . enthusiasts for technology dependent business schools.103 One business who are long on fervor and short on under- college administrator suggested that his in- standing, not from those who resist its stitution might adapt its culinary arts pro- utilization. 102 gram for delivery to the home market via television. Another business school official feels that within 3 to 5 years, video disk will become Future Uses by Other practical for acquisition, due to considerable Industry Segments cost reductions. He also hopes that increased availability of video teleconferencing equip- While cost will remain a prohibiting factor ment through local telephone company offices, for the foreseeable future, other proprietary plus cost reductions associated with its use, educators, especially business schools, are will make application of this technology fea- speculating on how existing technologies will sible.

‘“’Green, Chair Group, Unpublished Papers (Washington, D. C.: National Home Study Council, 1981). IOSIn@~iew with Stephen Friedheim.

Education in the Home

The family household has always been a cen- Status of Education ter of learning, and its members have always in the Home played a key role in providing educational Although most people receive most of their services. Grounded in the social and economic formal education in institutions outside their order, the family household mediates the cul- homes, the home has always played an impor- ture, helping to provide the behavioral and tant role in education, particularly in the cognitive skills members need to perform ef- education of the young. For even though fami- fectively in society. ly members are not primarily responsible for Learning within a household is a loose and the instruction of cognitive skills, their informal process. Family members act as both behavior in the home strongly affects at- teachers and learners. By interacting with one titudes about learning. Recent studies have another, they adopt roles, acquire personali- shown that the home environment is the most ty traits, form values, and pattern their be- significant single factor that determines aca- havior. 104 Of all of the institutions that demic achievement.105 educate, the family is the most versatile and Adults also learn in the home, either in- the least restricted with respect to the educa- directly through interaction with others or tional methods and the technologies it can use. through deliberate efforts to acquire certain Given this versatility, the household may pro- kinds of knowledge and skills. Books, maga- vide a particularly suitable environment for zines, radio, and television can all be used at using the new information technologies. If home as learning resources. Some adults may widely used for educational purposes in the continue to receive formal education in their home, the new information technologies could homes through correspondence courses.106 * make the household an increasingly important I°KJarnes S. Coleman, Equality of Educational Opportunity, center of learning. Amo Press, 1979. ‘O’Dede, op. cit. 1°4Jarnes Garbarino, “The Family: A School for Living, ” N~- *The Nation~ Home Study Council estimates that there me tional Elementary School Principal vol. 55, May 1976. 4 million correspondence students in the United States. Because Ch. 6—The Provision of Education in the United States ● 93

Today the American family is undergoing on its relationship to the rest of society, but some radical changes that could significantly also on the kind of technologies that are avail- affect its ability to provide educational serv- able to assist them. Printing and the mass ices in the home. At present, for example, publication and circulation of books, news- about 40 percent of all American families are papers, and periodicals, for instance, have structured or operating in a way that marked- greatly improved the possibilities for learning ly varies from the traditional norm. Since in the home. And the invention and widescale 1960, there has been, for example, a 100-per- deployment of radio and television has also cent increase in the number of single-parent had an extraordinary impact with respect to families, and, since 1970, a 33-percent increase who learns, and what is learned at home.110 in the number of households headed by wom- 107 Many new educational technologies such as en. Because single parents have less time cable, video disks, and the personal computer and fewer resources to spend in or on the home are now being made available for use in the than do couples, these changes may seriously home at more affordable costs. In 1981, there reduce the ability of some families to provide was a market for about 1 million personal com- for the educational needs of their children. A puters. It is estimated that by the late 1980’s recent study found that children from single- as many as half the families in the United parent families fare less well in school, both 108 States will have them in their homes. It is pre- socially and academically. dicted, moreover, that, by the end of the The educational needs of the family are also 1980’s, the percentage of homes wired for ca- changing. Until recently most people had by ble will increase from the present 28 to 50 per- the end of their childhood developed and ac- cent. 111 quired the skills and resources they needed to Because the widespread deployment of in- operate effectively in society. Today, however, formation technologies will significantly affect with the explosive growth in the fund of how members of a family interact and use their knowledge, people are becoming increasingly time together in the home, it will have a signifi- dependent on continuing education for both cant effect on education. It is difficult to pre- their social and their economic welfare. It has dict, however, what that impact will be. been estimated that the average American growing up today will have to be retrained four The new information technologies could sig- times during his working life. He will also need nificantly improve the learning environment more education if he is to participate in mak- for children in the home. Parents often lack ing decisions about his life and environment, the time and expertise necessary to effective- and if he is to make effective use of his in- ly supplement their children’s education at creased leisure time.l09 home. Traditional resources such as books, television programs and recordings are essen- How well families of the future can meet tially passive and cannot be tailored to meet these enhanced educational needs will depend individual needs. The new technologies are in- not only on the organization of the family and dividually oriented and interactive. Because they can rapidly process information, they can education in the home is such an informal process, it is difficult to determine its extent. A number of recent surveys have con- be used, moreover, to assist parents in diag- cluded, however, that nearly 90 percent of all adults undertake at least one major project a year. 1 locl~k C. Abt, ‘‘what the Future Holds for Children in the ‘“’Winifred I. Warnat, “Future Families as Household School TV Computer Age: Unprecedented Promises and Intolerable Institutions, ” Education: A Time for Decisions, Kathleen M. Threats to Child Development, ” an adapted version of the Recid and Arthur M. Harkins (eds.), selections from the Second keynote address to the National Council for Children and Televi- Annual Conference of the Education Section of the World sion Symposium on Children, Families, and the New Video Com- Future Society, 1980. puter Technologies, Princeton, N. J., Mar. 10, 1980. ‘WDavid Melendez, “A Developing Paradox: The Role of Fami- Inclement Bezold, ~Orne (%mputers and ly Education, Clearing House, vol. 55, No. 5, January 1982. ‘OsKatherine Patricia Cross, Adults as Learners (San Fran- May 1980, for the Foundation for Child Development by the cisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1981). Institute for Alternative Futures. 94 ž . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

While the new technologies may serve to enhance the possibilities for learning in all households, they could be of special educational value to those individuals who have traditionally found it difficult to learn in formal educational settings or institutions. Many adults, for example, have often been inhibited from participating in traditional educational programs because they felt too self-conscious or because such programs were too expensive, time-consuming, or inconvenient. Educational services delivered directly to the home could overcome such barriers. In addition, children living at home with a single parent who works, A family leaves a store in Yonkers, N. Y., with a computer and and handicapped individuals, confined more software to be used by an oceanographer father and his high-school-age children than usual to the home, may also find that the new information technologies have, for them, a special educational potential.114 nosing learning problems and in developing creative approaches to remedy them.112 On the other hand, it is possible that the technologies may actually diminish the oppor- If they enhance the household resources tunities for home education. Like television, available for instruction, the technologies will they may be more of a technological than a make it easier for the growing number of cultural success. Instead of increasing individ- parents who, dissatisfied with formal educa- uals’ access to information, and providing new tional institutions, would prefer to educate 113 ways of problem-solving, they may, in fact, their children at home. * The technologies lead to an unproductive use of time, provide may make it easier for parents to meet the children access to pornography and violence, educational standards required by many State and replace formal learning activities with compulsory education laws. much less valuable ones. 116 Moreover, if the technologies are primarily designed for and “zVictor Walling, Thomas C. Thomas, and Meredith A. Lar- son, Educational Implications of In-Home Electronic Technol- made available to middle-class families, they ogy, SRI prepared for the Department of Health, Education, could increase rather than diminish the gap and Welfare, Washington D. C., May 31, 1979. between the educationally advantaged and dis- “sLeah Beth Ward, “What Happens When Parents Turn Teachers, ” The New York Times Winter Survey of Education, advantaged. sec. 13, Sunday, Jan. 10, 1980. *The num~r of parents who choose ta educate their c~tien at home is difficult to estimate, since many parents do it “’Walling, op. cit. clandestinely so as to avoid court battles. According to the Na- l15Abt, op. cit; and J. Weizenbaum, “once More-A ComPutir tional Association for the Legal Support for alternative schools, Revolution, ’ Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, vol. 34, the number of families, now about 1 million, is rapidly growing. September 1978, pp. 12-19.

Libraries

As institutions that acquire, store, manage, dividuals of all ages are free to come and go and disseminate information, libraries provide as they please; to learn on their own, and at a variety of educational services. The learning their own pace. Information is presented in environment in a library is unstructured. In- general terms so as to be most relevant to a Ch. 6—The Provision of Education in the United States ● 95 broad, undifferentiated clientele. The tradi- that part of the total information resources tional medium by which learning takes place which will satisfy the individual’s working, is the printed word. cultural, and leisure time needs and interest, regardless of the individual’s location, or Today, libraries are at a turning point. They social or physical level of achievement. must make some major decisions about The important educational role that libraries whether and how they should employ the new perform has been recognized and supported by technologies-decisions that will significant- the Federal Government. Federal aid to librar- ly affect their ability to perform what has been ies was first granted, in fact, as part of the their traditional educational role. Taking ad- Federal Government’s efforts to enhance and vantage of these technologies, libraries might equalize educational opportunities. increase and/or enhance the educational activities that they provide. On the other hand, libraries might use these technologies as the Status of Libraries means of shifting their role from one of pro- There are in the the United States today viding public services such as education to one 29,446 individual libraries, some publicly and of providing information on a fee-paying basis. some privately supported. These include 14,390 public libraries or library branches, Education in the Library 4,676 academic libraries, 489 military libraries, 1,451 civilian government libraries, 5,294 In the United States, libraries have always special libraries, 429 law libraries, 1,705 med- been regarded as popular, educational institu- ical libraries, and 1,012 religious libraries. In tions. Like the public schools, they derived addition, there are library media centers in 85 their support from the public education and percent of the public schools.119 reform movements that developed after the Not all of these institutions provide educa- Civil War.116 Traveling libraries were founded tional services. Unlike public libraries, special to bring news and reading materials to rural libraries, for example, are supported and main- areas where book deposit stations were set up tained to provide a specific kind of informa- in grange halls, neighborhood stores, fire station to a particular clientele. They are not tions, and women’s clubs. In the cities, librar- necessarily open to the public. ies were established not only to provide access to books but also-like the settlement houses Although libraries were once a major center —to provide a haven and adult education proof activity in many communities, they have grams for a growing number of working-class become increasingly irrelevant to many Amer- immigrants. These libraries developed rapid- icans. Television and the inexpensive paper- ly during the post-Civil War period, and even back book have replaced the library as a ma- continued to thrive in the depression years.117 jor source of information and entertainment. Now only about two-thirds of the population More recently, libraries have tried to provide of a typical community use the public library. programs, materials, and services that could 120 Another third have never used it at all. help all individuals, whether they could read or not, to attain their educational goals. The Lacking public support, many libraries op- National Commission on Libraries and Infor- erate under severe economic constraints. Most mation Sciences, for example, recently negatively affected are those that provide adopted the goal of:118 educational services—public libraries, school libraries, and universities. Public libraries, for . . . providing every individual in the United example, are dependent for their financing and States with equal opportunity of access to ‘“V. H. Mathews, Libraries for Today and Tomorrow (Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1976). “gThe Bowker Annual of Library and Book IYade Informa- “’Ibid. tion, 25th cd., 1980. “’Ibid. ‘z’ Mathews, op. cit. 96 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

support on local communities that are them- to reconsider their traditional policy of pro- selves experiencing severe economic difficul- viding free services to the public. To compete ties. Approximately 81 percent of their financ- effectively with the growing number of other ing comes from local property taxes, funds for information enterprises, they will have to which many social services compete. Of these restructure their operations to meet the spe- funds, public libraries typically receive less cific needs of their paying clientele. Unless than 1 percent. Unable to meet increased costs libraries receive increased public support or with declining budgets, many libraries have subsidies from their private operations, fewer had to cut back their services, buy fewer mate- human and economic resources will be avail- rials, shorten hours and share resources.121 able to provide educational services to the public. Also vulnerable are academic libraries— some of which have, over the last decade, had Not all libraries will use the new technol- to reduce their expenditures for materials by ogies to compete in the information market. 20 to 40 percent.’” To meet the rising costs Some libraries are trying to regain a base of of operations, the Firestone Library at Prince- popular support by using the new technologies ton University is now considering charging to enhance the public services that they per- fees for all nonaffiliated users.123 form.126 In the Plattsburg public library in upstate New York, for example, a microcom- The major research and special libraries puter has been used successfully to develop have had fewer of these problems. Because they have a more clearly defined and econom- ‘*eInto the Information Age, op. cit. ically valued role in their institutional en- *competing with libraries in the information market me a vironments, they are more financially secure. growing number of profit-making institutions that, taking advantage of the new information technologies, provide a broad The growing demand for information and range of information services for a fee. Describing themselves the development of information technologies as information brokers or as information specialists, they provide such services as supplying bibliographies and documents, offer libraries an opportunity to establish a and, in some cases, conducting substantial research. Large orga- new rationale for their existence and a new nizations bill their clients at about $100 per hour; the smaller basis of economic support. Demographic ones at about $25 to $35 per hour. The business of providing information is a thriving one, and one that is predicted to dou- changes, new lifestyles, and changing values ble in volume over the next 10 years. may create new library users with greater and different information needs, and the new information technologies may provide possible ways of meeting them.124 Taking advantage of these developments, some libraries are already moving ahead to define a new role for themselves as informa- 126 tion brokers. * If they are to move in this direction, many libraries may, however, have

“’Ibid. “ZIbid. “$Princeton Apr. 19, 1982. ‘z’ Leigh Estabrook (cd.), Industrial Socie ty (Oryx Press, 1977); Into the Information Age: A Perspective for Federal Action on Information (Chicago: American Library Association, 1978); Robert Taylor, “Professional Education and the Information Environment,” lh”brary~oumal Sept. 15, 1979, pp. 1871-1875. lZ5Estabrwk, op. cit.; Taylor, Op. cit. *El~tronic technologies are already beginning to reshape the traditional library as software becomes commercially available At the Trediffrin Public Library, Trediffrin, Pa., the public pays for carrying out overall library operations. for access to the computer Ch. 6—The Provision of Education in the United States . 97

computer literacy among rural children. *127 If house information and traditional means of public libraries are to expand their educational delivery, they will continue to provide free programs in this way, they may need some ad- educational, recreational, and cultural services ditional support. Given the recent poor sup- in local library buildings to those citizens who port for libraries, the economic situation in value them. If libraries follow this path, many communities, and the limited awareness however, they may become less and less rele- of the potential use and value of the new tech- vant to a public that increasingly values infor- nologies, libraries may find it impossible to mation and is computer-literate. As on-line in- raise the initial capital needed to undertake formation takes the place of books, these li- new programs of this sort. braries will have less that is of interest to the public. It is conceivable, moreover, that as the Whether because they lack funds or because proprietors of nonprint media are paid fees for they lack initiative, some libraries will not the use of their materials, the authors of books utilize the new technologies at all. Using in- housed in public libraries may seek greater compensation for the use of theirs. *128 With *The new ~hno]ogies will, moreover, dow libraries to serve better as centers of information. The Los Angeles County Public diminished public support and a shrinking cli- Library, for instance, now uses cable to provide information entele, these libraries may be unable to gen- services in over 100 libraries to the 2.6 million residents of Los erate the economic resources necessary to Angeles County. These services are designed for both the traditional library user and the nonuser, including the nonreader. maintain even their traditional services. As part of this program, librarians continually learn how to assess the informational, cultural, and recreational needs of their *This Pro=m has been quite successful in meeting itS gOZd. communities, and the best methods for handling, retrieving, Attracted to the computer, more and more children are becom- storing, and disseminating information (Los Angeles County ing regular library visitors. Adults use the computer on off- Public Library Draft Cable TV Policy Statement). hours to try out their own programs or to develop software for ‘*’Anne F. Remans and Stanley A. Ransom, “An Apple a Day: business use. Microcomputers in the Public Library, ” American Libraries, ‘*”B. Benderly, “Libraries Do Exploit Authors, ” Letters to December 1980. the Editor, The Washington POS6 June 26, 1982, p. 15.

Museums

The museum is an institution that houses individuals built museums as memorials to a collection of objects of cultural and scientific themselves .*129 significance. The museum documents, orders, and preserves these objects for others to ex- Museum Education amine. It often helps to interpret and to explain them and to provide a context in which Although education has never been their pri- they may be best understood and enjoyed. mary function, all museums possess valuable educational resources. The objects from muse- Museums in their current form are only um collections can be used not only as self-con- about 200 years old. They were established for tained exhibits, but also as illustrations for a variety of purposes: members of royal and courses, lectures, and other educational pur- aristocratic families built them to house their poses. Designed to be relevant to a diverse lay treasures; religious orders established them to public, museum education is relatively un- enhance their places of worship; governments used them to cultivate national sentiments; *Enghsh authors are compensated, for example, in accordance scholars and artists established them to foster with how often their books are borrowed from public libraries. research and to publicize their achievements; Since the money to pay the authors comes from the government, the books are freely available to the public. manufacturers and industrialists used them “gUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural to publicly display their wares; and wealthy Organization, the Organization of Museums, Paris, 1960. 98 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education structured. Visitors can come and go at will, museums began conducting vocational coun- drawing whatever they please from the experi- seling and training during the depression ence. The exhibits they view are not always years. Today, American museums have sub- ordered in a typical pedagogical fashion; that stantially increased their educational offerings is, sequentially and according to a lesson plan. to the public. More often, their arrangement is designed to enhance a particular display.l30 Status of Museums* Museum education is also more active than There are approximately 1,821 museums in the passive education that takes place in a the United States. Of these, 62 percent are classroom. It facilitates individual participa- organized around a historical theme, 34 per- 131 tion, interaction, and response. Museum vis- cent around an art theme, and 34 percent itors are, for example, often encouraged to in- around a science theme. A large majority offer teract with museum guides, to make drawings some educational programs. The most com- of art objects, to feel the texture of materials, mon programs involve school children and are 132 and to pull the levers on machines. In its jointly sponsored by museums and State and varied purposes, its lack of educational struc- local educational departments.136 Programs ture, and its openness to the public, the directed at elementary and secondary schools museum is similar to the library. In fact, often entail museum visits designed to ac- together they have been described as con- quaint children with a museum’s resources. stituting the two halves of the public’s Some museums also provide classes for in- memory. But museum education, while similar dividual students at this age level. For junior in purpose, is different in method. It is more and senior high school students, there are sensory, using experience itself as a pedagog- classes in special subject areas. Museum pro- ical tool. In comparing the two it has been grams for university students and post- said, for example, that whereas the museum graduates are least well developed.137 represents the right half of the educational hemisphere, the library represents the left.133 Museums also provide educational services aimed at other members of the community. In the United States, museums have always These programs include adult educational pro- been conceived of as having an important ed- grams and some special programs designed to ucational function. Education was considered meet the unique educational needs of par- to be so important, in fact, that in some ticular groups such as the economically disad- museums educational programs were set up vantaged or the blind. even before buildings were built or before collections were assembled. Many museums were The ability of museums to provide educa- expected to provide vocational training to- tional services is circumscribed by the limited gether with more general educational serv- resources available to them. Most museums ices.134 The Cleveland Museum, for example, are small, operating with budgets of less than was required by its charter to maintain an in- $50,000. Only 10 percent have operating dustrial training school.135 Several other budgets of $1 million or more. Museum resources are, moreover, relatively insecure. For example, two thirds of all museums in the ISOMUseU~s ud Education, Eric Larrabee (cd. ) (Washington, United States rely on private sources for finan- D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1968). “’Ibid, cial support, and more than half provide ad- “’Barbara Newson, “The Museum as Educator and the missions free. Museums must also rely heavi- Education of Teachers, ” February 1978, vol. 79, No. 3. ‘‘gIbid. *As defined by the National Council for the Endowment for ‘“Ibid. the Arts in their study, MUSEUMS USA 1974. ‘S6Barbara Newson and Adele Silver (eds.), The Art Museum ‘WIbid. as Educator (Berkeley, Calif.: The Council on Museums and l~T~useums USA, National Endowment for the Arts, Wash- Education in the Visual Arts, University of California Press). ington, D. C., 1974. Ch. 6— The Provision of Education in the United States ● 99 ly on volunteers, who outnumber the full-time by their very nature, they may be particular- and part-time professionals working in muse- ly well-suited to acquaint the public with these ums.138 technologies. Some museums are, in fact, already offering the public first hand experience Because much of their distinction and ap- with microcomputers and video disks. The ex- peal derives from their ability to communicate tent to which museums will be able to continue in a sensory, unstructured fashion, museums to provide this service will depend not only on may be particularly vulnerable to competition the amount of resources that they have at from the new information technologies that their disposal. It will also depend on the will have a similar appeal. On the other hand, readiness of both museum leaders and the public to view museums as relevant and dynamic 13a Ibid. institutions.

In the Capitol Children’s Museum, Washington, D. C., children are provided with their first contact with the computer, They take their first steps tentatively but soon find that the computer itself is an interactive teacher, rewarding them immediately for the right moves

Business and Labor139

Advanced training and education are assum- sonnel. Such change may take the form of ing special roles in the lives of Americans slightly modified practices and procedures or employed in all sectors of the economy, but even of entirely new job functions for which especially among those who work in business individuals must be retrained. This process and industry. Continuing breakthroughs in now occurs as often in older industries such technology and their subsequent applications as steel, rubber, and auto, as it does in the in the workplace change the working lives of newer high-technology firms, even if the de- professional employees, skilled craftspeople, gree of change and the reasons for it differ semi-skilled workers, and office support per- significantly. Both groups are faced with the need to con- lsQBeth A. Brown, Characteristics of Industry-Based ~d Labor-Based !i%iningand Education I+ograms, Including Uses stantly reexamine methods and processes in of Information Technology in Such Programs: An Overview order to improve efficiency and remain com- (w@@@n, D. C.: OTA, 1981); and Beth A. Brown, Cb~8C- petitive in the marketplace. This reevaluation tcnstics of Industry-Based Training and Education Programs, Including Uses of Information Technology: S4ected Case Stud- is especially necessary when the markets are ies (Washington, D. C.: OTA, 1981). international in scope and when competition 100 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education must take into account many variables such the sheer size of the task of necessary train- as wage levels, government subsidies to busi- ing, retraining, and professional development ness and export levels. The day is fast ap- has demanded that industry and labor become proaching when career-related training and more deeply involved, and that a little healthy education at all occupational levels will be a competition among a broader base of alter- lifelong process and possibly a mandatory one. native education providers can do nothing but improve the quality of education overall. How- ever one views the situation, all the signs point Role of Education in to increased involvement of industry and labor the Workplace in training and education. Even in periods when there are no major changes, work force expansion and employee Industry-Based Training turnover require that training and education and Education programs be provided by companies for new Growth in industry-based training and ed- personnel. In addition, current staff must be ucation has been particularly pronounced since provided with opportunities to upgrade their the end of World War II, although most larger skills and to acquire new ones if they are to firms have been engaged in some forms of in- be effective in the jobs or to prepare them- struction since their founding. While no one selves for advancement opportunities. Com- actually knows how many employees partici- panies sometimes also provide special pro- pate in instructional programs each year, some grams for employees wishing to make major measures of the degree and scope of activities career changes. Whatever events or policies are available. The American Society for Train- make it necessary, more and more corporate ing and Development (ASTD) estimates that resources are being earmarked for instruc- corporations spend $30 billion annually for tional activities. programs, staff, and materials. ASTD has also The delivery of educational services to calculated that in the United States there are employees in business and industry is ac- at least 75,000 individuals engaged full-time complished in a number of ways. A large por- in-house training and development activities, tion of it is provided through established plus another 75,000 who are employed on a public and private, nonprofit and for-profit part-time basis. Approximately two-thirds of educational institutions, either by contract or ASTD’s 40,000 members are employed in the in the form of cooperatively designed and ad- private sector, either as training consultants, ministered programs. But an equally large por- as staff members within corporate training de- tion is being sponsored, designed, and oper- partments, or as managers, directors, or vice ated by companies themselves. Labor unions presidents of those departments. and labor organizations also are heavily in- A Conference Board survey of industry ed- volved in work-related training and education, ucation conducted in 1974 indicated that 75 both as cosponsors and as initiators. percent of the 610 companies responding pro- Some say that the movement of industry vided some in-house courses for employees; 89 and labor into the educational arena reflects percent had tuition refund programs; and 74 their dissatisfaction with existing educational percent authorized and paid for selected structures and is a comment on educators’ employees, usually managers and other pro- lack of responsiveness to the needs of in- fessionals, to take outside courses during dividuals for some degree of work preparation working hours. The Conference Board esti- prior to employment. Others feel that tradi- mates, moreover, that, among the 32 million tional educational institutions cannot be ex- individuals employed by companies that re- pected to keep up with rapid changes in equip- sponded to the survey and that had staffs of ment and procedures. Still others argue that 500 employees or more, about 3.7 million-or Ch. 6— The Provision of Education in the United States ● 101

11 percent—took part in in-house courses ● sales and marketing; sponsored by their firms during working ● safety; hours, and approximately 700,000, or another ● data processing; 2 percent, participated in company courses ● management and executive development; delivered during nonworking hours. Exempt ● clerical and secretarial; employees were more frequent enrollees than ● basic education (remedial programs in those in the nonexempt category. Only those math and oral and written communica- firms that had 1,000 employees or fewer ap- tions for hourly as well as salaried em- peared to place greater reliance on hiring pre- ployees); trained personnel or to utilize on-the-job ● tuition assistance (now considered by training.140 most companies to be part of the instructional program, rather than just an ele- Broad estimates of worker participation are ment of the corporate benefits package); probably lower than the estimates that might ● trainer’s training be found today, especially given the present (which is offered in firms with many small or broadly scattered in- trend within U.S. factories towards installing stallations where supervisors and others computer-assisted design and computer as- must assume responsibility for adminis- sisted manufacturing systems (CAD/CAM), tering training packages or managing and the retraining requirements that accom- some form of instructional program); and pany their use. In a study comparing the ef- ● retraining. fects of technological change on the need for human resources in the chemical and allied products industries in the United Kingdom, Trend Toward Decentralized Japan, and the United States, it was predicted that major U.S. companies, in order to meet Instruction their need for retrained production workers, The size of the work force, the numbers of would be compelled within the next 5 years to persons to be trained, the existence of multi- set up special training schools to provide ple facilities, and the complexity of instruc- “craftsmen’ level instruction to their process tional needs have all led to the decentraliza- 141 operators. tion of corporate training operations. While In addition to these changes, one can also some firms maintain control of training de- expect that the increased use of robots and sign, development, and delivery functions at other forms of computer-assisted production the corporate level, others handle some or all may result in widespread restructuring of es- instructional responsibilities at the divisional tablished occupational groups. This may, in or plant level. In these situations, the role of turn, create a need for more job-related in- the corporate-level training group is usually structional programs. one of encouraging the sharing of information among all personnel involved in the develop- Today’s corporate training programs cover ment of human resources. Industrial training almost all aspects of company operations, not activities tend to be based in the personnel, just manufacturing. Typically, instructional industrial relations, or engineering depart- offerings address the following skills and cor- ments. Sometimes three or more departments porate program areas: share the responsibility for instructional de- . manufacturing and technical; velopment, focusing on one or more of the following staff groups: ● specialized skills development; ““Seymour Lusterman, Education in Industry (New York: production line (unskilled and semi- The Conference Board, 1977). skilled); “’Frank Bradbury and John Russell, Technolo~ Change and skilled trades; Its Manpower Implications: A Comparative Study of the Chem- ical and Allied Products Industry m the U. K., U. S., and Japan, technical (usually engineering, data proc- Chemical and Allied Products Industry Training Board, 1980. essing, and R&D); 102 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

● management; entry-level, production-line training on an as- ● supervisory (first-line); and needed basis. Another firm has established its ● professional (specialists who are not tech- own in-house associate degree program, with nical staff and who may not supervise or assistance from several local colleges. In yet manage operations). another case, a corporation has been the major force behind the establishment of an independ- Training: Investment v. ent, degree-granting institute that offers graduate-level instruction in software engineering Expense to personnel of high-technology firms in the New England region, as well as to other inter- In companies that have a staff of over 500, ested individuals in the United States and size does not appear to be important in deter- abroad. mining perceptions about employee education. If training is viewed as an investment that has It has been suggested that such corporate- a long-term payoff, even firms that have ex- founded institutions compete with, and will perienced economic difficulties may be willing thus detract from, established college and to provide adequate financial support for in- university programs. Predictions have been structional programs. Some corporate train- made, for example, that as many as 300 col- ing groups, when they have the support of top leges may close their doors during the 1980’s management, are able to obtain the resources due to declining numbers of high school grad- necessary to expand into new instructional uates, at a time when 300 company-sponsored areas and to use the latest equipment. Man- institutions of higher learning will begin op- agement has recognized a direct correlation erations. 142 However, companies do not see between training, reduced turnover, and themselves as being in direct competition with higher productivity. In some companies, how- traditional institutions of higher education. ever, training personnel have small budgets. They maintain that they have established They have to prepare in-depth justifications their programs to meet needs that the tradi- for refunding even at current levels of expend- tional education community never addressed; itures, and to prepare elaborate documentation that their needs are so specialized that they for proposals to expand instructional activities must be met in-house; and that traditional in- and to utilize new equipment. stitutions do not have the capacity, either in terms of resources or in terms of scheduling flexibility, to provide for their needs. Relationship With Local Educational Institutions and Industry-Sponsored Information Technology in Educational Institutions Corporate Instruction One-third of the 50 companies that OTA Communications technology is being applied to a limited extent in the instructional contacted in the course of this study, have programs of both centralized and decentral- established some sort of working relationship ized corporate training operations. However, with high schools, vocational/technical the trend toward the decentralization of train- schools, and colleges and universities in order ing in larger firms has increased the potential to train or educate employees. for more widespread use. First of all, while the Companies and educational institutions front-end development time may be increased, jointly develop and administer programs, for the use of technology allows more standardiza- which the firms provide ongoing financial sup- tion in instructor-dependent designs than port and donations of equipment. One com- ‘42Henry M. Brickell and Carol B. Aclanian, “The Colleges pany works with 10 local vocational/technical and Business Competition, ” New York Times Survey of Clm- schools and community colleges to deliver tinuing Education, Aug. 30, 1981. Ch. 6—The Provision of Education in the United States ● 103 could otherwise be achieved, especially in based instructional systems and newer forms cases involving the direct transfer of large of technology such as video disk, teleconfer- amounts of knowledge. Second, while the cost encing, and closed-circuit television. of development and the expenditures for Another problem area is that of hardware- equipment are greater, the low costs of repro- software compatibility, especially for cor- ducing the instructional package for distribu- porate trainers who want to purchase commer- tion to the field offices or plants, or of the com- cial courseware but who have in-house computer time necessary for field staff to access puter capabilities on which they want to build. a centralized instructional system, makes the Many companies have made the decision to utilization of the technology an attractive develop their own instructional packages option. rather than invest in a new system of hard- Third, especially in the case of self-instruc- ware on which commercially available course- tion packages, there is greater flexibility in the ware would run. The frequency with which in- scheduling of training sessions and more op- structional programs must be modified—as, portunities for employees to participate, re- for example, in R&D-related training-may gardless of the nature or location of their work make the use of computer-based programs and site. Also, travel cost for employees attending video disk impractical. centralized instructional programs are elimi- Even the type of instruction itself may pre- nated, and greater integration of instructional clude the use of technology. For example, com- programs with actual worksite operations be- puter-assisted instruction has, to date, been comes possible. found to be of little value in advanced engi- One company has developed an instructional neering and software development courses, as package for production-line equipment main- well as in apprenticeship skills training. This tenance personnel that is run on a microcom- is due to the complexity of the information puter integrated with a video disk unit that that must be conveyed and, in the case of ap- allows for both graphics and text display. The prenticeship, to the need for repeated demon- package is used in classroom instruction ses- stration by a knowledgeable instructor who sions, but several units have been installed on can respond to a trainee’s questions and who the production line, where the maintenance can demonstrate on actual equipment. Many and repair staff are assisted on an ongoing corporate trainers still feel that classroom in- basis. Finally, in both centralized and decen- struction is the best approach. Others resist tralized instructional settings, technology- the use of technology in their programs be- based training modules or programs, (particu- cause they feel that they are often being sold larly those that are computer-assisted) may be technology for technology’s sake, rather than used to bring course participants to a desired as a tool to be utilized within the framework level of competency or to determine initial of an existing instructional system. competence levels for designing classroom instruction. Computer-Based Instruction

Factors That May Affect Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) appears to be a commonly utilized technology for Instructional Use of industrial training. A recent survey of the uses Technology of microcomputers in the training programs of selected Fortune 500 companies revealed While communications technology has that, of the 56 firms responding, about 50 per- achieved acceptance within industry-based in- cent were utilizing either mainframes or mi- structional programs over the past few years, 143 crocomputers. In companies contacted by there are still a number of obstacles to be overcome before more widespread utilization will “SGreg Kearsley, Michael J. Hillesohn, and Robert J. Seidel, The Use of Microcomputers for I%uhing: Bustiess and Indust@ be achieved. Cost is most frequently cited as (Alexandria, Va.: Human Resources Research Organization, a major deterrent, particularly for computer- March 1981). 104 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

OTA for this study, technical personnel such Most corporate training representatives as entry-level engineers, field service repre- who are enthusiastic about video disk mention sentatives for computerized equipment, devel- its random access capability and its ability to opment programmers, and applications pro- expand its utility through integration with a grammers are frequently trained using CAI microcomputer. However, many instructors packages. do not believe that the differences between video disk and video tape warrant the addi- Some companies develop their own CAI tional investment, especially if video tape software; others purchase commercial pack- equipment has recently been purchased. Other makes use ages. The airline industry extensive concerns have to do with the cost of video disk of this mode of instruction for ground person- equipment, the cost of producing master disks nel. Some particularly interesting applications relative to the number of copies required, and may be seen in pilot training, where CAI is the inability of revising a video disk program used in combination with video disk to replace once it has been created. It appears that it will more expensive flight simulators. The insur- be several more years before many industrial ance industry is beginning to utilize CAI training applications of video disk will be courses with selected field office staff, such as realized. their claims representatives and premium aud- itors. Occupational groups most infrequently Teleconferencing mentioned as potential trainees are administrative/secretarial personnel and production- At present, teleconferencing is of limited use line staff. in industry-based training and education pro- Computer-managed instruction (CMI), un- grams. Industry representatives feel, for the like CAI, is rarely found in the industrial set- most part, that costs are still too high to make ting, although there are cases where it is used applications feasible unless the technology has in airline and insurance companies. Corporate been acquired for other uses, such as business training personnel may not yet appreciate the meetings, and is accessible at a subsidized possible advantages of CMI; they may feel rate. One firm, experimenting with audio tele- that functions are best handled by instruc- conferencing to link an instructor with a group tional staff; or they may view CMI as being of trainees assembled several hundred miles too costly an application. away, found that the lack of visual stimuli distracted many of the participants who, in this case, were midlevel managers. Video Disk Another company, engaged in hotel, motel, The most controversial form of technology and food service operations, uses a full tele- for use in corporate training is video disk. conferencing system, initially established Many firms have investigated its potential ap- among 70 of its facilities for convention plication, but few seem to be utilizing it at clientele, for in-house quarterly business per- present. One automobile manufacturer has de- formance conferences. Some firms have ten- veloped a video disk program to train auto tative plans to experiment over the next few dealer mechanics on how to repair the new car years with teleconferencing in field staff train- models. A computer hardware and software ing. company uses video disk in training its customer service engineering staff. It has Satellite Communications recently converted all of the instructional programs used in its 60 field centers for customer Applications of satellite technology within and staff education from video tape to video corporate training and education programs are disk. rare, but many companies with extensive na- Ch. 6—The Provision of Education in the United States w 105 tional or international field office networks broader and deeper utilization of technology place it high on their lists for future use, once in corporate instruction is a future goal, pres- costs come down and they are more certain ent marketing strategies may have to be re- about how it can be more effectively used. The viewed and altered significantly. technical instruction group of one major high- technology firm is now looking into how sat- Union-Sponsored Training ellite technology might be used to beam classes that originate at the corporate engi- and Education neering and development installations around Labor unions and labor organizations have the world. a long history of involvement in training and Another high-technology corporation, hav- education. The American Federation of Labor ing looked into the use of satellite communica- (AFL) began to provide such services to mem- tions for initial and repeated instruction of bers in 1881, the year of its founding. In 1921, marketing personnel based in various parts of the AFL was instrumental in establishing a the world, decided against pursuing the proj- Worker’s Education Bureau, a separate body ect because of the cost and the uncertainties that carried out programs for its affiliate involved in securing information transmitted unions. By 1929, the Bureau had become the in this way. formal education arm of the AFL. In 1936, 1 year after its establishment, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) created an Implications education department. There is considerable potential for the more When these two labor groups merged in widespread application of communications 1955 to form the AFL-CIO, the emphasis on technology in instructional programs within training and education was continued. A new business and industry. Training requirements education department was formed, and even- will increase tremendously through the year tually the Human Resources Development In- 2000 and beyond, and there are sufficient fi- stitute (1968) and the George Meany Center nancial resources to invest in equipment and of Labor Studies (1968) were created to ad- courseware. However, the presence of com- dress the expanded needs for apprenticeship puters and other equipment in the plant does recruitment and instruction and to train union not necessarily guarantee that educational and members to assume leadership positions with- instructional applications of the technology in the labor movement. will be made. Neither the level of sophistica- At present, the AFL-CIO has 102 affiliate tion of the training system nor the degree of unions which, together with a few independent corporate support for employee education en- unions, constitute the labor movement in the sure that the technology will be used. Those United States.144 who are employing the computer, the video disk, and other forms of technology in their instructional programs seem to have taken Education Programs their own initiative to find out how these tools The majority of the educational programs might be most effectively applied. offered, sponsored, or otherwise supported by The educational technology industry has not the labor movement, fall into one of three yet developed a comprehensive sales strategy categories: to use with the corporate market. A number 1. College Programs: These are usually 2- of training administrators who have contacted and 4-year degree programs in labor stud- sales representatives reportedly felt that they were being sold technology for technology’s “’Interview with Edgar R. Czarnecki, Assistant Education sake rather than as an instructional tool. If Director, AFLCIO, fall/winter 1981. 106 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

ies offered through community colleges, the labor movement. However, thousands of colleges, and universities. In some cases unionized workers take advantage of this ben- they are single for-credit courses jointly efit every year and enroll in courses, most of developed by unions and local postsecond- which are required by companies to be job- ary institutions around such subjects as related.145 Because of the availability of these collective bargaining or leadership tech- benefits, a number of college programs have niques. been established in union halls and other 2. Apprenticeship Programs: Apprentice- facilities near industrial plants. Classes are of- ship programs usually entail specialized fered at hours that will allow workers to at- training in a skilled trade, craft, or occu- tend on hourly shifts. pation that is provided at the worksite Courses are offered year-round, and the ex- and in off-the-job instruction of some istence of weekend classes permits partici- type. Most of these programs are oper- pants to earn bachelor’s degrees in 4 years ated by the unions themselves or are 146 while they continue to work full-time. The jointly sponsored by unions and industry. first such program, Wayne State University’s However, a fair share are now offered by “Weekend Worker College” (Detroit), was de- community colleges under contract or via veloped in conjunction with the United Auto joint ventures with unions. All 17 of the Workers. The curriculum consists of 1 year of building trade unions offer apprenticeship humanities, 1 year of social sciences, 1 year programs, as do the maritime trade unions of physical sciences, and a fourth year devoted for those engaged in shipbuilding, ma- to a major field. A 2-year associate degree is chining, and seafaring. 147 also offered. Some 20 programs of this kind Other unions with apprenticeship sys- were expected to be under way by the end of tems include those who represent mold- 1981, and the American Federation of Teach- ers, pattern makers, and upholsterers, to ers is now trying to establish similar projects name a few. According to figures supplied 148 in six other locations. by the Human Resources Development Institute, there were, at the close of 1979, 323,866 persons enrolled in apprentice- Other Types of Instructional ship programs. Of this number, 18.2 per- Programs cent were minorities, 6.4 percent were female, and 23.7 percent were veterans. Various unions have been active in pro- The Labor Department’s Bureau of Ap- viding other training and educational services prenticeship and Training has set a long- to their memberships and to the community range goal of having 500,000 registered as a whole. Unions and companies in some apprentices by 1984. areas of the country have cosponsored train- 3. Special Programs: The largest number of ing designed to prepare individuals for ad- training activities available to union vancement from entry-level positions or what members are special, or noncredit, courses would otherwise be considered jobs with no offered by the education departments of promotional opportunities. Funding, in most individual unions to representatives on cases, has been provided by the Comprehen- various levels—from that of shop steward sive Employment and Training Act (CETA) to local president. Collective bargaining title II and title III grants, although some pro- techniques, labor law, and parliamentary procedures are popular subjects. “’Interview with John Carney, Education Director, United Steelworkers of America, fall/winter 1981. Tuition assistance programs provided by “’Interview with Jane McDonald and John Good, Human R+ management under negotiated contracts with sources Development Institute (AFL-CIO), faU/winter 1981. 147” Worker V: More Colleges Offer Programs for Blue Collar unions are not considered to be a part of the Employees, ” Wall S&et Journal May 12, 1981, p. 1. training and education programs provided by ‘481nterview with Edgar R. Czarnecki, faU/winter 1981. Ch. 6— The Provision of Education in the United States . 107 grams have been privately funded by labor, taking great advantage of information tech- by industry, or jointly by labor and industry. nologies. These technologies may be considered inappropriate to the apprenticeship Where other jobs are available within a system. The importance of the individual in- reasonable geographic range, unions have also structor, the duration of the apprenticeship engaged in the retraining of members who period, lasting usually 4 years, and the unique have lost their jobs due to plant closings and funds of information that must be conveyed, site relocations. The “Mass Layoff Job Search such as local building codes which differ from Club” was formed in Midland, Pa., to provide area to area, tend to discourage the use of tech- such assistance to 300 former Crucible Steel nology such as computer-assisted instruction. workers whose jobs were eliminated. The program is jointly sponsored by the United Steel- In the college programs and special pro- workers local and Crucible Steel. In St. Louis, grams, there is also little use of information Me., a joint labor-management committee has technology. One reason for their infrequent use been formed through which local unions, busi- is that the lecture method has generally been nesses, educational institutions, and com- considered to be successful in labor education munity-based organizations are working programs. Films, slides, and video cassettes together to identify ways of dealing with the were most often used by those who were in- large numbers of displaced workers in the area. terviewed. The United Steelworkers of Amer- On the campuses of local community colleges, ica, for example, uses video tapes and cas- career readjustment and reemployment cen- settes in mock arbitration exercises at the ters have been set up to handle the needs of union’s Linden Hall Residential Training Cen- an expected 1,000 participants.149 ter, but they use no other form of technology. The cost of computer-based learning systems For several years, the AFL-CIO’s Human 151 was cited as a deterrent to their use. Resources Development Institute has operated a nationwide apprentice outreach pro- A national AFL-CIO training representative gram for minorities and women to recruit and stated that most member unions were just be- prepare them for available apprenticeship ginning to use video cassettes in arbitration slots. Many AFL-CIO affiliates and independ- simulations and for circulating messages of ent unions conduct preapprenticeship training their presidents to State and local chapters. sessions and basic education programs for He also described a model communications young people who wish to improve their read- project, “To Educate the People Consortium, ” ing, math, and other skills so that they might which was staged by Wayne University as a qualify for participation in apprenticeship pro- part of its local instructional program. To grams. Career education and vocational ex- stimulate interest in using the medium as an ploration programs sponsored by local school educational device, union representatives in systems and others also receive substantial 100 cities across the country were connected support from labor unions and labor organi- by a network via two-way, closed-circuit televi- zations. 150 sion. The demonstration was so successful that another model broadcast, “Safety and 152 Information Technology in Health for Women, ” is now being planned. Union-Sponsored Instruction A Texas State AFL-CIO representative reported that video cassettes were used in educa- There is no evidence in the literature or in tion programs, but he indicated that none of the interviews conducted by OTA with labor the other newer forms of technology were education directors to suggest that unions are being used because they were inappropriate for the kinds of programs offered–mostly “gInterview with Jane McDonald and John Good, falllwinter 1981. “’Interview with John Carney, fall/winter 1981. ““Ibid. “’Interview with Edgar R. Czarnecki, fall/winter 1981. 108 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education workshops—and because they were too cost- used in labor education seminars. Unions that ly.153 A Dallas AFL-CIO representative could are using video cassettes in training packages identify no applications of technology. He include the United Carpenters and Joiners of regards classroom training with lectures as the America and the American Postal Workers.156 most popular format. However, he hopes to In contrast to industry-based instructional use cable television once it becomes available activities, there seems to be less potential for in the Dallas area as a way of more effective- 154 applications of information technology in ly reaching the membership (1985). The union-sponsored training and education pro- United Rubber Workers do not use educa- grams, primarily because such programs are tional technology either, and they have not 155 still highly instructor-centered and classroom- thought about it for the future. oriented. However, the success of closed-cir- The International Brotherhood of Electrical cuit television experiments initiated by the Workers (IBEW) employs computer systems labor movement suggests that this form of to track apprentices in training. It has technology might achieve more acceptance established some joint information systems and be utilized for national and regional educa- with the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Ap- tional sessions in the future. Perhaps union prenticeship Training. In addition, an IBEW association with colleges and universities that representative reported that video disks are utilize educational technology in labor education courses and degree programs may result —. IS~lnteWiew With RUth Ellinger, Education Director, Texas in more widespread application in union-spon- State AFL-CIO, fall/winter 1981. sored training and education activities. I“Interview with Willie Chapman, AFLCIO, Dallas, Tex., fall/ winter 1981. “’Interview with Kenneth Edwards, Director, Skill Improve- ISSInterview with Jg.mes Peake, Education Director, United ment Training, International Brotherhood of Electrical Work- Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers, fall/winter 1981. ers, fall/winter 1981. Chapter 7 State of Research and Development in Educational Technology

Chapter 7 State of Research and Development in Educational Technology

Support of basic research and development (R&D) in most fields of technology has traditionally been a function of the Federal Government. The Govern- ment has also funded applied research when its purpose was to advance certain national goals or to serve the mission needs of Federal agencies. R&D not only generates important new knowledge about educational technology, but, when done in academic centers, it can also provide an instructional base with which to train experts needed to create effective instructional materials.

Findings

Gaps in our knowledge about information ministrative priority, and that such a pro- technology could limit our ability to use it gram has been built into the 1983 budget effectively, and, if leading to its inappropri- request. ate implementation, could negatively affect ● Given the number of agencies that have an both the learners and the institutions using existing or potential interest in R&D in this the technology. area, the Federal Government may want to The Department of Defense (DOD) now pro- coordinate these efforts so as to allow for vides the bulk of R&D support in the field a greater exchange of information and a of learning technology. more efficient and effective allocation of responsibilities. The responsibility for such Civilian agency funding for R&D in learn- coordination could be vested in a single ing technology, the majority of which comes agency, or existing interagency group, or an from the Department of Education, has agency especially established for that pur- fallen precipitously from a temporary short- pose. term peak in the late 1960’s. ● In light of the tight Federal budget and the If Congress wanted to stimulate effective potential interest of the private sector in educational applications of information educational technology, mechanisms for technology, it would have to undertake or leveraging Federal support to stimulate in- foster a substantial program for R&D. The dustry and foundation funding for R&D Secretary of Education has stated that a might be investigated. program of research support is a major ad-

Introduction and Background

Since the 1950’s, R&D in educational tech- of the Federal Government has been to pro- nology has been funded by the Federal Gov- vide initial and limited ongoing support that ernment, by foundations, by the business com- might serve to attract other sources of fund- munity, and, in some cases, by all three in col- ing. The Federal agencies most deeply in- laboration with one another. To date, the role volved have been the National Science Foun-

111 112 . lnformational Technology and Its Impact on American Education dation (NSF), the Department of Education tional broadcasts via satellite, have all been (OE) (formerly a part of the Department of undertaken with OE support. Health, Education, and Welfare), and DOD. DOD has also made significant contribu- Acting on a legislative mandate to foster tions to the R&D of educational technologies. computing in science education, NSF, through Faced (since the 1970’s) with a greater need its Science and Engineering Education Direc- to provide basic skills instruction to recruits, torate, has funded a variety of computer- to train individuals to operate more complex assisted learning research efforts, including equipment, and to deliver instruction in the the initial development of the PLATO instruc- field in multiple locations, the military has tional system at the University of Illinois in placed renewed emphasis on developing appli- 1959. ’ Grants have been made to provide ini- cations of technology. Through the tri-services tial and ongoing support of educational televi- of the Army, the Navy/Marine Corps, and the sion projects such as NOVA and 3-2-1 Con- Air Force, DOD has, since then, sponsored tact, both of which have received worldwide R&D projects in the areas of: acclaim and have served as models for pro- ● computer-based education; grams in other nations. NSF has also funded efforts to determine how computer-controlled ● computerized-adaptive testing; video disk may be used to enhance science ● simulation and gaming; education in physics and biology. It has issued ● video disk technology; ● artificial intelligence; grants for science news coverage broadcast on ● instructional development/authoring aids; 227 public radio stations, and has sponsored and early satellite experiments. In addition, in fis- 2 “ job-oriented basic skills training. cal years 1980 and 1981, NSF and the Nation- al Institute of Education (NIE) jointly funded Other agencies that have made grants on a ‘‘Mathematics Education Using Information periodic basis include the National Aeronau- Technology, ” a program that, through the use tics and Space Administration (health/educa- of small grants, has encouraged the develop- tion satellite projects in the 1970’s), the En- ment of computer software for use in mathe- vironmental Protection Agency, the Depart- matics curricula. ment of Interior, the National Institutes of Support of educational technology R&D Health (contributions to NSF grants in science dates back to the early 1960’s with the incep- broadcasting), and the Department of Com- merce (telecommunications projects jointly tion of the Educational Broadcast Facilities Program, which was designed to improve the funded with OE). national capabilities of public radio and televi- In recent years, the Federal Government’s sion. In fiscal year 1968, OE funding of the involvement in and support for educational Children’s Television Workshop, along with hardware, software, and basic research has de- that of the Carnegie and Ford foundations, led creased. A brief review of the current trends to the creation of Sesame Street and The Elec- in R&D, and of the comparative roles that the tric Company, two programs that have won public and private sectors have played in this international recognition. Computer-based in- area will contribute to an understanding of the structional materials on the elementary, sec- causes and potential impact of declining Fed- ondary, and college levels for target popula- eral support. tions such as the handicapped, video disks for classroom use, and experiments with educa- ‘B. K. Waters and J. H. Laurence, Information Technology Transfer From Mi.h”taty R&D b Civih”an Education and !lkain- ing, report prepared by Human Resources Research Organiza- IThe National Science Foundation Act, Public Law 81-507. tion for the Office of Technology Assessment, January 1982. Ch. 7—State of Research and Development in Educational Technology ● 113

Changing R&D Climate

Since 1980, the industrial sector has pro- Shifts in the source of funding of and in the vided more funding for all types of R&D ac- majority of performers of R&D from the public tivities than the Federal Government. Recent and nonprofit sectors to the private sector projections indicate that, in 1982, industrial have occurred after a period in which the busi- funding will rise to $37.7 billion, which repre- ness community (especially manufacturing in- sents an 11.4-percent increase over 1981, and dustries) had sharply reduced involvement in 48.6 percent of the total $77.6 billion available basic research and long-term R&D projects. for support of R&D. Federal funding will rise As reasons for these changes, business leaders to $37 billion, an increase of 13.3 percent over cite increased Government regulation, in- 1981, and 47.7 percent of the total R&D ex- creased rates of inflation that make return on penditure for 1982. Academic institutions are long-term investments more questionable and expected to contribute $1.7 billion (2.2 percent an increased concern for the short-term effects of total), while other nonprofit groups will proof R&D on profits. As a consequence, many vide $1.1 billion (1.5 percent of total). Industry companies have focused their R&D efforts on will perform 70.8 percent ($55 billion) of all short-term, low-risk, incremental projects.6 R&D, while the Federal Government will carry Industrial R&D funding has also been af- out only 13 percent ($10.1 billion-a large por- fected by the availability of R&D tax shelters tion of this defense-related). Academic institu- —limited partnerships formed to finance new tions will perform 12.5 percent of all R&D product development. These provide compa- ($9.7 billion) and other nonprofit groups 3.6 nies with virtually free money until their prod- percent ($2.8 billion). Thus, although once at ucts can be marketed. But these shelters are the center of basic research and R&D efforts, used only in selected parts of the country, and colleges and universities will now receive only then, only in newer firms willing to take great- one-fifth of the moneys earmarked for these 7 3 er risks. activities. To complicate matters further, a severe The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 shortage of scientists and engineers, projected may improve the universities’ chances of to last through the 1990’s, has had a tremen- receiving basic research grants from industry, dous impact on U.S. R&D efforts in all sec- since it allows companies to treat such grants tors. The most alarming effects are seen in the as qualified research expenses on which 25 per- faculties of colleges and universities, where, cent tax credits may be claimed. The act is also at the start of the 1980-81 academic year, ap- expected to encourage corporations to donate proximately 10 percent of the teaching/re- scientific equipment to universities for R&D 4 search engineering positions remained vacant. use. Some firms are also establishing long- Only 5 percent of engineering undergraduates term working relationships with universities now choose to pursue doctorates in contrast for the performance of basic and applied re- to 11 percent in the 1970’s. Those who earn search. These arrangements are economical to higher degrees are electing to start careers in them because of lower labor costs. In addition, industry, where salaries are considerably high- faced with increased international competi- er and equipment and resources are more plen- tion, firms are more interested in tapping the 5 tiful. In a recent NSF study of engineering reserves of university research talent. schools conducted by the American Council on 3J. J. Duga, Probable Levels of R&D Expen&”tures in 1982: Education, 35 percent of the respondents re- Forecast and Analysti (Columbus, Ohio: Battelle Laboratories, ported that, because of shortages in person- December 1981). ‘R. W. Wood, “Research and Development Expenditures nel, their institutions had to cut back research Under the Economic Recovery Tax Act, ” Taxes, November 1981, pp. 777-783. 6E. Mansfield, ‘‘How Economists See R&D, Harvard Busi- “’Industry Funding of Research at Schools Grows as Firms ness Review, November-December 1981, pp.. 98-106. Find the Work a Bargain, ” Wall Street Journa4 vol. 102, June 7“R&D Tax Shelters Are Catching On, ” Dun Business 24, 1980, p. 14. Month pp. 86-87. 114 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

efforts, increase faculty teaching loads, and The shift in sources of funding and in the curtail certain courses when demand for engi- amount of R&D performed by industry, as neering talent, especially in high-technology well as the critical shortages of scientists and industries is at an all-time high.8 engineers, have weakened the ability of the United States to compete in worldwide R&D 8F. J. Atelsek and I. L. Gomberg, R.ecruitrnent and Reten- activities, and have hampered U.S. manufac- tion of FiuYl%ne Engineering Faculty, Fa 1980 (Washington, turing firms from effectively competing in in- D. C.: American Council on Education, October 1981). ternational markets.

Federal Funding

Even more critical than the state of R&D sities and other educational institutions, uses in general is the current state of R&D for edu- for operations and programs. Federal support cational technology. Analyses made in March grew over the past 20 years, as the Federal 1981 of the Federal budget proposals for fiscal Government came to rely increasingly on non- year 1982 indicate that education and research profit organizations to deliver and/or evaluate programs, which accounted for approximately federally funded programs. While foundations 4 percent of all Federal spending in 1980, will and corporations have been generous with constitute 13 percent of the total spending refunding, their contributions will probably not ductions. Even with the approved fiscal year make up for reduced Federal involvement, es- 1982 funding levels established by Congress pecially since nearly one out of every four of in December 1981, Federal expenditures for the dollars eliminated from the Federal budget education and research in constant dollars will for fiscal year 1982 would have gone to a non- be well below actual 1980 levels. In 1982, profit organization.9 spending will be about 20 percent below 1980 levels, and, by 1984, it may fall by as much as 53 percent below. Federal support represents a significant por- ‘L. A. Salamon with A. J. Abramson, The Federal Govern- ment and the Nonprofit &ctor: Implications of the Reagan tion—in some cases up to 25 percent—of funds Budget l+oposals (Washington, D. C.: The Urban Institute, May that the nonprofit sector, including univer- 1981).

Private Funding

Foundations have also played an important Carnegie Foundation has participated in joint- educational role by financing coremissions and ly funded broadcasting projects produced by studies, funding development and demonstra- NSF. The Hewlitt Packard Foundation has ex- tion projects, organizing conferences, and sup- pressed an interest in supporting NSF-spon- porting think-tanks. Recently, the Sloan Foun- sored science programs for commercial televi- dation supported a conference at which educa- sion. Plans for the project may be jeopardized, tors and representatives of industry discussed however, because of funding reductions within how mathematicians might be retrained for NSF’s Office of Science and Engineering Edu- careers in applied computer science in order cation (formerly the Science and Engineering to alleviate severe occupational shortages. The Education Directorate). Ch. 7—State of Research and Development in Educational Technology “ 115

In the past, selected companies have been sequence of the budget cuts. By comparison, generous in their support of education. Some however, during the most recent five-year have participated with Federal and State period, private giving in practice increased governments in jointly funded computer- only 38 percent. In other words, in order for based learning projects as well as other tech- private nonprofit organizations to hold their nology-based activities. Although it is difficult own . . . even using (administration) inflation assumptions, private giving would have to in- to estimate the amount of corporate support crease four times faster between 1980 and for educational technology, education has 1984 than it did over the five-year period just always been a high-priority area for support. ended. 12 The Annual Surveys of Corporate Contribu- tions, a series conducted by the Conference There is evidence that corporations are will- Board for the years 1978, 1979, and 1980, ing to increase their support of educational, shows that contributions made to educational arts, and social service programs affected by institutions and organizations for a wide vari- Federal budget reductions. Corporate giving ety of purposes have increased from $256.3 clubs are being organized by business leaders million to $375.8 million-from 37 percent of in various part of the country to ensure that the total contributions of reporting companies companies set aside up to 5 percent of pretax in 1978 ($693.2 million) to 37.7 percent of those revenues for this purpose. However, according firms reporting in 1980 ($994.6 million) .’” Sup- to Internal Revenue Service records, only port of education measured as a percentage of about 35 percent of the Nation’s 1.5 million pretax net income has increased from 0.179 in profit-reporting firms claimed any charitable 1978 to 0.220 in 1980. ” However, if funding deductions in 1977 (latest figures available), for such activities is to remain at the 1980 with only 58,000 taking advantage of the full levels (in constant dollars), private donations 5 percent allowable deduction. Furthermore, will have to increase substantially in all pro- most of these donations went to support local gram areas, including education and research. community projects rather than national pro- An Urban Institute study of how the Federal grams. Few, if any, of these donations carry with them the requirement that projects’ re- budget cuts, as proposed in March 1981, 13 would affect the educational programs of non- sults be widely disseminated. profit institutions showed that they will re- Hopefully, the founding of such clubs will ceive $0.7 billion dollars less in income from offset the potential negative effect that the public sources, and they will receive $7.3 provisions of the Economic Recovery Tax Act billion from private sources. To maintain the of 1981 might have on charitable donations. existing value of private support, contribu- Because the act allows faster depreciation and tions from the private sector must increase by more investment tax credits, it will have the 17.9 percent: effect of reducing taxable income.14 A recent Conference Board survey of trends in business . . . private giving would have to increase by 144 percent between 1980 and 1984 in order volunteerism in the largest U.S. manufactur- to keep up with inflation and makeup for rev- ing, service, financial, and transport firms indi- enue lost to nonprofit organizations as a con- cated that, for a variety of reasons—among them current economic conditions, companies ‘“It is important to note that response rates to the Annual are not redirecting or expanding their program Survey of Corporate Contributions varied for the years cited: interests in response to Federal budget reduc- 1978–759 companies; 1979–786 companies; 1980–732 com- tions. In fact they may not be able to give as panies. Annual tabulations of corporate contributions published by the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel, show much in the future as they have in the past. that giving levels for 1980 and 1981 were $2,7 billion and $3.0 billion respectively. ‘Z%lamon and Abramson, op. cit. ‘‘Conference Board and the Council for Financial Aid to Edu- ‘3’’ How Corporate ‘Clubs’ Fill the Gap in Giving, ” Business cation, Advance Report From the Annual Survey of Corporate Week NOV. 23, 1981, pp. 54 F-55. Contributions, 1980 (New York: The Conference Board, Inc., “’’More Tax Incentives for R& D,” Business Week Sept. 7, 1981). 1981, pp. 74L,P. 116 ● lnformational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Some respondents said that they thought that place of, or in addition to, direct contribu- a lower corporate tax rate may well discourage tions.15 giving. Representatives of 6 of the 10 com- ISE. P. McGuire and N. Weber, Business Volunteerism: Pros- panies said that they do not expect to lend pects for 1982 (New York: The Conference Board, Inc., January more executives to nonprofit institutions in 1982).

Federal Commitment to Educational Technology R&D, Fiscal Year 1982

Approved congressional budget levels and Table 18.— Department of Defense Training and conversations with budget and program offi- Personnel Systems Technology R&D Program Elements and Funding Levels—Fiscal Year 1981-82 cers in NSF, OE, DOD, and other agencies, suggest that the Federal investment in educa- Dollars in millions Fiscal Year Fiscal year tional technology R&D in fiscal year 1982 will Program element 1981 1982 amount to $273.915 million, $256 million of Army which will be utilized by the tri-services Training, personnel, and human engineering ...... $3.9 $4,0 (Army, Navy/Marine Corps, and Air Force) as Human factors in systems development 7.0 8.7 a part of the Training and Personnel Systems Human performance effectiveness and simulation ...... 3.2 3.5 Technology Program (TPST). Ongoing pro- Manpower, personnel, and training ...... 6.2 6.0 gram elements of TPST, according to which Nonsystem training devices technology. 2.7 2.7 Synthetic flight simulators ...... 3.9 7.8 specific projects are funded, are listed in table Manpower and personnel ...... 3.4 4,7 18; selected project topics funded within these Nonsystem training devices development 0.0 1.4 Human factors in training and program elements are listed by service branch operational effectiveness ...... 1.9 3,1 in table 19. Education and training ...... 7.8 9.6 Training and simulation...... 1.5 2.2 Synthetic flight training systems...... 0.6 8.3 Of the remaining $17.915 million (non-DOD Nonsystem training devices engineering . 12.2 12.9 funding), the largest percentage-an estimated $54.3 $74.9 Navy and Marine Corps $5.55 million-will go to support computer re- Behavioral and social sciences ...... 7.7 8.8 search, including software development in sci- Human factors and simulation technology ...... 5.9 6.5 ence, math, reading, and written communica- Personnel and training technology ...... 5.7 6.4 tions. Educational television projects will Human factors engineering development. 2.9 3.1 Manpower control system development . 3.1 2.8 receive the second highest amount-an esti- Man-machine technology ...... 0.0 0.0 mated $5.236 million. The remaining $7.129 Education and training ...... 4.8 3.7 Navy technical information presentation million will be used to support educational ap- system ...... 1.8 1.3 plications of video disk and teleconferencing Marine Corps advanced manpower training system ...... 1,3 1.5 and to develop special technology applications Training devices technology...... 6.0 8.0 for educating the handicapped. Training devices prototype development . 13.9 10.4 Prototype manpower/personnel systems 1,1 5.0 Air warfare training devices ...... 13.7 27.9 Breakdowns of R&D funding within NSF, Surface warfare training devices ...... 34.4 41.7 OE, and DOD and estimates of the dollars set Submarine warfare training devices . . . . . 2.9 4,6 $105.2 $131.7 aside for educational technology R&D projects Air Force in fiscal year 1982 are given in tables 20, 21, Human resources ...... 4.8 4.9 Aerospace biotechnology ...... 8.2 8.8 and 22. NSF has provided $4.536 million— Training and simulation technology . . . . 12.9 14.2 0.457 percent of the agency’s total projected Personnel utilization technology ...... 5.3 5.5 Advanced simulator technology...... 3.2 2.2 R&D expenditure ($991 million) -to grants of Innovations in education and training . . 1.7 2.5 this type. Educational technology projects w-ill Flight simulator development...... 5.5 11.3 be funded to varying degrees within six pro- $41,6 $49.4 gram areas in OE. The total projected amount Total ...... $201.1 $256.0 SOURCE Department of Defense, Office of the Undersecretary for Research and is $13.379 million, 12.45 percent of the ap- Engineering, comp!led January 1982 Ch. 7—State of Research and Development in Educational Technology “ 117

Table 19.—Training and Personnel Systems proved R&D funding level of $107.4 million. Technology R&D Program: Selected Project Of $19.9 billion approved for DOD R&D fund- Topics— Fiscal Year 1981-82 ing, 1.28 percent, or $256 million, will be spent Army on training and simulation devices, computer Man-computer communication techniques instructional software development, and other Application of video disk to tactical training and skill technology-based projects. Government-wide Qualification testing Technology-based basic skills and individual skills commitment levels to educational technology development systems projects are broken down by agency in table Computer-based maintenance training aids Integration of microwave and computer technologies 23. Computer-based maintenance training aids

Computer-based maintenance training and other computer-based instructional systems Individualized automated training technique Computer literacy (teaching computer programing skills) Advanced training technology development Advanced voice interactive systems development Computer-assisted design and evaluation systems Computerized personnel acquisition system development Utilization of computer graphics for maintenance instruction Computer-based basic skills instruction Advanced computer-aided instruction for complex skills Experimental, technology-based combat team training systems Computerized course authoring systems Computer-based speech recognition and synthesis

Human-computer combinations Computer-aided technical instruction Advanced visual technologies Computer-based maintenance aids SOURCE Department of Defense, Office of the Undersecretary for Research and Engineering

Table 20.— National Science Foundation R&D Budget, Fiscal Year 1982 for Selected Program Areas

Approved R&D Funds for education Percent of Program area funding level technology R&D program total Mathematical and Physical Sciences . . $273 million o 0 Engineering and Applied Sciences . . . . $92 million o 0 Scientific, Technological, and International Affairs and Cross- Directorate Programs ...... $40 million o 0 Science Education, Development, and Research a ...... $21 million Estimated $2.2 21 .60/0 million computing in education. Estimated $2.336 million science broadcasting. Subtotal, selected program areas. . . . $426 million $4.536 million 10.6 Total (all R&D within agency) . . . . . $991 million $4.536 million 0.4570/0 aLeglsl ative mandate to foster computing in science education SOURCE American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Science Foundation, and Off Ice of Technology Assessment 118 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Table 21 .—Department of Education R&D Budget, Fiscal Year 1982 for Selected Program Areas

Approved R&D Funds for education Percent of Program area funding level technology R&D program total National Institute of Education...... $53.4 million $1.3 million (est.) 2.430/. National Institute for Handicapped Research...... $28.6 million $0.2 million (est.) 6.99 Bilingual Education...... $6,0 million o 0 Handicapped Research Innovation & Development ...... $7.2 million $0.9 million 12.5 Vocational Educational Programs of $5.5 million National Significance ...... (est.) o 0 Educational Technology...... $6.679 million $6.679 million 100 Special Education Resources ...... $1.8 million Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education ...... $10 million $2.5 million 40 Total (all R&D within agency) ...... $107.4 million $13.379 million 12.450/o SOURCE: Department of Education and Office of Technology Assessment.

Table 22.— Department of Defense R&D Budget, Fiscal Year 1982 for Selected Divisions

Approved R&D Funds for education Percent of Department funding level technology R&D program total Army ...... $3.6 billion $74.9 milliona (est.) 20.80/o Navy and Marine Corps ...... $5.9 billion $131.7 milliona (est.) 2.23 Air Force...... $8.9 billion $49.4 milliona (est.) 5.55 Defense agencies ...... $1.7 billion o 0 Total (all R&D within department) . . . $19.9 billion $256.0 million 1.280/o aAdditlonal R&D efforts may exist that are not captured within training and personnel technology program data base. SOURCE: American Association for the Advancement of Science, Department of Defense; and Office of Technology Assessment

Table 23.—Projected Federal Expenditures for Educational Technology R&D, Fiscal Year 1982

Projected expenditure educational Total R&D budget Department technology—R&D (approved levels) National Science Foundation ...... $4.536 million (est.) $991 million Department of Education ...... $13.379 million (est.) $107.4 million Department of Defense ...... $256 million (est.) $19.9 billion Total ...... $273.915 million (est.) $20.99 billion SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment and American Association for the Advancement of Science,

Discontinued and Consolidated Projects

Research on the educational applications of that will receive some funding for fiscal year satellite technology will not be supported by 1982. The Deafnet Telecommunications Mod- the Federal Government in fiscal year 1982, el, the product of a 3-year effort that involved with the exception of one small project spon- modifying existing electronic mail technology, sored by NIE and conducted by a regional edu- will be disseminated to potential users under cational laboratory. Support for Federal tele- a $300,000 grant. OE’s Division of Education- communications research and demonstration al Technology (Office of Educational Research has been discontinued, except for two projects and Improvement) will provide $1.1 million to Ch. 7--State of Research and Development in Educational Technology . 119

support “Project Best, ” a series of telecon- of 1972 under which grants to reduce minor- ferences designed to help officials in 45 States ity isolation in the media were made, as well to understand the potential of the technology. as the Basic Skills and Technology Program The National Telecommunications Program authorized by the Education Amendments of established by Congress in 1976 to “promote 1978, designed to encourage research into the the development of nonbroadcast telecommu- application of technology to problems in basic nications facilities and services for education skills instruction, have been consolidated with and other social services” was not reauthor- other programs into a State educational block ized for fiscal year 1982. It would also appear grant at overall reduced levels of funding. (In that a 3-year project that was designed to 1981-82, the combined support for these two demonstrate the use of teletext in the United programs amounted to $6.5 million.) OE sup- States and that was jointly sponsored by OE, port for video disk development will not be NSF, the National Telecommunications Infor- pursued due to lack of funds. However, several mation Administration, and the Canadian video disk projects included within a group of Government, will be discontinued. (In fiscal multiyear contracts previously awarded by year 1981, OE contributed $1 million to the OE (an estimated $20 million investment for effort.) The Television and Radio Program all such contracts) are scheduled for comple- authorized by the Emergency School Aid Act tion in fiscal year 1983 and fiscal year 1984.

Continuing Projects

Multiyear grants that will continue to be date, NSF has contributed $3.5 million, and funded in fiscal year 1982 are listed by agen- NIE has contributed $0.5 million to this proj- cy in table 24. Seven ongoing educational tele- ect. In fiscal year 1982-83, NIE will provide vision projects will be supported by OE. The $0.6 million in support. use and adaptation of technology for the handicapped and for special education will be en- Information about which specific projects couraged. And, through the Fund for the Im- will be funded in this fiscal year under provement of Postsecondary Education, grants elements of DOD’s Training Personnel and will be made to local educational projects that Systems Technology Program is still unavail- use teleconferencing, computer-aided instruc- able. However, some idea about the nature of tion, video disk, and other forms of technol- these activities can be gained by looking at ogy (estimated $25.7 million). NSF will con- selected tasks that are under way at the Army tinue its science broadcasting program ($2.336 Research Institute (ARI). ARI will continue million) and will review its computer-based development of a hand-held computer for vo- education projects and others similar to them cabulary building, a computer-assisted career counseling system, and a special data manage- ($2.2 million). Support has been discontinued for the Mathematics Education Using Infor- ment system that will integrate video disk mation Technology Program, designed to en- technology with a computer for basic skills in- courage computer courseware development, struction (estimated at $2.25 million). and previously supported jointly with OE. To 120 “ Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Table 24.—Continuation Grants for Educational Technology R&D, Fiscal Year 1982a

Program Grant description Funding level Department of Education Division of Educational Technology Microcomputer Software $2.25 million (Office of Educational Research Development: Elementary grades (3 yrs. funding at $150,000 per project) and Improvement Ohio State: mathematics; development and testing in 25 schools by fiscal year 1963. Wycatt: reading; Bolt, Beranek and Newman: written communication composition Video disk University of Nebraska: development of Spanish-English dictionary and $0.225 million microcomputer software. American Institute of Research: video disk for music and math curricula for elementary grades; 45 site demonstrations and electronic mail component. Teleconferencing $0.250 million “Project Best:” assistance to officials in 45 States in understanding $1.1 million potential of technology; electronic mailbox component; 8 teleconferences. Television Seven projects: (selected grants highlighted) $16.175 million “3-2-1 Contact:” production funds to Children’s Television Workshop ($1 million). “Power House:” health and nutrition—economically disadvantaged minority youth ($3.5 million). “Kids:” program for elementary grades on radio broadcasting ($1 million). National Institute for Adaptation of educational technology for use by handicapped $0.2 million (est.) Handicapped Research Special Education Resources Deaf net Telecommunications Project—model dissemination $1.8 million (est.) ($0.3 million). Line 1 Caption Broadcasting Program ($1.5 million). Handicapped Research—Innovation Technology Utilization Project $0.9 million (est.) Development National Institute of Education “Mathematics Education Using Information Technology:” (until fiscal $1.3 million (est.) year 1982-83 jointly funded with NSF; $0.6 million). Computer courseware development “Calculator Information Center” ($0.1 million). “Computer Software Clearinghouse” ($0.2 million). Portion of Regional Educational Laboratories budget utilized for educational technology projects: courseware development; satellite telecommunications project (est. $0.4 million). Fund for the Improvement of Educational television, teleconferencing, computer-aided instruction, and $1,5 million (est.) Postsecondary Education video disk (local projects) National Science Foundation Office of Science and Computer-based education, CAD/CAMb education, and other projects $1.7 million (est.) Engineering Education currently up for review. science Broadcasting $2.336 million Prism Productions, Inc., “How About:” 90 second science series for commercial television (syndicated to 140 stations—jointly funded with General Motors Research Labs; NSF contribution: $0,208 million). Children’s Television Workshop, “3-2-1 Contact:” science programing; National Public Radio, “Science Information on Public Radio:” establishment of science production capabilities and provision for science coverage for distribution to 227 public radio stations ($0.198 million).

Department of Defense Army See tables 18 and 19 for program elements and project topics. $73.5 million Navy and Marine Corps See tables 18 and 19 for program elements and project topics $131.7 million Air Force See tables 18 and 19 for program elements and project topics. $49.4 million Total ...... $284.336 million %orne funded with fiscal year 19S0 and fiscal year 19S1 moneys. bCAD/CAM.Computer. assist ed designlcornputer-assisted manufacture.

SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment. —.—-

Ch. 7—State of Research and Development in Education/ Technology ● 121

New Grants for Fiscal Year 1982

A breakdown of the funds that have been more money than any other form of technol- tentatively earmarked or committed for new ogy-an estimated $21.411 million, a sum that projects within OE, NSF, and DOD is shown includes grants for local demonstrations. From in table 25. Approximately $6.8 million are fiscal year 1968 through fiscal year 1980, the available, $5.4 million within OE. The Army Children’s Television Workshop received has established a new Non-System Training grants from OE totaling $46.3 million for the Devices Development Program with an initial development and production of Sesame budget of $1.4 million. NSF will fund only one Street and The Electric Company-an average new project in fiscal year 1981—a $0.5 million of $3.56 million per year.16 If the increased effort to foster innovative ideas for using com- costs of television production and general in- puters in science education. The project was flation are taken into account, the $21.411 conceived after NSF had been approached by million Federal support level for fiscal year several manufacturers who offered to provide 1982 will clearly be insufficient to maintain the free microcomputers for experimentation in same volume of programing that previously educational institutions. existed. This year, OE’s Office of Educational Research and Improvement (Division of Edu- A revealing analysis of Federal support of cational Technology) has plans to award only R&D for educational technology in fiscal year 1981 is shown in table 26, which presents esti- 16A. A. Zucker, Support of Educational Technology by the mates of funding levels for particular types of U.S. Department of Education: 1971-1980 (Washington, D. C.: technology. Educational television will receive U.S. Department of Education, February 1982).

Table 25.—New Grants for Educational Technology R&D, Fiscal Year 1982

Program Grant description Funding level of Education Division of Educational Educational television projects $2.9 million (est.) Technology National Institute for Adaptation of educational technology for use by Handicapped Research handicapped; other topics to be identified. Bank Street College: 26- to 15-minute programs for ITV or $1 million (est.) ETV use, plus computer game software, computer graphics, and video disk application. “Careers in Electronics and Computers” (working title): two 60-minute programs that focus on opportunities for young people and displaced workers. Special Education Resources None o Handicapped Research— Technology utilization projects 0 innovation and development National Institute of None 0 Education Fund for the Improvement of Based on proposals received to date (40 percent are for $1 million (est.) Postsecondary Education education technology projects National Science Foundation Science and Engineering “Gift Program:” (in response to gift of microcomputers $0.5 million Education Office offered by two producer companies) foster innovative ideas for using computers in science education. Department of Defense Army Nonsystem Training Devices Development $1.4 million Navy and Marine Corps None o Air Force None o Total ...... $6.8 million (est.) SOURCE” Office of Technology Assessment 722 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Table 26.—Federal R&D Funding for Educational Technology Fiscal Year 1982 By Type of Technologya

Technology Agencies funding Funding level Computer-based instruction National Science Foundation; million (est.) Department of Education; Department of Defense Educational television Department of Education $21.411 million Teleconferencing Department of Education $1.1 million (est.) Video disk Department of Education $0.975 million (est.) Electronic mail Department of Education $0.3 million (est.) Satellite Department of Education (Funding million (est.) of Regional Laboratories) Calculators Department of Education $0.3 million (est.) Other $4.55 million (est.) Total...... $34.236 million (est.) alnclude~ ~ultiyear projects funded with fiscal Year 19S0 and fiscal Year IW1 ‘oneys SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment. two new educational television grants that (at a total level of $5.55 million). Other tech- amount to $2.9 million. Computer-based in- nologies, such as video disk, electronic mail, struction (including software development) is and calculators, will each receive between $0.2 the only technology that will be supported in million and $0.3 million in Federal support, all fiscal year 1982 by all three Federal agencies of it coming from OE.

Federal Support for Educational Laboratories

With the Cooperative Research Act of 1963 sity of Pittsburgh’s Learning Research and and the Elementary and Secondary Education Development Center has initiated small curric- Act of 1965, the U.S. Office of Education ulum software development projects in devel- established regional centers and laboratories opmental reading, writing, and mathematics. for educational research to focus efforts and Through a communications skills project, the to encourage experimentation under controlled Southwest Regional Laboratory hopes to de- conditions. In fiscal year 1982, NIE will pro- velop microcomputer software for student use vide $28 million for these centers and lab- in generating, manipulating, and editing text oratories. Of this amount, about $335,000 will in an interactive mode. Some of the funding be used to support educational technology for educational technology R&D projects projects. The Wisconsin Center for Educa- comes from the States, as do some of the funds tional Research at the University of Wiscon- to support the Northwest Regional Education- sin at Madison, Wis., will investigate possi- al Laboratory educational satellite project for ble uses of microcomputers in problem-solving R&D dissemination. and language skills instruction. The Univer-

Educational Technology R&D Support by Other Nations

While the U.S. Government is reducing its formation technology in education, a number commitment to develop new applications of in- of other countries are planning or initiating Ch. 7—State of Research and Development in Educational Technology ● 123

major programs. Some have succeeded in at- Testifying on May 19, 1982, before the Sub- tracting U.S. researchers as major partici- committee on Investigations and Oversight pants. and the Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Technology of the House Committee on France Science and Technology, Jean Jacques Servan- Schreiber, chairman of the World Center, de- In January 1982, France announced plans scribed it as the first of a network of such to establish a World Center for Computer facilities that will focus on human resource Science and Human Resources for the ex- development through application of computer pressed purpose of designing personal com- technology. He expressed the hope that the puter systems for use in training and educa- United States would establish the next such tion projects in industrialized and Third World center, encourage the funding of others, and countries. With an initial annual operating cooperate with France in “ . . . the implemen- budget of $20 million, the center staff has ten- tation of a policy aimed at the stimulation of tative plans to develop computer-based educa- worldwide economic activity and employ- tion projects in Senegal, Kuwait, Ghana, and ment. "19 the Philippines. The center will most probably receive additional financial support from those European Commission countries. Programs to retrain workers whose jobs have been eliminated through automation The European Commission, the independent are also under consideration. policy-operating body of the European Com- munity, plans to launch a 10-year, Some see the establishment of the center as $1.6 billion program to aid research in computer-related evidence that the French Government regards technology. Funding will come from the com- the computer as an important agent of social mission, from the industrial sector, and from change and that it views its development as other sources. These funds will be distributed an important factor in determining how well as grants to European research groups, pri- the French will compete with the United 17 vate laboratories, and universities for concen- States in the field of microelectronics. Although the center’s board of directors will trated efforts in such areas as office technol- have international representatives, at least ogy, factory automation, software, advanced microelectronic chips, and artificial intelli- nine French cabinet ministers will be among 18 gence. European researchers and business rep- its members. The chairman of the World Cen- resentatives will discuss the project during ter will report directly to President Francois 1982. Plans call for the program to be initiated Mitterand, an indication of the importance 20 before the end of 1983. that the French Government attaches to the project. United Kingdom Two U.S. scientists have accepted positions with the center. Nicols Negoponte, a professor Britain believes that its future role in inter- of computer graphics at the Massachusetts In- national markets will be largely affected by the stitute of Technology (MIT), will assume the investments it makes now in fostering the de- post of director. Seymour Papert, founder of velopment of information technology. With MIT’s artificial intelligence program and de- this in mind, the British Government is estab- veloper of the computer programming language lishing a comprehensive policy for information LOGO, will serve as its chief scientist. “J. J. Servan-Schreiber, testimony of Jean Jacques Servan- Schreiber, before the Subcommittee on Investigations and Over- sight and Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Technology, “’’Micros Are This Year’s Paris Fashion, ” New Scientist Feb. Comrni ttee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Repre- 2.5, 1982, p. 486. sentatives, May 19, 1982. ‘8M. Schrage, “France Plans Computer World Center, ” Wash ~“EEC Stakes 855 Million on Tomorrow’s Computers, ” New ington POS6 Jan. 28, 1982. Scientis6 Jan. 7, 1982, p. 5. 124 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education technology that will have the following key for the traditional 1- to 3-year cycles charac- elements: teristic of Federal funding. They frequently

● mentioned the vital role that the Government provision of a national telecommunica- plays in fostering development of the technol- tions network; ● ogy and in eliminating constraints that inhibit the development of a statutory and reg- applications. William C. Norris, Chairman and ulatory framework designed to encourage Chief Executive Office of Control Data Corp., further growth of information technology one of the U.S. firms most active in computer- products and services; based education, underlined the importance of ● initiation of actions to create an aware- the Federal Government’s role in encouraging, ness of the inherent advantages of infor- through funding and other means, cooperative mation technology and to stimulate in- R&D efforts between universities and interest in utilizing new services and equip- dustry, in order to ensure that basic research ment; and ● is undertaken and new products continue to direct support to the development of new be developed and disseminated to specific products and techniques. markets. Recommendations made at the hear- A Ministry for Information Technology has ings also included the establishment of a na- been created within the Department of In- tional center and/or regional centers that dustry, to serve as the point of coordination would focus on further developments in educa- for all government activities. Apart from tional technology .21 designating 1982 as Information Technology Year, the British Government has launched Implications of the Present a $1.2 million public awareness campaign. It Federal Role in Educational is, moreover, in the process of initiating a vari- Technology R&D ety of projects, including one designed to place a microcomputer in every secondary school by Commitments made to R&D for educational the end of 1982, and another-known as the technology at the level of fiscal year 1982 fund- Microelectronics in Education Program-that ing do not permit the Federal Government to will provide instruction to teachers on the use continue to serve as a major participant in, of the computer as a classroom learning aid. and catalyst for, new research activities. Given Clearly, the actions that nations are taking decreased Federal funding levels and staff to encourage basic research and product- shortages, the degree to which the university related R&D in information technology are in community will participate in the future is also accordance with the ideas U.S. researchers in question. Thus, private industry will have have about Government support and par- to provide the largest percentage of research ticipation. In hearings before the Subcommit- dollars, and to perform most R&D functions. tee on Domestic and International Scientific In a climate of increasing international com- Planning, Analysis, and Cooperation of the petition, in which industry will tend to invest House Committee on Science and Technology, more in product-related R&D that ensures held in 1977, researchers from educational in- return on investment rather than in more fun- stitutions and other nonprofit settings, as well damental research, the future of U.S.-based as representatives from the computer hard- basic research and other nonmarket-oriented ware and software industry, advocated the es- efforts is in doubt. This situation contrasts tablishment of large-scale, “critical mass proj- sharply with the European examples where na- ects” through which continued innovations in educational technology could be achieved. A 21 Committee on Science snd Technology, U.S. House of Repre number of participants cited the need for con- sentatives, hearing before the Subcommittee on International Scientific Plannin g, Analy- tinuity in funding and ongoing support for sis, and Cooperation, Oct. 4, 6, 12, 13, 18, and 27, 1977 (Wash- projects lasting from 6 to 10 years rather than ington, D. C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978), Ch. 7–State of Research and Development in Educational Technology ● 125 tional governments are becoming active par- inghouse and exchange.22 By leveraging funds, ticipants in establishing national programs. In the proposed program seeks to attract match- Third World countries, governments are also ing funds from industry to develop educational eager to utilize information technology to im- software to meet school specifications. Given prove their training and educational programs. past levels of Federal involvement in such public-private R&D projects, it is questionable Plans are underway at OE to establish an whether the Federal contribution of $3.3 mil- Educational Technology Initiative, a $16 million extended over a 3- to 5-year period will be lion program that, over a 3-year period begin- enough to stimulate private investments. ning in fiscal year 1983, will focus on the development of educational software. This initiative will also set up lighthouse school demonstrations, where applications of educational “Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, FY/83 l?rogram/Budget Plan: Secretary technology may be observed by school admin- Technology Im”tiative (Washington, D. C.: Department of Educa- istrators and others, and an information clear- tion, February 1982).

Present and Future Support for Educational Technology R&D

Arguments favoring Federal involvement in budget of over $20 million per year and that R&D stress the riskiness of investment in previous Federal efforts in educational tech- these early stages of market development and nology were funded at a significantly higher the fact that much needs to be learned about level than at present. how to use these new media most effectively. Some of the case studies that follow suggest ● Stability of Support. –Perhaps more impor- that Federal support has been a critical fac- tant than the particular funding level is the tor in bringing experiments such as Sesame fact that in order to encourage the forma- Street and PLATO to the point where com- tion of high-quality centers of research and mercial success stimulates private interest. If to foster the entry of capable researchers Congress decides to emphasize R&Din educa- into the field, there will need to be a long- tional technology, several issues must be term commitment to support R&D at what- resolved. ever level is deemed appropriate.

● —The Federal Govern- Source of Funding. ● ment is only one of several potential sources Type of Research .-There are four broad of R&D support. Are there ways of pro- areas of research in learning technology: 1) research on the hardware technology it- viding Federal support that encourage investment in R&D by private industry, foun- self to develop appropriate educational dations, and even local and State education devices; 2) research on software develop- agencies? Mechanisms for coordinating and ment and courseware authoring techniques, such as how to make the best instructional pooling research funds from multiple use of information technology; 3) research sources have to be explored. on human-machine communication and in- ● Level of Funding. —Several experts have ex- teraction such as that on languages, key- pressed the opinion that current funding is board and screen design, and the use of far below the critical level necessary to graphic images to transfer information; and make significant and rapid improvements 4) research on cognitive learning and on how in the state of the art. They point out that individuals interact with educational sys- the French World Center has a starting tems. 126 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

● Basic Research or Development —The prop- —what is the appropriate overlap between er role of the Federal Government in fund- Government and private funding, and ing research, however, is more clearly estab- —assuming that a Government funded proj- lished in basic research and becomes less ect turns out to be a commercial success, clearly so as the work is more developmen- how can it then best be moved quickly tal in nature. The closer a project moves to into the private sector? developing a potentially marketable application, the more these issues come into focus:

Case Studies of Landmark R&D Dissemination Efforts in Educational Technology

This section includes four case studies of ed- tion of public policy, technology, and educa- ucational technology projects initiated part- tion. ly or wholly with Federal funding. These projects have significantly affected the educational Context process, in some cases broadening the defini- CTW was formed in 1968 at a time when tion of what education is and where it can take place. The first case study describes the for- early childhood studies had established how important the preschool years are inlaying the mation of the Children’s Television Workshop; foundation for subsequent intellectual devel- the second, the development, production, and marketing of PLATO, a computer-based learn- opment. It was a period when educators, ining system; the third, the establishment of the creasingly aware of the exceedingly large number of hours that young children were Computer Curriculum Corp. as an outgrowth watching TV each day, were becoming con- of federally supported, university-based re- cerned about the kind of programing being of- search in computer-based instructional sys- fered. There was at the same time a growing tems for schools; and the fourth, the creation sensitivity to the disparity in school readiness of CONDUIT, a nonprofit group that evalu- between advantaged and disadvantaged chil- ates, packages, and distributes computer- dren. based learning materials to secondary and postsecondary institutions. CTW decided to experiment with a show that would attempt to capture the attention Case Study 1: The Children’s of young children, particularly those from low- Television Workshop income families. It was suspected that children from disadvantaged families watched TV even The Children’s Television Workshop (CTW), more than middle class children. Surveys the creator of the prize-winning educational showed that 90 percent of all families with in- television series, Sesame Street and The Elec- comes below $5,000 owned at least one televi- tric Company, was the first television program sion set and that disadvantaged families with producer to design educational programs on preschool children had their sets on for an a large scale specifically for preschool children. estimated 54 hours per week. The CTW experience illustrates the highly successful use of technology for educational pur- Budget and Organization poses, a substantial Federal Government investment and role, and the creation of a unique In 1968, CTW was setup as an autonomous organization. It can therefore provide useful unit within National Education Television, insights into and lessons about, the interrela- which served as a corporate umbrella for the .

Ch. 7—State of Research and Development in Educational Technology ● 127 purpose of receiving grants. Two years later, be educational, one of their design criterion is it became independent as a nonprofit corpora- that they also be entertaining. tion. The budget for its initial 2 years was $8 million-the first year for preparation, and the CTW Programs second for production and broadcast. The U.S. Office of Education agreed to pay 50 percent CTW created three highly successful large- of this cost; the remainder was funded primari- scale educational series for children: Sesame ly by the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Street, The Electric Company, and 3-2-1 Con- Corp. tact. Sesame Street, the pioneer program, demonstrated that high-quality education pro- The present CTW budget is around $33 mil- grams could win mass audiences of children. lion, most of which is spent to pay the costs After Sesame Street, CTW went on to develop of its nonbroadcast enterprises such as the another equally successful show in its reading printing and postage for three widely cir- program for young children called The Elec- culated magazines. tric Company. Supplementary reading mate- Foundation support has tapered off, and rials to reinforce both these programs were Federal support for Sesame Street ended in developed for students, teachers, and parents. fiscal year 1982. As a result, the staff was The most recent series, 3-2-1 Contact, was recently cut back, and CTW’s community out- designed for children between the years of 8 reach program was reduced. While new pro- and 12. Its aim was to acquaint children with graming continues for existing series, no new the nature of scientific thinking and with some large-scale projects have been announced. areas of scientific investigation. The initial An effort has been made to generate new season ran daily for 26 weeks. Five programs revenues through a whole series of products per week were built around a weekly theme based on CTW programs. These include books, such as light/dark, hot/cold, growth/decay, and records, toys, games, and even clothing. CTW fast/slow. As with Sesame Street and The estimates that in 1982, royalty revenues from Electric Company, actual production was the sales of nonbroadcast materials will total preceded by careful study beginning with an $22 million, $16 million of which will go to examination of need. It was discovered, for ex- cover costs, leaving an anticipated net revenue ample, that half of the States had no science of $6 million to be applied to the continuing requirements for teacher certification at the cost of Sesame Street and other educational elementary school level, and that only 6 per- projects. cent of 9-year-old students ranked science as their favorite subject. The developmental CTW has also established a unique educa- stages of 3-2-1 Contact involved 6 months for tional park known as “Sesame Place” in Bucks feasibility studies, 6 months for testing and County, Pa. Designed for children age 3 and development, and 6 months for production. up, it is of special interest because, in addition to having dozens of outdoor play elements and CTW also produced Feeling Good, an adult indoor science exhibits, it provides 60 Apple series on health; Best of Families, a series in computers on which children can plan educa- American social history; and a commercial tional games developed by CTW. A second television family special: The Lion, the Witch, park was opened in the summer of 1982 near and the Wardrobe, which won an Emmy as the Dallas, Tex. CTW also has a traveling road- outstanding animated television special of the show called Sesame Street Live. year. As another potentially important new rev- CTW considers none of its program series enue-producing venture, CTW is developing to be a finished product. Programs are con- and marketing game software for the personal stantly brought up-to-date, expanded, and computer. While these games are intended to revised for greater audience appeal and educa- 128 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education tional impact. Sesame Street went on from its Among the factors cited as contributing to emphasis on cognitive learning to include such CTW’s success are: societal goals as cooperation, conflict resolu- ● Generous Funding. –The large initial tion, and fair play. Sesame Street and The funding for Sesame Street was essential Electric Company programs were also adapted for achieving high quality. to the special needs of the mentally retarded, ● Planning.– Each project has been the deaf, and the Spanish speaking. 3-2-1 Con- planned very carefully and in great detail, tact was incorporated into museum programs beginning with a feasibility study and throughout the country and was made an inte- working through all stages; from the time gral part of the Girl Scout program for obtain- a CTW project was first considered to the ing a special 3-2-1 badge. 3-2-1 Contact has time it is first broadcast typically takes been used in prisons, and Sesame Street has 2 years. been used with the refugee boat children. ● Producer Freedom. –CTW had complete control over the content and design of its Impact of CTW program, and could make all programing With Sesame Street and The Electric Com- decisions without outside interference. pany, CTW proved that skillful educational ● A Delivery System Already in Place.– programing could win a mass audience. Their Almost every household had a television combined audience in the United States has set and the broadcast time and transmis- been estimated at 15 million people. They are sion facilities were available through the the two most watched programs on public tele- public broadcasting system. vision. Sesame Street regularly commands a ● Available Professional Expertise.--CTW larger audience among 2 to 5 year olds than could draw from commercial television. any other commercial television program. ● Personnel–The project was initiated by Studies conducted in low-income neighbor- highly competent, creative people. hoods suggest that from 80 to 90 percent of the children watch. CTW programs are also cost effective. Cost per viewer per program, Case Study 2: Development, for each CTW program, has been less than 1 Production, and Marketing percent per day. of PLATO Teachers throughout the United States re- PLATO, a computer-based education sys- port that children arrive in school more tem designed for use with conventional and knowledgeable and more able to master fun- multimedia learning aids, was developed at the damental skills in reading and arithmetic. The University of Illinois under the guidance of CTW style has been copied by other television Donald Bitzer. Since its initiation in 1959, it producers, and many parents and teachers has been supported by a combination of Fed- have reported a change in their own thinking eral, State, industrial, and private agencies about education. and organizations. Most of the financial assistance was provided by NSF with some funding CTW programs are now offered in at least from OE. When OE discontinued its support, eight different languages and are shown in nearly 50 countries and territories. They have several corporations also withdrew theirs. Con- trol Data Corp. (CDC) was eventually licensed received 18 Emmy’s, the European Prix Jeu- by the University of Illinois to produce and nesse, the Japan Prize, and numerous other market the PLATO system. awards and commendations. In 1979, the Smithsonian Institute’s Museum of American CDC is a worldwide computer and financial History celebrated CTW’s 10th birthday with services company based in Minneapolis, a 3-month long exhibit. Minn., employing 60,000 people and market- Ch. 7—State of Research and Development in Educational Technology ● 129 ing products and services in over 47 countries. can be hooked up to the central PLATO sys- In 1981, CDC’s net earnings totaled $171 mil- tem to deliver PLATO learning on-line. lion on combined revenues of $4.2 billion. Since The nature of the conversation or interac- 1962, the company has invested more than tion between a student and the computer de- $900 million in its educational products and pends on the way in which the author has writ- services. ten the instructional materials. Generally, the CDC maintains that, in addition to its other interaction has these characteristics: profitmaking activities, it can also make a ● The student gets immediate response profit by addressing itself to the most intran- from the computer whenever the student sigent problems of our society. In cooperation with business, educational, and religious or- asks or answers a question. ● The computer adjusts its lesson to meet ganizations and government agencies, CDC has developed projects relating to the inner the particular needs and abilities of the individual student at that moment. city, low achieving students, prison inmates, ● The computer keeps track of what the stu- small businesses, and independent farmers. dent has already learned. Some projects are entirely devoted to educa- ● The student can work in private without tion and some are only partially so. The PLATO learning is heavily used in many of fear of exposing his weakness to other these efforts. people. ● The student can use the computer to assist him in visualizing ideas through PLATO Computer-Based graphics, computations, examples, and Education simulations. In 1981, there were 18 PLATO systems, 10 In addition to interacting with the computer owned and operated by CDC and 8 by univer- program, the student can use the PLATO net- sities. Nine of the eighteen are located in the work to discuss his studies with teachers or United States and Canada, and nine are over- other students, even though they may be phys- seas. The cumulative number of terminal con- ically located thousands of miles away. The tact hours on PLATO IV passed the 10 million computer can diagnose, evaluate, teach, test, mark in 1979. This is by far the most exten- and keep records. The terminal screen is tac- sively used system of computer-based instruc- tile-sensitive. If a child is learning to read and tion in the world. does not know a word–e.g., “mouse’’ -he can A PLATO system consists of one large cen- touch the word and, as the word mouse is tral computer that connects to many terminals spoken, it will be replaced by a picture of a by long-distance telephone lines or satellite. mouse. There is no technological limit to how far a terminal might be from the main computer; hundreds of miles is not uncommon. At the ter- Availability and Use of PLATO minals, individuals or small groups of students In 1981, about 6,000 PLATO terminals were can have access to a wide range of instruc- used in diverse settings. One type of setting tional materials, which include presentations, was the CDC Learning Center, which is open drills, tutorials, dialogs, simulations, problem- to the general public and which offers courses solving, and games. from a third grade level to advanced postgrad- PLATO learning can also be delivered on uate work. There are 115 CDC Learning Cen- microcomputers using disks that store the ters throughout the United States, the sub- learning materials. In 1981, CDC announced jects taught at these centers include business, its own microcomputer, the Control Data 110, industry, and computer-related subjects as which runs PLATO as an application. The 110 well as foreign languages, English, math, also serves as a small business computer and sciences, education, psychology, the arts, and 130 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education career counseling. Learning centers offer PLATO program was administered by business, industry, government agencies, and regular noncollege Navy personnel after schools a cost-effective alternative to tradi- only 2 weeks of specialized training. tional training programs. A company or agency can have PLATO programs written or Higher Education adapted to their particular training needs and Many colleges and universities use PLATO have the programs made available to their CBE. Some examples of the different ways in employees throughout the country. which PLATO has been integrated into educa- Customers can install terminals that deliver tional curricula are: PLATO CBE, either on-line or off-line, on their ● The University of Colorado uses PLATO own sites. Schools have terminals onsite in all for developmental English, physics, elec- cases. With the release of PLATO courseware trical engineering, accounting, educa- to other micros, however, the use of PLATO tional psychology, and astronomy. learning will be able to increase greatly at a ● The Reading Pennsylvania Area Com- highly reduced cost. munity College offers PLATO courses in basic skills, training for local industry, Industry and enrichment programs in math, Rus- To date, the primary use of PLATO has sian, and other subjects for exceptional- been for inservice training in industry. Courses ly advanced high school students. include basic management training, account- 6 The University of Delaware uses PLATO ing, economics, equipment operation and in its School of Music to provide drill and maintenance, powerplant operation, computer practice with musical notes played by a fundamentals, and computer programing. synthesizer connected to the terminal and offers PLATO courses in dressmaking, Examples of training needs to which nursing, and agriculture. PLATO has been adapted include: ● The American College offers courses in ● United Airlines uses PLATO to bring 367 life insurance and related financial sci- new trainees each year up to entry level ences to students in all 50 States and 12 for transitional training. The PLATO- foreign countries. The networking power assisted program takes 11 days compared of PLATO is ideal for this widely dis- to the 15 days formerly required without persed student body. PLATO. United Airlines estimates that ● The University of Quebec has eight termi- it saves $29,827 per year by using the nals in almost continual operation on the PLATO systems. Trois-Rivieres campus. Faculty members ● Control Data Institutes train 7,000 pro- create their own lessons in French, chem- grammers, operators, and technicians year- istry, English, physics, geometrical op- ly for the computer industry. In the tics, data processing, and psychology. It United States, 60,000 people have re- sometimes takes as long as 250 hours to ceived this training since the first Control produce a 60-minute lesson. Data Institute started in 1965. More than 50 percent of the training is on PLATO. Public Schools ● The Navy successfully adapted CDC’s Basic Skills Learning System to train re- Although CDC is interested in introducing cruits at the Navy Recruit Training Cen- PLATO into public elementary and secondary ter in Orlando, Fla. With the help of institutions, PLATO has not been utilized by PLATO, two to three times the usual public schools primarily because of its cost. number of recruits were trained by the However, with PLATO learning new being same-sized staff, and they completed their delivered on micros-both on CDC microcom- required course work in fewer hours. This puters and those of other companies-costs Ch. 7–State of Research and Development in Educational Technology ● 131 may drop substantially. One example of a suc- in math. Students were anxious to use the cessful application of PLATO is in an inner- computer, and here again, as in the case of city school in Baltimore. In 1979, 200 of Wal- the Indian program, academic success was brook High School’s 538 seniors failed the City matched by improved social attitudes. PLATO of Baltimore math and reading proficiency is now used in 29 correctional institutions tests. After 60 days of using PLATO, all but located in 10 States and in the United King- nine passed the test. PLATO has helped Wal- dom. brook’s low achieving students to increase Unemployed.– A CDC program specifically their academic levels as many as three grades designed for the hardcore unemployed, called in 1 year. Fair Break, consists of the PLATO Basic Today, 180 Walbrook students each receive Skills courses in math, reading, and language, 25 minutes of PLATO instruction daily on one as well as a course in how to choose and get of the school’s 12 terminals. At midterm, a sec- a job. The coursework is supplemented by a ond group of 180 students is chosen. Thus in counseling and referral program that helps 1 school year, 360 of the school’s 2,350 stu- adult students cope with problems relating to dents will have received PLATO-assisted in- health, finances, drugs, and interpersonal struction. In addition, two junior high schools problems. The program also involves peer- have two terminals each, and six elementary group counseling. CDC provides part-time schools have one terminal each. The Baltimore work to program participants for the duration PLATO project, initially subsidized by CDC, of the course. is now funded by the Baltimore City School System. Assessing Benefits and Cost Special Populations Effectiveness of PLATO American Indians.–The American Indian In attempting to assess the benefits or cost Project of St. Paul, Minn., used the PLATO effectiveness of a given PLATO application, Basic Skills Program to meet the remedial three factors must be taken into account: the educational needs of 1,200 American Indian delivery system, the implementation, and the students in 65 urban areas. Some students courseware. were able to raise their academic levels by 5 PLATO as a Delivery System.—While some years in only 6 months of work. evaluative reports criticize minor aspects of Home Workers.–PLAT0 is used to train the central delivery system, most regard the and provide employment for homebound, dis- central delivery of PLATO learning as being abled employees. CDC has created jobs in pro- exceptional, and believe that its full potential graming for businesses and in developing is still unrealized. The major criticism of courses for the PLATO system. The computer PLATO as a delivery system has been its cost. network makes communication possible be- The most clear-cut beneficial or cost-effective tween employers, employees, and fellow work- uses of PLATO are those in which: ers, thus establishing a community that can ● Educational opportunities are delivered give peer support to homeworkers nationwide. that would otherwise be unavailable to Prisoners. --In 1974, CDC chose correctional the learner population in question. institutions as one entry point for its Basic ● Instruction is brought to learners who Skills Learning System. A pilot PLATO Basic would otherwise have to be transported Skills Learning program was installed in the to a distant site for training. Minnesota State Prison in Stillwater. After ● Needed skills and knowledge can be ac- only 7 hours of PLATO study, inmates aver- quired more quickly through a PLATO aged gains of 1.6 grades in reading; after 12 course than they can through an alter- hours, they averaged gains of 2.16 grades native instructional method. 132 “ Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Implementation of PLATO. --Implementa- dent achievement by about one-quarter of a tion refers to the setting and manner in which standard deviation unit. instruction is taken-the institution, the learn- Courseware.--The term courseware refers to er population, the role and personality of the the programs on PLATO that contain both the teacher, the relationship of the PLATO learn- content and logic of the instruction. An exten- ing experience to other instructional compo- sive variety of different kinds of courseware nents, the motivational aspects of the environ- have been developed for this system. ment, and so forth. In a study conducted by the Educational Testing Service, the use of Seven evaluation studies of the PLATO PLATO in four community colleges was found Basic Skills Learning System have indicated to have no significant effect on student attri- that the curriculum is at least as effective as tion, student achievement, or student atti- some conventional methods in providing tudes toward their academic experience. Parti- remedial instruction in math and reading. In cipating instructors tended to view PLATO one such study, 236 high school students in favorably, but teachers judged their PLATO Florida received remedial instruction in students less favorably than their non-PLATO mathematics via PLATO. The median gain for students in ability, motivation, and achieve- all students was 1.5 grade equivalents after ment. they have spent an average of almost 20 hours in the math lessons. This equivalent equates Implementation in Military Training Set- to about 1.0 grade equivalent gain for 13 hours tings.—The cost effectiveness of computer- in the curriculum. based instruction in military training has been investigated by analyzing 30 studies of com- Because there was no control group in the puter-based instruction, seven of which used Florida study or in several of the other evalua- PLATO; the rest of which used all other tions of the basic skills curriculum there is no computer-based systems. It was concluded way of knowing whether other instructional that, on the whole, computer-based instruction methods might have been as effective or as reduced the time normally needed by students cost effective. Where control groups were in- to complete courses using conventional included in basic skills evaluations, the results struction by 30 percent. The difference in the have been mixed or inconclusive. amount of time saved by individualized self- Students using PLATO Basic Skills course- paced instruction compared with computer- ware tend to cover subject matter more quick- based instruction was found to be relatively ly than do control groups. For example, at a small. The PLATO system was not found to Minnesota correctional facility, 20 reading be more effective than other computer-based students gained an average of 1.02 points in systems’ studies. Furthermore, according to test scores after 9.6 hours of PLATO-assisted two cost-effectiveness evaluations, the Army instruction. The control group of 6 students PLATO IV system was judged to be less effec- that had 15 hours of instruction gained 0.08 tive than individualized (noncomputerized) points. Twenty math students gained 1.75 instruction. points after 17.6 hours of PLATO. After 25 hours of non-PLATO instruction the cor- Implementation in College Settings.–A responding 6 control students gained an comprehensive analysis of computer-based col- average of only 0.35 points. In a comparison lege teaching was made that included 59 stud- of 15 PLATO students with 15 controls at ies of which an unspecified number were of Bexar Detention Center, the PLATO students PLATO courses. Although about 20 different gained 1.13 points in math tests. The control characteristics of these courses were analyzed, group, after more than twice the amount of in- they were not classified according to the par- struction time, gained only 0.19 points. ticular delivery system that was used (e.g., PLATO, TICCT). It was found that a typical PLATO and other computer-based instruc- computer-based institution class raised stu- tion methods have capabilities that provide Ch. 7—State of Research and Development in Educational Technology ● 133 unique learning experiences that are impossi- During this time, the institute engaged in ble or impractical using other means. One ex- R&D on the use of CAI in teaching reading. ample is a cardiology course at the Universi- In 1964, this effort was developed into the ty of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. These pro- Stanford Initial Reading Project, the purpose grams can simulate virtually any heartbeat. of which was to provide a comprehensive, in- The student is aided by a “stethophone,” an dividualized curriculum that would improve electronic stethoscope that amplifies the low- basic reading skills. First, however, the proj- frequency sounds of the heart, and a terminal ect analyzed the obstacles encountered by screen that displays a diagram of the patient’s culturally disadvantaged children in acquiring body. The student can hear heart sounds in- reading skills. dicative of virtually all coronary conditions, providing an experience which traditionally CCC Product Development would have required first visiting the radi- With private financing, CCC began develop- ology department to review X-rays, and then ing a marketable CAI package based on the the wards to see the patient. Because of the research that had been done at Stanford. By wide variety of cardiac dysfunctions, the about 1973 the hardware became inexpensive urgent nature of cardiac lesions, and the large enough to develop a system that could be mar- number of medical students, students normal- keted at a reasonable cost. Thus, CCC started ly would not have the opportunity while in as a marketing organization in about 1974. At medical schools to observe every kind of heart that time, about 20 schools throughout the disease. Previously, classes as large as 118 country were using CCC’s curricula. During students would spend 50 hours in a traditional the 1970’s, CCC had the only commercially lecture environment. With the PLATO sys- viable and extensively validated computer- tem, that instructional time has been reduced based curriculum for elementary schools. to an average of 20 hours and with a higher learning rate. CCC Products and Services The CCC staff–about 200 employees—pro- Case Study 3: Computer vides a turnkey system that includes com- Curriculum Corp. puter hardware, software, curriculum, and support services (e.g., teacher training and Computer Curriculum Corp. (CCC) is a for- equipment maintenance). A typical system in profit company that develops and markets a school has about 16 terminals in a CAI computer-assisted instruction (CAI) systems laboratory, although this amount varies per to schools. It was founded in 1967 by Patrick school. Suppes as a marketing outgrowth of R&D in The curricula consist of drill-and-practice CAI that began in 1963, at the Institute for courses that supplement regular instruction Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences in basic skills, primarily in reading and at Stanford University. The institute’s first mathematics. In each course, students use the instructional program was a tutorial curricu- drills for 10 minutes per day. The three most lum in elementary mathematical logic. A pre- widely used curricula are the mathematics liminary version of its elementary mathemat- strands, grades 1-6; reading, grades 3-6; and ics program was tested in 1964. The first use language arts, grades 3-6. Newer courses, such of CAI in an elementary school took place in as reading for comprehension and problem 1965, when fourth-grade children were given solving, are rapidly being adopted. daily arithmetic drill-and-practice lessons in their classroom on a teletype machine con- Funding for R&D nected by telephone lines to the institute computer. (Before that, the children were trans- Initial support for the work in elementary ported to the campus.) mathematics and reading came from a private 134 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education foundation and was followed up by support ment levels. Studies comparing gains of CAI from NSF and OE. Since 1963, NSF has sup- students with gains of non-CAI students show ported work with elementary school gifted that the curricula serves as an effective form children and OE funded the reading project of supplementary instruction. Studies compar- at $920,000 from 1964-67. From 1966-68 OE ing CAI programs with other supplementary supported related work in CAI at Stanford. programs suggest that CAI participants are Work with disadvantaged students was sup- more likely to meet achievement objectives. ported by title III of the Elementary and Sec- Longitudinal data indicate that achievement ondary Education Act of 1965, and work with levels can be expected to increase steadily over the handicapped, especially deaf students, was several years of CAI participation and that funded by the Bureau of Education for the over summer holidays students do not seem Handicapped from 1970 to 1973. to forget the concepts reviewed. A reoriented project in elementary reading The studies also showed that several bene- and math was conducted from 1967 to 1970 fits can be associated with the use of CCC cur- with a grant from NSF. Its aim was to design ricula. First, because of the categorical aid pro- and implement a low-cost CAI curriculum that vided by the Federal programs, CAI was in- would act as a supplement to classroom introduced on a broad scale among disadvan- struction. Because the institute lost its Feder- taged students, including those that come al R&D support in elementary and secondary from low-income backgrounds, that are mem- curriculum development after 1970, it had to bers of minority groups, or that are handi- reuse the elementary school curricula, making capped. Traditionally, innovation takes place some special applications for hearing-impaired in affluent schools. Second, through the de- students. The institute then turned most of tailed and highly individualized feedback pro- its attention to the development of university- vided by the computer, students acquire hab- level curricula. its of precision in their work. Third, increased student motivation and decreases in vandal- Impacts ism and truancy were reported. Finally, stu- Nearly 1 million students have used CCC dents learned basic skills in reading and math. curricula over the past 10 years. In the 1981-82 Evaluations led to the following findings: school year, about 200,000 students from 30 States, most of whom are from disadvantaged ● Federally supported R&D had a major im- homes in inner-city and rural environments, pact on the state of the art in computer- used them on a daily basis. CCC educational based learning and teaching. Support materials are paid for with title I and other from OE and NSF R&D at Stanford Uni- Federal categorical aid. versity significantly influenced the development of curricula and methods of com- Evaluation Studies puter-based learning. ● The focus of the Elementary Secondary CCC curricula have been extensively eval- Education Act on the disadvantaged re- uated by many groups, including individual sulted in the development and implemen- school systems. A wide variety of populations tation of high-technology systems that were studied including inner-city students; are effective in providing such students students in different sections of the country; with basic skills. rural students in Appalachia; American Indian ● Numerous evaluations of the use of CCC students in New Mexico; and bilingual, deaf, curricula by a wide variety of students and mentally retarded students. have all clearly demonstrated that, when The studies have shown that, when used as used as recommended, they are effective recommended, CCC’s elementary CAI curric- in increasing achievement levels in basic ula are effective in increasing student achieve skills. . .

Ch. 7—State of Research and Development in Educational Technology ● 135

Case Study 4: CONDUIT puters and for use on the large timesharing computers typically found on university cam- CONDUIT is a 10-year-old nonprofit orga- puses. nization that packages and distributes high- quality computer-based instructional materi- As of August 1981, CONDUIT distributed als to colleges, universities, and secondary about 100 different packages for use in college schools. In 1971, when CONDUIT was con- and precollege courses in biology, chemistry, ceived, the major barrier to instructional com- economics, education, geography, humanities, puting was a lack of quality learning materials management science, mathematics, physics, and computer software. Although materials political science, psychology, sociology, and had been developed at universities and col- statistics. CONDUIT has gained an interna- leges, they were being used only at the tional reputation, distributing nearly 9,000 originating institution. No organization ex- packages to 1,500 institutions in all 50 States isted to distribute instructional programs. and 12 foreign countries. Because there were so few programs available, there was no visible market large enough to Budget and Financing justify investment by commercial publishers. CONDUIT currently operates on a monthly Without distribution mechanisms or author in- budget of about $30,000. Two-thirds of this centives, few high-quality materials suitable amount is derived from revenues from the sale for distribution were being developed. of packages and other publications. One-third, Established as a partial solution to this or about $10,000, is provided from grants from problem, CONDUIT was intended to provide NSF’s Office of Science and Engineering Ed- the organizational link that would search for ucation Directorate and FIPSE. Since its in- materials, test and review them, revise them ception in 1971, CONDUIT has received about so that they could be used at different institu- 2.5 million of support from NSF. tions or on different computers, and distribute these packages to other institutions. Benefits

Profile of CONDUIT Today The direct beneficiaries of CONDUIT operations include students, teachers, and authors; CONDUIT has received support from NSF commercial publishers; and other groups ben- and the Fund for Improvement of Post Sec- efit indirectly. ondary Education (FIPSE). It distributes NSF ● educational materials that are reviewed, well About 1 million students have benefited from using CONDUIT materials, based on documented, programed for ease of transfer to different computers, and kept up-to-date. conservative estimate of 120 student users The instructional materials are all reviewed by per package. (At a large university, one experts in each subject area for conceptual package might be used by hundreds of stu- validity, instructional usefulness, and overall dents over several years.) quality. ● At least 18,000 teachers have benefited A typical institutional package consists of from the availability of CONDUIT materi- a computer program written in BASIC or For- als, at an average of two teachers per tran, a student guide explaining objectives package. Because CONDUIT materials are and methods of its use, an instructor guide il- so well documented, teachers may readily lustrating course applications, notes explain- tailor the materials to fit their own course ing how to install the program on the com- and teaching style. puter, and the programs written in a form that ● Authors of computer-based learning materi- can be read by the computer. Programs are als also benefit from CONDUIT. Over 2,000 provided both for use on small personal com- copies of CONDUITS guidelines for authors 136 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

have been distributed and over 100 have through their sustained efforts that the had their materials packaged. Authors are organization finally became a viable entity. rewarded by having their materials widely CONDUIT’s relatively low level of Federal used, and they receive royalties on sales. support, and thus low visibility for several years, was probably an advantage in work- ● Commercial publishers are also indirect ben- ing out the numerous technical, political, eficiaries. Now that the commercial viability and educational problems involved. of instructional computer materials has been demonstrated, commercial publishers ● CONDUIT could not have become a viable have become more interested in marketing organization had it not been able to use the such materials. revenues from the sale of packages for its continued operations. This posed many ● CONDUIT serves as a useful model to other legal and contractual difficulties for NSF. groups both within the United States and However, after prolonged negotiations, fi- in other countries. The Northwest Regional nancial arrangements were made that en- Education Laboratory drew on CONDUIT abled CONDUIT to become close to self- expertise in establishing MicroSift to sustaining. evaluate educational software for precollege applications. The British have drawn heav- ● Coordination With Other Programs and ily on the CONDUIT model in establishing Projects. —The NSF Science Education Di- a similar network. rectorate encouraged projects supported by its other program areas to collaborate with Findings CONDUIT. This collaboration provided important links to developers of exemplary ● Sustained Support. –CONDUIT received materials and also provided the develop- sustained support at somewhat below half ment projects with guidance on how to a million dollars per year, from NSF for sev- make useful products. eral years before there was any significant payoff. ● The support of established institutions, while essential initially, has become less im- ● About 40 percent of CONDUIT packages portant over time. CONDUIT was original- were originally developed under Federal ly established as a consortium of major grants. Thus, it has provided an important educational computing networks and uni- dissemination function for curriculum devel- versity computer centers. These institutions opment work. and networks provided the testing ground ● It is possible for the Federal Government and data base for the early CONDUIT in- to make a major contribution to improving vestigations into the area of sharing and education through a minimal dollar invest- transporting educational software. ment, by the creation of an appropriate or- ● It is possible to increase the supply of high- ganizational entity. By 1972, numerous quality, marketable materials by conveying studies had concluded that no existing appropriate guidelines and standards to organization could perform the functions authors and developers. CONDUIT has necessary to break the cycle of barriers to found that as more authors and develop- development and dissemination of educa- ment projects use its guides, the amount of tional computing materials. A new kind of quality materials available for distribution organization would be needed. Many dif- has increased. ficulties were encountered in attempting to establish such a new organization. A few ● From 3 to 4 years are needed in order to key individuals in academia and NSF were realize a return on investment for quality committed to the idea, however, and it was computer-based instructional materials. Ch. 7—State of Research and Development in Educational Technology c 137

This figure may be shortened somewhat as In creating and demonstrating the market the number of computers increases. How- for high-technology materials, quality of ever the present situation is such that the products is more critical than quantity. time period required for return on investment is too long for most commercial publishers. Chapter 8 Conditions That May Affect the Further Application of Information Technology in Education

Chapter 8 Conditions That May Affect the Further Application of Information Technology in Education

When attempting to forecast how, when, and where information technology might be utilized in the education process, particularly by publicly funded institutions operating on the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary level, it is necessary to look at what is and what is not known about present uses and potential applications. While certain forms of information technology-television, for example-have been in use in education for a number of years and maybe evaluated based on widespread applications (e.g., the programming developed by the Children’s Television Workshop), other forms of technology-such as the microcomputer and the video disk-are relatively new and in what might be described as the initial stages of utilization. Whether or not these technologies live up to their potential in educational environments such as the school, the workplace, and the home is difficult to predict, even in light of successful demonstrations made possible through public and private funding. A discussion of what is known about current conditions and common perceptions in segments of the education community where technologies have had some impact and a description of perceptions of hardware and software vendors about the structure and potential of the education market are the best means to gain an understanding of the circumstances that now prevail.

Available Data on Educational Applications

Since few measures have been made of how vocational, special education and other types) information technology is presently being ap- had at least one microcomputer or terminal plied in public and private schools, this discus- dedicated to student instruction (see table 27). sion is limited to interpretations of data col- This number seems large in the aggregate. lected about the use of microcomputers, ter- However, within individual school districts minals, video cassette recorders, and video computer availability to individual students disks. is severely limited. About 18 percent of the local education agencies—the majority small Microcomputers and Terminals districts of 2,500 students or less–had no plans to initiate computer-based student in- Based on results of a 1980 survey of a sam- struction for the following 3 years (see table ple of 579 of 15,834 school districts in the 28). It was determined that some 52,000 micro- United States, it was projected that about one- computers and terminals were scattered half of all districts had one or more computer throughout local school districts for student terminals available for student use. Within use, with microcomputers outnumbering ter- these districts, approximately one out of four minals by 3 to 2.1 A 1982 industry survey con- schools (or one-half of all public institutions on the secondary level, 14 percent of those on ‘Student Use of CimputeIS in Schools (WaAington, D. C.: Na- the elementary level, and 19 percent of the tional Center for Education Statistics, 1981).

141 142 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Table 27.—Public School Districts Providing Students Access to at Least One Computer for Educational Purposes: United States, 1980 (table entries are school districts providing access)

Type of school, by grade level Combined elementary/ Total (at least secondary schools More than one level) Elementary level Secondary level and special schools one level Type of access (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) At least one microcomputer or one terminal ...... 7,606 2,196 6,161 678 1,884 (in percents of column 1) At least one microcomputer or one terminal ...... 7,606 29 87 9 25 At least one microcomputer ...... 6,631 29 84 9 22 At least one terminal ...... 2,973 21 99 5 25 At least one microcomputer and one terminal ...... 1,998 17 95 3 15 NOTE :Column 1 represents the unduplicated number of districts providing access to computers at any level, Since some districts make computers available at more than one type of school, the percepts in cols. 2-4 include duplicated counts of districts. The difference between the total duplicated counts (cols. 2-4) and the unduplicated count (col. 1) represents the percent of districts providing computer access at more than one level (coI. 5). SOURCE: Student Use of Computers in Schools (Washington, DC.: National Center for Educational Statistics, 1981).

Table 28.—Availability of Computers Within units of hardware in 1980, there will have been, Districts: United States, Fall 1980 by the end of 1990,2,030,000 such shipments By number of computers per district to schools. In addition, by the end of 1990 the installed base of microcomputers will grow Number of available Districts providing access computers per district To microcomputers To terminals from 70,000 in 1980 to 8,860,000, with the average cost per unit dropping from $2,100 in At least one ...... 6,631 2,973 2 (in percents) 1980 to $1,100. Computer courseware sales At least one ...... 100 100 are expected to increase during the same One ...... 40 35 period from $4.7 million to $257.5 million. If 2-4 ...... 37 37 5-1o ...... 13 14 the projected aftermarket (the sales carried 11-20 ...... 6 6 over from previous years, including course- More than 20 ...... 3 8 ware sold with microcomputer systems and re- By the number of schools with access, per district placement software) is factored into the pro- Number of schools Districts providing access jection, the total sales figure is expected to rise with access per At elementary At secondary from $6.4 million in 1980 to $599.1 million (see district schools schools table 29.) In yet another study of the potential 1980 educational market for hardware sales, schools represented the smallest of five potential markets. The other four—in rank order—were small business, scientific, home and office, but a projected growth rate of 300 percent by 1985 would place annual sales at $145 million by that year.3 However, by 1985, the school ‘The newest generation of home computers now sell for be- ducted by Strategic, Inc., provides forecasts tween $300 and $1,000, which has made it possible for many of microcomputer usage in public and private more parents to consider purchasing them as educational aids for their children (“The Home Computer Arrives,” New York elementary, secondary, and postsecondary Times, June 17, 1982, D-1, D-6). schools as well as projections of micro- ‘Interview with Denis P. Hoye, Director, U.S. Client Services, Strategic, Inc., San Jose, Caiif., regarding report entitled Up computer courseware sales through 1990. date on Educational Software: (2mverging Technologies and Assuming a total new shipment base of 36,000 Strategies, report No. 1500, 1982. Ch. 8—Conditions That May Affect the Further Application of Information Technology in Education ● 143

Table 29.—Total Shipments of Microcomputers Video Cassette Recorders in Public and Private Schools Operating on the Elementary, Secondary, and Postsecondary Levels and Video Disk and Forecasts of Courseware Sales The growth rate of the general market for Total shipments 1980 1985 End of 1990 video cassette recorders is expected to be very Total new high, based on 1980 estimates of 1.5 million shipments . . 36,000 600,000 2,030,000 Installed base . 70,000 1,630,000 8,860,000 recorders and 6 million prerecorded cassettes Average cost sold. However, there are no projections that per unit . . . . $2,100 $1,600 $1,100 differentiate the education or school market Courseware sales from other markets such as the home, so New courseware growth in this type of utilization is hard to sold ...... $4.7 million $77.3 million $257.5 million 5 Aftermarket predict. sales (carry- over from Views differ about the potential popularity previous of video disk, even in light of successful pro- years and courseware grams such as the “First National Kidisc.” sold with One study estimated that sales to all types of systems). . . . $1.7 million $51.5 million $341.6 million consumers were less than 50,000 in 1980, al- Total ...... $6.4 million $128.8 million $599.1 million though manufacturers predicted that 250,000 SOURCE Update on Educational Software: Converging Technologies and Strategies (San Jose, Calif. Strategic, Inc , 1982) units and 5 million video disks would be sold in 1981.6 Another market analysis, conducted by Strategic, Inc., in 1982, suggests that by market was projected to grow at a rate of 300 1985 when educational programs and disks percent, placing annual sales at $145 million become more widely available, over 250,000 by that year. video disk players integrated with microcom- Other factors complicate this picture of mar- puters will be in use. Again, this analysis does ket potential. In a 1981 study of 15,442 school not isolate the school market. At present, districts, it was found that 42 percent had at Department of Education officials estimate least one microcomputer (6,441) with 43 per- that there may be less than 100 video disk cent of these being senior high schools. Junior units in place in schools.7 high and high schools with larger enrollments were found to be the most likely to have acquired microcomputers, as were those schools with per-student instructional materials budg- “’Videopublishing: Licensing, Manufacturing and Distribu- 4 tion, ” LINK Research Memorandum, vol. 2, No. 15, December ets of over $60,000. 1981. ‘Ibid. ‘F. B. Withrow and L. G. Roberts, “The Videodisc: Putting 4“Market Survey Discovers Where the Micros Are, ” Ekc- Education on a Silver Platter,” Ekctronic Learning, May/June tronic Learning, March/April 1982, p. 14. 1982, pp. 43-44.

Climate for Use of Information Technology in the Schools

Information gathered in this study about the most common use, followed by drill and the use of information technology in selected practice and some simulation exercises. Com- school districts seems to indicate that the puter literacy courses are particularly popular computer-based education is far and away the in some areas on the junior high level.8 most accepted at this time. As the case studies in this report illustrate, computer literacy pro- 8A. Luehrmann, “Computer Literacy: What It Is; Why It’s grams for instructors and students represent Important, ” Electronic Learning, May/June 1982, PP. 20, 22. 144 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

A 1980 survey of school districts sponsored puter manufacturers or foundations were ap- by the National Center for Education Statis- proached and/or individual parents or PTAs tics (NCES) confirms the widespread frequen- made donations. These efforts were not equal- cy of computer literacy courses within schools ly successful, since local communities vary with at least one terminal or microcomputer. significantly with respect to the level of NCES also cites cases where the computer has resources that they can make available for ed- been used to improve student learning in ucational activities. selected subject areas and to stimulate high The lack of available courseware was also achievers. Less than half of the districts identified in the case studies as a major responding to the survey utilize the computer obstacle to initiation and/or expansion of com- in remedial and compensatory programs. puter education programs in schools. Often, When sample districts contacted in the course when hardware is available and when instruc- of the survey were asked to identify operators have a positive view of it, the lack of com- tional and planning needs critical to the initia- mercial courseware induces teachers to create tion of use or to the expanded use of computer- their own courseware either through use of assisted instruction, the two most frequently school purchased authoring systems or other mentioned were teacher training and greater means. The quality of this courseware varies variety of instructional software programs. significantly, frequently because instructors Approximately one-third of all districts indi- have mastered—usually on their own initi- cated the need for assistance in program plan- ative—only the basics of the authoring system ning, technical support once programs are ini- or programing language.10 tiated, and financial assistance for hardware In some instances, the price of the course- and software purchases.9 Taken together, the ware may be an obstacle to more widespread OTA case studies of local school districts show computer use. Table 30 includes information that funding often became a critical factor in on the average prices, which range from $37.00 the use of computers in education, especially to over $200.00, for courseware available for in light of reductions in Federal support to sale through industry, Government, and schools, as well as diminishing State and local foundations. ll resources. When traditional funding sources in these districts were insufficient or unavail- ‘OA. Bork, Large &ale Production and Distribution of Cbm- able for establishing computer programs, com- puterh’ded Laming Modukw (Irvine, Calif.: Educational Tech- nology Center, University of California, n.d.). 11 The Education] Microcomputer Software Mdcet (OA ‘National Center for Education Statistics, op. cit. Park, Ill.: TALMIS, 1981).

Table 30.-The Educational Courseware Industry Ch. 8—Conditions That May Affect the Further Application of /formation Technology in Education ● 145

Incorporating the use of the computer in a ing loads and less time for teachers to consider traditional school environment-characterized possible new pedagogical approaches. A lack by set class schedules, primarily daytime proof understanding of the potential of the tech- grams-can present some complex problems, nology in the classroom and the lack of in- even if the technology is highly valued as an structor knowledge of programing or use of effective and efficient instructional resource. authoring packages for courseware develop- Teacher resistance may also be a factor, in the ment may also determine if and how informa- use, or the extent of use, especially if limited tion technologies will be applied. school budgets have resulted in heavier teach-

Hardware and Educational Software Vendors: Views of the Education Market

In addition to conditions that might affect 75,000 elementary and secondary schools—a the use of technology in the schools, there are gift valued at between $200 million and $300 certain circumstances that may have a bear- million. ing on how producers of hardware and educa- The central problem faced by microcom- tional software approach the education mar- puter producers and manufacturers of other ket–in particular, publicly funded institu- types of hardware, such as the video cassette tions. recorder and the video disk, is that they can- For several years, hardware producers, es- not define the real potential of the school pecially manufacturers of microcomputers market either in its individual segments or in such as Tandy, Apple, and Commodore, have its aggregate form. A recent industry-spon- attempted to develop the school market while sored market analysis for video disk, for ex- cultivating the home market. Apple and Com- ample, cautioned against being overly opti- modore have in some instances placed micros mistic about sales to all types of consumers in schools free of charge, in order to create over the next few years.12 And, as is illustrated awareness in teachers and administrators as by the variety of different projections on well as to create opportunities for experimen- microcomputer sales in general and potential tation. In most instances to date, the com- sales to educators in particular, the future panies were responding to requests of school response to this technology is still open to districts. Apple and other producers have also question. Because of these uncertainties, using been active in pushing for Federal legislation existing sales strategies with the school mar- that would create tax incentives for the dona- ket as a way of testing the market potential tion of computers and related equipment to without having to add significantly to market elementary and secondary schools. H.R. 5573, overhead. However, this approach may further “The Technology Education Act of 1982, ” in- impede potential sales, if hardware and soft- troduced in the 97th Congress calls for rais- ware specialists unfamiliar with curriculum ing the maximum allowable corporate char- design and other aspects of school administra- itable contribution from 10 to 30 percent of tion attempt to sell to educators. annual income. The bill was stimulated by Ap- ple’s offer to donate computer centers to “LINK Research Memorandum, op. cit. 146 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Conditions Affecting Commercial Courseware Development

A recent issue of Electronic Learning con- Table 31.—What Are the Industries Competing for Business tains a directory13 of zoo educational software producers. An industry-sponsored study con- Education/AV publishers—Companies traditionally supply- ducted in 1980 identified some 304 educational ing books and AV products to the school marketplace. 12 companies during the period under study (18 with software developers—including traditional products as of September 1981) including: print publishers, hardware manufacturers, Educational Activities software firms of various sizes, and founda- Milliken Random House tions and government-sponsored projects (see Scott Foresman table 31). Although, these numbers would seem SRA to suggest that the educational courseware Society for Visual Education Sterling Swift Publishing business is thriving, this is not the case. There Hardware Manufacturers-- Microcomputers manufactures is considerable skepticism—especially within developing courseware products for the schools. the software industry-about the school mar- 5 companies, including: ket and its potential. Industry representatives Apple Atari interviewed in the course of the 1982 Stra- Commodore tegic, Inc., survey were concerned about the Tandy difficulty of segmenting the software market Texas Instruments in order to develop products targeted to par- Software houses—Software companies selling more than $85,000 in courseware or companies with total software sales ticular grade levels and subject matter needs. over $150,000. Print publishers who have entered the in- 19 companies, including: dustry are doing so judiciously in most cases Brain Box Creative Computing Software by adapting existing textbooks to machine- Data Command readable form or by creating software to Edu-Ware enhance existing textbooks and other hard- Hartley Software Micro-Ed copy materials. This situation differs from MicroSoft that in the software development market for MUSE personal computers where there are now some Programs Design, Inc. 1,000 active firms and over 5,000 available Small developers-Software companies selling less than 14 $85,000 in courseware and with total sales of all products less programs. Some hardware and software than $150,000. firms have developed authoring systems for Approximately 250 companies (13.6°/0 sampled for this use by educators, but commercial courseware report-see app. IX), including: Avant-Garde Creations now available does not meet many of the needs Betamax of local school systems. Courseware quality is Bluebird’s also of concern to some educators. At the same Cook’s Computer Co. Custom Computer time, the up-front costs associated with Educational Courseware courseware development—estimated by one Micro pi industry representative at over $250,000 per Teacher’s Pet T. H. E. S.I.S. package—is more than most firms, given the Teach Yourself by Computer market uncertainties, want to risk on an Foundations and Government-sponsored projects—Orga- “unknown quantity. ” The Department of nized development and dissemination projects sponsored by private foundations, schools, and local, State, or Federal Education’s recently announced “Technology Government. Initiative” provides for matching funds to be Approximately 12 agencies, including: made available to commercial software devel- Apple Education Foundation CONDUIT ● Department of Education s ‘ ’’ Electronic Learnin g Software Directory,” Electronic Learn- MECC ing, May/June 1982, 1-A-1O-A. National Science Foundation “’’Using Personal Computers, ” LINK Research Repor4 vol. SOURCE: The Education/ Microcomputer Software Market (Oak Parkl Ill,: 3, No. 1, 1982. TALMIS, 1981), Ch. 8—Conditions That May Affect the Further Application of Information Technology in Education ● 147 opers to assist in the creation of courseware unknown, however, whether this incentive will for the schools that, because of market size, be sufficient to attract more commercial may not otherwise be developed. It is still interest.

Summary of Current Conditions

Given what is known about present applica- mercial courseware have all contributed to this tions of information technology in the schools, situation. It is difficult to predict when or if it is clear that the use of computers and other conditions in publicly funded educational in- forms of technology is far from being institu- stitutions will change. However, expanded use tionalized at this time. Limited school funds, of information technology-especially compu- educators’ limited recognition of the potential ters—in the home and in the workplace may of the technology, limited computer literacy result in pressure from parents, students, and among instructors and students, and the lim- even employers on local school districts to ited variety and range in high-quality, com- utilize technology in the instructional process. Chapter 9 Federal Role in Education

Chapter 9 Federal Role in Education

The Federal Government has long been in- larly, in 1917 a vocational education act was volved in encouraging or providing financial passed to reorient local education programs assistance to State and local educational agen- to meet the needs of changing labor markets. cies. The first Federal aid to education oc- By the 1950’s, an expanded Federal role in curred with the passage of the Land Ordinance providing educational services was deemed in 1785. Federal aid continues today in a very necessary. Support came in numerous forms, expanded capacity. from grants for school construction and veter- Most Federal education initiatives often at- an assistance to impact aid programs. By 1965 tempted to address or remedy issues not di- a Federal role in education had been generally rectly related to education. For example, the accepted. The questions raised were no longer, early land grants were designed not only to what role, if any, should the Federal Govern- ensure public education in the newly formed ment play; instead, Congress sought to deter- territories but also to “make public lands more mine what type of investment should be made attractive to prospective buyers.”1 In the 19th and where and how it would be most effective. century, the Merrill Act was enacted to re- The “how” signified the next important shift spond to the growing educational need for in the educational debate—from Congress to practical higher education in the areas of sci- the courts. Today many educational issues are ence, agriculture, and industrial training. Simi- resolved in the judicial arena. In resolving ——.-—— these issues the courts rely on interpretations ‘L. E. Gladieier and T. R. Wolanin, Cimgress and the CMlegw of the constitution as well as on recent educa- (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1976). tional legislation.

Education Legislation

The Early Years: 1642-1860 98.5 million acres had been set aside for educational purposes by the Federal Government.2 In 1642, the Massachusetts General Court passed the Massachusetts Bay Law establish- The omission of education from express ining a precedent of local responsibility for edu- clusion in the constitution has often been the cation. This act and the subsequent legislation focus of the debate concerning the extent of of 1647, the Old Deluder Law, which called for the Federal Government’s role in the educa- the creation of local public schools according tional system. Despite its absence, the framers to population size, were extended on a national and other leaders of the time repeatedly called scale in 1785 by the passage of land ordi- for such a Federal role. Most of the proposals, nances. Under these ordinances, moneys were however, were directed at higher education. set aside from the sale of lands and dedicated For President Washington, a Federal role was to the maintenance of public schools. This important for three reasons. First, there was principle of Federal aid was consistently af- a desire to encourage a strictly American rath- firmed through a series of land grants (State- er than a European education. Second, he per- hood Acts) throughout the next century. His- ceived that nationally sponsored education torians have debated the intent of the legisla- would eliminate sectional and local prejudices. tors in these actions—whether this effort signi- And third, as indicated in his Farewell Ad- fied a concerted attempt to preempt State ‘S. W. Tiedt, The Role of the Federal Government in Educa- rights in educational matters. Nevertheless, tion (New York: Oxford University Press, 1966).

151 152 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education dress, Washington considered “the promotion Much of the post-Civil War activity was di- of political intelligence as a national safe- rected at rectifying regional inequities in the guard. ” Despite his urgings and the urgings South. Educational measures enacted by the of other leaders, the principal of local control Republicans allowed for unprecedented Feder- as set forth in the Massachusetts Bay Law real influence in southern institutions. Also, the mained constant.3 illiteracy rates in the Nation, particularly in the South (42 percent rate of illiteracy), were The land grants and the Enabling Acts or extraordinarily high, necessitating some sort Statehood Acts are the most comprehensive of Federal remedy. Federal policy implemented during this time. Other individual educationally oriented proj- The passage of the Merrill Act of 1862, ects were passed by Congress but they were which set aside land for the establishment of aimed at specific educational concerns such as schools, signified the first such Federal aid to the founding in 1802, of the U.S. Military schools.5 However, unlike earlier land ordi- Academy at West Point. nances, the act’s target was institutions of higher education. The arguments in the debate Other Federal aid during this era took the over the Merrill Act are strikingly similar to form of surplus revenue from the Treasury De- those raised in educational debates today: its partment. Moneys were distributed to the constitutionality, the preemption of States States but had no specific target. Much of the rights, its selectivity of focus, and the cost of surplus revenue was channeled into the public the legislation, were all cited as cause for de- schools by the States. Also the Preemption feat. In its favor were arguments citing a dem- Act of 1841 and the granting in 1849 of lands onstrated need for agricultural, industrial, and to the States by the Federal Government con- scientific and technological training, and citing verted further Federal moneys to the public regional inequities in need of remedy.6 schools. The next significant Federal initiative was During this time, universal public education the creation of the Office of Education in 1867. became accepted. This new system of public The debate concerning its establishment, while education was accompanied by the develop- continuing to focus on what role, if any, the ment of a professional class of educators. By Federal Government should play in traditional the closing years of the 19th century, this State and local affairs, also raised the ques- group became a highly effective educational tion of public v. private education. A Federal lobby. role was seen as posing a threat to private education, and the Catholic Church lobbied exten- The Years 1860-1930 sively against the bill. The education depart- Between 1860 and 1930, the role and influ- ment that ultimately emerged was empowered ence of the Federal Government in the educa- to collect educational data and statistics, to tional system increased markedly.4 Although disseminate information concerning education, this growth was, to a great extent, the result and to encourage educational endeavors. Es- of the Civil War, it was also dictated by the tablishing a Federal role, the creation of the Nation’s shift to an industrial society, coupled Office of Education lead to the formation of with great demographic changes. More impor- congressional committees with specific educa- tantly, the U.S. Government in the post-War tional responsibilities. In 1869, the Depart- period pursued many heretofore State and lo- ment of Education was relegated to bureau cal concerns of which education was just one. status and was transferred to the Department of the Interior. By 1930, the bureau was affiliated with the Federal Security Agency and

‘G. Lee, The Strategies for Federal Aid: First Phase, 187@ 1890 (New York: Columbia University Teachers College, 1949). ‘Lee, op. cit. 4Tiedt, op. cit. ‘Ibid. Ch. 9—Federal Role in Education ● 153

later with the Department of Health, Educa- to create one educational norm for the coun- tion, and Welfare.’ try. Moreover, this bill, along with others discussed below, raised issues concerning the Two other acts were passed before the close Federal role and Federal assistance that were of the century, the Hatch Act of 1887 and the not resolved until 1965 with the passage of the second Merrill Act. The former added agricul- Elementary and Secondary Education Act tural experimental stations to the land grant (ESEA). The issue of equity associated with colleges, and the latter committed additional a single national standard is in many respects Federal funds to certain areas of higher educa- similar to those parts of ESEA that allocate tion. moneys for the educationally disadvantaged. A number of other educationally related pro- Two bills, the Pearce bill of 1872 and the posals were considered but not passed. These Burnside bill of 1879, proposed a national fund are pertinent because in many ways they for public education from the sale of public formed the framework of the educational de- lands. The earlier bill sought to assist States bate that continues today. The Hoar bill, intro- that would provide free education to children duced in 1870, sought to establish a national between the ages of 6 and 16. The moneys system of education. It proposed the creation raised were to be used for teachers’ salaries. of “satisfactory common schools, and where It is interesting to note that the bill was the States failed to do so, to authorize the Fed- amended to recognize segregated schools; eral Government to provide them.”8 Hoar en- thus, it signaled a recognition of race as an visioned his proposal as one of”. . . protection issue in the educational debate. The latter bill for American economic interests. No American differed in that land grant colleges were eligi- statesman will be unwilling to give the Ameri- ble to receive one-third of the educational can workman the advantage in the great in- grants from the land sales. In addition, the dustrial competition which results from supe- educational fund was to be supported with sur- riority of knowledge.”9 The bill did not specify plus moneys from the Patent Office. These Federal aid, but instead advocated that a Fed- revenues, combined with those from the land eral standard be set nationally for schools. As sales, were to be invested in U.S. bonds, thus such, it represented to some an intrusion into establishing a permanent educational fund. State concerns. As with other initiatives of the Both bills failed to pass both houses. They also time, it was specifically targeted at southern signified a return to the segmented as opposed institutions. to a national approach to educational con- The Hoar bill resulted in the coalescing of cerns. positions of professional groups concerned Although no education bills were passed in with educational issues. It also created an this decade, they did serve to raise issues cen- awareness in Congress of the issues involved tral to the education debate. A concurrent de- in an educational debate. The National Educa- velopment was a significant growth in orga- tion Association (NEA) roundly denounced the nized educational advocacy groups and lob- legislation because it specified a Federal role bies. For example, NEA experienced unprece- but not Federal assistance. The Catholic lob- dented development and growth as a profes- by viewed the legislation as an intrusion into sional group and lobby that could, wholesale, Catholic educational practices and as an attempt either support or reject education measures. ‘Ibid. This had not happened previously. ‘Ibid; and S. Tiedt, The Role of Federal Aid: First Phase, 18701890 (New York: Oxford University Press). The education legislation considered in the ‘Brookings Institution, The llff~ts of Federal Programs on 1880’s differed from previous funding mecha- Higher Education (Washington, D. C.: Brookings Institution, 1962); and C. Dobbins (cd.), Higher Education and the Federal nisms in that it sought to provide Federal rev- Governmen~ Programs and Problems (Washington, D. C.: enue for education directly to the States. It American Council on Education, 1967). also proposed temporary aid as opposed to 154 ● informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

long-term aid. In this regard, the Blair bill, in- tional Youth Administration (NYA) channeled troduced five times in this decade and passed funds to a number of institutions in support by the Senate three times, is of particular in- of work study programs. Over 600,000 stu- terest. It stipulated that Federal aid should dents benefited from the NYA programs.ll be provided for 10 years to address emergen- Some teachers and some school construction cy conditions in the South, that States were were funded under a variety of New Deal pro- to supply matching funds, that funds were to grams (CCC, WPA, and the Federal Emergen- be distributed according to State illiteracy cy Relief Administration), but none of these rates (of persons over 10 years old), that de- measures signified an increased Federal role. nominational schools were to be excluded, and This scarcity of legislation was due primarily that the funds were to be granted within Fed- to the Nations’ fiscal crisis and to the fear by eral guidelines.10 legislators that any program once instituted would become permanent. More than any other education legislation, the Blair bill brought educational issues to the Several education bills were proposed dur- fore. None of the measures incorporated into ing the 1930’s and 1940’s that reintroduced the bill had ever been addressed together, in the concept of general Federal aid, but none such a comprehensive way, before. Public were successful. A bill for a student loan pro- awareness was stimulated and pressures were gram, the first of its kind, passed in 1943. Jun- exerted. Groups that actively participated in iors and seniors in high school and graduate the Blair bill debate included not only NEA and professional students in the fields of sci- and the Catholic lobby but also Protestant de- ence, health, and engineering were eligible for nominations, business interests, agricultural federally sponsored loans if, following comple- interests, the press, and political parties. For tion of their studies, they joined the war ef- the first time, education was included as a fort. Also, the Serviceman’s Readjustment platform issue by the Republican Party. The Act of 1944, the GI bill, and Public Law 16 Democratic Party strongly advocated State’s for disabled veterans were passed. The GI bill rights and local authority over education pol- was amended to include Korean veterans. As icy. with the case in secondary education, a pattern of connecting educational legislation to The first education-related proposal enacted other national concerns was also set in higher in the early part of the 20th century was the education. “Its (the Government’s) interest Smith-Hughes Act of 1917. It provided match- was confined to using higher education to deal ing funds to States for developing curricula with specific national problems. ”12 The legisla- in agricultural, industrial, and home econom- tion did revive the religious and racial contro- ics; for administrative costs; and for teachers’ versies. Federal aid to education was men- salaries. This act was amended continuously tioned in the Democratic Party platform in until 1968. The George-Barden Act of 1946 in- 1944 with the stipulation that any aid pro- creased the number of vocational education vided be administered by the States. Aid to programs and placed administration of these education was not included in the Republican programs in the Office of Education. From platform until 1948. then on, the amendments to the legislation reduced the Federal role in agricultural areas and placed more emphasis on education for the The Expanding Federal Role: disadvantaged. 1950-1970’s Very little educationally oriented legislation By proposing school construction grants to was considered or passed during the next sev- local communities, most of the congressional eral decades. Between 1935 and 1943, the Na- “Ibid. “J. L. Jundquist, PoL”tics and Policy, The Eisenhower, Ken- ‘OP. Morgan, “Academia and the Federal Government, ” Pol- nedy, and Johnson Years (Washington, D. C.: Brookings Institu- icy Studes Journal vol. 10, September 1981, p. 75. tion, 1968.) —-— ———

Ch. 9—Federal Role in Education “ 155 initiative relating to education in the 1950’s of these funds were directed at developing sci- sought to circumvent the divisive religious is- ence curricula. sues inherent in the educational debate. It The passage of NDEA led to an examina- therefore became politically attractive to sup- tion of Federal role in postsecondary educa- port this form of Federal aid, which was based tion. This examination was also fostered by on the increasing numbers of children entering the increasing numbers of students entering the school population (baby boom.) In 1941, postsecondary institutions. The educational the Lanham Act was passed providing assist- legislation passed in the 1950’s, which in- ance to local communities in lieu of tax reve- cluded postsecondary provisions, together nues to soften the impact of the war effort on with the legislation passed in the 1960’s paved State and local governments. Moneys were the way for major legislation in the 1970’s. allocated to nursery schools and other school- This steady growth of Federal involvement, related needs and were later expanded into the culminating with the passage of the Educa- Impact Aid programs. The funds and scope tion Amendments Act of 1972 (Public Law of the Lanham Act were increased by Public 92-318), was similar in process to the develop- Law 815 and Public Law 874, which provided ment of the Federal role in secondary educa- construction and operating grants to State tion. and local districts. Two major pieces of legislation that Con- The continuing debate concerning an appro- gress passed in the 1960’s were the Vocational priate Federal role led to President Eisen- Education Act of 1963 and the Higher Educa- hower’s establishing a White House Confer- tion Facilities Act of 1963. The former was a ence on Education in 1954. The task force much expanded version of the Smith-Hughes recommended that the Federal Government Act of 1917, establishing a permanent pro- should provide financial aid to State and local gram for vocational education and setting communities for educational purposes. It con- aside 10 percent of the annual appropriations cluded that there was an appropriate role for for research and development (R&D) projects the Federal Government in educational in vocational demonstration projects. Concom- matters. itant to the passage of the Vocational Educa- The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) tion Act was the passage of two amendments of 1958 was passed as a consequence of the to NDEA, that extended the act and increased widely held belief that the educational system the amount of funds available for student was inadequate in mathematics, science, and loans. The latter provided Federal aid for con- foreign language instruction. This belief was struction of facilities at postsecondary institu- directly related to the successful launching of tions. This act was aptly named the “bricks the Soviet spacecraft, Sputnik. Moneys were and mortar act. ” Community junior colleges provided on a matching basis to public schools were covered by this legislation as was the con- and as long-term loans to private institutions struction of libraries at these institutions.13 for needed equipment in these instructional The next major educational act, the Elemen- fields, for curriculum development, for guid- tary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), ance counseling, for vocational education in was passed in 1965. Its passage signaled an defense-related fields, and for teacher training unprecedented entry by the Federal Govern- in foreign language instruction. The passage ment into educational affairs. Between the of NDEA resulted in a substantial increase in passage of these two landmark educational Federal aid to education. Since Federal dollars acts, Congress and members of the education- had to be matched by State and local funds al community continuously debated what an under provisions of the act, the overall invest- expanded Federal role in education should en- ment in NDEA programs was large. Between 1958 and 1961, $163.2 million in Federal money were dispersed. Approximately 75 percent ‘gIbid. 756 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education tail. In 1964, during the Johnson administra- ance to the handicapped, and bilingual education, the War on Poverty had become a domes- tion. ESEA was designed so that its programs tic priority. ESEA, which was one outcome, would be administered by the State agencies focused on the poor and disadvantaged child. with local input. The Federal role would be to It incorporated a wide range of programs distribute funds and to influence the work of which, while ensuring the acts passage by the States. Accordingly, control was main- their complexity, ultimately seriously hin- tained in the State and local communities, dered its effectiveness. However, a diversity resolving one of the major conflicts in the edu- of interests rallied to support the act. As with cational debate.15 previous educational legislation, a constituen- Many of the amendments and changes in cy was built around a noneducational issue. ESEA were effected for political as well as for At this time the three main issues to overcome educational reasons. One unanticipated out- in enacting any educational legislation at this growth of the legislation was the use of ESEA time were church and state relations, State as a means of desegregating schools. Title VI rights versus Federal control, and race rela- 14 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stated that “no tions. person in the United States shall, on the ESEA provided funds for educational R&D, ground of race, color, or national origin be ex- for promoting educational innovation, and for cluded from participation in, be denied benefit assisting State agencies to establish these proof, or be subjected to discrimination under any grams. The five original titles addressed many program or activity receiving Federal finan- issues. Title I provided Federal funds to areas cial assistance. ” ESEA was chosen as a con- with concentrations of educationally and eco- duit to enforce this title and to desegregate nomically deprived children. Other titles of the schools. Another reason for modifying ESEA act were designed to assist State agencies in was because its meaning was confusing. Every various areas: title II—school libraries, text- title involved different interested parties and books, and instructional materials; title III– different funding mechanisms and addressed educational services and resource centers; title different educational concerns. Enforcement IV–educational R&D; and title V–State ad- and distribution of the funds was administered ministrative needs. (See appendix of this chap- by the Office of Education (OE), which tradi- ter.) tionally relied on the State and local agencies for advice and enforcement. OE was split over Initially, two poverty indicators were used what this massive and complex educational to distribute ESEA funds: based on the 1960 legislation meant and how to implement it. census: 1) the number of children between 5 Many of the changes in the act reflected an and 17 from families with an income of less attempt to resolve these problems. than $2,000, and 2) the number of children between 5 and 17 from families with income ex- Many of the original concerns surrounding ceeding $2,000 receiving aid under title IV of ESEA still exist; its complexity, the amount the Social Security Act, Aid to Families With of funding, and dissatisfaction by State agen- Dependent Children. Responsibilities for ad- cies over Federal regulations. Disillusioned by ministering the act rested with both the Com- mission of Education and State and local edu- ‘6tJ. S. Berke and M. Kirst, Federal Aid to Education: Who cation agencies. Benefik? Who Governs? (Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1972); F. M. Wirt and M. Kirst, The Politi”cd Web of American Schools The act was amended several times. The (Boston, Mass,: Little, Brown & Co., 1972); F. M. Wirt and M. supplemental enactments titles focused on the Kirst, The Political and Social Foundations of Education (Berke issues of Federal regulation and grants, assist- ley, Calif.: McCutchan Publishing Corp., 1972); and M. Kirst, “The Growth of Federal Influence in Education, ” in Uses of the Sociology of Education, C, Wayne Gordon (cd.) (The 73rd “F. J. Munger and R. F. Fenno, National Policies and Federal Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Aid to Education (Syracuse, N. Y.: Syracuse University Press, Part II) (Chicago: National Society for the Study of Education, 1962); and J. L. Jundquist, op. cit. 1974). Ch. 9—Federal Role in Education ● 157 their concerns, both its proponents and oppo- With the passage of education legislation in nents sought to amend the act. the 1960’s and 1970’s, the role of the Federal Government in education is, generally speak- The total funds allocated to federally spon- . — ing, fivefold: sored programs appear to be a sizable Federal investment in education ($8.8 billion in fiscal ● Promotion of equal opportunity as exem- year 1978-79). But when viewed as a propor- plified by ESEA, the Education Amend- tion of a State and local education budget, the ments of 1972, by grants and legislation Federal investment seems less significant. for the handicapped, by desegregation ef- Federal funds have accounted for between 6 forts and bilingual decisions, and by and 9 percent of State and local education others. budgets. Monetarily, then, this influence is rel- ● Innovation and stimulation of education atively small. reform through research grants, teacher training, vocational education, reading Concerns by local and State officials over improvement programs, and others. regulations designed to enforce provisions of ● Provision of grants in support of educa- the act have been extensive and numerous. tional research–the results of which could Many of the regulations resulted from the have broad applications in the Nation’s original complexity of ESEA and from the schools. need to target funds to discreet groups with ● Promotion of educational preparation for special needs. Concerns and fears relating to employment, which can be traced to the Federal control over State and local education Smith-Hughes Act of 1917. “The school’s programs have not been realized. This has re- potential contribution to economic pro- sulted from a combination of factors: the small ductivity was thus the first, and for a long investment in each program per community time, the only expressed national interest or per State by the Federal Government; staff- 17 in education. ’ ’ ing constraints at the Federal level, making ● Provision of limited funding targeting “control” or extensive influence difficult; pro- specific needs areas such as planning visions written into the act prohibiting such grants for management purposes on the authority; and, finally, State pressures against 16 State level, equalization reforms for State increased Federal influence. finance mechanisms, instructional equipment, and others. “M. Timpane (cd.), The Federal Interest in Financing School- ing (Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger, 1974). “Ibid.

The Courts and Education

As ESEA moved into the implementation and political issues and which the legislative phase, the educational debate moved into the and ‘executive branches of the government judicial arena. The courts have addressed nu- seem unwilling or unable to resolve. Although merous education-related issues ranging from lawyers and law courts in general possess no questions of student and teacher behavior to special expertise in educational matters, they those of access to educational resources. These have nonetheless been called upon to lend a helping hand with these school problems, issues, traditionally addressed on the State which are fundamentally a function of social and local level and more recently by Congress, change taking place in society over the past have now become the work of the courts. twenty years or more. 18 — —------The schools have been caught up in the “J. Hogan, “Law, Society and the Schools, ” in Uses of the %cio)ogy of Education, C. W. Gordon (cd.) (The 73rd Yearbook complex multiracial and ethnic societal prob- of Education, Part 111) (Chicago: National Society for the Study lems of our times which involve great moral of Education, 1974), p. 411. 158 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

The involvement of the courts in educational emerged. The courts have ruled, for example, issues can, from a historical perspective, be that there can be no direct aid to parochial divided into three phases. Prior to 1850, educa- schools, yet the States may lend textbooks to tional issues were considered by the judiciary these institutions. In addition, parents can be as State and local matters with no court role. reimbursed for transportation costs to paro- Between 1850 and 1950, the court maintained chial schools. With regard to principles of free this stance. When many parents brought cases speech, State laws requiring prayers in public before the courts, the courts usually found schools and those preventing the teaching of that the 10th amendment declared education the Darwinian theory of evolution in public to be a State and local responsibility. The third schools have been found to be unconstitu- stage, from 1950 to present, can be character- tional. Similarly, the courts have ruled that en- ized as one of active judicial involvement in forced pledging of allegiance or saluting the educational issues, particularly by the Supreme flag is in violation of the first amendment. In Court. During this period the courts were in- general, questions or issues that impose spe- volved in all aspects of education, including cific standards of conduct on students and administration, program development, and teachers have been found to be unconstitu- organization. tional. 19 Desegregation. –Court involvement in edu- Parental Right to Educate.–Another area cational matters began in 1954 with the land- of limited court involvement has been the mark Brown v. the Topeka Board of Educa- question of parental right to educate children tion decision. In the Brown case, the courts in the home. Since questions arise from State declared that schools that were deliberately to State as to the legality of home instruction, segregating children on the basis of race were most parents do not openly acknowledge re- inherently unequal and thus were creating a moving their children from the public school situation that was unacceptable. “Separate system for fear of reprisal from State agencies but equal” was found to constitute a violation and ensuing court actions. It is estimated that of the 14th amendment. This decision not only there are 1 million parents engaging in home paved the way for desegregating schools in the instruction. Thirty-two States now have legal South; it also opened up many other legal provisions for home instruction, but again, issues that are still being contested today. these vary from State to State. Nevertheless, the Brown decision did not truly State and Local Funding Mechanisms.– become effective until the passage of the Civil Nearly one-third of all State and local expendi- Rights Act of 1964. Since the Brown case, tures are education related. With increasing courts have addressed such questions as those pressures from the courts, from parents, from relating to church and state relations in the interest groups, and from the Federal Govern- schools, to free speech, to the financing of edu- ment to provide educational services, local dis- cation, to curriculum, and to student and tricts are reexamining the means by which teacher rights. Most of these cases focused on their programs are funded. School finance re- the first and 14th amendments. In general, the form comes at a time of declining enrollment courts held that State and local governments in many parts of the country and in a climate should retain their authority over most educa- of reduced funding both on the State level (tax- tional matters. payer revolts) and nationally, with budget re- Religion in the Schools.—In one major area ductions and challenges to the traditional of court involvement, church and state rela- means of funding-property taxes. A brief his- tions, the first and the 10th amendments have torical examination of funding mechanisms is been used to balance competing constitutional merited because funding reforms will affect questions. The courts have drawn a very fine the ability of State and local districts to in- line in their decisions regarding religious issues in education, and no clear pattern has *eIbid. Ch. 9—Federal Role in Education ● 159 troduce information technologies into their of heightened activity within the State legisla- schools. tures concerning school finance reform. The latter part of the decade was a time of court The educational structure in most North- interpretations of State laws as well as a time eastern States largely followed that of Massa- 20 of interpreting new legislative actions. chusetts, in which towns were divided into districts that retained responsibility over educa- More recently, cases before the courts have tional matters including school finance-a focused on financing mechanisms employed by practice that continued through the 18th cen- State and local governments for school dis- tury. In the early part of that century, North- tricts. A series of cases have challenged the ern States began to exercise minimal control means by which local communities finance over inspection, curriculum, and similar insti- educational services, specifically property tutional concerns. Increasing State involve- taxes. In 1971, the California Supreme Court ment gave rise to the growth of State boards struck down the State’s system of financing of education and, by the 19th century, the education in the Serrano decision. The court State exercised a good deal of control over found that the California system, because it educational matters through these boards. discrimin ated against those living in property- Throughout this time of expanded State juris- poor districts, violated the equal protection diction, financial control remained a local clause of both the U.S. and California constitu- responsibility. tions. In the Rodriguez v. San Antonio Inde- pendent School District, the U.S. Supreme The South, unlike the North, generally relied Court rejected claims similar to those in the heavily on the States for both administrative Serrano decision. In this instance, the court tasks and financial support. This practice be- declared that, although there was inequity in came widespread in the post-Civil War period, the financing system in this Texas district, at which time a system of State financing of there was “the absence of any evidence that local districts was firmly established. the financing system discriminates against In the 20th century with the rise of indus- any definable category of poor people or that trialization and increased urbanization, local- it results in the absolute deprivation of educa- ities turned more and more to the States for tion—the disadvantaged class is not suscepti- financial relief from the growing educational ble of identification in traditional terms.’’” burden. It became evident at this time, as in Although the Rodriguez decision found that many of the cases before the courts today, that Texas’ financing system was not unconstitu- there were wide discrepancies among districts tional, numerous cases before State courts con- on the amount of funds expended per child and tinue to challenge State financing systems. In per school. Some States did increase the fund- early 1981, 31 cases relating to Serrano issues ing allocations, though the impact was mini- were before the courts. The latest challenge, mal and inequities remained. in New York State, found that that State’s By the 1960’s, spending on elementary and financing system was, “constitutionally defi- secondary education was increasing at an an- cient” in that it discriminated against children nual rate of 10 percent, with enrollments grow- living in poor districts. Reliance on property ing by about 30 percent. In the 1970’s with taxes to raise educational revenues has lead the rapid decline in enrollments, court chal- to wide disparities in New York State. In the lenges to the finance systems, and pressures decision it was noted that, although education from taxpayers, made school finance reform is not a Federal constitutional right, nor “such become a topic of debate in most State legisla- a fundamental State constitutional right as to tures. Every State established commissions to examine the financing systems, and 18 ‘OW. N. Grubb and S. Michelson, States and Schools (Lexing- ton, Mass.: D. C. Heath, 1974). passed legislation to remedy recognized in- ~lD. L. K@ md M. G. Yudoff, Educational Poh”cy and the equities. Thus, the early 1970’s was a period Law(Berkeley, Calif.: McCurhan Publishing Corp., 1974), p. 587. 160 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

invoke special constitutional protection, it is fore, the equal protection requirement of the an interest of great State importance. ” There- State constitution was invoked.

Federal Role in Museums

Federal support of museums is very recent signed to provide funds for rent, heat, lights, and began with the creation of the National and the like to museums. This institute has Endowments for the Arts and for the Human- no funding support in the current fiscal year. ities in 1965. The first program grants to Another avenue for support of museum pro- museums were initiated in 1971 by the Na- grams, again in a limited fashion, is through tional Endowment for the Arts. The endow- the National Science Foundation, which allo- ments provide grants for projects or specific cates funds to science museums, though the endeavors. These funds may not be used for educational division funding has been cur- operational purposes to support general pro- tailed. grams. One of the most crucial forms of Federal sup- Federal support for the general operation of port, albeit indirect, is through gifts or dona- museums became available with the establish- tions to museums by individuals or corpora- ment of the Institute for Museum Services tions. Tax deductions, made possible through (IMS) in 1977. IMS, now within the Depart- legislation, provide important incentives for ment of Health and Human Services, is de- donors.

Federal Role in Libraries

Libraries began to receive significant library resources. As a result, libraries were amounts of Federal aid only in the 1960’s, established in the elementary schools in “ when the Federal Government undertook a many hundreds of cities and rural areas. major effort to provide services and opportu- ● The Higher Education Act of 1965. Title I nities to the disadvantaged members of soci- of this act specified that 22 percent of the ety. The major pieces of legislation that pro- funds provided be allocated for public com- vide for assistance to libraries include the fol- munity colleges and technical institutes. lowing.” Title II provided Federal assistance to college libraries. It authorized funds not only ● The Library Services and Construction Act for the purchase of books, periodicals, and (LSCA) of 1964. Replacing the Library Serv- other library materials, but also for library ices Act, this legislation provided a major training programs and for R&D for new impetus to the use of and interest in librar- ways to program, process, store, and dis- ies. Continually reauthorized since then, it tribute information. has served as one of the major channels ● The Federal Government has also provided through which the Federal Government has continued support to the Nation’ s-research provided assistance to libraries. libraries-the Library of Congress, the Na- ● The Elementary and Secondary Education tional Library of Medicine, and the National Act of 1965. Title II of this act authorized Library of Agriculture. $100 million to be spent by States for school The momentum that developed in the 1960’s 2ZV. H. Matthews, h“braries for Today and Tomorrow (Gar- in support of libraries began to wane in the den City, N. Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1976.) 1970’s. The Nixon administration eliminated Ch. 9—Federal Role in Education . 161 from its budget appropriations for all non-Fed- under the Education Consolidation and Im- eral libraries. The Carter budget for 1980 also provement Program. reduced library funding. It called for a $388 Notwithstanding these significant reduc- million reduction in Federal aid to schools and tions in the subsidies for libraries, the Federal libraries; it eliminated funds for college library Government continues to provide substantial resources, training, and demonstrations; and support, most of it channeled through State it significantly cut back funds for library serv- agencies. In fiscal year 1982, for example, total ices, interlibrary cooperation, and library ma- Federal appropriations for library services un- terials. Similarly, the Reagan administration’s der LSCA was $71,520,000, total appropria- proposals for libraries also call for greatly tions for libraries and instructional and total reduced funding. Funding, for example, under Federal appropriations under title II of the ESEA has been incorporated into block grants Higher Education Act were $8,568,000.

Effect of Federal Telecommunication Regulation and Legislation on Education

Regulations, statutes, and ordinances at all formulating national telecommunication three governmental levels have shaped the policy. growth and structure of the telecommunication industry and have significantly affected Governmental Control of the use of telecommunication technology by Telecommunication educators. A number of regulations have attempted to foster the application of com- Telecommunication is regulated at all three munication services to education directly (e.g., governmental levels. On the local level, pro- Federal Communication Commission (FCC) gramming options are weighed and decisions are rules governing instructional fixed television made. For example, Instructional Television systems). Fixed Service (ITFS) licenses are, by their very nature, confined to local delivery of informa- However, while the focus and legislative in- tion. Once FCC has granted an ITFS applica- tent of some regulations have been on the pro- tion, the local operator/licensee controls its vision of educational services, others have fo- programing input and the extent of its output. cused exclusively on telecommunication per se, States have the authority to regulate cable disregarding their potential effects on educa- franchising by local municipalities and to set tion. These latter regulations, although nec- up rate structures for the public utilities. Most essary to effect the provision of telecom- of the regulation of telecommunication, how- munication services, have inadvertently af- ever, takes place at the Federal level, and it fected the use of modern telecommunication is this level which is of primary interest here. technology for educational purposes by forcing educators to compete for its use with wealthier and more politically powerful in- Governmental Control terests. This situation has had a detrimental of Education effect on education by preventing and inhibiting educators from realizing the benefits Education is largely controlled at the local of this technology. It has become increasing- and State levels. At the local level, it is car- ly apparent that telecommunication regulators ried out primarily by local school boards; while must recognize the impacts of their decisions accreditation and licensure functions are per- on education and must begin to take into ac- formed at the State level. The State’s ex- count the interests and needs of education in clusive power over education derives from the 162 “ Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Reserved Powers Clause of the 10th amend- terstate commerce, in violation of the Com- ment.23 Thus, Federal laws relating to educa- merce Clause of the constitution.27 28 In other tion usually include a reference to the primacy words, can the several States constitutional- of the States.24 For example, the General ly control the delivery of multi-State educa- Education Provisions Act states that: “No tional services flowing into their borders or are provision of any applicable program shall be such services covered under this clause sub- construed to authorize any department, agen- ject to Federal control? The issue has not yet cy, officer or employee of the United States been resolved, but it is clear that in the near to exercise any direction, supervision, or con- future it will demand greater attention and will trol over the curriculum, program of instruc- require resolution by the courts.29 In the mean- tion, administration, or personnel of any edu- time, State licensing authorities are free to cational institution . . . "25 adopt discriminatory and protectionist regulations that have a potential chilling or in- The traditional role of the States in controll- hibitory effect on the provision and delivery ing education may, where telecommunication of educational programs and services. technology is concerned, run into direct conflict with Federal laws and Federal policy. Specifically, State educational policies con- The Federal Communication cerning telecommunication may conflict with Commission and Educational the interstate commerce powers of the Federal Telecommunication Services Government, the express provisions of the Communications Act, and the general princi- Various Federal rules and regulations gov- ples of the first amendment.26 For example, the erning telecommunication also affect educa- power of the States to control education is tional programs and services. Under the 1934 often exercised through the process of licen- Communications Act, FCC has jurisdiction to sure of educational institutions and services. allocate the broadcast spectrum among com- However, licensure requirements vary wide- munications services. In the past, the commis- ly from State to State. Thus, an institution sion has made several policy decisions direct- that seeks to offer programs, such as tele- ly intended to promote educational access to courses, on a regional or national basis must the broadcast spectrum. The clearest example deal with several different licensure statutes. was the commission’s reservation of 242 chan- The question then arises as to whether the nels in the very high frequency (VHF) and State receiving the service has jurisdiction to ultrahigh frequency (UHF) bands for educa- impose its licensure requirements on the of- tional use. In 1938, 1945, and 1952, respective fering institution, especially where the institu- ly, the commission announced that several tion has no other contacts within the State. radio and television channels were being reserved for the use of nonprofit educational The more fundamental issue, however, is whether these State licensure requirements “The Commerce Clause gives Congress the power to regulate operate to circumscribe various available serv- interstate commerce. U.S. Constitution, art. I, sec. 8, clause 3. ices and thus impose an undue burden on in- ‘EM. B. Goldstein, “Federal Policy Issues Affecting Instruc- tional Television at the Postsecondary Level,” Adult L.arning and PUM-C Broadcasting, report of a project conducted by the ‘gThe powers not delegated to the United States nor prohib- American Association of Community and Junior Colleges with ited by the Constitution to the States, are reserved to the States support from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary respectively, to the People. Education (FIPSE), 1980, p. 45. *’M. B. Goldstein, “State Licensure of Instructional Telecom- -s argument was recently raised in an action by Nova Uni- munications: An Overview of a Constitutional Problem, ” Tek+ versity, to prevent the State of North Carolina from regulating scan 1(3):3, January/February 1982. the offering of education services in that State when the degree “General Education Provision Ac& sec. 432, 20 U.S.C. sec. conferred was authorized by the school’s domicile State, Florida. 1232a). WhiIe the case was ultimately decided on narrow statutory “M. B. Goldstein, A Survey of Key Policy Issues Affwting grounds, the issue of State v. Federal powers was strongly enun- Higher Education and the Adult Learner, discussion draft pre ciated in the arguments put forth by both sides. Nova IJniver- pared for The Ace Commission on Higher Education and the sity v. University of IVorth Carolina No. 110A81, N. C,, Mar. Adult Learner, October 1981, p. 39. 3, 1982. Ch. 9—Federal Role in Education ● 163 organizations advancing an educational pur- nels were to be assigned to municipal or State pose. These decisions presaged the beginning governments for operation of a similar service, of educational or instructional television and Operational Fixed Service (OFS).31 directly provided for community educational Soon after ITFS was established, FCC re- programing. ceived many construction permit requests for The commission’s original intent in setting the use of its assigned channels. However, the aside these channels was to promote noncom- cost of the components necessary to operate mercial educational broadcasting. FCC took an ITFS system, (transmitters, receivers, a broad view of such broadcasting, and no pro- studio equipment, down converters, etc.), pre- gramming requirements were assigned to its invented most educational institutions from uti- structional and cultural components. It has lizing this technology. ITFS was thus installed been claimed that the failure to define the term and used predominantly by larger universities educational broadcasting more narrowly had, capable of affording it.32 Once installed, the in fact, the effect of diminishing the amount system was economical to operate. Currently, of instructional programing, which resulted in ITFS is being used to provide a variety of ed- a public broadcasting system that serves a ucational services, including adult and profes- wider audience.30 In the absence of a narrow- sional continuing education courses. Some uni- ly drafted set of regulations governing educa- versities, such as the University of Southern tional broadcasting, market forces took over California, use an ITFS system to transmit and influenced decisions on programing con- graduate engineering courses to nearby busi- tent by licensees and broadcasters. The pro- nesses and firms with staff engineers. The graming on the channels originally reserved future of this system and its use as an educa- for educational broadcasting became pre- tional tool is uncertain. dominantly cultural in content. In 1980, FCC began proceedings to reallocate the 31 channels in the 2500-to 2690-MHz Instructional Television frequency range, the assumption being that Fixed Services educators were not taking full advantage of the channels allocated to ITFS.33 Faced with The regulation of ITFS is a further illustra- an increasing demand and a growing number tion of the effect of regulation on the educa- of applicants for Multipoint Distribution Serv- tional use of telecommunication. ITFS is a ices (MDS) and Private Operational Fixed Mi- point-to-point communication system that can crowave Services (POFMS), FCC proposed to transmit up to four channels of programing redistribute these channels by allocating 10 at one time to predetermined reception points each to MDS and POFMS, leaving ITFS with located from 5 to 20 miles away. Therefore, it 34 the remaining 11. As satellite distribution of is a method of transmitting television signals programing made MDS more profitable and directly to the classroom. as the market demand for MDS grew and de- ITFS was established in 1963 when FCC veloped, FCC proposed to offer MDS opera- opened 31 channels in the 2500-to 2690-MHz tors use of part of the spectrum allocated to frequency range for this private distribution ITFS. Similarly, as business and industry system. It was intended to satisfy the need for found new uses for POFMS, demand for fre- a more economical and efficient means of dis- gloFs i9 finction~ly equiv~ent to ITFS. It is a short-range tributing high quality learning materials to private distribution service intended for governmental as opposed to instructional use. the classroom. In the 1970’s, FCC issued rules 3zAs of Jm. 1, 1981, there were 180 ITFS hCenSE@S in the and regulations that provided for the licens- United States, Television l%ctbook stations volume, 1981-82 ing of 28 of the 31 available channels to educa- ed. No. 50. tional institutions. The remaining three chan- “General docket Nos. 80-112; 80-113; 80-116. 34MDS is a common carrier service, delivering pay-m pro- 30S. A. Shorenstein, “Pulling the Plug on Instructional TV, ” @aming from a central transmitter to several lirwof-sight recep- Change, vol. 10, November 1978, p. 37. tion points. 164 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

quencies to operate this service has grown. In effect, another educational resource would Thus, FCC proposed to reduce the number of be reduced and replaced by services unlikely ITFS channels to make room for MDS and to be available for educational programing. POFMS systems. Here again, FCC had created by direct reg- Low-Power Television and ulation a system primarily for offering educa- Direct Broadcast Satellites tional programing. Yet, because of high in- While low-power television (LPTV) and di- stallation costs, along with budget cuts, ITFS rect broadcast satellite (DBS) systems may has not been used by most educational institu- become available for distributing educational tions. Although FCC has not yet acted on this programing, they are not equivalent substi- proposal, clearly a reduction in ITFS channels tutes for ITFS. LPTV applications will be will have an effect on cities like New York and granted on the basis of an available broadcast Los Angeles where ITFS is widely used. While spectrum, and educational institutions wish- it is possible that such large metropolitan ing to apply for such frequencies will have to areas, which have as many as 25 operational compete with other users for a frequency al- ITFS systems, may have to curtail their use location. In other words, allocation by FCC and reduce the number of educational services will occur entirely apart from the needs of the offered, it is more likely that FCC will “grand- educational community. In addition, although father” (allow them to continue under the new DBS service has the potential to reach nation- system) active channels as long as the present wide audiences, it is unclear whether DBS ap- licensees retain their control. Only assigned plicants will, in fact, transmit educational pro- but inactive ITFS channels would be reas- gramming to the public or whether educational signed for commercial spectrum use. A further institutions will be able to afford satellite time. consequence of the proposed cutback in ITFS The answer to these uncertainties will be channels is that it may affect the recent Public known in time if rules and regulations are Broadcasting Service (PBS) application for adopted to govern both LPTV and DBS sys- ITFS facilities. tems. Given the present emphasis on deregulation, it is unclear whether LPTV and DBS The Public Broadcasting will be regulated to provide educational Service services. PBS and its member public television sta- Cable Television tions have applied for ITFS channels to set up the National Narrowcast Service to extend Another area where telecommunication reg- their distribution of instructional, educational, ulation has affected education is illustrated by and cultural programing to meet specialized, cable television requirements. FCC rules orig- educational needs. The system is designed to inally required that all cable systems serving reach those who live where educational pro- more than 3,500 households provide oppor- graming is not readily available and to create tunities for “educational access with no cost a local means for expanding the educational for use of the system.’’” At present, only a few services offered by PBS stations. If FCC de- universities (e.g., Purdue and Oregon State cides to reallocate the ITFS frequencies, this University) use this resource. Furthermore, proposed service will be in jeopardy. With few- specialized, educational programing general- er ITFS channels available, PBS will have to ly comprises a very small part of cablecasters’ compete for channels with other educational offerings. The regulation of telecommunication users. While the FCC proposal will, if adopted, via cable is in transition. increase the number of channels available for s5The~ r~uirement9 have been overturned by the court% * commercial MDS and POFMS systems, it w-ill Midwest Video Corp. v. FCC 571 F. 2d 1025, 41 R.R. 2d 659 (8th Cir. 1978) (Midwest Video II), cert. granted, 47 U. S.L.W. also limit the availability of educational serv- 3187 (No. 77-1575). However they would be reinstated to some ices to the community through ITFS systems. extent by the passage of S. 2172. Ch. 9—Federal Role in Education ● 165

Telecommunication Legislation although dealing with telecommunication, and Educational Services could indirectly set a precedent regarding the provision of educational services. For exam- The Senate Commerce Committee has re- ple, a bill introduced by the House Subcom- cently introduced a bill to move primary mittee on Telecommunications, Consumer Pro- jurisdiction over cable regulation from the tection, and Finance, which revises and up- cities and States to FCC.36 The bill also re- dates title II of the 1934 Communications Act quires that cable systems with more than 20 governing the provision of telephone and tele- channels dedicate 10 percent of such channels communication services, may have important for use by public, educational, and governmen- implications in the educational arena.40 Access tal programers and 10 percent to leased chan- provisions under the proposed legislation may nel programers, all on a first-come, first- affect the costs of interconnections for home served, nondiscriminatory basis.37 This bill computers. This, in turn, could affect the de- represents one of many congressional efforts mand for such terminals. Similarly, issues of to revise telecommunication regulations and maintenance, ownership, and technical grades set national telecommunication policy. Al- of lines and wiring may affect the quality of though this legislation explicitly provides for data communication and ultimately the supply educational programing, other bills, such as of information for educational purposes. These those dealing with revision of the 1934 Com- issues need to be considered by legislators in munications Act, often do not address educa- their efforts both to rewrite the 1934 Com- tional interests. Such congressional con- munications Act and to set national telecom- sideration is necessary to ensure the low-cost munication policy. availability of telecommunication services to educators in both the public and private As the foregoing discussion has shown, tele- sector. 38 communication regulation often indirectly discriminates against educational services by As with FCC regulation, telecommunication overlooking the stake educators and institu- legislation may have both a direct and indirect tions have in telecommunication resources. An effect on the means by which educational serv- issue entirely separate from that of telecom- ices are provided and on the ability of edu- munication legislation and its effect on educa- cators to utilize telecommunication for dissem- tion, however, is the issue of Federal regula- inating educational materials. Legislation can tion of education and its effect on the use of affect the cost of interconnections, the means telecommunication. Although warranting of delivering services, and the nature of educa- more consideration, it can only be dealt with tional programing. briefly here. Congress has directly influenced the man- The clearest example of how educational reg- ner and scope by which educational services ulations can have a chilling affect on the edu- are provided both in approving appropriations cational use of telecommunication is a Vet- for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting erans Administration rule restricting and pro- (CPB) and by enacting legislation like the hibiting reimbursement and educational bene- Public Telecommunications Financing Act.39 fits to veterans for curricula that use courses Congress has also proposed legislation which, taught via television and radio. While the ra- —— tionale behind this regulation may have been 3“’Where Things Stand, ” Broadcasting, Apr. 5, 1982, p. 26. to prevent veterans from claiming credit for ‘“U.S. Congress, Senate, A Bill To Amend the Communica- sham courses, it clearly discriminates against tions Act of 1934, S. 2172, 97th Cong., 2d sess., 1982. 38A, B. Shostak, “The Coming Systems Break: Technology technology-based delivery systems and hence and Schools of the Future, ” f%” Delta Kappan, vol. 62, January can be deemed overbroad. Less restrictive al- 1981, p. 359. 3’U. S. Congress, Public Telecommunications Financing Act, ‘“U.S. Congress, House, A Bill To Amend the Communica- Public Telecommunications Financing Act, Public Law 95-567, tions Act of 1934 to Re\’ise Pro\’ isions of the Act Relating to 95th Cong., Nov. 2, 1978. Telecommunications, H.R. 5158, 97th Cong., 1st sess., 1981. 166 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

ternatives must be found to meet the Veterans nication policy, the interests of educators must Administration’s proper concern without com- be weighed and considered in drafting Federal promising and discriminating against telecom- regulations. munication technology .41 As with telecommu- 4’Goldstein, op. cit., 1980, p. 42.

The Protection of Information Software: An Overview

In recent years, the software industry has rights.45 None of these, however, provides a been plagued by an everincreasing incidence well-defined, reliable form of protection for of piracy .42 43 As software costs have risen, in- novel developments in software.46 The law formal duplication of programs has increased regarding software protection in each case is and has held down revenues for software pub- hazy and complicated and still in the early lishers.44 Similarly, piracy via illegal duplica- stages of development. Thus, it may be nec- tion and distribution has diminished incen- essary to use several methods simultaneous- tives for software producers to further devel- ly, with or without technological protection, opment of novel and innovative software pack- to achieve maximum legal protection for cer- ages, particularly for educational use. Al- tain software. While copyrights and trade though technological solutions are being de- secrets are the most widely used and ad- vised to prevent piracy, various legal methods vocated forms of protection, each of the five for protecting computer software from illicit methods can afford some degree of security misappropriation are the focus here. against unauthorized reproduction of costly and innovative software. Given the fact that for the present, at least, piracy does and will occur, the question to be resolved is how to protect the software pro- Types of Software ducer or proprietor from infringement of his All computer software has three basic com- creative property rights. Such protection is ponents. These are the supporting documen- necessary to ensure that adequate incentives tation, including manuals and flow charts; the exist for development of innovative software, algorithm or process, i.e., the underlying ideas to protect the considerable investments in its or information implemented in the software; development, and to preserve legal means for and the program or data base itself. public access to creative works. The program itself is embodied either in There are five currently legal methods that human readable form, such as listings, or in can be used to protect computer software: computer readable form, such as magnetic trade secret protection, trademarks, patents, tapes, disks, or paper punch cards. These the doctrine of unfair competition, and copy- distinctions are important, because the utility of the various methods of legal protection 4~he term software is meant to include any programs and may differ depending on the type of software data bases designed to be used on computers, video disks, cable, etc. “It should be noted that there is a diversity of views as to 4SD. U. Gagliardi, “Software: What Is It, ” APLA Quarterly what forms of legal protection are currently available and what Journal 8(3), 1980, p. 239. forms should be available in the future for software products. 44When programs are copied without permission, publishers Not all legal scholars agree that the five methods surveyed here do not receive royalties for their use and their profits are thereby are available or should be used for protection. reduced. See “Trends in Personal Computer Software Publish- “H. Levine and A. E, Hall, “Computer Software Protection ing,” A Research Memorandum, LINK, NRM, vol. 2, No. 10, and Licensing, ” a paper presented at the Second Annual Talmis August 1981. Conference, Chicago, Feb. 28, 1982. Ch. 9—Federal Role in Education ● 167 component and the formal representation in- tions to limit its proliferation. The second re- volved in a particular case. quirement for trade secrets to exist is novelty—i.e., where the subject matter is un- In addition to the three software com- 49 known to the general public and the trade. ponents, computer programs can be broken down into three formats or formal represen- Beyond these two formal requirements for tations: the source code, the linkable formats, trade secrecy, the courts have placed some and the object code. reliance on economic criteria in determining whether a protectable trade secret exists. The The source code, or “the code at its source, ” amount of money or labor expended in devel- is a computer program written in a high-level oping information and the value of the infor- (computer) language. This representation is mation itself are factors which courts might the easiest to read and comprehend and hence consider in making this determination. to pirate, modify, and expand. The linkable format results from the processing of the source It is well established that computer pro- code by the computer’s compiler or program grams and certain program materials are pro- converter. At such a level, it is more difficult tectable as trade secrets through civil and to reconstruct and, hence, to appropriate. The criminal enforcement actions. However, the object code results from loading the linkable boundaries of trade secret protection for soft- format into the computer in a form that it can ware are unclear. Some courts have protected execute. In this format, the program’s under- algorithms along with the computer programs, lying concepts are the most difficult to assim- while others have declined to extend protec- ilate, comprehend, and appropriate. tion to “general information.”50 The nature of the software, the circumstances of the taking, Legal Protection for Software and the intent of the taker can each influence a court’s determination regarding trade secret Trade Secret Protection protection. Trade secrets are defined as formulas, proc- In deciding whether to utilize trade secret esses, mechanisms, compounds, or compila- protection for certain software, a proprietor tions of data not patented but known only by or marketer considers the following draw- certain individuals using them in business to backs. First, trade secrecy can be easily lost. obtain a commercial advantage.47 The classic If a secret becomes widely disseminated, the and most widely cited example of a trade software protected may become part of the secret is the Coca-Cola formula, which is public domain and thus no longer eligible for known only to certain select Coca-Cola person- trade secret protection. Thus, trade secrecy 48 nel and has never been patented. may be difficult to maintain where public sales For a trade secret to exist and be enforced, or large-scale marketing of software is con- several requirements must be met. The first templated. Trade secrets can also be lost by is secrecy; a bona fide secret must exist and carelessness, by intentional or negligent must be contained within the business of a par- breach of contract, or by discovery and dis- ticular enterprise. Thus, those who are privy closure by competitors, e.g., reverse engineer- to the secret must be under a duty not to ing and subsequent disclosure. The courts are disclose it. This situation is generally achieved split as to whether trade secret protection is - by a confidential disclosure agreement or con- 49 Novelty for Puwoges of trade secret law k a relative con tract between the proprietor or software mar- cept unlike novelty for purposes of patent protection. In the keter and his employees, contractors, li- latter case, novelty is absolute; D. Bender, “Trade Secret Soft- ware Protection, ” APLA Quarterly Journal vol. v, No. 1, 1977, censees, or leasees. The contract may require p. 51. It should be noted that novelty is not required by all those with access to the software to take ac- States. See R. Milgrim, Trade Secrets, SS 2.03, 2.08(2), 1979. ‘“R. Smith and E. R. Yoches, “Legal Protection of Software “likstatxxnent of Torts, SS 757, Comment (b), 1939. Via Trade Secrets, ” APLA Quarterly Journal vol. 8, No. 3, 48LINK, op. cit., p. 18. 1980, p. 240-241. 168 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

lost where software is appropriated by tion by another. However, trademarks can memory. The majority rule is that trade serve as a complement to other methods of secrecy does protect against appropriation by protecting the concepts contained in computer memory .51 Similarly, there is some debate programs. Computer program trademarks can about whether trade secrecy is lost where a protect important proprietary interests in soft- software proprietor registers his software for ware by preventing software competitors from copyright protection. The issue here is whether using the same or similar marks on their such registration constitutes publication and programs. hence destroys any legal claim under the trade 52 The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has secret method of protection. recognized for some time that computer pro- In addition, trade secret protection, like the grams are “goods” within the purview of the law of contracts and unlike copyrights or Trademark Statute.55 Thus, a trademark on an patents, is controlled by State statute or com- item of software represents and is identified mon law, as distinguished from Federal stat- by the public with the goodwill and reputation utory law. Thus, protection for trade secrets of the business that produced it. If the manu- differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In facturer’s reputation is good, consumers may order to maximize his protection, a manufac- tend to buy software based on the strength turer or licenser may wish to seek an addi- of the mark, even though competing products tional mode of protection, such as copyright, may perform as well. Whether the strength of to ensure uniform legal treatment of his soft- mark will be the sole criteria used by con- ware. Trade secret protection alone, however, sumers in selecting software, or whether the can provide a fairly reliable and economic capabilities of various programs will also be means of shielding software innovation. taken into account in making a selection, is an open question. In either case, though, con- Trademark Protection sumers will probably place some reliance on the source of quality control identified through Trademarks generally include “any word, 56 the trademark. In this manner, trademarks name, symbol, or device or any combination provide a relatively inexpensive and simple thereof adopted and used by a manufacturer means to protect indirectly computer pro- or merchant to identify his goods and dis- grams. tinguish them from those manufactured or sold by others. “53 While they are used exten- Patent Protection sively to protect product names, they have been used only in a relatively minor manner At present, there is much uncertainty about to protect computer software. The reason for the applicability of title 35 of the United this is that in the past computer software has States Code (patents) to computer software. had a relatively short life, and thus there was The case law is inconsistent and confusing, no basis on which to build a proper trademark. and no clear-cut consensus has been reached. The current trend of “longer life” computer In addition, to the extent that some patent programs may no longer sustain this reason- protection for software is available, it would ing.54 In addition, trademarks do not directly apply only to protect the programmable proc- protect the contents of the software from ess embodied in computer programs.57 Thus, unauthorized use, appropriation, or duplica- patent protection for software is often difficult to obtain except in conjunction with a patent- 5] Turner, The Law of Trade Secrets 169, 171, 1962. “In a recent case, the court held that this was a question of “The Lanham ACL 15 U.S.C. SS 1051 et seq. fact and not a question of law. Barrington Associates, k. v. ~dwhit,e, op. cit., p. 280. In addition, although service marks Real-7%ne Engineering Associates, Inc, 522 F. Supp. 367 (N.D. could also be included here, they are beyond the scope of this Ill., 1981). brief overview and hence excluded from the discussion of trade “The Lanhaxn Act of 1946, 15 U.S.C. SS 1127. marks. ‘W. G. White, “Trademark Protection of Computer Software,” “Bender, op. cit., p. 67. See also Diamond v. Diehr and Dia- APLA Quarterly Journa~ vol. 8, No. 3, 1980, p. 281. mond v. Bradley, footnote 15. Ch. 9—Federal Role in Education w 169 able piece of computer hardware. Given the un- statutory claim does not become nonstatutory predictable nature of software patent law and simply because it uses a mathematical for- the relatively high cost of securing patent pro- mula, computer program, or digital compu- tection, a software owner may therefore wish ter.” Currently, the law seems to be that to seek other available methods of legal pro- algorithms or methods of calculation in the tection for his works. Once clarified, though, abstract, like the laws of nature, are not patent protection for certain software may statutory subject matter. However, claims prove to be superior to other legal methods. reciting algorithms or formulas, or presumably computer programs that implement or apply There are several reasons why patent pro- those formulas in a structure or process (e.g., tection may be preferable to other legal transforming an article from one state or thing safeguards of software innovation. One is that to another), are statutory within the meaning patent protection is very broad in scope. A pa- 62 of the patent law. tent provides its owner with the exclusive right to the inventive work for 17 years. Thus, If certain software is found to be statutory he has the right to exclude others from mak- then it must also meet four conditions to be ing, using, or selling that work. Infringement found patentable: novelty, utility, nonob- occurs when either the work is copied or it has viousness, and adequacy of disclosure.63 been independently developed. Another reason Numerous programs should meet these re- is that patents protect the underlying ideas quirements. However, many others may im- or concepts of a computer program, not merely plement an obvious process in an obvious way the expression of a program, as copyrights do. and are valuable solely because of the man Thus, while an adaption of a program for use hours saved to achieve the result.” They in a different computer may not be a copyright would, thus, be ineligible for patent protection. violation, it could be found to be a patent The problem then lies in the definition of “ob- infringement. piousness. ” So far, there is no clear consensus about the appropriate standard or test to be The issues concerning the patentability of applied to determine if a claim meets the non- software are twofold. The first problem is obviousness condition. Judicial or legislative whether software is statutory or within the clarification is necessary before the patent- categories of innovations and discoveries ability of certain software can be determined which may be patentable. The law is that an with any degree of certainty. invention is patentable if it consists of ‘‘any new and useful process, machine, manufac- It should be noted that the patentability of ture, or composition of matter, or any new and computer programs may also depend on the useful improvement thereof. "58 Abstract ideas, subjective application of Patent Office guide- laws of nature, and physical phenomena are lines by patent examiners, and ultimately on excluded from patent protection.59 The ques- the manner in which patent applications are tion is, do computer programs fall under any drafted. Future clarification of the boundaries of the categories of patentable inventions? The of software and computer program protection, answer is that they may, if patentable, fall into however, awaits the outcome of further litiga- the categories of processes, machines, or man- tion. ufactures. Several recent cases have overturned the courts’ previous reluctance to hold software TWO recent 60 198 U. S.P.Q. 193 (1978). decisions indicating that patentable. Thus, the court has held that a patent protection may be available for computer software are: Diamond v, Diehr, 450 U.S. 175, 209 U. S.P,Q. 1 (1981); and Dia- 5’35 U.s.c. Ss 101. mond v. Bradley, 450 U.S. 381, 209 U. S.P.Q. 97 (1981). “Diamond v. Diehr, 450 U.S. 175, 209 U. S.P.Q. 1, 7 (1981). “Diamond v. Diehr, op. cit. ‘“Earlier landmark cases include: Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 oZLevine ad Hall, Op. Cit., p. 19. U.S. 63, 175 U. S.P.Q. 673 (1972); Dam v. Johnston, 425 U.S. 6335 U.s.c. 101, 102, 103, 112 (1979). 219, 189 U. S.P.Q. 257 (1976); Parker v. Flook+ 437 U.S. 584, “Bender, op. cit., p. 67-68. 170 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Protection Under the Law of Copyright Protection Unfair Competition By far, the fastest growing legal mechanism Original software (both source and object of software protection is the copyright law. It code), computer programs, and data bases is now well settled that copyright law is may be protected by the law of unfair competi- available as a method for protecting software tion. Evolving from the landmark case of In- and computer programs. The question to be ternational News Service (INS) v. Associated resolved, however, is the scope of the protec- Press,65 the law protects the originator against tion to be accorded computer programs by this misappropriation by competitors of his work body of law. product and his investment capital risks. The rationale for the doctrine lies in the equity The Copyright Act of 1976 protects original court philosophy of preventing and mitigat- works of authorship fixed in any tangible ing unjust enrichment. Until recently, how- medium of expression from which they can be ever, the courts tended to limit the application perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of of the unfair competition doctrine to the facts 68 in the INS case. In one recent case, the courts a machine or device. Computer programs and data bases, to the extent that they incorporate stated that a valid, unfair competition claim had been advanced where, for commercial ad- authorship in the expression of original ideas vantage, a competitor had misappropriated as opposed to the ideas themselves, fall within the category of “literary works, ” and thus the benefits and property rights of and had ex- 69 ploited his business values.66 Similarly, where within the subject matter of copyright. The reproductions of original recordings were actual processes or methods embodied in a computer program, however, are not within pirated and marketed under a different label, 70 another court upheld the plaintiff unfair com- the scope of the copyright law. petition claim.67 In 1980, the Computer Software Copyright 71 While the doctrine has had an underlying ef- Act was passed by Congress. Incorporating fect in cases dealing with unauthorized ap- the recommendations of the national Commis- propriation of data bases, today it is becom- sion on New Technological Uses of Copy- ing grounds for equitable relief on its own righted Works, the act revised section 117 of merits. Therefore, it may be possible to bring the 1976 Copyright Act dealing with rights in conjunction with computers and information a valid cause of action based on the common 72 systems. The new section 117 dispelled all law right against unfair competition where a competitor copies and sells another’s software doubts concerning the copyrightability of com- for profit. This method of software protection puter programs and made it clear that the may be of benefit to proprietors who seek to reproduction or adaption of computer pro- protect both source and object codes. The law grams would constitute acts of infringement. of unfair competition would most likely make The act also created an important exemption no distinction between the two for purposes for the input or reproduction of computer proof protection. However, it should be borne in grams from copies which are sold. mind that unfair competition is a common law The courts have not reached agreement on doctrine and thus may vary from State to the limits of computer software copyright pro- State. tection. For example, there is still much debate

“17 U.S.C. SS 102(a). ebl~~matjona] NeWS service V. Associated Press, 248 U.S. q 7 U.S. C. SS 101(a). U.S. House of Representatives Report 215, 39 S. Ct. 68 (1918). 94-1476, 94th Cong., 2d sess., p. 54. ‘Data Cash System.sj Inc v. JS&A Group, Inc, 480 F. Suppl. 7017 U.S.C. SS 102(b). 1063 (N.D. Ill., 1979), aff’d on other grounds, 628 F. 2d 1038 “Ckmputer Software Copyright Act of 1980, Dec. 12, 1980, (7th Cir. 1980). Public Law 96-517, sec. 10. z 137A&M &ords, Inc., et aL v. M. M. C. Distributing &rp., ‘ Final R&port of the National timmission on New Techno et aL, 197 U. S.P.Q. 598 (Sixth Cir., CA) (1978). logical Uses of Copyrighted Works, July 31, 1978. Ch. 9—Federal Role in Education ● 171 as to whether object codes can be protected puter program, ” provided that the copy or by copyright law. In order to be accorded the adaption “is created as an essential step in the protection of the copyright laws, a computer utilization of the computer program in con- program must be “an original work of author- junction with a machine.”77 It is important to ship. ’73 Clearly, if a programer is the note, however, that this exemption only ap- “originator” of a source code, than he qualifies plies to copies of computer programs that are as an “author” within the meaning of the sold. Thus, if a copyright owner chooses to copyright law. However, the case law is still make the program available only by lease or developing on whether this source code by license arrangement, copying is permitted authorship is preserved in the object code. only under the terms and conditions specified Since the object code can be viewed as being by the copyright owner. Otherwise, computer physically produced by a machine, the ques- input can constitute infringement. tion arises as to whether the object code is an Another troublesome area concerns the expression of authorship or merely a utili- copyrightability of video software. Copyright tarian work outside the scope of copyright pro- protects only the expression of original works tection. Only original expressions of author- of authorship, not the ideas, methodology, or ship, ‘‘writings, are protected by copyright processes embodied in the software or adopted law. There is little doubt that source codes are by the programer. Thus, copyright law pro- writings within the purview of the copyright tects the audiovisual aspects of video software statute, but the status of object codes is not 74 75 as a display, but does not protect the underly- so clear. ing “idea” itself. Protecting the expression of Other issues associated with the copyright- a game program may necessarily also protect ability of computer software are preemption the system or process embodied in the game of trade secret protection and the meaning of program or video display, a result violating the “substantial similarity, ” (necessary for principles of the copyright law.78 Thus, man- copyright infringement) in the computer con- ufacturers of video games may protect the text.76 In addition, problems with computer visual display of their software by registering software copyright protection arise because a videotape of their screens with the Copyright the act of copying is incidental to use of a com- Office. While registration is not a condition of puter program. In other words, computer in- copyright protection, it is a formality related put (i.e., of a program) constitutes the mak- to the ability to sue for infringement. Manu- ing of a copy and is thus a potential infringe- facturers of videogames, however, cannot ment of copyright. The 1980 amendment to preempt others from manufacturing and dis- section 117 of the Copyright Act remedied this tributing games utilizing the same inherent problem by providing that it was not an in- ideas (e.g., mazes and dot gobblers) regardless fringement for an owner of a copy of a com- of how inextricably linked they are to the pro- puter program “to make or authorize the mak- gram’s original expression. In those cases ing of another copy or adaption of that com- where an injunction has been sought against distribution of allegedly similar games, it is TS17 u.s. c. ss 102(a). not clear whether the courts relied on the doc- “For illustration of this conflict see: Data Cash systems, kc. v. JS&A Group Inc., et al, 480 F. Suppl. 1063 (N.D. Ill. 1979), trine of unfair competition or on copyright law aff’d on other grounds, 628 F. 2d 1038 (7th Cir. 1980); Tandy in granting the requested relief. Although the Corp. v. Persona/Microcomputers, k,, 524 F. Suppl. 171 (N.D. courts apparently applied copyright law in CA 1981). And more generally, Gokktein v. California 412 U.S. these cases, they may have been influenced by 546 (1973). 79 ‘SD. T. Brooks and M. S. Keplinger, Cbmputer Programs and unfair competition principles. Data Bases: Perfmting, Protecting and Licensing Proprietary Rights After the 1980 Copyright Amendments, Law & Busi- 7’17 U.s.c. Ss 117(1). ness, Inc., Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers (1981). “Matthew Bender, Nimmer on Copyrights, sec. 2.18(J) and ‘Thus, would translation of a program from Fortran to Basic 8.08 (1980). bean infringement? Or, how much retrieval of a work from the ‘Wee Stern Electronics, Inc. v. Kaufman, 213 U. S.P.Q. 75 computer is necessary to constitute substantial similarity? (E.D. N. Y., 1981), aff’d — F. 2d. — (2d Cir., filed 1/20/82). 172 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

The most that can be said with certainty is tional programs broadcast while they are in that some aspects of computer software can school. be legally protected via copyright. Programs Although a legislative solution to the Beta- tangibly fixed in books, catalogs, and instruc- max debate is being sought by many in- tion manuals are subject matter of copyright. terested parties, educational groups are con- Programs fixed on cards or magnetic disks cerned both that the type of programing soft- that can be perceived directly or otherwise ware currently being broadcast and the cost communicated, e.g., by means of a computer of video cassette recorders may change (with print-out or terminal, are protectable under the 80 or without royalty assessments) as a result of copyright law. Other software, including ob- 83 the present controversy . Thus, one major ject codes, may or may not be within the pur- concern is that schools that now buy video view of the copyright law. Future develop- cassette recorders and use videotaped pro- ments both in Congress and in the courts will grams in the classroom may no longer be able hopefully resolve the issues relating to this to afford them. Also, education groups spec- body of law. ulate that advertisers may support fewer over- Another issue relating to audiovisual soft- the-air educational programs as a result of ware is that of copyright and home recording. advertisement deletion by video cassette The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Cir- recorder owners. Although these problems re- cuit held in Universal City Studios v. Sony main to be resolved by the legislature and the Corp. (the Betamax case) that home videotape courts, it is clear that producers of educational recording of over-the-air copyrighted television program software will be affected by the pres- programs violates the Federal copyright law.81 ent taping/copyright controversy. As with While the Court’s decision will be reviewed by computer software, the law of copyright in the U.S. Supreme Court next term, the Ninth relation to audiovisual software is uncertain Circuit Court ruled that home video taping for and still developing. 84 However, as demon- private, noncommercial use was not a “fair strated by the Betamax case, copyright is a use” under the 1976 Copyright Act.82 Further- viable and reliable means of protecting both more, the court held that manufacturers, re- computer and audiovisual software. tailers, distributors and advertising agents for video cassette recorders could be held “con- Legal Protection: Issues and tributorily liable” for this infringement. Educational Options While the decision has raised considerable It is clear that all five legal mechanisms for debate concerning the rights of program pro- safeguarding software offer some degree of ducers to control the use of their productions protection against misappropriation and and the rights of consumers to utilize new piracy. Each method of software protection home electronics, it may also have an impact has different remedies for discouraging piracy on the educational community. Thus, the ed- —— ucational community, and more specifically s91n fact, there me sever~ pending pieces of legislation de~- Action for Children’s Television (ACT), has re- ing with this issue: H.R. 4808 (10/21/81). These bills would ex- quested congressional legislation designed to empt private home recording of TV programs from copyright permit home recording of television programs laws, but would not preclude later legislation to establish a royalty fee assessed against recorders. for education use. They argue that home tap- 840n Oct. 14, 1981, Rep. Robert Kastenmeier (D-Wis.), Chair ing would permit children to watch educa- of the House Judiciary Committee on Courts, Civil Liberties, and the Administration of Justice, inserted guidelines for off- air taping of copyrighted works for educational use in the Con- ‘ONicholas Prasinos, “Legal Protection of Software Via Copy- gressional Record. These guidelines were the result of a nego- right, ” APLA Quarterly Journal vol. 8, No. 3, 1980, p. 257. tiated agreement between education groups, the broadcast in- “Universal City Studios v. Sony Corp., 659 F. 2d 963 (9th dustry, copyright owners, and industry guilds and unions. The Cir. 1981). The Supreme Court has recently granted certiorari guidelines allow fair classroom use of videotaped TV programs to review the decision of the Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. within specific time limits without infringing the rights of copy- ‘zFair use is codified in 17 U.S.C. SS 107. right owners. Ch. 9—Federal Role in Education ● 173 and punishing infringement. For example, in- ty to utilize and purchase new electronic hard- junctive relief is available with all five legal ware. Educators need to know their legal methods. However, destruction of infringing rights and obligations, and manufacturers copies and continuing royalties are available want to ensure effective protection for their only for copyright infringement. Similarly, software. Thus, it is necessary to answer sev- treble, punitive, and statutory damages are eral questions such as: - available only for copyright, patent, and trade- ● How should software be protected while mark infringement. In addition, even where recognizing the competing interests of monetary and injunctive relief is available, the groups who use software or benefit from type of infringement (e.g., copyright, trade its use? secret), may influence the way a court applies ● How can piracy and the various types of these remedies. misappropriation of software be better Each method of software protection also has dealt With?*’ its advantages and disadvantages and its legal ● How can the incentives be increased for uncertainties. Many of the still unresolved software innovation, especially educa- legal issues stem from the fact that the pri- tional software, when protection entails mary intent of intellectual property law pro- costly judicial remedies? tection of software is to reward and encourage software creation and innovation, not primari- While it may take some time before intellec- ly to punish copyists.” Yet, as software in- tual property law protection of software is novation becomes more costly and piracy more clarified, education groups have been involved rampant, software manufacturers seek solu- in the process. They have proposed that new, tions to legal problems and achievement of uniform legislation dealing only with software both purposes of copyright, patent, trade be enacted. Alternatively, they have proposed secret, trademark, and unfair competition law. that legislation exempting the educational It is hoped that in the next decade, the courts community from liability for use of copy- and Congress will provide software manufac- righted materials be adopted. They have con- turers with reliable methods of protecting sidered bringing test cases into the courts their valuable investments in software. Al- against pirates of educational software on one though test cases are themselves costly and or several of the grounds of protection outlined time-consuming, the benefits to be reaped by herein. While it is clear that the economic and an entire industry may outweigh the economic social stakes are high, these efforts by the burdens. educational community are aimed at clarify- ing the software protection laws for the benefit Clearly, the outcome of many of these issues of all software publishers and users. will affect the educational community’s abili- ‘5R. A. Stern, ‘(What Should Be Done About Software Pro- tection?” European Intellectual Property Review, vol. 3, No. 12, 1981, p. 341. “Ibid, p. 340, 174 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Appendix

“ Title I: “To provide financial assistance . . . to “ Title III: Provision of grants by the Office of local educational agencies serving areas with Education with concurrence by the State Edu- concentrations of children from low-income fam- cational Agencies for projects to encourage edu- ilies to expand to improve their educational pro- cational innovation. Such projects included spe- grams (to meet) the special educational needs cial education centers, instructional equipment, of educationally deprived children” (Public Law guidance counseling, and similar services. 89-10, title I). ● Title IV: Provision of grants to conduct educa- ● Title II: Provision of grants to public and pri- tional research. vate schools for school library resources, text- ● TitleV: Provision of grants to State agencies books, and instructional materials, based on to- to strengthen planning, administration, and dis- tal school enrollments. Those materials used in semination of statewide educational data at the the public schools required prior approval. Also State agency level. those States, with laws prohibiting involvement “ Title VI: Placed a restrictive clause on Federal with parochial schools, required the ESEA pro- involvement in State and local education programs to be administered by the Commissioner grams, specifically over curriculum, personnel, of Education. instructional materials, and administration. Chapter 10 Implications for Policy The new information technologies offer a promising mechanism for responding to the many challenges facing American education. How they will be applied will be determined, in part, by governmental policies Chapter 10 Implications for Policy

Whether or not the new information technol- ● producers of curriculum, and ogies fulfill their educational potential will de- ● employers. pend, in part, on the kinds of actions that the Federal Government takes to assure that Legislation could be addressed specifically these technologies are used effectively and are at any of these groups-direct funding for made accessible to all. OTA has identified sev- schools to purchase technology, support for eral areas where it may be appropriate for the students taking technology-based education, Federal Government to play an active role tax writeoffs or subsidies for donations of in its development. Anticipating structural technology and services, support for the devel- changes in the economy and the growing need opment of curricula, or incentives for employ- for a highly literate and technically trained ers to provide job training. work force, Congress might wish to encourage In turn, all of these groups, and their poten- the greater use of educational technologies for tial use of technology, will be influenced by the manpower training and retraining. Recogniz- shape of education policy. Decisions made by ing the educational benefits that can be de- Congress will determine the roles various insti- rived from the use of information technologies, tutions will play in the education system of Congress might take steps to assure that the the future. They will determine which options public has equitable access to them. Aware of for education and training are available to citi- the powerful nature of the technology, Con- zens, as well as which citizens will have access gress might take some actions to encourage to them. The information industry may also their effective development and use. be affected. Policy will influence industry deci- Directly or indirectly, Federal policy to en- sions about what technology and services to courage the use of educational technology develop and market to schools. It will affect would influence a number of stakeholders, whether curriculum producers will develop high-quality, technology-based material. Final- among them: ly, policy may influence the nature and level c institutions that provide education and of skills that employees bring to their jobs and training, the choices employers will make about in- s clients for educational services, house training and retraining. c producers of hardware and providers of information services,

Arguments for Federal Action

Arguments in favor of adopting a policy in be retrainable, the entering work force must support of educational technology are based first be educated to a high level of basic and on the premise that the changes in American technological literacy. There will also be a high society are creating new requirements for edu- and growing demand for scientific and techni- cation and training. They are based, in particu- cal experts. lar, on the view that computer-based automation in the manufacturing and service sectors It appears that the educational system as will require workers who have new skills and it is currently structured and operating will who can be continually retrained as changes be unable to fill these needs. Many public occur and new technologies are adopted. To schools face problems such as decreasing tax-

177 178 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

payer support and a decline in the quality of ment opportunities and could lead to greater entrants into the teaching profession. While disillusionment with, and thus loss of support new commercial educational institutions may for, the public schools. Most importantly, it emerge to provide necessary educational serv- could result in substantial inequities in the ices, their existence may present a serious way that educational services are distributed. challenge to nonprofit and publicly funded schools. In making decisions about education- Some experts think that the development of al technologies, Congress may want to take good, innovative curriculum materials may be into account how their application and wide- too expensive for the currently limited and spread use may affect the roles of present edu- fragmented market to bear. Not enough schools cational institutions. use computers, video disks, and other technology to provide a large enough sales base. Information technology could be a major Under these circumstances curriculum produc- tool for responding to these challenges. It ers will be either inhibited altogether from pro- could enhance the productivity of existing in- ducing material, or they will concentrate on stitutions and serve as the incentive for the those few applications-such as professional growth of new educational and training serv- retraining-that have a high income potential ices and of new institutions to provide them. at the expense of more basic education. Fur- If these technologies fulfill their educational thermore, significant developmental work re- potential, the Nation as a whole would benefit mains to be done before the technology can from the widespread adoption of educational reach its full potential. The Federal Govern- technology by both schools and other educa- ment might provide the high-risk, critical- tion providers. The Federal Government might mass funding needed at this time to stimulate decide to take an active part in the adoption the development of a technology-based cur- of these technologies in order to assure their riculum market. equitable distribution, to overcome barriers to their use, and to support the national dissemi- Finally, mechanisms for combining and nation of information. sharing experience gained from the existing OTA found that, while many schools are activities are needed. Some experts have adopting the use of desktop computers, there pointed out a need for one or more national is concern among educators that many schools clearinghouses to review and evaluate educa- may be left behind. For a variety of reasons— tional software, as well as for research centers lack of funds, lack of information, unmoti- where new techniques and materials can be de- vated faculty, or parents-these schools may veloped. Again, Federal leadership is a means not elect to use the technology. Such a choice for creating or aiding the development of such could consign their students to poor employ- nationwide activities.

Arguments Against Federal Action

Some experts have also raised a number of Federalism has been a major element of edu- concerns about Federal involvement in stimu- cational policy debates for many years. If the lating the educational use of the technology. Federal Government were to undertake action Basically they argue that the private sector to encourage the development or use of educa- can and will respond to the needs for improved tional technology, it is likely that concerns will education, and that education policy is the be expressed about undue Federal interfer- proper domain of local and State governments ences in choices considered to be most appro- alone. priately made at the local level to suit local Ch. 10—Implications for Policy ● 179 .— needs. These concerns would be particularly cant problems that may not be solvable by the strong if Government funds were used to de- technology. It could also create overexpecta- velop curricula. tion followed by unwarranted disillusionment about the potential contributions technology Any new program initiatives will be carefully scrutinized for their budgetary impacts. Al- could make to education. though few policy options appear to be extra- Finally, some concern has been expressed ordinarily expensive when compared to other about the potential long-term effect on learn- education and research and development ing that may be caused by an extensive use budgets, the Federal education budget is of technology for education. Society would be shrinking rapidly. Any increase of funding for augmenting or even replacing an old and well- technology, no matter how modest, will appear known process to be at the expense of other educational priori- —the classroom and teacher— by new technology-based methods. Some peo- ties that are already being tightly pressed. ple anticipate a number of possible side effects Another important concern is that a Federal that might have significant negative conse- education policy that focuses on technology quences for students. These effects might in- might create the impression that technology clude shortened attention span, loss of effec- is a panacea. Such an impression could divert tive learning, or decreased opportunities for attention as well as funds from other signifi- social interaction.

Congressional Options

OTA found that a broad range of Federal to see an advantage in donations, even if ac- policy options relating to educational technol- companied by tax writeoffs. On the other ogy have been suggested. They range in scope hand, incentives such as advertising, long- from policies that call for no Federal action to term market development, or a sense of public those that call for a marshaling of Federal responsibility might encourage contributions. resources. All of these policies would, however, be inextricably linked to the broader education On the negative side, some have suggested policy, which has recently been the focus of that schools might be the recipients of obsoles- significant restructuring. Since OTA has not cent machines as manufacturers clear out their attempted to perform an overall assessment inventories prior to the introduction of the of Federal education policy, only a broad over- next generation of systems. Moreover, schools view of the structure of some of the more feasi- might tend to accept inappropriate hardware ble options available has been taken. that is free rather than purchase equipment that best fits their needs. Option 1: Subsidize Hardware One congressional option would be to in- Legislation has already been introduced to crease direct funding to the schools to allow help schools obtain information technology. them to purchase hardware. Such a policy For example, H.R. 5573 is intended to increase would have the advantage of allowing the in- the amount of tax deduction allowed to manu- stitutions to select the equipment they prefer. facturers for donations of computer hardware. The OTA case studies indicated that many of Such a policy would likely increase the number the most successful schools that now employ of donations of technology to schools, al- computers used Federal funds as seed money though the quantity would depend on the for their programs. Desktop computers can be growth of the market. Firms with a large back- used to teach introductory computer program- log of purchase orders might be less inclined ing and computer literacy without extensive 180 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education software. Such a course characterized the ini- vide educational institutions funds to pur- tial use of computers in many of the schools chase educational software. Such a policy that OTA examined. In addition, a substan- would increase the size and likelihood of a tial increase in the base of hardware available potential market for software and encourage in educational institutions would provide a producers to compete for a share of that mar- more attractive market for curriculum pro- ket. Priorities for subject matter would then ducers. It could both encourage the develop- be set in the market by the users and produc- ment of material and decrease the price of soft- ers, and competition would result in increased ware since development costs would be writ- quality and decreased costs. Opponents argue ten off over a larger sales base. that many potential educational users are not yet sophisticated enough to exercise their best Option 2: Subsidize Software judgment. Their naivete, coupled with the expenditure of Federal rather than local funds, Many producers of educational curricula are could encourage wasteful expenditures on well- interested in the growing market for technol- marketed but educationally unsound curricu- ogy-based materials, but they are uncertain lum packages. about entry. In the early, formative stage of the market development, expensive development projects are risky, at best. In addition, Option 3: Assume a much still needs to be learned about the best Leadership Role educational use of the new media. These prob- The lack of information by the potential lems have served to slow the pace of develop- users of educational technology is the basis for ment. suggestions that the Federal Government play In response to these problems, some have a leadership role, particularly with respect to suggested that the Federal Government pro- the elementary and secondary schools. Few vide assistance with developmental costs of teachers or school administrators are trained some major curriculum packages. Either di- in the instructional use of computers or other rect funding, full or partial, could be provided electronic media. Unsound decisions in imple- to the producers, or educational institutions menting technology and selecting curriculum could be given funds for the purchase of educa- packages could be extremely costly to schools. tional software. Money would be wasted, and potential benefits could be lost. Furthermore, exaggerated Direct support of the producers would allow expectations or a bad initial experience with the Federal Government to set priorities in two ways. Curriculum packages could be de- technology resulting from a poor implementation strategy could lead to disillusionment signed around those subjects for which a clear national need exists-e. g., mathematics and with educational technology and to significant delays in its appropriate implementation. science, foreign language, or adult literacy. And research and development concerns could At the same time, OTA case studies suggest be taken into account when setting priorities that, at least in a number of schools, there is for projects to be funded. Support could be a great deal of interest and motivation by fac- given to those that showed the most promise ulty and administrators, students and parents, of advancing the state of the art in the uses and local industries to promote the use of com- of education technology. Opponents of such puter technology. This motivation, if properly an approach suggest that priorities for these informed and guided, could be an important two concerns are best set at the local level and driving force for the implementation of educa- in the marketplace. tional technology. An alternative method of support that takes The Federal support might take the form of these objections into account would be to pro- funding for teacher training, either inservice Ch. 10—Implications for Policy . 181

or preservice in the teacher colleges, for dem- setting up cooperative programs with lo- onstration and development centers, or for cal industry to provide summer jobs to information clearinghouses. Such activities teachers that have been trained in com- might be undertaken directly by the Govern- puting, and ment, or through the encouragement of a vari- using differentials to encourage teachers ety of institutional partnerships involving edu- with more marketable skills to-stay in the cation, industry, and nonprofit foundations in- education profession. terested in education. S. 2738, for example, The clearinghouse and demonstration center would provide tax credits to firms that hire suggestions respond to the other major non- public school math and science teachers dur- monetary barrier: lack of information and ing the summer. guidance on how to institute and use educa- OTA has found general agreement that tional technology. For many years, sugges- there is a significant lack, particularly in the tions for various forms of such centers have area of precollege science and mathematics, of been put forth. They could perform a wide va- qualified teachers. The concern has been ex- riety of functions, including the following: pressed both about the numbers of teachers ● evaluate educational software and dis- being trained and their quality. The Federal seminate their findings. The extreme case Government has funded teacher training proof this review process would be for the grams in the past, particularly in areas where center to certify software as educationally there was a vital national need. For example, valid; inservice programs in science and mathemat- ● provide a location and experienced staff ics education were funded by the National Sci- for teachers and administrator training ence Foundation. programs; A major problem noted by some experts and ● provide expert consulting and guidance, administrators in the area of computer train- since salaries at such a center might be ing is the natural competition of the private more competitive; sector for people with abilities in this area. One ● serve as an instructional test bed for both effect of the growth of the knowledge industry new technology and new teaching tech- has been to increase the earning power of indi- niques that integrate instruction and viduals with expertise in science, mathemat- technology; and ics, and engineering disciplines. This trend is ● identify and examine in detail those insti- particularly apparent in the computer-related tutions that have already successfully fields. adopted technology in order to share their experiences more broadly. This problem creates a need for more teacher education. However, it also suggests that, while salaries remain significantly lower in Option 4: Incorporate education than in other sectors, teachers who Technology Initiatives in receive such training would need to take this General Education Policy possibility into account, through mechanisms such as: Congress makes policy that broadly ad- making commitments to the teaching pro- dresses the general problems and needs of education. This broad legislation could be tailored fession part of the selection criteria, making contractual agreements with where appropriate, either to encourage technological use or to remove unintended barriers teachers attending the programs that they will return to teaching, to such usage. making agreements with local industry To the extent that education legislation is not to lure teachers newly trained in com- created based on a view of the educational sys- puter technology, tem—needs, providers, and mechanisms--pol- 182 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education icy should also take into account the possibil- those that cannot. By focusing on the needs ity of change from the information revolution. of one or more of these institutions—e.g., the For example: public schools, libraries, or industrial training facilities-at the exclusion of others, Congress ● Vocational education must take into ac- could influence that competitive balance. count the problems of experienced workers displaced by automation and the new Certain objectives may overtly dictate such skill requirements of high-technology in- policies. For example, if it were determined dustry. that public school’s lack of access to edu- ● Veteran’s education must consider wheth- cational technology put their students in a er continuing adult education will shift severely disadvantaged position, Congress focus from schools to industry or even to could, for public policy reasons, focus policy the home. on public schools in order to strengthen them ● Special education will need to consider the institutionally. If it were determined that the enormous potential of information tech- proper Federal interest was to see that infor- nology to improve the access of handi- mation literacy increased among the popula- capped to the information stream of U.S. tion in more general terms, policy might ad- society and, hence, to educational services dress the needs of libraries or museums. Policy specifically tailored to their needs. that addresses the need for job training might concentrate on industrial education. Impacts Certain clients for educational services may Any policy relating to educational technol- also be favored over others. To the extent that ogy will need to be evaluated, not only for its different institutions serve different sets of direct effect, but also for the potential it holds needs, the policy impacts on institutional roles for longer term impacts. OTA has identified discussed above will also affect the clients. In three general areas of potential impact that addition, a number of Federal education poli- seem particularly significant for Federal pol- cies—those concerned with special education, icy. foreign language instruction, etc.—are specifically tailored to the needs of particular Implicit Choices learners. Congress could influence the long-term de- Finally, policy may be directed at specific velopment of the educational system through technologies. OTA found that a wide variety policies that deliberately or unintentionally of computer, telecommunication, and video favored particular institutions, clients, or tech- technologies have potential educational appli- nological mechanisms. As a result, there could cation. Furthermore, they can be combined in be significant long-term effects on who is edu- new and unexpected ways to form instruction cated in our society, for what purpose, who systems. Policies narrowly focused on one provides it, and what mechanisms are used to technology-microcomputers, two-way cable, provide it. etc.—could inhibit the full exploration of the potential of the much wider collection of infor- OTA found that a variety of new providers mation technologies. of education and educational material are appearing and that the roles of traditional insti- Potential Equity Impacts tutions are shifting. It is possible that information technology will be a powerful tool for OTA found concern among some experts decreasing costs of instruction or for increas- that the widespread implementation of educa- ing the quality, distribution, or variety of edu- tional technology could create issues of equi- cational offerings. If so, those institutions that ty. Information technology could accelerate are able to adapt to its use most quickly will the existing trend of educational services mov- have a significant competitive advantage over ing into the private marketplace. To the ex- Ch. 10—Implications for Policy ● 183

tent that such a trend affects both the cost and manded by society. For example, some experts accessibility of instruction, it may have a dif- argue that simple arithmetic skills may be less ferential impact on the ability of groups within important in a world of pocket calculators and the society to become educated. The cost of automated cash registers, and that spelling education may increase beyond the economic may be less important in light of modern word means of some. Providers may not have an in- processing systems that correct errors. Even centive to meet certain needs if they see less more importantly, if more and more jobs may potential for profit in them. Regions may be require the use of computers and automated geographically isolated, without access to vital data bases to solve problems, then the skills telecommunication technologies that could that are particularly enhanced through inter- provide needed educational services. action with a computer-based education system may be very important in the future. On the other hand, information technology could also substantially improve access to The analysis of potential policies and their high-quality educational services. Communica- impacts suggest that, while any particular action services such as direct broadcast satellite tion will affect the future use and development can bring instruction to remote areas. In-home of educational technologies, none of them can, information technology such as two-way cable by themselves, meet the total challenge facing and personal computers can improve the American education today. As this OTA re- homebound’ access to education. Technology port demonstrates, to meet the educational could provide effective education in areas such needs of an information society will involve all as bilingual education, supplementary tutor- individuals, groups, and institutions. It will ing for children with learning disabilities, or require the use of a full range of educational assistance in classroom communication for the approaches and technologies. It will, more- physically handicapped. over, entail overcoming a wide variety of complex institutional and social barriers. And it To the extent that Federal policy influences will necessitate a thorough understanding and the impact of educational technology on access the continued monitoring of these rapidly un- to education, it will also likely influence both folding technologies. the access of affected groups to jobs and their ability to participate in an increasingly com- The information age is having a profound plex society. effect on American education, increasing the need and the demand for a broad variety of Long-Term Educational Impacts educational services. The Nation’s educational needs are not now being met, creating a situa- Finally, over the long term, a major societal tion that could impede the Nation’s economic dependence on information technology could growth, undermine its international competi- have significant educational and psychological tive position, and increase and exacerbate the effects on the U.S. population. We have little socioeconomic divisions within society. The information about what those effects might new information technologies offer a promis- be. While the educational effectiveness of ining mechanism, and in some cases the only formation technology seems generally to be ac- mechanism, for responding to these educa- cepted, not much has been learned about the tional needs. Their widescale application will more subtle effects on learning or the possi- significantly affect how and to whom educa- ble impacts of more extensive, longer term use. tional services are provided. Such changes will Most likely, some skills will be enhanced by present both challenges to and opportunities use of technology while others may be lost or for American education. Congress could take lessened. a number of specific actions to affect the devel- To the extent that changes do occur, there opment, educational application, and distribu- may be concomitant changes in the skills de- tion of information technologies. But such an 184 . Informational Technology and Ifs Impact on American Education approach would address only a single aspect account the changing needs for education and of the problem and may generate undesirable training, considerations of equity, and chang- and unexpected side effects. If this is to be ing institutional roles, will be required. avoided, a broad approach, which takes into 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 instruction, 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, affluent, 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. With a with the district), encouraged parents and teachers total budget of only $800, a computer specialist and, according to many, demystified computers. (Beth Lewd) was hired to work with each school; He taught his colleagues BASIC, designed soft- community volunteers were enlisted to write software for the system, and set the foundation for ware for the PETs or adapt software from the PDP Lexington’s computer applications. A math spe- 11; and a catalog and materials library was as- cialist trained by Koetke worked with an advanced sembled. group of primary students, transporting these In June 1980, it was clear that short-term, un- youngsters to a nearby junior high so that they planned use wasn’t working. Rotation of the equip- could have once-a-week computer experiences. One ment was modified to concentrate resources in the of the youngest, a first grader in the group, later rooms of interested teachers, and a “models” ap- became one of the Lexington high school program- proach evolved. The wide diffusion of computers ing stars. By the late 1960’s, Lexington led in ef- was seen to depend on successes in individual forts to bring computer-related experiences to classrooms first. Another lesson learned was that groups of fifth and sixth graders who were trans- the microcomputers had to be available for more ported to junior high schools by their schools’ than a few weeks (e.g., one semester or all year) math specialist and by parent volunteers. to ensure maximum payoff in each classroom. In 1975, with leadership from Frank DiGiam- By 1980, more than 20 models were imple- marino (director of computer services), Koetke, mented with a focus on computer literacy and ap- and others, the district obtained funding from the plications in math, spelling, social studies, science, Massachusetts State Department under title VI, and language arts at all grade levels. In each case, part B to develop a computerized system to deal models were developed by individual teachers, a with the real problems of data management in a team of teachers, or the entire school staff. In local school district. Project LEADS developed many instances, school principals provided staff software for a wide range of management func- support, while central office staff wrote grant pro- 190 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

posals to the school board to get additional funds ● Business applications for microcomputers, software, teacher planning ● Science applications time, etc. Library To build awareness of computer potential and Q Materials data base to obtain support for the ongoing activities, a 2- s Computer center/library media center pilot day leadership conference was held in October Management and Systemwide Administrative 1980. More than 90 district educators attended. Services Experts from Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ● Program budgeting ogy (MIT), area colleges, regional cooperatives, ● Program accounting local school districts, and the private sector made ● Fiscal reporting presentations. Teachers from the Lexington dis- ● Scheduling trict demonstrated hardware and software and ● Grade reports structured hands-on experiences. The conference . Student and personnel data was followed by the formation of computer planning committees. Parent Involvement and Workshops and training sessions followed that Community Support were intended to provide most of the staff some training, at least at the awareness level. Teacher Parents have participated in the computer activ- participation has so far been voluntary. All of the ities and served as a resource by: district’s library media specialists have had exten- ● providing technical advice and assistance. sive training and, as a result, have initiated several Parents serve on advisory and hardware pur- projects: a computerized annotated listing of chasing committees, help install equipment, 16mm films; a materials data base for all nonprint troubleshoot problems, and support computer materials in the district; and a computer center/ plans in school board deliberations; library media pilot. The media specialist’s role has ● writing educational software for the time- expanded in Lexington; in recent budget planning share system and the PET microcomputers sessions library positions were held constant, part- and by inputing data in the materials data ly because of the school committee’s commitment base; to computer activities and because of the plan to ● helping train students, teachers, and other focus computer centers around the media center. parents on the terminals. Parents help in indi- Currently, the district’s 60 microcomputers, 2 vidual classrooms using microcomputers, and minicomputers, and 33 terminals support the fol- participate in district-level workshops; lowing uses: ● assisting with computer clubs before and after Kindergarten - Grade 3 school; ● Reinforcement of number and letter skills ● supervising the use of the time-share termi- ● Computer awareness and independence nals in the elementary schools; and ● Phonics instruction ● purchasing and donating equipment. PTAs ● LOGO models raised funds to purchase additional microcom- s BASIC for primary grades puters. Other parents donated personally Grades 4-6 owned computers and terminals or found ex- ● Word processing for editing cess equipment that was no longer being used c BASIC for problem solving by companies. ● Using terminals in the classroom Gloria Bloom–a parent volunteer, MIT gradu- c LOGO ate, and former computer programer--estimates ● Skills reinforcement that parents currently spend approximately 70 Grades 7-9 hours a week operating the time-share terminals c BASIC and computer literacy in the elementary schools. Parents also come to ● Word processing for writing school committee meetings and meet with the ● Simulations in science superintendent and school principals to help ad- ● Skills reinforcement vance the program. Some observers of the Lexing- Grades 10-12 ton program suspect that parents have led the edu- c Six math electives ranging from computer cators by pressuring and demanding computer awareness to computer science and assembly programs for their children. Parents point out, language programing however, that educators must play the key role if App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 191 computer technology is to become integrated into veloped by individual teachers. Each elementary the educational process. and secondary school uses terminals and micro- Although the major industries are literally next computers, but the applications and the penetra- door to Lexington, corporate-level involvement tion into all classrooms varies. Some teachers have with the school system is not direct. Rather, col- greater interest and expertise, hence their stu- laboration is primarily through the parents of the dents have different experiences. Parents in some pupils or through interested individuals in the schools have become more involved, have access community who are also connected to the private to resources, and are willing to push harder than sector. Through these individuals, hardware is do- others. Principals juggle with conflicting needs nated, software is developed, company tours are and set different priorities. The issue of equity in conducted, and information on careers is dissemi- access and quality has concerned Superintendent nated. Lawson and his administrative staff. More than any other factor, it has led to increased leadership Impacts responsibility for DiGiammarino, an expansion of Ironically, increasing success has created prob- Lewd’s activities, and the creation of planning lems. DiGiammarino describes the issues in terms committees. of ‘the ecstasy and agony of computers. ” As edu- For members of the district computer curricu- cators’ experience broadens and expertise devel- lum committee, as well as for others heavily in- ops, the potential uses for computers is recognized volved with computers, the benefits to teachers, —the ecstasy. “This, however, is tempered by the their students, and the program outweigh the realization that all the conditions necessary to problems or frustrations. Teachers point to their reach the ecstasy do not currently exist—the new computer expertise. Many have written their agony. ” For example, more and more teachers are own programs, and others have helped design and moving ahead with classroom applications, enroll- implement computer models and curriculum mate- ing in workshops and degree programs at nearby rials. Mainly by trial and error, teachers have made universities, and, at the same time, requesting the computer work, and they feel good about what more equipment, software, and in-service training. they and their students have learned together. The present time-share hardware systems are There is a pervasive enthusiasm. aging fast; the microcomputers break down and Dave Olney, high school physics teacher, imple- are difficult to maintain the demand is greater ments one of the district computer models for than the supply; and funds for teacher in-service, using the Apple computer in physics. He spends professional development, and sabbaticals are lim- hours writing programs and expanding his own ited. knowledge and previous experience with the DEC Impacts on Students. Students are motivated system. He is excited about using the microcom- and interested in computers, and there is evidence puter to speed up and improve Laboratory activi- of improved student performance through skills ties by having students punch-in data, calculate reinforcement drills. But the existing software for results, and get immediate feedback. He sees a the minicomputers and microcomputers, obtained whole range of applications including the feasibil- through commercial sources and parent, teacher, ity of modeling problem-solving processes in phys- and student development, is limited in scope. ics. His enthusiasm results from the intellectual Although high-quality software is becoming avail- stimulation he derives from the logic processes able, it is very expensive. The LEADS system has that he uses as he programs these activities. both management and instructional applications, For other teachers, satisfaction comes from ob- but its users are primarily central office staff and serving the progress of their students in writing, special education staff. Its potential for diagnosis in math and reading, or in simply feeling com- and tutoring applications and materials retrieval, fortable with computers in a variety of settings. however, is high. According to school officials, There is no question that students are enthusiastic what is needed to make LEADS fully operational users. A group of third and fourth graders work- is an upgraded minicomputer, a unified distribu- ing with LOGO and problem-solving strategies, in- tive network, and training for both administrators terviewed by their teacher, Florence Bailey, re- and teachers—to be implemented during the sec- ported that learning is fun, that mistakes can be ond year of the long-range plan. handled, that solutions can be derived through ex- Finally, there is the issue of program diversity. perience, and that mastering programing skills is As programs evolve, different approaches are de- challenging: 192 c Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Eric: It’s fun, but it’s actually school work. It’s become not only possible, but commonplace. The better than recess! Brad and I make a good planning document projections include: team. He knows things I don’t know, and I ● A third grade student at a computer station know what he doesn’t. ready to LOAD, RUN, and LIST a program Tim: If you’re bored, you just work on the com- from tape or disk. puter, and you’re not bored anymore. ● A teacher at a computer terminal obtaining Tanya: I can make my own designs and pictures. You’re learning while you’re having fun. a list of all nonbook resources owned by the Chrissy: The big one upstairs is already programed. Lexington School System related to a specific This one you can learn to program with your subject heading for students at the seventh own things. grade instructional reading level. Shannon: You can learn by yourself. . . if you make ● Elementary school students work at comput- mistakes. You can fix a circle that’s too big. er stations in the learning center or on teach- Increasing numbers of Lexington students, par- er prescribed learning activities which have ticularly by the time they reach high school, have been integrated into the curriculum. expertise in programing that is impressive. Ed ● The coordinator of language arts updating the Good, director of the high school computer math language arts curriculum data base from staff center, points proudly to students who have writ- evaluative information. ten software for the districts’ data management ● A junior high school student electing to take system, for elementary classroom instructional ac- a followup computer course as a result of pos- tivities, and for small businesses in the area. He itive experiences in the required computer lit- cites the high school sophomore who designed the eracy program. interface to transfer (download) programs on the ● A student at the senior high school level de- PDP 11/40 to the PET’s, thereby saving the dis- signing his/her own data base management in- trict thousands of dollars. formation system. From the models and from other uses, it appears ● Teachers or students using computer termi- that computers are, and will continue to be power- nals to address computerized information sys- ful tools for both teachers and learners. This no- tems anywhere in the Nation. tion explains, in part, why an increasing number ● A teacher queries a terminal to determine ex- of staff members are using computers or are inter- actly what are the educational plan objectives ested in having computers in their classroom. Jody of two students in the class and what is their Josiassen, a fourth grade teacher, describes his progress to date. 2-year involvement: “In my teacher training pro- ● A program director querying a terminal to de- gram there was nothing in my education that termine the exact cost to date of his program spoke to this-the hardware-the software. It’s a and precisely what portion of that cost has brand new field. I get excited about it from a teach- been used for special needs programs. er’s point of view because I think it can do things ● A counselor using the computer to assist in the classroom for me that I’ve struggled with scheduling a new student. in the past. ” ● An elementary principal, concerned about the Finally, in further justifying the comprehensive validity of the academic level recommended plans for future computer applications, Lexington for his students moving to junior high, using administrators and teachers point to their high- a terminal to examine how previous students technology community and to the increasingly have achieved in seventh grade relative to the technology-related world. Two-thirds of Jody level recommended by his school. Josiassen’s students have their own home comput- ● The data-processing center adding to the data ers. He views this phenomenon as the “iceberg out base the information from the annual battery there and I’m at the very tip. ” He also sees that of basic skills tests given to one-quarter of the the schools need to be part of the momentum, “to school population. Also, printing report cards catch it, structure it and use it . . . and help my and searching for those students whose aca- students develop their goals to use it. ” demic achievement is declining.

The Future Acquisition and Placement of Hardware. Key implementation strategies include the acquisition Implementing the Long-Range Plan for Com- of equipment over a 5-year period, with a mix of puters in Education. With district implementation microcomputers, terminals, and replacement of the of the long-range plan, the following examples will system’s PDP 11/40 and 8. Each school will have App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 193 a cluster of inexpensive portable microcomputers A Separate Department for Information Sci- and terminals that tie into the central system. The ence. The planning committee has recommended upgraded central minicomputer system will signif- the establishment of an information science de- icantly expand capacity to handle a curriculum partment to lead program activities–handling materials data base, software collections, and stu- staffing, budgeting, maintaining, and evaluating dent information and management functions. the K-12 computer literacy program. The de- Each elementary school will have a computer partment would also assume responsibility for the learning center supervised by the library media revision, updating, and teaching of higher level specialist. A center or cluster will be equipped with courses on programing, systems design, and com- the following: puter applications. Inservice training and other ● 11 small microcomputers (several available for leadership and professional development activities loan to individual classrooms), would be handled as well. Computer literacy and ● three CRT terminals hooked to the central computer science courses would be taken out of minicomputer, the math department, and the scope of the pro- ● one printer directly tied to the central mini- gram would be broadened to include all curriculum computer, and areas. No new staff positions are contemplated; ● one printer for the microcomputers network- staff members who have already played leading ing and electronic mail equipment. roles will be reassigned to the new department. Similar centers will be established at the junior Training and Curriculum Development: Com- high school, with one center servicing the needs puter Literacy. These efforts will continue with of the computer literacy curriculum as well as the summer workshops and inservice training activ- academic areas outside of math and science. The ities scheduled on release days at the beginning second center will support math and science appli- of the school term and periodically during the year. cations. Similar configurations are planned for the During the summer, teachers from the computer high school, as well as an upgraded computer cen- literacy committees will work with Lewd to as- ter with a replacement of the PDP 11/40 and a semble and prepare materials for elementary and phase-out of the PDP 8. junior high school components. These teachers will Funding. Recommended equipment will prob- be responsible for teaching the course at the junior ably cost almost a half-million dollars. Up until and senior high schools in the fall. Resources (staff now, computers and terminals were acquired with- time, equipment, and software purchase and de- out expenditure of local funds (see previous sec- velopment) will be concentrated over the short tions of this report). With reductions in Federal term in grades 5, 8, and 10. Remaining portions and State funds, the district is searching for other of the new curriculum will be piloted at other grade alternatives, such as corporate contributions from levels. the computer hardware manufacturers, to defray Computers in Education. It is planned to extend part of the equipment costs. The school commit- the use of computers as tools for instruction. The tee is also being asked to allocate funds from the materials data base will be operational. Because operating budget to support the computer proof upgraded central computing facilities, teachers gram. For 1982 to 1983, the plan is to budget and administrators are expected to increase their $74,566 from local revenues, to use all of the Fed- use of computerized data. Also expected to in- eral title IVB grants ($16,000) and reimburse- crease are the communication and sharing of infor- ments to the district for student teaching from mation and software via electronic mail among all Boston University ($10,000), and to attempt to ob- schools, as well as the number of accessing infor- tain a 50 percent discount from DEC for the new mation centers and networks within the commu- minicomputer as a corporate contribution. nity, State, and region. Although implementation of the plan is based Parents and the Technology Community. Coop- on funding sources such as Federal block grants erative efforts with local district cooperatives and and other special area funds, the availability of user groups, with parents, and with the high-tech- these resources is not guaranteed under present nology industries is essential to Lexington’s circumstances. Furthermore, funding projections future. How else, argue the educators, can the dis- deal solely with hardware acquisition. Costs for trict keep abreast of technological advances, en- software, continued training, and maintenance will courage or demand useful and appropriate soft- have to be absorbed by operating budgets. ware, make the best use of available resources to 194 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

advance the long-range plan, and maximize the po- Martha Angevine, Coordinator, Instructional Material tential benefits of technology for education? Services, Curriculum Resource Center* As a result of district membership in EDCO, a Luree Jaquith, Media Specialist Bowman Elementary local education collaboration, Lexington teachers School* Beverly Smith, Teacher, Bowman Elementary School* will derive benefits from the computer resource Jill O’Reilly, Math Teacher, Clark Junior High School and demonstration center that is being estab- Bruce Storm, Teacher, Clark Junior High School lished. They will also benefit from the knowledge Jody Josiassen, Teacher, Barrington School** that they are not alone, that other districts are Dave Olney, Science Teacher, Lexington High School copying with computer applications, too. The reg- Ed Good, Math Teacher, Computer Center, Lexington ular exchange of information with such districts High School is welcomed by the staff. Finally, the technology Louis Clapp, Parent community and the parents offer valuable re- Gloria Bloom, Parent sources. Lewis Clapp, president of a local software ● Member, Computer Planning Curriculum Committee development company and also a parent, main- ** Member, Elementary Curriculum COIIIDU “tt.ee tains “a school system that does not take advan- Bibliography tage of the intellectual power of its parents and community is doing a disservice to its students— DiGiammarino, F. P., Computers in Public Education, particularly in an era of 2½’s and Reaganomics.” The Second Time Around, preliminary draft, fall 1981. The parents of Lexington recognize progress, DiGiammarino, F., Koetke, W., Guldager, L., and Clif- but they expect more. For example, Clapp believes ford, L., Local Education Agency Data System: Proj- it is essential that all teachers be computer-liter- ect LEADS, Lexington Public Schools, September 1976. ate; that public and higher education efforts be DiGiammarino, F., and Lewd, B., “A Position Pa- coordinated; that computing and computer science per—Expanding the Use of Computers in the Lex- curricula be fully developed to reflect the current ington Schools” (revised), June 23, 1980. state of the art; that computer tools be used to DiGiammarino, F., and Lewd, B., Computers in Educa- support the entire curriculum, not just math or tion: A Long Range Plan, Lexington Public Schools, science; and that every student has adequate ex- fall 1981. posure to computers— “knowing what computers Lexington Public Schools, 1981-82 Budget Summary, are all about and able to run programs-maybe March 1981. even able to write their own by the time they reach Lexington Public Schools, Computers in Education, high school. ” Clapp argues that the educational 1980-81 report. Lexington Public Schools, “Computers in Education community and the public schools have a critical 1979-1980 Program Plan. ” role to play in meeting these goals, but raises serious issues to be faced now and in the future: The tragedy is that national support for this is Computer-Using Educators nonexistent-at the time we need it the most. The local district can’t do it. Lexington-even Lexing- and Computer Literacy ton–might not be able to (accomplish these goals) Programs In Novato and with a budget limited to a 2½ percent increase each Cupertino year. . . It is a disaster for this nation. If we fail to invest in education nationally, we impact on our Introduction future and our ability to be productive . . . (and maintain) the edge we have in computers, in soft- The Silicon Valley and nearby communities were ware, and in information retrieval. selected for study because the area provides a rich source and critical mass of educators, schools, Resources students, parents and community members, and business representatives directly involved with Case study interviews: technology. The area is the center of the Nation’s John Lawson, Superintendent Geoff Pierson, Assistant Superintendent* semiconductor industry. It is also the home of a Frank DiGiammarino, Administrative Assistant* for growing number of educational experts and lead- Planning and Research and Director, Computer ers in computing. There are many examples of Services locally developed projects sprouted by individual Beth Lewd, Computers-in-Education Specialist* teachers or administrators or parents, which have Bob Tucker, Teacher, Estabrook Elementary School* developed into major programs affecting an entire App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 195

districts’ students and staff. These activities in- The center has a steady stream of users. The San volving computers in classrooms also demonstrate Mateo County Office of Education provides space, how resources–local, State, and Federal funding, maintenance, and support through Ann Lathrop, as well as parent and local experts and the private library coordinator, and LeRoy Finkel, the coun- sector—are critical to implementation. ty’s instructional computing coordinator. Superin- tendent William Jennings cites the center’s bene- COMPUTER-USING EDUCATORS fits to the county’s 24 school districts. Teachers Computer-Using Educators (CUE) is a support and administrators try out equipment and soft- group organized by and for K-12 teachers, teacher ware; both Lathrop and Finkel are nearby to pro- trainers, and others interested in the use of com- vide help and expertise. CUE members and their puters in education. Started by 12 teachers in the district teachers and administrators take advan- spring of 1978, the organization has mushroomed tage of the center for meetings, training sessions, to a membership of 3,500, primarily in California demonstrations, and evaluation of hardware and but also in 48 States and 13 foreign countries. Its software. The center is visited by representatives growth reflects the phenomenal growth of edu- from hardware companies and software houses, cational computer applications and mirrors the educators and government officials from all over grassroots development of programs in schools up the State and even educators from other States and down the San Francisco Bay Area. Groups and foreign countries. modeled after CUE have also been formed Ann Lathrop conceived SOFTSWAP, the soft- throughout the country. ware dissemination and evaluation project, and Through conferences, newsletters, and meetings, garnered the support of colleagues to field-test, CUE is a source of information and a vehicle for evaluate, debug, and clean up the programs in the sharing experiences with computers, and their use system. Through SOFTSWAP, teachers can pur- in education. In addition, CUE members origi- chase software or swap their original program for nated and now support the Microcomputer Center that of someone else. Most of the 300+ software and SOFTSWAP Library of public-domain micro- programs are short, stand-alone instructional computer software housed in the San Mateo Coun- units; many are drill and practice exercises for the ty Office of Education. To quote one member: elementary school level or for remedial work at the Learning is a never-ending process. Formal edu- secondary level. All were evaluated by educators cation is a small portion of this ongoing process. and edited for factual and spelling errors, inaccu- The role of educators is to aid the learning proc- rate or incomplete instructions, programing errors, esses. The philosophy of CUE should be to show etc. educators-mostly by example-the role computers When visitors come to the center, they can copy can play in the learning process, Computers can be dissemination disks without charge. Single mail used in many ways to do many functions. The uses, order disks are $10 apiece, or free if a disk with functions, methods, and materials will change and at least one original program is contributed. Each evolve. CUE can help discover and show the way. disk contains 12 to 30 programs. Since the major Microcomputer Center and SOFTSWAP. The thrust of SOFTSWAP is sharing with the widest stimulus for the software exchange came from a possible distribution, programs may be freely du- San Jose State University professor, Vince Con- plicated, but not sold. treras, a CUE member. He organized the exchange of public domain and individually contributed software that was deposited in the San Mateo Educa- CUE Conferences tion Resource Center (SMERC) Library in the spring of 1980. By the time school was out, CUE CUE’s first conference, remembers William members had talked several of their microcomput- (Sandy) Wagner, founder and first president of er industry contacts into placing microcomputers CUE, evolved from CUE’s early meetings. “We’d in the SMERC Library on long-term loan. Tandy introduce ourselves, share ideas on curriculum, on (Radio Shack) and Commodore (PET) provided the software . . . and see more new faces each time. By first systems. Ann Lathrop, coordinator of the September 1978 the small group had grown to 50 Microcomputer Center reports that the center now and it was agreed that “we can’t go on meeting has 14 microcomputers and manufacturers help like this” . . . a conference would facilitate sharing maintain equipment and provide new models as and in-depth discussions. CUE’s first weekend they have become available. conference in January 1979 attracted 65 edu- 196 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

cators. A few informal sessions expanded to multi- who want to learn how to use the computer and ple presentations, wide-ranging exhibits, and related tools in their studies and future work. hands-on workshops in the fall 1980 conference with Governor Brown of California, in his address 500 in attendance. By fall 1981, conference attend- before the State Legislature in January 1982, ance reached 1,400—with some districts sending called for new priorities and action: all their teachers to view 45 commercial exhibits Our schools must augment the three R’s with the and 60 different speakers. CUE’s officers and ex- three C’s—computing, calculating, and communi- ecutive board members play critical roles in plan- cating through technology. We will do so or suc- ning, organizing, and running the CUE confer- ceeding generations will inherit a society stagnating ences. They work evenings and weekends—all on in the aftershocks of massive foreign imports and volunteered time. The conference coordinators obsolete industry. handle some tasks with their own personal com- In addition to the first priority of an increased puters, as well. commitment to mathematics, science, and computer instruction in California K-12 schools, the State Education Agency is beginning to address technol- Impacts ogy issues. One issue that concerns many of the The expansion of CUE membership and activi- local educators is how to meet these commitments, ties demonstrates not only the growing interest given the growing disparity between districts that and use of technology in schools, but also the fact have programs, trained teachers, and community that teachers need help. They are coming for more resources to draw on and those districts that do than help, some argue-they’re looking for leader- not. Furthermore, not every district or county in ship. These computer-using educators “are carry- the State has a major industry to draw on. Even ing the message that the time to move is now, ” in the Silicon Valley much of the private sector is notes Arthur Luehrmann, former director of the made up of small, short-term, entrepreneurial busi- Lawrence Hall of Science Computer Project. “The nesses that don’t have extensive resources. leaders are here in these counties who are respond- In reflecting on the grassroots development and ing to the signals coming from society, from the the enthusiasm of CUE, Joyce Hakansson, former- employers, and the parents. ” ly at the Lawrence Hall of Science and now a soft- When asked why CUE and the grassroots phe- ware designer and developer, cautions: “We need nomenon developed where it did, many point to the to understand the place of technology and give it “critical mass” of people that emerged—individu- a proper role. Don’t assign all of our ills to als developing separate programs and expertise, technology . . . recognize that technology is just but living close enough to meet. Finkel points to another tool. ” Hakansson notes the new status the special and unique aspects of CUE. “CUE and positive feelings of self-worth resulting from members are teachers first. We share, we don’t interaction with microcomputers, but also ob- have district or school boundaries. We’re a net- serves that, “software, the essence and heart of work of people . . . and it’s a stupendous event the computer, is less than it could be” and that each time we meet. ” Furthermore, there was a “what youngsters are doing on computers may not need for support, training, information, and leader- be worth the time or money. ” The future applica- ship that neither the State education agency, the tions ought to capture the inherent interest and institutions of higher education, nor the high-tech- motivating aspects of the technology and match nology industries were providing. it with children’s learning needs--to integrate computers into the teaching and learning environment. Future From the Silicon Valley and surrounding San Francisco Bay Area communities, two school dis- There are indications that the latter situation tricts were studied. These districts’ educational may be changing, albeit slowly. The Fremont and computing programs were locally developed and Los Gates High School districts plan to open a typify the area’s grassroots activities. Key person- joint Silicon Valley High School with support from nel from these districts are heavily involved in the Industry Education Council. Equipment and CUE: Bobby Godson, from Cupertino, is CUE’s training for teachers are being solicited from high- President and Helen Joseph, from Novato, is a tech industries. The high school will offer entry- member of CUE’S executive board. In-depth dis- level vocational training and courses for the col- cussions of school district approaches to imple- lege-bound information sciences major who wants menting computers in classrooms follow: The a head start, and for other college-bound students Novato Unified District, a rural K-12 system at App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 197 the northern tip of Marin County, and the Cuper- of $938,714 in 1977-78 to $602,324 in 1981-82. In tino Union K-8 district in Santa Clara in the center 1982-83, impact aid is uncertain. State funds, of Silicon Valley. which provide 70 percent of the district revenue, have been cut, including categorical aid for special Novato Unified School education and gifted and talented programs. Ed- ucators note that the impact of Proposition 13 District, Novato, Calif. passed 4 years ago, is now being felt, since the The Setting State’s surplus has been depleted. Located at the upper tip of Marin County ap- Computer Applications in proximately 30 miles north of San Francisco, the District Novato Unified School District (NUSD) is one of Computer education in the district began 8 years two districts in the county combining elementary ago, when a Novato junior high school acquired and secondary schools. It is the largest of the a teletype machine and shared with Dominican districts in Marin County. It is also more rural and College the lease of a telephone line hookup with less affluent than other areas in the county. Agri- the time-sharing computer at the Lawrence Hall culture predominates; the major local industry is of Science in Berkeley. Novato was one of several insurance-the Fireman’s Fund. Incorporated in school districts linked to the Hall’s Computer Edu- 1961, Novato’s community is diverse: blue collar cation Project (funded by the National Science workers, many San Francisco commuters, a grow- Foundation). The Hall staff, Lee Berman and ing number of retirees, and personnel and families Joyce Hakansson, were invaluable resources as on the military base. The student body composi- computer activities evolved, relates Helen Joseph, tion is 90-percent white, 5-percent Asian (and in- computer resource teacher and coordinator. Even creasing), 3-percent Hispanic, and 2-percent black. after the timesharing project ended, she continued Three-fifths of Novato graduates goon to college. to turn to them for advice and support. In recent years, student enrollments have de- The district’s first microcomputers were ac- clined and several schools have been closed. The quired in 1977, when the time-sharing costs were present enrollment of 8,642 is expected to decrease escalating. Richard Melendy, former math and further and level off to 7,500 by 1985. Presently, science coordinator, now school principal, and there are eight elementary schools, grades K-6; Joseph met with the district director of instruc- three junior highs, grades 7-9; two high schools, tion and examined how the district might best use grades 10-12; and one continuation, grades 9-12. the MGM (mentally gifted minor) funds which had One junior high school is targeted for closing at supported the time-sharing project. The subse- the end of this year. If Novato can find buyers for quent decision to purchase Commodore PETs was the surplus school properties it owns outright based on cost and reliability. (three sites are currently for sale), the interest from Over the next 3 years the computer program these revenues can be used for equipment and cap- grew rapidly, expanding to the two senior highs, ital improvements. an additional junior high, and an elementary Local educators point out that while Marin school. In this small district, officials made an ear- County boasts the highest per capita income in the ly decision to standardize hardware because of Bay Area, Novato is the “poorest part. ” The teacher training, software acquisition, and main- 1981-82 NUSD annual budget is $23,645,286. One- tenance requirements. By 1980, there were 28 mi- fifth of the budget is federally funded. School fi- crocomputers purchased with MGM State funds, nances are and will continue to be a growing area magazine sales money, and district minigrants. for concern. Superintendent Ronald Franklin ex- The development of the program by Joseph and plains the district’s bind: Melendy had strong support from the district ad- Parents expect that educational programs will ministration. There was consensus that before the reflect excellence . . . the toughest thing we have to deal with in being able to handle our commitment district went further, an external assessment and (to the district’s computer and other programs) is evaluation was needed. Arthur Luehrmann, former the uncertainty of the financial posture of both Fed- director of the Computer Education Project at the eral and State governments. Lawrence Hall of Science, spent 3 days in Novato Novato’s board and administration are concerned in March 1980, meeting with more than 50 people because they see cuts coming on all sides. The dis- —students, teachers, parents, principals, district trict’s Federal impact aid has declined from a high administrators, and school board members. In ad- 198 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

dition to identifying current needs and recom- Current Programs mending future directions, the strategy was to involve and educate all those concerned with com- Novato’s computer education activities focuses puter education in the district. Luehrmann’s re- on how to use the computer and include program- port stated: ing, problem solving, logical thinking, and debug- The present state of computer education in ging (tracking down errors). All seventh graders Novato is better than the average situation one sees have a minimum of 3 weeks of a computer literacy in Bay Area districts today. One finds a solid base unit that includes an overview, a historical per- of computer equipment, several experienced and spective, basic terminology, impacts on society, creative teachers, a larger number of interested and career awareness. This unit is followed by 2 teachers, student demand for increased access to weeks of hands-on experiences running programs computer classes, strong administrative support at (modelingprogramming activities, games, applica- most of the schools, and outstanding work at the tions) and writing programs. Students can also district office in planning and managing the development of computer education programs in the dis- take elective programming and math enrichment trict during the past several years. The parents and courses. One high school offers courses in BASIC school board members with whom I spoke were also and one offers courses in BASIC and Pascal. The supportive of the aims and accomplishments of the few computers in four elementary schools are used programs thus far. for computer awareness activities in upper grades Specific findings indicated that primary uses were and for enrichment in the gifted and talented pro- in the secondary schools, where computer programs. A total of 77 computers are used through- gramming courses and that computer literacy activ- out the district. ities closely identified with mathematics predomi- nated. Demand for classes exceeded supply, and Staff Training Programs teachers wanted more inservice training. and Workshops Luehrmann recommended a cluster arrangement for each of the five secondary schools, involving All administrators attended districtwide work- approximately 15 computers connected to a cen- shops because the Superintendent felt, “There was tral disk unit and printer. Further, he recom- a need for every manager to know why we were mended that the two high schools acquire com- supporting this program. ” The district also sup- puters that would facilitate instruction in a second ported numerous teacher workshops run by Helen programing language. In the elementary schools, Joseph and encouraged staff to attend area work- uses were to continue to be limited to gifted pro- shops, conferences, and meetings. With the train- grams in view of the district’s current priorities ing activities of the Marin County Teachers Learn- and available resources. Luehrmann encouraged ing Cooperative, a 3-year federally funded teacher the development of a de facto computer education center, CUE conferences and workshops, and the department, composed of the teachers of com- increasing number of courses taught at nearby col- puting to develop curricula, course content, se- leges, there have been many opportunities for pro- quencing, and evaluation. He suggested that the fessional development. In the spring of 1982 district also look at administrative computer uses, Joseph offered a course for teachers through drill and practice, and other CAI applications. Sonoma State College. The district paid Joseph’s Finally, he recommended a gradual expansion of salary and provided the computer lab facility, the program over a 3-year period, with a projected while the university provided credit. What was ex- cost estimate of $110,700 for equipment. citing was that this course introduced program- The administration and school board approved ing without a mathematics orientation. Thus, its the recommendations. In fiscal year 1980-81, applications will be interdisciplinary and, it is $30,000 from local funds and IVB Federal moneys hoped, lead to computer applications in a wide were used to equip the junior highs. A request for variety of content areas. funding the second and third phase of the program was submitted to the Buck Foundation, but was Impacts turned down. In fiscal year 1981-82, the second phase was funded, again from the operating In establishing the priorities for the computer budget, and one high school is to be equipped with education activities, the educators and community an Apple lab. members in the district have had to ask: how im- —

App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies “ 199 portant is computer education? As Luehrmann in nally the relationships among programs and the his report to the district explained: competition for resources causes concern. So far, There can be no simple answer to this question. “we’ve been able to maintain a delicate balance, ” Most people in the world have gotten along fine says Joseph. But she worries what will happen without knowing what a computer was, and today when more schools are closed and staff positions most educated people have never used a computer. reduced. There is also some concern that imple- But it was also true in Gutenberg’s day (and for mentation of phase 3 (a second Apple lab) maybe four centuries thereafter!) that the majority of people could not read or write. Yet by the end of the delayed, as well. last century universal literacy had become an accepted goal of public education, and illiterates were The Future at a distinct vocational and social disadvantage. Luehrmann argues that those who have comput- Integration of computers into the curriculum is er skills already enjoy several benefits: 1) vocation- a major objective for the future. There is already al and professional advancement; 2) intellectual some interest among secondary teachers in Eng- payoffs—new ways to represent or express ideas; lish, social studies, business, foreign languages, 3) facilitation of problem solving, particularly in and science. If the computer labs or clusters are mathematics; and 4) a desirable skill or proficien- used every period for computer literacy and pro- cy valued by colleges, These arguments reflect the graming courses, this may not be feasible. underlying rationale for Novato’s programs. There is also an interest in exploring administra- Students in the district are highly motivated in tive uses of microcomputers in individual schools, the courses and computer units. Even when visi- particularly to retrieve and handle information. tors come into their classrooms, students ignore Melendy expressed his concern about the dispro- them, fully involved with the computer. “We can’t portionate amount of time spent in looking up rec- keep the kids off the machines, ” stated one teach- ords, in gathering data for reports, and in other er. Novato also boasts of its computer whiz kids— clerical tasks: “We’re still working at the quill students now in high schools and in their first year level, when we have the technology to do other- of college who have incredible programing skills. wise. ” Some students sell programs on the side and find Contact and interaction with the State Depart- computer-related work in the summer. One stu- ment of Education and other districts in the coun- dent, Casey Kosak, has received national recogni- ty are increasing. The county teachers’ center has tion and has been featured in an article in Data- become an important broker. When the State Com- mation. missioner came to Marin County in spring 1982 Problems remain, however. Keeping up with the to focus on computers in education, he met with advances in technology is one major concern. local district leaders and others at the center and There is already a need to upgrade several of the nearby universities. PETs that were purchased several years ago. Of- Novato elementary schools may participate in ficials know that new hardware may make their a LOGO project currently being developed by the current inventory obsolete in a few years, but they Marin Community College, the Marin Computer have no easy choices, especially when funds are Center, and the Teacher Learning Cooperative limited. Another area of concern is the impact that under a grant from the Buck Foundation. The computer electives will have on other areas of the Buck Foundation (administered by the San Fran- curriculum. Computer courses fill up immediately cisco Foundation), funds are restricted to use only while industrial arts courses are underenrolled. in Marin County. Currently several proposals for Moreover, teachers cannot easily be transferred support of computing in county schools—including from one course area to another. To complicate a mobile computer education van and a series of matters, the options to take electives may be re- workshops for teachers are being examined. duced as the school day is shortened to save mon- Joseph would like to see a Marin County sym- ey for the district. The high schools have already posium of national experts and local educators to reduced schedules from a full 6-period day to 5%. measure the impact of programs. She feels it is There is still the problem of reaching all of the time to reflect, to examine current programs ob- student population, particularly in the high school jectively, and to identify limitations and un- classes. Courses are still tied to the math depart- answered questions. According to Joseph, “This ment, but Joseph hopes this will soon change. Fi- is needed not just here, but all across the Nation. ” 200 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Cupertino Union School type, they showed it to us. ” Associate Super- intendent William Zachmeier and computer spe- District, Cupertino, Calif. cialist/teacher Bobby Goodson remember the day The Setting clearly. They were amazed and excited with what they saw. Situated in California’s “Silicon Valley, ” where Several months later, when the district’s IVC apricot groves turn into computer factories over- proposal for a math program to the State was night, the Cupertino Union School District (K-8) turned down, Zachmeier urged Goodson to try serves a population of 50,000. School population again, but this time to try something with com- is 86-percent white, 8-percent Asian, 4-percent puters. With active support from the administra- Hispanic, and 2-percent black. Although the pop- tion, another proposal was written. Funded by ulation growth rate is one of the highest in the ESEA title IVC for 2 years, the junior high school United States, an acute housing shortage and in- project provided for a full-time director, but no flated costs have resulted in a decade of declining equipment. In addition, IVB money was allocated enrollment. Fifteen schools have been closed. The to purchase three 16K Apples; old black-and-white 12,150 students, half of peak enrollments in 1969, TV monitors were located. Goodson learned by attend 4 junior high and 20 elementary schools. talking to people; attending meetings, and worked District boundaries cut across six municipal juris- with students and small groups of teachers—a dictions. Parents support the schools, but officials school at a time. point out that only 25 percent of the area’s subur- For the 2 years of the projects, says Goodson, ban population have children in public schools. “we felt our way around and ‘nickeled and dimed’ Major industries in the area are aerospace- and our way. ” Approximately three dozen computers computer-related. Many of the companies are were purchased with IVB funds, MGM State small and relatively young. This is a high-tech, funds, and parent donations. After IVC funding middle socioeconomic community with high educa- ended, Goodson’s position was supported by the tional expectations. There is interest from the In- local district. The approach was “to learn by try- dustry/Education Council and the Chambers of ing out various approaches so that when we went Commerce and service clubs as the schools re- to the board for their support of a total district spond to computer-related, entry-level job needs. program, we knew what we wanted. ” Cupertino has a mature, experienced teaching In spring of 1981, the superintendent made the staff whose average age is 47. Ninety-two percent district proposal to place computer labs in each of the teachers are in the top range of the salary junior high school, and labs or clusters in half of scale. Declining enrollments and reduced staff the elementary schools, at a total expenditure of positions make it difficult to maintain high morale, $299,337. On the night of the presentation, the however. Officials note that the district’s staff de- board room was packed with teachers, administra- velopment and incentive programs and its com- tors, students, and parents. “One by one they got puter project are “our most powerful weapon” in up and told the board why they wanted comput- maintaining enthusiasm and quality education. ers,” remembers Zachmeier. “And the board gave With an annual budget of $30 million, 70 per- us everything we asked for, ” says Goodson. cent of funding now comes from the State, revers- ing almost exactly the ratio that existed before the Computer Literacy Curriculum passage of Proposition 13. Educators feel local control of education has eroded. The one benefit The computer literacy program was developed of declining enrollments has been the sale of ex- by teachers using computers in their classrooms. cess property. Because of high land values, these The program focuses first on computer awareness, sales have resulted in significant capital reserves and then on computer use. which can be used for equipment and capital im- The goals is that by the end of grade 6, all Cuper- provements only. tino students be fully “aware” of computers. By the end of grade 8, all students should have had District Programs the opportunity to use the computer as a tool and to be introduced to the idea of programing. Cupertino is the home of the Apple Computer Inservice Training and Staff Development. The Co.: “the boys that designed the Apple grew up district has a long tradition of inservice. Staff can here, ” relate Cupertino educators, “ . . . and when earn credit toward salary increments, in exchange they had put together their first Apple II proto- for released time, for conference registration fees, App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 201 for instructional supplies, or for university course graphics on the computer, while elementary school work. Extensive computer inservice courses were students in the gifted and talented program at the developed and taught at first by Goodson. In time, Wilson Exploration Center develop new thinking those she trained taught others; the cadre of re- skills using the computer, and then debug their source people continues to grow. The introductory original programs. course begins with three short modules of two At Muir Elementary School, computers can be 2-hour sessions, each followed by optional strands checked out to parents and teachers; every week- in programing (BASIC, PILOT, LOGO) and soft- end they are all checked out. Because the computer ware evaluation and design. Courses for parent in the library is used nonstop, access for many aides, secretaries, and others have also been students is a problem. At the parents’ insistence, developed. two introductory workshops were offered to par- Approximately 80 percent of the teaching staff ents. The school plans to use parent volunteers to have participated in at least one course. Moreover, teach computer literacy curriculum activities dur- all principals and administrative staff attended a ing alternate library periods. In this school, l-day workshop in the summer of 1981, led by parents will become a major force as volunteers Richard Pugh, JHS computer teacher; Judy in the program. Chamberlain, teacher of the gifted and talented; and At the West Valley Elementary School one such Bobby Goodson. parent, Cheryl Turner, became a catalyst and Installation of the labs is to proceed in stages prime mover in establishing the school’s computer to provide adequate time for schoolwide planning literacy program. The program began with enthu- by each faculty and for support of the program by siastic teacher and student response to Turner’s the computer resource teacher. Three labs were demonstration of a computer she had made from completed by fall 1981. By 1982-83 all junior highs a kit. With strong support from the principal, will have labs. Each computer lab will have a total microcomputers were installed in the library media of 15 student stations and a teacher demonstra- center and Turner was hired as an aide to teach tion station which includes a large screen TV and computer literacy. Funding for the microcom- a printer. Two of the labs will be equipped with puters came from the PTA, a grant from the Apples and two will be equipped with Ataris. INTEL Corp., and MGM funds. A parent, an Atari All but two elementary schools have at least one executive, arranged for a loan of an Atari to the computer as well, and there are at least three dif- school. All but two teachers want their students ferent systems in the schools. Diversity of hard- to participate in the program. Turner, who has ware at the elementary school level, where comput- “had a fascination with computers for 20 years, ” ers are used in a variety of ways in classrooms and enjoys being a role model for the students and in the media centers, presents no problems. In the demonstrating, especially to the girls, “that it’s long run, district officials now think that this di- okay to enjoy electronics and run around with a versity will be an advantage. screwdriver in your purse. ”

Sample Programs Impacts The computer lab at Hyde Junior High School The computer literacy program has energized is a large room that accommodates the student both teachers and their students. Individual par- microcomputer stations comfortably around three ents have been tremendously supportive, although sides of its perimeter. Small round tables cluster by and large Cupertino does not benefit directly in the middle, where students come for discussion, from proximity to the corporate world and Silicon instruction, and collaborative work. But most of Valley industries. the time it is the computers that are busy. While More than 65 percent of the district’s teachers they input data and compose print statements, ar- have received literacy training. Goodson sees the ticles and pictures on the classroom walls remind benefits especially for those in dead-end jobs. Neg- them of the history of computers and where and ative feelings have been turned around, and new how computers are used today. Students all seem life has been put into the educational process. to be working on their own assignment. While one Many are convinced that it is the opportunity to student writes a program to calculate his grade- become a learner and “be in control” that is the point average, another designs a simple game, and irresistable appeal of the program. still another runs a preset program. Meanwhile, Many students “turned off” by school have also students at Kennedy Junior High School generate been motivated by the program. Many are those 202 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education whose interest and aptitude could not have been Ronald E. Franklin, Superintendent predicted. The problem now is getting them to go Richard Melendy, Principal home from school. Jack O. Rothe, Director of Instruction The program has problems, but they do not ap- Arthur Luehrmann Former Director, Computer Project, pear serious. There are teachers who want to be Lawrence Hall of Science Joyce Hakansson, Former Education Program Co- involved in computing but who receive little sup- ordinator, Lawrence Hall of Science port, or no access to the computers in their Cupertino Union School District, Cupertino, Calif. buildings. The inequity between some of the ele- William Zachmeier, Associate Superintendent mentary schools continues to grow. There is also Jerry Prizant, Coordinator of Media Services recognition that the lab arrangements do not ac- Bobby Goodson, Teacher, Hyde Junior High School, commodate the needs of the science teacher who Computer Literacy Lab and Coordinator, Computer wants a computer in class, nor the librarian who Programs wants one in the library, nor the principal who Frank Clark, Principal, Kennedy Junior High School wants one in the office. Additional funds may be Richard Pugh, Teacher, Computer Literacy Lab allocated or alternate arrangements developed to Ron LaMar, Principal, Hyde Junior High School Harvey Barnett, Principal, West Valley Elementary serve these various needs. School Finally, until recently, there has been no integra- Cheryl Turner, Aide, West Valley Elementary School tion of computing programs in the junior high K. A. Fisk, Principal, Muir Elementary School school with programs offered in the high school. Judy Chamberlin, Teacher, Gifted and Talented Pro- Students are frustrated in cases where there are gram Wilson Center no courses or when courses are outdated and Computer-Using Educators - CUE Monthly equipment is obsolete. Board Meeting, Palo Alto, Calif., Jan. 22, 1982. Bobby Goodson, President, CUE, and computer Implications resource specialist Cupertino Union School District Jose Gutierez, Vice President, CUE, and faculty The district goal is that all schools will have com- member, San Francisco State University puter laboratories by 1984. Training opportunities Ann Lathrop, library coordinator, San Mateo County will be expanded, and new uses for the computer Board of Education Helen Joseph resource teacher-math, science, and com- in the classroom will be explored. Cupertino edu- puters, Novato Unified School District cators hope that there will be articulation and coor- William Sandy Wagner, computer coordinator, Santa dination between the secondary school systems. Clara County Beyond the new courses and expanded efforts Glenn Fisher, computer coordinator, Alameda County at the secondary level, Associate Superintendent Le Roy Finkel, computer coordinator, San Mateo Office Zachmeier’s ultimate goal is to give every young- of Education ster a computer some time in elementary school Karen Kent, director, Teachers Learning Cooperative, because: Marin County Office of Education There will be a need for new skills and new atti- Don McKell, teacher, Independence High School, San tudes. It’s our job to prepare students for the kind Jose of world that will become not the world that was. Brian Sakai, computer teacher, San Carlos High School We will have kids who leave Cupertino . . . who will Russ Bailey, computer district coordinator, San Mateo be fully computer-literate, discriminating buyers City Schools and users. And rather than being prisoners of tech- Bob Enenstein, teacher, Carlmont High School, Belmont nology, they will be masters of it. Steve King, computer teacher, Crittendon Middle School, Mountain View *The9e fkst activitie9 provided access to students in the Junior High School GATE program and were supported by State MGM (mentally gifted minor) funds. *A9 more eq~pment is pwcha~, the district ~ Shift h~d- Bibliography ware to have uniform equipment in the junior high labs, where Lathrop, Ann, and Goodson, Bobby, “How to Start a programing is taught. Software Exchange,” Recreational Computing, issue 53, October 1981. Resources Wagner, William J., “The Story of Computer-Using Educators, ” Recreational Computing, issue 48. Persons interviewed: Computer-Using Educators Newsletter, vol. 3, No. 6, Novato Unified School District, Novato, Calif. May 15, 1981; vol. 4, No. 2,3, Oct. 23, 1981; vol. 4, Helen Joseph, Computer Resource Teacher and Co- No. 1, Aug. 15, 1981. The newsletter is published six ordinator times a year and mailed to CUE members. App. A—Case Studies: Applications of /formation Technologies . 203

San Mateo County Office of Education and Com- puter-Using Educators, Microcomputer Center Reports 1980-81. Joseph, Helen, “Report to the Board of Trustees: Com- puter Education Project, ” October 1981, Novato Uni- fied School District. Luehrmann, Arthur, Cpmputer Education in the Novato Unified School District: A Needs Assessment, May 1980. Goodson, Bobby, “Computer Literacy in the Elementary School: A District-Wide Program, ” draft, January 1982, Cupertino Union School District. Computer Literacy Curriculum, Cupertino Union School District, 1981, A Listing of District Computer Inservice Classes, 1981-82, Cupertino Union School District.

Technology Education and Training, Oxford Public Schools, Oxford, Mass. Introduction The technology training and education programs of the Oxford Public Schools were selected for study because they provide an example of how a small, rural school district with limited local funding resources can offer up-to-date education and training opportunities to its students and adults in the community through partnerships A special program at the Oxford High School District with private industry and other rural school dis- introduces students to the world of computer maintenance tricts. This study also provides an example of the and electronics fabrication. This student credits her gradua- impact of Federal and State grants on the imple- tion from Oxford High School to the engaging qualities of mentation of new programs. Although each grant the curriculum, which, she said, kept her in school after she had become disenchanted with the regular academic program was relatively small, “to Oxford they looked like a Hope Diamond, ” according to the Superintend- ent. The Oxford Public Schools serve 2,460 students in grades K-12 who attend three elementary, one The Setting middle, and one high school. Almost all students are white; fewer than 1 percent are black, and few- Originally a French Huguenot settlement, Ox- er than 1 percent Hispanic. Of the high school ford was founded more than 300 years ago in cen- graduates, 30 percent attend 4-year colleges, while tral Massachusetts, approximately 20 miles south another 30 percent go on to community college and of Worcester. Once the center of a thriving mill in- vocational training institutes. dustry, Oxford’s economic base seriously declined In this rural community, according to its super- as the mills closed. At present only one small mill intendent, there is strong support for education operates; it employs five people. No new industries with local taxes, although Proposition 2½ now lim- have been established. Oxford’s population of its that revenue source. The 1981-82 budget of $4.2 11,450 is primarily blue-collar. In 1980, Oxford’s million results in an expenditure of $1,945 per annual per capita income was $6,582. Of the adult pupil. Many of the teachers are from the local or working population living in Oxford and surround- neighboring areas, and there are common bonds ing similar communities, 60 percent are semiskilled between the educators and the school board. Even or unskilled workers and 11 percent hold profes- with declining resources, administrators and sional or managerial positions. teachers feel that there is support from the board 204 “ Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education and community and that their efforts in behalf of nerships with private industry had to be devel- the students are appreciated. oped. John Philippe, the program director of Project Building New Partnerships to COFFEE, and Rob Richardson, the director of the Link Education and Technology French River Teacher Center, became involved Training with the local industry councils and the State High Technology Commission. Serving on committees History. Francis Driscoll, superintendent of this and attending meetings, they made direct contacts small, rural school district with almost no local in- with individuals from electronics and computer industrial base, searched for ways to meet his stu- dustries located in the Worcester and Boston dents’ diverse needs. Although the district was areas. small, it had students who could not function in Mike Odom, DEC Executive on loan to the regular classrooms because of emotional and learn- Humphrey Occupational Center, notes that the ing handicaps, whose abilities were seriously un- Oxford educators were unusual– “they sought our derchallenged, and whose interests weren’t being advice, and they listened. ” Similarly, the superin- met. The solution he developed, late in the 1970’s, tendent proposed to the school board that the dis- was to form a loose federation of similar districts trict develop a working relationship between edu- near Oxford, to develop programs that they all cation and industry. The school board, remembers needed. Chairman Schur, said, “Go ahead, you have our Driscoll reasoned that by regionalizing pro- blessing.” grams and services through the federation and The district efforts focused on computer technol- other similar cooperative efforts, he could create ogy, an area that both the special needs training the equivalent of a small-sized city and the critical program and the teachers were interested in. Even- mass needed. By joining Oxford to Auburn, Lei- tually, several paths led to one of Massachusetts’ cester, Charlton, Dudley, Webster, and then largest computer corporations, Digital Equipment Southbridge, the combined federation involved Co. (DEC). Early contacts were with salesperson- 35,000 students, 1,200 teachers, and 62 members nel and then, Mary Ann Burek of the Corporate of local boards of education. Contribution Division, who put the district in The Oxford School Board and administration touch with Del Lippert, Corporate Manager of agreed that they would serve as fiscal agents for Educational Services. any cooperative projects. Proposals were developed and funded. One Project-COFFEE (Cooper- Current Programs ative Federation for Educational Experiences)— provided occupational training and education for Project COFFEE. COFFEE is an alternative oc- students with special needs, and was funded by cupational education program for the special- the Massachusetts State Department of Educa- needs, disadvantaged, and handicapped students tion in 1979. A second proposal for a regional of a six-community cooperative school federation. teacher training consortium, the French River The program includes life-coping skills education, Teacher Center, was funded by the U.S. Depart- as well as an occupational educational experience ment of Education from 1978 to 1981. Both proj- in an adult-like work environment. The high-tech- ects are housed in Oxford, with COFFEE in a port- nology training components provide the student able building next to the high school. The teacher with job entry skills, job placement skills, coopera- center was built from surplus motel shells, moved tive job experiences, shadowing experiences (job to school land, and assembled and finished with observation), and a related work study program. professional contractors and students from the In the electronic assembly component, students vocational training programs. read and interpret schematic diagrams and me- As district educators looked at the State’s bur- chanical drawings and gain experiences in layout, geoning high-technology industries and the grow- manufacturing, and assembly of printed circuits ing relationship between education and training, and electronic components. Students test and in- it was clear to them that high technology was not spect electronic components, circuits, and assem- just for elite students. Informal data gathered blies. They are trained for entry-level employment from Worcester and Boston area industries reas: electromechanical assemblers, electronic main- vealed that entry-level high-tech jobs were under- tenance workers, drafting assistants (electronics), filled and that 80 percent of those jobs did not re- electronics utility workers, electronics inspectors, quire college training. It was also clear that part- electronics mechanics, electronic testers, and elec- App. A—Case Studies: Applications of information Technologies ● 205 tronics assemblers. Many of the assembly tools Late in the fall, Driscoll initiated direct contact and testing devices and most of the hardware, with Del Lippert, Corporate Manager of Educa- components, and circuitry used for hands-on in- tional Training and Services at DEC’s headquar- struction was donated to the program as a result ters in Bedford. Recounts Lippert: “Driscoll had of individual, personal contacts with electronics an idea and the Governor had a half million in dis- companies. cretionary funds. ” It was, according to many in After a year of operation, the Project COFFEE Oxford, “a meeting of kindred spirits-both want director, John Phillipo, and Superintendent Dris- to make things better for education. ” coll planned a new component that would involve Project KING-By Tech (Key Industrial Needs use of state-of-the-art computer hardware. Con- Gapped by Technology) was funded in January tacts with DEC were made, and the company con- 1981 to provide underemployed and unemployed tributed $22,800. In the data-processing compo- adults training opportunities in word processing, nent, started in September 1980, students use office automation, electronic assembly, program- state-of-the-art computer hardware and software ing, and program application. A total of 110 stu- techniques in the computer center and an auto- dents were served with $46,015 from the Bay State mated office. The instructor assumes the role of Skill’s Commission, $43,015 from DEC, and $3,000 data-processing manager, and students learn by from Quinsigamond Community College for in- hands-on experience in hardware operation and structors. As a result, the district’s inventory of maintenance, computer awareness, and use of computer center hardware was increased, two BASIC. They are trained for entry-level employ- teachers received training from DEC, and the ment as junior programers, console operators, working relationship with DEC was well estab- computer service technicians, data typists, printer lished. DEC’s Lippert explained that his company operators, control clerks, and computer aides. was interested in working with schools “who want Project COFFEE was funded through a state- to work with us, want to make something hap- wide competitive grant process utilizing Federal pen. ” In the case of Oxford, there was a sense that occupational education and special education the social and manpower views of the district tied moneys authorized under Public Laws 94-482 and into those of the company. Furthermore, Lippert 94-142, a total of $557,402 for September 1, 1979, felt that Driscoll conveyed a commitment and en- through June 30, 1982. In cost breakdowns by pro- thusiasm that was unique. gram areas, a total of $167,050 was expended for French River Teachers Center. Through the the two technology components for more than 100 French River Teacher Center, 30 guidance counse- students over the 3 years. The students in these lors from Central Massachusetts high schools are high-technology components use facilities in the learning about high-technology career opportuni- Oxford district, while students in the distributive ties (Project CHANCE). Sixteen sessions (begun education component run and operate The Grand in January 1982) included field trips to computer Illusion Printing Co. in Auburn, and students in companies and companies that use high-tech tools, the buildings and grounds component work in as well as discussion forums with representatives Webster. The program is continuing tenuously on from nearby industries. Audiovisual, self-instruc- local support, but long-term commitments have tional materials on technology career donated by not yet been obtained. DEC will also be used. This project grew out of Project KING-By Tech. In the fall of 1980, the activities with the high-technology industry repre- Governor of Massachusetts created the Bay State sentatives from Unitrode in Lexington, Prime Skills Commission to fund projects that would ad- Computer in Natick, and Micro Networks in Wor- dress the needs of the State’s computer industries cester. for trained workers. Superintendent Driscoll The Teacher Center, federally funded through formed a planning group that involved local educa- September 1981, has continued to operate with a tors and representatives from industry, colleges, director arid a part-time secretary. Its continued the French River Teacher Center, the Worcester existence depends on the director’s ability to brok- Chamber of Commerce’s Career Education Consor- er new relationships, such as the counselor’s proj- tium, and the Central Region Private Industry ect and other activities with the district technol- Council. The key to funding was the stipulation ogy and training-related programs. For example, that 50 percent of financial support come from pri- in February 1981, again through occupational edu- vate industry and that the other 50 percent be cation moneys, the Teacher Center provided train- available from the Skills Commission. ing for 30 surplus teachers and other unemployed 206 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education adults in computer programming (COBOL), word most current information and skills, and they im- processing, and electronic test technology and mediately draw on these skills in working with assembly. The $54,080 project received $39,742 their students. The collaborative partnership with from the State, $8,640 from DEC, and $5,698 in industry goes far beyond the benefits received contributions from the district. Several teachers thus far. It is clear to Oxford’s superintendent and trained in the program were able to find new jobs his technology teachers that this working relation- in the industry. ship is critical in enabling the district to keep up A mobile computer bus with $100,000 worth of with the rapid changes in high technology. equipment was loaned to the French River Teacher Furthermore, DEC’s expertise is recognized and Center for use by area teachers and students in relied on as program additions or revisions are con- the spring of 1982. The bus was equipped with a sidered. Other nearby companies directly con- PDP 11-34A computer and two video terminals, cerned with the high-technology training pro- one magnetic tape card reader, two hard-copy ter- grams are also continually contacted and utilized minals, and several self-paced instructional sta- as resources. These close ties to industry, argue tions. Owned by DEC, the bus had previously been Oxford educators, make their programs more ef- operated by the Commonwealth Center in Cam- fective and unique. bridge. Impacts on Teachers. Through the French River The Teacher Center will share use of the bus Teacher Center, Oxford teachers and those of the with the Humphrey Occupational Resource Center surrounding districts have participated in work- in Boston. Present plans are to find minimal fund- shops, forums, courses, and visits to high-tech ing so that a technician can take the bus from companies. Although no formal assessment of school to school, giving youngsters the opportuni- these efforts has been made, teachers indicate that ty to have hands-on experience. The loan of the bus they are better informed, more comfortable with was first discussed during a l-day teacher center technology, and would like to have more oppor- seminar on computer technology held December tunities for training. 8, 1980, and attended by representatives of 11 Impacts on Students. The Federal and State school districts, 3 colleges, and private industry. funded programs have reached numerous stu- A loose “consortium of computer teachers” was dents. Project COFFEE students recognize that formed and has met several times. they now have skills, and they feel good about The center has arranged for teacher workshops themselves and their program: and courses on computers and microcomputers, . . . I’m an electronic assembler, I have a trade. collaborating with the Commonwealth Inservice . . . I can build you a stereo; before, I only knew how Institute (funded by an IVC grant through the to push the buttons. . . . There are regular kids Massachusetts State Department of Education). (taking the electronics assembly course) . . . and they need our help. They can’t do the things we can. Area teachers have learned BASIC programing . . . If the program wasn’t here, I’d be out of school languages, explored a variety of software applica- we have teachers who understand us. tions, and examined computer applications and im- In assessments of student progress in entry-level pacts. The center also organized a technology con- high-technology training skills, based on a series ference with the New England Teachers’ Center of competency tests developed by the project staff Cluster, held this May in Worcester. Director Rob and 16 industry/business representatives, 82 per- Richardson’s contacts with DEC and other high- cent passed electronic assembly and 77 percent tech industries will enable him to schedule field passed computer technology. The success of these trips, speakers, and presentations. special students is related to many factors. Tech- nology skills, special counseling, and basic educa- Impacts tional programs have all played a part. For the high school principal, the important result is that Impacts on the School System. As far as princi- these students are turned around: “When these pal Roger Bacon is concerned, the benefits out- seniors graduate this spring and I get to shake weigh the problems. The district has equipment their hands . . . I feel that this is what education worth a half million dollars that could not have is all about. ” been obtained any other way (see table A-l). Fur- In addition to the COFFEE students, other stu- thermore this state-of-the-art hardware is sup- dents from Oxford High School have also made ported by DEC training and software. The two Ox- significant gains in computer programing courses ford teachers trained at DEC have acquired the and in independent study projects under the direc- App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 207

Table A-1 .–Sources of Funds for Computer Hardware and Software, 1980.81

Direct market Digital Equipment State/Federal Oxford School Description value Corp. grants Department Total 1 PDP 11/34 central processing unit . . . . . $41,500.00 1 16-line multiplexer ...... 4,100.00 2 LA 34 decwriters ...... 2,900.00 1 285 LPM printer...... 7,800.00 $23,530.00 $39,097.00 -o- $62,627.00 1 VT 100 video terminal...... 2,050.00 3 modem cables ...... 177.00 1 200 CPM card reader ...... 4,100.00 Systems management training...... 2,100.00 2,100.00 -o- -o- 2,100.00 Data-processing renovation/installation . . 9,150.00 3,000.00 6,150.00 -o- 9,150.00 3 W3 78 word-processing units ...... 28,500.00 14,250.00 1,250.00 -o- 28,500.00 13,000.00 Electronics assembly training ...... 3,200.00 3,085.00 115.00 -o- 3,200.00 1 TS-11 tape drive...... 15,400.00 2,035.00 3 VT-1OO video terminals...... 6,150.00 13,325.00 7,000.00 26,650.00 3 LA 34 decwriters ...... 5,100.00 4,290.00 1 LA 34 decwriter ...... 1,700.00 8,292.00 -o- 16,786.00 4 VT 100 video terminals...... 8,200.00 -o- 1 RL02 disk drive ...... 5,911.00 8,494.00 5 RL02 disk cartridges...... 975.00 14 self-paced audiovisual instructional programs ...... 15,320.00 15,320.00 -o- -o- 15,320.00 94 hours, level I consultants ...... 5,160.00 2,560.00 2,000.00 -o- 5,160.00 Instructional supplies ...... 14,130.00 3,150.00 600.00 4,200.00 14,130.00 4,830.00 1,950.00 Software programs ...... 81,000.00 52,000.00 29,000.00 -o- 81,000.00 Totals ...... $264.623.00 $145,104.00 $119,519.00 -o- $264,623.00 SOURCE” Oxford Publ!c Schools, Oxford, Mass tion of the computer center director, Al Jones. “In problems with its DEC system. In 3 hours he had this kind of an environment, you don’t have to solved many of the problems. push them, you just have to keep up with them . . . Only a few problems remain. One is that, on The interest, the turn-around, the growth, of these occasion, security of school records is a problem youngsters is incredible. ” because both instruction and management func- As in many other districts, these computer whiz tions are together. Also, there is a growing demand kids are at the center early in the morning and late for courses and computer access, and demand may in the evening until Jones locks the door. Several outpace resources. Finally, there are some who students—presently three or four—will have the question the district’s growing emphasis on tech- equivalent of 2 years of college-level computing nology and programs for special students. They when they graduate high school. Another 30 or 40 worry that other areas will be shortchanged. will have 2 years of programing experience, not Impacts on the Community. According to school just in BASIC, but also in Pascal and in WATBOL board members, parents and students say again (the University of Waterloo, Canada, educational and again, “What a difference the technology pro- version of COBOL). Students learn to operate all grams have made. ” Parents describe changes in phases of the system, and their understanding and their children and indicate that they are now inter- experiences are intentionally geared to the real ested, know what they want to do with their lives, world. and have made complete turnarounds. What ap- Jones talks about one of his students, a junior, pears to be most important to the community is who has written a “wonderfully sophisticated pro- that these students have goals and some have em- gram to chart and analyze students’ chronobiologi- ployable skills. High school principal, Bacon ex- cal rhythms. ” Jones says this program “is better plains: “They (parents and students) know that than the $20,000 software package we bought for computers are the ‘in’ thing in Massachusetts. ” principals. ” Another student recently went to help By extending the technology programs to under- a nearby school district that was having major employed and unemployed adults and surplus 208 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education teachers, the schools have made maximum use of the progress made . . . that we are so proud the computer center and have provided benefits of . . . now be emasculated because of financial con- to the community. The absence of continuing straints?” worries the school board chairman. financial support, however, may limit the With increasing costs, a reduced budget from long-term. Proposition 2%, and fewer Federal dollars for edu- When the community parents, school board cation, school officials and the community are con- members, teachers, and administrators are asked cerned. There is some hope that the maintenance why it has been possible to bring technology train- costs for these programs will be lower than the ing and education to Oxford, they point to the fol- startup costs. Furthermore, it is hoped that the lowing: other districts will be able to find a way to pick ● an aggressive, energetic superintendent will- up local costs. ing to chart unknown waters and take risks Finally, Oxford has submitted Project COFFEE in starting programs without the security of for validation by the Joint Dissemination Review long-term funding; Board of the U.S. Department of Education so ● a willingness by the school board and the ad- that the Project could be eligible for National Dif- ministration to serve as the fiscal agents for fusion Network Funding. Superintendent Driscoll the projects: to write the proposals; to negoti- hasn’t given upon the State Department of Edu- ate with State and Federal funding agencies; cation, either. and to contact the private sector; Then there is further collaboration with the pri- ● the commitment and ability to work together vate sector. Educators argue that turning out —administration, professional staff, school trained, qualified people is the best selling point board, other districts, the private sector–to they have. The industry needs their graduates. “get what we need for our students;” When Project COFFEE students completed the ● the availability of Federal and State funds, wiring for the computer center, they proved they without which none of the programs could were capable of technically demanding work, and have been initiated; they saved the district $2,000. ● an ability to find resources when they aren’t Driscoll’s dream for his schools and for his com- there: assembling a teacher center from sur- munity goes even further. He wants to bring a plus concrete motel shells transported to the major high-technology company manufacturing site; or scavenging cartons of printout paper plant to Oxford. He feels this would strengthen used on only one side, which become perfect- the town’s economic base and provide the long- ly appropriate for the student’s output; or term support the educational system needs. scrounging obsolete electronic equipment, Others in the community support this idea and are which became the instructional cadavers in hopeful that the district’s technology training pro- the assembly labs; grams will be a strong selling point. ● the use of professionally supervised students to reduce building assembly and finishing Resources costs and, at the same time, meet the student need for on-the-job training; and Case study interviews: ● a belief that “everything we do can lead to Francis G. Driscoll, Superintendent something else. ” Roger Bacon, Principal, Oxford High School Finally, they single out the superintendent’s lead- John Phillipo, Director, Project COFFEE ership and skill in unifying all of the participants, Allen Jones, Director, Computer Center and Teacher forging private sector partnerships on a personal Rob Richardson, Director, French River Teacher Center one-to-one basis, convincing State officials from Pat Ferreira, former teacher, Oxford High School Elaine Birchard, student various departments to fund programs jointly, and Gary Bigelow, student utilizing public schools and community college fa- Paul Winiarski, student cilities to expand technical educational opportu- Kenny Gatze, student nities. Walter Schur, Chairman, School Board Patricia Troy, School Board Member Future Del Lippert, Corporate Manager, Educational Services, Digital Equipment Co., Bedford, Mass. How will programs that have been developed Michael Odom, Digital Equipment Co., Executive-on- continue to be supported? “Will the benefits and Loan, Humphrey Occupational Center, Boston App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 209

Bibliography that of a major corporation than of a school district.) Oxford Public Schools, Proposals to the Bay State Skills There is general consensus among the education- Commission: Key Industrial Needs Gapped By Tech- al and lay communities that the district has been nology, November 1980. Oxford Public Schools, Proposal to the Division of Oc- well, but conservatively, managed to support a cupational Education and the Division of Special strong, traditional curriculum. Through prudent Education, Massachusetts Department of Education, management over the past dozen or so years, sub- Cooperative Federation for Educational Experience, stantial sums have been placed in reserves—a July 1979 and April 1980. unique situation, considering the strained eco- Oxford Public Schools, A Report of French River nomic condition of most of the Nation’s schools. Teacher Center Activities Related to High Tech- Declining enrollments, the major area of concern nology In Collaboration With Digital Equipment Cor- for the district, may eventually have a negative poration, February 1982. affect on the number of facilities used (one or two campuses), the variety of programs offered, and Computer Literacy Program: the size of the professional staff. However, the Lyons Township Secondary superintendent argues that these problems can be School District, LaGrange, Ill. resolved, in part, by the district’s effective use of technology, Lyons Township’s computer program was se- On the whole, the district’s problems appear mi- lected for study because it exemplifies a system- nor in comparison with other districts’ financial wide application of computing that involves and woes, population shifts, student unrest, and staff affects the district entire student population and reductions. Administrative and teaching staff and more than 90 percent of the district professional board members acknowledge how fortunate the staff in all curricular areas. This site provides an district is. For example, teachers’ salaries are at example of how a major infusion of computer hard- the top of national pay scales, and a new 3-year ware facilitates its widespread use and within a contract is in place. The major focus of the school system access, Local funds support the pur- students and faculty is education, where learning chase of hardware, training of teachers, and devel- is viewed as a serious endeavor. opment of software. Furthermore, it shows the critical role played by the local superintendent in Computer Applications in conceptualizing the program, initiating action, and the District supporting ongoing activities. The district’s use of computers goes back to the The Setting late 1960’s, when its first mainframe computer was purchased for the district management and busi- Located in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, ness operations. As in other districts, instructional the two campuses of the Lyons Township High opportunities for students were limited to a few School’s (LTHS)–in LaGrange and Western highly specialized courses in the business and Springs–enroll a total of 4,000 students. The math departments. Approximately 2 years ago, it school population is drawn from six suburban became apparent that the district computer was areas that are primarily middle-class, bedroom outdated and would need to be replaced. In addi- communities of Chicago. Approximately 90 per- tion, there was a growing interest in expanding in- cent of the students are white; 3 to 4 percent are structional computing activities and a general feel- black; 3 to 4 percent are Asian; and 4 percent are ing that computer Literacy was important. The ini- Hispanic. The majority, 75 to 80 percent, of LTHS tial approach, according to a member of the school graduates go on to college. board, was to expand the large computer system The school district’s financial base is stable. Lo- to accommodate both needs. cal property tax revenues (which include a strong At the same time, the board was interviewing industrial base) account for 85 percent of the prospective candidates for superintendent. John budget; the remaining funds come from the State. Bristol was the board’s choice, in part because he The current budget is $19 million; per pupil already had experience with computers and in- expenditure is $2,300. School buildings are well- structional applications and had started one of the maintained-offices, hallways, and classrooms are earliest computer literacy programs in Minnesota. pleasant and clean. Facilities appear to be more Bristol convinced the board that student uses of than adequate. (The boardroom looked more like computers ought to be considered separately, and 210 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education that microcomputers provided a viable option to Eight laboratories—four in each campus of the a mainframe computer with terminals. With high school–are installed, with a total of 208 strong support from the board, Bristol came to terminals for student use. The cost breakdown LaGrange ready to revise and expand the district’s over a 5-year period is shown in table A-2. The computer programs. superintendent maintains that these costs are reasonable. 1 Planning In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Superintendent Bristol justified the district’s large The superintendent’s first objective was to de- purchase: velop a plan. From the outset, all the curriculum Some schools are reluctant to buy (microcomput- areas were involved. Decisionmaking was not lim- ers). They say that tomorrow there will be a faster ited to computer experts; building principals, or cheaper model. But how many tomorrows do you department chairmen, and interested teachers wait for? What is the value to get our students to were involved. A basic assumption of the plan was have computer literacy now? to provide computer experiences for all students: “the use of the computer should not be reserved Computer Literacy for for the gifted and/or mathematically oriented stu- All Students dent. The computer needs to and can be utilized by students of all ability levels, including those With the installation of over 200 microcomput- with limited learning capabilities. ” Three major ers in eight laboratory settings, students at Lyons applications were designated: Township High School interact with technology Instruction first-hand. During the school day, the laboratories Literacy are busy with students and their teachers in a vari- Competency ety of subject areas. English students are refin- Speciality ing their understanding of paragraphing with a Instructional support tutorial program; consumer education students Tutorial work develop budgets using the number-handling capa- Drill and practice bilities of the computer; juniors in social studies Problem solving master the facts required by the statewide constitution test in a series of drill and practice exercises; Simulation Instructional games biology students solve problems using the com- Instructional management puter as a powerful tool for analysis; and special Success prediction education students expand their world history vo- Monitoring student progress cabulary in a series of drills, with opportunity for Vocational guidance extended practice with an infinitely patient College information teacher. IChicago Zlibune, Sunday, June 7, 1981. Hardware Selection

Another component of the planning activities Table A-2.--Five-Year Breakdown of was the selection of hardware. Not surprisingly, Computer Hardware Costs the most important criterion was “to obtain the maximum number of microcomputers for the dol- Each Total lars available. ” Local maintenance and repair Hardware (Networked Radio-Shack TRS-80, Model Ill) capability of the hardware vendor was also impor- 1 48K, twin disk ...... $1,946.10 $1,946.10 tant. The planners agreed that highly sophis- 26 16K, tape ...... 779.22 20,259.72 ticated microcomputers with sound and color 2 networks...... 389.22 778.44 capabilities were not needed for this initial phase 1 printer ...... 904.80 904.80 (computer literacy). However, networking capa- Total per classroom ...... $23,689.06 bility was considered highly desirable and, net- Total for 8 classrooms ...... x 8 = $191,112.48 Cost extension working in the laboratory setting is envisioned. 5-year life Hardware for the laboratories use a networked 400 students per year Cost per student for literacy per year Radio Shack TRS-80, Model III Configuration: (Total cost ÷ 5 years ÷ (4,000 students + 4,000) one 48K, twin-disk microcomputer, 26 16K, tape $191,112.48 ÷ 5 ÷ 8,000 = $4.78/student/year microcomputers, two networks, and one printer. SOURCE: Lyons Township Secondary School District, App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 211

These computer-related activities are part of the was to reach out to all faculty members to build program aimed at schoolwide computer literacy. their awareness of the potential for computers in In increasing numbers, students use the terminals education, to cultivate their support for the pro- before and after school. According to Bristol: gram by involving them in the planning of work- My computers are used all the time. It’s the best- shops and computer software curricula, and to de- used activity I have. To think that we were nowhere velop their computer literacy through training last spring and (look at) where we are today, I would workshops and other staff development activities. have to say we’ve made a significant step forward. Costs for most inservice training activities (e.g., A further step was taken in the spring of 1982, substitutes, consultants, payment for additional when all students completed a 5-hour “literacy working hours) were absorbed by the district op- package” that included lectures, films, group dis- erating budget. A separate allocation for the sum- cussions, and hands-on activities. The package: mer software development activities was approved 1) provided information about how computers by the school board. By relying primarily on local work; 2) promoted keyboard familiarity; 3) pro- district resources and scheduling activities during moted knowledge of BASIC language compo- school hours, the district reduced training costs. nents; 4) facilitated programing activities; and At the same time, this approach widened the base 5) focused on future technology developments and of support and ensured districtwide commitment their impacts on society. Current plans are to im- to implementation of the computer applications. plement this package during second-period classes According to Esther Gahala, director of curricu- –1 day a week for 5 weeks, on a staggered sched- lum, there appeared to be a strong sense of learn- ule—thereby reaching all students with minimal ing by doing; the staff response was largely posi- disruption of ongoing classes. tive. Participation in the 8-hour fall workshops was The subject area applications and the special voluntary, although some staff felt pressure from 5-hour computer literacy package were based on the administration. Gahala felt: “the value of these curriculum objectives originally developed by the (staff development activities) was in finding out Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium what not to do with teachers and students as well and adapted by the Lyons Township teachers to as what to do. Each experience refined our judg- fit local needs. ment and helped us in planning the next phase. Even more important to Gahala--who points out Other Computer Applications that she was unprepared to and, at first, totally overwhelmed by the thought of implementing Six different computer specialty courses are now computers in education—was the emergence of a offered through business education and math- cadre of 45 to 50 teachers who could advise, evalu- ematics. These courses include data processing, ate, and be a strong support system for the rest programing languages (BASIC, COBOL, RPG), of the faculty. and systems analysis. Approximately 10 students complete the entire range of courses. However, within the last year, an extra section of the intro- Software Development ductory BASIC course was added to the north campus schedule, and two additional sections were It is not clear whether software development added to the south campus schedule. According was part of the superintendent’s original plan. to one of the computer course teachers in business However, once the curriculum committee and ad- education, there is a “growing interest from one visory groups examined available software, there semester to the next . . . that is a result of the was a growing consensus that the district would literacy program. ” need to develop its own. Proposals for computer applications were solicited and 47 proposals from Teacher Training and 16 departments were accepted. Among the propos- Staff Development als were: ● Reinforce the spelling of words English teach- The goal of computer literacy for all students ers believe all students should know. and the objective of providing hands-on experience ● Test the effects of alcohol on parts of the with computers in all subject areas made system- body, using statistical information, for a wide teacher training not only desirable but abso- health course unit on alcohol abuse. lutely essential. Since the district could not count ● Determine the gross national product of a on hiring new staff, particularly as enrollments country after being given certain characteris- continued to decline, the superintendent’s strategy tics. 212 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

● Drill basic chord fingering for learning how to Township Secondary School District. However, play the guitar. there is evidence to suggest that both students ● Recognize grammatical errors in sentences for and teachers have benefited. an English course. ● Determine appropriate calorie intake based on Access to Computers individual physical characteristics, physical activity, and weight goals for a unit on nutri- Students in this district do have opportunities tion in a home economics course. to use computers during their regularly scheduled The superintendent wanted to involve teachers class time and before and after school. Some stu- in the ongoing development process and, at the dents interviewed carry their own floppy disks same time, use computer programers to write the with their books from class to class. Some of the software. To bridge the gap between the teacher- disks contain games; others hold student pro- authors and the programers, the superintendent grams and ongoing projects. The district does not selected teacher-consultants from the staff who yet have data on the number of computer-related had both curriculum and programing expertise to activities completed by students. However, it can function as supervisors. These supervisors played be reasonably assumed that these students are in- a pivotal role in software development by helping teracting with the technology far more than stu- teachers understand how their teaching ideas dents in other high schools where the number of could be translated into interactive computer for- terminals is far less. mats and by helping programers design routines Teachers in the district also appear to have sig- that were educationally sound. nificantly more access to computers. Several Over the summer three software development teachers indicated that they regularly work with teams (fig. A-1) produced more than 108 different the computers on their own time. Some even take program packets at a cost of $87,000. Originally, microcomputers home over the weekend. Bristol projected that 60 packages would be completed at a maximum total cost of $90,000. By hir- Interest and Motivation ing three local college student computer science majors as programers, the district used local re- There is ample evidence to conclude that teach- sources and paid them at a rate of $10 per hour. ers and students alike have been stimulated by the However, without the expertise of the three teach- programs. A student reflected: “I was here this er-supervisors (one of the three was described as summer . . . and teachers were asking—are the a computer genius, able to solve problems and computers here today? Each day (the teachers) make the programs run for even the most novice were learning new things. It really got me geared user), the efficiency of the programers might have up—excited about the computer course this fall. ” been reduced. An unanticipated benefit has been the opportunity for both students and their teachers to share Impacts learning experiences. Teachers comment repeatedly about the intrin- It may be too early to assess the impact of the sic motivation of the computer. Some applications recent computer-related activities in the Lyons are more interesting and effective than others. The

Figure A-1.—Software Development Model

Teacher - Teacher consultant consultant

Teacher planners

SOURCE Lyons Township Secondary School Dlstnct, La Grange, Ill ..——

App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 213 degree of meaningful interaction is a key factor, tivities have gotten and kept many teachers in- according to Julie McGee, an English teacher. To volved, but a few holdouts remain, maintain student interest, programs must be clev- On the whole there is ample evidence to suggest erly and creatively designed, “we can’t just put that the majority of the high school faculty has our lecture notes on the computer. ” All indications strongly supported the program. Direct involve- suggest that interest and enthusiasm will contin- ment of teachers in planning, training, and soft- ue. However, cautions a student, not all students ware development resulted in strong feelings of react the same way: “too much review and testing, pride and ownership. The district strong support large amounts of text (sic too much writing, not of professional development appears to be paying enough graphics), mandatory classes may turn the off: 108 software packages are in use; new ideas kids off. ” For the teachers, “time, money, experi- are continually being developed; and many teach- ence, vision” and a willingness on the part of the ers are expanding computer knowledge and exper- administration to revise plans to fit needs will be tise on their own time—taking courses, learning critical. from more knowledgeable colleagues, and teaching Curriculum and Instruction. So far, impacts on themselves. Opportunities for new role as teacher- the curriculum have been limited to computer lit- programers are invigorating and rejuvenating this eracy activities. The strategy of building applica- mature, highly experienced faculty. tions into existing courses appears to be working. One problem, however, is the uneven development The Future of software. Some subjects have many applications (English, home economics) while others have In the immediate future, the superintendent and only a few. Drill and practice formats predominate. his staff expect to implement the computer Only a few simulations and tutorials exist, literacy program fully. At summer’s end, all Instructional effectiveness of the computer students will have taken the 5-hour course, and the packages and related activities has not been for- remaining software packages will have been com- mally assessed. As students and their teachers use pleted. the materials, they indicate that most are work- The next steps will focus on developing a coming. According to the director of curriculum, “we prehensive plan for computer competency and spe- have the overwhelming feeling that what we are cialization. Full integration of the computer for doing is worthwhile. ” However, there is a need to computer-assisted and computer-managed instruc- analyze the appropriateness and effectiveness of tion is expected within the next 5 years. The lat- the materials, not only to improve them, but also ter will depend on continued local software devel- to move ahead. opment and the availability of commercial course- Some questions remain: Are the students learn- ware, In addition, with the major infusion of hard- ing skills and content more effectively? Will all ware, a corps of teacher experts, and an on-going second-period teachers adequately cover the com- program, the superintendent believes the district puter literacy activities? Do the activities result is ready for research and development. The oppor- in student comfort and skill with computers? Is tunities for working collaboratively with hardware the computer’s potential being realized? How well vendors, software publishers, university research- do computer programing courses mesh with post- ers, and other districts are beginning to be ex- secondary academic programs and vocational plored. There are tentative plans to hold a software training? There is some frustration over not being development conference involving educators and able to tackle all of these questions at once. developers statewide, perhaps nationwide. Plans already exist to field test new hardware com- Professional Growth and ponents for the Radio Shack computers. Development At the heart of future plans are the teachers and staff in the district. Bristol is convinced that the Estimates vary on the extent to which Lyons full potential for retraining, for new roles, and for Township High School teachers have become continued purposeful activity has barely been computer-literate. For many, the workshops in- tapped. It is likely that funds for continued staff troduced a welcomed new skill. For others, the development and for computer activities will be groups were too large, the keyboard and com- available as long as the school board, community, puters were too alien, and the fear of failure was and educators support the various computer acti- a barrier. Continued meetings and support ac- vities. 214 c Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Resources The Setting Case study interviews: Minnesota is the “Land of 10,000 lakes, ” and John Bristol, Superintendent almost as many computers. Most of the State is Esther Gahala, Director of Curriculum and Instruction rural. Fifty percent of the its population of Julie McGee, English Teacher 3,804,971 is concentrated in the Twin Cities of John Gentry, Business Education Teacher Minneapolis and St. Paul. There are 437 school Bill Mchalski, student districts and a median district size of 722 students. Janet Kaski, student Major industries are agriculture, mining, and Mark Nelly, student Kim Firestone, student computer-related technologies. Tric Coates, student Minnesota has provided strong support for pub- Doug Hammer, student lic elementary, secondary, vocational, and higher Jean Donnelly, President of the School Board education. Its education budget has one of the highest per capita education expenditures in the Midwest. This support has been matched with a Bibliography commitment to innovation and educational im- “Computer Literacy–A Comprehensive Program at provement. Over the last decade, the State has Lyons Township High School” Lyons Township Sec- provided funding through the Council on Quality ondary School District, LaGrange, Ill. Education (CQE) and title IVC Federal moneys for “LT Reports: Computer Literacy” Lyons Township Sec- research and development of instructional com- ondary School District, LaGrange, Ill. puting applications. Projects have focused on in- Chicago Tribune, June 7, 1981, “School Puts Learning struction in all subjects, as well as piloted new on Line” ways to deliver instruction. Projects such as the Omaha World Herald, June 30, 1981, “School is Putting Hopkins computer-assisted management system, Computer Up Front” the computer learning center in Littlefork, and the Boston Sunday Globe, July 5, 1981, “Bye-bye Black- board” Robbinsdale computer software development, pro- Chicago Tribune, Oct. 11, 1981, “Computers for Kids” vided working models of technology applications More Than Math–Computers Meet Curriculum, ” 80 and a foundation for statewide activity. Microcomputing, September 1981. Many Minnesota school districts are sought out for their computer expertise. The plans of the Min- neapolis public schools demonstrate the extent of this expertise. Within the last year, the State’s financial picture has changed, significantly. In Minnesota Schools and the struggling with an $850 million deficit, the Minnesota Educational legislature has begun cutting the $2 billion (2-year) education budget. The cuts, an estimated $l20 mil- Computing Consortium lion, are expected to take effect in 1982-83. Ed- The decision to visit selected Minnesota schools ucators across the State are concerned that these and focus on the activities and impact of the reductions will affect teaching positions and Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium programs. (MECC) was based on evidence that Minnesota leads the Nation in computing activities in its MECC: A State educational system. This case study deals with a Computing Agency State education agency that provides a centralized system for computing and support services. With Presently in its ninth year of operation, MECC a computer inventory of approximately $44 mil- operates the world’s largest general-purpose, ed- lion’ and estimates that 1 to 1½ percent of annual ucational, time-sharing system. An estimated 96 school budgets will be used for hardware pur- percent of Minnesota’s students have access to chases, Minnesota classrooms are expected to this time-share system, which is available to its have 10,000 instructional computing stations by users from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. While time- 1984. sharing access has remained fairly constant, with a slight increase in off-hour use, the acquisition of microcomputers in the State has accelerated, resulting in a significant increase in computing ac- ‘Data Newsletter, Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium, January/February 1981. tivities available to students.

App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 215

History hardware, telecommunications lines, and software systems. It took at least a year before the system In 1972, concern about computing and education was operating. led to discussions among the Governor, the chan- cellor of the community college system, the State MECC Organization and commissioner of education, key State legislators, Functions and private citizens. As a result, remembers John MECC was established in July 1973 to provide Haugo, former executive director of MECC, a task computer services to students, teachers, and force was established by then Governor Wendell educational administrators. Organized under the Anderson. Haugo was hired to head the planning Minnesota Joint Powers Law, its member systems effort, which resulted in a report that was essen- include: tially the plan for MECC. In retrospect, several ● State Department of Education (433 school factors were critical in initiating a major statewide districts); educational computing effort that involved ele- ● Minnesota State University System (7 cam- mentary, secondary, and higher public education. puses); First, the computer industries based in Min- ● University of Minnesota (5 campuses); nesota (3M, Univac, Honeywell, and Control Data ● Minnesota Community College System (18 Corp.), created interest in, and awareness of, com- campuses); and puting. These corporations also provided many ● State Department of Administration (statu- computer resource personnel. Second, instruc- tory authority for State University and Com- tional computing was beginning to catch on, and munity College Systems). educators were concerned that if they failed to MECC is responsible for coordination and plan- take an active role, it would develop without their ning—maintaining a long-range master plan for input and direction; there was concern that noneducational computing and developing biennial educational agencies would take charge. Third, plans, providing technical reviews of proposals for there were examples of successful, cooperative, in- facilities and services, and reporting on what is structional computing ventures principally among being done with computers by all of public educa- the Suburban Minneapolis schools, the Total In- tion. MECC is also responsible for services to structional Education Service (TIES) consortium, members, and it is this role that is being expanded and evidence that technology could deliver instruc- (by the revised Joint Powers Agreement, August tional services. With this was also a growing in- 1981), while the organization’s policymaking role terest in cooperation and sharing of resources. and its role in approving major computer acquisi- Fourth, there was concern about the increased de- tions is being reduced. The latter activities will be mand for computing services and the proliferation determined by the State Board of Education with of hardware systems in various educational in- the Commissioner of Education. stitutions. Fifth, there was recognition that educational funding constraints would limit operations, Instructional Services Division while a consortium would not be so limited. How- ever, the most important factor, as far as the Operating the Time-Sharing System. The In- legislators were concerned, was equality of educa- structional Services Division (ISD) runs the tional opportunity. The legislature was sold on the world’s largest educational time-share system. It notion that computing opportunities ought to be works reliably, and is “up” 99 percent of the time. available in all parts of the State. Its Control Data Cyber 73 System, with 448 user The plan, therefore, was to provide access to the ports, is currently accessed by more than 2,000 ter- central computer through a telecommunications minals located across the State in most public network. The State would subsidize the telecom- schools, all community colleges and public univer- munications cost to provide equal opportunity to sities, and many of Minnesota’s private schools. A multiplexing communications network with 23 all systems, even those most distant from the cen- 2 tral system. Funding for the system and specific hubs provides access to the computer. ISD is also services to users would be contracted annually. responsible for the communications network—its Each school district or agency determined what installation, maintenance, and coordination with they needed. The budget requests were developed local telephone companies. and sent to the legislature. ‘Instructional Microcomputing and Timesharing: A Minnesota Per- Getting the time-share system to work was no spective, MECC Instructional Services Long Range Planning Project, easy task. In fact, there were many problems with 1981, p. 39.

.— 216 c Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

An extensive library of programs supports a ticipants recognize the need for hands-on ex- range of activities from drill and practice to periences is indicated, in part, by their willingness mathematics problem generators, office manage- to bring all the equipment to class. Microcom- ment, and career guidance information. Thirteen puters and diskettes replace books, paper, and pen- different computing languages and programs are cils, as learning tools. Principals, teachers, and available to users. Software is continually main- librarians learn about and learn with the tech- tained and improved. nology, in much the same way as do their students. Technical Assistance and Training. Through Developing Instructional Computing Software ISD, instructional computing coordinators are lo- and Support Materials; Dissemination and Distri- cated throughout the State in each of the regions. bution. Software that has been designed and These regional coordinators work with teachers developed includes operating system manuals, who in turn serve as local coordinators for the computer literacy courses, and a range of sup- school district or education agency. According to plementary instructional materials and manage- Will Jokela, MECC Instructional Coordinator for ment aids. Development is directly linked to the Central Minnesota, these local coordinates are cru- users (through the creation of software at the local cial to the program. “They make things happen level), to field testing and revision, and to im- and are part of the whole planning and implemen- plementation. Networking, originally begun tation process. ” through the time-sharing system, has been ex- For example, when Jokela conducts workshops tended through the State instructional computing across his region, he often uses local coordinators conference, regional meetings, the newsletters, and as resources. Jokela also holds sessions to demon- the other user activities. strate new programs for local coordinators, and What is clear is the value of sharing ideas, of pro- these are often times when they share programs viding a vehicle for development, and of dissemi- developed locally and duplicate MECC microcom- nating this new information to users. Individual puter programs. He keeps up with computing ac- teachers, school districts, and regional organiza- tivities through the electronic mail system (also tions contribute software. MECC staff work with part of time share) and through visits to local the developers to obtain rights to the material, schools and colleges. The regional coordinators then they document and standardize it so that help in disseminating information in the newslet- other schools can use it. All software and support ters, through conferences, and through the elec- materials are available to Minnesota users (for tronic mail system. copying) free or at nominal cost. At the same time, Jokela and others in his role In October 1980, institutional memberships became the link in continuing advances and were offered to nonprofit educational institutions changes. Soon after the MECC inexpensive com- outside of Minnesota. Presently, there are 51 mem- puter contract was awarded, Jokela was “trying bers in 23 States, Canada, Australia, England, out the Atari” and getting ready to demonstrate Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, and Switzerland. its use to interested educators. He also delivered In addition, software reproduction and distribu- and installed the Apples purchased through tion rights are arranged with commercial vendors MECC, and literally carted Apples across central under a royalty agreement. The income from these Minnesota. Of his 73 public school districts in agreements and sales goes directly back into soft- Region III, all have Apples and 62 used the time- ware development. share system in 1981-82. Since the first purchase of Apple microcompu- Management Information ters in 1977, increasing amounts of the coor- Services Division dinators’ time have gone into supporting micro- Management Information Services supports a computers. Marcia Horn, an instructional coor- range of administrative management functions. dinator in the Twin Cities area, points out that as Every school district in the State is required to use soon as a workshop is announced, it is filled. Horn the finance reporting system developed by MECC. is impressed with the eagerness to learn and the This division has also developed a student support excitement of those who attend her MECC intro- system that handles student data, attendance, ductory courses. In the sessions, technology is scheduling, reporting, and history. The person- manipulated, not just talked about. That par- nel/payroll system is used by half of the districts in the State. .

App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 217

Special Projects Division costs, to share expertise and applications, to have uniformity and compatibility of data (administra- The Special Projects Division carries out re- tion), and to train educators. search projects, developments of new applications, The use of the timesharing system has been fair- and evaluation. With funding from the National ly consistent in time of the number of ports pur- Science Foundation (NSF), computer literacy cur- chased by users and the increase of log-ins and con- riculum modules and support materials are being nect time, which increased by approximately one- developed. An interactive video disk/microcom- third during 1978-81 (see fig. A-2). Of the elemen- puter course in economics is under way with sup- tary, secondary, and vocational school districts, port from private foundations. 75 percent used the time-sharing system, a slight reduction in use. At the same time, however, mi- Impacts crocomputer use rose from 57 percent the year before to 85 percent of all districts. Providing Access to Computing: Instructional The major use of the time-share system is for Time Sharing and Microcomputing. Not only ac- programing-up to 45 percent–with students cess but equal access has been Minnesota’s goal from all over the State having access to almost a for all students. From the very start, it was rec- dozen different programing languages. The impact ognized that there was a need to achieve economy of these opportunities is not readily assessed of scale in computer hardware acquisition, to through numbers, but clearly many of these stu- create a cost-effective communications network to dent users have become outstanding programers. minimize the systems design and development Winners of the MECC annual student software

Figure A-2. —MECC Timesharing System Port Distribution by User System, 1975-81

400 3

3 3 2 2 300 3 2 2 2 2

200

1 1 1 1 1 1 100

0 — — — — 1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-1980 1980-81

School year

Key: 1 = Elementary/secondary/vocational 2 = State universities 3 = Community colleges 4 = University of Minnesota 5 = Nonmember institutions SOURCE /m frucf/ona/ M/crocompuf/ng and T/rneshar/ng A A4/nnesofa Perspecflve, Report of the Instructional Services Long Range Plannlng Project, Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium, June 1, 1981 218 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education competition develop creative and impressive prod- If MECC drops the time share we’d feel it . . . ucts. “Many of the future technology leaders will the larger city districts will continue. If I lose come from Minnesota, ” notes Brumbaugh, “hav- the port, I can stand it. If I lose the support ing had 8 to 10 years of computing opportunities of MECC, the whole program goes. in the public schools as well as training at the Developing Software and Making It Available University of Minnesota’s world-renowned com- to Users. Software and support materials have puter sciences programs. ” Minnesota benefits been steadily developed and revised to support the directly, since many of these high school and col- time-share system, the Apple microcomputer, and lege students are hired as part-time programers the Atari microcomputer. On the time-share sys- at MECC and many enter Minnesota-based indus- tem there is a library of more than 950 programs tries. used at all levels. More than 200 microcomputer The impact on increased access by MECC’s programs have been developed, and the number early entry into microcomputing with the award of new programs continues to expand at a rate of of the State contract to the Apple Computer Co. 8 to 10 new programs each month. is clear. The decision to standardize hardware to Although software development has been fo- one system was based on the belief that standard- cused on Minnesota users, in the case of materials ization was necessary in order to be able to sup- for the Apple (and now the Atari), two-thirds of port that system with software and training, there- the software distribution (primarily for the micro- by indirectly affecting access. (By early 1982, total computer) is outside the State. Single-item sales, Apple sales reached 2,863.) Most of the purchasers institutional licensing agreements, and distribu- of these microcomputers are elementary, second- tion arrangements with commercial vendors have ary, and vocational schools. increased significantly over the last 2 years. In 1981, MECC developed a second set of speci- MECC officials point out that all of the income fications for a low-cost microcomputer. The State from software sales goes back into development. contract was awarded to Atari, which agreed to The current budget for development has tripled, pay MECC to convert at least 75 of existing with only 5 percent of the funding for software MECC/Apple programs. In the first 3 months of development coming from Minnesota. According the Atari contract, 230 microcomputers had been to Brumbaugh: purchased. The amount of resources invested in instruc- A major reason that districts are purchasing mi- tional computing material development con- crocomputers is to provide greater access. The tinues to grow, without any reduction in sight high school in Maple Lake, a small rural district, . . . It’s estimated that 250,000 copies of MECC has three Apples, one TRS-80, and one time-shar- diskettes have been distributed or sold to coming port. Before the microcomputers, the 500 stu- puter users throughout the world. Software sales this year are expected to reach one million dents had limited computing experience through dollars. time sharing. Even though four microcomputers aren’t enough, they make a big difference to Mary Software development has been effective be- James, a teacher and the district’s computer coor- cause it has been tied to what teachers want. Ac- dinator. James is adamant about reaching every tually begun by teachers sharing ideas through the Maple Lake youngster: time-share system, it has continued to build on By the time they are 35 they all will have teacher ideas. Much of the software has primarily computers—many for their farm businesses— been cleaned-up, field-tested, documented, and others in technical work (if they leave Maple made available to users by MECC. Another reason Lake)--and for recreation . . . if most families for success, many argue, was the decision to de- have three snowmobiles sitting in their drive- velop software for one microcomputer system. ways now, they’ll soon have computers, too. This decision provided an opportunity to refine It’s not just the hardware that makes a differ- authoring procedures, understand the capabilities ence, it’s the support James gets from the range of the machine, and develop more programs (e.g., of MECC services. In this rural district, with an instead of three programs for three machines, nine operating budget of $2.5 million for 1,320 stu- programs for one machine). After the award of the dents, the opportunity to use computers for in- second computer contract, it was not difficult to struction and to provide computer literacy courses convert many Apple programs for the Atari. The and independent study, is due in large measure to need and demand for microcomputer courseware MECC and to local administrative and school in Minnesota continues, however. In MECC’s 1981 board support. James says: Computing Opinion Survey, “Schools want mate- App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 219

rials in all subject areas-with the highest but more advanced topics and courseware author- priorities given to computer science, business izing and design will require MECC staff. education, mathematics, science, and special Close Ties With Local Districts, Using Local Ex- education, ” with less need for drill and practice pertise. The superintendent of the Alexandria Pub- and games and more need for problem solving, lic Schools, Clayton Hovda, attributes his dis- tutorial, and simulations.3 trict’s early involvement with computers to the op- Local districts will continue to develop their own portunity to be part of the statewide time-share software and will also continue to purchase com- system, as well as to the fact that MECC from the mercial software. For the latter, it may be desir- very start had key people “who came through the able to provide help to schools by developing state- educational process, who knew how schools wide purchase contracts for software, as has been worked because they were school-based. ” There done for hardware. Finally, as the market for soft- was and continues to be a symbiotic relationship ware enlarges, there will be an increase in develop- between the schools and MECC. ment in the private sector, argues Haugo, now For example, the Alexandria schools shared president of a software development company. computing and time-sharing facilities with the Area Vocational Technical Institute (AVTI). That Impacts of Information experience, along with other examples (TIES), pro- Technology vided a model for extending the time-share concept across the State. A further example of this Professional Development and Training. Profes- symbiotic relationship can be seen in the role of sional development and training is cited frequently the local computer coordinators. According to Bill as a major area of need that must be addressed French of Alexandria, this role is strongly sup- if education is to take advantage of computer tech- ported by MECC; the fact that most districts have nology. Over a 6-year period (1974-80), MECC has a computer coordinator can be credited to MECC’s provided significant development and training ac- efforts. tivities: 3,572 visitations by MECC staff to Providing Leadership. There is no question districts and campuses; 1,639 informal presenta- about MECC’s leadership in providing hardware tions; 1,756 workshops with a total attendance of standardization, software development, and train- 26,340; and 623 meetings for local computer coor- ing. However, several school districts and regional dinators. As impressive as these figures are, agencies are leaders as well; and districts such as MECC officials point out that the demand for Hopkins and Robbinsdale have received national training exceeds capacity. Brumbaugh notes: “For recognition for their computing activities. It is ap- every request for service that we fill, we turn one parent that MECC walks a fine line: local auton- down. ” Although many local districts provide ad- omy of programs is highly valued, yet service and ditional training activities—the educational serv- assistance are welcomed. The revised Joint Powers ice unit or area vocational technical institutes and Agreement puts MECC squarely in a service role. colleges and universities are offering an increas- It is also agreed that there is a need for leadership ing number of courses—the needs for training are and coordination to maintain and advance comput- not fully met. ing applications; in this regard MECC, as the Furthermore, as State funding resources dimin- State’s computer agency, plays a key role. ish, continuing to provide the current level of serv- School districts outside the State, and even ices will become a problem. According to Brum- other nations concerned with educational com- baugh, there has to be a way to deal with teacher puting, have turned to MECC for advice, technical turn-over (trends show that the more highly tech- assistance, and resources. For example, the first nologically trained teachers leave), with new computer contract specifications developed by teachers as they enter the system, and with main- MECC became the model for the bids developed taining training for those who want to stay abreast by the Region IV Education Services Center in of technological advances. When asked who should Texas and for those prepared by school districts do inservice training for instructional computing, and several States including Florida, North teachers and administrators ranked MECC staff Carolina, and British Columbia. A recent article as the most desirable-followed by local staff, then which surveyed all statewide computing activities regional service centers, and finally colleges and ranked Minnesota as the clear leader.4 “No other universities. Data suggests that local staff will be State education agency comes close to achieving able to assume most introductory demonstrations, —— “’Survey of State Governments and the New Technologies, ” Elec- ’198 1 MECC Computer Opinion Survey, User Opinion on Training, tronic Learnkg, November/December 1981. 220 “ Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education the level of commitment and organization achieved software maintenance is reduced, recordkeeping by MECC. But many State officials are now realiz- and management functions are simplified, and cen- ing that it may be their responsibility to move in tralized printing is feasible. MECC is designing its that direction. ” own interfaces and networks. By fall of 1982, these networks will be field-tested in selected Minnesota The Future schools. In addition, MECC’s long-range planners estimate that the number of instructional comput- With reductions of the State subsidy for tele- ing stations in classrooms in Minnesota’s schools, communications, increased local costs pose a real colleges, and universities will reach 10,000 by barrier to time sharing, especially to the smaller, 1984. rural districts further away from the Twin Cities. Minnesota computer educators also confident- Although much of the instructional activities can ly predict continuing developments in instruc- and will be shifted to the microcomputers, a real tional computing, pointing to present programs— loss may well be the availability of advanced pro- the result of more than 8 years of experience. The graming languages and the communications activ- MECC software and materials, training activities, ities and the electronic mail system which tied so and the range of successful applications in com- many of the districts to one another. Richard puting, were possible because funding was sus- Pollack, Director of Special Projects, describes the tained over a long enough period of time and over time-share system as “the glue that brought it all a critical mass of educational institutions and together. ” users. MECC’s accomplishments, the computing A spate of news stories have highlighted Min- activity in Minnesota schools, and the significant nesota’s financial difficulties. “What the rest of number of students with access to these programs the Nation’s schools have been facing has finally is the result of the State’s vision and its long-term caught up with us, ” one of the educators re- commitment. marked. Many districts have begun to tighten their belts by laying off teachers and increasing pupil-teacher ratios. However, many districts, like Resources Alexandria, plan to go ahead with plans for their Case study interviews: computer programs. Bill French, teacher and com- Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium, St. puting coordinator comments: “I can see us buy- Paul, Minn. ing 4 to 6 Atari’s for each elementary school . . . Dale L. Schneiderhan, Acting Executive Director What’s $500 when we pay $2,000 for a typewriter Kenneth E. Brumbaugh, Director, Instructional Serv- or an Apple?” The additional costs for training and ices, and Deputy Executive Director software are, in a sense, covered through the serv- Douglas P. LaChance, Acting Director, Management In- ices provided by MECC. Although MECC has al- formation Services ready had budget cuts and expects more in the Richard Pollak, Director, Special Projects future, increasing revenues from software sales Marge Kosel, Manager, Instructional Systems Devel- will lessen the impact. opment Superintendent Arthur Bruning, of the Hopkins Marcia Horn, Instructional Coordinator Kasey Mork, Instructional Coordinator School District, a Twin Cities suburb, also expects Willis Jokela, Instructional Coordinator to expand his program using the low-cost com- Minneapolis Public Schools, Minneapolis, Minn. puters. He sees technology bridging home and Paul Dillenberger, Math Resource Teacher school, with the computers going home for ex- Hopkins Public Schools, Hopkins, Minn. tended activities. In this district, with an $18 Arthur Bruning, Superintendent million annual budget, he argues, “We will need Ken Corens, Computing Coordinator to set aside resources for technology-for there is Don Sension, Computer Center going to be a change (in the way we educate young- Maple Lake Public Schools, Maple Lake, Minn. sters) and the pupil/teacher ratio will increase be- Mary James, Teacher, Maple Lake High School, and cause of economics.” Computing Coordinator Eagle Bend Public Schools, Eagle Bend, Minn. Brumbaugh is optimistic. He sees opportunities Wilbur James, Superintendent for expansion of software and new technological Richard Lundgren, Communicasting Project Director advances that will make a difference in instruc- Alexandria Public Schools, Alexandria, Minn. tional computing. One example of these advances Bill French, High School Teacher and Computing is an interface that allows microcomputers to be Coordinator networked or clustered together. Once clustered, Clayton Hovda, Superintendent App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 221

John Haugo, former Executive Director, MECC district has engaged in a planning effort to address 1973-1981, presently President, Edu Systems, Inc., equity and access to ensure that all students ac- St. Paul, Minn. quire basic skills and technological competence. As one of the largest school districts in the Nation, Bibliography Houston also shows how economies of scale, critical mass, and volume purchasing power can be Ahl, David H., “Minnesota Educational Computing Con- sortium, ” Creative Computing, March 1981. used to implement new programs and produce Calkins, Andrew, “A Survey on State Governments and software/curriculum materials. the New Technologies, ” Electronic Learning, November/December 1981. “Computers in the Schools, ” a message from the Com- The Setting missioner of Education (undated—estimated date fall 1980). The Houston metropolitan area population in Cost-Effective Educational Innovations in Minnesota: 1981 was 2.4 million. It is a highly mobile popula- A Report of Projects, Minnesota Council on Quality tion with a high growth rate for Hispanics and Education, Division of Special Services, Minnesota Asians. A total of 193,702 pupils attend 169 ele- Department of Education, St. Paul, Minn. mentary and 70 secondary schools. Over the last Data Newsletter, Minnesota Educational Computing 10 years the ethnic makeup of the student body Consortium, January/February 1981. population has shifted from an almost all-white Instructional Microcomputing and Timesharing: A Min- population to one that is 23 percent white, 44 per- nesota Perspective. The report of the MECC Instruc- cent black, 30 percent Hispanic, and 3 percent tional Services Long Range Planning Project, Min- nesota Educational Computing Consortium, St. Paul, Asian. Approximately 62 percent of the high Minn., June 1, 1981. school graduates attend college. 1979-1980 Annual Report, Minnesota Educational Com- Houston is at the center of a booming industrial puting Consortium, June 30, 1980, area. Its major industries are oil and gas, bank- 198081 Annual Report, Minnesota Educational Com- ing, construction, and chemicals. There are strong puting Consortium, June 30, 1981. ties between HISD and area industries, the cham- PACE: Projects to Advance Creativity in Education, 5th ber of commerce, and the other business organiza- cd., ESEA title IV, pt, C in Minnesota, Minnesota De- tions. This relationship has been cultivated by partment of Education, St. Paul, Minn. Houston’s superintendent, Billy Reagan, over a “The Minnesota Connection, ” an interview with John 7-year period. Through cooperative business/ Haugo, Classroom Computer News, fall 1980. school arrangements, the district’s pupils and programs have benefited. For example, magnet Instructional Computing schools receive hundreds of thousands of dollars Houston Independent School for equipment and scholarships from companies District, Houston, Tex. such as Exxon, IBM, DuPont, and others. There is evidence that the district focus on technology The Houston Independent School District utilization, academic achievement, and career (HI SD) was selected for study because it is a rec- training programs has been positively received by ognized leader in urban education, in developing the business community. innovative programs such as magnet schools and The annual budget of $507 million supports a in implementing cooperative efforts with industry wide array of educational programs for this dis- and the business community. It has successfully trict’s diverse population. The district currently halted declining pupil achievement, a major prob- receives $13 million in Federal title I moneys. lem for urban school districts. The district also Houston administrators expect to feel only a slight provides examples of how technology can be used impact from cutbacks in Federal funds, since most to support and deliver basic skill instruction, to of their revenues are locally generated. Unlike communicate with parents, to assist teachers, and many urban districts, Houston’s financial base is to become the basis for technological understand- thriving and its financial future appears secure. ing and computer literacy. The following issues facing the district affect Moreover, it provides an example of districtwide educational programs and educational quality: leadership and coordination through a newly cre- ● The shift from an emphasis on desegregation, ated department of technology and the Nation’s to an emphasis on quality integrated educa- first associate superintendent for technology. tion (mid-1970’s), to the current emphasis on With a growing minority student population, the the prevention of resegregation. 222 “ Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Changes in family needs (dual wage earners) pening in the region’s districts and to prepare and an increasing number of single-parent recommendations for action. Task force members families. included Superintendent Reagan, superintendents An increase in the Hispanic population and of the Byran and Orange Cove School Districts, enrollment, with a critical shortage of Spanish the director of data processing from Spring bilingual teachers. Branch ISD, and Sturdivant, then Region IV ESC The shortage of math, science, and computer Instructional Computing Coordinator. The task science teachers; a high teacher turnover rate force found that use of time sharing had leveled in critical areas; and difficulty in retaining top- off (after 5 years of steady growth), that interest quality teachers. in microcomputers was high, and that microcom- The increased computer use in all aspects of puters were being purchased with “insufficient society and in the district. planning, and little understanding of their poten- The increase in community support from par- tials or limitations. ” After purchase, districts were ents, patrons, religious organizations, and faced with inadequately trained teachers, a short- businesses and professional organizations. age of software, and a lack of technical support for The increase in student achievement since an hardware operation and maintenance. all-time low in 1975, and the desire to main- The report recommended that hardware be tain these achievement gains at all levels. standardized to facilitate training, maintenance The major challenges, feels Superintendent and software exchange and development, and that Regan, are “continuing to offer quality education high-volume purchase arrangements be made to in an integrated environment to all children, and reduce costs. Bid specifications were developed, attracting and holding nonminority children, both and in June 1980, Bell and Howell’s Apple 11 from within and outside the District. ” Microcomputer System was selected. The Region IV Instructional Computing Serv- Instructional Computing ices Division served as the fiscal agent for school districts purchasing microcomputers. High-vol- In the early 1970’s, the district’s first instruc- ume purchases resulted in savings close to a tional computing programs were offered through million dollars over a 2-year period. In addition, the Region IV Education Service Center’s com- the center provided computer literacy training to puter. By 1972,20 terminals were used for problem area school administrators and teachers, with solving, drill and practice, and BASIC program- more than 3,000 teachers receiving training. The ing instruction. Math and data-processing classes center also offers a low-cost maintenance service at the secondary level were primary users. Com- for computer hardware; publishes a monthly news- puting activities were limited, points out Patricia letter; coordinates courseware purchase and selec- Sturdivant, Associate Superintendent, and there tion; loans video tapes, films, and other training were problems with inadequately documented materials; and offers special workshops to meet courseware programs and manuals and with high the needs of individual school districts in the costs of hardware and associated maintenance region. The working relationship between HISD costs. The links through telephone lines were and the service center is evidenced by Reagan’s unreliable, and when the mainframe was down no choice of Sturdivant as his new associate super- instruction was available. Despite these frustra- intendent for technology. tions a small cadre of teachers persevered. These educators, more often than not, were self-taught. Few had computer-science college training. Current Programs By 1977-78, Houston’s instructional computing efforts were well established. While computer ap- By October 1981, the district survey of micro- plications varied, the major emphasis was on in- computers reported 200 microcomputers located creasing pupil achievement in reading and math- in 47 percent of HISD campuses. The most fre- ematics. Not only was this a major priority for the quently used system is the Apple II, 48K. Local district, but Federal title I funds were used to sup- funds were used to purchase 45 percent of the port these high-cost programs. Student gains were microcomputers in the school buildings, while Fed- “dramatic,” according to high school principal eral funds paid for 31 percent. Parent-teacher or- Franklin Wesley. ganizations bought or helped to buy about 4 per- In 1979, the Region IV ESC established a mi- cent of the systems. Of those reported uses, 44 per- crocomputer task force, to evaluate what was hap- cent focused on classroom instruction; 29 percent App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 223 were used for classroom management, and only 4 piloted in five elementary schools with language percent were used in school administration. programs for gifted and talented students. At A year and a half later (March 1982), the esti- Askew Elementary, students learn about com- mated number reached 323. While use of the ter- puters and their impact on society. Their parents minals linked to a minicomputer has decreased, are also involved, Together, they find microproc- several elementary and secondary campuses con- essors that they use at home, and they collect and tinue to operate drill and practice laboratories for read newspaper and magazine articles. In class, compensatory (title I and SCE) and handicapped students have experiences with the computer in students. drill and practice, simulation and tutorial ac- Managing Competency-Based Education. The tivities. Finally, they learn simple programing Booker T. Washington High School’s competency- routines. These students seem to enjoy all the ac- based education program for students uses the tivities, notes one of their teachers–particularly school’s PDP-11 to score student tests, monitor hands-on experiences. “They love it so long as they student performance on specific learning objec- have a computer on the end of it. ” tives, and report progress to teachers. The school’s Operation Fail Safe. The district’s computing principal, Wesley, argues that this approach is power has also been used since 1977 in a unique working for this school’s depressed economic com- parent involvement program, Operation Fail-Safe. munity and its predominantly black population of Although not a teaching application, the program students who are at the bottom of the academic affects the instructional program. It is designed scale. to reach parents, communicate information about Computer Science/Programing Languages. their children’s achievement, and help parents help Housed on the same campus (Booker T. Wash- their children (see fig. A-3). ington) is one of the district magnet programs— This system-wide program is an example of how the High School for the Engineering Profession. computer technology has been used to provide im- These students take computer science courses in portant data on a timely basis and on a massive BASIC, Fortran, applications, and problem-solv- scale, impacting 200,000 pupils, notes Sara Cord- ing, using terminals connected to the school’s ray, program director, Using the Region IV twin PDP-11. The school’s computer science teacher CDC Cyber 170 mainframe, HISD profiles each works jointly with an engineer on loan from IBM. student’s performance on the Iowa Test of Basic Other secondary schools offer computer science Skills; generates progress reports listing specific courses of instruction in several programing skill strengths in reading and math; develops in- languages on both time-share terminals and micro- dividualized reading lists (sent home as a letter to computers. In some elementary schools, students each parent) based on each students’ interest and learn programing in mathematics. independent reading level from a data base of Project BASIC. All secondary schools have im- 12,000 library books; and prepares vocational pro- plemented Project BASIC, a commercially devel- files based on a standardized assessment of each oped program for HISD’s Apple microcomputers student. (Accompanying each profile is a printout which monitors reading lab students’ progress and of occupational opportunities and education and tracks their mastery of reading skills. Before im- training requirements.) plementing the program, extensive training took Other current uses (documented in the HISD place: first of principals, then reading teachers, and Microcomputer User Survey) of the microcom- finally technical aids who input data and retrieve puters vary from school to school. Microcomputers information on the microcomputer. are used in mathematics, reading, science, lan- Implemented in the 1981-82 school year, the guage arts, accounting and business education, project required a reorganization of the secondary special education, computer literacy, and program- reading labs, more than $600,000 (primarily SCE ing activities. Some schools have computer clubs funds) to purchase hardware, software, and mate- and some offer classes after school for students rials to operate the labs, and reallocation of ex- and parents. Some teachers are creating their own isting operating funds to hire 67 basic skills com- software, and others use commercially prepared puter operators, one media equipment mainte- materials. nance technician, one supervisor, six area reading specialists, and one systems analyst. Impacts Computer Literacy. A computer literacy cur- When Houston educators assess the impacts of riculum, developed by Region IV ESC, is being technology on education, they point to improved

{.- . —, 224 “ Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Figure A-3.—Sample “Fail Safe” Parent Letter

SOURCE: Houston Independent School District. App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 225

student achievement. The profile of HISD elemen- students in four schools. After students’ reading tary students’ mean composite scores from 1971 skill areas were identified, materials were prepack- to 1981 documents the increased basic school per- aged and distributed weekly for parent-child use formance of a student population who typically are at home. low achievers (see fig. A-4). In 1980-81, the district A comparison of these students and a control completed its sequential testing program through group (students not participating in the program) grade 12. Although the results at the elementary revealed higher significant gains for pilot students. level are more impressive, scores in grades 5, 7, Beyond these statistical gains, Operation Fail Safe 8, 9, 10, and 11 also show a significant improve- has the strong support of the business communi- ment in achievement. Although not the sole fac- ty. Local businesses and corporations have paid tor, technology plays a critical role. for a $1 million advertising campaign that high- When the title I computer-assisted instruction lights parent involvement activities with the mes- (CAI) program was evaluated, students in grades sage, “Don’t Fail Me–Help Me. ” Seventy-four 2-6 averaged gains of 1.1 months in reading and percent of elementary school parents and 39 per- 1.2 months in mathematics in 1978-79. Students cent of secondary school parents attend the pro- in grades 3-7 made similar gains of 1.1 months in gram’s parent-teacher conferences. reading, 1.4 months in mathematics, and 1.5 HISD and the Region IV ESC have provided months in language in 1980-81, Of teachers whose leadership for the 101 local area school districts students participated in the CAI labs, 93 percent and for the State education agency. The Apple felt that student performance improved as a result microcomputer bid process and contract had na- of CAI and 63 percent reported that students’ tional recognition and was used as a basis for other achievement was greater than would be expected district and regional education agency efforts. in a traditional instructional program. While Region IV was one of the first to join the students looked forward to CAI classes, teachers Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium complained about the disruption to their classes (MECC) as an institutional member, providing when students were pulled out. Scheduling was area schools access to MECC-produced software. fixed and inflexible. Moreover, when computers HISD organized a technology conference for the were down or telephone lines malfunctioned stu- National Institute of Education’s Urban Super- dents missed instruction. intendents Study Group in December 1981. The Operation Fail Safe was evaluated in 1977-78 to conference brought together educational leaders, determine the relationship between parent involve- hardware manufactures, and educational publish- ment and student achievement. The level of parent ers to discuss common needs and to work towards involvement, determined by the school principal, collaborative efforts. was compared with students’ achievement test Finally, the district is bombarded with requests scores. At every level—elementary, junior high, for information and for help–"everything you and senior high-a significant positive relationship know about computers. ” There is a steady stream was documented. A second study of a pilot parent- of visitors who come to observe programs and see assist program involved 200 parents of third grade teachers and students in action. As HISD moves its technology programs forward, Sturdivant sees the need to help schools to Figure A-4.– Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, effectively use the technology that they have. She Mean Composite Scores, HISD, 1971-81 believes that, before schools acquire hardware or add to their inventory, they must plan for their GE t- 1 use. That involves an understanding of the tech- 7.0 nology’s potential and its limitations, the learning 6.5 objectives to be met, and the trained teachers 6.0 needed to implement the program. Sturdivant is 5.5 also in favor by focusing on a few applications at 5.0 a time, so as to give the district leverage for pur- 4,5 chasing hardware and software. The major pub- 4.0 lishers will provide what the district needs “if they 3.5 know we will buy, ” The full impact of technology I on HISD will come when “technology is fused to 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 education . . . to what teachers are doing . . . and SOURCE Houston Independent School District (is) not another add-on to the curriculum. If teach- 226 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education ers can’t be convinced that technology will make significantly expanded. First priority for aware- their job easier, they’re not going to buy it. ” ness and training activities will be school prin- In addition, here will be a concerted effort in cipals. School officials note that the principal is the HISD to continue to identify those programs that key figure in program implementation. are working and to replicate them. The key, states Expanding the Use of Microcomputers as In- Associate Superintendent Michael Say, “is to structional Delivery Systems in the School and channel the use of technology and coordinate Home. School officials expect the number of it . . . Houston is on the verge of moving ahead in microcomputers in HISD to increase from the a significant way. ” The district will fund the present 250 to 300 to approximately 1,000 in a emerging programs out of State and local funds year and to 5,000 to 7,000 in 5 years. A major use because “we want to determine our own emphasis of these machines will be to increase student time- and maintain our own programs. ” Federal funds, on-task in basic skill areas, especially in title I he argues, should be used for innovation and state- schools. Moreover, microcomputers will be made of-the-art development. available to parents who have participated in training sessions and who are willing to help their chil- Future dren increase academic skills at home. Pilot programs will begin in September with schools that For HISD, the future is now. Although technol- have implemented parent-school training and the ogy is already a part of the Houston educational Operation Fail-Safe partnership activities. scene, with diverse activities well under way, there Although there is a lack of available, appropriate is a pervasive feeling among educational leaders software, district leaders believe that there is that hard decisions must be made, innovative ac- enough to begin the programs and that more will tions initiated, and major resources reallocated as follow as the microcomputers are purchased, and quickly as possible. At the same time, cautions the district envisions software lending libraries Say, “We can’t just throw technology out there available to parents who will purchase hardware and expect it to be used. ” Houston’s efforts will on their own. Eventually, Houston’s cable system focus heavily on teacher and administrator com- will become part of home-school activities, with in- puter-literacy training, and on acquisition of hard- dividual student prescriptions, homework assign- ware and software that is coordinated with ments, and a range of learning packages geared planned program development. Superintendent to terminals in the home. Reagan believes technology holds “untold prom- Computer Literacy for Diverse Student Popula- ises . . . not to replace teachers but to become the tions. Over the next 4 years, the district plans to full partner of the teacher. ” The district’s future expand and develop magnet elementary and sec- plans are diverse; several are close to implemen- ondary schools located near major government, tation or are already under way. Other plans are business, industry, higher education, and cultural 2 to 5 years away from completion. centers of the city. This in-town consortium of New Roles for Teachers. The position of teacher magnet schools will be linked together by common technologist with pay incentives (increased salary program components and a common HISD trans- supplements) has been approved. Teacher technol- portation system. The plan is to integrate diverse ogists will teach teachers, parents, and youngsters cultural, racial, and socioeconomic student popula- and serve as catalysts, planners, and implementers tions by offering a strong academic program that of computer literacy and other programs on indi- integrates the use of the computer as an instruc- vidual school campuses. These teachers will draw tional tool in skill development and enrichment on the small cadre of staff members already im- activities. plementing programs, as well as on others who are Educational programs will take advantage of ready to move into this role. It is hoped that these nearby resources, expanding HISD’s Business new opportunities and increased pay will hold the School Partnership Program, which brings volun- district’s trained teachers and attract new recruits, teers into the schools to tutor, teach minicourses, many of whom are choosing industry for their and organize field trips. These magnet programs careers. will also use the resources of libraries, museums, Extensive Staff Development. Through existing universities, colleges, and community centers. programs offered at the microcomputer center and With the increased focus on technology, the prac- through the establishment of additional centers tical technical expertise of resource people from in- and demonstration projects in schools involving dustry and the business community will play an teacher technologists, training activities will be even more important role. App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 227

Developing Technology-Based Courses. One Final Evaluation Report—Computer Assisted Instruc- way to deal with the district critical shortage of tion (CAI), Nov. 6, 1981. math, science, and bilingual teachers is to develop Preliminary report on Districtwide Needs Assessment courses that do not require a full-time teacher. and Plans for Establishing District goals for the New Although not on the district’s immediate horizon, Accredition Cycle, Jan. 21, 1982. Quality Integrated Education: Challenges and Re- there is a growing idea that such courses, mini- sponses, prepared for the Workshop on the Imple- courses, and the like can be developed because of mentation of the Recommendations of the Magnet advances in computer and video disk technologies. School Task Force, Dec. 21, 1981. There is also a plan to make better use of the dis- Houston Independent School District, packet of in- trict’s in-house television arid cable capabilities by formation, November 1981. designing remote-learning stations with instruc- Factors Affecting Education in HISD and Texas in the tion coming from a teacher in one location. 1980’s, February 1981. While some educators see these plans as vision- Elementary School Profiles, 1980-81, August 1981. ary, others point to HISD’s innovations in other Secondary School Profiles, 1980-81, August 1981. areas and argue that, under Superintendent Rea- Approval to Create the Department of Technology, December 1981. gan’s leadership, these ideas will become reality. A Status Report on Microcomputer Developments, The superintendent is a powerful persuader: “Un- Patricia Sturdivant, Region IV Education Service less technology -i.e., the microcomputer, the video Center, October 1979. disk, and television—is fully developed and exploited to the maximum degree, we will fall further and further behind in Houston in providing the manpower for industry, for our defense, and Information Technology for our future. ” and Education in the Resources State of Alaska Case study interviews: The State of Alaska is providing extensive and Houston Independent School District, Houston, Tex. varied applications of computer and communica- Billy Reagan, Superintendent tions technology to education. Special geographic, Michael Say, Associate Superintendent for Instruction demographic, sociological, and financial factors Patricia Sturdivant, Associate Superintendent for have made the State a forerunner in educational Technology information technology. Alaska has a population Ronald Veselka, Assistant Superintendent for Research unusually receptive to change and technology; a and Evaluation compelling need to apply communications and in- Sara Cordray, Program Administrator, Parent Support Programs formation technology to education; and the finan- Frank Wesley, Principal, Booker T. Washington High cial capability to invest in capital-intensive School innovations. Richard Frazier, Teacher, Booker T. Washington High Although many of the technical, political, legal, School organizational, and educational issues and prob- John Roustenstraugh, Test Engineer on Loan from IBM lems being addressed in Alaska are common to and Teacher other parts of the United States, the special cir- Helen Heard, Principal, Askew Elementary School cumstances of Alaska require that any attempt to Two classrooms of gifted and talented students using generalize from Alaskan experience be done care- microcomputers fully. Given this provision, it seems reasonable to Joy Louisa, Principal, River Oaks Elementary School look to Alaskan experience for useful lessons in the Susan Otto, Teacher of K-5 computer literacy classes Madeline Reed, Director of Mathematics application of technology to education. Carol Kukendahl, Director of Reading and Language Arts The Setting Patsy Rogers, Computer Resources Director, Microcom- puter Center for Teachers Alaska is the largest State in the United States, covering a land area equal to about 20 percent of Bibliography the remaining 49 States. Physically separated from the contiguous 48 States, it is characterized Houston Independent School District by rugged terrain, extremes of climate, low popula- 3830 Richmond Avenue tion density, limited land transportation, and Houston, TX 77027 many small isolated communities accessible only 228 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education by sea or air. The total population of 400,000 in- the region. In 1971, 142 villages had no telephone cludes 50,000 native Americans who belong to service at all. RCA Alaska Communications seven major and distinct culture and language bought the system and was certified by the Alaska groups. Over 50 different native languages and Public Utilities Commission to provide telephone dialects are spoken in the homes. Alaska’s popula- service. tion overall is relatively young. The frontier char- RCA encountered a variety of difficulties in- acter of the region attracts pioneering young cluding hindrances by weather, unreliable electric adults, while the rigors of life discourage retirees power, employee problems in coping with village from remaining for their later years. conditions, and villagers’ lack of sophistication in Alaska has about 90,000 school-age children dis- dealing with the new system.2 Because of the dif- tributed over an area twice the size of Texas. ficulties of providing communications on a private Alaska’s 450 public schools vary in size from 2,500 industry basis, the Alaska State government has students in an Anchorage high school to 8 or 10 taken a more active role in providing communica- students in one-room schools in remote areas. tions. Although some of the 52 school districts in Alaska By the early 1970’s, it became apparent that sat- are geographically larger than those in most other ellite technology offered a more promising means States, they may have only about 1,000 students. of providing telecommunications services to vil- The State is required by court decision to provide lages than had any previous technology. Several education to students aged 7 through 16 in their projects involving satellites were initiated by the home communities, rather than by sending them State government, including an experiment to boarding schools in other communities. funded jointly by the U.S. Department of Health, In rural communities, most students are native Education, and Welfare (HEW) and the National Americans who have only brief history of school- Aeronautics and Space Administration. (Later ing. The educational level of many parentsis low, transferred to the National Institutes for Educa- and the benefits of standard American schooling tion (NIE)).3 HEW and NIE support for this are not necessarily valued. Many of the students “ATS-6 experiment” was about $2.5 million. have a history of poor academic performance and The ATS-6 experiment involved educational and a negative view of schools.1 biomedical applications of satellite-transmitted The recent discovery and exploitation of oil in color television and interactive audio to 19 sites Alaska has provided the financial capability to in- in Alaska. Actual operations lasted only 9 months, vest large sums of capital in education. In addi- during 1974-75, but planning had begun in 1972. tion to the average per pupil expenditure of near- The experiment was extensively evaluated and rely $7,000, there are special projects–such as $200 ported on.45 6 million for construction of schools and about While some of these evaluations concluded that $125,000 for the installation of a satellite receiver the experiment was not cost-effective, the project in a rural village. Rural schools are financed totally did build a base of technical expertise in the State by State funds. with regard to satellite communications technol- It is far beyond the scope of this case study to ogy.7 For example, a great deal was learned about trace the general history of communications in Alaska. But it is important to recognize that the aA. Hills and M. G. Morgan, “Telecommunications in Alaskan Vil- developments in educational technology in Alas- lages,” Science, vol. 211, January 1981, pp. 241-248. ‘L. Grayson, “Educational Satellites: The ATS-6 Experiments, ” J. ka have occurred in the context of a generally Ed Tech Sys., vol. 3(2), fall 1974. atypical communications situation. 4B. Cowlan and D. Foote, “A Case Study of the ATS-6 Health, Educa- Communications technology that most Ameri- tion and Telecommunications Projects, ” ARC No. 308.3 -C875, EHR-19, Office of Education and Human Resources, Bureau of Technical As- cans take for granted-telephones, radio, and tel- sistance, Agency for International Development, Washington, D. C., evision-have had a very complex and problematic August 1975. ‘Office of Telecommunications, “Alaska ATS-6 Health/Education Tel- history in Alaska. Alaska’s long-distance tele- ecommunications Experiment: Alaska Education Experiment Final Re phone facilities were operated until 1971 by an arm port, vols. I, II, III and Executive Summary” (Juneau: Office of Tele- of the U.S. Air Force. The system, served by high- communications, Office of the Governor of the State of Alaska, September 1975). frequency land radio stations, was unreliable aPractical Concepts, Inc., Implications of the Alaska Education Sat- because of ionospheric disturbances common to elh”te Communications Demonstration for Telecommunications Poh”cy- makers (Washington, D. C.: Practical Concepts, Inc., January 1976). ‘T. S. Pittman and J. Orvik, ATS-6 and State Telecommunications ‘William J. Bramble and Ernest E. Polley, “Microcomputer Instruc- Policy for Rural Alaska: An Analysis of Recommendations, Center for tion in Remote Vllages in Alaska, ” Alaska Department of Education, Northern Educational Research, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 1981. Alaska, December 1976. App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 229

the use of low-power ground stations.8 Effective- plementation and use in Alaska. These include the ly structured audio conferences for adult interac- following: tion were found to be effective for educational pur- ● instructional television; poses.’ Institutional issues regarding media began ● audio conferencing; to be addressed, such as ways of providing for local ● electronic mail; (as opposed to State or national) control over ● information retrieval; media and methods of providing appropriate pro- ● individualized study by technology; and graming for rural Alaska. ● computer literacy. In 1975, the Alaska State Legislature provided Instructional Television. By December 1981,85 an appropriation of about $10 million to initiate Alaskan communities were receiving instructional construction of more than 100 small Earth sta- television via satellite dish antennas. Additional tions throughout Alaska that would extend sat- communities continue to be added to the LEARN/ ellite-based long-distance telephone service to ALASKA television network. The statewide in- many communities. The following year, the legis- structional television channel broadcasts nearly 18 lature expanded this satellite network to include hours of programing every day for audience levels television broadcasts for some communities. Since ranging from preschool through adult. The pro- 1977, daytime instructional television (ITV) programs may be used directly in class or taped for grams have been broadcast by satellite, and sites later use. receiving these broadcasts have increased in Most of the programs are purchased from educa- number. tional program producers in the contiguous 48 In 1978, the Alaska State Department of Educa- States. However, the State of Alaska is now pro- tion, with joint funding from NIE and the State, viding funds for Alaskans to produce programing initiated the Educational Telecommunications for tailored to the special needs of its regional and Alaska Project. This project, funded at $6 million, cultural groups. The Northwest Arctic School has developed several of the major educational District has received a grant from the State to technology systems and applications described in develop programing appropriate for the Inupiaq this report, including an electronic mail network, Eskimos who live in 11 villages scattered through- an information retrieval system, and multimedia out the 35,000 -square-mile district (about the size individualized courses. of Indiana). Students in Kotzebue are producing To help determine the instructional potential of ITV programing which can be broadcast live from satellite television, the legislature in 1979 re- Kotzebue’s transmitter. quested that a study be made of the feasibility of Despite the large commitment to State instruc- using television for instruction on a statewide tional television, many problems remain. First, basis. “A Report on the Feasibility of Telecom- scheduling of broadcasts to meet user needs is a munications for Instruction in the State of problem in a State that spans five time zones. Alaska” was submitted to the legislative council Local taping of broadcasts for later use can resolve in February 1980, In response to the recommenda- this problem, but there are copyright issues in- tions of this report, the legislature approved an ap- volved and not all programs can legally be copied. propriation of $8.6 million to implement the in- Second, the high cost of developing the needed pro- structional television and audio conferencing sys- grams can not be amortized over a large audience tems now known as the LEARN/ALASKA Net- due to the sparse populations. Moreover, program- work. LEARN/ALASKA is managed by the Uni- ing aimed at adults in the home is often ineffec- versity of Alaska Instructional Telecommunica- tive when the home environment is crowded and tions Consortium (UAITC), a joint organization of not a suitable learning environment. Finally, po- the University and the State Department of Edu- litical problems arise when the State-run network cation. is perceived by local cable TV operators to be in competition with private industry. Use of Information Technology The cultural impact of television has been an issue of considerable interest since the State first Six major kinds of computer and communica- took initiatives in this area. Mechanisms for pro- tions applications are in varying stages of im- viding native consumer control over programing, scheduling, and operations have been of major con- personal communication with William Bramble, Alaska State De- cern since the earliest experiments. For example, partment of Education, December 1981. James Orvik of the Center for Northern Educa- W. S. Pittman, op. cit., p. 15. tional Research observed, “Depending on how the 230 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education development of a system is managed, early reli- at the main campus, they have more interaction ance on satellites as the principal means of delivery with each other and with their professor through could be an open invitation to begin centralizing the system than they would be able to have in a and homogenizing the entire process of media de- typical classroom. This is particularly true for livery and media use. To the extent such a trend native Americans whose minority culture back- would erode the emergence of local and regional ground often results in little class participation. systems, there is cause for concern."10 The asking and answering of direct questions in One of the strategies that has been adopted a face-to-face setting is often in opposition to to ensure local and regional control for the culturally accepted modes of interacting.11 In LEARN/ALASKA network is the provision for Alaska two EMSs serve educational users: the regional programing facilities and the establish- University of Alaska computer network and an ment of local capability to develop programs. EMS operated by the State Department of Edu- Audio Conferencing. In addition to instructional cation. television, the LEARN/ALASKA network pro- The University network is by far the largest, vides the hardware and the communications capa- serving 7,000 users at campuses and agencies bility for audio conferences, which cost about $64 throughout the State. In the month of November per line per hour to operate. In December 1981, 1981, 104,000 messages were transmitted on this the network had 59 audio conferencing sites; 104 system. Used in innovative ways for learning and are planned by September 1982. At each communi- teaching, the University’s system made it possi- ty audio conference center a coordinator helps ble throughout the winter for high school students users with the technical and administrative as- in Nome, Anchorage, Juneau, Kenai, Fairbanks, pects of setting up and conducting a conference. and Petersburg to participate in an honors pro- A guide assists users in conducting effective gram managed by a professor in the mathematics teleconferences. department of the University of Fairbanks. The The University of Alaska has been an early user students received assignments, collaborated with of this system for education. Students at many of each other, and transmitted their work to the pro- the remote university campuses can join together fessor through the system.12 Problems encoun- in class discussions through the audio conferenc- tered in using the University network for class- ing system. Some faculty members are beginning room interaction have included: lack of visual to develop expertise in the use of this technology, material; lack of cross referencing of messages; too which, although powerful, requires a considerable many simultaneous threads of conversation; too amount of administrative time to implement. Ac- high a reading level in messages; inability to con- cording to one professor, a faculty member must trol negative messages; and student inability to spend about four times more time administering digest unrelated topics. a course that operates via audio or computer con- EMS operated by the State Department of Ed- ference than he spends for a similar conventional ucation was developed by the Educational Tele- course. These pioneering faculty are developing ex- communications for Alaska (ETA) project. This pertise in the appropriate structuring, manage- network links administrators of the 52 school ment, and coordination of audio conferences. districts with each other and with the State Another major application of audio conferenc- Department of Education at Juneau. The system ing is for teacher inservice training. This method is directly accessible only to district ad- is highly cost effective in this State, where travel ministrators, not to school personnel, since the costs are very high. district offices are distant from rural schools. In Electronic Mail. Certain characteristics of an November 1981, the system transmitted about electronic mail system (EMS) make it an ideal tech- 3,500 messages. The primary benefit of this nology for overcoming cultural, geographic, and system is for State and district administration. scheduling barriers to education. Through EMS, There is no physical interface between the students with different cultural backgrounds, university network and the State EMS. The most located in distant places in different time zones, commonly cited reason for this is security. engage in seminar-type discussions with one other Information Retrieval. The Alaska Knowledge and with their professors. Even when all the stu- Base, developed as a part of the ETA project, is dents in a particular class are physically located llPWSon~ co~~cation with Ronald Scollen at the ~ntar for @ss Cultural Studies, University of Alaska, December 1981. 10J. Omik, “ESCD/Alaska: An Educational Demonstration, ’ J. ~m- l~person~ communication with Dr. van Veldhausen, Department Of munication, vol. 27:4, autumn 1977. Mathematics, University of Alaska, December 1981. App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies . 231 a computerized guide to help Alaskan educators or more of the courses. Apparent benefits of the find current information about curriculum mate- 1ST courses include the following: rials, successful classroom programs, and resource the courses work well for students whose at- people willing to serve in the schools. Users access tendance at school is irregular or seasonal, the knowledge base through the computer ter- which is the case in many rural Alaskan minals located in the administrative offices of the schools; 52 school districts and the department of educa- the courses provide more educational options tion. During a 3-month period in 1981, about half within a small school; the school districts used the system, retrieving the computer component is motivating, and about 3,500 items of information from this knowl- the equipment has other applications in the edge base. school; Individualized Study by Technology (1ST). A the courses are complete and self-contained, major product of the ETA project is a series of 1ST and are not dependent on local material re- courses for high school students in remote schools. sources or teacher knowledge of content; These courses are designed to provide instruction the courses provide continuity of curriculum that would allow the small, isolated schools to offer in schools where teacher turnover is high. a variety of high-quality courses at the secondary Availability of the initial 1ST courses has pro- level without increasing the staff size and without vided Alaskan educators with an example of what transporting students to schools in large popula- is possible through technology. Demand for addition centers. When a school adopts 1ST courses, tional courses is building, particularly for high it acquires an Apple computer. The computer is school mathematics and science courses. However, also used for a variety of other applications such it is not clear at this point how development of as high school accounting courses, computer such courses will be funded, or even how revision science and data processing training, and drills in and maintenance of the initial courses will be basic skills. supported. Six 1ST courses have been developed: Alaska The cost per student of 1ST courses will depend history, English, developmental reading, general on the overall number of students using the mathematics, general science, and U.S. history. courses, the number of students per course per The course packages include student reading ma- school, and the lifespan of the materials and pro- terials, lab guides, audio cassettes, teacher guides, grams. It appears that the cost per student per text and reference materials, and computer-based course of about $900 will be less than the average exercises and tests. The computer materials oper- Alaskan rural conventional course cost per student ate on stand-alone microcomputers (Apple II). An (about $7,000). One major cost component for 1ST important component of the course design, com- is teacher training. In fiscal year 1981, the cost per puter-based activities provide a high degree of in- teacher for training was about $1,500. Travel and teraction with the student. In pilot tests of the per diem expenses accounted for a large propor- courses the computer exercises were the mode of tion of these teacher training costs. instruction most preferred by 74 percent of the Computer Literacy. In Alaska, as in other students. Audio tapes were liked the least. States, the availability of low-cost microcomputers As typical of technology-based instructional sys- has generated considerable interest by educators tems, the pilot test evaluations indicate that revi- in computer-related skills that should become part sions are needed.13 “The lack of an overall model of the curriculum. Several hundred microcom- for what and how to teach in 1ST courses has con- puters are now available for student use in schools, tributed to some of the problems with course de- and the number is growing rapidly. The Alaska sign, such as the lack of higher cognitive level Association of Computer Using Educators has tasks, high levels of reading difficulty, and prob- been formed with the help of the State Department lems with use of audio tapes.”14 Nevertheless, the of Education. The department also publishes a adoption rate in 1981 far exceeded expectations. newsletter for the association. As of December 1981,95 schools had adopted one By providing teacher inservice workshops in computer literacy and by providing information ‘SM. Howe, et al., “ Individualized Study by Telecommunications Pilot to educators on available software, the State Test Final Evaluation Report, ” Alaska Department of Education, June Department of Education assumes a leadership 1980. l~Education~ Skills K)evdoprnent, Inc., “Final Report Evaluation of role in promoting computer literacy. In an arrange- 1ST Courses FY 81 Pilot Study, ” Alaska Department of Education, ment with the Minnesota Educational Computing November 1981. Consortium (MECC) the department provides cop- 232 ● Informational Technology and Its Impacton American Education

ies of MECC educational software free of charge raising issues about institutional jurisdictions over to the schools. It is now establishing a process for accreditation of courses, tuition payments, school evaluating commercially available courseware and schedules, and the like. will seek to make arrangements with publishers Through their varied experiences in the imple- to license distribution of courseware in the State. mentation of computer and communications tech- Computers and Culture. In 1971, the Computer nology in education, Alaskans have addressed Center Director of the University of Alaska began issues of design, implementation, and public policy a series of educational experiments in Alaskan that very likely all Americans will eventually have high schools. He hypothesized that the use of com- to address. By no means have all these issues been puter technology could assist Alaskan natives in resolved in Alaska, but there is a more mature un- overcoming cultural barriers to learning in the derstanding of them now than 10 years ago. classroom. He found that Eskimo children in What are the risks involved in technological Nome broke through cultural isolation through the innovation, and how might they be mini- use of Fortran programing; that a teacher could mized? According to a model being developed interact with Indian children through computer at the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies at the terminals when they would not interact with him University of Alaska, the risks of wasted cap- face-to-face; and that Eskimo children gained an ital investment and undesirable cultural side understanding of arithmetic through the use of effects can only be minimized if systems handheld calculators.15 evolve with a high degree of user control over growth rate and direction. Impact on the Use of Information Should the cultural and other impacts of in- Technology novation be monitored and, if so, how? There is no formal mechanism for monitoring im- The LEARN/ALASKA network and the ETA pacts and outcomes in Alaska. Some believe projects have been implemented in the past 2 there is no point in it; others are concerned years and are just now beginning to be used opera- over our lack of understanding of impacts. tionally. The impact of these systems on educa- What is the appropriate role of State govern- tion will not be observable for some time. There ment in delivering instruction-e. g., via televi- appear to be no plans by the agencies involved to sion or computer-assisted instruction? monitor or evaluate the impact of these systems. By what mechanisms can educational needs Knowledgeable persons in Alaska make the fol- be taken into account in the processes of es- lowing kinds of predictions of the impacts of com- tablishing policies and regulations regarding puter and communications technologies on educa- telecommunications? tion: How can educators and users drive the design ● curricula of small schools will become more of innovations? standardized through use of the 1ST courses; How can development of high-quality, user- ● nonschool-based education, such as corres- relevant programing be financed? - pondence courses, will become more important; The Future ● individual schools, as opposed to school districts, will assume greater decisionmaking Increasing use of computer-assisted instruction control; is highly likely in Alaska. The Report of the Gover- ● previously isolated cultures will become more nor’s Task Force on Effective Schooling recom- socially sophisticated; mends “computer-assisted instruction as a viable ● native languages will disappear; and means of enhancing schooling with respect to the 16 ● cultural barriers to educational progress will development of skills and acquisition of content.” be overcome. Application of video disk technology, combined The increasing use of audio conferencing is ren- with microcomputers, is planned. The Office of dering obsolete some institutional mechanisms Planning and Research in the State Department and jurisdictional boundaries. Communications of Education has established a design team to ana- networks cut across school district and State lines, lyze authoring systems, assess feasibility of group

“E. J. Gauss, “Computer Enhancement of Cultural Transition, ” proceedings of the 1979 National Educational Computing Consortium, 1eGovernor’g Task Force on Effective Schooling, ‘‘Effective School- Iowa City, June 1979. ing Practices, ” State of Alaska, December 1981. App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 233 interactive video disk systems, and prepare recom- 4. Research Reports and Monographs. For exam- mendations for applications to instruction. ple, the report of a 2-year, NSF-funded study of Audio conferencing will be combined with in- factors affecting the sharing of computer-based structional television to provide interactive resources. courses. Students watching an instructional televi- 5. Informal Communications. These include letters sion program will be electronically linked together to presidents, memoranda, and other mailings and to the instructor, thus providing a techno- relating to the sharing of resources and the use logically advanced kind of correspondence course. of computing and other technologies in higher University students in Alaska will have increas- education. ing access to courses at out-of-state institutions 6. Discounts. EDUCOM provides for discounts on via computer and audio conferencing systems. the purchase or lease of computing equipment and related materials and services from selected vendors. EDUCOM 7. Task Forces. Task forces are designated to study special issues of interest to members. EDUCOM was founded in 1964 as a nonprofit organization for colleges, universities, and other Special Activities nonprofit institutions of higher education. Its current membership includes over 360 university and EDUCOM provides specialized services through college campuses in the United States and abroad. the activities of EDUNET, the EDUCOM Con- The goal is to help its members make better use sulting Group, the EDUCOM Financial Planning of computing and information technology. Areas Model (EFPM), and research and development. of application are academic instruction and re- EDUNET. This is an international computing search, college and university administration, and network for higher education and research. library and information dissemination. EDUCOM EDUNET itself neither owns nor operates any provides the following types of services and activ- computing facilities. Rather, it acts as a broker, ities: linking using institutions who have unusual com- ● sharing and exchange of specialized compu- puting requirements with 1 of 16 institutional sup- ter and information resources; pliers. Connecting links are established through ● consulting on the management and use of commercial communications networks, provided computer technology; by networks such as Telenet and TYMNET. Typ- ● maintenance and dissemination of a financial ical communications charges are $4 to $6 per hour. modeling system; All arrangements, including billing, are handled ● conferences, seminars, workshops, and pub- centrally by EDUNET. lications; and Planning for EDUNET was initiated in 1966 ● research and specialized software. under partial sponsorship of NSF. Several studies and experiments followed, and a full network was Services and Membership Activities established in 1979. On July 1, 1979, EDUNET became a permanent and self-sustaining activity of EDUCOM. 1. EDUCOM Bulletin. The EDUCOM Bulletin is Membership in EDUNET in June 1981 included published quarterly, with a circulation of about 168 institutions. Local access is provided in 250 10,000. The bulletin reports on presentations, U.S. cities, 50 Canadian cities, and 30 foreign coun- research projects, applications of information tries. Resources available from EDUNET supplier technology to higher education, and systems of institutions include: interest to the education community. ● electronic mail and conferencing systems, 2. Annual Conference. Annual conferences address ● tutorial programs, resource sharing, computer networking, the de- ● CAI authoring languages, velopment of information systems, and other ● statistical packages, topics of current interest to member institu- ● subroutine libraries, tions. ● planning and analysis models, 3. Seminars. Seminars in 1981 included, “Manag- ● simulation languages and games, ing Microcomputers on Campus, ” and “EFPM: ● data bases, The EDUCOM Financial Planning Model. ” ● data-base management systems, 234 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

c information storage and retrieval systems, The typical RSO functions on a very tight budget ● programs for textual analysis, with virtually no discretionary funds, and some pro- “ graphics software, and portion of continuing income derived from exter- c text editors. nal funding agencies. With a tight budget, a small EDUNET services also include a hotline, the staff, and high reliance on volunteer efforts, the typical RSO is in a precarious financial situation. quarterly EDUNET News, the informal In order to offset financial instability, most RSOs EDUNOTE, a Member’s Guide, electronic mail rely on a mixture of revenue that includes member- and conferencing, training workshops and in- ship fees and fees-for-service, as well as external troductory seminars, an on-line catalog of refunding.’ sources available from suppliers, and searches EDUCOM was incorporated with $1,000 pri- tailored to special requirements. EDUNET has vately donated by five faculty from five different developed special software so that microcom- medical schools. No public moneys were involved. puters such as the Apple II can access the large It operated entirely on the basis of membership computers used by EDUNET suppliers. dues, fees for service, and volunteerism until 1972. EDUCOM Consulting Group. EDUCOM Con- Then, in the early 1970’s, NSF sponsored three sulting Group was formed in 1972 as a source of seminars and the development of a network simu- impartial advice on the use of computing and in- lation model. This led to the establishment of the formation technology in higher education. Con- Planning Council on Computing Education and sulting is available in four areas: Research. The council’s activities were funded by 1. System Performance Evaluation. grants from 20 EDUCOM institutions, with 2. Strategic Resource Planning. matching grants from the Ford, Carnegie, and 3. Organization Planning. Exxon Foundations. This funding was restricted 4. Management Systems Implementation. to special activities and did not support day-to-day In 1978, with a grant from Eli Lilly, & Co., computing. In 1979, the council disbanded with EDUCOM built the EDUCOM Financial PIarming the launching of EDUNET. Model (EFPM). Users can build and operate Additional funds have been granted by the Lilly budget models through a question-and-answer Foundation to develop and maintain EFPM and routine that requires no computer sophistication; by the Exxon Foundation to support computing access is via the EDUNET dial-in network. relating to the law. Over the last 10 years, EFPM now resides on a Cornell University com- EDUCOM’s total budget has changed, however, puter. It is used by over 120 institutions. As of from over 50 percent reliance on outside grants to August 1981, it cost $2,000 per year ($1,750 for less than 10 percent. Membership dues and fees EDUNET members), plus $2,250 startup con- for service provide the large majority of its income. sulting ($2,000 for EDUCOM members), and from A tiny fraction is generated by TELENET dis- $8 to $20 per terminal hour. It is supported by user counts. Residual requirements are met by the cur- fees and grants. EDUCOM supports an EFPM rent Lilly grant. Users’ Group through a monthly newsletter and Future requirements for external support are ex- periodic meetings. Recent applications have been pected to run between $50,000 and $100,000 per made in foreign higher education, in noneduca- year. Thus, although EDUCOM has made signifi- tional settings (the New York Public Library), and cant progress toward self-sufficiency, its financial in the development of linkages for access by mi- future is not yet secure. For example, EDUNET crocomputer. can balance its books only by drawing on a reserve Research and Development. Previous studies fund established at its inception. have addressed EFPM (described above), com- EDUCOM expects to receive progressively less puting in small colleges, and the role of technology support from the Federal Government, in part in library resource sharing. Of special interest is because of current Federal attitudes and in part a 2-year study, completed in April 1981 for NSF, because EDUCOM’s own goals rarely match pre- to identify factors affecting individual and institu- cisely the program interests of specific agencies. tional sharing of computer-based resources. One successful strategy has been the solicitation of matching funds, preferably from private foun- Budgets and Financing dations. This approach assures consensus and

The financing of EDUCOM is like that of other ‘D. D. Mebane, “Computer-Based Resources Sharing in Higher Edu- typical regional service organizations (RSOs). cation, ” EDUCOM Bulletin, vol. 16, No. 3, fall 1981, pp. 27-32. App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies “ 235 commitment on the part of EDUCOM users, a arate types of task-related instruction for three sharing of the financial load, and isomorphism be- distinct types of hardware: tween EDUCOM goals and resources. ● terminals, c small computer systems, and ● larger computer systems. Industry-Based Training and Having made the divisions, it was possible to Education Programs lower educational recruitment criteria far below the bachelor’s degree level for those to be trained The following discussions describe applications to service terminals and small computer systems. of educational technology in the corporate instruc- (This was a major breakthrough, since the com- tional programs of three companies. Examples pany employs some 16,000 field-service engineers have been drawn from the airline, high technology worldwide.) CA I packages were developed in-house and tobacco products industries. Forms of infor- to reduce travel and salary expenditures of class- mation technology utilized by these companies in- room training at the field-education centers. Field- clude computer-assisted instruction (CAI), com- diagnostic centers were established as backups to puter-managed instruction, computer-based simu- the new field-service structure, so that customers lation, video disk and teleconferencing. could contact experts knowledgeable in hardware and software design to diagnose the specific equip- High Technology ment malfunctions they were experiencing and to recommend their remediation. CAI is put to extensive use by a high-technology This new training and maintenance system is firm with corporate headquarters in the Northeast. paying off in a number of ways. The CAI system The company has a large internal education group has proven to be very cost effective. It has enabled and an executive team that views training and managers to weave training into existing work education as an integral part of the product devel- schedules, and has been more responsive to in- opment and manufacturing process. Management dividual learning requirements. The new field- instruction, technical training, and customer service organization has enabled the firm to over- education curricula are developed centrally by the come what was a severe personnel shortage and staff within this unit, but instruction is highly to keep customer service charges to a minimum. decentralized. Field training centers located in However, a technical education representative areas of good market potential, are the sites of stated that the firm must continue to be aware of most training for staff and clients. Computer- the limitations of CAI in that” . . . people can only based instructional packages developed for use at use a linear system for so long before the learning these centers, are often distributed directly to cor- curve is affected; they need contact with other in- porate field offices for initial and refresher staff dividuals. ” He urges managers of individual in- training. stallations to use the system with groups of train- Over the past few years, the company has ex- ees in a classroom setting for maximum effective- perienced a severe shortage of college-educated ness. generalists, a type of individual it had previously At present, no other forms of information tech- recruited to fill field-service engineering positions. nology are used in the staff education program. In Formerly, these individuals were given instruction the near future, there are plans to use video disk in total systems design and, with access to engi- integrated with a microcomputer. Cable television neering specifications, were expected to be fairly and satellite communications may also be used in self-sufficient on field service calls. However, as the technical education programs. the company’s product line became more and more diversified, this approach to training and main- Tobacco Products Co. tenance became unworkable. At about the same time, the problems presented As an outgrowth of technological change, a by classroom training on a fixed schedule, plus the major tobacco products firm has established a unit ever-increasing travel and salary costs incurred within its information systems group charged with while staff were receiving instruction, began to analyzing the potential uses of newly available have impacts. Responding to these conditions, the technologies in production and support activities company decided to revamp its recruiting program of the corporation, including training. As a result and training system for field-service engineers. A of this program, a project on applications of syn- job analysis led to the development of three sep- thetic speech and voice recognition is under way; 236 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Hughes Aircraft Co. ’s Training and Maintenance Many uses of CAI may be observed throughout Information System (TMIS) is being used for the the company. For the past 3 years the company first time on a corporate production line; CAI is has used PLATO basic engineering and computer being extensively employed; and, within the next science skills to train factory and office personnel. few months, a teleconferencing network will be It uses Apple computers to teach task-specific established. skills, such as those entailed in learning machine At one time, TMIS was being used as a train- operations, where simulation can be a particular- ing and maintenance aid for the U.S. Army’s tank ly useful learning device. Approximately 35 per- maintenance technicians. Under contract to the cent of all training is devoted to the retraining of Army, Hughes Aircraft had developed the device, existing personnel, a process necessitated by con- which consists of a video disk unit integrated with tinual modernization and modification of factory a microcomputer. Its cathrode ray tube (CRT) is equipment. used to present text and digital graphics-often A considerable amount of new construction and simultaneously. After seeing a demonstration of expansion of existing plants is now under way, and the system in the company’s corporate training a teleconferencing system designed to link these center and conducting a formal evaluation of its facilities with corporate headquarters is about to potential in the factory environment, the tobacco be installed. The company is already examining firm decided to contract with Hughes to develop how this technology, although originally designed two prototype units to train employees to main- to monitor construction progress, can be applied tain and repair cigarette packaging equipment to training. (both mechanical and electronic maintenance). The two devices—approximately 4½ ft high, 2 ft wide, Airline Industry and 2 ft deep—were installed in 1978. Initially, the company saw two distinct applica- A major commercial airline has an elaborate tions for TMIS. They planned to develop a train- training development system that consists of: ing software package for classroom use together ● a corporate headquarters-based program for with one designed to run in the plant on the pro- sales, instructor, and management training; duction line, where several units would be in- ● a corporate headquarters-based computer di- stalled, to assist maintenance/repair personnel on vision training activity; an ongoing basis. They soon discovered that one ● a centralized flight training center, located at maintenance/repair software package with “im- a major airport away from corporate head- bedded training" would work in both settings, but quarters; and in practice still-motion mode (single frames) would . a centralized maintenance training center, lo- be used in the factory. cated at another major airport some distance An evaluation of the prototype units in the train- from corporate headquarters. ing center was conducted in 1979. The results were Once the design phase is complete, sales, instruc- dramatic in terms of the time and money saved tor, and management training may be delivered as compared with traditional classroom instruc- centrally (corporate headquarters) or at individual tion. As a result, three devices that had been airports or ticket offices. A CAI group develops specifically constructed for placement in the in- courses that are then used by airline staff via ex- dustrial environment were ordered from Hughes. isting terminals to book reservations and related Installation of the prototype in the plant is now activities. Wherever possible, CAI is used for in progress and will be followed by an evaluation “straight knowledge transfer. ” For example, CAI of actual production-line use. development staff have devised courses on how to Because of the successful use of TM IS, the com- book reservations, compute fares, and carry out pany is now considering the use of video disk to other tasks that are necessary in occupations such archive office records and to create an electronic as that of a reservations agent, a passenger serv- parts catalog containing simulations of equipment. ice agent, a storekeeper (airline supplies), a flight Users would be able to walk around a particular attendant, and airport operations personnel. Each item, focus on its component parts, and then— time the airline’s computer division develops anew using the same system— ascertain the number and application, lessons are developed centrally, and availability of the part. Recommendations have notices of their availability are distributed to all also been made to use video disks for management airports, ticket offices, and other locations, where training. management uses them to the extent that they ——

App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 237 apply to entry-level training and/or instruction of production facility has just been installed at the existing staff. Flight Training Center, which the manager of The airline would like to use the PLATO system flight training hopes to use to develop instruc- in its management training program, but found it tional tapes for distribution to field operations at too expensive. Uses of satellite technology and airports across the country. telecommunications systems have been investigated, but costs have also precluded their use even Maintenance Training Center though it is recognized that they are cost effective in the long run. Video disk technology has not been All airline personnel engaged in maintaining air- employed, nor are there any plans to use it in the planes and ground equipment either receive in- future. Video cassettes are frequently used in man- struction at the Maintenance Training Center or agement training to enhance traditional methods are trained by means of video tapes that are pro- carrying out role-playing exercises. duced there and then shipped to 56 maintenance stations (located at major airports). This is the Computer Division Training third year that the airline has utilized video tape in developing maintenance training packages, at The Deltac self-instructional video-cassette a rate of about 40 packages per year. system is used by the computer division to pro- The manager of Training Support Services vide technical training to programers, not for ini- stated that the bulk of maintenance training is still tial instruction but for professional development carried out in the classroom by an instructor, and upgrading. No other forms of information Overhead projectors are used, as are slide-tape technology are currently being used. presentations that are developed by in-house curriculum specialists. Over the years, the airline has Flight Training developed a number of computerized simulators for use in training airplane maintenance person- Many applications of the PLATO system may nel, but high cost of simulators cannot be justified be seen at the airline’s Flight Training Center. A by the amount of use they get prior to delivery of program for Initial First Officer training has been a new line of equipment. After the planes are redesigned and tested, but little or no use has been ceived, there is always sufficient “ground time” made of it as yet due to current economic condi- available for training. tions within the industry. The company has also Computer graphics are being investigated, since used PLATO in pilot training, and is now moving engineering drawings produced in the design ahead with a Boeing 767 pilot training program phase are made available by airplane manufac- to be developed entirely on PLATO. For the first turers on magnetic tape and their volume makes time, this system will be used in lieu of flight the use of manuals very difficult. However, cost simulators. Simulating various types of cockpit may turn out to be the key obstacle here. The use equipment, PLATO will give 767 pilot trainees a of video disk technology has also been explored, way to master these individual systems that is less but the manager of Training Support Services expensive than using them in combination. Up to found it to be “ . . . too costly to make that first now, PLATO has only been used to substitute for disk . . . ,“ since his distribution network consists the cockpit procedures trainer, a device that allows of only 56 maintenance stations. The cost of con- participants to practice certain processes after verting video tape to video disk is also a major pro- classroom instruction, but before flight simulator hibiting factor. training. The airline has also been investigating the use of video disks in conjunction with PLATO for Information Technology flight training of visual effects and it may incor- and Libraries porate their use into the instructional package by the end of this year. Teleconferencing is being used The library-an institution that acquires, man- to keep 767 course developers in daily contact with ages, and disseminates information—both pro- Boeing Aircraft engineers so that training designs vides educational services and serves as an educa- may proceed in advance of actual aircraft delivery. tional resource. Information technologies offer li- (The airline also used teleconferencing for Boeing braries unique opportunities and capabilities for 747 design conferences.) While there are no plans enhancing their current services and for extending to use satellite technology, a complete video tape them to new areas-particularly if, “The task of 238 “ Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education the library is to consider itself an institution for operations is the Automated Library Information allowing people to utilize information.”] Conse- System. This system can support many of the quently, the advent of the information revolution operational procedures in a library and is fully could alter both the way libraries operate and their integrated. * Its many uses range from charge and role in society. discharge functions to cataloging and the maintenance of master holdings. Findings Networks Information technology has changed the operation and user information programs of public, Two or more libraries may form communication special, and academic libraries. networks utilizing information technologies to Utilizing information technologies for opera- enhance the exchange of materials, information, tional programs can make libraries more produc- or similar services. The formation of local, regional, tive and efficient and allow them to devote more and national networks has already significantly al- resources to other programs-e. g., user services. tered the operation of libraries. Information technologies permit a library The IRVING Network. When fully operational, (sometimes called an information center) to the IRVING network in the Denver-Boulder, greatly expand its resources. Networks, on-line Colo., area will use communications technologies information services, and cable services permit to link the library systems of Aurora, Boulder, Lit- the sharing of materials and provide access to tleton, Denver, and Jefferson County in order to information in a way that was not previously enhance their current capabilities. Each of the li- possible. brary systems employs different automated sys- Libraries may be the only way that certain tems and in some cases different library operations members of society can gain access to informa- procedures. Connecting these heterogeneous data tion technologies and to the information that bases, this new communication link will allow these technologies provide. shared cataloging, more efficient interlibrary Libraries that fail to adopt these new technol- loans, shared acquisition, enhanced development ogies for information services many risk be- of special collections, circulation within the entire coming irrelevant. system, an electronic message service, a reference information service, access to administrative data, Libraries and Information and increased access to special collections (e.g., Technologies Denver’s Western collection and Jefferson Coun- ty’s Asian collection.) Use of information and communication technol- To date, no such system exists anywhere in the ogies has affected all aspects of library services. United States. This network, designed to expand Software is now commercially available for practi- beyond the current five systems to accommodate cally all aspects of library operations: circulation, up to 30 other libraries, could serve as the founda- inventory, acquisitions, periodicals, cataloging, tion for the larger, automated, statewide network and reserves. The use of the technologies for infor- now under consideration. mation user services has resulted in the formation The planning for IRVING was made possible of library networks and in the ability to access na- through a Library Services Construction Act tional data bases, thus allowing faster and more (LSCA) grant, and its implementation was funded efficient access to information. by the Colorado Board of Education. Studies iden- Programs oriented both to operation of the li- tified a distributive configuration as the most ef- brary and to user needs are critical for fulfilling fective system for transmitting electronic data a library’s mission. For instance, an on-line acquisi- among the libraries in an interactive, on-line mode. tion system can reduce the ordering and receiving Conventional analog service from Mountain Bell time for a new library purchase, thus providing was chosen as the transmission media. The distrib- patrons with the desired material in a shorter time. utive option will require a smaller investment ini- Circulation, cataloging, and other automated li- tially than would other alternatives (e.g., the use brary systems offer similar benefits. One example of public packet switching using public networks of a commercially available system for library accessed via telephone links). Moreover, software

IM. Turoff and M. Spector, “Libraries and the Implications of Com- puter Technology, ” proceedings of the AFIPS National Computer Con- *A system which is fully integrated is one in which the individual ference, vol. 45, 1976. procedures operate in support of the other system procedures. App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies . 239 for such a system will be easier to develop and work, or by direct dial. The OCLC On-line Union maintain. This approach also permits the separa- Catalog contains over 7.4 million bibliographic tion of the operation and the control of the net- records in MARC (Machine Readable Cataloging work by allowing each participating library to be Format). If a library identifies an item of interest, responsible for the operation of its own system.2 OCLC produces presorted catalog cards. Also The CARL Network. Through the Colorado Alli- available are accession lists of newly cataloged ance of Research Libraries (CARL) network, seven materials for microform catalogs, circulation research libraries will share an on-line public ac- records, and selected dissemination of information cess catalog reflecting the holdings of all institu- (SDI).* tions. Six of the CARL members are academic li- On-line Information Services. The increasing in- braries; the seventh is the Denver Public Library, ventory of literature and information is making it which, as members of both IRVING and CARL, almost impossible for a user to keep up, let alone expands the network. The holdings of these li- to catch up. An example of the explosive rate of braries represent 47 percent of the total collections information growth can be seen in the areas of and over 90 percent of the unique items in the chemistry and chemical engineering, where the State. Once these holdings are on-line, a user will rate of literature growth can be tracked by the have to search only a single public catalog rather number of papers abstracted in the publication, than seven. Creating a single on-line catalog for Chemical Abstracts. For the 10-year period from these institutions will require modifying many 1961 through 1970, the rate of increase was 8.4 operating procedures to comply with common for- percent; during the 5-year period from 1971 mats, common records, and a common data base. through 1975 it more than doubled, to 16.9 per- The University of Colorado at Boulder, the Colo- cent. The recent increase has been even more dra- rado State University, the University of Northern matic—4.6 percent annually from 1976 through Colorado, the Colorado School of Mines, the Aur- 1980.4 This rapid expansion of information has also aria Complex, the University of Denver, and the taken place in many other fields, such as medicine, Denver public Library have established a nonprof- law, and computer science. it organization to create this new research resource On-line services such as national bibliographic within the State. data bases (e.g., DIALOG and BRS)–which are As in the IRVING Project, LSCA funds were computerized retrieval systems covering a wide ar- used for the initial planning efforts. Currently, ray of continually expanded subject areas-will moneys from the seven institutions; DataPhase make it possible for libraries to offer their patrons Systems, Inc.; and Tandem are being used to com- rapid access to a variety of information sources at plete the project. Two-thirds of CARL is now com- relatively low cost. For example, PATSEARCH/ plete. Testing will begin by the summer of 1982; Video PATSEARCH, contains information on implementation is scheduled for the following fall. 800,000 patents heretofore available only in the Once the public-access on-line catalog is in opera- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office files in Wash- tion, member libraries intend to investigate elec- ington, D. C., on microfilm, or piecemeal through tronic delivery of materials between their institu- other data bases. The advantages of on-line serv- tions.3 ices are listed in table A-3. The OCLC Network. On-line College Library Maggie’s Place: Pikes Peak Regional Library Center (OCLC) network is an example of a major District. On-line community information and refer- computer-based cooperative network that is em- ral programs are being explored and instituted by ployed by all types of libraries nationally and in- some libraries as a concomitant of their access to ternationally. The OCLC network allows libraries national information sources and the resources of to acquire and catalog materials, order custom- other libraries and information services. The Pikes printed catalog cards, initiate interlibrary loans, Peak Regional Library District in Colorado, for ex- and locate materials in member libraries (2,500) ample, has developed Maggie Place, a communi- and more. Through dedicated, leased telephone ty information resource, which consists of comput- lines, members access OCLC services on specially erized local and regional information of interest to designed terminals, through dial- access terminals its patrons. Users can access on-line all of the ca- utilizing the TYMNET telecommunications net- reer and recreational adult educational courses

*SDI is the selection and dissemination of information of specific in- 2S. Hartman, IRVING Coordinator, Boulder Public Library, Boulder, terest to a library patron. Colo., February 1982. ‘D. B. Baker, “Recent Trends in Chemical Literature Growth, ” C&E ‘W, Shaw, Executive Director, CARL, January 1982. News 59(22):29, June 1, 1981,

,— .— 240 w Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Table A-3.—Advantages of On-Line Services investment has been made by the library district for this effort (almost $400,000 since 1976). Yet, Advantages of on-line services: despite the initial large investment, savings have ● Produce results very quickly ● Are cost effective been high-over $500,000. Second, the community ● Can be used for most types of searchers resource files are the only such files in the Nation. ● Can search fields (or data categories) for which there is Beneficial to librarian and user alike, they are a no printed index central and easily accessible source of the kind of ● Have the capability for searching very complex and elaborate strategies information frequently requested. They demon- ● Offer the opportunity for increasing completeness of strate that information technology can assist both coverage through searching of multiple sources the operational needs of the library and the re- ● May contain information more current than available in source needs of the patrons. the corresponding printed index Third, by making the library’s programs accessi- ● Can be easily updated on demand or at regular intervals ● Permit any amount of strategy broadening, narrowing, ble to outside users (over 500 presently), the li- or changing brary has expanded its capabilities for community ● Causes less fatigue per search and reduces searcher’s use and utilized the information technology to its errors best advantage. And last, through the use of the ● Require very little space for operation ● Save staff time technology, Maggie’s Place offers all users access ● Some kinds of data are retrievable only on a computer to information resources. system Microcomputers in the Library. Many libraries ● Many more types of information can be searched on-line are considering installing a microcomputer on a than in a manual system coin-operated basis. Recently, several firms have ● Material can be ordered with a simple command and charged to an account— a copy on demand service begun to actively market such services to public SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment. libraries across the country. For example, in a contractual arrangement with Copy Systems, Inc., and CompuVend, a TRS-80 was installed in the available in the region through this program. Simi- Tredyffrin Public Library near Philadelphia. The larly, information is available about day-care centers, clubs and other community organizations, computer is available for patron use at a cost of social services, and a matching carpool data base. $0.50 per 15 minutes. The company is responsible for the operation and the maintenance of the equip- The files are available both in the library and to ment and has provided 24 Radio Shack program approximately 500 members of the community tapes, manuals, and workbooks on BASIC lan- and businesses with access to terminals. Programs developed and in use at Maggie’s guage and programing. Place include those for library resources, network- Library patrons may use the terminal for home- ing, and community resources. The library re- work, statistical manipulation, learning how to program, playing games, and work. Children and source files are automated programs that relate to teenagers appear to be the predominant users (65 the operational needs of the library such as circula- percent), although this is expected to change in the tion, reserves, and acquisitions. Networking files near future. Average use of the microcomputer has give the user access to State and national information resources, such as DIALOG, BRS, ORBIT, been 2 to 4 hours per day, 7 days a week. Based 5 on such community response, a computer with a RLIN, GIS, COCIS, and The Source. The commu- larger capacity will be installed shortly. The new nity resource files contain on-line information of interest to members of the Colorado Springs com- system will provide access to The Source and will munity. Currently, they include five files: calendar, attempt to satisfy the computing capacity require ments of the local business community. New pro- day care, clubs, courses, and carpool. All of these are available for use in the library or in homes or gram tapes such as Visicalc will be supplied. businesses via telephone lines.6 With this arrangement the library uses the technology as an informational and educational re- Maggie’s Place, compared with other public li- source. In addition, the library makes it possible braries, has a number of unique features. First, the for all those who do not have access to this tech- amount of automation is unusual. A substantial nology in their homes or in their businesses to be- 5DIALOG: Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., Inc.; BRS: Bibliographic come familiar with computers and to have access Retrieval Service, Inc.; ORBIT: System Development Corp.; COCIS: to the valuable information resources they pro- Colorado Career and Occupational Information System; RLIN: Research Libraries Information Network; GIS: Time Share Corp. vide. The library also benefits in a number of ways: ‘K. Dowlin, Director, Pikes Peak Regional Library District, February limited staff time is involved; the library is not 1982. responsible for operation and maintenance of the —

App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 241 equipment; no financial burden is placed on the Current programs include, among others: rec- library (e.g., purchase of the equipment); the equip- ordkeeping and reporting for nurses, continu- ment will be updated to reflect changes in the tech- ing education classes, an “intelligent’ terminology and to reflect market needs in the commu- nal for on-line searching, nutritional assess- nity; step-by-step instructions allow the user to ment of intensive-care newborns, audiovisual use the microcomputer with little, if any, assist- inventory listing, and the logging and analy- ance from a professional; and, thus, no extra staff sis of on-line searching records. training is necessary. The provision of such services raises new ques- Other examples of microcomputer use include tions for participating libraries. Where should the the following: terminals be located. Should provisions be made ● The Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System for privacy? What type, if any, of collection devel- in upstate New York has installed a micro- opment should the library engage in? Should the computer for use by patrons. The decision was library sell disks for patron use’! Should there be prompted by concern on the part of the librar- a scheduling or reservation system or should pa- ian that patrons, particularly children, were trons use the computer on a first-come first-served neither familiar with computers nor had ac- basis? cess to the technology. Although the micro- Cable Services and Video Facilities. With the ex- computer was installed in the Children’s pansion of cable franchises nationwide, an increas- Room, it is available to adults as well. Volun- ing number of libraries are exploring the potential teers have been teaching computer program- of cable for delivering library services. Many li- ing, and librarians believe that, based on its braries have employed video capabilities for years, usage, the overall program is an overwhelm- but the addition of cable services in a community ing success. has expanded the library’s resource base. The ● A cooperative effort has been initiated be- most extensive users of cable and video are junior tween the San Bernardino City School Dis- and community colleges and public libraries. The trict, Calif., and the public library to assist former rely on cable services as a means of deliv- students in preparing for proficiency tests. ery, production, and housing of course materials; Microcomputers in three of the city’s library and the latter, for expanding the library’s role as branches provide CAI in mathematics and in a community information resource center. the language arts. A queuing system allows Generally, junior and community colleges, be- high school students to be first-priority users cause they are relative newcomers to the academic through June 30, 1982. Other library patrons scene, are most actively involved in video pro- have access to the terminals that are not be- graming and cable services. Many colleges con- ing used by students. structed during the 1960’s and early 1970’s incor- ● The public library in Providence, R. I., has in- porated video capabilities in their library facility stalled INFORM, a system whose uses range or plan. Older research institutions and libraries, from bibliographic instruction to the use of on the other hand, generally cannot afford to in- audiovisual equipment. INFORM is regarded vest in video facilities nor to adopt their current as an on-line library guide or handbook that structures to include such facilities. also includes updated information on commu- The Division of Learning Resources at the nity events and agencies. Its touch-sensitive Greenfield Community College in Massachusetts terminals are available with graphic and tex- is an example of a community college library that tual capabilities. has integrated video capabilities with local cable ● Groups of school librarians in the St. Louis, services. The library houses both commercially Me., area have developed a series of self- available video tapes and faculty/student-pro- instructional programs for the Apple 11 that duced products. Students in conjunction with the are user guides for periodical indexes and Learning Resources Center and the local cable almanacs, Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, franchise produce weekly cablecasts for the com- Current Biography, and poetry indexes. The munity. programs are aimed at the secondary school The Monroe County Public Library in Blooming- to adult levels. ton, Ind., is an example of a local public library ● The St. Luke’s Hospital Health Sciences Li- actively involved in all aspects of cable and video brary in Missouri has instituted a wide range services. The library has cablecast 3,000 to 4,000 of programs on an Apple 11 Plus computer. programs a year (or 60 to 64 hours of programing 242 “ Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education per week) to the community on Community Access free of charge, but it is questionable whether they Channel Three. Half of the local subscribers will be able to continue to do so. One role proposed (90,000) watch programs on Channel Three. Also for libraries incorporates and reflects societal 38 percent of the subscribers noted that local pro- change. This role would entail: graming was a primary reason for initiating cable ● providing access to complicated or seldom services. used data bases; A wide range of programs are offered and pro- ● providing community conferencing and mes- duced by the library. Some programs, such as sage center programs; “Kids Alive,” are produced by children with assist- ● providing on-line access to information or li- ance from the library staff. Local teachers, trained brary resources; by library staff, allow the equipment to be used ● providing access to community data and com- for many school activities. City council meetings munity information locations for referrals; are regularly cablecast; and special-issue pro- ● providing access to resources in other libraries grams, about housing and the elderly, for exam- via networking; ple, are presented. ● providing access to high-demand information Because of its active involvement in cablecast- and materials via computer or video disks; ing, the library and Channel Three have been and asked to participate in the refranchisement proc- ● providing access to electronic resources for ess. Library involvement in this process is com- those who cannot afford home computers or mon and occurs frequently. In fact, in franchise terminals.7 proposals library needs and desires are solicited by the bidders. Some of the programs developed at Maggie’s Place will be used at other libraries Museums as a result of cable awards. Implications of Library Technology. Approxi- Findings mately 10 percent of the libraries of the United ● More and more museums are incorporating in- States have some form of automated capabilities, formation technology, particularly computers, and an increasing number of libraries are explor- into both their exhibits and their educational ing the possibilities of these technologies. On-line programs. The technology is used for operation- information retrieval services and provision of in- al purposes and to provide computer literacy formation technologies enhance the traditional and related courses. services provided by libraries but also raise impor- . The introduction of the technology to museums tant questions of cost. For example, can a library is altering the role of these institutions. This afford to run searches for patrons on DIALOG change is especially evident in the recent estab- free of charge? Can it afford to use these national lishment and success of childrens’ museums bibliographic data bases, which require trained across the country. searchers, and entail cost ranging from $10 to $150 Museums, like libraries, provide important edu- per hour? Such costs place an added financial bur- cational services. Since the establishment of the den on public as well as on academic and special first public museum in 1743, museums have ex- libraries. For some libraries faced with reduced erted a strong influence on U.S. culture. They func- funding from State, Federal, and local sources, the tion as repositories for conserving the world’s cul- price of the technology may be particularly bur- ture and for relaying it to present and future gen- densome. However, by not providing these serv- erations. ices, libraries may prevent people from finding and Beyond the overall educational nature of their utilizing the information, a situation contrary to exhibits, most museums conduct and provide addi- the traditional role of libraries in society. (Further- tional educational services. Recently, more and more, it has been suggested that when libraries more have incorporated information technology, provide these services and develop community re- particularly computers, into both their exhibits source files they become competitive with private and their educational programs. They are used information vendors. ) generally for operational purposes and to provide Such concerns are particularly relevant to a re- computer literacy and related courses. The delay consideration of the role of public libraries in an in acquiring information technology until only re- information society. At present, libraries provide access to information and knowledge to all users 71bid. App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 243 cently, has been primarily due to the fiscal con- Education Uses. During the past 10 years sever- straints common to most museums, which operate al museums have introduced computer literacy on a limited budget and depend on donations that programs and computer labs. Offering these can fluctuate from year to year.1 courses is a natural extension of previous and ongoing educational activities within museums. The Use of Computers And, as with libraries, the availability of such programs makes it possible for users to become ac- Computers are generally used for four purposes: quainted with this technology in a nonthreaten- for interactive exhibit devices, for exhibit control, ing environment in which there is no pressure to for administration, and for education programs. succeed or fail.4 All have educational applications. Interactive Exhibit Devices. Museums use com- The Hands-On Approach puters and related technologies to increase the attention span and alter the traditional experience The Lawrence Hall of Science. In general, muse- of the typical patron. It is possible, for example, ums that provide programs in computer literacy to increase a viewer’s attention span from 10 sec- have adopted a hands-on philosophy. This princi- onds to 3 to 10 minutes, a significant improvement ple was first initiated at the Lawrence Hall of Sci- that has enormous implications for how a museum ence in Berkeley, Calif., in 1972, when an exhibit can present information. Examples of exhibits entitled “Creative Play With Computers” was in- range from instruction on how to use a computer troduced. The exhibit used the university’s time- to using a computer to calculate quickly the nutri- sharing system and teletypes. Since then, this pro- tional value of a meal. Simulation programs are gram has been expanded to include a computer lab- widely utilized, although these are also the most oratory, and computer technology is used exten- difficult to create. sively throughout the exhibits. The computer lab- Incorporating computers into an exhibit pre- oratory has 30 microcomputers that can be used sents some special problems not generally encoun- for computer literacy programs or individual pro- tered with other media. The exhibits must be ap- graming by anyone 8 years or older. The Hall of pealing in order to attract users, but the programs Science also operates the Science Shuttle, which must be relatively simple, since most users are un- transports microcomputers to local schools for familiar with the technology. Furthermore, such computer literacy and related classes. The Science programs must be able to contend with repeated Shuttle has greatly increased the access to com- mistakes, constant use, and even abandonment by puter technology by local school-age children. the patron. ’ Thus, developing programs suitable The Capitol Children’s Museum. Newly estab- for a museum environment involves considerable lished in Washington, D. C., the Capitol Children’s skill. Museum is a learning center with a strong empha- Exhibit Control. The control of exhibits by com- sis on communication. The most recent addition puters has a number of advantages: 1) cost and to the facility, the communications wing, traces maintenance are reduced because of fewer compo- the growth and development of communication nents; 2) additional features can be added at mini- throughout human history. Like the Lawrence mum cost; 3) control devices can be standardized Hall of Science the museum uses the hands-on ap- from exhibit to exhibit; 4) the potential exists to proach in all of its exhibits. Similarly, the muse- customize a patron’s experience; and 5) computers um has a computer classroom, the Future Center, permit greater flexibility in altering an exhibit at with 20 microcomputers. relatively low cost.3 A visitor to the museum’s communications wing Administrative Uses. Computers are largely is introduced to communication through a sound used for such standard purposes as word process- and light show held in a model of a 30,000-year-old ing, accounting, updating mailing lists, record- cave. The cave depicts the earliest type of commu- keeping, collection management, and inventory. nication: drawings of man’s experience with hunt- ing and tools. Further developments in the forms and means of communication are shown through

i R. King, Director of Exhibits, Boston Museum of Science, February a wide range of exhibits: torches used by the 1982. Greeks to relay messages, drums used by African ‘D. Taylor and D. Rhees (eds. ), Survey of Computer Use in Science- TechnoJogy Museums (Washington, D. C.: Association of Science-Tech- nology Centers, 1981). 4P. Hirschberg, Coordinator, Communication, Capital Children’s Mu- ‘Ibid. seum, April 1982. 244 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education tribes to relay messages via different sound pat- is to introduce new users to microcomputers and terns, and a variety of written forms—alphabets to allow previous users access to the technology. and hieroglyphics. In addition, other ways to com- The center thus makes available to everyone both municate such as Braille, Morse code, pig latin, the technology and the skills and information it and sign language are shown. Many of the more provides. The courses offered range from those recent types are demonstrated by means of video designed to assist teachers who are unfamiliar tape players or microcomputers. with the technology to become computer-literate The wing also contains telecommunication de- to those to introduce children to the technology. vices. For instance, there is a fully equipped radio Schools that do not have microcomputers can studio available for use where children can produce schedule class visits on a regular basis. and tape messages for their own use. There are The courseware are combinations of programs future plans for a comparably equipped television developed by the museum staff and software do- studio. Also, there is a scale model of a satellite nated by Atari. For example, PAINT, a software dish inside the museum that replicates the muse- and book package, allows the user to create paint- um’s communication satellite dish which can re- ings on the Atari, while using a variety of learn- ceive up to 40 cable channels.5 ing skills as well as learning about and exploring The Future Center is a classroom equipped with the microcomputer. For more experienced users 20 Atari 800 microcomputers complete with print- there are courses in programing BASIC. Because ers, disk drives, and color monitors. Its purpose obtaining quality software is a major problem, the staff of the museum is actively engaged in design- ‘Ibid.

In the Capitol Children’s Museum, Washington, D. C., a visiting primary school teacher works with her students as they become computer-literate. Schools from throughout the Washington area utilize this facility to introduce their students to the world of computers. Many schools enroll their students in a special series of classes designed to enhance their primary and secondary education App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 245

ing and developing software for the Future Cen- project, the National Air and Space Museum is ter’s constantly growing and enthusiastic clientele. placing some of its photograph collection on video As a nonprofit institution, the Capitol Children’s disks and interfacing the disks with the museum’s Museum relies on corporate donations and grants computer. The museum also has an interactive to continue its operations and to develop new ex- video disk which allows patrons to design an hibits and educational services. The majority of aircraft. s the museum’s equipment has been donated by pri- The National Park Service (NPS) of the Depart- vate companies; e.g., the satellite dish by Scien- ment of the Interior also uses video disk technol- tific Atlanta, the microcomputers from Atari, and ogy. NPS originally used video tape players at a PDP 11/70 and supporting hardware (printer, many of its visitor centers. However, the initial video terminal, and disk pack) from the Digital high cost of purchasing the equipment, plus the Equipment Corp. (DEC), to name just a few. high rate of failure, maintenance costs, and tape The recent gift of a minicomputer by DEC repre- breakage, led to initiating trials of video disk tech- sents a significant contribution to current museum nology. Several video tape players have since been services, but more importantly to future potential. replaced by video disks. NPS is also considering Once operational, the PDP 11/70 will be able to in- video disks for use in collection management for terconnect all of the museum’s exhibits, thereby reasons similar to those of the Smithsonian Ameri- increasing the control over their use. It will also can History Museum. If collection management of provide an internal tracking and information sys- selected projects at NPS is implemented, the disk tem of exhibit users—how many visitors utilize would provide access to a variety of educational what exhibit for how long, and so forth. materials. In the long term, the computer will be the basis for Kid Net, a time-sharing system that will be both an internal and external network. Internally, Military Uses of Information the system will facilitate such activities as elec- Technology tronic mail, games, and demonstrations. External- ly, the network will be connected with other Wash- Findings ington-based institutions such as local schools and Congress and will possibly tie in with other All branches of the military have made substan- children’s museums such as the one in Boston. tial investments in research and development Other long-term possibilities include a national (R&D) on applications of information technol- electronic newsletter. G ogy to education. The Department of Defense will likely be the The Use of Video Disks only Federal agency likely to make major investments in R&D projects with educational ap- Several museums are experimenting with video plications. disks for storing and preserving collections. Be- Educational uses of information technology cause they are both very new and very costly, few have focused on two areas: training and basic museums, have employed this technology. How- skills. ever, the video disk’s features make it uniquely The need for a very large investment in basic suited for collection management: large amounts skills training by the military, $56 million in of material can be sorted; materials don’t 1979, is an indication to some that the public deteriorate; researchers are not dependent on schools are not providing an adequate educa- original materials; and the content of a museum’s tion. collection of photos, slides, or art can be sent for Many of the projects initiated by the armed viewing to other institutions around the world. services could be transferable to the civilian sec- The Smithsonian Museum of American History tor, although there may be barriers to transfer. is placing some of its collection of (30,000 to Considering the large investment made by the 38,000) slides and photographs on a video disk. armed forces in information technology R&D, This measure will ensure the life of this combina- it would be useful to establish a mechanism tion of materials since most of it is fragile and sub- whereby potentially transferable projects could ject to damage from repeated use.’ In a similar be identified and barriers to transfer removed.

‘Ibid. ‘J. Wallace, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian, ‘H. Otano, Chief, Audio-Visual Systems, National Air and Space May 1982. Museum, Smithsonian Institution, May 26, 1982. 246 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Fort Gordon Signal Corps Training Center, Fort Gordon, Ga.—in former days, Ft. Gordon students would get 12 minutes of “hands on” instruction at this $7 million satellite down-station. The rest of the classroom time was spent in costly waiting. But with the new information technologies, instructional time has increased fivefold

The military has been a leader in the develop- As the largest education and training institution ment and use of instructional delivery systems in the Nation, the military constitutes a large and having used high technology for many years. Its viable market for training equipment, programs, great need for technical skill training, together and services. In fiscal year 1982, for example, ap- with the critical nature of its national security mis- proximately $10.5 billion will be spent on individ- sion and its nonprofit orientation, has led to a ual training. The training of individual officers and training technology revolution and a good market enlistees is differentiated from the training of oper- for state-of-the-art technology in military educa- ational combat units, and individual training can tion and training. be broken down into a number of categories. In- Interested in new methods of training that im- doctrination and basic training for approximate- prove efficiency, reduce training costs, and in- ly 338,000 students will cost $822 million, while crease the effectiveness of training, the military approximately 709,000 students will receive spe- has turned to information technology for solutions cialized skill training for military jobs at a cost of to some of its educational and training problems. $2.4 billion.’ (See table A-4.) In fiscal year 1982, The armed services need people in operational as- approximately 236,500 student man-years will be signments. By advancing and applying state-of- spent at training schools. the-art technology in training, they hope to turn The Department of Defense (DOD) now spends out quality individuals sooner for operational job about $267 million for R&D on training and per- assignments. sonnel systems technology, with $181 million or In addition to supporting improved general and 68 percent of this for R&Don simulation and train- specific military skill training, the armed services ing devices and education and training. 3 (See table also support basic skills training. Military jobs de- A-5.) The three service laboratories primarily re- mand basic skills equal to or greater than those sponsible for military education and training re- of civilian jobs.1 Many current recruits lack com- search are: The Army Research Institute for the petency in basic skills, a situation that has impor- Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI); the Navy tant implications for the operation of sophisticated Personnel Research and Development Center technology and that has led to plans to increase, (NPRDC); and the Air Force Human Resources improve, and automate technology training pro- Laboratory (AFHRL). The number of instructional grams. Anticipated manpower shortages undoubt- technology R&D work units by major categories edly will necessitate the enlistment and subse- in operation as of April 1981 is estimated in table quent training of individuals of less aptitude, thus A-6. While all of the categories listed receive ongo- placing even greater emphasis on programs for instruction in basic skills. ‘J. Orlansky, “Techniques for the Marketing of R&D Products in Training, ” paper presented at the Society for Applied Learning Tech- ‘G. Sticht, Basic Skills in Bfense (Alexandria, Va.: Human Resources nology, Warrenton, Va., February 1981. Research Organization, Final Draft Report, November 1981). ‘Ibid. -.————

App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 247

Table A-4.—Number of Students and Cost of Various Types of Individual Training, Fiscal Year 1982

Approximate Number of students Cost in in thousands Type of training in thousands miIIions per study Recruit ...... 338 $822 $2.4K One-station unit training (Army) ...... 104 322 3.1 Officer acquisition ...... 16 313 19.4 Specialized skill ...... 709 2,382 3.4 Flight training (basic flying skills) ...... 6 1,458 229.7 Professional development education (e.g., military science, engineering, management) ...... 32 330 10.2 Medical training ...... — 276 — Support, management, travel, pay ...... — 4,618 — $10,521 M SOURCE M!lltary Manpower Train!ng Report for Fiscal Year 1982

Table A-5.—Cost of R&D in Training and ing support, high-technology simulation and the Personnel Systems Technology, development of instructional systems and capabil- in Thousands of Dollars, Fiscal Year 1982 ities for more efficient and effective training appear to receive the most emphasis. Army Navy Air Force Total Interservice coordination shows potential for Human factors ...... $17.6 $ 14.1 $14,4 $ 46,1 Simulation and training devices. 24.2 107.1 17,5 148,9 minimizing duplication of research efforts and Education and training ...... 13.4 11.8 6.6 31.8 funds. The Office of the Under Secretary of De- Manpower and personnel ...... 9.0 19.0 12.0 40,0 fense for Research and Engineering is currently Totals ...... $64.2 $152.0 $50.6 $266.8 building a management information system that SOURCE” J Orlansky, “Techniques for the Marketing of R&D Products in Train- ing, ” paper presented at the Society for Applied Learning Technology will document all of DOD’s training research to in- Warrenton, Va , February 1981 clude funding levels. This system, Manpower and Training Research Information System (MATRIS), will be fed into the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). Table A-6.—Number of Ongoing Instructional Technology R&D Work Units By Service and Department of Defense Total, April 1981 Comparison of Military and Civilian Education Service Technology Army Navy Air Force Total In considering educational needs, distinctions Simulation/games ...... 26 49 68 143 can be made between the civilian and military edu- Instructional system development . . . 51 59 25 135 cation sectors, differences which influence the na- Training management ...... 26 14 10 50 ture of education programs introduced. Some of Learning theory ...... 13 18 11 42 Computer-based education ...... 13 16 9 38 the similarities and differences between military Basic skills ...... 2 4 — 6 and civilian education and training are: Voice technology...... — 3 — 3 Video disk ...... — 2 — 2 ● The military educates and trains personnel Artificial intelligence...... — 1 1 2 within a more restricted age, sex, and range NOTE’ Inclusion of work units into the categories in the table are fairly arbitrary of ability; typically, military enlisted trainees and are based on work unit titles The absolute numbers of work units Iisted are approximations of service R&D efforts as of the date of direc- are 18- to 21-year-old males with a high school tory publication It should be noted that this enumeration does not con- education. sider size of the work units, only number of work units cited . Military personnel are paid their salaries while SOURCE: Directory of Researchers for Human Research and Development Proj- ects (Washington, D C Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Re- in training. Thus, instructional procedures search and Engineering), pp. 7-43. that reduce training time and increase opera- 248 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

tional assignment time can assist in reducing etc.) to be adapted to the individual student. For training costs. example, a slow reader might learn more efficiently Within the civilian sector, vocational educa- via audiovisual presentation rather than via tion, job training for business or industry, and printed text. With instructional content duplicated nonmilitary Government training are general- across delivery media, the computer assigns mately more similar to the military’s educational rial and devices according to student aptitudes goals and priorities than is education in ele- and preferences, as well as by resource availabil- mentary and secondary school systems. ity. The actual allocation of media in the AIS is Measures of effectiveness may vary between 55 percent printed materials, 35 percent audiovisu- the military and civilian institutions. Military al presentation, and 10 percent CAI. research on computer-based instruction, for The AIS computer provides three main support example, has emphasized saving student functions: 1) administration and management (retraining time while maintaining constant source allocation, materials development, record- achievement. Nonmilitary research generally keeping, and report/roster generation); 2) instruc- emphasizes increasing the amount of achieve- tion (student predictions, individual and team les- ment while keeping the length of courses con- son assignment, test scoring, and delivery of instant. struction); and 3) data analysis/research (automatic data accumulation, sampling capability for statistical analysis, and standard statistical analysis Computer-Managed programs). The computer thus takes over the ma- Instruction jority of the managerial functions of the instructors, permitting them to concentrate on individual In computer-managed instruction (CM I), learn- student instruction. ing takes place away from the computer. The com- Many measures were used to evaluate the A IS, puter scores tests, interprets results, advises the including costs, student and instructor attitudes, student what to do next, and manages student rec- attrition rates, and the ratings of AIS students in ords and administrative information. their post-school jobs. In most cases, comparisons Advanced Instructional System. The Air were made between AIS students and pre-AIS stu- Force’s Advanced Instructional System (AIS) is dents in the same courses. Cost savings estimates an example of a military CMI system. It is a large- were made by the Air Training Command man- scale, prototypical computer-based education sys- power accounting personnel. tem installed at the Air Force Technical Training AIS results have been documented in several Center, Lowry AFB, Denver, Colo. The present technical reports issued by the Air Force Human version consists of 50 student terminals, 11 man- Resources Laboratory. In general, AIS students’ agement terminals, and a CDC CYBER 73-16 com- achievement have been equal to or greater than puter that can support up to 3,000 students a day non-AIS students-with net time savings of 15 to in four courses: inventory management, material 40 percent, depending on the course evaluated. facilities, precision measuring equipment, and Maximum savings have been achieved in the low- weapons mechanics. These courses were selected er-level, routine courses. Overall cost analysis to represent a cross-section of the technical train- shows that the system was totally amortized by ing courses at Lowry, and they serve about 25 per- January 1979, in a period of only 2½ years. This cent of the base’s student body. Management ter- complete recovery of costs through savings in stu- minals provide computer-assisted instruction dent instructional time is particularly noteworthy (CAI) services for use by instructors (for develop- considering the extensive R&D costs included for ing or revising lessons and for retrieving data col- research purposes. The AIS suggests that large- lected by the system). The system could be ex- scale implementations of CMI would be cost effec- panded to provided CAI services to students. tive. The AIS was designed with two objectives in Student attitudes were clearly very positive. The mind: 1) to develop and implement an individual- students felt that they had more opportunity to ized, computer-based training system in an opera- talk individually with their instructors than in con- tional military training environment; and 2) to pro- ventional courses (61 percent), that the self-paced vide a testbed for computer-based educational instruction was a good use of their time (77 per- R&D. It includes over 700 student carrels and 500 cent), that they preferred AIS instructions to lec- media devices that permit the instructional deliv- tures (55 percent), and that the instructors were ery device (sound-slide, filmstrip, programed text, available whenever they needed them (73 percent). App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 249

Instructor attitudes, on the other hand, tended most direct way to ensure that an individual can to be negative in general. They felt threatened and cope with specific military skill applications (to missed the ego-bolstering lecture method. Course cope with a military career or environment) is to attrition rates overall tended to rise slightly teach these applications or ones as similar to them through the first 5 years of A IS implementation as possible. For these reasons, the military has from a pre-AIS baseline of about 4 percent in 1974 sponsored R&D leading to a technology for job- to slightly over 5 percent through 1978. Attrition oriented basic skills or remedial literacy training. rates, it should be noted, are very sensitive to pol- A considerable investment in basic skills pro- icy changes. The supervisors of A IS graduates re- grams has also been made. As indicated in a De- ported satisfaction with their performance. The partment of Defense (DOD) study, during fiscal ratings of AID graduates were significantly higher year 1979 approximately $56 million and an enroll- than comparable ratings of pre-AIS students. A ment of 160,000 were allotted to basic-skills edu- sample of 199 supervisors rated the performance cation. 5 The military has a high demand for listen- of their AIS graduates as follows: ing, reading, writing, and arithmetic skills. Read- Excellent. ... ., ., ...... 25 percent ing levels of material, for example, average in the Very Satisfactory ...... 34 percent 10-13 grade level range. This far exceeds the read- Satisfactory ...... 37 percent ing skill levels of many military enlistees as well Marginal ...... 4 percent as much of the civilian youth population. Unsatisfactory ...... 0 percent Thus, there are a variety of basic skills programs Overall, the AIS appears to be a successful, in DOD and the four services. Pre-enlistment pro- large-scale implementation of CMI. McDonnell grams, such as referral to civilian adult basic edu- Douglas Corp. is currently modifying the system cation and English as a second language (ESOL) to be transportable, to operate on smaller comput- programs, are sponsored by DOD for applicants ers, and to be marketable to the Canadian armed who do not meet service enlistment requirements. services and to U.S. civilians. All of the services have some form of basic-skills education available from the time the new recruit Job-Oriented Basic Skills enters the service. One such program is the Air Training Force PLATO SIP (Skills Improvement Program), which uses CAI to improve the reading skills of Schools traditionally have 12 years to equip stu- medical personnel and the math skills of main- dents with the level of skills necessary for them tenance technicians. to function as adults in jobs or in further educa- Project FLIT. Project FLIT, a job-oriented, or tion. For the most part, schools are successful in functional literacy program, is being developed their approach to imparting necessary basic skills under Army support. Work on this program was for adult life. Fewer than 10 percent of those who started in 1967 and is ongoing. Military job liter- have completed 12 or more years of schooling are acy tasks are really quite different from reading severely deficient in their application of skills to skills applications practiced in traditional schools. practical tasks, as estimated by a 1975 adult per- For example, schools emphasize “reading to learn” formance level study.4 while military job tasks involve “reading to do” However, a substantial number of people either (e.g., finding specific information or following di- do not complete 12 years of school, or do so with- rections). While schools test memory for what is out gaining the requisite mastery of necessary ba- read with closed book tests, military job tasks are sic skills for adult life or career performance. The generally performed in the presence of the written services have had to cope with the critical prob- material, which is consulted frequently. lems presented when large influxes of poor read- Researchers attempted to estimate the actual lit- ers entered the armed services, for instance, dur- eracy demands of military jobs. One product of ing Project 100,000. The traditional approach to this research was the FORECAST readability for- remediate the problems of adults with insufficient mula, which was developed using Army job read- basic skills for career success has been a continua- ing material and an adult Army recruit population. tion of the school general-literacy program. Another product was a “Guidebook for the Devel- However, traditional literacy training by the military has not been demonstrably successful. The

‘Defense Audit Service, Report on the Review of Instailation-Spon- ‘Adult Performance Level Project Staff, Adult Functional Competen- sored Education Programs for DOD Personnel (Report No. 81-041, Jan- cy: A Summary (Austin, Tex.: University of Texas, 1975). Uary 1981). 250 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education opment of Army Training Literature."6 This plans to computerize vocabulary development, manual attempted to help Army writers create reading comprehension, and study skills.7 performance-oriented training materials written at an appropriate level for Army readers and oriented Simulation Programs to identified job reading tasks. Project FLIT provides training in identified Flight training simulations are extremely varied Army reading tasks using actual Army materials. in scope, purpose, and fidelity of realism. They It was extensively field tested and was found to save expense and training time because the simu- result in gains in the performance of the job tasks lator can be repositioned to some starting point trained. The ideas and techniques of the FLIT pro- in flight without taking the actual time and fuel gram were incorporated in a job-oriented reading to fly there. Moreover, simulators provide the op- program (JORP) for the Air Force, targeted at a portunity to interrupt the flight at any point to different population and using different materials, give the student immediate feedback on particular a program also field tested with some success. Ex- aspects of pilot performance. Finally, the simula- pansion of this program to include all “problem” tor can be used for training in emergency maneu- job fields in the Air Force is being considered. The vers that are inherently dangerous to actually Navy JOBS program, a remedial program de- attempt. signed to prepare motivated, but otherwise ineligi- In 1970, the U.S. Air Force Human Resources ble, people for technical training is also a product Laboratory’s Advanced Systems Division con- of this technology. An additional product is a tracted with the Singer Co. to build the most prototype job reader’s task test developed for the sophisticated flight simulator yet devised, the Ad- Army and now being modified and reformed. vanced Simulator for Pilot Training (ASPT). Un- PREST Program. In the future, the services like other simulators, it was intended for research may be forced to enlist a greater number of mar- as well as for flight training, giving it a multipur- ginally qualified recruits because of manpower pose potential for transference of research results shortages. In response to this, the Navy is expand- to the civilian sector. ing its Academic Remedial Training (ART). The The Army Research Institute for the Behavioral Chief of Naval Education and Training contracted and Social Sciences (ARI) is engaged in the devel- for the development and testing of a computer- opment of computer-assisted simulation of tactical based approach known as the Performance- communications as part of an overall effort in the Related Enabling Skills Training (PREST) pro- area of simulation-based training systems. This ef- gram. PREST involves on-line reading and study fort will provide the Army with the capability to skills instruction via the PLATO system, aug- simulate battlefield communications between lead- mented by Navy-related off-line drill and practice. ers in the field and support personnel, such as artil- An automated system such as this was thought lery fire direction controllers, and the superior and to be an attractive alternative to increasing the subordinate commanders. Battlefield communica- number of instructors. tions are typically very structured and stereo- A 1980 cost analysis showed the automated pro- typed. For instance, the exchanges between an ar- gram to be less cost effective than increasing the tillery forward observer in the field and the fire number of military instructors. The usage charge direction controller are specified in Army regula- for PLATO with its centralized mainframe was tions. found to be the chief reason. This difference in cost Training simulations are used to replicate many should, however, steadily decline in future years. military situations—from tank driving to elabo- Advances in computer technology will make stand- rate ship docking. The Army tank driver simula- alone systems more attractive economically than tors are fully automatic and include audiovisual the centralized mainframe for this type of fixed inas well as motion cues. Such devices simulate mal- struction. In addition to project PREST, Navy functions such as brake failure or engine shut- R&D efforts are under way to examine the feasi- down. Many of these procedures and malfunctions bility of teaching phonics by a computer-driven appear more than once throughout the programs, voice synthesizer. If this is successful, there are and thus allow for repeated practice. The device also simulates such activities as driving up hills and over obstacles. ‘R. P. Kern, T. G. Stichti D. Weltz, and R. N. Hanke, Guidebook for the Development of Army Training Literature (Arlington, Va.: U.S. ‘R. A. Wisher, &mputer-Assikted Literacy hwtruction in Phonics Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, No- (NPRDC TR 80-21) San Diego, Calif.: Navy Personnel Research, May vember 1976). 1981. App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies “ 251

In maintenance simulation, the Navy through tenance training. This project utilizes a computer- the NPRDC is developing an Electronic Equip- controlled video disk system called TMIS (Train- ment Maintenance System that will simulate elec- ing Management Information System). Video disk tronic receiver and radar systems, using a micro- is used to store the contents of a large volume (that processor. This system shows promise in facilitat- is, thousands of pages) of maintenance manuals ing the management of troubleshooting problems and skill performance aids. By means of a 5-inch through electronic equipment. NPRDC has also cathode ray display tube connected by cable to the developed a program that teaches how to solve TMIS computer/video disk station, soldiers are dynamic problems involving the variational anal- able to use the system while actually doing main- ysis of current flow in complex electronic circuits. tenance inside a tank. With their electronic mainte- The interchangeability of technology transfer is nance manuals, the trainees have more informa- demonstrated through the Army’s adaptation of tion at their fingertips than would normally be a commercial coin-operated game by Atari called possible in the confined space of a tank turret. “Battlezone” to train tank operators. “Battle- A third innovative project is the use of video zone” is a three-dimensional war game in which the disk for a satellite communications ground station operator moves around the battlefield at will and repair course (MOS 26Y10) at the U.S. Army Sig- shoots at targets as they appear. Because the nal Center, Fort Gordon, Ga.8 The satellite commu- game is very realistic, trainees’ reflexes and oper- nications equipment needed for the course costs ating skills are improved with practice. Atari has about $12 million, and each repair involves $200 redesigned the keyboard to mimic an actual con- to $2,000 worth of parts. There is a great need to trol panel and realistically simulate the actions of minimize equipment usage by unskilled students a tank. wherever possible. The video disk provides low- cost hands-on equipment and repair practice with- Video Disks in Military Training out using the actual equipment or parts. A lightpen is used by students to identify switches, select The military services, particularly the Army, switch positions, plug in jacks, or indicate faulty have been very active in video disk research. Most parts to be replaced. In addition to reducing the of this work has been initiated or coordinated by need for actual equipment, it is now possible to the Army Communicative Technology Office measure student performance in accuracy or speed (ACTO) at Fort Eustis, Va. ACTO’s mission is to and to provide feedback while the student is learn- get the Army “off paper” and into electronic me- ing. dia for storage and communication. Both the Yet another innovative effort is the Video Disk Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Interpersonal Skills Training and Assessment (DARPA) and ARI have also supported a number (VISTA) project at Fort Benning, Ga. VISTA in- of video disk research projects for training pur- volves the study of interactive video disk for lead- poses. ership training and assessment. It is used in a two- One of the first ACTO projects was a “Call for screen paradigm to present conflict scenarios that Fire” disk that demonstrated the potential of vid- might arise between an officer and a subordinate. eo disk for packaging multimedia self-study train- The officer trainee or candidate is first presented ing materials. This disk involved a specially de- with a dynamic, visually simulated situation, in- signed computer-controlled video disk system. A cluding the initial remark of the subordinate on the number of different existing training materials screen. The trainee must select a response with the (field manuals, training extension course lessons, lightpen from four options presented visually on video tapes, films, and skill qualification tests) the screen control. The trainee then sees the subor- used to train forward observer skills were inte- dinate’s reaction to this response on the color grated on a single video disk, a good illustration monitor. of the economy of video disk storage. Cost studies The disk features two modes: an experimental conducted for ACTO around this integrated train- mode in which the interaction simply proceeds on ing package indicated that it would result in sav- the basis of the responses and a pedagogical mode ings over the existing materials on the basis of rein which feedback is immediately provided on the ductions in duplication and distribution costs appropriateness of the response selected. A total alone. of eight disks are planned that will provide over A second innovative use is the SIDE (Soldier In- formation Delivery Equipment) project, which in- ‘W. D. Ketner, “The Video Disk/Microcomputer for Training, ” Train- volves the use of video disk for tank turret main- ing and Development Journal May 1981. 252 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

100 leadership scenarios. A major use of these video disk authoring approaches.11 ACTO has sup- disks is seen to be an effective, objective, and in- ported research on the electronic conversion of expensive assessment of officer candidates.9 print media to video disk and the optional presen- A number of other application areas are being tation features for electronic delivery systems. explored by the Army. One area is the use of video (See table A-7 for a summary of these applica- disk for recruiting. The Joint Optical Information tions.) Service (JOINS) allows local recruiters to show vis- These research projects have all involved inter- ually what type of duties and training are associ- action between a number of different Army/DOD ated with a specific military occupational specialty agencies and contractors. They have also involved (MOS). Currently, some 30 MOSS are available on a variety of different hardware configurations. It JOINS. ’O In the equipment simulation areas, is noteworthy that all of the video disk applica- WICAT, Inc. has developed an electronics trouble- tions discussed have involved externally pro- shooting video disk for the Hawk missile system. gramed interactive capability. Although the Army Perceptronics Inc. has developed a video disk- has conducted a few projects with manual and in- based simulation for the M60 tank gunnery train- ternally programed interactive video disks (not ing. Both of these projects were supported by discussed here), it appears that the Army believes DARPA. the type of interactive capability provided by ex- A number of video disk projects are also under ternal microcomputer control is necessary for the way in the basic skills area. The U.S. Army Europe instructional applications involved in military is supporting the development of functional liter- training. In contrast, industrial training applica- acy instruction using a particular job category tions have focused on the manual and internally (MOS 63, Vehicle Maintenance) as a focus. Also, programed level of interactive video disks, possi- DARPA is exploring the use of the video disk- bly because industry cannot afford the greater based Spatial Data Management System (SDMS), costs of an externally controlled system. originally developed at the Massachusetts Insti- tute of Technology for training in various life-coping skill areas (e.g., spatial orientation, study Direct To The Home skills, listening). In addition to these application projects, which All of the information technologies currently have resulted in the development of actual video used by schools, the military, libraries, museums, disks, the Army and DOD have supported re- and industry can also be used in the home. The in- search projects that explore theoretical or proce- creasing availability of these technologies coupled dural aspects of the technology. For example, ARI with their rapidly declining cost, presents a unique has supported studies of how video disk relates to opportunity for learning in the home. While most the standard instructional system development of the present applications have been directed at methods used to develop training materials in the a specific age group, the focus is now shifting to military. The Navy supported an early study of provide programs for more diverse populations,

‘F. N. Dyer, et al., “Interactive Vidw for Interpersonal Skills Train- ing, ” 1981. ‘OJ. Tice, “Video Disk Could Get Army ‘Off Paper’, ” Army Times, “H. D. Kribs, “Authoring Techniques for Interactive Video Disk, ” Aug. 31, 1981, p. 14. Journal of Educational Technobgy Systems, 8(3), 1980.

Table A-7.—Summary of Military Video Disk Projects

Project Groups involved Hardware involved (player, microcomputer) Call for fire ACTO/WICAT Inc. Magnavox, Pascal MicroEngine (custom) SIDE ACTO/Hughes Aircraft Thompson, Hughes (custom) MOS 26410 ACTO/Signal School DVA 7820, Apple II VISTA ARI/ACTO/TDl Litton-Mellonics DVA 7820, Apple II JOINS ACTO/Recruiting Cmd. DVA 7820, Apple II I HAWK DARPA/WICAT Inc. DVA 7820, Pascal MicroEngine (custom) LCP-I ARI/Perceptronics Inc. DVA 7820, ? (custom) MOS 63 USAEUR/University Utah/ DVA 7820, Apple II University Maryland SDMS ARI/DARPA/HumRRO DVA 7820, Cromeco (custom) SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment —

App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies . 253

Findings ing or a high school dropout may feel inadequately prepared in basic knowledge to do well in an- There has been a dramatic increase of micro- other formal instructional setting. Institutional processors, hand-held devices, and information barriers are exemplified by high tuition charges, services provided via cable or public television inconvenient scheduling of courses, and the lack in the home. of student services geared to adult needs. Educa- Educational products and services are increas- tional services delivered directly to the home via ingly being marketed directly to the home. both existing and new technologies may overcome In response to market forces, these educational many of these barriers. z products and services are targeted predominantly at professionals and families with relatively large disposable incomes. Instructional Television As with other educational markets, there is a In an innovative effort to capture this expanding need for materials that review and evaluate market, 600 colleges and universities in coopera- these products and services. tion with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) provide college courses for credit via local public Adult Market service stations. These courses are aired nationally by over 200 stations (80 percent of the public An estimated 37,000 to 73,000 adults participate TV stations). Although institutions and stations in some sort of educational program. Adult pro- can choose from up to nine programs, most offer grams are offered in a wide variety of institutional two per semester. In the fall of 1981, enrollments settings—in elementary and secondary schools, exceeded 20,000. An increase was expected for the universities, private institutions, businesses, li- spring semester. braries, and museums. Adults, the fastest grow- Recognizing the large, virtually untapped home ing segment of American society, represent a po- market, PBS has already designed courses for the tentially large sector, of the educational market. undergraduate student, and, in the near future, However, while many adults might benefit from plans to provide informal learning courses as well continuing education, a large proportion of them as professional and career development programs. have, as yet, remained uninvolved. Current courses, such as “The American Short Apart from their number, there are several rea- Story” and “Personal Finance and Money Man- adults expected to constitute sons why might be agement, ” are of both general and professional in- a growing sector of the educational market: terest. Colleges and universities participating in ● Approximately one-third of all American the program provide materials and counselors on adults are changing or considering changing campus, and give midterm and final examinations. their careers and realize the need for addi- They pay PBS a licensing fee and a small charge tional education. per student enrolled. The student pays approxi- ● More and more States require additional 3 mately $150 per course, which covers materials. educational programs for professionals; e.g., PBS is not alone in providing educational serv- for recertification of physicians. Continuing ices via television. Community colleges such as education has become one condition for license those in the Coast Community College District, renewal in many areas. Dallas Community College District, and Miami- ● Within certain fields, education requirements Dade Community College District have also been are being upgraded, increasing the need for actively involved in instructional television en- continued educational deavors. Cable television companies also supply Adult participation in instructional activities educational materials nationwide. Columbia Cable- has been limited by situational, dispositional, and vision of Westchester Inc., and Qube, in Colum- institutional factors. Situational barriers are, for bus, Ohio, offer courses with an interactive capa- example, lack money, insufficient time because of bility that allow students in the home to answer of job and home responsibilities, lack of child care, and lack of transportation. Attitudes and self-per- ‘C. Dede, Potential Clients for Educational Services Delivered bj’ In- ceptions form the basis of dispositional barriers. formation Technology, contractor report to OTA, March 1981. ‘Public Broadcasting Service, PTV-3/Adult Programing Department, Thus, an aged person may feel incapable of learn- Background Paper on the Partnership Between Public Television and Higher Education to Deliver Adult Learning Cburses, Washington, D. C., n.d.: and Public Broadcasting Service, Adult Learning I+ogram- ‘~blic Broadcasting Service, “program Service, Section IV, Exhibit ing Schedule Fact Sheet for Colleges and Universities for Fall 1981, P-l, ” Washington, D. C., Jan. 6, 1982. Washington, D. C., n.d. 254 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education questions posed by the instructor in the classroom. study (thus, no work time is lost); information Qube (Warner Amex) currently has 50,000 sub- gained from the program can be employed immedi- scribers, approximately 34,000 of whom receive its ately in a working environment; the users become interactive programs. ’ This company offers familiar with the technology, which is not usually courses for credit from four institutions: Ohio the case for most higher level executives; and users State University, Capital University, Columbus are networking with both members of the program Technical Institute, and Franklin Institute. Be- and with others following completion of the pro- cause of its interactive capabilities, the Qube sys- gram.’ tem is educationally unique. A proposal that could greatly expand education- Electronic Learning Devices al services in the home is now under consideration by PBS. The proposed “National Narrowcast Approximately 18 million electronic devices— Service” would establish a resource to nationally microprocessor games such as “electronic base- distribute educational, professional training, cul- ball” and hand-held devices such as Speak and tural, and information video materials. This serv- Spell-were sold between 1979 and 1980. Typical- ice would also alter the local PBS stations’ role, ly, the price for these games ranges from $10 to transforming them into local telecommunications $3,000, the cost of a microcomputer. Users of these centers. Using a satellite distribution system to devices can be as young as four, or they can be interconnect local PBS stations, and Instructional adults. The growth of this market has been rapid Television Fixed Service (ITFS)* to connect the and impressive. Although these games and learn- stations, colleges, and other users, programing in ing devices were not introduced until the mid to the following areas would be available: late 1970’s, there are a vast number on the market. Training material in special skills; safety pro- While OTA has made no attempt to evaluate their grams; material designed for rehabilitation of the effectiveness—and particularly the effectiveness aged, infirm, or mentally disturbed; clinical studies; of those designed for learning, their uses in the new arts and crafts; material intended to keep pro- home will be briefly described. fessional and semi-professional people abreast of the Given the relatively low cost of production and state-of-the-art in various fields; in-service training a growing desire by parents for enhanced educa- for teachers; instructional material for purposes of b tional services, the market for microprocessor entertainment or cultural advancement. games has grown so fast that some major manufacturers been unable to keep up with it. Sales of Multimedia Instruction nonvideo electronic games have skyrocketed from 7 The School of Management and Strategic Stud- $20 million in 1977 to $1 billion in 1980. The ex- ies of the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute perience of Texas Instruments in the home market offers a management program that relies heavily provides some insight into the development of on information technology. The program is de- learning technologies. One of the early leaders in signed for executives in the private and public sec- this field, Texas Instruments originally sought to tors (Federal and nonprofit). Following a short develop a market in schools and not in the home. study program in LaJolla, Calif., participants con- Their first product was a Texas Instrument calcu- tinue their studies via on-line services, telephone lator accompanied by a package of instructional conversations, teleconferencing, and electronic materials that was designed to assist teachers and mail. The terminals and other equipment are in- students in the classroom. With it the company cluded in the cost of tuition and are retained by hoped to demonstrate the use of the calculator as the user at the conclusion of the formal program. a learning device. Although this initial package Participants install the technology in their homes was unsuccessful, it led the company to focus on or offices. This approach has a number of benefits: the home market and to market directly to the in- the participants continue to work for their spon- dividual consumer. Their next product, Little Pro- soring organization throughout the course of fessor, was a hand-held device that provides a series of mathematical problems and answers de- ‘LINK, Survey of Selected U. S Videotexfl%o Way CA TVE1’eletext signed to become increasingly difficult. Since the @erations (New York: LINK, June 15, 1981). introduction of Little Professor, Texas Instru- *lTFS is ~ short rmge multiple distribution technology mowing for ments has developed and successfully marketed an unlimited number of users in a specific area. PBS is proposing the use of four ITFS channels in each community served by a public service station. ‘Public Broadcasting Service, op. cit., 1982. —

App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 255 several similar games. One of these, Speak and von Beethoven presents his biography, illustra- Spell, differs from earlier games in that it has a tions of his life and musical scores, and musical synthesized voice that helps the user to spell. segments from the composer’s works. Designed to Other manufacturers have also introduced math- be experimental, this disk does not yet cover all ematical games—e.g., National Semiconductor’s 21 volumes of the encyclopedia, although ARETE Quiz Kid. There are also other kinds of hand-held hopes to put the entire encyclopedia on disk in the learning devices such as Coleco’s Quiz Wiz, a future. Still in the research and development multiple-choice game which asks and provides phase, these disks are not commercially available answers to 1,001 questions on a wide variety of for use in the home. When they come on the mar- subjects such as sports, movies, television, and ket, each disk will cost about $500. After purchas- history. ing a disk, each year the consumer can exchange it for an updated version for about $100.8 Video Disk Impacts of Information Since the video disk is relatively new, there are Technology very few examples that demonstrate its educational applications in the home. Disks that are avail- Of all the information technologies available for able for school use are, however, equally applicable the home, the personal computer is the one that for use in the home. Some examples of these are is expected to have the greatest use and for which the films of Jacques Cousteau, the National Gal- there is expected to be the largest and fastest lery’s art masterpieces, movies such as “Tom growing market. Furthermore, the microcomputer, Sawyer” or “Better Tennis in 30 Minutes. ” in conjunction with other technologies such as the The first video disk designed specifically for chil- video disk or two-way interactive cable, appears dren, the “First National Kiddisc, ” is an interac- to have the greatest potential for home use. tive video disk produced by Optical Programing With the increasing use of microcomputers in Associates. It allows for individually paced in- the home, the educational applications are grow- struction. Games on this disk include The Flag ing at a fast pace. The personal computer market Game, in which the user identifies national flags, was estimated to be a $1.5 billion to $2 billion in- and A Trip to the Zoo, by which the child can learn dustry in 1981. One recent figure notes that the to identify 40 animals. Another section of the disk home market accounts for over $100 million in uses the unique two-channel audio available on the sales of both hardware and software.9 The number video disk players to explain pig latin. On one of personal computers purchased between 1977 channel, a child on camera explains in pig latin how and 1980 was estimated at around 1 million, and to speak pig latin; on the other channel there is a similar figure was estimated for sales in 1981. a voice-over translation. In a section on sign lan- Sales are expected to increase substantially for guage, the manual alphabet is taught by showing several reasons: greater exposure to the technol- the sequence in slow motion. ogy in the schools or in business, the introduction Publishers of educational materials and others of cable services, the availability of information are currently planning new video disk projects. resources such as The Source and Dow Jones/ Walt Disney Production, Children’s Television Retrieval Service, the development of more con- Workshop, and Scholastic Productions as well as sumer-oriented software, and the declining cost of encyclopedia publishers are among those who plan the microcomputer. 10 Also, manufacturers will be to utilize this new technology. actively marketing their equipment to the con- In addition, Arete Publishing in cooperation sumer. with the International Institute for Applied Tech- Together, these factors will lead to a serge in the nology (II AT) has produced an experimental inter- market. Microcomputers are now available for as active optical video disk with information from little as $100. At this price, the microcomputer can Arete’s American Academic Encyclopedia. Sound be used for games or simply to familiarize the user and films were added to articles and illustrations with the technology. Advertising emphasizing the chosen from the encyclopedia. The more than 20 segments on the video disk demonstrate the capa- ‘LINK, Optical Videodisc Applications (New York: LINK, NRM, vol. bilities of the technology. Starting from a general 3, No. 1, First Quarter, 1982). section on the species of dinosaurs, a user may ‘B. Isgur, W. Paine, and H. Mitchell, personal communications, January 1982. branch off to find more information about a ‘“LINK, Using Personal Computers (New York: LINK, NRR, vol. 3, specific type of dinosaur. The segment on Ludwig No. 1, Second Quarter, 1982). 256 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education educational applications in the home has increased games, electronic mail, news, the “electronic col- enormously. In fact, these commercials recall the lege,” and other services. The college, although earlier ones of the encyclopedia salesmen, their limited to three courses this year, plans to expand sales pitch being that the microcomputer will as- its listings within the next few years. CompuServe, sist the student in school.’] Moreover, the prolif- very similar to The Source, acts with the Associ- eration of computer stores and the retailing of the ated Press as the system operator for 13 U.S. technology through department stores and the like newspapers in an experiment of electronic news- has given rise to increased purchases. For exam- paper delivery. Viewtron, a videotex experiment ple, Texas Instruments plans to sell their micro- in Coral Gables, Fla., offered slightly different computers through national chain stores such as services to home users. Knight-Ridder Newspa- J. C. Penney. pers and AT&T sponsored news, shopping, travel, The growing diversity of home applications such banking, games, learning aids, consumer advice, as gaming and word processing, and the develop- and more to over 700 sites via modified television ment of financial and statistical packages such as sets. Similarly, Cox Cable Communications is de- Visicalc and others appeal to a wide range of users. veloping INDAX for use by its cable franchises.13 One indication of this is the formation of a large The introduction of cable services in the home number of computer clubs. All of the clubs swap will give rise to a large number of new educational hardware and software information. Some provide projects. An estimated 28 percent of the homes in training sessions; some are affiliated with a specif- the United States are wired for cable. It is pre- ic manufacturer (e.g., Crab Apples and Crab Pol- dicted that 38 percent will be wired by 1985 and ishers); and some are directed at specific interests 50 percent by 1990.14 Educational services such as (e.g., Theater Computer Users in Dallas, Tex., and those provided by Cox Cable, Qube, and others are the Behavioral Sciences Specialists in Murfrees- expected to grow quickly. boro, Term.’2 There are hundreds of software packages avail- Information Technology and able to assist students in all grades and age groups in many subjects such as mathematics, the sci- Special Education ences, reading, writing, and spelling. The rapid expansion of the personal computer market should Technologies that are now being developed may result in a greatly increased volume of educational offer great benefits to individuals that require software together with a demand for evaluative special educational services-a group that includes materials. As in all other markets for educational the gifted and those with learning, physical, and software, there has been very little evaluation of emotional disabilities. Since special education is new software. While there are catalogs for consum- a field, and not an institution, OTA did not fully ers, there are few reviews of most educational explore the uses, impact, and effects of these tech- packages. Users must depend for their evaluations nologies on special educational services. However, on a limited number of sources: computer newslet- because the technologies will have a considerable ters, computer magazines, an underground net- effect on schools overall, OTA examined some of work, and the few computer manufacturers who their applications for the gifted and handicapped. have begun to produce evaluative reports. Many analysts believe that the market for home Findings and business microcomputers will be driven by the ● Providing educational services for students with need to use the technology to retrieve information special needs is costly and requires more effort and to perform transactions. The technology al- than providing for students in general. lows a user to connect to on-line data bases and ● Information technologies will be particularly other services via a modem, a device that connects valuable to students with special needs because the microcomputer to a telephone line. Home users they will reduce the cost of their education and can now connect to services such as The Source, they will provide them self-paced, individualized CompuServe, the Dow Jones News/Retrieval Serv- instruction. ice, and others. The Source, available through Tele- ● Using information technology could ease the net and Tymnet packet switch networks, offers financial and resource burdens placed on the

“A. Pollack, “price Decline Spurs Sales, ” New York Times, June 17, 1982, pp. D1,6. !3L1NK, Op. cit., 1982. IZLI NK, op. cit., 1982. “LINK Executive Conference, New York City, May 26, 1982. App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 257

schools by laws mandating education for the terms of individual disabilities or needs. When de- gifted and handicapped. signed to meet the needs of a particular group, c The overall cost of R&D to address the specific these technologies can be too costly to produce.2 needs of this diverse group is very high, and in Moreover, the time required from their develop- some instances, even prohibitive. Each disabil- ment to their production may take as long as 20 ity may require a unique technological applica- years.3 For these reasons, it has often been pro- tion. It has been suggested that increased Fed- posed that the Federal Government provide sup- eral funding is merited to support the R&D ef- port for research and development in this area. forts needed to encourage the marketing of these technological applications. Technology for Administration ● Although a number of technological applications to help handicapped persons are available, The use of information technology to administer they have not been marketed because they are special education programs is only now in the proc- too costly. ess of being developed, tested, and evaluated. “ Information technologies can help train many There is a large potential for data management ap- handicapped persons for productive work. plications in this field, particularly given the re- Information technologies may offer greater ben- quirement that each student participate in Indi- efits to the gifted and the handicapped than to any vidualized Education Programs (IEP). An IEP de- other segment of the education market. These stu- fines a student’s disability(ies) and appropriate dents benefit from specialized individualization, a education program. This exercise is a very time- capability of many emerging instructional technol- consuming process that could be greatly facili- ogies. For example, computer programs can be de- tated by the judicious use of information technol- signed to translate written material into speech ogy. Computerized diagnostic models are now that is understandable to the blind, or to instruct being developed. One model, developed by Colum- retarded children on a step-by-step basis. Overall, bia Learning Systems, generates a computerized such capabilities can help to make handicapped IEP based on diagnostic information supplied by people more independent. Other types of programs specialists. It contains information about student can help maximize the abilities of gifted students. needs, their areas of deficiencies and suggested Recognition of the special needs of these two ideas and material for remedying them. It also groups have led to the passage of two laws–Pub- monitors the student’s progress. Other programs such as these are becoming more and more com- lic Law 142 and Public Law 80-313. These laws re- 4 quire that, using formula grants and preschool in- mon. centive grants, handicapped and gifted children be The development of diagnostic remedial infor- provided with special services to be funded in part mation technology procedures is relatively new in by the Federal Government. the United States. This type of program tracks Information technologies have several attri- students to discover their strengths and weak- butes that make them particularly useful for ad- nesses in specific skills and how they relate to a dressing the special needs of gifted and handi- student’s approach to a specific problem. This in- capped students.1 Because their individual situa- formation can then be used to determine a course tions vary significantly from case to case, these of remedial action. Most diagnostic models are for s students most often need to have individualized mathematics, instruction that can best be provided by highly Information technologies can also be used to specialized personnel. Thus, their education is gen- schedule the handicapped in specialized working erally labor intensive, and very costly. The new in- or instructional groups using criteria such as information technologies can provide self-paced and individualized instruction at a considerably lower ‘V. W. Stern and M. R. Redden, Draft Case Study of Selected Telecom- cost. munication Devices for the Deaf contractor report to OTA, December 1981. Much of the work done to develop teletypewriters for the deaf The cost and difficulties entailed in developing was done on a volunteer basis, donated by handicapped or concerned these technologies may, however, preclude their individuals. The present rapid advances in information technology, along with declining costs, may reduce this developmental time. widespread application. Although the overall pop- ‘I bid., p. 11. ulation of gifted and handicapped students is sta- 4 M . Lindsey, Statt+of-the-.4rt Report; Computers and the Handicap- tistically large, it is very small when measured in ped (Medford, (1-eg.: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, August 1981 ), p. 133. There is. for example, the Organized Resource Bank of IEP Text (ORBIT), and Programing for Individualized Educa- ‘C. Dede, Potential Clients for Educational Services Deiivered b-v In- tion (PIE). formation Technology, contractor report to OTA, March 1981. ‘Ibid., p, 133. 258 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

structional needs, student academic levels staff- Technology As Instructional ing requirements, and availability of staff and Aids space.6 Information technologies have many applica- Technology As Prosthetic tions as instructional aids. CAI, for instance, is Devices used for a number of different handicaps or disabilities. Early use of CAI for the deaf began at the By enabling handicapped persons to speak Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social through video and speech synthesizers, some infor- Sciences (IMSSS) at Stanford University. Assess- mation systems can serve as prosthetic devices. ments of this work with CA I show general in- For example, the Total Talk Full Speech Computer creases in the mathematical skills of 3,000 deaf Terminal, developed by Maryland Computer Serv- students. Nonspeaking autistic children have also ices, converts computer-transmitted data and in- benefited from the use of CAI. Having witnessed formation into synthetic speech. The system has a display of 1,000 different audiovisual experiences an unlimited vocabulary. It uses rules for enunci- on a television-like screen, 13 out of 17 children ation, and inflection for clarity. Total Talk, which began to use some level of speech. The effective- costs around $6,000, can provide two-way informa- ness of using a computer to teach extremely mention. Similar devices, the VS-6 and ML-1 voice syn- tally retarded children was also demonstrated, thesizers, developed by the Votrax Division of when substantial gains were noted in the reading Federal Screw Works, produce electronically syn- ability of 40 children. thesized speech from a low-speed, digital input. In Chicago, students with hearing, visual, men- Both of these systems are designed for persons tal, or other learning disabilities have participated with visual impairments, and both enable the users in a project sponsored by the South Metropolitan to work in the areas of computer programing, in- Association for Low Incidence Handicapped. The formation processing, and information retrieval. project used CAI programs-in math, reading, and Many such projects have been successfully in- the language arts-that were prepared by the troduced through joint efforts between the Federal Computer Curriculum Corp. Although evaluations Government and the private sector. One example are still underway, student progress has correlated is the caption decoder, developed under the spon- with the amount of on-line access to programs. sorship of the Department of Health, Education, In an ongoing study at Utah State University’s and Welfare (now the Department of Education), Exceptional Child Center, computer and video the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Na- disks are used with the mentally handicapped. The tional Broadcasting Co., and the American Broad- technologies allow for self-paced and individualized casting Co. When attached to a television set, instruction. The project programs focus on dis- these decoders allow deaf viewers to see captions crimination between sizes, shapes, and colors; on on selected networks and programs. Costing $269, telling time; on identification of functional words; 7 they are available through Sears, Roebuck, & C0. and on the identification of colors. If successful, Another example is Optacon. This device, de- this project will not only assist mentally handi- signed for the blind, produces images of printed capped nonreaders but also those with other disa- letters using small, raised, vibrating wires. With bilities.’ one hand the user guides the pick-up along the To “encourage research in devising methods to printed page, while the fingers of the other hand assist handicapped individuals, ” NSF and Radio detect the images on a stationary device. The Shack sponsored a contest in the fall of 1981. Its Kurzweil Reader, also developed for use by the purpose was to “create a partnership between per- blind, “reads” a page of text aloud, using elec- sonal computing and the rehabilitation, educa- tronic voice synthesis. For these projects, Federal tional, and handicapped communities."10 There funds were invested in the R&D efforts as well as were 900 entries in the contest. A few sample proj- in purchasing equipment for the users.8 ects were:

‘R. Throkildson, W. K. Bickel and J. G. Williams, “A Microcomputer/ ‘Ibid., p. 134. Videodisc CAI System for the Moderately Mentally Retarded, ” Jour- ‘Department of Education, The Historical Role of the U.S Depart- nal of Special Education Technology, vol. II, No. 3, spring 1979. ment of Education in Applying Electronic Technology to Education ‘“’’prizes Awarded in Search for Microcomputer Applications to Aid (Washington, D. C.: Department of Education, February 1981). Handicapped People, ” Electronic Learning, vol. 1, No. 3, ‘Ibid. January/February 1982, p. 12. App. A—Case Studies: Applications of Information Technologies ● 259

● A pocket-sized computer to assist deaf people a screen and then moving them to pronounce to communicate over telephone lines-a Radio words. Shack pocket computer with a coupler and a The entries in the contest used off-the-shelf tech- miniprinter. nology. Most of the projects could be made avail- ● An “Eye Tracker” to aid severely handi- able immediately and would be of some use to a capped individuals to express words via an in- disabled person. The contest demonstrated that frared camera and a computer. The camera there is no immediate need for extensive R&D. notes the position of the user’s eyes with a What is needed instead is a way of identifying and specific word and the computer “speaks” the encouraging the reformatting of the technology to word. address the diverse needs of the handicapped pop- ● A computer that teaches deaf children to read ulation. lips by outlining lips, mouth, and tongue on Index —

Index

Action for Children’s Television (ACT), 172 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 32, 33 Advanced Computer Service (ACS) (see American Burek, Mary Ann, 204 Telephone & Telegraph AFL-CIO, 105, 108 Human Resources Development Institute, 107 Capitol Children’s Museum, 243-245 Airline industry, 236-237 CARL network, 239 Alaska, 227-233 Carnegie Foundation, 112, 114 Alaskan Public Broadcasting Commission, 42 Carter administration, 161 American College, 130 Catholic Church, 153, 154 American Academic Encyclopedia 255 CBS, 47 American Federation of Labor (AFL) (see AFL-CIO) Chamberlain, Judy, 202 American Federation of Teachers (AFT), 106 Chemical Abstracts, 239 American Postal Workers, 108 Chicago Tribune, 210 American Society for Training and Development Children’s Television Workshop, 56, 112, 121, (ASTD), 100 126-128 American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T), 5, 7 Clapp, Lewis, 194 Advanced Computer Service (ACS), 52 Clark, Frank, 202 and packet switching systems, 40 Coates, Tric, 214 plan to enter the information business, 21, 49 Coleman College (LaMesa, Calif.), 90 reorganization of, 40 Commission of Education (U.S.), 156 Anderson, Governor Wendell, 215 Commission on New Technological Uses of Angevine, Martha, 194 Copyrighted Works, 170 Apple Computer Co., 43, 145, 199, 200, 218 Commodore Computers, 145, 189 Arete Publishing Co., 255 Communication Aristotle, 68 accessibility of information, 16 Army Research Institute (ARI), 119 cable, 6, 40-41 Associated Press, 50 computer-enhanced telephone networks, 5, 39-40 Atari (see Warner Communications Co.) of data, 15, 30, 52 AT&T (see American Telephone & Telegraph) decentralization of systems for, 18 Audio conferencing (see electronic conferencing) employability of individuals skilled in, 30 Automation, 8, 30 integration with computers and video, 48-49 local distribution networks, 40-41 Bacon, Roger, 206, 207, 208 quantity of information transferred, 16 Bailey, Florence, 191 by satellites, 5, 6, 37, 38-39 Bailey, Russ, 202 speed of, 16 Bank of America, 30 trends in, 37 Barnett, Harvey, 202 two-way cable systems, 37-38 Basic Education Opportunity Grants, 87, 88 Competition Bigelow, Gary, 208 between banks and computer service bureaus, 7 Birchard, Elaine, 208 between IBM and AT&T, 7 Bitzer, Donald, 128 between investment houses, retail stores, and Bloom, Gloria, 190, 194 banks, 7 BLS (see Bureau of Labor Statistics) between telephone companies and newspapers, 7, 21 Bristol, John, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214 between U.S. Postal Service and Broadcasting telecommunications firms, 7 by direct broadcast satellite (DBS), 41, 47, 164 CompuServe, 50 instructional television fixed services Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) (see computers, (ATFS), 163-164 educational and instructional uses) low-power, 37, 41-42 Computer conferencing (see electronic conferencing) low-power television (LPTV), 164 Computer Curriculum Corp. (CCC), 133-134 multipoint distribution services (MDS), 163 Computers, 15, 42-45 operational fixed service, 163 animation techniques with, 56 private operational fixed microwave services automation with, 8, 30 (POFMS), 163 in consumer products, 42 Brown, Governor Edmund G., 196 data storage technology, 6, 46 Brumbaugh, Kenneth E., 218, 220 in design and manufacturing, 101 Bruning, Arthur, 220 desktop, 6, 43-44 Buck Foundation, 198 educational and instructional uses, 3, 9, 43-44,

263 264 . Informational Technology and its Impact on American Education

56-58, 90-91, 93, 103-104, 112, 122, 128-134, HARFAX service of Harper and Row, 51 141-143, 145, 178, 187-259 Legis (legal citations), 51 EDUNET system for sharing programs and Medline service of the National Library of equipment, 40 Medicine, 51 encouragement of educational use by industry, National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 51 43-44 on natural resources, 51 hand-held, 6, 44-45 New York Times Information Service, 51 human interface (input/output) technology, 6, 45-46 of patent information, 51 information networks for, 7, 40, 42, 50-51 Data Resources, Inc., 51 integration with communications and video, 48-49 Deafnet Telecommunications Model, 118 literacy in, 60 Democratic Party, 154 manpower needs for, 32-34 Department of Commerce, 112 in museums, 243 Department of Defense number installed in schools (table), 44 Army Non-System Training Devices Development number of personal (table), 44 Program, 121 in patent searches, 49 funding of educational technology research and personal, 5, 93 development by, 111-112, 116 PLATO system (see separate entry) Training and Personnel Systems Technology printers for, 45-46 Program (TPST), 116, 119 programing languages, 45, 91, 135, 189, 190, Department of Education, 152 198, 201 Bureau of Education for the Handicapped, 134 software for, 44, 58, 145-147 Division of Educational Technology, 118, 121 software protection, 166-173 estimates of video disk units in schools, 143 in telecommunication, 5, 6, 39-40, 49 Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary voice output technology, 46 Education, 119 word processing, 5, 44 funding of computer-based mathematics COMSAT, 41 instruction, 134 CONDUIT, 135 funding of educational technology research and Conference Board, 100 development by, 112, 116, 121, 122 Annual Surveys of Corporate Contributions, 115 funding of PLATO computer-based instruction Congress system by, 128 acts of (see legislation) Mathematics Education Using Information House Committee on Education and Labor, 4 Technology Program, 119 House Committee on Science and Technology, 4 report on science and technology education, 32 House Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Technology Initiative, 146-147 Technology, 4 Department of Energy, 51 House Subcommittee on Select Education, 4 Department of Health and Human Services, 153 House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Department of Interior, 152 Consumer Protection, and Finance, 165 funding of educational technology research and Library of, 160 development by, 112 National Telecommunications Program, 119 Department of Justice, 40 policy alternatives for (see policy options) Department of Labor, 108 Senate Commerce Committee, 165 Department of Treasury, 152 tuition tax credit bill, 77 DIALOG Information Services, 51 Congress of Industrial Organizations (C1O) DiGiammarino, Frank, 189, 191, 194 (see AFL-CIO) Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC), 189 Constitution (U.S.), 7, 162 entry into desktop computer field, 43 Contreras, Vince, 195 Digital telephone networks, 6, 37, 39-40 Control Data Corp. (CDC), 57, 128-129 use of computer technology by, 48 Corens, Ken, 220 Dillenberger, Paul, 220 Cordray, Sara, 227 Direct broadcast satellite (see broadcasting) Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), 56, 165 Donnelly, Jean, 214 Cox Cable, 40 Dow Jones, 51 Crucible Steel Corp., 107 Driscoll, Francis, 204, 205, 208 Cupertino, Calif., 200-203

Dartmouth College, 60 Economy (U. S.) Data banks changes in, 19-21 DIALOG Information Services, 51 educational levels and growth of, 27-28 econometric, 51 growth from technological innovation, 25-27 Index ● 265

service sector predominance in, 19-20 Federal funding of research and development in, information sector of, 20-21 111-112, 114, 116-118 Education Federal grants for fiscal year 1982, 121-122 business, 59 hardware and educational software vendors, 145 computer-assisted instruction, 3, 43-44, 56-58 industries competing for courseware business cost and effectiveness of technology for, 63-64 (table), 146 the courts and (see litigation) private funding of research and development in, decentralization of, 101-102 113-114, 114-116 declining achievement levels of students, 30-31 research and development support by other definition used in this report, 4 nations, 122-125 and economic growth, 25-28 for special education, 256-259 elementary and secondary, 70-77 in Tobacco Products Co., 235-236 and employability, 27-28 EDUCOM, 60, 233-235 Federal aid for, 78-79, 87, 88, 89 EDUNET, 40, 60, 233-234 Federal role in, 3, 151-174 The Electric Company (children’s television), 56, financial problems of colleges and universities, 112, 121, 126, 127, 128 80-83 Electronic conferencing, 7, 51-52 governmental control of, 162-164 EIS computer conferencing system, 52 in the home, 92-94 in industry-based training, 104 of information professionals, 32-34 NOTEPAD computer conferencing system, 52 of information scientists, 34 PLANET computer conferencing system, 52 information technology and, 9, 55-64, 143-145, Electronic games, 43, 46 227-233 Electronic Learning, 146 interactive instruction, 56-59 Electronic newspapers, 50 as investment in productivity (human capital Eli Lilly & Co., 234 theory), 28 Enenstein, Bob, 202 land-grant movement, 78-79 Environmental Protection Agency legislation, 151-157 funding of educational technology research and medical, 58-59 development by, 112 need to link different information technologies for, 63 FCC (see Federal Communications Commission) passive instruction, 55-56 Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 40, 41, private schools, 74-77 42, 50, 161 productivity growth in, 20 and educational telecommunication services, proprietary institutions, 85-92 162-163 public schools, 70-74 Federal Security Agency, 152 as a public good, 68-69 Federally Insured Student Loans, 87, 88 research and development in technology for, Ferreira, Pat, 208 111-137 Finkel, Le Roy, 195, 202 and social change, 67-69 Firestone, Kim, 214 technical, 29 Fisher, Glenn, 202 teacher training for educational technology, 9-10 Fisk, K. A., 202 tuition tax credit for private, 77 Ford Foundation, 112 two-year and community colleges, 83-85 Franklin, Ronald, 197, 202 by unions, 105-108 Frazier, Richard, 227 in the United States, 67-108 French, Bill, 220 universities and four-year colleges, 78-83 Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education voucher plan for funding, 76-77 (FIPSE), 135 video disks in, 57 Gal-da, Esther, 211, 214 in the workplace, 99-105, 235-237 Gatze, Kenny, 208 Educational Broadcast Facilities Program, 112 Gentry, John, 214 Educational technology Ginzberg, Eli, 27 in the airline industry, 236-237 Good, Ed, 194 continuing Federal projects in, 119 Goodson, Bobby, 196, 200, 201, 202 courseware development, 146-147 Gutierez, Jose, 202 courseware industry (table), 144 discontinued and consolidated Federal projects in, Hakansson, Joyce, 196, 197, 202 118-119 Hammer, Doug, 214 effect of reduced Government spending on, 115 HARFAX, 51 266 . Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Harper and Row, 51 impacts on the home, 255-256 Haugo, John, 215, 221 impacts on societal institutions, 4, 7-8 Heard, Helen, 227 institutional barriers to use in education, 9 Hewlett Packard Foundation, 114 integration of various technologies, 9, 48-49 Horn, Marcia, 220 the industry for, 5-6 Houston (Texas) Independent School District, labor unions and, 107-108 221-227 in libraries, 237-242 Hovda, Clayton, 219, 220 and literacy, 17-18, 19 Hughes Aircraft Co., 236 manpower needs for, 10, 32-34 military uses of, 245-252 potential of, 4 IBM, 5 private sector role in, 113, 114-116 competition in telecommunications by, 7 in proprietary education, 90-92 entry into desktop computer field, 43 protection of software, 166-174 Infomedia, 52 psychological effects of, 4-5, 9, 10, 18 INFORM system, 241 quality of software for education, 10 Information satellite communications, 6 AT&T plan to enter business of, 21 software needs for education, 10 conflicting views of, 8 socioeconomic inequities created by, 10 characteristics of modern systems for collecting and special education, 256-259 and using, 16-17 teacher training in, 9-10 history of systems for, 16 in testing and diagnosis, 62 as a major sector of the U.S. economy, 5-6, 20-21 trends in, 37-52 networks, 7, 50-51 video technology, 6-7 professional manpower needs, 32-34 Institute for the Future, 52 Information services, 7, 48-51 Institute for Museum Services (IMS), 160 advanced business services, 52 INTEL Corp., 201 Information technology Internal Revenue Service, 6, 15, 115 in administration and management of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers instruction, 60 (IBEW), 108 automation and, 30 I. P. Sharp Co., 51 in broadcasting, 6 IRVING library network, 238-239 in cable systems, 6, 37 case studies on application of, 8-9, 187-259 James, Mary, 218, 220 climate for use in schools, 143-145 James, Wilbur, 220 in communications, 37 Japan, 32 in corporate instruction, 102-105 Jaquith, Luree, 194 cost of application to education, 10 Jennings, William, 194 cultural effects of, 18 Johnson administration, 156 data processing, 30 Johnson and Wales College (Providence, R.I.), 90 data storage, 6, 46 Jokela, Willis, 216, 220 decentralizing effect on communications, 18 Jones, Allen, 207, 208 definition of, 4 Joseph, Helen, 196, 198, 199, 202 dependence on, 15-16 Josiassen, Jody, 192, 194 digital telephone networks, 6, 37, 39-40 in distribution of education, 60-62 Kaski, Janet, 214 economic and social impacts of, 16-19 Kent, Karen, 202 and education in Alaska, 227-233 King, Steve, 202 educational uses of, 55-64 Kosak, Casey, 199 effect on organizational decisionmaking, 18 Kosel, Marge, 220 effect on political process, 18 Kukendahl, Carol, 227 effect on relationship between individuals and organizations, 18 LaChance, Douglas P., 220 factors affecting further application in education, Lathrop, Ann, 193, 202 141-147 LaMar, Ron, 202 Federal role in, 3, 9, 111-112, 114 Lawrence Hall of Science, 243 for the handicapped, 9 Lawson, John, 188, 194 in higher education, 81-83 Legis (legal citation data bank), 51 in the home, 252-256 Legislation impacts on education and training, 4, 8, 9 Blair Bill (1880’s), 153-154 —

Index ● 267

Communications Act of 1934, 162, 165 Litigation Comprehensive Employment and Training Act International News Service v. Associated (CETA), 106 Press, 170 Computer Software Copyright Act, 171 Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, 158 Cooperative Research Act of 1963, 122 on parental right to educate, 158 Copyright Act of 1976, 171 on religion in the schools, 158 Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, 113, 115 Rodriguez v. San Antonio Independent School Educational Amendments of 1972, 87, 155 District, 159 Educational Amendments of 1978, 119 on State and local school funding, 158-160 Elementary and Secondary Education Act Serrano decision, 159 (ESEA) of 1965, 134, 153, 155, 156, 157, 160 Universal City Studios v. Sony Corp., 172 Emergency School Aid Act of 1972, 119 Louisa, Joy, 227 Enabling Acts, 152 Lewd, Beth, 194 General Education Provisions Act, 162 Luehrmann, Arthur, 196, 197, 198, 199, 202 George-Barden Act of 1946, 154 Lundgren, Richard, 220 GI Bill, 154 Lyons Township Secondary School District Hatch Act of 1887, 153 (LaGrange, Ill.) Hoar Bill of 1870, 153 computers in public schools of, 209-214 Higher Education Act of 1965, 160, 161 Higher Education Facilities Act of 1963, 155 Maggie’s Place: Pikes Peak Regional Library Lanham Act of 1941, 155 District, 239-240 Library Services and Construction Act Marin Community College (California), 199 of 1964, 160 Marin Computer Center (California), 199 Massachusetts Bay Law (1642), 151, 152 Marin County (California) Teachers Learning Merrill Act of 1862 (establishing land-grant Cooperative, 198 colleges), 79, 152 McGee, Julie, 213, 214 National Defense Education Act (NDEA) McGraw-Hill, Inc., 91 of 1958, 155 Mchalski, Bill, 214 New Deal programs, 154 McKell, Don, 202 Old Deluder Law (Mass., 1647), 151 Medline, 51 Pierce Bill of 1872, 153 Melendy, Richard, 202 Preemption Act of 1841, 152 Microprocessors (see computers) Public Law 16, 154 Mill, John Stuart, 68 Public Law 815, 155 Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium, 58 Public Law 874, 155 and computers in Minnesota schools, 214-221 Public Telecommunications Financing Act, 165 Mork, Kasey, 220 Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944, 154 Museums Smith-Hughes Act of 1917, 154, 157 as educational institutions, 97-99 Social Security Act, 156 Federal role in, 160 Statehood Acts, 151, 152 impact of information technology on, 4, 99, Technology Education Act of 1982, 145 244-245 on telecommunications, 165-166 Vocational Education Act, 89, 155 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 112 Lexington, Mass. National Assessment of Educational Progress, 30 computers in public schools of, 187-194 National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Libraries, 4 85, 89, 144 as automated information centers, 60 National Education Association (NEA), 153 communication networks for, 238-242 National Education Television, 126 computers in, 240 National Home Study Council (NHSC), 91 as educational institutions, 94-97 National Institute of Education (NIE), 112, 118, 119 Federal role in, 160-161 National Institutes of Health (NIH), 112 impact of information technology on, 7-8, 96-97 National Library of Agriculture, 160 information technology in, 237-242 National Library of Medicine, 160 Lippert, Del, 204, 205, 208 Medline service, 51 Literacy National Radio Institute (NRI), 91 in different countries, 32 National Science Foundation (NSF) effect of information technology on, 19 funding of computer-based mathematics need for information literacy, 29-32 instruction, 134 268 ● Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

funding of educational technology research and Packet switching, 40 development by, 111-112, 114, 116, 121 Patent Office (see Patent and Trademark Office) funding of museum programs, 160 Patent and Trademark Office, 153, 168, 169 funding of PLATO computer-based instruction Pergamon Press, 49 system, 128 Phillipo, John, 204, 205, 208 Mathematics Education Using Information Pierson, Geoff, 188, 194 Technology Program, 119 Plato, 68 Office of Science and Engineering Education, 112, PLATO (computer-based instructional system), 57, 114, 135 91, 112 report on science and technology education, 32, 33 use in flight training, 237 sponsorship of research computer network by, 40 use in higher education, 130, 132 National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 51 use by industry, 130 National Telecommunications Information use in medical education, 133 Administration, 119 use by the military, 130, 132 National Youth Administration (NYA), 154 use in public schools, 130-131 Nelly, Mark, 214 use by special populations, 131 New Jersey Institute of Technology, 52 use by Tobacco Products Co., 235-236 Newspapers Policy options electronic, 49 arguments for and against Federal action, 177-179 fear of competition from AT&T, 21 assumption of Federal leadership in educational New York Times Information Service, 51 technology, 180-181 Ninth Circuit Court (U.S.), 172 direct funding of demonstration projects, Nixon administration teacher-training, and institutions, 11 educational voucher plan of, 76-77 direct funding of technology acquisition by policy on library funding, 160-161 schools, 11 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, elimination of unintended regulatory barriers, 12 122, 136 general education policy incorporating information Novato, Calif., 197-199 technology, 11-12, 181-184 NSF (see National Science Foundation) subsidies for educational computer hardware, 179 subsidies for educational computer software, OCLC network, 239 11, 180 Odom, Mike, 204, 208 support of research and development, 12 Office of Education (OE) (see Department of tax incentives, 11 Education) Pollak, Richard, 220 Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), 3, 107 Postal Service, 7 case studies by, 8-9 Prizant, Jerry, 202 Computer-Based National Information System, 4 Protestant churches, 154 findings of this assessment, 4-5, 15-16, 25, 37, Public Broadcasting Service, 164 55, 67, 111, 136-137, 238, 245 Publishing premises of this assessment, 4 impact of information technology on, 7-8 Olney, Dave, 191, 194 overlap with high technology, 49 On-line information services Pugh, Richard, 201, 202 BRS, 239, 240 Purdue University, 164 COCIS, 240 DIALOG, 239, 240 Dow Jones/Retrieval Service, 255 Radio Shack (see Tandy Corp.) GIS, 240 Reading (Pennsylvania) Area Community ORBIT, 240 College, 130 RLIN, 240 Reagan administration, 161 The Source, 50, 51, 240, 255 Reagan, Billy, 221, 222, 227 Open University (educational television), 56 bed, Madeline, 227 Oregon State University, 164 republican Party, 154 O’Reilly, Jill, 194 Richardson, Rob, 204, 208 Orvik, James, 229 Rogers, Patsy, 227 OTA (see Office of Technology Assessment) Rothe, Jack O., 202 Otto, Susan, 227 Rousseau, Jean Jacques, 68 Oxford, Mass., 203-209 Roustenstraugh, John, 227 Index . 269

Sakai, Brian, 202 passive instructional programing in, 56 Satellite Business Systems, 52 satellites in, 39 Satellites Texas Instruments, 46 communication by, 6, 37, 38-39 Tobacco Products Co., 235-236 in industry-based training, 104-105 Toqueville, Alexis de, 68 direct broadcasting from, 41-42 Training and Maintenance Information System, 236 Say, Michael, 226, 227 Troy, Patricia, 208 Schneiderhan, Dale L., 220 Tucker, Bob, 194 Schools Turner, Cheryl, 201, 202 climate for information technology use in, 143-145 elementary and secondary, 70-77 United Carpenters and Joiners of America, 108 impact of information technology on, 4, 7-8, 19 United Press International, 50 mathematical, technical, and computer literacy United Rubber Workers, 108 and, 31-32 United Steelworkers of America, 107 private, 74-77 University of Alberta, 133 public, 70-74 University of Colorado, 130 public perception of, 4 University of Delaware, 130 productivity enhancement by information University of Illinois, 57, 112, 128 technology, 11 University of Pittsburgh proprietary, 85-92 Learning Research and Development Center, 122 two-year and community colleges, 83-85 University of Southern California, 163 universities and four-year colleges, 78-83 University of Wisconsin Schur, Walter, 208 Wisconsin Center for Educational Research, 122 Sension, Don, 220 University of Quebec, 130 Serrano decision, 159 Urban Institute, 114 Sesame Street (children’s television), 56, 112, 121, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, 152 126, 127, 128 Smith, Beverly, 194 Veselka, Ronald, 227 Social Security Administration, 15 Veterans Administration, 166 Sonoma State College, 198 Video conferencing (see electronic conferencing) Sony, 47 Video disks (see video technology) Southwest Regional Laboratory, 122 Video technology, 15 Soviet Union, 32 computer animation systems, 56 Sputnik 155 filmless camera, 7, 47 Stanford University, 134 improved quality of, 47 Institute for Mathematical Studies, 133 integration with communications and computers, Storm, Bruce, 194 48-49 Strategic, Inc., 142, 143 in proprietary education, 90-92 Sturdivant, Patricia, 222, 225, 227 video cassette recorders, 7, 47, 56, 143 Suppes, Patrick, 133 video disks, 5, 7, 9, 47-48, 56, 57, 58, 104, 143, Supreme Court (U.S.), 172 145, 245, 255 Rodriguez v. San Antonio Independent School video processing computer techniques, 56 District, 159 videotext system, 7 Videotext, 49-50 Tandy Corp. (Radio Shack), 43, 145 VISICALC (computer software), 44, 58 Telecommunication Vojta, George, 27 effect of Federal regulation and legislation on education, 161-162 Wagner, William (Sandy), 195, 202 Government control of, 162 War on Poverty, 156 Teleconferencing (see Electronic conferencing) Warner Communications Co. (Atari), 43, 46 Teletext, 7 Wayne State University, 106, 107 American-Canadian demonstration project, 119 Wesley, Franklin, 222, 227 principle of, 49 West Germany Television (also see video technology) technical literacy in, 32 cable systems, 38 White House Conference on Education (1954), 155 high-resolution, 5, 47 Winiarski, Paul, 208 instructional television fixed services (ITFS), 163-164 Xerox, 43 National Science Foundation funding of educational, 112 Zachmeier, William, 200, 202 0