|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
Research summary
A school exists within a larger community and the two should collaborate to reach their goals. A successful school system invigorates a community and a thriving community supports its schools. Savvy school leaders build and develop strong community relationships that can spell success for every technology initiative. Unfortunately, the relationship between school and community is not always strong, and, as Dede (1998) notes, it seldom feels like a partnership. The school staff, working a difficult job with often inadequate resources, may feel isolated. Community members, looking for return on their investment, may appear to micro-manage school operations. A community may demonstrate lack of trust when parents choose to send their children to private schools or educate them at home, or when taxpayers fail to approve school bond issues (Haynes & Comer, 1997). What can happen when school and community build a strong partnership? Kozma and Schank (1998) describe a vision of the future that implements constructivist teaching and learning strategies supported by networked technologies. This vision extends the learning community beyond the school and encourages researchers and members of the community to participate in the education of children. This vision requires that education be a central focus of the community. Many grant initiatives emphasize the formation of partnerships with other education institutions, business, and communities. U.S. Department of Education grant programs, such as Community Technology Centers, Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships, and Technology Innovation Challenge Grants all support partnerships. Partnerships have always been key for schools involved in the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP), now called the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP), (Department of Commerce, 1996). Partners can provide expertise and advice on program implementation and help to develop support throughout the community. They can also offer financial support. One large district (Ingwerson, 1996) established a community awareness team of community, business, and education volunteers. This team was charged with creating an ongoing public awareness program to inform and build support for the district's major technology initiative.
Partners often come in during the planning of technology initiatives. Community partners can offer insights into community needs and can help align school goals with community economic development goals (Rockman, 1998). Partners from business can share information about how the world of work is changing and can help align school goals with needed skills (Costello, 1997). Established partnerships can support long-term technology initiatives by developing ways to sustain these efforts after initial funding has been spent.
One successful school project began by involving the greater community in a multiyear technology planning cycle (Palestis, 1997). Community members were valuable because they brought expertise that complemented staff skills. Not only was the community involved, but it became a direct beneficiary of the planning effort, which resulted in a school-based facility to provide technology training to students and community members. The community gained an appreciation for the academic goals of the school, as well as the costs of supporting those goals.
A significant factor for the success of any technology program is communication, and establishing strong external relationships can facilitate communication. Community members who participate in school-based planning and management teams have a better understanding of how our schools work and can reciprocate by providing insight into community needs (Haynes & Comer, 1997). Remember that community members may need to be informed about changes in education and how technology can help their children learn new skills necessary for work (Anderson, 1996).
The changes in education dictate changes in assessment. We need to help parents and other community members expand their knowledge of assessment. Periodic communication helps everyone understand that standardized test scores are not the only measure of academic achievement and that we need new ways to demonstrate student learning (Rockman, 1998). Key community and business leaders who support alternative evaluations of technology's effectiveness can be powerful banner carriers for school leaders.
Dede (1998) notes that research documents at least four improvements in educational outcomes from new, technology-based teaching and learning strategies. These include increased learner motivation, mastery of advanced topics, expert behavior by students, and better outcomes on standardized tests. Regardless of outcome, he suggests that the most effective means of convincing the community at large of the effectiveness of technology-based programs is to involve them in their students' education.
Technology can support relationships between the school, home, and work arenas, especially through networked telecommunications (Haynes & Comer, 1997; Kozma & Schank, 1997; Rockman, 1998). As Internet access increases, communication barriers between schools and communities are lessened.
How do information technologies support greater connection between school and home? Students can do schoolwork at home. Supported by digital resources from the school and beyond, they can collaborate with peers and communicate with teachers. Parents can become more involved in their children's education and more knowledgeable about the needs of the school. Connections between the school and the rest of the community can coordinate learning goals with community goals and help to integrate education into daily life (Kozma & Schank, 1997). The Benton Foundation (1998) suggests that information technologies can help our communities work together to solve social problems relating to poverty, housing, crime, and health concerns.
Haynes and Comer (1997) add that networked technologies have encouraged schools to broaden their mission and begin providing services for the entire community. Some schools develop Technology Nights that encourage parents, community members, and business people to witness the results of technology programs first hand (Anderson, 1996). America Links Up is sponsored by a coalition of educators, non-profit organizations, and corporations and seeks to provide children with a safe and rewarding online experience through a campaign of public awareness (http://www.americalinksup.org/).
Many schools go beyond demonstration to provide technology instruction and access to members of the community through school-based facilities (Bouie, 1998; Palestis, 1997). School staff or technology-savvy students present lessons and offer technical support. Such Community Access Centers (CACs) are used most by people who lack access at home or work (Department of Commerce, 1999). CACs help community members build basic technology skills while getting a glimpse into the necessity of technology-based instruction for their children. Educating parents and other community members through CACs also opens lines of communication and helps schools develop a broader base of support.
Anderson, L. (1996). Guidebook for developing an effective instructional technology plan, Version 2.0. Mississippi State, MS: Mississippi State University.
Benton Foundation. (1998). Losing ground bit by bit: Low-income communities in the Information Age. Washington, DC: Benton Foundation.
Bouie, E. L., Jr. (1998). Creating an information rich environment. T.H.E. Journal, 26(2), 78-79.
Costello, R. W. (1997). The leadership role in making the technology connection. T.H.E. Journal, 25(4), 58-61.
Dede, C. (1998) The scaling-up process for technology-based educational innovations. In C. Dede (Ed.), Learning with Technology. 1998 ASCD Yearbook. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 199-215. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 416 857)
Haynes, N. M. & Comer, J. P. (1997). The home-school team. In P. Burness (Ed.), Learn & Live. Nicasio, CA: The George Lucas Educational Foundation.
Ingwerson, D. (1996). A model for technology training: the Los Angeles County Office of Education's Technology for Learning Initiative. T.H.E. Journal, 24(4), 84-87.
Kozma, R. & Schank, P. (1998). Connecting with the 21st Century: Technology in support of educational reform. In C. Dede (Ed.), Learning with Technology. 1998 ASCD Yearbook. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 416 857)
Palestis, E. (1997). Meeting the challenge. Technology Connection, 4(3), 14-15.
Rockman, S. (1998). Leader's guide to education technology. Washington, DC: Edvancenet. Available: http://www.edvancenet.org/ax/metacontent_fs.html?res*guide
U.S. Department of Commerce. (1996). Lessons learned from the telecommunications and information infrastructure assistance program. Washington, DC: Author. Available: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/top/publicationmedia/lessons/lessons.htm
U.S. Department of Commerce. (1999). Falling through the net: Defining the Digital Divide. Washington, DC: Department of Commerce. Available: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/digitaldivide/
[top] |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
