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School 2.0 Technology and Future of School

Timothy Magner
Director, Office of Education Technology
US Department of Education

There is a large paradigm shift in education today and how countries value education. Below are some of the charts that represent the comparison of other countries in relation to the student participation in secondary education.

This is also a representation of the competition that will be challenged to students from the United States in comparision to other countries.

A change in the demand for skills has evolved over the past three decades. The task distribution has shown that there is a much higer demand for trades rather than positions in customer service.

Technology has drastically change. In 1946 there were thousands of phone booths, but in the 21st century there are numerous indivudals who have a cell phone. This has created a society of communication. This has represented in changing the ways we communicate with people in various ways we interact: voice, picture, text, play games, etc.

Home media ecology has drastically changed in comparison to 1975. Media and information was mainly produced through broadcast media. Today, it is so large and vast. The Consumer Electronics Association of America estimates that the average American home now has 26 different electronic devices for communication and media.

US ranks 12th in the nation for broadband speeds. Internet users age has expanded and the scaled represented here are mostly from ages 12 -17 and 29 -40 (basedfrom 1999 to 2002). In addition, the internet is changing in which we make decisions.

Our students are using information mulitple ways at the same time. Students have increase the have increase the amount of media they use. Also, the amount of time students use media is extensive.

Students have a very different expectiation now about the availability of people and data thanks to the vast stores of material on the internet and the ubiquity of email, instant messaging, and cell phones. The come to us with very different expectations for learning.

What does all this information mean for education?

Reengineer processes and structures

  • Instructional Delivery

  • Use of Data to make decisions

  • Managemenet and Organization of technology

Align technology to educational challenges, goals, and instructional strategies.

  • Align technology with school improvement and accountability plans.

Reallocate Resources
Assumptions the way we do business now

What do we need to do?

We need to create a systemic approach looking at the following:

  • Driven by education/administrative need

  • Select appropriate technologies

  • Evaluate infrastructure/bandwidth

  • Collect data aligned to goals - this needs clear metrics

  • Evaluate impact to inform ongoing implementation

  • Link 'back-room' to classroom - putting technology to data and student academic peformance

  • How to we integrate student data

Learning how to move from an industrial age information system to a technological age information system.

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