Educational Leadership Commons^™

Support Systems Need To Involve Recipients, Paul Chao

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

It goes without saying that a growing ethnic diversity in this nation's population composition is a fact of life today and will become even more so as we move into the next century. This trend is becoming even more evident in recent years even though in the state of Iowa, we have not encountered the full brunt of the impacts of this development to the same extent as many larger U.S. cities have experienced, particularly those in the West, East, and South. This growing phenomenon has many implications politically, economically and socially for the citizenry and public decision makers.

Throughout …

Racism Doesn't Occur By Accident - Institutions Condition People, Carolyn Braley

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

In order to change negative expectations of others to orient all people to success, we need to educate all people about the cycle of racial conditioning and how it impacts our perceptions of others.

No one is born with racial prejudice. Racial prejudice is learned. Starr (1996) defined racial prejudices an entire ethnic group, usually based on limited information. Our society conditions people to exhibit racial prejudice through the information we receive (subtly or overtly) in our homes, from authority figures, and through the media. When this information is withheld, distorted, or full of gross misinformation, it scares people. It …

Creating Community For Responsible Change, Michael D. Blackwell

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Building community is very hard work, and it must be done with sincere, persistent, and concerted effort. My bias is toward a critical cultural pluralism wherein people seek to accept others as human beings without relinquishing the necessity of simultaneously evaluating one's own perspectives as well as others'. In this paper, I move from a clarification of fundamental definitions, to a delineation of the requisite elements, to forging the best possible society -- a community of total participation and humane partnership.

Understanding Speech, Language Differences To Gain Sensitivity To Other Ethnicity, Jim Day

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

As I reflected on the direction I would take in writing this paper, I remembered the incident I shared. Since my field of study is communication, I thought it would be a good place to begin discussing my perspectives on ethnicity and its impact on my view of society. In his writings, Benjamin Whorf (1956), following extensive studies of the Hopi, proposed a theory based on the relationship between language and culture. He concluded that a person's vocabulary and ability to communicate is dependent on the culture of that person. If we consider language and culture as components of ethnicity, …

Issue Area Five: How Do We Develop A Global Perspective In Helping People Understand Our Interconnectedness?, Daniel Smith, Pochy Morales-Gomez

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Five underlying premises to help people develop a global perspective and understand our interconnectedness. These premises are important in the process of resolving the issue:

1. Human beings are much more alike than they are different.

2. We are globally interconnected.

3. It is important to understand our interconnectedness.

4. Interconnectedness should be based on egalitarian partnerships.

5. Isolation is no longer possible or desirable.

These premises led to a discussion of the true meaning of a global perspective. Types of issues that connect us are ecology, economics, genetics, religion, media, technology, art, and education.

Developing A Technology Education Program, Bev Holzmueller

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Schools and businesses or communities can be effective partners in developing technology for education. The process will, realistically, begin with an assessment of needs.

Assessment of Needs:

To develop a program designed to highlight technology in education, "ground zero" meetings will be needed between all interested businesses and community leaders. These meetings will present lists of different types of businesses within the area, lists of various careers within each business and the community, types of training, and levels of training that each organization provides. In other words, what types of technology does this community have as resources, what does it …

Learning Outcomes Derived From Students, Not Computers, Leon Maxson

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

In his writings, Lawrence McCluskey (1994) stated that educators believe the education system has some problems and that technology, by itself, can solve these problems. McCluskey further stated that the flaw in this thinking should be clear. "Technology simply offers the means by which one may process knowledge, and in this way, it has enormous potential for benefiting humankind" (p. 551).

McCluskey (1994) said that technology is misunderstood. He stated that technology is a tool by which one can access data, but it will not organize that data into a usable form. According to McCluskey, not until a connection can …

Planned Technology Development, Training Keys To Equal Opportunities, Judy Mccarty

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Learning through technology will happen and is happening all around the country and the world. We must incorporate the training and information opportunities for all our students if they are to keep up in the new "information age." Education can no longer be focused on teaching facts; it must be centered on locating, assimilating, and communicating ideas. I believe that the next great defining characteristic of "haves" and "have nots" will be their level of information and communication skills.

Schools will have to commit to the development of a technology plan and to include technology information and communication skills in …

Equal Access Means Integrating Technology Into All School Activities, Curriculum, Karlene Garn

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

"Stop the train; I want to get off!" Everyone who is involved with technology has probably thought that or actually said it out loud. The changes come so fast that you barely turn around and there is an entirely new area to think about. How do we ensure equal access and opportunities for every student to learn through technology? Every district in the state of Iowa is concerned that each of its students can be all he or she can be. Everyone can learn. Technology can be one of the key ingredients to make it happen if it is integrated …

How Technology Is Used Will Influence Student Outcomes, Connie J. Maxson

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Technology is being used in education as a tool for learning, collaboration, curriculum development, and staff development. Applying information technology in education can help our students prepare for a changing society. It has the capacity to lessen education inequities among schools and school districts by reducing traditional barriers created by geography, time and local resources. Furthermore, technology can help persons of color, women, and those with special needs to overcome barriers and empower them to pursue any course of learning or career. How do we know we are making the best use of technology and, more importantly, how can we …

Vision, Planning And Training Needed For Equal Technology Access, Diane Petty

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Equal access to technology can be addressed from several approaches. Much attention and research is available on ensuring equal access by special populations, but research is more limited on providing equal access among regular education students. One of the first concerns in technology access is making equipment available to students. All students need to be provided with access as technology will continue to play a greater role in society. But the time spent using technology needs to be quality time addressing students' needs. Also, just the presence of technology is not a measure of access. There must be sufficient quantities, …

An Iowa Dialogue On Issues Surrounding Utilization Of Technology In Schools [Complete Monograph]

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

No abstract provided.

Cover - Front Matter - Table Of Contents

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

No abstract provided.

Preface

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) is a Division of the College of Education at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Institute's mission is to promote the improvement of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education throughout the State of Iowa. To fulfill this mission the Institute serves as a catalyst for: informed dialogue on educational issues impacting the schools of Iowa, region, and nation; developing collaborative relationships with individuals and/or organizations external to schools; and education policy development.

This compilation of position papers and issue area group consensus reports represents the individual and collective wisdom of Iowa educational …

Issue Area One: How Will The Increasing Use Of Technology In Schools Change How, Where, And What Students Will Learn?, Jim Sutton, Jamie Ferrare

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Technology is removing the boundaries from learning. Students are learning wherever there is access to resources. Access includes homes, classrooms, work, community points of presence, even sites in motion. Learners will learn wherever they have effective and efficient access. Access is the only limit.

Continuous access to learning will create a "perpetual teachable moment." Learners will solve problems in a holistic manner that will not be structured horizontally or vertically. Learners will begin at any point and progress through linkages and connections, which will be more important than time-dated information or skills.

Learners' thoughts, feelings, and factive skills will be …

Teachers And Technologies: Catalysts For Change, Patty Acheycutts

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Technology is everywhere. It headlines newspapers, magazines, and television programs. Technology has silently and not so silently become a part of the fabric of society. Questions such as "How Will the Increasing Use of Technology in Schools Change How, Where, and What Students Will Learn?” need to be asked to challenge our thinking and our realities.

Having a variety of technology tools available to students in the learning environment creates an opportunity for change in how teaching and learning takes place. Barbara Means and Kerry Olson (1995) draw from their case studies noting the importance of teachers designing learning environments …

Learning What To Do When You Don't Know The Answer, Paul Aykens

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

How do students learn today? In a traditional education model, students learn in the same way their teachers were taught. This is true whether the learning takes place at school or at home. This model says there is a certain amount of knowledge that must be "imparted" by the teacher in a particular class over a certain period of time.

With the overwhelming amount of information available in today's classrooms teachers must make decisions about what is to be taught. But more importantly, teachers must model how to learn right along with the students. "The introduction of technology has given …

The Changing School, Nancy L. File

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The increasing use of technology in our schools has required educators to take a serious look at the way we are teaching our students. The classroom of today is very different than that of just a few years ago. The availability of the rapidly developing computer-related technologies has had the most dramatic effect in our schools. We are now in the information age, and our teaching and learning styles must reflect that.

Technology And Teamwork Are Key For Teaching, Learning, Working, Judy Gustafson

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The advance of technology has forever changed the face of education as we once knew it. The centuries-old concept of teachers lecturing to an audience of students as constituting education will soon seem as archaic as the horse and buggy. How will ever-expanding technology will impact our educational system in the future?

Technology And Student Learning, Pearl Miller

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The walls are coming down. Computers are present in many classrooms or at least in nearly every school building. Internet and interactive video, televisions, VCRs, video cameras, laser discs and CD-ROM players, on-line services, and modems have marched into the schools. Technology use implies change. And change is what we are all talking about in 1990s educational circles. But just the presence of technology itself, or the use of the equipment, does not necessarily mean significant change. Simply using computers or televisions or laser discs to feed information in traditional ways, using technology as the substitute teacher, or as the …

Technology Helps Make Good School Experiences More Productive, Becky Raasch

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

I have been an elementary teacher for 12 years in a small school system in Southwest Iowa. Before this, I attended a neighboring school to acquire the beginning of my education. I have some very fond memories of growing up and attending school. Some of my fondest memories are of teachers who had a definite positive impact on my life. Those include a second grade teacher who greeted a very anxious child every morning with a smile, and the sixth grade teacher who drove to school every morning in her old four-wheel drive pickup, used very firm discipline, and respected …

What Do Our Students Need To Learn?, Lyle Schwartz

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

When I walked from my house the 50 yards up the hill along the cliff above the Bering Sea to the school I served in the Alaskan Eskimo village of Elim as principal/teacher, I could see the satellite dish that had been installed to bring greater educational opportunities to the dozen high school students. I was excited that we had been chosen as one of the first sites to receive this technology as part of the Star Schools project. We now had the capability of receiving classes from all across the country. We were directly connected to Spokane where the …

Issue Area Two: How Will Schools Work With Communities/Businesses In Development Of Technology For Education?, Susan Donovan

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The relationship between schools and businesses and schools and communities must be mutually beneficial. Both communities and businesses have an investment in their school system. That investment must be harnessed for the improvement of the school district and the educational programs provided to the students. Thus, the theme of this paper is the search for and development of a "Symbiotic Relationship" between schools and communities and schools and businesses. Within that search are valuable resources for a school district to use to develop their technology plans and technology infrastructure.

School districts must take a leadership role in developing partnerships within …

Business-School Cooperation Can Provide Funding, Mentors, Skills, Jack H. Adams

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

As emerging technology becomes more prevalent in the education of our students, schools must work together with their communities and businesses to provide the proper education for their students. The collaboration of schools with their communities/businesses is necessary if we are to provide the trained workers that our businesses need to compete in the world economy. Business can help the school financially, with political support, and by providing human resources.

In this day of doing more for less, tax cuts, and government receiving a smaller piece of the pie, schools are confronted with how to finance technology. Businesses have a …

Recommendations For School-Business Partnerships, Thomas Maertens

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

This paper explores issues that schools need to consider in working with their local community and businesses in developing technology in education. It reviews various examples of partnerships and commitments that presently exist and makes recommendations for school districts in working with communities and businesses. Recommendations include:

1. Share and delineate mutual interests with each other.

2. Provide benefits for corporate/community customers as well as students.

3. Involve employees of the corporations and of the schools.

4. Communicate the concept that new technology offers opportunity, not just efficiency.

Advanced Technology: A Crutch Or A Tool?, Rick Molln

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

With the advancement of technology, the world has changed drastically in the last 30 years. Computers capable of doing only the simplest calculations have evolved from the size of a small room to a micro-chip with an ever-expanding and diverse capability. Advances in technology and science have discovered and developed ever-increasing methods to improve upon or manipulate nature. Today the average Iowa family has more choices to make in a single day than what the same size family made in a week just 30 years ago. This technological advancement is driven by, paid for, and demanded by our free market …

Talking To Each Other Can Begin "Win-Win" Partnerships, Jack Moore

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

It has become clear to me that schools must form partnerships with businesses and organizations in their communities to do the best job of making appropriate technologies available to their students. This is no longer merely an option or just an idea to consider. School districts across the country are creating these symbiotic relationships and it appears the advantage that accrues to them is almost immeasurable. This looks like one of those opportunities that is truly a "win-win" strategy. Students, parents, teachers, administrators, school boards, city and county governments, local libraries, private industries, universities, and social service agencies have all …

Varied Perceptions Help Formulate Community/School Technology Plan, Mary B. Overby

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Communication is the key for involving communities and businesses in developing of technology. Involvement in the decision-making process promotes ownership. Ownership promotes commitment. Commitment promotes success.

In an article in Technology Review titled, "The Age of Expandability" Langdon Winner (1995) expressed that employee skills and manual labor are being replaced by technology.

Gregory, Flynn, and Slovic (1995) discussed perceived hazards by the public in using technology. An example of a typical concern is the safety of technology-based constructions such as nuclear power plants.

Underhill (1994) really nailed down why there is so much confusion. Technology indicates different things to different …

Setting Common Technology Goals For Schools, Business, Community, Dennis Sychra

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The Department of Education (DOE) unveiled The National Long-Range Technology Plan in March 1995. Describing the national plan as a "call to action" (1995), the DOE identified three major goals for our nation's schools to accomplish by the year 2000. Mageau (1995, p. 12) summarized these goals as:

1. Training all teachers. By the turn of the century, America's 2.9 million teachers will have the skills to effectively use technology for teaching and learning.

2. Equipping and connecting schools. All 110,000 schools in the nation will have technology-rich classrooms equipped with computers and access to the National Information Infrastructure (NII). …

Funding Ideas For Securing Technology, Staff, And Equipment, Linda Fischer

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Iowa legislators have "talked the talk" about the importance of all Iowa school children having current technology at their fingertips. Now is the time to "walk the walk." Iowa school children can no longer be put on hold. More of today's children come to school from homes which are better equipped with technology than the schools. Parents are exposed each day to a variety of technology in the workplace. Education in Iowa must not trail behind this technology but be in the forefront providing the latest technology and providing equal exposure for all Iowa students. In Iowa, per pupil funding …