November 2006 — Policy/Advocacy
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Trending in the Right Direction
Another organization having an influence in technology and education is NetDay. NetDay runs NetDay Speak Up, a national, online survey of students and teachers, now in its fourth year. The survey addresses a number of topics; most of the questions try to get respondents to envision schools of the future— what they could be, what they should be, what tools they will use. This year, NetDay will continue to ask those questions, but the company has created a survey for parents, and has added questions dealing with 21st-century skills and questions related to student technology use, including cell phones and online communities such as MySpace. The survey offers an important opportunity for various constituents—students, teachers, and now parents––to be heard, as well as the free data it gives to school districts, which can then use the feedback for discussion, planning, and decision making. It’s not only schools that will use the data. The city of Baltimore is looking at establishing a citywide WiFi capability; the NetDay Speak Up survey will be used to help planners in that effort. And ed tech vendors use the Speak Up data to keep up on what schools and students are thinking about for the future. More than 200,000 participants from 44 states have pre-registered to take the survey, which is open Nov. 1–30. (For complete information on the survey and to register your school, click here.)
Scanning for Change
So why do I sense a tipping point is coming in the way technology is being used in education? I credit environmental scanning. Environmental scanning is one of the tools used in futures research. It’s a method that involves examining information from disparate sources and noting unexpected connections or repetitions of themes. This effort can provide insight into the cause of many events and uncover trends before they become evident to the mainstream.
In my own environmental scanning, I am seeing strong indications that technology is starting to be viewed as a necessary component for change in schools—because both students and the world in which we all live demand it. If we truly want technology integrated throughout all of curriculum and instruction (as No Child Left Behind mandates), and if everyone recognizes technology is a critical tool that will be used by students throughout their careers, then all the factors I have cited—the Education Forum, the “Dream Team” partnership to help states design a 21st-century curriculum, and the Speak Up survey—bode well.
Other developments also seem to be adding up. The federal government is showing an interest in collecting data on the number of students who are technologically literate by the end of the eighth grade (see article here). Textbook publishers from the Association of American Publishers have met with digital content publishers from the Software and Information Industry Association. People are meeting, planning, collaborating. Vendors are talking to educators, and educators are talking to legislators. A movement is on.
I know I am an obnoxious optimist, and I know that the real work is at the local level. However, it is encouraging to have some positive things to point to when superintendents, school boards, and others ask if anyone is truly integrating technology. Sign up for the NetDay Speak Up survey and use the results. Watch what leading states such as West Virginia and North Carolina are doing. Become a part of the change. Help create a tipping point.
Geoffrey H. Fletcher is editorial director of T.H.E. Journal and executive director of T.H.E. Institute.
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