Volume 7, No. 1, Spring 2003

Contents | Perspective | Seeing Math | Video Case | Atoms | PDF Version

Perspective

The Educational Accelerator

By Paul Horwitz and Robert Tinker

The computer has been around for about fifty years now; the Internet, as far as most of us are concerned, for about ten. Together, these inventions have revolutionized the world of business and changed our lives forever. Yet there has been no comparable impact on schools. Why is this? Why has education, surely one of the more information-intensive sectors of the economy, failed to take full advantage of the Information Revolution? This is not a problem that can be blamed on schools or teachers; it is caused by an interlocking set of historical, economic, and policy forces.

One critical problem is that there are too few convincing real-world demonstrations that computers actually improve learning results - at least when applied to the standard curriculum and evaluated in a standard way. We know that, used well - with innovative curricula built around standards and embedded assessments - computers and software can do this. Indeed, decades of careful research have provided an "existence proof" that, combined with research-based pedagogy, computer use can result in significant improvement in students' learning.

But the unfortunate truth is that most educational research involves small-scale experiments with just a few students and teachers, often in an atypical setting. These results are not realistic enough to justify major changes in real schools. So the lack of school-based, large-scale demonstrations undermines the entire enterprise.

For this reason, we continue to urge large-scale applied research projects in schools. The required research must involve innovative technology integrated into substantial chunks of curriculum - units, courses, or sequences of courses. The approach should reinforce current teaching and address current standards, but also should exploit the power of technology to teach new things in new and more effective ways. This means developing new software, new authoring environments, and new computer-based assessments - all of which will require collaboration and innovation on a scale that is difficult for any one institution to achieve.

The Concord Consortium has been contributing to this important undertaking through projects described in this newsletter. Now we propose to expand these initial efforts into a national center that will bring the best people, theory, technologies, and instructional strategies to bear on long-term, large-scale research in educational technology. This national center - or Educational Accelerator - will include a partnership of outstanding schools and colleges, collaborating research groups, and a support infra-structure. It will foster additional collaborations between testbed schools, educational researchers, and instructional design experts. It will offer development, delivery, and assessment technologies that will make it possible to conduct research with schools and researchers located anywhere.

Educational technology is not a "frill"

Schools simply cannot afford to experiment with major innovations that exploit the power of technology, particularly innovations that require new curricula, new teacher skills, or new assessment strategies. Add to that the fact that teachers and administrators still think of computers largely as machines with which to teach about computers. Few have a well-formed vision of the longer-term implications of the technology for education generally. With only rare exceptions, computer applications are seldom an integral part of texts or infused throughout a course in the current school atmosphere. Technology is viewed as an ancillary supplement that is usually left to the teacher to work into instruction. Overcoming these barriers will be a central role for the Accelerator, which will develop innovative curriculum units for full integration into course subjects.

The Accelerator will focus on a subset of curriculum themes that can benefit most from information technology, including helping students visualize and experiment with abstract concepts that are difficult to convey by passive media such as text or static illustrations. It will adapt software tools and models developed by its partner institutions and add them to a common scripted learning environment. The Accelerator also will develop more powerful tools for automated data analysis and report generation. These technology enhancements will introduce a powerful new methodology for educational research - one that combines the capacity to capture fine details of the learning process with the large-scale dissemination required for evidence-based studies. To ensure wide adoption and continued support, all Accelerator software will be open source and all curriculum materials will be free to participating schools.

Another barrier to more effective use of computers in schools includes the cost of professional development. The best uses of computers involve relatively independent student explorations in small groups. This way of learning runs counter to the prevailing culture in many schools, particularly at the high school level. Professional development aimed at institutional change in this area is required, but funding for such services is likely to be the first thing cut by school boards and administrators in a time of fiscal constraint. All materials produced by the Accelerator will, therefore, include online, self-paced or instructor-facilitated courses intended to help teachers to use them effectively in the classroom.

To realize the revolutionary potential of educational technologies will require large-scale research involving the collection of data from hundreds or thousands of teachers, and tens of thousands of students. A national center, such as the Educational Accelerator, can provide the volume of data that will further demonstrate the value of computers in education for all students. With this data, schools will reap the benefits and, at last, join the Information Revolution.

Paul Horwitz (paul@concord.org) directs the Concord Consortium Modeling Center.

Robert Tinker (bob@concord.org)is President of the Concord Consortium.

The projects described in this newsletter are supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, the Noyce Foundation and others. All opinions, findings, and recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies. Mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations does not imply endorsement.

All Contents Copyright © 2002 The Concord Consortium. All rights reserved.