June 1996 — Features
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Achieving Technological Equity and Equal Access to the Learning Tools of the 21st Century
Governmental regulation or statements of encouragement haven't insured equity of access. Most schools are funded primarily by local taxes. Urban and rural schools simply do not have the tax base as their suburban counterparts. State and federal government must move to help address this growing inequity of funding for education.
The New Skills
Learning about computers has changed to learning with computers. Programming and simple keyboard literacy have given way to desktop publishing and presentation, digital imaging and robotics, research and referencing, and to exciting new ways for students to demonstrate their learning accomplishments.
In The Edison Project Report, Hechinger and Hopkins have characterized this new paradigm of use, calling it "Technology as a Second Language." They describe it as a new process, affording an opportunity to learn many new tools of expression.[2] In their "Three C's" paradigm, just as with language, the user first needs a facility level to be able to "communicate," (to simply express one's ideas and needs). Next comes a "comfort" level with the newly learned languages of technology. The user now has a greater degree of comfort in being able to express ideas and understanding with facility and variety. Lastly, the learner may progress to the "creative" level, where the applications of technology become more unique and artistic, allowing for the freer expression of metaphor and representational symbolisms. Just as we become more adept at spoken and written language according to age, need and ability, the same may be true for learning the new language of technology. Once again, it is essential that all students be provided equal opportunities to learn and use these new skills.
How Technology Really Helps
There are many ways technology addresses different student needs. Former Saturn Lead Teacher Mike Hopkins has written about these different uses of technology for learning.[3] As staff developed the many new teaching and learning styles at Saturn, they found effective uses for technology in the following ways:
1. As a tool for individualized learning (including skills building, referencingÉ),
2. As a tool for group interaction (e.g., a technology called Discourse enables the teacher or presenter to view learner responses to questions or problem situations),
3. As a tool for managing and coordinating learning (the student's personal growth plan, schedule building, portfolio construction, e-mail writing),
4. As a tool for expression (writing across the curriculum, video and multimedia, telecommunication networks),
