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Informational Technology and Its Impact'on AmericanEducation.Congress of the U.S., Washington, D.C. Office ofTechnology Assessment.82251p.Supeeintendent 'of Documents, U.S. Government PrintingOffice, Washington, ric 20402.Reports - Descriptive (141) --Research/Technical (143)

MF01/PC11 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Computers; Delivery Systemsv Educational Change;

Educational Medip; Educational Technology;*Governthent Role; School Role; Tables,(Data);Technological Advancement; *Technology Transfer;*Telecommunications; *Video Equipment

IDENTIFIERS *Information Technology; *United States

Reports

,ABSTRACTThis study, Which examines the extent to which

information technology could serve American needs for education and.training, documents two basic sets of conclusions: (1)-the so-called'information revolution is profoundly affecting American education bychanging the nature of what needs to be learned, who needs to learnit, who will provide it, and how it Will be provided and paid for;,and (2) information technology can potentially improve and enricheducational services provided by traditi6nal'educational .

institutions, distr-ibute eduCation and training into,new environmentssuch as the home and office, reabh new clients such as thehandicapped and homebbund, and teach job-related skills in the use oftechnology. This xeport provides an4overview of the issues involvedin educational applications of the new technologies, examining boththe demands that will be made on education and the opportunitiesthese technologies will afford to meet those demands. A wide variety.of new information products.and services is examined, including thosebased on the combin d capabilities of computers, telecoTmunicatIonssystems, and video technologies. The effects which informationtechnologies may have on the roles of a broad range of educational,provider& are also eimmined. Seventeen case studies of informationtechnology applicaticins are appended. (LMM)

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DIVARTMENT Of EDUCMISONNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER IERICI

* This documenf has been reproduced aereceived from the person or organustionoriginating it

I Minor changes heye been mad. to improvereproduction quality

POint of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official NIEposition or pOlicy

Infórmátional Technologyand Its Impact onAmerican Education

OTA Reports'axe the principal documentation of formal aséessment projects.These projects are approved in adVance by the TechnolOgy Assessment Board.At the conclusion Of a project, the Board has the opportunity sto review thereport, but its release does not necessarily imply endorsement bf the resultsby the Board or its individual members.

CONGRESS OF THE UNITth STATES.

z dice of.Technology AssssmontWashonglon 0 C 20610

Foreword

Over the last decade, American education has come to face a number of newdemands that must be met with limited resources. Many of these new demandsarise from the rising dependence of our society on technology as a basis for domesticeconomic growth, international competitiveness, and national security. In October1980, the House Committee on Education and Labor, its Subcommittee on SpecialEducation, and the Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Technology of theHouse Committee on Science and Technology asked OTA to examine the extentto which information technology could serve American needs for education andtraining.

This report documents two basic sets of conclusions:1. The so-called information revolution, driven by rapid advances in communica-

tion and computer technology, is profoundly affecting American education.It is changing the nature of what needs to be learned, who needs to learn it,who will provide it, and how it will be provided and_paid for.

2. Information technology can potentially improve and chrich the educationalservices that traditional educational institutions provide, distribute educa-tion and training into new environments such as the home and office, reachnew clients such as handicapped or homebound persons, and teach job-relatedskills in the use of technology.The OTA report provides an overview of the issues relating to the educational

applications of the new information technologies. It examines both the demandsthat the information revolution will make on education and the opportunities af-forded by the new information technologies to meet those demands. Rather thanfocusing on a single technology, it examines a wide variety of new informationproducts and services such as those based on the combined capabilities of com-puters, telecommunications systems, and video technologies. Similarly, the report

-surveys a broad range of educational providers, and exanlines how the applica-tion of information technologies may affect their abilities to proyide educationand their respective educational roles.

OTA acknowledges with thanks and appreciation the advice and counsel ofthe panel members, contractOrs, other agencies of Government, and individualparticipants who helped bring the study to completion.

(T-444.JOHN H. GIBBONSDirector

III

Informational Technology and Its bleact onAmerican Education Advisory Panelk

Willis AdcockAssistant Vice PresidentTexas Instruments Inc.

Joel N. BloomDirectorFranklin InstituteScience Museum and Planetarium

Colleen CaytonMaxima Corp.

Robert L. ChartrandCongressional Research Service

Mark CurtisPresidentAssociation of American Colleges

L. Linton DeckFairfax County Schools (Virginia)

Sam GibbonBank Street College

Harold Howe, IIHarvard Graduate School of Education

Iv

4

Robert HoyeDirector, Instructional TechnologyUniversity of Louisville

Judith LozanoSuperintendent of SouthsideSan Antonio, Tex.

School District

Maurice MitchellChairman of the BoardNational Public Radio

Sarah ResnickPresidentMedia Systems Corp.

Vic WallingStanford Research Institute

Nellouise WatkinsDirector, Computer CenterBennett College

Joe WyattVice President for AdministrationHarvard University

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 82-600608

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents,U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402

Informational Technology and Its Impact onAmerican Educatiim Project Staff

John Andelin, Assistant Director, PTAScience, Information, and Natural Resources Division

Stephen E. Doyle* and Sam Hale," Interim Program ManagerCommunication and Information Technologies Program

Fred W. Weingarten, Project DirectorPrudence S. Adler, Assistant Project Director***

Dorothy Linda Garcia, AnalystBeth A. Brown, In-House ConsultantSusan F. Cohen, Congressional Fellow

Linda G. Roberts, Consultant (Senior Associate, Department of Education on detail)Elizabeth Emanuel, Administrative Assistant

Shirley Gayheart, Secretary

Teresa Richroath, Secretary

Jeanette Contee, Wordprocessor

ContractorsChristopher Dede, University of HoustonBeverly Hunter, Brian K. Waters, and Janice H. Laurence,

Human Resources Research OrganizationSharon Lansing, ConsultantKathryn M. White, Editor, WriterRenee G. Ford, Tifford Producers, Ltd., Editor, WriterDeeana Nash, Collingwood Associates

OTA Publishing Staff

John C. Holmes, Publishing OfficerJohn Berg ling Kathie S. Boss Debra.M. Datcher Joe Henson

Doreen Cullen Donna Young

*Program Manager eervad through February 1981."Interim Program Manager from March 1981 through March 1982. Fred W. Weingarten has served as Program Manager since then.mServad as Assistant Project Director since March 1982.

5

Acknowledgments

The following individuals contributed as contractors or reviewers during the course of this study.

Paul Larkin, Prince Georges Community CollegeJoe Lipson, WICATTom Loftis, Office of Personnel ManagementArthur Melmed, Department of EducationAndy Molnar, National Science FoundationRichard B. Otte, National Institute of EducationRichard Robinson, Scholastic, Inc.Worth Scan land, U.S. NavyPatsy Vyner, Close Up FoundationFred Wood, Department of AgricultureAndy Zucker, Department of Education

Richnrd Ballard, TALMIS Corp.Charles Benton,Films Inc.George Blank, Clvative ComputingRobert C. Bowen, McGraw-Hill Book Co.Dee Brock, Public Broadcasting ServiceJohn Cameron, Department of Commercepylvania Charp, School District of PhiladelphisRichard Diem, University of Texas at

San AntonioSeymour Eskow, Rockland Community CollegeAlbert Goldberg, WCISDJim Johnson, University of IowaValerie Klansdk, Upper Midwest Region

Resource Center

Phc;io Credits

All photographs by Ted Spiegel, ©1982, except for the following:Pages 17 and 31IBM Corp.Page 36 (unnumbered)National Science FoundationPage 150 (unnumbered)U.S. Department of Agriculture

vi

ContentsChapter

1. Summory 3Bactground 3Findings 4The Information Society 6

Role of Information 6Information Technologies 6Impacts on Institutions 7New Needs for Education and

Training 8Case Studies on Information

Technology 8Potential Technologic& Solutions 9

Policy Issues and Options .... 10I asues 10Options for Federal Action 11

2. The United States as an InformationSociety 15

Findings 16Economic and Societal Impacts of

Information Technology 16Changing Economic Base of the Nation 19

3. Implications for Economic Growthand Human Capital 25

Findings 26Knowledge and Growth 26Education and Growth 27Human Capital Theory 28Need for Technical Education ... 29Information Literacy 29Information Professionals 32Information Scientists 34

4. Trends in Information Technology 37Findings 37Communications 37Cable 38Satellite Communication 38Digital Telephone Network 39Local Distribution Networks 40New Broadcast Technologies 41

Direct Broadcast Satellite 41Low-Power Broadcast 41

Computers 42Desktop Computers 43Hand-Held Computers 44

Human Interface 46Storage Technology 46Video Technology 47

Video Cassette Recorders 47Improved Quality 47Filmless Camera 47Video Disk ' 47

1Information Services 48

Chapter PaisVideotex and Tekitext -49Information Networks 60

Electronic Conferencing 61Advanced Business Services 62

5. Educational Uses of InformationTechnology. ,

Functions of Educational TechnologyPassive InstructionInteractive InstructionLearning EnvironmentsInformation ResourceAdministration and Instruction

ManagementDistribute EducationTesting and Diagnosis

Capabilities of Educational TechnologyCost and Effectiveness

55565666666869

6060626263

6. The Provision of Education in theUnited States 67

Findings 67Social Change and Education in

America 67Elementary and Secondary Education 70

Public Schools 70'Status of the American. Public

School System 71Future of the American Public

School System 72Private Alternatives to Public

Schools 74University and the FourYear Colleges 78

Public Role of Higher Education 78Status of American Colleges and

Universities 80Two-Year and Community dolleges 83Proprietary 8ducation 86

ttatus of Proprietary Schools 86haracteristics of ProprietarySchools 87

Markets Served by ProprietarySchools 88

Applications of InformationTechnology in ProprietaryEducation 90

Future Uses 91FutuAS Uses by Other Industry

Segments 92.Education in the Home a . 92

Status of Education in the Home 92Libraries 94

Education in the Library 96Status of Libraries 96

all

Contents=-ContinuedChaptar

MuseumsPage

97Chapter

Case Study 1: Children's TelevisionPaso

Museum Education 97 Workshop 126

Status of Museums 98 Case Study 2: Development,4 Business and Labor 99 Production, and Marketing of

Role of Education in the Workplace 100 PLATO 128

Industry-Based Training and Case Study 3: Computer CurriculumEducation 100 Corporation 133

Trend Toward Decentralized Case Study 4: CONDUIT 136

Instruction 101Training: Investment v. Expense 102Relationship With Local Educational 8. Conditions That May Affect the

Institutions and Industry-,Sponsored Educational Institutions 102

Further Application of InformationTechnology in Education 141

Information Technology in Corporate Available Data on EducationalInstruction 102 Applications 141

Factors That May Affect ,Microcomputers and Terminals Disk , 141

Instructional Use of Technology 103 Video Cassette Recorders and VideoImplications 106 Cassette Recorders and Video Disk 143

Union-Sponsored Training and Climate for Use of InformationEducation 106 Technology in the Schools 143

Education Programs 106 Hardware and Educational SoftwareOther Types of Instructional Vendors: Views of the Education

Programs 106 Market 146

Information Technology in Union- Conditions Affecting CommercialSponsored Instruction 107 Courseware Development 146

Summary of Current Conditions 1477. State of Research and Development in

Educational Technology 111

Findings 111 9. Federal Role in Education 151

Introduction and Background 111 Education Legislation 161

Changing R&D Climate 113 The Early Years: 1642-1860 161

Federal Funding 114 The Years 1860-1930 162

Private Funding 114 The Expanding Federal Role:Federal Commitment to Educational 1960-1970's 164

Technology R&D, Fiscal Year 1982 116 The Courts and Education . 167

Discontinued and Consolidated Federal Role in Museums 160

Projects 118 Federal Role in Libraries 160

Continuing Projects 119 Effect of Federal TelecommunicationNew Grants for Fiscal Year 1982 121 Regulation and Legislation onFederal Support for Educational Vtducation 161

Reaearch Laboratories 122 Governmental Control ofEducational Technology R&D Support Telecommunication 161

by Other Nations 122 Governmental Control of Education 161

France 123 The Federal CommunicationEuropean Commission 123 Commission and EducationalUnited Kingdom 123 Telecommunication Services 162Implications of the Present Federal Instructional Television Fixed

Role in Educational Technology Services 163

R&D 124 The Public Broadcasting Service 164Present and Future Support for Low Power Television and Direct

Edutational Technology.R&D 126 Broadcast Satellites 164Case Studies of Landmark R&D Cable Television 164

Dissemination Efforts in Telecommunication Legislation andEducational Technology 126 Educational Services 165

viii

o

ContentsContinuedCheiger

The Protection of InformationPare Table No. Pin

Index 263Software: An Overview 166

Types of Software 166Legal Protection for Software 167Legal Protection: Issues and

Educational Options 172Appendix 174

10. Implications for Policy 177Arguments for Federal Action 177Arguments Against Federal Action . 178Congressional Options 179

Option 1: Subsidize Hardware 179Option 2: Subsidize Software 180Option 3: Assume a Leadership Role 180Option 4: Incorporate Technology

Initiatives in General EducationPolicy 181

Appendix ACase Studies: Applicationsof Information Technologies 187

Computers in Education: LexingtonPublic Schools, Lexington, Mass. 187

Computer-Using Educators andComputer Literacy Programs InNovato and Cupertiho 194

Novato Unified School District,Novato, Calif. 197

Cupertino Union School District,Cupertino, Calif. 200

Technology Education and Training,Oxford Public Schools,Oxford, Mass. 203

Computer Literacy Program: LyonsTownship Secondary School -

District, LaGrange, Ill. . 209Minnesota Schools and the Minnesota

Educational ComputingConsortium 214

MECC: A State Computing Agency 214Instructional Computing, Houston

Independent School District,Houston, Tex. 221

Information Technology andEducation in the State of Alaska 227

EDUCOM 233Industry-Based Training and

Education Programs 236Information Technology and Libraries 237Museums 242Military Uses of Information

Technology 246Direct to the Home 262Information Technology and Special

Education 266

TABLES

Table Na Pao1. Percentage Share of the U.S.

Economy by Sector 202. Some Representative Growth Figures

for the Information Industry 213. Percentage Employment in the

Business Sector by Sex and Yearsof Education Completed 27

4. Unemployment Rates by Sex andNumber of Years of EducationCompleted 28

5. Achievement Test Score Averages,1972-79 31

6. Requirements for Computer Specialists 327. Percentages of Engineering Graduates

and Trends in Shares of World Trade . 348. The Growth of Cable Television in the

United States 389. Projected Demand for Satellite

Communications in Number ofTransponders 38

10. Chief Characteristics of Voice v. DataCommunication 40

11. U.S. Installed Base of PersonnelComputers by Market Sector 44

12. Micros in Schools 4413. Number of Public Elementary/

Secondary Schools and EstimatedPercentage Distribution, By Level ofInstruction and Grade Span Served:School Year 1978-79 71

14. Revenue and Nonrevenue Receipts ofPublic Elementary and Secondary

.Schools, By Source, 1977-78 7216. Number of Postsecondary Schools

With Occupational Programs, ByControl and By Type of School:Aggregate United States, 1980 86

16. Number of Postsecondary SchoolsWith Occupational Programs, ByControl and By Type of School:Aggregate United States, 1980 87

17. Percent Distribution of Men andWomen by Control of School 89

18. Department of Defense Training andPersonnel Systems Technology R&DProgram Elements and FundingLevelsFiscal Year 1981-82 116

9

ix

ContentsContinuedTabis Na Pal*

19. Training and Personnel SystemsTechnology R&D Program: SelectedProject TopicsFiscal Year 1981-82. . 117

20. National Science Foundation R&DBudget, Fiscal Year 1982 for SelectedProgram Areas , 117

21. Department of Education R&DBudget, Fiscal Year 1982 for SelectedProgram Areas 118

22. Department of Defense R&D Budget,Fiscal Year 1982 for Selected Divisions 118

23. Projected Federal Expenditures forEducational Technology R&D, FiscalYear 1982 118

24. Cohtinuation Grants for EducationalTechnology R&D, Fiscal Year 1982 . 120

26. New Grants for EducationalTechnology R&D, Fiscal Year 1982 . 121

26. Federal R&D Funding for EducationalTechnology Fiscal Year 1982 By Typeof Technology 122

27. Public School Districts ProvidingStudents Access to at Least OneComputer for Educational Purposes:United States, 1980 142

28. Availability of Computers WithinDistricts: United States, Fall 1980 . 142

29. Total Shipments of Microcomputers inPublic and Private Schools Operatingon the Elementary, Secondary, andPostsecondary Levels and Forecastsof Courseware Sales 143

30. The Educational Courseware Industry 14431. What Are the Industries Competing

for Business . . . . . . .. 146A-1. Sources of Funds for Computer

Hardware and Software, 1980-81 207

Titbit Na Pass

A-2. Five-Year Breakdown of ComputerHardware Costs 210

A-3. Advantages of On-Line Services 240A-4. Number of _Students and Cost of

Various Types of Individual TrainingFiscal Year 1982 247

A-5. Cost of R&D in Training andPersonnel Systems Technology, inThousands of Dollars, Fiscal Year1982 247

A-6. Number of Ongoing InstructionalTechnology R&D Work Units ByService and Department of DefenseTotal, April 1981 247

A-7 Summary of Military Video DiskProjects 252

FIGURES

Figura Na "Si1. Shifts in Employment 302. Installed Base Micros Total Universe

and School Installed 44

3. Quality of the Public Schools: Opinionsof Parents With Public SchoolChildren 73

4. Secondary Schools Providing SpecialPrograms 75

5. Private Elementary/Secondary SchoolTuition and Fees by Family Income

. Racial/Ethnic Group - 76A-1. Software Development Model 212A-2. MECC Timesharing System Port

Distribution by User System, 1975-81 217A-3. Sample "Fail Safe" Parent Letter 224A-4. Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, Mean

Composite Scores, HISD, 1971-81 . 225

chapter 1

Summary

Modern society is undergoing profoundtechnological and social changes broughtabout by what has been called the informationrevolution. This revolution is characterized byexplosive developments in electronic informa-tion Whnologies and by their integration intocomplex information systems that span theglobe. The impacts of this revolution affect in-dividuals, institutions, and governmentsal-tering what they do, how they de it, and howthey relate to one another.

If individuals are to thrive economically andsocially in a world that will be shaped, to a

large degree, by these technological develop-ments, they must adapt through educationand training. Already there is evidence ofdemands for new types of education and train-ing, and of new institutions emerging tio fillthese demands. The historical relationship be-tween education and Government will be af-fected by the role that Government plays inenabling educational institutions to respondto the changes created by these technologies.

BackgroundHistorically, the Federal Government's in-

terest in educational technology has been spo-radicrising as some promising new technol-ogy appeared and falling as that technologyfailed to achieve its promise. Attention wasfocused, moreover, on the technology itselfand not on the broader educational environ-ment in which it was to be used. In the late1960's, for example, the Federal Governmentfunded a number of research and development(R&D) projects in the use of computer-assistedinstruction (CAI). Interest in the projectswaned, however, given the high costs of hard-ware and curricula and the failure to integratecomputer-based teaching methods into the in-stitutional structure of the school.

Over the last decade, Federal funding forR&D in educational information technology'has dropped precipitously. At the same time,development and applications of informationtechnology have advanced rapidly in manysectors. Public schools, beset by problems thatsuch technology might mitigate, have laggedbehind in adapting to technological changes.In view of this situation, OTA was asked inOctober 1980 to reexamine the potential roleof new information technology in education.

1

..1111141.

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ALL

3

4 Informational Technolagy and Its Impact on American Education

The assessment was initiated at the requestof: I) the Subcommittee on Select Educationof the House Committee on Education andLabor; and 2) the House Subcommittee on Sci-

ence, Research, and Technology of the Com-mittee on Science and Technology.

This report examines both the demands theinformation revolution will make on educationand the opportunities afforded to respond tothose demands. Included in its scope are asurvey of the major providers of education andtraining, both traditional and new, and an ex-amination of their changing roles. The fullrange of new information products and serv-ices rather than any single technology is exam-ined, since the major impact on edubation willmost likely stem from the integration of thesetechnologies,into instructional systems.

For this report OTA has defined educationto include programs provided through a vari-ety of institutions and in a variety of settings,including public schools; private, nonprofit in-stitutions that operate on the elementary, sec-ondary, and postsecondary levels; proprietaryschools; training and education by industryand labor unions; instruction through the mili-tary; and services provided through librariesand museums or delivered directly to thehome. Information technology is defined to in-

elude communication systems such as directbroadcast satellite, two-way interactive cable,low-power broadcasting, computers (includingpersonal computers and the hew hand-heldcomputers), and television (including videodisks and, video tape cassettes).

The assessment was premised on three ini-tial observations and assumptions:

The United States is undergoing an infor-mation revolution, as documented in anOTA assessment, Computer:Based Na-tional Information Systems.There is a public perception that the pub-lic schools are "in trouble," and are notresponding well to the normal educationaldemands being placed on them. Publicschools in many parts of the country arefaced with severe economic problems in,the for-in of rapifilly rising costs and re-duced taxpayer support. These pressuresare forcing a new search for ways to im-prove the productivity and effectivenessof schooling.A' host of new information technologyproducts and services that appeared capa-ble of fulfilling the educational promisesanticipated earlier are entering the mar-ketplace with affordably low cost andeasy accessibility.

FindingsOTA found that the real situation is far

more complex than assumed above. In sum-mary, the assessment's findings are:

The growing use of information technol-ogy throughout society isFeating majornew demands for education and trainingin the United States and is increasing thepotential economic and social penalty fornot responding to those demands.The information revolution is creatingnew stresses on many societal institu-tions, particularly those such as publicschools and libraries that traditionallyhave borne the major responsibility forproviding education and other public in-forrion services.

12

Information technology is already begin-ning to play an impojtant role in provid-ing education and training in some sec-tors.Information technology holds significantpromise aft a mechanism for respondingto the education and training needs of so-ciety, and it will likely become a majorvehicle for doing so in the next few dec-ades.Much remains to be learned about theeducational and psychological effects oftechnological approaches to instruction.Not enough experience has been gainedwith the new information technology todetermine completely how that technol-

Ch. 1:-Summary 5

ogy can most benefit learners or to predictpossible negative effects of its use. Giventhis insufficient experience, cktutionshould be exercised in undertaking any

major national effort, whether federallyinspired or not, to introduce these newtechnologies into education.

The Infoimation SocietyRole of Information

For the foreseeable future, information tech-nology will continue to undergo revolutionarychanges. The microprocessoran inexpensive,mass-produced computer on a chipwill be-come ubiquitous in the home and officenotonly in the easily identifiable form of the per-sonal Computer or word processor, but also asa - component of numerpus other products,from dutomobiles to washing machines andthermostats. High-speed, low-cost communi-cation links will be available in such'forms astwo-way interactive cable, direct broadcastfrom satellites, and coinputer-enhanced tele-phone netviorks. New video technologies suchas video diske and high-resolution televisionwill be available. These technologies will be in-tegrated to form new and unexpected typesof informationproducts and services, such asvideotex and on-line infOrmation retrieval sys-tems that can be provided over telephone orair Waves directly to the home.

It is impossible to predict which of thesetechnologies and services will succeed in thecompetition for consumer dollars, or which willappeal to particular. markets. It is, however,reasonable to conclude that they will radical-ly affect many aspects of the way society gen-erates, obtains, uses, and disseminates infor-mation in work and leisure.

The growing importance of infortnation it-self drives and is driven by these rapid tech-nological changes. Until a few decades ago, theinformation industrythat industry directlyinvolved with producing and selling informa-tion and information technoloewas rela-tively small in economic terms. It is now be-coming a major component of the U.S. econ-omy. While most economists still talk aboutthe traditional economic sectorsextractive,'

k :manufacturing, and servicesome now havebegun to define and explore &fourth, the infor-mation sector. One analYsis has' shown thatthis new sector, if defined broadly, already ac-counts for over 60 percent of thekiconOmic ac-tivity of the United States.

Many firms involved directly with informa-tion are large and growing. Two of the largestcorporations in the world, AT&T and IBM,principally manufacture information products

'

I

. Pp;

7ro,

Personal-type computers are used fix Instruction In manyclassrooms throughout the Nation

13

6 informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

and provide information services. Moreover,business in general is beginning to treat infor-mation as a factor of production that takes itsplace beside the conventional factors of land,labor, and capital. In addition, the Govern-ment is begitming to treat information as an

s important element of national security. Whiledefense officials have always been concernedabout the disclosure of military informationsuch as troop movements or weapons designthey are now also concerned about the inter-nationalleakage of more general U.S. scientif-ic and technical information that other coun-tries could conceivably use to pursue economicor military goals that are in contrast to ourown.

In addition to serving as an economic good,access to information is becoming increasinglyimportant for individuals to function in soci-ety effectively as citizens, consumers, and par-ticipants in political processes. Relations withgovernment at all levels are becoming morecomplexwhether they involve dealing withthe Internal Revenue Service, applying forsocial benefits and services, or seeking protec-tion from real or perceived bureaucr4tic abuse.Individuals are confronted with the need toevaluate more sophisticated choices and tounderstand their rights and responsibilitiesunder the laws and regulations intended toprotect them in the marketplace.

Information Technologies-

The rapid evolution of the following tech-nologies in the last few decades has shaped theinformation revolution:

Cable.Cable systemswherein data andprograms are transmitted over a wire ratherthan throxigh airwavesare growing rapidly.The newer systems offer more channels, andsome offer two-way communication.

Satellite Communitation.Satellites haver stimulated development of new types of tele-

vision networks to serve cable subscribers andearth station owners with specialized program-ing.

Digital Telephone Network.The shift todigital transmission will allow telephone linesto carry more information at higher speed and'With greater accuracy, providing better link-age of information between computer tenni-nals.

Broadcast Technologies.Some distribu-tion technologies in the entertainment marketmay also have important potential educationaluses. For one, the direct broadcast satellite cantransmit a program directly to a home or of-fice, bypassing a cable system. For another,low-power stations, which restrict transmis-sion to a limited geographical range, providea low entry cost to licensees and are subjectto less regulation than are traditional broad-cast stations.

Computers.The design and uses of com-puters have advanced to the point where thereis now a mass consumer market for computersand computer software. Moreover, networksthat link privately oNVned computers have ex-panded access to information. Desktop com-puters are becoming tnore common in thehome, the small business, and formal educa-tional settings. The use of hand-held com-puters, cheaper and more portable than deik-top computers, has also increased. Along withcomputer development have come advances inthe interface between humans and computersinput/Output technology. Input technologyis the process of putting information into thecomputereither by typing it, speaking to thecomputer, or showing the computer pictures.Developments in output technology are occur-ring in the areas of low-cost printers, graphics(particularly color graphics), and voice.

Storage Technology.Data programs arestored on a variety of media for use in the com-puter: silicon chips, floppy disks, and harddisks. Improvements are being made in suchtechnology for both large and-arnalccomput-ers.

Video Technology.Significant develop-ments in several areas of video technology are

aRt

Ch. 1Summary 7

likely in this decade. Video cassette recordersare already important consumer devises. Thefilmless camera, which combines video andcomputer technology to "write" a picture ona very small, reusable floppy disk, may soonbe available.

Video Disks.Resembling a phonographrecord, a disk that stores television program-ing is of considerable interest to educators. Itis durable, inexpensive to produce, and capableof storing a large amount -of data and pro-grams.

Information Services.Several of the afore-mentioned information technologies ere nowbeing integrated to provide new types of serv-ices. For example, several countries now usethe existing television broadcast medium tobring information services to 4Qmes and of-fices. Using a teletext system, the user canselect a page for special viewing as it is trans-mitted in segments over the air. In a videOtexsystem the user can preselect a page from thecentral system for immediate viewing. Close-ly related to videotex are the information net-works that provide owners of desktop com-puters and terminals with access to computerand data services and to one anoper over com-munication networks. Through electronic con-ferencing, geographically separated individu-als can participate in meetings. Variations in-clude audio conferencing, which uses telephonelines; video conferencing, which supplementsthe voice connection with television images;and computer conferencing, which involvestransmitting messages through a central com-puter that then distributes them as requested.

Impacts on InstitutionsImpacts from the information revolution are

being felt by government at all levels and bythe military, industry, labor unions, and non-profit service institutions. Traditional servicesprovided by these institutions now overlap innew ways and offer a wide variety of new serv-ices basedoon information technology. For ex...ample, firms as diverse as investment housesand retail stores now compete with banks byproviding a variety of financial services.

a98-604 - 87 - 2

Banks, on the other hand, are beginning tocompete with computer service bureaus in pro-viding more general on-line information serv-ices to businesses and homes.

The U.S. Postal Service, along with Con-gress and a variety.of Federal executive andregulatory agencies, is considering the degreeto which it should compete with private tele-communications firms in the provision of elec-tronic mail services. Large computer firmssuch as IBM are moving toward direct cortt:petition with traditional telecommunication..common carriers such as AT&T for the provi-sion of information. Telephone companies mayoffer "electronic yellow pages" that could rivalthe classified advertising business of news-papers.

Those institutions principally concernedwith the collection, storage, or transfer of in-formation will feel the greatest effects. Theyinclude both private sector firmsin fieldssuch as publishing, entertainment, and com-municationsand public or nonprofit organi-zations such as libraries, museums, andschools. How they handle their productin-formationmay differ from the handling oftangible goods by other institutions becauseinformation has characteristics that differen-tiate it from tangible goods. For example, in-formation can be reproduced easily and rela-tively inexpensively. It can be transported in-stantly worldwide and presumably can betransferred without affecting its original own-ership. Thus, copyright or other forms of pro-tection for intellectual propertydata bases,programs, or chip designsis important to thegrowth of the information industry.

While the business of selling informati6nhas always existed in some forme.g., bookpublishing, newspapers, or broadcastingthegrowth of this sector and its movement intoelectronic forms of publishing will create con-flicts with traditional societal attitudes aboutinformation. The concept of information as apublic good whose free exchange is basic to.the functioning of society is i4erent in thefirst amendment to the Constit*tion and'un-derlies the establishment of public libraries

15

8 Informational Technology and its impact on American Education

and schools. This .concept conflicts with themarket view of information, which recognizesthat there Eire inherent costs in the provisionof information. Adopting new informationtechnologies will entail extra costs that must

borne somehow by the users of those tech-nologies.

The conflict between the view of informationas a market good and the view of it as a "pub-

, lic good" affects public institutions in a num-ber of ways. Public nonprofit irtitutions findthemselves increasingly in colhpetition withprivate profitmaking firms that offer the sameor similar services. Institutions such as librar-ies, schools, and museums are beginning to feelpressure to incorporate both nonprofit and in-come-generating offerings in their own mix ofservices.,To the extent that previously free orvery low-cost and widely available information -services such as education move into the pri-vate marketplaee, access to them maybecomelimited, either because of their cost or becauseof their restricted technological availability.Periodicals previously available at news-stands, for example, may be available in thefuture only via computer or video disk.

New Needs for Educationand Training

The information revolution places new de-mands On individuals, changing what theymust know and what skills thenmust have toparticipate fully in modern sociebv. It may alsobe increasing the social and economic pricesthat will be paid by thiose who do not adaptto technological changes. For instance,spurred by increasing domestic and interna-tional economic competition, U.S. industry isexpected to adopt computer-based automationin a major way. Computer-aided design, robot-ics, and other new computer-based manufac-turing technologies will, within the nextdecade, transform the way goods are manu-factured. Autqination will not be restricted tothe factory, however. Office automation will,according to some, have an even more revolu-tionary effect on management and on clericalwork in business. Over the longer term, even

the service professions, such as law and me d-icine, will be transformed.

While some sociologists suggest that the e f-fect will be to "deskill" labor by lowering theskill requirements for workers, more anticipatethat a greater premium will be placed on lit-eracy, particularly technological and informa-tion literacy. The latter argue that an increas-ing numberqf jobs will be in the informationsector or wiIl require the use of informationsystems. Moreover, new forins of productionand information handling will create new jobsrequiring new skills. Vocational education andindustrial training programs will be needed toteach the skills kor jobs such as robot mainte-nance or word Ohicessing.

An advanced informttion society will placea premium onlkills oriented toward the crea-

tion of new knowledge and the design of newtechnologies. Thus, while there is some currentdebate about a possible surplus of collegegraduates, generally speaking many expertssee a growing gap between the demand andsupply of graduates in engineering and sci-ence, and particularly in computer engineer-ing and science.

A key element in all of these educationalneeds is that they will constantly change. Ina rapidly advancing technological society, itis unlikely that the skills and information baseneeded for initial employment will be thoseneeded for the same job a few years later. Life-long retraining is expected to become the normfor many peopla

Case Studies on Information'Technology

In addition to using existing information forthis assessment, OTA undertook case studiesdesigned to gain insights into the successfulapplication of information technology in edu-cation. Accordingly, OTA examined well-established programs in public school sys-tema, industries, libraries, museums, thelnili-tary, special education, and Airect to the homemarkets nationwide. These case studies arepresented in the appendix. Many of the find-

Ch. 1:Summary 9

ings presented in this assessment reflect ob-servations made in these studies. The mostimportant of these observations is that infor-mation- technologies can be most effectivelyapplied to tasks when they are well integratedin-their institutional environments.

Potential Technological SolutionsOTA found little evidence of current hard-

ware limitations that would limit the applica-bility of technology to education and, hence,call for major research efforts. Continuingresearch in the general fields of computerscience and engineering, coupled with innova-tive private sector development will providethe necessary hardware base. The only excep-tion is the area of technology for the handi-capped, where it is not clear that the opportu-nities for developing specialized technologycould be met without some Federal supportfor R&D. There does appear to be a need, how-ever, for R&D focused on developing new tech-niques and tools for software development,human/machine interface, and improving theunderstanding of cognitive learning processes.

If properly employed, information technol-.ogy has certain characteristics that suggestit will be invaluable for education. For one, in-formation, technology may be the only feasi-ble way to supplement teaching capability inschools faced with reduced teaching staffs andlarger class sizes. For another, information

- technology is capable of distributing educationand. training, both geographically and overtime. Services can be provided in the home,at work, in a hospital, or in any. other locationwhere and when they may be needed.

Many of the electronic media, such as videodisks or microcomputers, allow learners to usethem at their convenience, instead of beinglocked into specifically scheduled times. Com-puter-based analysis, cornbined with a flexi-ble, adaptive instructional system could diag-nose and immediately respond to differencesin learning strategies ainong students and, ,.hence,,could be more educationally effectile.Finally, much work has been done on using in-

formation technology to improve the abilityof foreign students and the physically andmentally handicapped to communicate.

Some experts suggest that the use of com-puters by students teaches them new ways ofthinking and new ways of solving problemsthat may be more appropriate in an informa-tion age. They suggest that a generation-thatgrows up with computers will have a signifi-cant intellectual advantage over one that doesnot. Many educators criticize such a view asbeing too technology-centered. At the veryleast one can predict, however, that computerand computer-based information services willbe ubiquitous by the next century, and thatlearning how to use them effectively is a basicskill that will be required for many and per-haps most jobs. 4In response to this view offuture skill requirements, inany schools haveplaced a high priority on computer literacy asthe first instructional use of the computer.)

Although experience with educational tech-nologies has demonstrated that they offer avariety of potential benefits, it has also dem-onstrated that technology cannot, by itself,provide solutions to all educational problems,nor should it be imposed on an educationalsystem without sensitivity to institutional andsocietal barriers that could prevent the realiza-tion of educational benefits. These barriers in-clude:

Institutional Barriers.New educationaltechnology must be designed for ease of inte-gration into the 'schools and other educationalinstitutions that will use it. Some adaptationsof curricula, schedirles, and classroom organi-zation will be needed, butthe.changes,are -notlikely to be extreme.

Teacher Training.-rWidespread use of tech-nology in the classroom will require that teach-ers be trained both in its use and in the pro-duction of good curriculum materials. Too fewteachers are so qualified today. Schools main-tain that they are already faced with a short-age of qualified science and mathematicsteachers (those most likely to lead the way incomputer-based edutation). Furthermore,

10 Informational Technology and Its impact on American Education

there is little evidence that most of the teachertraining colleges in the United States are pro-viding adequate instruction to new teachersin the use of information technology.

Lack of Adequate Software.OTA foundgeneral widespread agreement that, with fewexceptions, the quality of educational soft-warecurriculum material designed for educa-tional technologynow available was, in gen-eral, not very good. Curriculum providers donot yet use the new media to full advantagefor several reasons. In the first place, manyof the technologies are still new. It takes timeto lean! 'how 'to use them, and the early at-tempts suffer from this learning process. Sec-ond, production of high-quality educationalsoftware is expensive. Some large firms thathave the necessary capital to produce educa-tional software hesitate to risk developmen-. tal money in a relatively new and uncertainmarket.

Third, the programers and curriculum ex-perts qualified to produce educational soft-ware are in short supply. Finally, some firmscite the lack of adequate property protection

e.g., 'copyright, patentsfor their informa-tion products as a barrier to investment indevelopment.

Skepticism About Long-Term Effects.Some educators are seriously concerned thatthe, long-term effects on learning of substitut-ing technology for traditional teaching meth-ods are not sufficiently understood. Whileacknowledging that computers or other tech-nologies may have some limited utility in theclassroom for drill and practice, or for instruc-tion in computer literacy, they fear that anywidespread adoption of technology for educa-tion could have deleterious effects on the over-all quality of learning.

Cost.Even though the cost of computerhardware and communication services is drop-ping,. investment in educational technologystill represents a substantial commitment byfinancially pressed schools. Costs of softwareare likely to remain high until a large marketdevelops over which providers can write offdevelo mental costs. In some cases the costof inf I, ation products and services may bepas: on to users for the first time.

Policy Issues and OptionsIssues

The impact of information technology, oneducation will confront Congress with a num-ber of important policy decisions in severalareas:

Eddcation and training for economicgroWth: OTA found that trends in auto-mation and the growth of the informationsector of the economSi will probably pre-sent the United States with severe man-power training problems over the nextdecade. These will include a persistentshortage of highly trained computer scien-tists, engineers, and other specialists; aneed for retraining workers displaced byfactory and office automation; and a needfor a more technologically literate workforce. Congress must decide what Federal

response to these national needs would beboth appropriate and effective.Redressing inaquities: In both the OTAstudy on national information systemsand in this assessment, OTA found con-cern that a significant social, economic,and political gap could develop betweenthose who do and plose who do not haveaccess to, and the ability to use, infonpa-tion systems. People who cannot make ef-fective use of information technology mayfind themselves unable to deal effective-ly with their government and to obtainand hold a job. Both social and economicconcerns may motivate Congress to takeaction to improve literacy in American so-ciety.New institutional roles: OTA found thatmany public educational institutions are

Ch. 1Summary 11

under severe strain, to the extent thatmany question their survivalat least intheir current form. Actions directly re-lated to the use of information technologytould also have important impacts onthese public educational institutions, bothby enhancing their productivity and byhelping them offer a modern, computer-and communication-based curriculum. Al-though the States have primary responsi-bility for control of the public schools,decisions and policies set at the Federallevel have influenced the nature of pub-lic education and will continue to do so.

Options for Federal ActionAssuming that Congress decides there is a

significant need for Federal action to addressthese issues, there are amumber of possible ac-tions it could take.

Direct Intervention.Congress could takeaction to increase and improve the use ofinformation technology in education. Mostof the following options would principallyaffect the schools. A few would have a ,broader effect on the provision of educationand training in other institutions.Provide .tax incentives for donations of

computers'and other information technol-ogy: H.R. 5573 and S. 2281 are examplesof such initiatives. They are intendiid toaccelerate the rate at which schools installcomputer hardware and to respohd to pos-Bible inequities in the abilities of schooldistricts to direct funds to equipment ac-quisition. However, some experts havenoted that the personal computer indus-try is on the verge of moving to a new gen-eration of more powerful machines thatmay have much greater potential for edu-cational application on a more sophisti-cated level. Donations of older equipmentcould freeze the schools into dependencyon obsolescent systems. Moreover, suchincentives do not address problems suchas the need for-software, teacher training,or institutional barriers to effective use.

Subsidize software development: OTAfound that the most-often cited barrier to

current educational use of technology wasthe lack of adequate educational software.There may be a role for the Governmentin reducing the risks software producerscurrently see that inhibit major invest-thent in quality courseware (educationalsoftware). Many of the existing successfulpackages, such as the Sesame Street pro-grams for television and the PLATO com-puter-aided instruction system, were de-veloped with partial Federal support. Onthe other hand, good software may beforthcoming if the producers see a suffi-cient quantity of hardware in the schoolsto provide them with a viable market.

Directly fund technology acquisition bythe schools: The Federal Governmentcould directly underwrite the acquisitionof hardware and software by the schools.Such a program would create a market foreducational products that would attractproducers, and it would accelerate the in-troduction of technology into the schools.On the other hand, such an approach maypromote premature and unwise purchasesof technology by schools that are unpre-pared to use the technology effectively.It is also counter to some current trendsand attitudes in Congress concerning theproper Federal role in education.

Provide support activities: The FederalGovernment could assume a leadershiprole in encouraging the educational sys-tem to make more effective use of infor-mation technology by funding demonstra-tion projects, teacher-training programs,and the development of institutions forexchanging information about successfulimplementations. OTA found evidence ofa high degree of interest and motivationby both schools and parents that could bemore effectively channeled with appropri-ate Federal leadership. Such a programwould not address the financial limita-tions that currently prevent many institu-tions from acquiring technology and soft-ware.

Adapt a General Education Policy.Con-gress is considering various forms of educa-tion-related legislation that may affect, and

j

12 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

in turn may be affected by, the new informa-tional needs of society. Examples are billsconcerning vocational education, veterans'education, education for the handicapped,and foreign language instruction. Such leg-islation, if drafted with the intent to do so,could encourage the development of moreeffective and economical technological alter-natives to current programs.

Support R&D.Federal civilian agencysupport of R&D ineducational technologyhas decreased substantially over the last-decade. OTA found that, to make the mosteffective use of technology, there was a needfor R&D in learning strategies and cognitivedevelopment, methods for the production ofeffective and economical curricular soft-tire, and the long-term psychological andgnitive impacts of 'technology-based edu-

cation. Congress could consider policies to:I) directly support R&D in these areas, 2)encourage private sector investment fromboth fOundations and industrj, or 3) encour-

age a combination of both by using Federalfunding to leverage private investment.Elimination of Unintended Regtaatory Bar-riers.Some legislation and regulation notspecifically directed at education may createbarriers to the effective application of edu-cational technology. Telecommunicationregulation, for example, can affect the costof technology, access to communicationchannels, and the institutional structure ofeducation providers.

Moreover, protection of intellectual prop-erty, principally copyright law, was identi-fied as a major determinant of the willing-ness of industry to invest in educationalsoftware. The current state of the law wasseen by many industry experts as inade-quate aittl, henceyas creating a barrier to thedevelopment ormivel and innovative soft-ware. However, to the extent that such abarrier does exist, it is not clear whether itsremoval lies in new legislation or in thegradual development of legal precedent inthe courts, ,

2

-Chapter, 2

The United . States as anInformation Society

All societies depend to some extent on informationto conduct trade, to gov-ern their society, and to transmit culture and social mores. Because of this, pastinventions such as writing, arithmetic, and the printing press have stimulatedprofound changes. Similarly, development of new information technologies willalso deeply effect present-day society. Many of these effects will be in the reahnof education.

Findings'The United States has becomst an informa-tion society, dependent on the creation, use,and communication of information for itseconomic and social welf-being.

Computer, data communication, and videotechnologies have become a large and essen-tial element of U.S. society, central to thehandling of information by individuals andorganizations.

In the past, inforrnation technology inven-tions such as the telephone have fundamen-tally altered social institutions andindivid-ual behavior; thus, it is reasonable to expect,that current and future innovative develop-ments will haye corresponding effects, par-ticularly on activitiee such as education thatdepend on information.

Trends in the use of information technologyare creating new demands on education interms of who is to be educated, when educa-tion occurs, what is to be taught, how it isto be taught, and what it is to cost.In a complex, highly technological society,

slemands grow for quick access to and use oflarge amounts of informatiorder to con-trol economic, social, and political-processes.

'Much of the information preeented in this chapter ie basedon OTA's previous study, Computer-Based National Inform.-tkm Systeme: Thchoology and Public Policy Issues, OTA-CIT-148(Washington. D.C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Asses.-mint, September 1981).

It has been suggested that the creation, use,and communication ofrinformation are essen-tial components of the infrastructure of"postindustrial society" such as that of theUnited States.' As a consequence, many soci-etal functions are completely dependent on in-formation technology. For example:

Airlines use computer networka to control_passenger reservations, schedule equip-ment usage and maintenance, and prepareflight plans; and the Federal Governmentuses a large' computer-based system tocontrol the resulting air traffic.'Banks and other financial institutionsrely completely on computers and ivorld-wide communication networks for manag-ing accounts, clearing checks, exchangingfunds, and providing a wide variety ofnew financial services.4Major Government agencies, such as theInternal Revenue Service and the SocialSecurity Administration, require large,automated information systems to han-dle the accounts of hundreds of millionsof Clients.

'D. Bell; The Coming of Poet-Industrial Society (New York:Basic Books, 1973).

'Airport and Air Thaffic Control System, OTA-STI175(Witshington, D.C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assam-ment, January 1982).

'Selected Ekctronk Funds nwnstar Issuer Privacy, Security,and EquityBackground Paw, OTA-BP-CIT-12 (Washington,D.C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, March1982).

15

16 informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

The operation of national defense dependson complex computer-communication sysitems, both for day-to-day management ofthe military establishment and for com-mand and control of modern sophisticatedweaponry.Multinational corporations depend on in-ternational networks of 'computers forsuch applications as production control,management, and financial administra-tion.

Since these and other users of informationin the United States are relying increasinglyon sophisticated computer and communicationsystems, it is reasonable to anticipate that in-formation technology will have significant ef-fects on the structure and operation of most

of our social institutions. Furthermore, institu-,tions and social processes such as education,which are so dependent on the communicationand use of information, will be most affected.

The basic goals of education are the commu-nication of knowledge and skills, the transmis-sion of culture, and the instilling of basic liter-acy.* Sinee all of these require that educationbe closely linked to information processes, edu-cation will be deeply affected, both in contentand form, by the technological revolution.

Definitions of literacy vary among experts. For purposesof this report, a aimple definition will be wied. Literacy meansthe ability of an individual to engage in the normal modes ofinformation exchange in a society.

Economic and Societal _Impacts ofInformation Technology

The uses of information and the institutionalstructures established to collect and communi-cate it have long historical traditions. Forthousands of years, recordkeeping systemshave been a basic tool for government, com-merce, and finance. They have allowed the for-mation and management of large organiza-tions. Libraries and museums have existed asarchival and reference resources from earliesttimesperhaps even earlier than the fourthcentury B.C., when Alexander the Great builthis library. Education also has always servedbasic societal functions. While the definitionsof education and the institutional structuresselected to provide it have differed over timeand for each particular society, education hasalways entailed transmitting the values, cul-tural background, and basic communicationtechniques (literacy) necessary to function asa member of society.

Technologies such as writing, mathematics,paper, the printing press, and the camera weredeveloped to improve the handling of informa-tion. Over the last lop years there has beena rush Of new,information technologies that

has included the telegraph and telephone,broadcast communication, photocopiers andfacsimile transmission, the computer and itsrelated softwareconsidered, in itself, to bean important technology. These inventionshave directly affected the collection and useof information. For example:

The speed with which information can becommunicated has been increased. Com-munications that less than a century agotook days, weeks, and even months, nowoccur within fractions of seconds.The quantity of information that can becollected, stored, manipulated, and trans-mitted haa been increased. Data storagesystems can hold trillions of bharactersof information that are instantly accessi-ble through a computer. (One trillion char-acters of storage contains informationequivalent to over 1 million books.)Information can be more widely distrib-uted and has become more accessible.Data communication systems provide in-stant access to information and to thetechnology to analyze and use it.

Ch. 2The URI States as an Information Society 17

%am

Scanning electron micrograph of a portion of a prograrnmable logic array with locations for up to 4,000 logic elements.The array was fabricated with the one-mIcrometer FET technology. Reducing the minimum qvIce dimensions to onemicrometer resulted In an Increase in speed of a factor of 3 or 4, and a reduction In powir dissipation by a factor

of 10, as compared with previous FET circuits

The ability to use information to accountfor past actions and to predict futureevents has been improved. The inventionof writing made possible the keeping ofhistorical records. Computers, analyzecomplex statistical models to supportmanagement decisionmaking.

These improvements in the quantitative andqualitative aspects of information handlingwill profoundly affect individuals and organi-zations that communicate and use informationin some of the following ways:

The need for mass literacy: The availabil-ity of printed material to the general pub-lic has not only made mass literacy possi-ble; in the loin run, it has also made itnecessary. It has created a world in whichit is necessary to be literate in order tofully participate in economic, political,and social activities. In fact, mass literacyhas become a basic necessity for economicgrowth.° Now, with electronic media, defi-

or. W. schuiti, Investment in Human Capital (New York TheFres Press, 1971).

2 3

18 Informational Technology and Its knpact on American Education

nitions of literacy must incorporate theability to communicate and use informs-

, tion technology.An altered relationship'between individ-uals and organizations: The challenge ofthe Reformation to traditional church au-

, thority, the demise of the feudal system,the great intellectual spurt of the Renais-sance, and the birth during the 18th cen-tury of political democracy were all due,in part, to the fact that most individualsin society could obtain access to informa-tion and could communicate their ideas.If access to information is further en-hanced by new technologies, individualsand groups may seek to increase their par-ticipation in governmental and organiza-tional processes. If access, on the otherhand, is not enhanced, communicationstechnology might provide a new means bywhich organizationemold social thoughtand cultural mores and exert their author-ity.'Altered structures in organizational de-cisionmaking processes: Technologicalchanges can affect the nature of decisions%the way they are made, and who in anorganization makes them. New patternsof decisionmaking can, in turn, affect rela-tionships between organizations and be-tween organizations and their clients andemployees.'Trends toward centralization or decentral-ization: Overall, the trend in communica-tions during this century has been towardcentralization. For example, more andmore large cities are now served by singlenewspapers, and a few large networksdominate the distribution of broadcasttelevision programs. However, access tolow-cost computers and data communica-tions capabilities can potentially provideorganizations and individuals with theability to tailor applications to their ownneeds and goals.

A. Moshowitz, The Conquest of Will: Information Process-ing in Human Affairs (Reading. Mass.: Addison Wesley, 1976).

'H. Lucas, Why Information .Vstems Fail (New York: Colom-bia Press, 1975).

Thus, the recent provision via cable tel-evision of several neNv networks to servethe interests ,of more specialized audi-,ences and the appearance of small special-ized newspapers serving individual neigh-borhoods may be harbingers of greater di-versity in services and decentralization ofcontrol.Changes in the political process: Instantdomestic and Worldwide communicationschange political behavior and serve toshape public opinion in new ways and innew time frames. Computer& allow large-scale and rapid polling of public attitudesand, through sophisticated mailing sys-tems, the forrnation and coordination ofgeographically distributed special interestgroups. Because they allow for instantpublic reaction to political decisions, someexperts anticipate that new informationtechnologies may bring about a return toa form of, political participation that,al ough involving much larger numbersofeople, is reminiscent of the "townmee ing.Effects on culture: Although the new in-formation technologies will undoubtedlyaffect culture, it is uncleacsaiactly whattheir effect will be. More people have ac-cess to creative products than ever before.And yet the media have, as their criticshave pointed out, often served the lowestcommon denominator of taste. It is alsounclear whether information technologywill serve to increase uniformity or to pro-mote the diversity of the culture and val-ues of society.Intellectual effects: The technology thatsociety uses to codify and transmit ideasmay affect how people conceptualize andtry to solve problems. Some experts haveauggested that information technologymay break a limiting mental mold forcedby writing upon Western thought, andthat it may provide new ways to deal withthe very complex and difficult problemsfacing society.'

'S. Papert, Mindstorms (New Yorks Basic Books, 1980).

Ch 2Th* United States as an information Society 19

Extrapolating the general historical imp'actsthat information technology has had in thepast suggests that modern technologicaltrends may have a number of effects on edu-cation:

The nature of literacy for society is chang-ing, as it did when the printing press wasinvented. While the goal of mass literacy,defined as skill in reading and writing, hasbeen metat least in the developed worldnew goals as to who should be literateand what skills literacy should includemay now appear: ,

1. Who should be literate: Universal liter-acydefined as skill in reading andwriting for all peoplewill have tobecome a societal goal. The growingcomplexity of society, coupled with theautomation of unskilled jobs, will makeit increasingly difficult for semiliterateindividuals to lead useful and produc-tive lives. International economic com-petition and a predicted tighter labormarket in the next few decades willplace a greater premiurn on skilled, pro-ductive laborr Illiteracy is costly to so-ciety not only because it is expensiveto support the unemployable but alsobecause society must forego the socialand economic contributions that the il-literate, hat they been educated, mightotherwise have made.

2. What skills literacy includes: The termliteracy may come to include media lit-eracythe ability not only to receivecritically information presented via ra-dio, television, and film, but also tocommunicate using these media. Whileprograming in these foims has previ-ously been doneby large organizationsof experts, developments such as thevideo cassette, the video disk, and the

Changin EconomicThe U.S. economy has undergone fundamen-

tal changes during this century. A hundredyears ago, the economy was principally agrari-

public.access cable will place a greaterpremium on the ability of individualsto use these technologies in their work,at home, for their social organizations,and for political particiption. Medialiteracy will include computer literacythe ability of individuals to use an in-formition systeM to help them at homeand at work. While individuals will notneed to be experts in computer science,they will need to know how to use com-puter programs and information banksand how to evaluate critically the re-sulta they get.

The rate at- which new information is gen-erated is accelerating. The dominant em-phasis will be on lifelong lesirning, retrain-ing, and updating knowledge, rather thanon schooling that is terminated at an earlyage on completion of a standard curricp-lum.' Educational curricula will increas-ingly focus on learning how to learn ratherthan on learning facts.

-* The organizational structure and behaviorof educational institutions will change.Schools, particularly public schools, areoften large bureaucracies specifically de-signed to collect and transfer informationin an organized fashion. Some expertshave questioned whether they can everadapt organizationally to a new techno-logical envirogment and\ to new socialneeds. They foresee as possible eitlier theemergence of , completely new types ofeducational institutions based on inforina-tion technology, or the radical transfor-mation of existing school?;

'Stanley M. Grabowski, Ilreparing Educators of Adult. (SanFrancisco: Josimiy-Bass, 1981); Charles A. Wederneyer, Learn-in: at the Back Door (Madison, Wis.: University of WisconsinPress, 1981).

Frobe, et al., Taiscommunicatione and Higher Educa-tion, Occasional Paper #8 (Pittsburgh, Pa.: Institut* for HigherEducation of Pittsburgt, 1981).

Base- of the Nationan. Then, for several decades, manufacturingdominated. Now, the service sector predomi-nates, measured both in terms of its contribu-

2.5

20 Informational Technology and Its impact on American Education

tion to the gross national product and in terms\of the size of its labor force. (See table 1.) Theservice sector, as usually defined by econo-mists, includes economic activity that does notresult in a tangible, storable output or necessi-tate a large base of capital' equipment. Giventhis latter categorization, transportation andcommunications are usually classified asindustries rather than services. Education isclassified as a service.

Productivity growth in the service sectorcompared with that in other sectors has beenparticularly low. This relative lag in productiv-

. ity is more significant as the size and impor-tance of gie sector grows. Some experts sug-gest that because of the use of economies ofscale, new management techniques, and infor-mation technology, the service industry is onthe brink of a major improvement in produc-tivity." They argue that, to the extent thatservices are more resistant to such improve-

' ments than are other sectors of the economy,their costs will become too high. Thus, thoseareas of the economy, such as manufacturing,that show growth in productivity will alsoshow wage apncreases reflecting, to some ex-tent, that growth. If similar wage increasestake place in a sector that has not experienceda corresponding improvement in productivity,the real labor costs will grow relativelo thosein other sectors.

This analysis suggests that if educationdoes not improve its productivity at a rate con-sistent with ,the overall improvement of the

"T. Stanbock. Understanding the Service Economy (Haiti.more: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979)

Taw* 1.--Porcontagio Sham of tn.U.S. Economy by Soctor

1961 19761948

EmploymentAgriculture 10.8 6.9 4.2

Industry ., 43.2 38.6 35.1

Service 48.0 54,5 60.7

CINPAgriculture 9.84 4.2 3.1

Industry 48.8 45.0 41.2

Service 43.9 50.8 55.7

SOURCE T Stanbock, Understanding Ma SwWce Economy (Illaitimone JohnsHoehins Whienety Pates. 19711). V Fuchs, 5Ivice Industrial and Economic Growth, MES working papw 211, Stanford

economy, it will face even more severe finan-cial problems than plague it now. In fact, ifother portions of the service sector are aboutto undergo significant increases in productiv-ity, as some observers expect, the pressureson education to improve its pro4uctivity maybe intensified.

The appearance and growth of what someeconomists refer to as the informstion sectorhas paralleled the growth of the service sec-tor. This portion of the economy, comprisedof both service and traditional industries, in-cludes those enterprises that make the ma-chines that handle information, run the com-munications networks, and use technology toprovide information products and services.

An overall analysis of the input/outputstructure of this sector, which was-made for1966," determined that the information sec-tor accounted at that time for over 60 percentof the economy. This study defined the infor-mation sector very broadly and analyzed it atthe national level. It has not been repeated forsubsequent years. Analytical efforts have, in-stead, been directed at refining the analysisand at looking at smaller segments of the econ-omy.

Nevertheless, the original calculations arestill useful in illustrating the importance of in-formation and information technology in theU.S. economy. They also document the growthin the number of U.S. jobs requiring the han-dling of information and information moduli-ery. Because information workers are general-ly assumed to require literacy skills more thanworkers in other types of jobs, these trendssuggest that the country is experiencing a risein the level pf literacy needed to find and holdjobs." The definition of functional literacymay need to be altered to include the abilityto use computer-based knowledge." -

"M. Porat, The InfOrmation Economy, Ph. D. Dissertation(Stanford Calif.: Stanford University, 1978).

"E. ginsberg and G. J. Vojta, "Th. Service Sector of the U.S.Economy,: Scientific American. vol. 244/3. March 1981, pp.48-65.

"It. J. Seidel, It. E. Anderson, and B. Hunter (eds.), amiputerLiteracy (New York: Academic Press. 1982).

Ch. 2The United States as an Information Society 21

Another economic trend is the growini in-formation marketplace. The publishing indus-try has existed since the invention of the print-ing press as a relatively small sector of theeconomy. Now, stimulated by social pressuresand new technological possibilities, it is grow-ing into a large and importpt sector of theU.S. economy." (Some illustrative growth fig-ures for sectors of the information industry areshown in table 2.)

There are several indicators of, this trend.First, even in the current economy, the infor-mation industry is growing at a rate of over20 percent per year. The computer-based dataretrieval market alone is projected to growfrom $1 billion in 1980 to over $6 billion in-1985. Second, very large international corpora-tions such as Westinghouse are buying intothe information business, and large traditionalpublishing houses such as McGraw-Hill are ac-quiringhigh-technology operations in anticipa-tion of their competing in a very different typeof information marketplace in the next decade.

The plan announced by AT&T for entry intothe information business is viewed with con-cern not only by potential equipment manufac-turers and providers of communication lines,but also by newspapers and other traditionalinformation publishers who see AT&T's new

"H. S. Dordick, et al., The Emerging Notwork Marketplace(Los Angeles: Center for Futures Research, Graduate Schoolof Business Administration, University of Southern California,December 1978).

Table 2.Some Representative Growth Figuresfor the information industry

Mainframe computers 1965 1975 1985

Number installed 1 23,200 62,800 77,600Value In billions of dollars $7.65 $33.6 $89.1

Desktop computers 1975 1980 1985

Number installed 4,000 326,000 10,579;000Value in billions of dollars $0.05 $2.4 $36.7

Estimated 1981 gross revnus in billions of dollarsNewspapers $17.79Magazines 3.43On-line data bases 1.0Time shying 2.455Broadcfsting/cable/special communications 28.5Computer software 5.5

Total $58.675NOTE: Figures have been complied from best available information. Estimated

probable error runs 15% to +5%.

SOURCE: LINK. .-.

activities as creating potential competition fortheir businesses. Others rks the potential fornew inforipation services made available by .a restructured, competitive communication in-dustry.

Another indicator of the increased impor-tance of information in the economy is thechanged nature of international economic com-pegtion. The attention of policymakers con-cerned with U.S. industrial strength is nowfocused on competition in innovation. Com-petitive strength is seen as dependent on thedevelopment of new technology, of new' prod-ucts and services based on that technology,*and of new manufacturing techniques to maketho'se products.

27

0'1

ChaPter 3

Implications for EconomicGrowth and Human Capital

The principal goals underlying Federal involvement in education have- his-. torically been: 1) to contribute toward national economic well-being, 2) to assurenatiOnal security, and 3) to provide an equitable distribution of economic oppor-tunities to U.S. citizens. Because fUture Federal education policy will presumablycontinue to be predicated on one or more of these or related goals, OTA examinedthe links between education, technological trends, and these goals.

FindingsStrong evidence exists for linking economicgrowth with the creation of new knowledgeand the transfer of technology into the pro-duction of goods and services. ledgecreates new goods and services, im ovedproduction techniques, and better mment and organizational strategies.

Many experts believe that there is 'a closelink between the level of education and theproductivity of workerseven though sucha relation is complex and difficult to estab-lish analytically.

The link between education, training, andeconomic growth is becoming more criticalbecause of structural shifts in the economytoward the service and information sectors.

While greater access to education and train-ing cannot directly create new jobs and maynot increase overall wage levels, there arestrong poaitiye correlations between work-ers' educational levels and their employabil-ity.

The rate at which automation can be intro-duced and the contribution it makes to thegrowth of productivity will partly dependon the ability to retrain workers for newjobs, either within the same industry or ina new industry. Their ability to be retrainedwill in turn be determined, at least in part,by their levels of literacy and their familiar-ity with information technology.

There is a severe shortage of engineers, com-puter experts, information specialists,' andother trained workers needed to support the-growth both of the information industry it-self and of the use of information technologyin other sectors of society.

The failure of the U.S. education system torespond to the changing needs of the infor-mation society at a rate comparable to thatof foreign competitors may impose seriouseconomic costs in the form of low growthrates and reduced competitiveness in worldmarkets.

Knowledge and GrowthA number of studies have postulated links

between information, technological innova-tion, and economic growth. The relationshipbetween knowledge and economic develop-ment has been studied both in the context of

the U.S. economy' and in that of developing

'E. F. Denison, Accounting for Slower Economic Growth(Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1979); (Kendricksarticle).

25'

28 . informational Technology and its impact on American Education

countries.' In one analysis, nearly two-thirdsof the economic growth that occurred in theUnited States between 1948 and 1973 was at-tributed to increases in the siZe and qualityof the work force and to the development ofnew knowledge. Other studies have examinedthe direct contribution of research and devel-opment (R&D) to economic growth.'

There are several ways in which the links be-tween knowledge and economic growth mayoperate:

Better and more timely information canlead to better organizational structuresand to improved management decisions,which can lower costs by more efficientallocation of resources; to better schedul-ing of production, and lo bettereconomicplanning.Technical innovation leads to new or im-proved products and services and in somecases to the emergence of new industriesthat are more competitive in the market-place. Most of the firms in the Fortune500 deal in products and services that didnot exist a century ago.New technology can lead to more efficientproduction methods that improve menu-facturing productivity. Some anticipatethat- the new computer-based flexiblemanufacturing systems will provide thecritical technological underpinning forU.S. reindustriali,zation.

OTA has found strong 'support not, onlyamong economists but also in the businesscommunity for the view that the availabilityof literate, well-educated workers is an impor-tant determiner of productivity and economicgrowth! The interest that business has shownin the performance of public education, and thegrowing investment that industry has made

'T. W. Schultz, Investment in Human Capital (New York:Free Press, 1971).

'E. Mansfield, "Research and Development, Productivity, andInflation," Science, vol. 209, Sept. 5, 1980, pp. 1091-1093:J. Walsh. "Is R&D the Key to the Productivity Problem?"Science, vol. 211, 13, Feb. 13, 1981, pp. 885-688,

'A. W. Clausen, "The Quality of Public Education," VitalSiisechee, 1981.

2 9

High school students in Oxford, Mass., work with alearning ald that familiarizes them with electrical andelectronic wiring patterns. This helps them prepare forentry-level work In the burgeoning electronics IndustryIn Massachusetts. The school board of this old mill townIn southeast Massachusetts hopes that their creation ofa young labor pool skilled in electronics will help draw

, new Induetry Into the town

in specialized education and training programsare strong indicators of such concern.

Education and training may affect the con-tribution that workers make to productivityin at least three ways. First, education andtraining improves the productivity ofthe workforce if it allows workers to use current pro-duttion techniques More effectively and toadapt more readily to new techniques. Second,the growth rate of new industry is determined,in part, by the availability of individualstrained to fill the new types of jobs created by

Ch. 3-Implications for Economic Growth and Human Capital 27

innovation. Finally, the process of innovationrequires individuals trained to do R&D at all-levels from basic research to productdevelop-ment.

A number of labor economists have sug-gested that the link between education andeconomic growth is becoming more importantbecause ofstructural shifts toward the serviceand information se-cto'rti. Eli Ginzberg andGeorge Vojta state, "Huian capital, definedas the 'skill, dexterity, and knowledge' of thepopulation, has become the critical input thatdetermines the rate of growth of the economyand the wellzbeing of thepopulation. We con-tend thai the competence of management andthe skills of the work force . . . determine theability of enterprises to obtain and utilize ef-fectively other essential resources . . .

'E. Ginzberg and G. J. Vojta, "The Service Sector of the U.S.Ec(nomy," Scientific Amwican. vol. 299, March 1981, pp. 48-5i.

EducationIn this century, particularly since World

War II, there has been a steady increase in thenumber of years of education completed byAmerican workers. This trend is illustrated intable 3..The degree to which this growth ineducation level is accompanied by an increasein the skill levels of jobs held, however, is amatter of some debate. While some see the ex-tension of education as evidence of the expan-sion of skills, others see it as a devaluation ofthe high school and college degree, or, in otherwords, as an inflation of the certification re-quired to obtain work that is no more-andmay even be less-demanding than before',

An increase in job skill requirements Cokildtake place in three ways: I) industrial growthand sectoral shifts in the economy could createmore jobs demanding higher skill levels; 2) theavailability of a more highly trained labor poolcould encourage employers to raise their per-formance expectations, even if the basic job

'Randall Collins, "The Credentials," Society: A HistoricalSociology of Education and Stratification (Now York ACSdalliCPress, 1979).

The suggestion that U.S. economic growthand competitiveness are dependent, in part,on the production of new information and onthe literacy of the work force has serious im-plications for Federal and local educationpolicy. A decline in the performance of theducational system could be costly to U.S.society in terms of lower productivity of thework force; less flexibility for -industry, toadopt new production methods and manage-ment techniques; higher unemployment rates,particularly among the disadvantaged; and de-creased R&D, particularly in the basic sciencesand engineering.

and GrowthTable 3.-Percentage Employment in the BusinssSector by Sex and Years of Education Completed

1948 1959 .1969 1976MaioNo school years completed 444 1.0 0.5 0.3EleMentary, 1-8 - 32.0 21.2High school, 1-4 43.3 48.7 54.7 54.5College, 1-4 - 14.7 19.0 25.7Collage, 5 or more 11..6 3.6 4.7 6.9FirmaloNo school years completed 32.4 0.5 0.2 0.3

'Elementary, -1-8 - 22.5 14.5 8.4High school, 1-4 58.1 63.8 88.6 85.9College, 1-4 - 12.2 15.2 22.7College, 5 or more 11.5 1.0 1.5 2.8SOURCE: E. F. Denison. Accounting for Stowe Ec000rnic Growth (Washington,

D.C.: Brookings institution, 1979).

classifications remain the same; and 3) rapid-ly changing job requirements could place apremium on employees' flexibility and on theirability to be retrained in new skills.

Justifiably or not, education is, generallyspeaking, a major factor in the competition forjobs, and those lacking the requisite educa-tional level are less employable. Unemploy-ment rates by education level are shown in

.

28 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

table 4. Two conclusions are suggested by thedata:

Education is an important selection cri-terion for employers.

More sensitive to fluctuations in overall.employment rates than their more skilledcounterparts, less educated workers aremore likely to lose their jobs when unem-ployment rises, and less likely to get themback when it drops.

Table 4.Unemilloyment Rates by Sex andNumber of Yars of Education Completd

1970 1979

MalesHigh school, 1-3 years 4.8 8.3High school, 4 years 3.4 5.5College, 1-3 years 3.0 4.2College, 4 years or more 1.2 1.8

FemalosHigh school, 1-3 years 6.8 10.4

High school, 4 years 4.6 6.0College, 1-3 years 4.0 4.3College, 4 years or more 2.0 3.0

SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Education, citing BLS data.

Human Capital TheoryHuman capital theory regards expenditure

on education as an investment in improvingthe quality of labor input to production, henceas a factor of production.,Because of the in-vestment foeus, worker income is regarded asthe measure of return. Researchers have dem-onstrated correlations between both currentand lifetime education levels and incomes: Inthe 1960's, human capital theory foimed a ra-tionale for much, of the Federal educationpolicy that ahned at improving educational op-portunity as a means of fighting poverty.'

Most experts agree with the concept that,in many cases, education and training cancreate a more productive worker. However,many raise objections to human capitaltheory, both with respect to the analyticalbasis of the field and to the policies' implica-tions that have been drawn from them. Chiefamong these objections are the following:

The assumption that individuals maketheir decisions about education and careeropportunities based on their reading ofthe labor market is questioned.

. Improvements in the quality of labor andthe resulting increases in productivity arenot necessarily directly reflected in a con-comitant rise in salaries and wages.Hence, the societal payback from furthereducation may be underestimated.

'Chronicle of Higher Education, Mai. 16, 1981, p. 2; G. S.Becker; Human Capital (New York: Cdumbia Univenrity Prue,1975).

Particularly at higher levels of education,individuals may decide to continue theireducation for another year not because itwould increase their lifetime income re-turn, but rather because they want to de-velop special talents and to pursue otherpersonal goals.'According to screening theory, educationdoes not "add value" to labor as such, butmerely serves to prescreen the most ableworkers.° There is a difference of opinionbetween those who advocate screeningtheory and the proponents of human cap-ital theory with respect to how much sig-nificance should be attributed to screen-ing when calculating the return on invest-ment in education.An increase in the social investment forimmoving the quality of the labor pooldoes not necessarily serve to increaseoverall levels of employment or to raisewage levels. Hence, by itself, investmentin education is not an effective strategy,either to raise the income of the disadvan-taged or to increase employment.'°

'S. Rosen, "Human Capital: A Survey of EmpiricalResearch," in ReSearch in Labor Economks (Greenwich, Conn.:JAI Press, 1977), vol. 1, pp. 2-89.

"K. J. Arrow, "Higher Education u a Filter," Journal of Pub-lic Economic^ vol. 2, 1978, pp. 173-216.

The Productivity Problem: Alternatives ibr Action (Wash-ington, D.C.: U.S. Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Jan-uary 1981); L. C. Thurow, The Zorn Sum Society (New York:Basic Books,.1980).

Ch. 3Implications for Economic Growth and Human Capital 29

Need for Technical EducationThe labor Market is too complex to be de-

..scribed in simple terms of oversupply or under-supply. It can be generally said, however, thatwhile the American work force does not appearto be undereducated in terms of the years ofschooling or in terms of the number of highschool and college graduates heeded to meetoverall employment requirements, there doseem to be deficiencies in what students have

school and severe shortages of grad-trt:sed

intrained in certain job areas. And while

the demand for traditional full-time, degree-oriented education may be leveling off or evenslackening, the demand for specific or contin-uing job-related education is growing. In par-ticular, the trend in the U.S. economy towarda growing servid and information sector iscreating an increased demtmd for education inengineering and science, especially the cota-puter sciences, at all levels. If these needs arenot met, U.S. economiO growth and interna-tional competitive position may decline.

The clients for technical education can belooselY categorized into three groups, accord-ing to their respective needs:

1. The general work forceworkers in all oc-cupational categories, from blue collar tothe professional, who increasingly need togain literacy in information technology.

2. Information professionalsspecialistswho progra-opekate, repair, and in otherways directly support information prod-ucts and services.

3. Information scientists and engineerstechnical experts whe conduct research,develop new products and applications, orteach at the college level.

rheruf is a constant need to replaoe highly skilled techniciansin the military service. The 81245 who appears here in the FortGordon, Ga., Signal Corps Center, has been in the Army foralmost 9 years, and is due for a promotion into a supervisoryposition. As such time, his mastery of the infopmationcontained In the field radio manuals on top of the cabinet,

will be essentially lost to the Army

Information LiteracyEconomists, educational experts, and busi-

ness leaders assert that there is a growingneed in U.S. society for at least a minimumlevel of literacy in science, engineering, math-

ematics, and, in particular., information tech-nology."

"Schultz, op. cit.; R. J. Seidel, R. E. Andorson, and B. Huntor(ode.), Compute! Literacy (Now York: Academic Prow, 1982);

3')

_

30 informational Technology and its impact on American Education

As stated by the president of the Bank ofAmerica:

. . . increasingly, business is looking for andthe better jobs are going to,,individuals withsome modicum of computer literacy. Basiccommunication and data-processing skills areamong the hottest commodities i\the em-ployment sector today."The shift in the United States from a man-

ufacturing and agricultural economy to an in-formation and service economy is creatingmore jobs with information handling require-ments. The occupational mix in tin) service sec-tor is compared with that in other sectors infigure 1. Furthermore, traditional jobs will in-creasingly require the handling of automatedequipment, a trend that is alreadk visible inthe office. With the advent of automated infor-.mation systems, the skills required of a cler-ical staff are changing. Moreover, the job skillsof a secretary in the wired office of the futurewill be substantially different from what theyare today. In fact, the concept of "secretary"may disappear altogether.

A similar trend may also occur in the fac-tory, where robotics and other forms of com-puter-aided manufacturing are beginning totransform the way that goods are produced.There, automation will require that the workerlearn new skills oriented toward operation andcontrol of computerized equipment. (Some ex-perts maintain that few of the current 20 mil-lion jobs in the manufacturing sector will re-main two decades from now.)

Faced with these pressures for a more tech-nically literate work force, the schools are ap-parently Jailing short of supplying thoseneeds.

OvertIll achievement levels of high schooland college graduates, as measured by theNational Assessment of Educational Prog-ress, are steadily falling. In particular, de-

kontinued from p 29)R. J. Marano, "Educational Disenfranchisement in a Technolog-ical Age," Vital Speeches, 1982, p. 222.

"Clausen, op. cit.

Nun, 1.ShIfts In EmpIiiyment1929 i

Total goods.AgricultureMining andconstruction

Manufacturing

Services

1048

Total goodsAgricultureMining andconstruction

Manufacturing

Services

1969

Total goodsAgriculture'Mining arid

tonstructionManufacturing

Services

1977

Total goodsAgricultureMining rdidconstruction

Manufacturing

Services

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 BO 90

Percent of labor force

Shifts In employment since 1929 are charted for the goods-producing Industries and the service sector. The service sector in-

cludes distributive services such as communications, utilities andwholesale trade; retail trade; consumer services such asrestaurants, dry cleaning and recreation; producer services such asaccounting, banking and legal work, and nonprofit and governmentservices including health,.education,and national defense.

SOURE: E. Oinzbirg and a J. Volta, "TM Ureic* Sootof of filo U.S.Econonii," Scientific American, Minh MI.

dines in achievement have been noted in sci-ence and mathematics."Historical trends over the last decade in the

achievement levels of 'students for selectedsubject areas are shown in table 5. The well-documented decline in the science literacy

"Nationll Assessment of Educational Progress, Throe Na-tional Assessments of &LAMP, 111pOrt 08-5-00 (Denver, Coki.:Educational Commission of the States, 1978); National Amuse-

ment of Educational Progress, Changes in MathematicalAchievement report 09-MA-01 (Denver, Colo.: EducationalCommission of the States, 1979): Sciatica Education Databook.1980 report, SE 80-3 (Wuhington, D.C.: National &Imre Foun-dation, 1980).

33

Ch 3-1mOlicationtAr Economic Growth and Human Capital 31

Office design model for InformatiOn gathering and communications is in use In many modem offices and has changedthe design concept of many offices throughout the,business cominunIty

Table b.Achievement Test Score Averages, 1972-79 (numbers In thousands)

1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979Awing* for all achkwornant Mats 526 621 533 531 531 533 501 521English composition , 516 517 517 515 532 516 512 514Mathematics Level I 541 537 545 545 548 547 541 537American history and social studies 492 498 498 494 493 492 495 480Biology 535 532 545 544 643 543 544 547Chemistry 568 572 581 569 587 574 577 575Mathematics Level II 660 865 006 885 687French 539 544 560 553 583 553 552 554Spanish 530 539 560 544 547 535 584 542Literatu re , 522 525 526 521 522Physics 601 592 593 591 580German 547 555 551 553 550European history and world cultures 521 531 5

1

507 516Latin 514 524 5'ek 508 524Average SAT scores for takers of

achievement tests*Verbal 501 504 507 508Mathematics 553 553 554 554

OWs not computed prior to 1571. Data Mr 19713 are estlmated from scores of Indh4dual achievement testa for thet year,

SOURCE: Science Education Databook, National Science Foundation; derived from the Admissions Testing Program of theCollege bard, National Cottage Sound Seniors, f977, p. s, rya PP. 13-14, 1974 PP. 13.14.

rates of students does not necessarily implya failure of the schools themselves. Declinesin student performance might stem from socialfactors that are independent of the classroom.Moreover, because the schools have had to ex-pand to, accommodate an increasing numberof students, some of whom have come from

disadvantaged backgrounds, it may be thatliteracy rates have declined because moreselectivity factors are operating now than inthe past.

There has been an insufficient response byschools to the need for increased mathe-,matical, technical, and computer literacy.

32 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

A sociologist studying how schc,ols in a dis-trict heavily populated by high-technology in-dustry reisponded to the increased needs fortechnological literacy conducted that theseschools have in fact moved aviay from a sci-ence and technology curriculum." The Nation-al Science Foundation (NSF) and Departmentof Education, in their report to the Presidenton science and technology education, concludedthat the secondary schools were not carryingout their responsibilities effectively." Thereport notes that the divergence is wideningbetween the amounts of science and mathe-matics education made, available to the fewwho wish to become professionals and to thosewho do not, a divergence further increased bya general lowering of performance standardsand expectations. A shortage of mathematicsand physical science teachers and the erosionof the teacher support system weaken the ca-pacity of the schools to provide quality in-struction to all students, majors and non-majors alike.

e'Elizabeth Useem, "Education and High Technology In-dustry: The Case of Silicon Valley," unpublished August 1981,Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Education, North-eastern University, Boston. 'Mass.

''Science and Engineering Education for the 1980's andBeyond (Washinton D.C.: National Science Foundation and De-partment of Education, October 19801.

The NSF report to the President also ex-amined the status of technical literacy in othercountries. To the extent that there is a connec-tion be*een technical literacy, economic pro-duCtivity and,growth, and national security,the comparisons should be worrisome. Exam-ining the state of science and engineering edu-cation in West Germany, Japan, and the Sovi-et Union, the report observes:

. . . these countries are educating a substan-tial majority of their secondary school popula-tion to a point of considerable scientific andtechnological literacy, in part because theyapparently believe that such literacy is impor-tant to their relative international positions.In addition, the report states that the Soviet

Union has elementary and secondary level curricula in science and matheniatics that "sur-pass that of any other country." (A Britishstudy of engineering education noted that inJapan, even high school students majoring inthe fields of humanities and liberal arts obtainenough knowledge in science andmathematicsto attend engineering school and compete sue-cessfully.)"

'Engineering Our Fbturs report of ths Committeeof Inquiryinto the Engineering Profession. Her Majesty's Statement Of-fice, London, January 1980.

Information ProfessionalsThe Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has

prepared a study of the growing demand forprofessionals trained specifically in computerskills.'7 Its estimates, shown in table 6, indi-cate that 685,000 new jobs will be created and250,000 replacement openings will occur overthe next decade, creating a need for nearly 1million new professionals trained in computerskills.

The estimates of BLS are probably conserv-ative, eince only traditional computer job cate-gories were examined. Other types of jobs like-ly to become important c:,rer the next decade

"Empkrymant Trend. in Cbmputee Occupations, Bulletin2101 (Washington, D.C.: Depatmsnt of Labor. Bureau of LaborStatistics, October 1981).

Table 6.RequIremente tor Computer Specialists(data in thousands)

Occupation 1900 Projected 1990.

Systems analysts 243 400Programers 341 500Equipment operators 522 850Data entry technicians 268 230Service technicians 831' 160

Total 1,456 2,140DOURCE Emptoyment Trends In Computer Occupations. 11011911n 2101

(Wlioningtoo, D.C.: Dopalmont of Labor, iiireati of Labor Stattetles,

Ootobsf 1901).

include design engineers to create new typesof microelectronic chips, industrial engineerstrained in computer technology to supportwhat some experts see as a necessary surgein industrial automation, information special-

Ch 3Implications for Economic Growth and Human Capital 33

lists to help the average user make effectiveuse of automated data systems, marketingand management personnel for the emerginginformation industry, and content producersfor entertainment and information services.

OTA was unable to find any reliable esti-mates of the projected growth of these typesof jobs. However, these jobs will no doubt addto the total demand projected by BLS of2,140,000 specialists by 1990. These numbersare significant because all of these jobs requireindividuals with similar types of knowledgeand work Thus, employers will be com-peting to fill such jobs from the same limitedpool of information specialists.

Against the requirement of nearly 1 millionnew jobs, NSF projects that there will be atotal of 157,000 baccalaureates and masters*level graduates in the computer professions.Projections of community college and publicand private vocational education graduatesover the next decade have not been made. Inthe academic year 1977 to 1978, these schoolsproduced about 67,000 graduates trained inthe computer field.

Several observations can be made:

~The enhancement of productivity in thecomputer field will likely affect jobs at thelowest levels first. For instance, advancesin programing languages may decreasethe need for entry-level program coders.However, neither BLS nor NSF examinedthe structure of these jobs in any dethil;furthermore, they did not look at trendsin skill requirements.-Some of the jobs included in the BLS es-timates do ndt req Cure college degrees.While no estimates have been made of thenumber of jolcrequiring lesser skills inproportion tp -the total number of jobs,they are pfobably concentrated in thecategories of data entry, equipment opera-tion, and repair. Some low-level program-ing jobs may also be available.The production of entry-level computerscience and engineering graduates will,need to be imstained during a period when

the number of people of traditional collegeage will be growing more slowly and mayconsist of an increasing proportion of ed-ucationally disadvantaged students.It is possible that, assuming no decreasein levels of support for vocational educa-tion, the community college and voca-tional programs may be able to meetmany of these needs. It is noteworthy,however, that some concern has been ex-pressed by business about the mismatchbetween current vocatiohal programs andthe needs of industry'. (See ch. 6 for a dis-cussion of vocational. education and in-dustrial trItining.)Since computers are a relatively new tech-nology, the industry has had to live withpersonnel shortages from the start. Oneresponse has been to hire graduates fromOther fields and ttain them in computersilence and engineering. All the majorcomputer firms have extensive trainingprograms, an approach that is less feasi-ble for smaller sized 'companies,The rate at which computer science andengineering training programa can growmay be limited not only by the existingshortage of experts but also by the factthat, with salary scales that are un-competitive in comparison- with privateindustry, educational institutions may be'unable to hire qualified faculty.The generally inadequate educationalpreparation at the secondary level couldreduce the pool of potentially qualifiedcollege entrants, an eventuality whichcould compel colleges and universitiea tolower admission standards for computerscience majors and to require extensiveremedial programs at the undergraduatelevel.

The U.S. position in relationship to othercountries is also unfavorable. As shown intable 7, of the four Western industrializedcountries examined, the United States pro-duces the fewest number of engineers rafts-ured as a percentage of the relevant age group.The percentages of engineers produced in each

36

34 informational Tochnology and its impact on Amorican Education

Table 7.Percentages of Engineering Graduatesand Trends in Shares of World Trade

Engineering Share of world trade

Country graduates 1963 1977

United States 1.6% 21% 16%

United Kingdom 1.7% 15% 9%

West Germany 2.3% 20% 21 %

Japan 4.2% 8% 15%

SOURCE National Science Foundation

InformationDoctorate-level graduates in engineering

and science are needed to support innovationan4 growth in a high-technology society byconducting research that builds a foundationfor new development, conducting applied re-search and product development, and staffingcollege-level computer science and engineeringprograms. NSF found that the most seriousshortages of Ph. D.'s are in computer sciencesand in engineering, the two areas that are atthe leading edge of technological growth. Theproduction of Ph. D.'s in the computer sci-

ences and in engineering has not grown signif-icantly over the last decade. In fact, in the caseof engineering, it has dropped. The situationmay be even worse than the numbers indicate,since NSF estimated that in some depart-ments nearly half the engineering graduatestudents are foreign nationals. While some for-

eigners may stay in the United States andenter the U.S. labor pool, others will return totheir native countries.

Several factors have been mentioned as un-derlying the Ph. D. shortage:

country correlates directly with the growth intheir share of international trade over the lastdecade. While this is not proof of a cause-effectrelationship, it does suggest that one mayexist.

ScientistsEngineering programs are experiencingrepercussions from an oversupply of twodecades ago followed by strong studentantipathy in the late 1960's and 1970's.Computer science programs have experi-enced their strongest growth pressures ina time of general retrenchment in aca-demic budgets.A shortage of top-level, research-orientedfaculty prevents the growth of graduateprograms; 10 percent of the faculty open-ings in computer science were unfilled in1980.High private sector salaries and tightbasic research Junding are drawing thebest faculty out of the classrooms andlaboratories.High salaries for programers, analysts,and engineers at the baccalaureate andmaster levels are attracting studentsaway from Ph. D. programs.

Chapter 4

Trends in Information Technology

Electronics technology in general has evolved rapidly over the last few decades,but the changes now taking place in communications, computers, and video tech-nology are, perhaps, the most profound.

FindingsThe next decade will see a wide assortmentof new information technology products andservices offered to the consumer. Many ex-isting products and services, such as thetelephone or television set, will be alteredand enhanced by incorporating microelec-tronics technology.

These new products and services are beingprovided by a rapidly growing business sec-tor called the information industry. Thissector is composed of both new firms ex-perienced in technology, and some tradi-tional publishing and entertainment cm-panies that are adapting to technologicaladvances.

While it is not possible to predict with cer-tainty which of these products will succeedin the marketplace, it is clear that a wealthof new technology will be available to the

home, school, and business. Many of theseproducts and services will, at least initial-ly, be directed to upper-income consumers.

Educational users are liot likely to stimulatethe development of technology specificallyoriented to their needs. Rather, they will useproducts and services designed to serveother consumer markets such as businessand entertainment.

New ruins in the information industry mayplay key roles as new providers of educa-tional hardware and curricula. Curriculamay also be provided by a few traditionaltextbook publishers that are moving intonew information technology markets.

Automated work stations, such ae wordprocessors, are beginning, to incorporatetraining and job assistance software.

CommUnicationsSeveral new types of communication tech-

nologies are being developed and installed.They will offer the following improved capa-bilities:

The cost of communications, particularlyhigh-speed, long-distance data transmis-sion, will continue to drop. s

Users will have a variety of communica-tion services available to serve differentneeds.Communications networks will be easierto use, so thatpusers can build distributednetworks of mterlinked computers andterminals.

Much larger volumes of data can be car-ried over the lines.An international data communicationsnetwork is evolving that will allow the es-tablishment of high-speed communicatienlinks between virtually any two points onthe globe.

Specific communications technologies con-tributing to this picture are two-way cable,sateilite communication, digital telephone net-works, new local loop distribution technolo.gies, and new broadcast technologies, such asthe direct broadcast satellite and the low-power broadcast.

9 -

37

38 Informational Technology and its im Act on Amrican Education

CableCable television transmits the signal to a tel-

evision receiver directly through a wire ratherthan through air waves. Its principal advan-tages are better reception, the ability to directspecific signals to specific receivers, and theavailability of more channels for use.

Originally viewed simply as an entirmashared by a community, usually in an areawith reception problems or with limited localservice, some cable systems have been in placefor over 30 years, and their growth has beenslow. Cable now, howev,er, seems to havepassed a critical threshold and is growingrapidly. This growth is spurred by the availa-bility of a number of new services and.in theview of some, by the deregulation of the cableindustry. The number of past and projectedinstallations of cable in homes and the numberof locil community franchises for new cablenetworks to serve them are shown in table 8.

The principal technological differences be-, tween older and new cable tiystems are the

numbers of channels and two-way access.Older cable inaiggations provide ohly a smallnumber of cherels into tilt home, in some

cases, less than 12. Some modern systems nowbeing installed provide over 100 channels. Ithas been estimated that by 1990 over 50 per-cent of the homes served, by cable will haveaccess to more than 30 channelsi This addi-.tional channel capacity is important for educe-tional purposes, since it implies the potentialavailability of a wider variety of programingaimed at narrower audiences (called narrow-casting). The content of television program-ing no longer must be determined by a limitednumber of channels serving a mass market.

Two-way access means that in addition toreceiving programing from the cable centerthe "head-end"the user has a communica-tion channel back to the center. In currenpsystems such as the Qube system in Colum-bus, Ohio, the viewer has a hand-held key-board through which he can make responsesto program inquiries. Some two-way systemsallow the connection of security devices suchas fire or burglar alarms and meters that canbe read remotely for utility billing.

'LINK, New Eiectrimk Media Program.

Table 8.The Growth of Cabl Television in,the United States

_Operating systemsTotal subscription households

1955 1960 1985 1970 1975 19430 1985

400150,000

640650,000 ;\

1,3521,275,000

2,4140

4,500,0003,606

9,800,0004,225

16,000,0006,000

3,000,000

SOURCE LINK

Satellite CommunicationIn slightly over a decade, communication

satellites have become a major component ofthe national and international communicationnet*ork. The past and projected growth ofcommunication satellite usage for a variety ofservices is shown in table 9. These projectionsof growth depend on assumptions about whatnew services may be developed and about howmuch satellite capacity may be available.

Tablio 9.Projected Demand for SatelliteCommunications in Number of Transponders

1985 1990 1995

Data 124 74 117

Voice 288 660 1,008-Video-conferencing 20 100 200Vldeo-tlevlslon 100 200 225

Total 432 1,034 1,550

NOTE ProOnnlons vary Oniony

SOURCE U S Satonno Systems Inc Filing &fore FCC, Nov 23. 19111

3

SAS-Ch. 4Trends In Information Technology 39

Availability is affectedsby technical, economic,and regulatory factors that are independentof the existence of a potential market.

Different etudi5have resulted in striking-ly different estimates of communication sat-ellite usage. The numbers shown in table 9are estimates based on these studies and arethus useful only to indicate trends.

The growth of communication satellites isclosely connected with that of cable systems.

Satellites stimulated the development of newtypes of television networks formed specifical-ly to serve cable subscribers with specializedprograming in such areas as news, sporte, re-ligion, minority interests, niovies, and finearts. This programing is distributed over acombination of satellite and land communica-tion lines to the cable center, where it is thenredistributed to the subscribets' homes.

Digital Telephone NetwOrkTlie basic technology of the telephone net-

work and its use is changing. The -principalshift is from an ana/orbased system to adigital.based one. In analog transmistion, thehuman voice (or any sound pattern) is trans-formed into electrical wave form, similar to theway music is stored on a record as a series ofwavy lines. Digital transmission, on the otherhand, encodes the information as a series ofdiscrete pulses. In.a manner similar to that ofMorse code, different sequences of pulses rep-resent different numbers. The sound wave isencoded as a series of numbers and then con-verted into sequences of electrical pulses onthe line.

The shift to digital transmission will pro-foundly affect both the potential uses of thenetwork for data transmission and the typesof sophisticateid communication services thatcan be provided. Digital technology allows thetransmission lines to carry more informationat higher rates. Moreover, transmission ismore accurate. Distortion of analog signalsdoee not usually-affect normal voice conver-sation; however, computer data transmissionis far more demanding. Digital coding allowsfor error correction.

The digital conimunitations network com-bined with the presence of computers, bothwithin the network and at the terminal ends,will provide a basis for a wide array of newcommunication services that unite the com-munication of information with the ability to

store and process it. Most electronics technol-ogy on which the tetephone network is becom-ing dependent is digital. Central office switch-ing is computer,baeed, as aie most new PBX(Private Branch Exchange)*systems on themarket. A new generation of telephones basedon digital microcomputer electronics is alsoappearing.

A service already being offered ,is "packet-switched" data transmission, which is de-signed specifically to carry data between acomputer and either another computer oPacomputer terminal. In this type of systetn,digital information is packaged in small piecescalled packets. A packet contains informationabout the source and destination of the dataand the relationship of that piece to the wholemessage. The packets are transmitted sep-arately through the network, sometimes tak-ing different paths, depending on which pathsare free at the moment.

The telephone network was originally de-signed for human conversation, not for com-puter data transmission. That the require-ments of these two types of communicationare significantly different isphown in table 10.Packet switching systems incorporate com-puters into the netvork in such a way as tomake it far more efficient for data transmis-sion. It is.cheaper, faster, more accurate, andeliminates some incompatibilities between thevarious types of equipment on the network.

4 u

40 informational Technology and Its impact.on American Education

Table 10.Chief Charactedstics ofVoice v. Data Communication

Voice Data

Transmissionspeed Low

Characteristics ofmenage Infrequent bursts

of dataLength Of time

connected tonetwork Minutes Hours :

Sensitivity todistortion Very low Very high'

SQURCE: Mc. of Tochnology Assessment.

Very higt0-..

Nearly constantuse of line

Packet systems, because they lease tele-phone lines from AT&T and produce a dif-ferent type of service for their own customers,are called "value-added carriers." They areunder Federal Communication Commission(FCC) regulation. Other future services thatlink computers and communication lines willnot be so clearly classifiable as common car-riers, since computers within the network andat its nodes will provide services that look likedata processing and storage. For this reason,

- they may not be regulated.It has not been completely decidedeither,

by the courts, by the regulators, or by the

marketplacewhich of these advanced serv-ices the telephone companies will be allowedto provide in competition with other com-

. panies in the information business, and whatthe rules of competition will be. The implica-tions of the recent reorganization of AT&T,agreed on between AT&T and the U.S. Depment of Justice, are still not clear, althouthe telecommunications and informationides marketplace will be affected. Con essmay wish to legislate in certain areas f tele-.communications policy that it still f Is to beunresofved.

Digital data communication services havebeen particularly important to higher educa-tion, which has been experimenting with theiruse to form nationwide computer networks.For example, the Edunet system facilitatesthe ^exchange of educational computer pro-grams and the sharing of unused computerresources among institutions. Under sponsor-ship of the National Science Foundation,university computer selence departments areforming a network of their departmental edu-cation and research computer systems to allowscientists all over the country to shake pro-grams, resources, and ideas, and even to workon joint research projects.

Local Distribution NetworksA local exchange is' that part of the telecom-

munications network that provides point2to-point ,pervice within a given geographical area,

- ranging from a single office building to an en-tire metropolitan area. The telephone companyhas historically been the provider of this serv-ice; however, competitors, stimulated by de-regulation to make use of new 'technology, arenow developing technologies that pr mise tochange the economies and form of loa datatransmission.

Thus, for example, some experts predictthat as an outgrowth of the potentially largecapacity of cable transmission technology, thenext stage of dable services will be the proVi-sion of full two-way data txansmission services

within local areas. Some channels of two-waycable service will be withheld from generalhome use and sold to Government agencies,school systems, and balkinesses to form theirown private cable-based communication net:works. Local franchises in a few areas (e.g., theNew Orleans, La., agreement with Cox Cable)are already providing for this type of facility.'

Other firms are experimenting with packetcommunication systems that use broadcastmedia. Networks for interoffice communica-tion are also being develolvd, principally byfirms interested in the office automation

'Cable TV's Third Wave: Local Broadband CommunicationServices, NRIK vol. 2, 6. LINK, New York, 1981.

Ch 4Trends In Information Tedhnology 41

market which wiQmake it possible for dif-ferent types of 'coiliputer equipment locatedin different parts of a building to communicatewith one another, transferring data and proc-essing work as needed. Finally, a new form ofbroadcast transmission, called cellular racilb,will greatly increase the availability and useof mobile telephone communication.

Both regional and office technologies prom-ise a number of benefits to educational users:

they will provide a mechanism to distributeprograming among schools in a district orwithin a school; they will facilitate the shar-ing of expensive resources; and they will alloweducational services to be directed outside theschoolto homebound students, to studentsWith special needs and interests, and to voca-tional students at their workplaces.

New Broadcast TechnologiesA number of recently developed communica-

tion technologies will make new services avail-able for the distribution of programing. Whilemost of the industry is focusing on applica-tions in the entertainment market, these serv-ices will also have important potential educa-.tional use.

Direct Broadcast SatelliteIn a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) system,

a satellite transmjts a program directly to a- receiver in the home or office, bypassing the

intermediate, step of using cable. Several com-panies have applied to FCC for permission tooffer this service, and, if approved, it wouldbecome available toward the end of the 1980's.

The applicants have different views of the. forms a DBS service might take, ranging fromtraditional pay television . to new videotechnologies such as high-resolution televi-sion.* One applicant would use it as a morehighly developed form of network transmis-sion to cable and other redistributors, ratherthan to home consumers. It is noteworthy thatat least one applicant, COMSAT, has includedan educationd channel in its proposal. If avail-able, DBS could be a relatively inexpensive

*A television receiver "draws" its picture as a number of dotson the screen. Its resolution, the fineness of detail that can bediiplayed, is fixed by decadee-old transmission standards. Thehigher resolution displays that occur in computer graphics sys-tems are technically' feasible. Because more information mustbe transmitted to produce more imago detail, substantiallygreater bandwidth is needed for transmission.

means of distributing educational programing,particularly in rural areas where providingadequate education and other social servicesis still a costly and difficult process.

A number of market, technological, and reg-ulatory issues, some of them international inscope, must be resolved before a DBS systemcan become operational. Many questions re-main about the potential utilitk and marketfor such types of services. Will DBS simplycompete with current cable offerings, and ifso, what are its advantages? Would high-reso-lution television -find a viable market? Arespecial provisions needed to encourage its usefor Stich publit services as education? Final-ly, many users are competing for the increas-ingly fewer available frequencies of the elec-tromagnetic spectrum and for orbital "park-ing places" for satellites.** Would current orpotential uses of these resources allocated toDBS be more productive, more economical:orof greater value to society?

Low-Oower Broadcast. .

In 1980 FCC began to consider applicationsfor licenses to establish low-power televisionstations. Such stations broadcast with re-stricted power that limits their range to a fewmiles (10 to 15 miles or even less).

**Broadcasting equipment such as satellites transmit theirinformation on an assigned radio frequency. When this frequen-cy is being used for one purpose, no other use of the same fre-quency can be tolerated in geographical areas where the twosignals might interfere with one another.

42 informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

,It is estimated that low-power Stations will

require a relatively small capital investmentto set up, possibly as little as $5,000. Further-more, since the stations have a restrictedrange, many more licenses can be grantedwithin any geographical region. FCC's statedpurpose for promoting low power is to providegreater diversity of ownership and program-ing than that traditionally available over therestriqted number of broadcast channels bur-rently serving an area. The advantages of lowentry cost and license availability may makelow-power stations attractive as a medium fordistributing educational programing and pro-viding other public services,

Low-power stations can be .connected andused to distribute programing from,a centralsource Similar to the way that Cable operatesnow. Programing can be distributed by satel-lite or by less exotic means, such as by, mail-ing video cassettes. A network of inexpensivelow-power stations could serve as an econom-ical way to provide television broadcast toregions with low population density. For ex-ample, the Alaskan Public Broadcasting Com-mission has authorized an experimental net-work of low-power stations to serve the res-idents of Bethel, Alaska Similar systems arealso being developed in Canada to serve re-mote northern regions.

CoinputersThe fundaniental technofogical base for com-

puter hardware has undergone revolutionarychanges over the last decade thite are expectedto continue in the next. In 20 years, computerdesigners have advanced from using vacuumtubes, through solid-state transistors, to usingmicroelectronic integrated circuits on singlesilicon chips the size of a dime. Researchersare now developing the -ability to print elec-tronic circuits in the sub-micron (less than 1millionth of an inch) range.

These developments have had an enormousinfluence on the way computers are used andon *rho uses them. A mass market for com-puters and computer software has developedthat serves retail consumers. Where computerownership and operation used to be restrictedto large, expert organizations, it now poten-tially extends to millions of homes, smallbusinesses, and schools. Contributing to thistrend is the fact that the cost of computinghas dropped steadily and rapidlyto the pointthat so-called desktop computers can be pur-chased for no more than a few thousand dol-lars. These small machines have the capabili-ty of computers that two decades ago sold forhundreds of thousands of dollars, and it is an-ticipated that their price will continue to drop.

In addition, networks of computers nowallow the owners of even a small computer togain access to special resourceshardware,software, or data basesand enable them tocommunicate amcng themselves. Moreover,software, which instructs the computer howto do specific types of work, is becomingavailable in the commercial market. In thepast, computer operators were faced with theproblem of developing most software them-selves, an expensive task that required com-puter expertise. Now, there are enough userswith similar computer hardware and needs toform an attractive market for software.

Other consumer devices that use microcom-.puter technology to increase the capabilitiesof tradidonal consumer products such as type-writers, automobile carburetors, televisionsets, or thermostats are also being marketed.In some cases, entirely new products, such ascomputer video games, are being developed.However, these are not designed to be usedas computers.

These general technological trends are resulting in the availability of a number of spe-cific products.

4 3

Ch. 4Trends In Information Technology 43

Desktop ComputersDesktop, or personal, computers are small

machines that retail for prices rangihg from-lees than a thousand to a few thousand dollars.They are based on microelectronic technology,using inexpensive memory and computerchips commonly available on the market Mostcurrent desktop computers are based on oneof two basic chip designs that use an 8-bit'Word as their fundamental unit of informa-tion.* Newer models are appearing, however,that use a more recently developed 16-bit wordchip. (Larger word-size generally results infaster computation and more memory direct-ly to the machine.)

The owner of a deskthp computer hes a wideviriety of attachments available. Theseripherals' allow the computer to perform var-ious tasks-, . as printing results, drawinggraphs, co n e . cating over the telephoneline, storing information (e.g., on magnetictapes or disks), and even generating musicalsounds. While the computer manufacturersthemselves offer a selection of peripheraldevices, many have been designed and mar-keted by independent firms. The role playedby these small independent firms has undoiibt-e4Jr stirmilated innovation in the small m-puter field and, by developing new app a-tions, accelerated the growth of the market.

Over the last 5 years,. the structuAof themarket has undergone substantial changes.Desktop computers were originally developedand sold by small entrepreneurial firms siichas Apple, one of the most successful to date.However, an unexpectedly broad consumer/market rapidly developed, and in response,larger, more consumer-oriented firms enteredit. Tandy Corp., for example, entered thedesktop computer market with a machinecalled the TRS 80. While not a computer coin-pany, Tandy had a national network of retailoutlets-Radio Shack-through which thesmall computers could be sold to consumers

*An 8-bit word is a quantity of information roughly largeenough to contain a single alphabetic or numerical character.A 18-bit word can contain twice u much information.

interested in electronics. This companybecame a major competitor in the market.

Atari, originally a small firm manufactur-ing video games, but now a subsidiary ofWarner Communications Co.:followed soonafter. Most recently, giant firms such as IBM,Xerox, and Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC)have entered the market. The growth of thismarket is continuing, albeit at a slower pace,stimulated by use of computers for entertain-ment and games,.. education, household man-agement,. and hobbies (e.g., computer-gen-erated art or music).

Another market, originally unanticipated, isthat of the small business user. It started slow-

prin-cipally, because professional users wereoften nonexperts who needed more relihble as-sistance and better software than the manu-facturers were originally willing to provide.However, growth of the business market hasbeen rapid, and most experts expect that itwill predominate in this decade.

Finally, many manufacturers see the educa-tion market as one with great potential. Ap-ple, Atari, and Tandy have set up nonprofit

2 Soften, selection available At a Yonkers, N.Y., store

4,i

44 InfOnnatienrd Technology and its impact on American Education

organizations intended to encourage the edu-cational use of computers. (The past and pro-jected growth of the desktop market is sum-marized in tables 11 and 12, and fig. 2.) -

Growing along with the desktop computerindustry are the firms that provide the pro-grams for these devices. Nearly all of thesecompanies are new, started by one or a fewprogramers with a bright idea. Their packagedprograms make the computer useful, andtherefore attractive, to most customers. Giventhe current size and expected growth of thepersonal computer market, a single successfulprogram can make a firin's fortun9 and estab-lish it' in the business. Like the independentperipheral industry, such software companieshave been a major force in expanding the useof desktop computers. For example, the avail-ability of VISICALC, a budgeting and plan-ning program offered by Visicorp, has beencited as the principal reason that somebusinesses bought desktop systems. Similar-ly, the availability of sophisticated word-processing and accounting packages hasopened the business market to smallcomputers.

In some ways the small computer softwarebusiness resembles that of traditional bookpublishing. A software company often pur-chases rights to distribute packages- writtenby independent programers. The comioany,which natty also assume the costs of testing

Table 11.U.S. Installed Base of PersonalComputers by Market Sector' (units In thousands)

1982 1983 1984 1985 1966

Homo/hobby 700 1,327 2,357 3,407 4,798Business/professional .. 1,236 2,345 3,975 6,025 8,428

Total 1,936 3,872 6,332 9,432 13,228&saw on IOC Survey of Desktop Computing.

SOURCE: UNK.

Figure 2.Installed Bass MicrosTotal Universe and. School installed

SOURCE: LINK.

and documenting the program, handles all thestandard publication jobs of production andmarketing: Some programers are beginning tobe wellMown. Their names are attached tothe software packages just as those of authorsare to books; and, just as with books, cus-tomers often show preferences for softwarewritten by pakticular programers.

Hand-Held ComputersThe hand-held computer is somewhat larger

than a normal pocket calculator, contains amidrocomputer chip and sufficient memory toallow simple programs to be entered and run,and sells for only a few hundred dollars. It isboth much cheaper and considerably moreportable than the desktop compute:.

Table 12.Micros In 'Schools (Installed. base)

HardwareTotalsSOURCE: Milt

Purchued byschool district School level Total for

for K-12 Gredes K-8 Grades 9-12 College 1981

10,400 16,800 22,800 30,000 80,000

Totalinstalled145,000

4 5

Ch. 4Trends In Information Technology 45

Its portability, however, is also the sourceof its limitations: the keyboard is 'small anddifficult to use fpr entering large amounts oftext; the display is limited to a single line oftext or numbers; and no convenient, fast, bulkstorage such as a floppy disk is attached.These deficiencies may be overcome by design-ing the hand-held computer to plug into otterhardware devices, thus sacrificing its porta-bility.

One promising application of the hand-heldcomputer for educational use will be as an in-

-expensive terminal Although containing with-in itself some computer power, the hand-heldcomputer could alao be used in conjunctionwith a communications network connected toone or more larger computers. In an educa,tional setting, for example, students might usetheir personal hand-held computer by itselfwherever possible. For assignments that re-

e more capacity, the hand-held could beIiied over a phone line to a larger system atthe school.

Hunian InterfaceMuch research and development (R&D) in

computer technology is directed at makingcomputers and humans communicate with oneanother more easily, a process referred to asinput/output. The iaput function has two basicactivities: 1) instructing the computer in thetask that it is to perform; and 2) reading dataor instructions into the coMputer quickly, ac-curately, and inexpensively. The output func-tion refers to producing results that are un-derstandable and easily used either by ahuman or, increasinglY, by some other com-puter or machine.

New languages are being developed to helpboth experts and nonexperts program com-puters more efficiently. Many, of these lan-guages are tailored to specific applicationssuch as educational use. For the professionalprogramer, the goal is to develop languagesthat allow increased productivityeitherfaster and more accurate programing, or thecreation of more complex programs. For non-expert users, the goal is to provide a languageclosely related to their language and problem-solving styles.

Computer experts see a close connection be-tween the language used to pregram a com-puter and the mental problem-solving strategyof the person using it. If the logical structureof the programing language is significantlydifferent from the user's mental processes, thelanguage can actually be a barrier to effective

computer use. On the other hand, accordingto this theory, a properly designed program-ing language can actually guide the user to thesolution of a problem. It was this latter obser-vation that led to the creation, of a profram-ing language called LOGO, which was de-signed for educational use. This languageteaches children new patterns of thinkingabout problems, patterns not only more at-tuned to the use of computers, but alsoaccording to some expertsmore powerful forsolving very complex problems.

..

Data have traditionally been typed into thecomputer, either directly or through punchedcards or some other intermediate medium.Technology is now appearing on the marketto input directly, either by speaking to thecomputer or by showing it pictures. Presentvoice input capabilities are quite limited,however. Only a few hundred words can be rec-ognized, and these only in a few specific voicesfor which the system must be trained. Duringthis decade, experts expect that significant ad-vances will be made in both vocab sizeand number of speakers that can recog-nized. An interesting application o a hand-held computer would be as a personalized voiceinput device that is tumki to respond only tothe owner's voice.

The principal developments in output tech-nology have ,been in the areas of low-costprinters, graphics, and voice. Printers have

4 t;

46 Informational Technology and its impact on American Education

historically been an increasingly expensivetechnology to add to small computers. Pre-dominantly mechanical, they have not sharedin the price reductions experienced by elec-tronic devices. Recently, however, stimulatedby the growing small-computer market, anumber of firms have developed inexpensiveprinters that use electronics more extensively. These "dot-matrix" printers, selling for afew hundred dollops, print characters as pat-terns of small points. Besides cost, other ad-vantages of the dot-matrix printers are thatthey can produce a wide variety-of type fontswithout changing the print mechanism andthat they can be used'to print graphicmaterial.

Lately, the most active computer peripheralmarket in new product development has beencolor graphics output. Systems can now dis-play solid shapes, in full color, with shadingto reflect light sources and surface textures.While this technology is still very expensive,prices are dropping rapidly, and new and more

sophisticated capabilities are coming on themarket Limited, but inexpensive and useful,color graphic capability is already available onmost desktop computers. While elaborate, full-scale graphics would be useful for engineeringdesign education and for simulatorssay, forflight trainingthe limited capability avail-able on small systems has not yet been fullyexploited for many educational uses.

Voice output technology, while still prim-itive, is also improving steadily in price andperformance, although it is unlikely that ac-curate reproduction of human speech will beachieved in this decade. Texas Instruments,with its successful "Speak and Spell" line ofproducts, has illustrated how useful even alimited capability can be for educationtilapplications.*

Speak and Spell is a small hand-held device with a keyboardand display. It speaks a word to the learner, who types in thatword on the keyboard. If the word I. spelled corrçctly. the devicemoves on to the next word. If not., after giving the child anotherchance, it displays the correct answer.

Storage TechnologyTechnology for storing data is steadily im-

proving, for both large and small computersystems. The most significant developmentsfor educational use are those storage technol-ogies used by software publishers for the dataand programs they sell. The storage mediummust be cheap, durable, easily handled, hardto copy (in the view of some firms), and, mostimportant, usable by purchasers on theirsystems.

Many desktop systems are designed to op-erate programs stored permanently on siliconchips in a high-speed memory that cannot bechanged. This so-called "read-only memory"(ROM), is plugged into a socket on the com-puter. Its most common form is the game car-tridge for the Atari and other electronic gamePackages.

The other major memory technology forsmall computers is the floppy disk, which was

probably as important to the development ofthe desktop computer as was the microproc-essor, itself. The floppy disk, which comes in51/4- and &inch sizes, is most typified in word-processing systems in its 8-inch form. It pro-vides a low-cost, rapid, and reliable storagemedium for the small computer. Programs arenow commonly distributed on floppy disks.There is currently a debate about whether soft-ware firms will favor floppy disks or ROMs -as the medium of choice for distributing theirproducts. Disks are cheaper to reproduce,while ROMs are now harder to copy and"pirate."

Now, economical bulk storage systems thatuse hard disk technology are becoming avail-able for small computers. These systems havemany times the capacity of floppy disks-andore much faster and more reliable. However,)`hey art3,,also more expensive and do not previde -a facility for data backup.

Ch. 4Trends In Information Technology 47

Video TechnologyLike the computer and communications in-

dustries, the consumer entertainment sector,principally television, is also making techno-logical advances. This decade is likely to seesignificant developments in several areas ofvideo technology: video cassette recorders, im-proved quality (high-resolution, flat screen,large screen, high-fidelity sound), fihnlesscameras, and video disks.

Video Cassette RecordersVideo cassette recorders have already be(

come important consumer goods. Based onconsumer surveys, their principal home usesseem divided between viewing movies, par-ticularly those not readily available at localmovie homes or on network television, and so-called "time-shifting." Time-shifting meansrecording a program at the time it is broad-cast for later replay. (According to a recentcourt ruling, such practice may be in violationof the copyright law, although the court alsoacknowledged the difficulty of its enforce-ment.)'

Video cassette recorders have become an es-tablished consumer technology despite theirlack of standard recording format and theirrestricted marketability (to the relativelysmall upper-income bracket). It has not beendifficult to produce and sell tapes in differentformats, and time-shifting use does not dependon common standard formats.

Improved QualityR&D is under way to develop basic new

video technologies that promise better per-formance. Although none of these has yetreached the market place, experts think thatat least a limited number will be available inthis decade.

The flat and large screen protection systemsthat are currently available are expensive and

'Universal City Studios v. Sony Corp., 659 F, 2d, 963 (9thCir., 1981).

awkward to use in small rooms. The goal ofresearchers is to develop a true flat displayscreen, since the market for such a technologywould be large, not only for entertainment, butalso for use in computer systems. Since man-ufacturers are keeping their progress in thisarea quiet, it is hard to predict the likelihoodof success.

High-resolution television, another area ofintensive development, may be closer to tech-nological realization. However, its widespreadadoption will be hampered by the need to usedifferent broadcast formats on transmissionchannels with much higher capacity, as wellas'by the viewer's need to purchase expensivenew receivers. For Ms reason, CBS is propos-ing the use of direct broadcast satellites fortransmitting high-resolution programing.Cable is another possible transmission medi-um. Initial users are likely to be institutionalusers, such as theaters, that can afford to pur-chase receivers and pay relatively high trans-mission costs.

Filmless CameraThe Japanese firm, Sony, recently an-

nounced the development of a camera that op-erates electronically. The camera, whichcombines video and computer technology,"writes" a picture on a very small, reusablefloppy disk. The picture is then viewed on atelevision display. The initial version is expen-sive, and its performance is limited by theresolution capability of current television dis-plays, which is much lower than that of filmHowever, the future availability of high-reso-lution television displays will allow a picturequality as good or better than that of film

Video DiskA technology eliciting much interest from

the education community is the video disk, amedium that stores television programing ona disk resembling a phonograph record. Edu-catcks and information publishers are excited

4 c)

48 infommtlontil Tochnology and Its Impact on Amorican'Education

about its potential because such disks aredurable, and copies are cheap to produce. Eachdisk has two sound tracks, which may beplayed singly or together, and inclividualframes on the disk can be addressed andviewed. Moreover, the storage capacity of adisk is high-56,000 frames on a side. Com-

IP* puter data and programs can also be storedon such a disk.

These characteristies suggest that a videodisk coupled with a small computer would bea very flexible and powerful device, allowingon the same disk a combination of moving se-quences, still pictures, and text, all under .in-teractive control.

There are a number of competing technol-ogies for recording and reading the informa-tion on a disk. However, they can be regardedas two basic types, capacitance and laser. Thecapacitance system, marketed by RCA, storesthe information on a disk in a spiral of tinygrooves, much smaller than, but similar to,those on a phonograph record. The informa-tion is read li a needle that physically ridesin the groove. RCA has marketed its capaci-tance system directly to the upper-incomehome buyer, selling it principally in competi-tion with video/bassette records as a mediumfor viewing m6vies and other packaged pro-gram materials. However, since the sYstem

does not offer recording capability, it is notuseful for those who want to record frombroadcasts-or create their own video tapes.

The laser system stores information astransparent or reflective spots on the disk. Thereader uses a laser light beam that eitherpasses through or reflects from the disk sur-face. No physical contact iS made with the disksurface, and the reading accuracy is immuneto damage to the disk surface. Currently avail-able laser disk systems record on one side.However, at least one firm will soon offer atechnology that stores information on bothsides and that can read both without havingto flip the disk.

The principal benefits of the laser system areits ability to lock onto a single addressedframe and to move at random, under computercontrol, through the information stored on thedisk, as well as the durability of the disk itself.Its chief drawback to date is cost.

The principal market for laser video disksystems has been industrial and militaryusers. Experts differ on whether this tech-nology will become common in the home andschool. For this to happen, the cost of acomputer-conti011ed video disk reader mustdrop substantially from its current price,which runs well over $1,000.

Information ServicesThe new information technology described

in this chapter will form the basis for a widevariety of information products and servicesfor the home, office, school, and other loca-tions. The most significant ones will incor-porate the integration of aeveral technologies.

The three areas of information technologycomputers, communications, and videohavewrown up separately, connected only by theirjoint dependency on microelectronics. Now, itis becoming increasingly difficult to tell them

apart.* This technological merger is takingplace in two ways:

The technologies are becoming integratedinto each other. The digital telephone net-work uses computer technology; distrib-

*This overlap createu regulatory problems, since the communications industry is regulated and the computer industry isnot. The FCC recently concluded an inquiry, "Computer II,"motivated by this growing overlap, which was intended to betterdistinguish computer services from communications(5-FCCINQ).

4

Ch. 4Trends in Information Technology 49

uted computer systeins use telecommu-nication services; video diiks are con-trolled by microcomputers.New types of information services thatmake use of all three technologies arebeing planned and offered. For example,Pergamon Press offers a patent searchsystem that integrates a personal com-puter, video disk, and a remote database accessed by telephone to allow at-torneys to search U.S. patents.

Several sectors of the industry are alsobeginning to overlap:

High technologycommunications andcomputers.Traditional print publishersnews-papers, magazine, and book publishers.The entertainment mediafilm, televi-sion, and radio.Other information-dependent firmsbanks and credit card companies.

To some extent, mergers of previously in-dependent business sectors reflect normalbusiness growth through diversification, butthe firms also see their various business ac-tivities as becoming more closely related.Thus, diversification within the information

,

industry has become a vy for companies toprotect themselves against' technological ob-solescence. The industry overlap is motivatedby two trends:

Computer and communication technologyis becoming central to the provision ofmany traditional information services.For example, some providers of two-way

. cable services plan to offer an electronicnewspaper. Furthermore, traditional pub-lishing is becoming increasingly depend-ent on the use of electronic systems.Unique new services are appearing that.can be interpreted as a blend of more tra-ditional businesses. For example, AT&Thas been considering offering an in-homeinformation service that, while resemblingan electronic version of the yellow pages,competes in the eyes of some newspaperpublishers with classified advertising.

While some of these new information serv-ices are described below, the list is not com-plete. It is possible to predict with some ter-tainey what technological capabilities will ex-ist over the next decade or two. It is not possi-ble, however, to predict how entrepreneurs willuse those capabilities to bring innovative serv-ices to the marketplace. The new informationtechnology base that is being developed andinstalled offers a rich opportunity for suchinvention.

Videotex and TeletextSome European nations, along with Japan

and Canada, have been developing a .tech-nology that uses the existing television broad-cast medium to bring an information serviceinto homes and offices.

A picture on a television screen is composedof several thousand lines. During the transmis-sion of the television signal that paints the pic-ture line-by-line on the receiver screen, thereare a number of times when no useful infor-mation is being transmitted. These so-called"blanking intervals" are needed to allow thereceiver and transmitter electronics to catchup and get ready to display the next line.While some of these intervals are used to syn-chronize and control the picture display, manyof them are unused. Information can be trans-mitted in these intervals. A properly modifiedtelevision receiver can pick out the informs-

, tion and, on command from the viewer, displayit on the screen, either alone or on top of theexisting picture.

In a teletext system, several hundred oreven thousands of pages of information arecontinually being transmitted. (It may takeseveral seconds to transmit the entire voluineof data.) The user selects a page for viewing;the television set then waith for that page tocome along in the information stream, picksit out, stores it, and displays it on the screen.

Videotex is a more sophisticated version ofthis service. It requires two-way communica-tion between the viewer and the transmitter,

50 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

The viewer requests a specific item from thecentral system; that page of information isthen transmitted on the television signal to theviewer's screen.

The term videotex is sometimes used morebroadly to include all on-line service designedto display information on demand. Such sys-tems may use cable, telephone lines, or newpacket broadcast technology to distributetheir products. The advantage of videotex isthat a larger data base can be made availableto the user, since the entire data base does notneed to be transmitted continually. It alsoallows for interaction between the user and thecentral data base. One could, for example, ex-amine a catalog of merchandise or an airlineschedule and then complete the transaction bybuying a product or making aVeservation. Be-cause it allows individualized interaction witha data base, the videotex systm may offer val-uable opportunities for edu6ting and training.

Broadcasters and information publishers inthe United States have been experimenting ina small way with various forms of videotexand teletext services, in most cases usingtechnology developed in Europe and Canada.A recent proposed rulemaking by FCC opensthe way for their widespread introduction. Theprincipal problems in the commercial develop-ment of this type of service will be identify-ing information markets, assembling an ade-quate and marketable data base, and pricingrecorders for home television sets at a levelwhere they can he purchased for use in theaverage household.

Information Networks(Apse ly related to videotex are various serv-

ices that have developed to provide owners ofdesktop computers and terminals with accessto computer and data services over commu-nication networks. This business is expectedto grow rapidly over the next decade. Someexperts project over $6 billion in annual bill-ings by 1985.

Providers of these services distinguish theirmarkets by the nature of the services offeredand by the types of clients they serve. General

5 i

services offer access to a wide variety of datafor a broadtustemer market. Specialized serv-ices provide narrow, but usually deeper andmore sophisticated, inforthation services tocustomers with special needs. Some firmsserve home, professional, and small businessusers, while others serve large industrialclients.

There 'are no clear dividing lines betweenthese markets. In general, however, the large-scale specialized data bases tend to be expen-sive, and using them requires a great deal ofcomputer processing, at either the provider'sor customer's end of the telephone line. Sys-tems oriented to individual customers tend tobe less costly and less specialized.

For example, using ordinary telephone lines,owners of small computer systems can connectwith on-line services such as The Source andCompuserve. Companies like these offer a widevariety of information to subscribers. Al-though originally, oriented to the needs of thehome consumer(these firms are beginning toexpand their network offerings Co the businessmarket. Their services now include directaccess to United Press International andAssociated Press news wires, stock exchangetransactions, weather information, transpor-tation schedules, restaurant and film reviews,sports scores, and even computer programsthat can be directly loaded into the home oroffice system from the company's network.

A number of newspapers are conducting ex-periments to provide electronic newspapers.Customers paying a special access charge willbe able to get news summaries and specialfeatures such as horoscopes and weather. Two-way services such as bill paying and teleshop-ping will also be offered to network sub-scribers. Customers can view lists of productsand prices and put an order into the system.After the product is delivered, the customerwill be billed via credit card. Some banks areexperimenting with in-home banking services.

In addition to communication with the cen-tral network data bases, customers can ex-change messages with one another throughthe system, allowing a simple form of "elec-

Ch. 4Tronds In Information Technology 51

tronic mail." The network services also usethis two-way communication to provide elab-orate games that can be played by several cus-tomers simultaneously.

While The Source and similar firms sell ac-cess to a wide variety of services, other com-panies offer more specialized products. DowJones, for example, sells access to its stock ex-change data base. A customer with an Appleor other small computer and a communica-tions interface buys a special program for thecomputer from Dow Jones and subscribes tothe date base. Using the home computer, re-cent transactiona can be monitored and his-torical trends analyzed.

Some firms offer large sophisticated databasee designed primarily to serve institutionalcustomers with special information needs. Ex-amples are:

*For example, Congressman James Coyne uses The Sourceas a way to stay in electronic communication with his constit-uents.

Bibliographic and reference data baaes forresearch, are offered by DIALOG Infor-mation Services, Inc. (a subsidiary ofLockheed) and the National Technical In-fotmation Service (NTIS) of the U.S. Gov-ernment; also the New York Times Infor-mation Service, which offers indexed ab-stiacts and full text retrieval of news ar-ticles appearing in a number of magazinesand newspapers.Medical information are provided by theMedline seryice of the National Libraryof Medicine; also, Harper and Row'sHARFAX service publishes an on-linepharmaceutical data base.Legal information, such as the Legis databank of citations and the Pergamon on-line collection of patent information.Econometric information such as offeredby Data Resources, Inc.Natural resources data snch as thepetroleum reserves estimates developedby the Department of Energy and offeredby the I. P. Sharp Co.

Electronic ConferencingWith electronic conferencing, a meeting is

conducted in which geographically dispersedparticipants talk with one another over tele-communication lines. There are three catego-ries of electronic conferencing, depending onthe technology used:

Audio conferencing, which uses thetelephone: individuals at different loca-tions are linked together by a conferencecall wherein both a loudspeaker and amicrophone system are used at each lo-cation.Video conferencing, which supplementsthe voice connection with television im-ages of the participants or of displaycharts, tables, or other graphics underdiscussion.Computer con ferencing which transmitsmessages through a central computerthat stares them and forwards them onrequest to another participant. In a com-

puter conference, the participantfilo notneed to be connected at the same time. Inaddition, since each message in the dialogis stored as computer data, it can be in-dexed to topic, date, sender, and so on.This faiility allows a complete running,indexed transcript to be available to theconferees at all times.

All of these conferencing modes offer an al-ternative to traveling for meetings, thus sav-ing energy and time. Additionally, becausecomputer conferencing offers time-independ-ence, it is oven attractive for use within asingle office for meetings between busy execu-tives.

Extensive research has been done on the useand effectiveness of different types of telecon-ferencing systems.' Each has its own advan-

'J V. Johansen and K. Spengler, Electronic Mooting, (Bud. .ins. Mass.: Addison Wesley, 1979).

52

52 inlonnationsi Mocha(' logy And Its Impact on Anwrican Education

tages, disadvantages, and costs. Video con-ferencing, for example, will be more expensivethan computer or audio conferencing; however,computer conferencing offers time-independ-ence.

Experimental computer conferencing sys-tems have been operated for some time by

Turoff at the New Jersey Institute of Tech-nology (the EIS system) and by the Institutefor the Future (the PLANET system). Com-mercial systems are now appearing en themarket. Infomedia, a small California-basedfirm, is marketing its NOTEPAD conferenc-ing system to large industrial and governmentclients.

Advanced Business ServicesAT&T is planning to offer an advanced data

communications service known as ACS (Ad-vanced Computer Service): This service, prin-cipally designed to serve major corporateusers, will integrate high-speed data commu-nications for computer applications with suchuses as teleconferencing (video and audio) andfacsimile transmission. Satellite Business Sys-tems is planning to offer a similar service, andother firms may also enter the market soon.

One principal advantage of these new com-puter-based communication systems is that ,they will allow the integration of communica-tion services economically over a single high-capacity channel. Incorporation of computerswithin the network will provide the customerwith more flexibility, since the network can

handle incompatibilities between differenttypes of computers and terminals and can alsomanage the flow of work among several inter-connected computers. The network can evenoffer a customer data storage and retrieval,as well as computer-processing services.

Data networking has been of interest tohigher education for several years. Post-sec-ondary education institutions may find fewertechnological barriers and lower date com-munications costs if they link their computersand use teleconferencing for teaching andmanagement. Industrial firms that installACS-type services almost certainly will usethem to provide education and training fortheir employees.

53

Chapter 5

Educational Uses of.Information Technology

Since the development of the radio, people Ahave propoeed that communica-tions technology provide major improvements in the delivery of education.Research on "teaching maehines" dates back to the 1940's, before the generalintroduction of computers into the marketplace. Since that time, there has beencontinual research, development, and implementation of techniques for using in-formation technology in various aspects of education.

OTA investigated what is known and what has been proposed about possibleapplication's of information technology to education.

FindingsInformation technology is capable of becom-ing a major resource for the delivery of edu-cational services over the next decade:

It can be an effective delivery mechanisqkfor most existing form!) of education.It provides capabilities for responding tonew demands that traditional school-room education oannot meet adequately.The coat of information products andservices for educational applications willcontinue to drop with respect to otheritems in the educational budget.

The principal benefits will be realized fromCombinations of new technologies ratherthan from any single device.Most educational applications will=be basedon hardware technology that is originallydeveloped for a broader consumer market.The only exceptions will be device, desiea

for specialized industrial usese.g., flighttraining for airline pilotsor education andtraining for the handicapped.

It is impossible tn predict with certainty thetechnological base that will exist for educa-tional use. Some of the products and eery-ices now projected for the next decade, anddescribed in chapter 4, may not survive thecompetition for the consumer's money. This.uncertainty may inhibit the rapid develop-ment of software and service, particularlyoriented to thd education market.

The provision of, high-quality, reasonablypriced educational software is the principaltechnological challenge. Low-cost hardwarewill be widely available to most homes, of-fices, and schools.

Functions of Edueational TechnologyThere are a variety of ways in which comput-

,.. ers and communications technology can pro-vide educational services. In some cases, dif-ferent types of applications will require differ-ent technologies; in other cases, the same typeof technology can be used to provide differenttypes of services.

- 0: -

Passive InstructionThe iciest instructional use of information

techno gy is simply to preaent information.The textbook is the traditional passive instruc-tional system. Priajection mediaslides, film-strips, overhead transparencies, and pictures

5,i 55

58 informailonal Technology and Its Impact on American Education .

are more modern forms. EduCational radioand television have experienced quiet butsteady growth since the late 1950's and early1960's.' Video cassettes and video disks willprovide even more flexible tools for presentingvideo-based instructional material.

The best known recent examples of passiveinstructional programing are the "Sesame

,Street" and "Electric Company" programsproduced by The Children's Television Work-shop with partial Federal support. These pro-grams were intended to supplement, not re-place, normal schooling. Sesame Street is in-tended to teach preschool children some basicconcepts and learning attitudes. Electri( Com-pany is principally aimed at supOlementingreading instruction at the, grammar schoollevel.

At the other extrerae, a full alternative totraditional education is the "Open Universi-ty" in Britain, which has conducted a full col-lege degree program for over 11 years, basedprincipally on passive instructiotr using thebroadcast networks. In the United States, theCorporation for Public Broadcasting is devel-oping an educational program along similarlines in cooperation with universities acrossthe country.

New technology for video productionis alsohaving an impact on educational uses. Com-puter animation systems have become consid-erably less expensive than older, hand anima:tion techniques. Video processing uses com-puters to perform elaborate modification ofvideo images. Both of these technologies arewidely used in commercial television and mo-,tion pictures, but they are also particularly at-tractive for instructional application in whichconcepts and processes' that are subtle anddifficult to visualize need to be illustrated.Complex physical processes, such as fluid flowor load stresses on structures such as bridges,can be simulated on a computer and displayedas dynamic graphic images. In addition, videocassette recorders 4VCRs) and video diskspromise to relieve students from the dictates

P. J. Dier and R. J. Pedone, Uses of Television for Instxuc-tion, 1976-1977, NCES/CPB, 1979.

of schedule. TheVCR, in particular, allows--,-copyright law permittinginstructors, andstudents tO copy instructional programs offthe air and play them back at some later time.Video cassettes and video ,diskti will providealternate modes of brdadcasting for the distri-bution of instructional material.

Passive instruction systems have the follow-ing characteristics:

All educational decisions are in the handsof the providers; what information is tobe presented, for, how long, in what se-quence, and even'in the case of such cur-rent instructional broadcasting7theschedulewhen it is shown.The boundaries between entertahiment,public information, and educational serv-ices can become blurred. A Shakespeareplay, a concert, or an inforthational seriessuch as the successful Cosmos series car-

, ried by the the Public Broadcasting Sys-tem, may all be considered important in-structional resources as well as entertain-ment.

Interactive InstructionThis technology is used to teach a specific

subject or skill directly to a student, guidingthe learner through a sequence of stepsinvolwing the presentation of informatiOn, drills, andexercises designed by an instructor. Interac-tive instructional systems require the studentto communicate with the device, allowing thesystem to vary the pace of instruction, selectamong. alternate sequences of presentation,test for understanding, and alter the contentaccording to the specific needs of the individ-ual.

Computer-assisted instruction is the bestknown interactive technology. A student sit-tinf at a computer terminal works through aseries of "frames" that teach and test under-standing.* If the stadent is progressing slow-ly, the computer branches to an alternate style

*A "frame" is a display on the television screen in a SA1 sys-tem. The term dates back to programed learning research inwhich a frame was unit 'of material presented at one time.

Ch. 5Educational Uses of Information Technology 57

-

Capitol Chlidren'iMuseum, Washington,D.C.Constematlon is-a constant In the

first phases of instruction ...

... but the student's discovery ofwrong responses ...

of presentation or a remedial sectio'n. If thestudent has mastered that section, the com-puter jumps ahead to more advanced material.

The Plato system vnis one of the betterknown experiments. It was developed by re-searchers at the University of Illinois and Con-trol Data Corp. With principal funding fromthe Federal Government, the system originallycombined a new type of interactive graphicsterminal with a large multiterminal computersystem and an elaborate language specificallydesigned to create instruCtional programs.While Plato was originally a very expensiveexperimental system, most of its underlyingconcepts Survive in commercial instruOionalsystems now marketed by Control Data.'

Four, factors 'have more recently revived in-terest in interactive instruction: 1) the rapidlydeclining costs of computers and the advent.of the desktop computer, 2) the escalatinglabor-intensive coits of traditional schooling,3) an improved understanding "of how to createinstructional packages, and 4) the develop-ment of alternative delivery Mechanisms thatlink the computer with other technologies,such as video disk and interactivo cable.

... it followed by the sense of reward forright responses which makes the anxiety

of exploring the unknown bearable

The video disk is a gOod example of how new,technologies can be combined to form instruc-tionalsystezns. The video disk contains an ex-tensive data base of text, still images, andfilm The computer controls the sequence ofpresentation and, usink an educational pro- ,A

gram contidned on its floppy disk and infor-mation stored in the remote data base, inter-licts with the student.2

9The video disk, for example, might cont1ainseveral thousand images of microscope slides.The data base would have full descriptive in-formation on the subjects illustrated by theslides, indexed in various ways. EducatiOnalsoftware on the computer would take a stu-dent through sequences of slides and text pres-entation, providing infOrmation and adminis-tering tests. ' While the computer programwould be designed to achieve a specific instruc-tional purpose, the slide catalog and data basewould be intended to be more widely appli-cable for research and education.

'L. F. Eastwood, "Motivation and DeterranUse of 'Intelligent Videodisc' Systems," J. Edvol. 7(4), 1978-79, pp. 303-336.

to EducationalSystems,

5 6

58 Informational Tochnology and its impact on A;nerican Education

Several experiments are under way to devel-op instructional packages using combinationsof video-disks and personal computers. TheMinnesota Educational Computing Consor-tium is developing a series of video disks inbasic economics. The first disk of a planned6-disk series has been produced and tried inthe classroom with favorable results. Othercompanies are developing products aimed atthe industrial training market; and a few

, firms, such as IBM, are already using interac-tive video disks for employee training

Interactive instructional technology has thefollowing characteristics:

It allows the system to customize teach-ing to the particular level of understand-ing, learning style, and ability of eachindividual student.The system can tie designed so that stu-dents can pace themselves.Because individualization and self-pacingmay not fit well with traditional school-ing, large-scale implementation of inter-active instructional technology in theschools may engender substantial institu-tional resistance.Instructional software is often dividedinto discrete packages, each designed toteach a specific skill or item of informa-tion. An instructional curriculum (say, afifth grade mathematics course) is a col-lection of these packages, which, for a fullcourse, may number into the hundreds.Extensive design effort is needed to cre-ate each module. The material to betauight must be broken down into frame-sized pieces, Tests of understanding mustbe devised, and the paths that studentsare most likely to take in going throughthe material must be anticipated.Because they, are so carefully tailored, in-teractive curricular packages are inflexi-ble. They are not generally useful for anypurpose, clientele, or environment otherthan the specific one for which they weredesigned.The skills required both to produce soft-ware and, to assist students with its use

are substantially different from tradition-al teaching skillsSome experts suggest that smaller in-structional modules can be designed to fitinto.the regular course of instruction, per-mitting a gradual introduction of educa-tional technology. Others maintain thatthe principal educational benefits of tech-nology are lost with such an incrementalapproach.

Learning EnvironmentsThe interactive instruction technolOgy de-

scribed above can be used to create a specialenvironmenta language, simulation, or databasethat can be manipulated by the student.

For example, special computer languages,such as LOGO, can help learners gain particu-lar problem-solving skills Languages such asVISICALC, a system designed for businessusers of small computers, can be a powerfultool in teaching accounting principles and fi-nancial planning techniques.

Another form of learning environment is thesimulation. A simulation of a laboratory exper-iment for a physics course, for instance, mightpresent on a television screen a variety ofweights and- springs. The student would beallowed to "connect" them in various config-urations, to apply forces of prescribed amountsat different points in the arrangement, and tomeasure and record the results. Working withthis system for only -a few days, a studentwould learn some basic principles of mechan-ics. As another example, large-scale simula-tions can be made of physical processes or ofequipment that might be too-expensive or dan-gerous to use in person. Simulated nuclearpowerplants provide vehicles for trainhig newoperators; simulated aircraft are used for pilottraining.

For medical education, computer-controlledrobots can be used to simulate injured or illhuman beings. A small computer presents thestudent with an instructional sequence whereproper techniques are illustrated using a com-puter-controlled video disk. The student then

5 7

Ch. 5Educatlonal Uses of lnformatIon Technology 59

a

At Fort Gordon, Ga., Signal Corps Center,Video simulationla Lard to teach repair techniques. If instructors were to useactual equipment, It would have to be returned to a repair

shop for costly work and expensive 'downtime'

The actual coil shdwn on right, whose removal and respacingwould require costly downtime for the instructional radio set.The student is given the learning experience by TV instead,testing his notion of the proper technique against solutions

stored on the random-accessed video disk4.

practices on a dummy equipped with sensorsmonitored by the computer, which, in turn,presents the.results to tiut student.

Simulations of economic aud social systemsare used to teach political science, economics,and management. Business managementgames are one of the earliest educational appli-cations of computers, mid they have been.deeply integrated into the curricula of manybusiness schools. Other educational applica-tions range from simple economit simulationson small computers to elaborate simulations

of city management mid international politicsthat require very large computer systems. TheDefease Department makes extensive use ofcomputer-based simulations to train seniordeciaionmakers in crisis management.

Using information technology to provide alearning environment has several implications:

An instructional program can be applic-able over longer course periods and for agreater variety of educational uses thancan an interactive module that concen-trates on a single teaching unit.Since the interaction is so flexible and isdirected in large part by the students, in-structors and students need docamenta-tion and supplemental curriculum materi-als appropriate for using the system tomeet their particular educational objec-tives. Except fqr larw siinulations (suchas flight trainers) that`May require specialhardware, the principal cost of "learningenvironment" applications will be in de-veloping thege supplemental curricularmaterials. Developmental costs for theprograms will, in general, be written offagainst a much larger customer base.Because it fundamentally changes bothcontent and the way material is pre-sented, use of an automated learning en-vironment may require extensive changesin course content or even a broader rede-sign of an entire curriculum.

Information ResourceGeaeral information literacy is needed for

all individuals to work and to participate ful-ly in an information society. In addition, formost professions specialized coMputer andcommunication-1;ased systems are rapidly be-coming indispensable tools of the trade. Stu-dents must learn how-to use these services aspart of their early training:

For these reasons,, m addition to being aninstructional tool, the comimter in educationis viewed as an intellectual and problem-solv-ing reiource, akin to the library or laboratory.Information 'services will need to be both

5E)

00 Informational Technology and its Impact on American Education

broad enough to 'support general educationand specialized enough for particular subjectmatter. Examples of specialized systems in-clude computer-aided design systems for in-dustrial engineering students, on-line legal ormedical information retrieval systems for useby law students or doctors, and automated ac-counting and financial analysis systems forbusiness students.

In addition to these specialized resources,students in all fields will need constant accesstainformation services andcomputer facilitieafor their work. One engineering school is ex-perimenting with providing a desktop comput-er to some of its entering freshmen, with aview toward giving computers to all studentsin the future. A graduate school of businesshas a:keady adopted a similar policy for itsentering students. The leader of the movementto provide all undergraduate students withcomputer access has been Dartmouth College,which, for well over a decade, has operatedwith a policy of universal computer literacyand free student access to computer terminals.

The role of the computer as an educationalresource on campus is blending with the viewof libraries as automated information centers.

are Library of the Columbia University Computer Center.Software is placed Into the computers on an hourly basis to

the department utilizing the computer

c,

Maw college and university libraries havebeen among the leaden in this movementfirst in automating their' management, thenin providing users access to coniputerized bib-liographic services. Their ultimate goal is toprovide full-text, on-line retrieval. As thesetrends continue, the computer center and thelibrary will actually merge into a single-, auto-mated information utility.

Regional and national networks will providescholars with access, to information and com-putational iftwcee anywhere in the country.EDUCOM, a naonwi& coneortium of univer-fifties and colleges, has been developing thisconcept for several years and now offers itsmembers access to EDUNET, a nationwide re-source-sharihg data communication network.

Administration andInstructional ManagementInformation technology can be used by the

teacher to help plan coursework and managethe classroom. Computers not only assist withmundane daily tasks such as grading and rec-ordkeeping but can also help keep closer trackof the daily accomplishments and problems ofindividual students. Teacher attention can,thus, be more focused on individual studentneeds. Teleconferencing via radio, television,or computer allows teachers to exchange ex-periences, develop curricula, and coordinateeducational programs among a number ofschools in a district.

Distribute EducationThe distribution of services to those who

need them has always been a difficult problemfor the educational system. For as long as edu-cation has been provided by schools, the dis-tribution problem has been responsible for in-stitutional constraints of both time and loca-tion on the student. That schooling takes placeon a physical campus, attended principally byyo mnut g people, may be more reflective of the

lations of the traditional schooling systemthan it is of the current needs of society foreducation. Chapter 6, which examines thAstate of the educational system, concludes that

59

Ch. 5Educational Uses of Information Technology 61

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,

At Oxford High School, Oxford, Mass., students operatethe Digital Equipment Corp. mainframe computer thatcontrols the student records system for the school district

a significant gap may exist between the formsof educational needs of a modern informationsociety and the traditional institutional formsof educating.

Information feehnology is a tool that can ad-dress these two distributional problemsdis-tance and time. In the paskaievision andradio have been used for this purpose, oftento good effect. However, their applicability hasbeen limited both by the need to use expen-sive and scarce broadcast facilities to serve arelatively *all clientele and by the inabilityto provide interactive services.

MOdern 'technology removes these barriers.Communication facilities such as cable, directbroadcast satellite, low-power television, andvideo cassette and video disk will greatly in-crease the number of information channelscoming into the home and office. Two-waycable, remote conferencing facilities, and opti-cal video disk microcomputer systems providethe capability for interactive education.

Among the particular applications of infor-mation technology for distribution are the fol-lowing:

General educational services t o dispersedpopulations: Some geographical regionsneed to provide schooling to a sparse pop-ulation spread over a large area. Commu-nications technology such as direct broad-

A

cast satellite or low-power television al-lows educational programing to be broad-cast at low art to small rural cbmmuni-ties and even to individual residences.Video cassettei, video disks, and personalcomputer programs can be distributedphysically by mail.Specialized educational services to smallpoPulations: Some groups in society thathave very specialized needs for education-al services are not concentrated geograph-

' içaliy. (WY by prOviding courses regional-ly or nationally can a critical mass of stu-dents be assembled to justify the expenseof the course. Information systems pro-vide that wider market. For example:

Advanced professional training, espe-cially confiding education in suchfields as medicine, law, and engineer-ing, in wlg-c-fi knowledge advances at arapid rate.Unusual educational needs, such as ac-celerated science programs for thegifted or courses conducted in a foreignlanguage.Instruction in subjects for which mik e-rienced tiachers are scarce or coursesconducted by outstanding icholars andleaders in a field.

Educatjon for the homebound For a num-ber of reasonze g., illness, physicalhandicap, or agemany individuals insociety cannot travel physidally to attenda class. Information technology can pro-vide educational services directly to thehome, hospital, or workplace.Job-related education and training in theworiplace: There are a number of barriersto workers who wish to take job-relatedinstruction. Attending regular classes isdifficult due to competing demands ontheir time, travel to a campus may be bur-densome, and there is reluctance on thepart of some older individuals to sit in aclassroom and compete with younger stu-dents. Information technology, by bring.

qt. L. David, "Adult Higher Education: Thinking the Un-thinkable," Adult Continuing Higher Education Conference,Region V. Appalachian State University, April 1977.

62 informational Technology and its Impact on American Education

ing the course to the workplace, can- re-move some of these constraints.

Testing and DiagnosisComputers have been used for some time to

grade and analyze the results of college admis-sion exams, intelligence tests, and a varietyof psychometric examinations designed to ex-plore the values, attitudes, and thinking pat-terns of individuals. Educational testing canbe thought of as having four basic roles:

-Strtegic: Testing helps assess a stu-dent s general levels of understanding andlearning strategies. It is used to deter-mine what classes and courses of studya student should pursue, and what in-structional approaches would be most ef-fective for him. After a course, testingtneasures -the skills and knowledge thatthe student.Tactical: Testing also takes place duringinstructional sequences to determine howthe student is progressing through the.course and to detect and diagnose difficul-ties the student might be having.Gatekeeping: Testing plays an increasing-ly important role in supporting decisionson aslmissions to institutions and to pro-gram§ of study. It is a basis for allocatingsciirdwresolirces (e.g., admission to a pres-tigious college or university) and for thegranting of licenses to practice profes-sions.Certification: Testing plays an importantrole in certifying the knowledge and skillof individuals, qualifying them to pursueprofessions such as medicine or law, or at-testing that they have progressed alongcertain educational or training paths.

Modern informatign technology will likelyhave several effects& testing:

i\*

Continual testing of students' progressand levels of understanding is an impor-tant-pedagogical tool, even in a nonauto-mated teaching environment. However itis very demanding of a teacher's time.Automated systems will allow much clos-er monitoring of student and class prog-ress in a normal classroom environment.Automated teaching systems depend oncontinual testing anci evaluation to direcithe presentation of material.Automated instruction may, lead to a de-coupling of instruction from institutionsin the sense that a student moves free-ly between home, job, and school forcoursework. This trend *ill create greaterneed for strategic testing to determineappropriate instructional programs for,students.Institutional decoupling will also requiremore testing for purposes of certification.Traditionellr, an engineering degree wasobtained by following a course of studyat one department. Certification was thwdegree earned by successfully completingthe program.The accelerating growth of knowledge isaressuring professions such as medicine,law, and engineering to require retrainingand periodic renewal of certifications.If traditional forms of education becomeinbreasingly expensive and, hence, scarce,gatekeeping requirements will inevitablycontinue to grow in importance. The cur-rent competition for entry into medicalschool illustrates this trend.On the other hand, automated learningsysterns may make certain types of educa-tion and training far more accessible andaffordable. If that occurs, gatekeepingmay take place not on entry to the educa-tion pm:gram, but in licensing to practice.

Capabj.lities of Educational TechnologyNone of the technologies and services de, bilities required tesupport all of the applica-

scribed in the chapter 4 overview has the capa- tions listed above. Hence, the growth of an ex-

6 i z

Ch 5Educational Uses of Information Technology 0.63

tensive automated education network will de-pend on the integration of information tech-nologies.

Each particular technologycable, personalcomputers, etc.has some but not all of thecapabilities necessary to provide effective edu-

cation Thus, thepasic message is that differ-'mildent inf ation technologies will need to be

linked ordei to provide all of the capabil-ities need for extensive automated learningsystems to be developed. As shown in chapter4, such integration is already taking place forother applications.

Cost and EffectivenessFor many years, the cost and effectiveness

of educational technology has served to cir-cumscribe the debate about whether and howit should be used. OTA found that: tr"

There is a substantial amount of agreementthat, for many educational applications, infor-mation technology can be an effective andeconomical tool for instruction.

This conclusion is based on a number of ob-servations:

Research exists, some of it dating backyears, to suggest that students do learnas well or better from educational technol-ogy than from conventional means. Lit-tle evidence exists to the contrary. Mubhof the past debate centered around wheth-er technology was more effective thkaconventional rdeans and hence warrantedsubstitution for traditional classroominstruction.'Costs for labor-intensive education andtraining methods continue to climb fasterthan the inflation rate, while costs for in-formation technology continue to dropprecipitously. These trends will result ina steadily growing number of apblicationsin which technology-based instruction is,clearly the most cost-effective method,

'See, for instance, W. L. Schreumm, Big Media, Little Media(Beverly Hes, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1977); A. Bork. "Interactive Learning," Amer Journal Physics 47(1), January 1979,pp, 5-10; L J. Seidel and M. L Rubin. Computers and Commu-nkations Implications for Education (New York: AcademicPress, 1977); J. Edwards, et al., "Now Effective I. CAT? AReview of the Research." Educational Leadership, November1975, pp. 147-153; and R. Dubin and R. A. Hediey, The MediumMar Be Relatad to the Message: College Instruction by TV,Center for the Advanced Study of Educational Administration.University of Oregon. Eugene, 1969.

For many educational and training needse.g., educational services to the home-bound, to geographically isolatedregions,or to the workplacethere are few viablealternatives to the use of technology, pro-vided that it works adequately. In a grow-ing number of instances, teachers quali-fied to teach in certain fieldssuch as sci-ence, mathematics, or bilingual educitionare difficult to find. In these cases, tech-nology may be the only means by whichsuch education can be provided.

This is not ta say that there are no poten-tial limitations or dangers in the uncritical upeof educational technology nor that there is noneed for additional research in the field. Infact, in the eyes of some critics, a number ofquestions remain unanswered.

Wili access to computers-reduce the abil-ity to practice and learn basic skills?Some parents and teachers are concernedthat student use of,hand calculators maylead to the atrophy of simide computa-tional skills. Some modern word poces-sors incorporate spelling correction facil-ities, and future systems will probably in-corporate simple grammatical analysisand cortection. Will use of such technol-ogy decrease a student's grasp of writingmechanisms?Does the medium have characteristicsthat, when exploited, distort the educa-tional message or produce subtle side ef-fects? Some observers, for example, havesuggested that television educational pro-grams such as Sesame Street may rein-force short attention spans. A similar ex-ample is the finding of some developers

64 informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education--r

of interactive computer-based readings" programs that, in order to maintain stu-

dent attention, shorter passages must beused on video screens than would beneeded to maintain student attention forreading exercises on paper.Most research on technology-based educa-tion has focused on the development ofwell-defined skills, such as arithmeticcomputation or foreign-language vocabu-lary. While proponents argue that com-puters can encourage the development ofnew problem-solving skills,' critics sug-gest that education of the more generalconceptual skills could suffer.

'S Papert, Mindstorms INew York: Basic Books, 1980).

If, over the long term,'eacation is pro-vided principally by technology, what arethe unintended long-term impacts on so-cial, cognitive, and psychological develop-ment? Very few answers to this importantquestion are known. However, since itwould take several years before techno-logical and institutiohal changes couldcreate such a possibility on a massivescale, there seems to be adequate time tostudy it.Do particular characteristics of informa-tion technology subtly favor some typesof students psychologically or cognitive-ly? Do differences exist that tend to favorperformance by sex, age, social class, orvalues? These questions are importantwhen dealing with issues of social equity.

A

6 ,s

Chapter 6

The Provision of Educationin the United States

*ithin all societies there is an educational system that is both central to anddependent upon the rest of society. Its role, its functions, and the resources avail-able to it are determined by the very social institutions for whose maintenanceand effectiveness it is responsible.' Thus, while all aocieties educate, the particularform that any educational system takes will depend in large measure on the natureof the society of which it is a part.* How a particular educational system evolveswill also deiend on the nature of the decisions made about it. For within the con-straints established by the socioeconomic order, there are a variety of possibleeducational outcomes.

FindingsRecent social and economic developmentshave fostered a reevaluation of how educa-tion should be treatedas a public or as aprivate good.Because they are capable of providing spe-cialized educational services to narrow seg-ments of the educational market, tbe newinformation technologies will make it easierto produce and distribute education in themarketplace.If education is increasingly treated as a pri-

vete good, and decisions about educationare made in the market instead of in thegovernmental arena,

individuals and groups that can afford tobuy. educational services may be moresatisfied with the kind of education thatthey receive, butfewer social resources may be made avail-able to support what traditionally havebeen regarded as the public benefits ofeducation.

Social Change and Education in AmericaAll societies educate; education is necessary

to either maintain or to structure the socialorder. Education mediates between individu-als and society. It is the means by which soci-eties transmit acquired knowledge, attitudes,values, skills, sensibilities, and symbols fromone generation to the nextand thus themeans by which individuals learn the skills

'Lawrence A. Cremin. Public Education. Basic Books, 1976.'Herbert A. Theien, and Jacob W. Gretzels. "The Social Sci-

ences: Conceptual Framework for Education," The School Re-view, vol. LXV. No. 3, autumn 1957, p. 346.

and roles necessary to function in and to actupon societies.**

Individuals and societies have differed withrespect to how they believed educational deci-

'Ibid; see also, Charles Weingartner, "Redefining Educationin a Changing Present for an Uncertain Future," paper pre-sented at meeting of Chief State School Officers, Orlando, Fla.,winter, 1980; and Charles E. Bidwell, "The School as FormalOrganization," Handbook of agardsalione, James G. March(ed.) (Chicago: Rand McNally & Co., 1965), pp. 972-1,969.

*Societal factors may affect an educational system in anynumber of ways. Factors yuch as population size and structure,family and social organization, working patterns, patterns of

(continued next page)

6'

07

68 informational Technology and its impact on American Education

sions should be made. Plato and Aristotlebe-lieved that education was so important itshould be monopolized and controlled by thestate. Rousseau, on the other hand, was op-posed to all formal schooling, believing thatnature was the best teacher. John Stuart Milltook a middle position. Strongly in favor ofpublic support for education, he fearej the con-sequences of public control over edtication.Mill said, for example:

The objections which are urged with reasonagainst State education do not apply to theenforcement of education by the State, but tothe State's taking upon itself to direct thateducation; which is a totally different thing.That the whole or any large part of the educe-tion of the people should be in State hands,I go as far as anyone in deprecating. All thathas been said of the importance of individual-ity of character, and diversity in opinions andmodes of conduct, involves, as of the sameunspeakable importance, diversity of educa-tion. A general state of education is a mere

_contrivance for molding people to be exactlylike one another; and as the predominant pow-er in the governmentwhether this be a mon-arch, a priesthood, an aristocracy, or the ma-jority of the existing generation.'Writing in 1869, Mill expressed an 'attitude

toward public education that was greatly atodds with the one then prevailing in theUnited States, where the crusade for publicschools was at its height. If Mill were to writethese words today, however, he would find amore receptive audience. For today, seriousquestion is being given to the question ofwhether or not education should be treated asa public or a private good.

In the United States, education has tradi-tionally been treated as if it were a publicgood.* Most educational decisions have been

social and economic mobility, the availability of leisure time,and personal resource. all serve to establish who, in a society,will be educated. Similarly, the level and configuration of socialorganization determine, in part, the kinds of inotitutions thatare adopted to perform the educational function; while the levelof economic, social. and cultural development determine, in part,the idea of what, in given society, constitutes literacy.

'John Stuart Mill. On Liberty.*Public goods r-efer to those goods whose benefits areravail-

able to everyone and from which no one can be excluded. These

made in the political arena; and most educa-tional activities have been supported, if notfinanced, with public funds. This practice oftreating education as a public good reflects,in part, the traditional American belief thateducation plays an essential societal role. Con-trasting the attitude of Americans towardseducation with that of Europeans, Alexis deTocqueville, the well-known commentator onAmerican society, noted in 1831:

Everyone I have met up to now, to what-ever rank of society they belong, hai5 seemedincapable of imagining that one could doubtthe value of education. They never fail tosmile when told that this view is not univer-sally accepted in Europe. They agree in think-ing that the diffusion of knowledge, useful forall peoples, is absolutely necessary for a freepeople like theii own, where there is no prop-erty qualification for voting or tor standingfor election. That seemed to be an idea tak-ing root in every head.'The public benefits that Americans have

associated with education have changed overtime and in different historical Circumstances.In the earliest years of American history, edu-cation was, for example, considered essentialfor theliurvival of the new democratic Nation.Later, with the, need to acculturate immi-grants into society and to unite a divided Na-tion in the'aftermath of the Civil War, it wasconsidered the means for building a Nation ofcitizens. At the turn of the century, educationwas expected to train and socialize Americanyouthfi for participation in a modern, industri-alized society. More recently, Americans have

goods will motto produced privately, and thus they must beproduced by government. There are only few pure publicgoods, one example being national defense. There are, however,some goods, like education, that are impure public goods. nestcombine aspects of both public and private goods. Althoughthey serve a private function, there are also public benefitsIssociated with them. Impure public goods may be producedand distributed privately in the market or collectively through -government. How they are produced I. a societal choice of sig-nificant consequence. If decisions about impure public goodsare mad* in the market, on the basis of portion.' preferencesalone, then the public benefits associated with them may notbe efficiently produced or equitably distributed. Edwin Mans-field, Microeconomics Theory and Applications, New York,1970.

'Alexis de Tocqueville,. Journey to America, translated byGeorge Lawrence, J. P. Mayer (ed.), Anchor Books, 19171.

Ch. 6The Provision of Education in the United Stats 69

seen in education the solutions to some of theNation's thorniest social problems.

To guarantee that these public benefitswould be provided, Americans established awhole range of public institutionselementaryand secondary schools, 4-year and communi-ty colleges, libraries, and museums. Moreover,to assure that private educational institutionsserved public goals, theyupported and regu-lated them.

Americans were able to tr t education asa public good because, having similar needsand agreeing essentially upon the rules bywhich they lived, they were able to agree uponthe kind of education that they wanted to passon from one generation to the next.!Given thisconsensus, there was little conflict betweenwhat was a public or a private educational in-terest, or between'what was a local er nationaleducational goal.

Although highly institutionalized, theAmerican educational system has been quitesuccessful in adapting to meet the changingneeds of society. It has been transformed froma system designed to meet the needs of anagrarian society to one tailored to meet theneeds of an urban, industrialized society. Ithas been changed, moreoever, from a systemstructured to meet the educational needs ofa privileged few, to one more structured tomeet the diverse and sometimes conflictingneeds of a growing and heterogeneous popula-tion.

Today, however, society is undergoingchanges that may affect the nature of the sys-tem itself. Some of these changes originatewithin the educational system; others stem

'Rush Welter, Popular Education and.Democratic Thought'in Amin= (New Y(wk Columbia University Press, 1962); DavidTyack and Elisabeth Hansot, "Confikt and COGINIMIS in Amer-ken Public Education." Amoricaa &hook Public and Private,Daedalus summer 1981.

from the profound changee taking place in thelarger social environment. Among these devel-opments are:

an increase in the level of education thatindividuals need to participate effectivelyin society;an extension of the period of time duringcwahitecdh; individuals can and need to be edu-

an increase in the diversity of the educa-tional clientele and thus an increase in thediversity of the citanand for education;a decline in the public resources availablefor education, resulting in part from:

an increase in the cost of producingeducation,a questioning of the public benefits as-sociated mith education, anda loss of confidence in the institutionsprovidihg education;

the emergence of new institutions that,under new, circumstances, fmd it profit-able to market' education; and,the development of the new informationtechnologies that allow educational insti-tutions to provide specialized setvices tospecific sectors of the market.

These developments, taken together, willhave a inajor impact on the educational syektem and on the institutions that have tradi-tionally been responaible for providing educa-tional services. Taking advantage of the devel-opinF market for special kinds of educationalservices, new profitmaking institutions areemerging to provide education. To compete inthis growing and increasingly segmented mar-ket, many traditional educational institutionsmay have to curtail some of the services thatthey provide, retaining only those that havethe greatest economic and political return.Changea such as these are, in fact, already oc-curring in almost all sectors of the educationalsystem.

6t;

70 Informational Technology and its impact on American Education

Elementary and Secondary EducationPublic Schools

The traditional American belief in the publicvirtues of education is nowhere better illus-trated than in the historical commitment toa system of public schooling. It is highlysymptomatic, therefore, that today seriousquestions are being raised about whether ornot elementary and secondary educationwould be best served if it were providedthrough the mechanism of the market.

A legacy of the past, the public school sys-tem is a unique and typically American insti-tution. For, while educational institutions arepublicly supported in many societies, in noother country have they been established withsuch deliberate purpose and public expectationor been conceived of as being such an integralpart of the political, social, and economicorder.

Clearly recognizing the important role thateducation could play in building a nation, theFounding Fathers did not leave its develop-ment to chance. They strongly advocated pub-lic support:for schooling.'* In fostering educa-tion, however, they made little distinction be-tween its public and private aspects. If Ameri-can youth were provided with the knowledgenecessary to preserve their liberties, all school-ing, it was believed, would serve the publicinterest.

, The American commitment to public school-ing grew in the wake of the Civil War. Thiscommitment was so intense that it gave riseto a national crusade to establish publicschools. Concerned about the problems of re-construction in the South, the influx of Cath-Olic immigrants, and the advent of industriali-zation in the North, Americans saw public

...'Bernard Bailyn. Education in the Forming of AmericanSociety iNew York: W. W. North, 19801; Lawrence A. Cremin,Traditions in American Education. Basic Boob, Harper 1976.

*There was vary little formal schooling in America until afterthe Revolutionary War. Throughout colonial time., educationwas conducted informallx in the home and in the church. The

- formal schooling that di0 exist was of marginal significance,serving only thaw who were training for specific roles.

schooling as a way of preserving the social,economic, and political system. By educatingAmerican youth in ccimmon, public schoojs,they hoped to inculcate them with a commonset of patriotic, Protestant, and republicanvalues.'

With the-industrialization and urbanizationof American society, it was expected thatschooling would serve not only to prepareAmerican youth for' a common political roleas citizen% but also to prepare a growing num-ber of pepple from increasingly different social,economic, and ethnic backgrounds for an in-creasingly differentiated set of economic Toles.To perform this economic function, the publicschools were restructured in accordance withbusiness principles.** Vocational educationand guidance were introduced as part of theeducational curriculum. Assuming that themajority of Americans would be working atindustrial jobs, educators believed that voca-tional education would serve not only the bestinterests of the individual, but also the bestinterests of society.'°

In the period that followed World War H,support grew for the view that the social and

'Welter, op. cit.; Tyadc. and Hansot, op. cit.; Robert A.Carlson, The Quest for Con firmity: Americanisation ThroughEducation, John Wiley & Sons. 1976; " Public Education asNation Building in America: Enrollments and Bureaucratiza-tion in the Atnarican States, 1870-1930," American Journal ofSociology, viA. 86, No. 3, November 1979.

Wavid K. Cohen and Barbira Neufsld, "The Failure of HighSchbols and ths Progress of Education," America's Schools:Public AndPrivata, Daedalus. summer, 1981; Tyack andHansot, op. cit.; and Sol Cohen, 'The Industrial EducationM ovement, 1906-1917, " American Quarts*, spring 1968, pp.95-110; Martin Trow, "The Second Transformation of AmericanSecondary Education,'International Journal of ComparativeSociology, vol. 7, 1961,) *To unify the school system and to make it more efficient,educational reformers began to atandardize textbooks and cur-riculum. to grade claims, to train teachers in approved methods,and to improve the supervision of the schools. Businessmen ,played an important role in bringing about thew change.. View-ing education as a public good, businessmen looked to the publicschools to expand wealth.and improve productivity. Concernedabout strikes, labor turnover, and increasing workerabsentee-ism, many businessmen hoped that public schooling, and vo-cational education, in particular, would socialize growingnumber of immigrant youths for the workplace.

"Ibid.

Ch. 6-The Provision of Education in ,the United States 71

0

economic well-being of the Nation dependednot only on the effi .ent production of goodsand services, on their equitable dis-tribution. As a growing and upwardly mobileschool-age population began to compete foreducational rewards, the question of distribu-tion and access became central to the educa-tional system." This new emphasis on eqttityhad a profound effect on the American schoolsystem. For, in addition to fulfilling a politicaland an ., function, the American publits

school system increasingly called upon toserve as an . . t of social ckeinge."* To im-plement the extensive goals provided for in thelegislation of this period, the Federal Govern-ment became increasingly involved in thefunding, operation, and administration of

- school activities."

Status of the AmericanPublic School System

The American public school system is a rel-atively large enterprise. In the school year1978-79, it included 16,014 school districts inwhich there were 53,192 elementary schools,12,020 middle schools, and 16,639 secondaryschools including high schools" (see table 13).

Public education adcounts for a significantportion of public expenditures. In 1977-78,$84.9 billion VIM spent on elementary and est-ondary edutation. Qf this total the FederalGovernment contributed about $8 billion, orabout 9.5 t" (Bee table 14).

"Cohen Neufeld. op. cit.."Cohen and Neufekl. op. cit.*This was. for example. the goal of the Elementary end Sec-

ondary Educational Act of 1985. the most comprehensive andsigni&ant educational legislation passed during this period.Conceived of and marks* not only so an education bill. thisact was major pWs of antipoverty legislation. Between 1958and 1978, fdr example. Federel expenditures on education in-creamed sixfold. The Federal Government became eo involvedwith the operational activities that it presented an unprece-dented challenge to the authority of the States and localities

control pub& school programs.K. Bailey. "Political Coalitions for Public Educa-

tion." Anierks's Schrxiis: Public and Private Amdahl., sum-mer 1961: TO Van Geol. Authority to Control the School Program (Lexington. Maas,: Lexington Books. 1976).

'Digest of ,Education Statistic& National Center for Educa-tion Statistics, May 1980.

"Ibid.

Table 13.-Number of Public Elementary/SecondarySchools and Estimated Percentage Distribution, Sy

Level of Instruction and Grade Span Served:School Year 197849

Level' arid grade sonPercentage

Number distributionTotal schocas 67,000 100.0Elementary schools° 53,192 81.1

Preprimaty only 902 1.0Preprimaty to 2nd 1,052 1.2P primary to 3rd 2,215 2.6Pre rimaty to 4th 2,920 3.4Pre mary to 5th 8,116 9.3Preprjnary to eth 25,618 29.4Prepri aty to 7th 790 0.9Priori ary to eth 7,229 &34th to th 746 0.9Other Spans with,highest grade

preprimary to 8thJunior high or middle schools

5th to 8th8th to 8th7th to 8th7th to 9thOther spans with highest grade

7th to 9th 2,262Socondaty schools Including high

schools 18,8397th to 12th 4,045eth to 120 4179th to 12th 7,58410th to 12th 2,813Other spans with highest grade

10th to 12th 1,780 2.1. Combined elementary/secondary

schools (preprimary to 12th) 1,145 1.3Schools not classiflod by lowest

and hjghost grade° 4,010 4.8kayo of whoa is a claselflcation by highest grade amed. Elementitry includesschools with no glade blither than SM. Junior high and riddle schools hakeno grades higher than 71h, Rh, Rh and no weds Iowa than Ilk Oh, or Rh.Ilatondary schools hew as th highest gads 101h, 11th, or 121h,

bLoweet grade of steprary schools may include prelandermasn, kinclagaten,Of tst grade.

CSchools in this categot0have grade Spans tha ere unspecified, ungraded,' oruncles& fled

MOTE These nallonal estimates am based on information reported In IVOby WI Slam Inept C.IlfonIj, Georgia, and Massachusetts. Each category wasinftated equally to represent a known naliona total of 117,0011.

SOURCE: US Deportment of Education, Nalonal Center for Educaion Statlalcs,Common Core of Oats (CCO) 107S.7e Survey, unpublished tabulations,

3,00412,020

9282,8882,1323,790

4.113.8

1.1

3.32.44.4

2.6

19.14.80.58.73.2

Measured by the goal of providing univer-sal public education, the public school systemhas been a reasonable success. Americans to-day are better educated than ever before.Moreover, many of the barriers to educationthat once served to limit anindividual's ac-cess to the socioeconomic benefith of societyhave been removed. However, despite the cen-tral role that the public school has played inAmerican society and the numerous accom-

...

,

72 thfCrmidlonal Technology and Its Impact on American Education

,

'

,

.

, ,

,.

Table 14.Revenue and itonrevenue Receipts of Public Elementary'and Secondary Schools, -By Source,

,197746 (amounts In fhoutands of dollars) ' -

.

Revenue receipts._

. Total revenue and Federal State Lobel and other .

nonrevenue , Percent Percent Percent Nohrevenue

(' receipts Total ' Amount of total' - Amount of total Amount of total receipts

$84,969,058 $81,440,326 $7,699,042 9.5 , $35,005,584 43.0 138,735,700 47.6 $3,5281732

40t1RbE: U.S. Departmitnt-of Education, National Cantor for Education Statistas, Dlost of Education Statistics, 1980.

plishments that can, be attributed to it, the Future ,of the AmericamAmerican public is becoming increasingly dis- Publie School Systemenchanted with public schools, (see fig. 3).

.

Many educational commentators have ar-Several explanations have been suggested gued that if public schools are to survive, edu-

for this loss of stipport." It has been sUg- cators will have to adopt a more limited setgested, for example, that the school system of goals, which, although less embitiou, will'has suffered from: be more likely to' gain public support." Sue-

a'general loss of confidence in and suPPort cess in 9ns endeavor will depend, to a large

for all public institutioni; degree, on future societal developments. Thethe association of public schooling' with prognosis according to educational futuristsunpopular social policies such as busing is not particularly good. Instead of providing

and desegregation; the basis for a national consensus in support

the decline in overall school performance of public schools, demographic, econon, and .

as measured by traditional indicators societal trends may, in fact, serve to intensify

such as test scores; " the centrifugal tendencies already at work in

the public backlash against what appears the educational system."to be the unprofessional behavior of some Forecasts of demographic trendi suggest,unionized teachers; for example,' tliat Hispanics, Asians, and otherthe concern about inflation and increased cultural groups with specialized needs willtaxation; soon comprise a major portion of the schoolthe dissatisfaction with American youth population. Moreover, the increase in the num-and their culture; and; ber of school-age children living with a singlethe, disintegration of the political coalition parent or two working parents will forcethat has traditionally provided support schools to Provide more supervision and social-for the public schools. ization. Instead of cutting back on their educe-

The loss of a common base of support for tional activities, schools will have to cater to

the public schools has had a negative effect a growing variety of educational needs.

, on the conditions under which they have had Economic forecasts also cast doubts about, to oporate. Forced to appeal for their support the future of public sehools. If 'eeronomicto a number of increasingly distinct and di- growth rates remain slow, and inflation andverse interests, the public schools have had to interest rites continue to be high, the schoolstake on a multitude of new and often conflict- will be in intense competition with other serv-ing tasks at a time when they face the pros- ice sectOrs for reduced human. and economicpects Of reduced economic and human re- . resources. Faced with the loss of personal in-sburces. . come because of increased levels of inflation

, -

"Michael W. Kirst, "Loss of'Support for Public SecondarySchools," America's Schools: Public and Private, Daedalus, "Graham, op. cit.; Tyack and liansot, op. cit.; Bailey, op. cit.

simmer, 1981; Bailey, op. cit.; Patricia Albjerg Graham, "Lit- "Christopher Dade, Potential Clients for Educational Services

wary: A Goal for Secondary Schools," America's Schools: Pub- Delivered by Information Thchnology, unpublielied report pre-

lie and Private, Daedalus, summer 1981. pared for the Office of Technology Assessment, March 1981.

,,

6J.

Ch. 6The Provision of Education in the United States 73

Figure S.OUailly of the Public Schools: Opinions of ParntsWith Public School Children

"Students are often givep the grades A, B, C, 0, and F (FAIL) to denote the quality of theirwork: Suppose the public schools themselves, in this community, were graded in the sameway. What grade would you give the public school hereA, B, C, 0, or F?"-

Percentage distribution of responses

100

1974 1975 1978 1977 1978

SOURCE: "The Condition of Education," 1961, National Center for Education Statistics,

f-I U

1979 1980

74 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

and high energy costs, the American public is,in general; less willing to finance 'educationaiexpenditures through additional taxation.This reluctance is likely to , increase as thenumber of families with school-age childrendeclines and the number of those beyond'child-bearing age increases.

Faced with their own problenis of increds:ing costs and shrinking resources, Federal andState governments will be unable to fill in thefinancial gaps. Continued high inflation willalso reduce the economic resources availablefor public schools. Because of inflation, thecosts of education are increasing twice as fastas the rate of increase of revenues for educa-tion. Thus, in 10 years, if inflation continuesat its present rate, eduational institutions will

, have only one hajf of the revenues (in realterms) that they fiave now."

The problem of scarce economic resourceswill be matched by a problem of scsirce humanresources. The problem of human resources is,however, nit so much a problem of numbersfor the supply of teachers may very well ex-ceed the demandas it is a problem of qual-ity. A decline in highly qualified educators isalready evident. FeW entering-college fresh-men select a career in teaching, and, more sig-nificantly, those that do are generally amongthose who have the lowest academic qualifica-tions.w Increasingly, there are fewerincentivesfor 'well qualified individuals to enter theteaching field.

Given the financial problems facing schools,a career in teaching is no longer considered tobe secure. Given the loss of public support foreducation, a career in teaching is less likely to

"Ibid; Kirst, op. cit.*While all public schools are likely to suffer a loss of konomic

resources, the problems created will be greater in some areasthin in others. The urban schools in the Northeast will be themost seriously affected because the recent migration ofpeopleaway from the area has caused a significant loss of taxable re-sources. The'economic problems in the area of the sunbelt, onthe other hand, will be ameliorated by an influx of populationwhich will increase the area's tax base.

'Introduction,' America's Schools: Public and Private,Daedalus, summer 1981; J. Myron Atkin, "Who Will Teach inHigh School," America's Schools: Public and Private, Daedalus,summer 1981; Dede, op. eit., 1981.

provide the rewards of public status or person-al esteem. Since teaching salaries are not com-petitive withthose in private industry; manyof the most highly lualified teachersespe-cially those with qualifications in math andsciencewill give up teaching. to' sell theirskills on the open market. Well qualified wo- '

mena traditional source of high quality edu-catorsarepartictlarly likely to seek out thewider range of emPloyment Opportunities nowavailable to them.21

Private Alternatives toPublic Schools

Conflicts over public and private control ofeducation have always existed. While reserv-ing for itself the dominant role in educationalmatters, governthent in the United States hasalways recognized that private individualshave an interest in the outcome of educationalpolicy decisions. It has generally been recog-nized, for example, tkat parents have certainrightsbased on notions of liberty and, pri-vacyin determining the education of theirchildren.

In order to take into consideration both pub-lic and private concerns, the responsibility foreducational policy and administration has tra-ditionally been allocated to the States and tolocal jurisdictions where, given more homoge-neous populations, public decisions-about edu-cation would be most likely to reflect privateconcerns." Parents whose needs were not ade-quately met by public education were allowedthe option of sending their children to privateschools.

This arrangement, which served in the pastto reconcile public and private educationalneeds, is thought to be increasingly leas effec-tive, as the assumptions upon which it is basedbecome increasingly less realistic. For exara-ple, as the Federal Government assumed moreauthority over educational policy, the charac-ter of schboling has become less subject tolocal influence and control. Moreover, since

"Atkin, op. cit."Van Geel, op. cit.

Ch. 6The Provision of EduCation In the United States 75

many local communities ara no longer com-prised of homogeneous populations, there isalso less likelihood that public decisionsevenwhen they are made at the local levelwill besynonomous with private, individual needs."

Conflicts over public and private educationalinterests have grown along with the enhancedimportance of education in American society.Because education has come to be regarded asthe essential means for gaining access to socio-economic rewards, individuals now believethat they have more Of a stake than ever be-fore in the outcome of decisions about it. Inthis sense, individual, interests are likely todiverge from those of government. For where-as government is committed to providingequal access to educational opportunities, an'individual, if he is to compete successfully forsocioeconomic rewards, must gain an educa-tion4 advantage."

Private dissatisfaction with public decisionsabout education has led some people to seekalternatives to public school education. Tradi,.tionally, that alternative has been the privateor independent school. Although such schoolshave always provided a considerable propor%tiOn of all elementary and secondary educaition, they are today experiencing a reviiral ofinterest."

There are today in the United'States 14,300private elementary and 4,700 private second-,ary schools." Of these schools, 85 percent arereligiously affiliated, mil 65 percent of these':are associated with the Roman CitholicChurch. '7

Private schools provide educational servicesto one out of every nine students. Enrollmentin the fall of 1978 totalled 5,000,158. Havingdeclined substantially since the 1960's, enroll-ment is more stable today. Declines in enroll-ment have been greatest in Roman catholic

"Ibid."Cohen and Neufeld, op. cit."William A. Qates, "Independent Schools: Landscape and

Learnings," American Schools: Portraits and Perspectives,Daedalus, fall 1981; James Coleman, "Private Schools, PublicSchools, and the Public Interest, The Public Interest

"Digest of Educational Statistics, op. cit."Oates, op. tit.

schools, a considerable number of which haveclosed dtie ,to lack of resources.'"

Unlike public schools; private schools arerelatively independent of public control. Ac-,countable to a golierning board .of trustees,they are free to determine their own objectivesand the means by which they pursue them. Al-though the types and levels of courses varysignificantly between schools, private schoolsaretenerally distinct from public schools inas-much as they offer less work experience, lessbilingual education, and less alternativeschooling (see fig. 4).

Demand for private school education ap-pears to be also related to the quality of publicschool alternatives. Private school enrollments

"Digest of Educational Statistics, op. cit.

Workexperiencecfpdit

Credit bycontract

College boardadvancedplacementcourses

Gifted andNtalented

program

Bilingualprogram

Alternativeschoolprogram

Figure 4.Secondary SchoolsProviding Spacial Programs

rt.R.R111111I

1.1

4

I I V VVVVVV0 10 20 30 40 50 80 70 80 90 100

Percent providing special programs

13 Public i'bhoolP>.

1.1 Private Catholic school

Other private school

SOURCE "Tha Condition of Education," 1961, National Cantor for EducationStatistics

76 1 informational Technology and its impact on American Education

are higheet in thoee areas where public schoolsare experiencing the moat severe problems.Private school enrollments are highest hi themetropolitan cities of the Northeast, where21.3 percent of all students attend privateschools. Of all students in the North CentralRegion,11.5 percent attenerrivate schools ascompared With rates between 7.8 and 7.9 per-cent for the West and the South. The lowestrate of private school attendance, 2.8 percent,is in the nonmetropolitan areas of the West."

Demand for private school education is alsorelated to the ability 9f individuals to pay forit. Levels ot family incomes distinguish thosestudents who are enrolled in private schoolsfrom those who are enrolled in public schools,and those students who attend religiously af-filiated schools from those who attend themore expensive, unaffiliated schools (see fig.5). While 21 percent of all public school stu-dents come from families with annual incomesof $25,000 or more, as many as 37 percent ofall private students do. And, whereas 35 per-cent of the students attending religiously af-filiated schools come from this income bracket,there are over 56 percent in unaffiliatedschools who do. Students coming from families

\ of this income level are also among those whoare most likely to spend $1,000 or more on tui-tion and fees."

Because cost is a major factor inhibiting in-

to public ucation, much of the discussiondividuals arn choosing private alternativee

about public and private school education hasfocused on public policy options that call forpublic subsidization of private educationalcosts. The options that have been most fre-quently proposed and considered are the tui-tion tax credit and the educational voucher.

The educational voucher has generated suchdiverse interest and support in part becauseit is a general concept for which there is no oneparticular model. Included under the rubric ofan educational voucher could be, for example,any sum of money (or financial credit, such asa tax credit) provided by any class or group

'Ma Condition of Education, 1981.

Figure 5.PrIvate ElomontatylSocondary SchoolTuition and Foes by Fondly Incomo

RaclallEthnlc GroupAll students

All Incomesand racial/ethnicgroups

Under $10,000

$10,000 to$14,999

$15,000 to$19,999,

$20,000 to$24,999

$25,000 andOver

White

Black

Hispanic

Family Income

RaolaUothnic group

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 150 - 90. 14,i,

Percentage distribution of tuition and fees

o Under $200 $1,000 and over

O $200 to $4gg 111 Not reported

111 $500 to $999

SOURCE "Thi Condition of Education," 1961, National Canter for EducationStatistics.

of individuals for the purpose of buying any.type of educational service in the market. Thenature and potential impact of any particularvoucher would vary, therefore, according towho receives how much money, from whom,under what conditions, and for what purposes.

Although not a new idea, the educationalvoucher has only recently hecome a topic ofpublic debate in the United States. Intervtin the voucher hoe grown with the public's in-

, creased disillusionment with the public schoolsystem. Initially championed during the1960's as a way of providing aid to parochialschools and of circumventling desegregationrulings, during the Nixon administration, itwas proposed as a way of providing education-

73

ph 6The Provision of Education in the United States 77

al ossistance to disadvantaged. groups. Todayit is receiving attention, if not the support, ofa wide variety of diverse interests each ofwhich seeks to bring about' structural changesin the educational systems

Although many different versions of the .voucher idea have been proposed, all educa-tional. voucher propoeals have one essentialelement in common. They all assume that ed-ucation should be treated as a private, ratherthan a public good. While acknowledging thateducation mrits public support, voucher ad-vocates wouM generally argue that the presentsystem of public schools, responsible as it isto a political body, produces poor-quality ed-ucation. They see the voucher as a way ofallowing government to continue to supporteducation without having, at the same time,to sacrifice quality and divensty to public con-formity. They argue that if parenth were to begiven public vouchers with which to buy edu-cational services in the marketplace, thenschools, forced for the first time to competefor students, would have not only to improvethe general quality of their educational serv-ices but also to tailor these services morespecifically to meet the needs of their clien-tele." By providing diversity and accountabili-ty as well as the encouragement Of high-qual-ity education, the educational voucher would,according to its proponents, benefit both in-dividuals and society.

Voucher proposals have been strongly crit:icized on the grounds that, once implemented,they would recreate many of the same prob-lems that the public school was established torectify. In encouraging diversity., critics argue,the voucher system may exacerbate socioeco-nomic disparities and cleavages. They contend

, that a voucher system would discriminateagainst the poor, because in an unregulatedmarket, educational services would be distrib-

"George La Naoue, Educational Vouchers, Concepts and Con-troversies, Teachers College Press, 1972.

uted according to one's ability to pay. Op-ponents fre.concerned, moreover, that vouch-ers might be used, as they have in the past,to facilitate segregation."

Acknowledging these problems, i3ome pro-ponents have suggested that the voucher beregulated to prevent them." To assure openaccess to private schools, regulations havebeen proposed, for eiample, that would setlimits on tuition and that would guaranteethat a certain proportion of the stident bodiesof all schools be selected at random. However,a basic problem with the regulated educationalvoucher would,be that the more complex theregulations, the less likely that individualsparticipating in the system would be able totake full advantage of Whatever benefits it of-fers. This Could be one reason why t e pro-pdsals for the regulated vouchers ha re-ceived less public attention and support ththose for unregulated ones. .=

In 1978, a tuition tax credit bill was ap-proved in the House of Representatives, andgained 41 new votes in the Senate. In 1980,the Republican Part3 supported the voucherconcept in its party platform, and the concepthas clearly gained in popularity. Most recent-ly, the Reagan administtation has proposedits own tax tuition plan. Dissatisfied with theprivate lbenefits of the public school system,more aild more Americans regard the voucheras a wiiy of reducing the costs of educatingtheir children in private schools."

Designed as it is to cater more specifically'to particularistic needs, the voucher is an ideathat should be well received in the segmentededucational market that will characterize thefuture. Public pressure to adopt some kind ofa voucher system will probably increase.

"Ibid."Ibid. /"Jean Rosenblatt and Hoyt Gimlin, 'Tuition Tax Credits,"

Editorial Research Reports, Aug. 14, 1981.

78 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

University and the Four-Year CollegesAs semiautonomous communities of facul-

ties and students, universities are organizedfor learning and for research. Although theystill retain many of the institutional featuresof their medieval heritagea name, a centrallocation, a degree of autonomy, a system oflectures, a procedure for examinations anddegrees, and an administrative structure or-ganized around facultiesuniversities haveevolved over time to meet changing societalneeds."

American colleges and universities were ableto monopolize the field of higher education.because they were relatively autonomous, eCo-nomically self-sufficient, and comprehensivein scopecapable of serving the multiple goalsof higher education." Today, they no longerenjoy these advantages. As knowledge has in-creasingly come to be viewed as an importanteconomic resource that can be bought and soldin the market, colleges and universities, facedwith increasing costs and with competitionfrom private, profitmaking institutions, havehad to consider undergoing some radicalchanges.

Public Role of HigherEducation

Although originating in the private sec-tor," * American universities have becomesemi-public institutions, regulated and sup-ported, to a large extent, by government. Thisdevelopment occurred near the end of the 19th

"Clark Kerr, The Uses of the University (Cambridge, Mass.:Harvard University Press, 1972).

"Edward Shils, "The Order of Learning in the United StatesFrom 1865-1920: The Ascendency of the Universities," Miner-va'. vol. xvi. No. 2, summer 1978.

"Shils. op. cit; and Martin Trow, "Elite Higher Education:An Endangered Species?" Minerva. vol. xiv, No. 3, autumn1976; Ernest L. Boyer and Fred M. Hechinger, Higher Learn-ing in the Nation's Service (Washington, D.C.: The CarnegieFoundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1981).

*The first universities to be established in the United Statesfollowed the traditional European model. Serving primarily thewealthier members of society, they were specifically establishedto educate youth for leadership positions in the fields oftheology, law, and education.

century, when Americans began to regard col-leges and universities as having a unique soci-etal role." Unlike institutions of elementaryand secondarY education, which were expectedto prepare the general population of youth foradult roles in society, institutions of highereducation were expected to recruit those whoqualified for leadership positions. And, where-as elementary and secondary education schoolswere designed to transmit the general, or pop-ular, culture from one generation to the next,

'colleges and universities were expected totransmit the total knowledge base of society.They were to be responsible, moreover, notonly for the transmission of knowledge, butalsothrough the pursuit of researchfor itscreation. Believed to have a special under-standing of society, universities were called onto bring about its improvement." *

Two eventsthe land-grant movement andthe affiance during World War II between theuniversities and the Federal Governmentstrongly influenced this development, givingthe American university a distinct character.Involving the university in the daily life of theNation, both of these events served to rein-force the public aspect of the university's roleand to enhance the public's involvement in theaffairs of the university.

Democratic and populist, the land-grantmovement called on the universities to extendthe benefits of education eo all segments ofsociety. Responding to the Nation's rapid in-dustrial and agricultural development, it called

"Shils, op. cit."Ibid.*American colleges and universities were particularly well

s led to play the role prescribed for them. Bringing togetherf culty members from all disciplines, they were unique centersof intellectual stimulation. The income they derived from teach-ing made them economically self-sufficient. And because theirwork was not circumscribed by practical necessities, facultymembers were free to work on bamic research in areas of theirown intellectual interest. Notwithstanding a growing focus onresearch, the multidisciplinary nature of the university pre-vented it from becoming limited in scope and helped to fostera public belief that the pursuit of knowledge was, in and of itself,an important societal goal and one that the colleges and univer-sities were alone capable of achieving.

Ch. 8The Provision of Education4n the United States 79

on the universities, moreover, to expand be-yond their traditional role of training gentle-men as preach_e_ rs, law*ers, and doctors, andthrough applied rm.,:echto deirelop the morepractical aggications of education. Providedfor under the Morrill Act of 1862," land-grantcolleges, open to children of all backgroundswere established to provide education in fieldsstfh as agriculture, engineering, home eco-

, nomics, and business administration. Unlikethe traditional colleges, the land-grant collegeswere not isolated communities. Through theiragricultural experiment stations and theirservice bureaus, their activities were designedto serve the State."

Although the land-grant movement estab-lished the Federal Government's interest inhigher education and served to legitimate theuniversity's involvement in public affairs,there was no significant interaction betweenGovernment and the academic communityuntil World War II, when several major uni-versities were enlisted to conduct research fornational defense. This wartime collaborationestablished a precedent by which the FederalGovernment began to look to the universitiesfor help in executing national goals. In ex-change for its assistance, the Federal Govern-ment provided the academic community withfinancial aid." An increasingly importantsource of funding, the Government came to ex-

"The Morrill Act of 1862.*This law provided land to the States, the proceeds of which

were to be used to teach in the fields of agriculture and me-chanical arts. Subsequent legislation provided Federal finan-cial support for research and the operation of the land-grantcolleges.

"Kerr, op. cit."Kerr, op. cit.; Patrick M. Morgan, "Academic and the Fed-

eral Government," Policy Studies Journal voL 10, 1981; D. Bolc,"The Federal Government and the University," D. Bok, ThePublic Interest, winter 1980.

'Federal involvement in higher education increased markedlyafter World War II. By 1960, the academic community wu re-ceiving about $1.5 billion from the Federal Government, 100times as much as it had received 20 years before. Most of thesefunds were spent on research-related activities, and were chan-neled to a limited number of universities and to a limited groupof departments within universities.

ert a considerable influe0e on universityaffairs."*

While continuing to support research, theFederal Government, in thé late 1960's, alsobegan to provide funds to, assure that allqualified students would have access to highereducation."* In fiscal year 1978-79, the Fed-eral Government spent approximately $14 bil-lion to ,meet these goals." Today, nearly 40'percent of all students receive Federal aid, and75 percent of all university expenditures forscientific research are federally funded."

Measured in accomplishments, it is clearthat the alliance between Government and theuniversity has been quite successful. Americanuniversities have been responsible for manyof the Nation's most significant achievements.Since World War II, for example, Americanscholars have received more than half of all theNobel Prizes awarded for science. And Ameri-can research dominates the world's scientificand technical literature, accounting for ap-proximately 40 percent of the articles writteneach year." Moreover, the American univer-sity system has been reinarkably successfulin providing extensive and varied educationalresources to a broadly based and increasing-ly diverse clientele.

"Kerr, op. cit.'Federal funding was used to support research in about 10

major universities. Most funds were spent for research in thephysical and biomedical sciences and in engineering. Gray about3 percent were used to support research in the social sciences,and almost nothing was spent for the humanities. Universitydecisions to accept Federal funds for research occurred outsideof the normal academic deciaionmaking process, and often deter-mined how the universities would distribute their own fundsand facilities.

"Morgan, op. cit.'The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the National Education Act

of 1965, and the Educational Amendments of 1972 providedthe legislative basis for increased Federal involvement inacademic affairs. In this legislation, the Federal Governmentendorsed the view that higher education was a vital nationalresource and one to whieh all Amerkans should have equalawes::

"Sloan Commission on Government and Higher Education,1980 Report.

"Morgan, op. cit."Boyer and Heckinger, op. cit.

80 Inlbrmational Technology and its Impact on Amrican Education

Status of American Collegesand Universities

Today there ire in the United States approx-imately 1,957 4-year colleges and universities,549 of which are public and 1,408 private. Re-flecting the pluralistic nature of Americansociety, they include a wide variety of institu-tions. All together they enroll about 4,115,000full-time students." Over the past 10 years,institutions of higher education have ex-panded rapidly in size, in number, and in thekinds of services that they render.'" Duringthe same period, higher education has beenmade available to a much broader section ofthe population.'°*

The expansion of colleges and universitiesto meet the growing demands for educationhas, however, affected their future viability.American colleges and universities are, for ex-ample, no longer semiautonomous institu-tions. Heavily supported and regulated bygovernment, they have lost considerable con-trol over some of of their own internal affairs.In recent years, the Federal Government hascome to determine such issues as who shouldbe taught what, by whom, and how."

The American university is, moreover, nolonger economically self-sufficient. Fundsderived from teaching can no longer be usedto subsidize university research. In fact todaythe reverse is true. Revenues from researchnow pay the overhead for many of the univer-sity's more traditional functions. As a result,more than ever before, departments are beingdesigned to suit the needs of research, and

"The Condition of Education, op. cit."I bid.During the 1970's. the number of institutions of higher ed-

ucation increased by 241 percent, the number of students at-tending these institutions increased by 290 percent,and thenumber of degrees conferred upon graduates increased by 251percent.

Increased access to institutions of higher education is in-dicated by the changed racial and ethnic composition of the stu-dent body. For example, the difference between the percentageof blacks in the total population and the percentage of blacksin the student body decreased significantly during thew years.,This changed composition of the student body can also be seenin the increase in the number of degrees that were conferredupon female and minority students.

"Bok, op. cit.; Morgan, op. cit.

faculty members are being -selected more onthe basis of their ability to attract researchcontracts and grants than on their ability toteach or even to publish."

Once the undisputed center of research ef-forts in the United States, -American univer-sities are today competing strenuously withone another and with business and govern-mental research institutes for money, and re-sources. In the present economic and educa-tional climate, most universities are findingit difficult to compete. The cost of equipmentfor advanced scientific research is extremelyexpensive to buy and to maintain." Facultymembers, drawn by the superior research op-portunities and financial benefits offered byprivate firms and government, are leaving theuniversities and taking their research teamswitlr,them."

To make themselves more financially inde-pendent, many universities and colleges havebegun to sell their educational services to newelients and to deliver them in new forms. Inan effort to capture some of the growing adultmarket for education, um:yersities, as early as1963, began to develop programs of oqntinu-ing education. Many colleges and universitiesnow offer degree courses through correspon-dence prograrns. To compete more effective-ly with proprietary educational institutions,several colleges and universities have shiftedthe focus of their curricula from the arts, cul-ture, and leisure activities to vocational needs.Taking advantage of some of the new infor-mation and communications technologies, sev-eral universities have, moreover, begun tobroadcast courses over cable TV and to pack-age instructional materials on video disks andvideo cassettes for sale to businesses or toother educational institutions."

"Stephanie Yanchinski, "Universities Take To the MarketPlace," New Scientist, December 1981; Will Lepkowski, "Re-search Univereitties Face New Fiscal Realities," Chemical andEngineering News, Nov. 23, 1981.

"Graduate UniversitiesA New Model," Science, December

1981."Lepkowski, op. cit."Patsy Vyner, Telephone Survey on Use of Telecommunica-

tions Thchnologies at Poet Secondary Institutions, unpublishedpaper, 1982.

7,

Operating more and more in the market sec-tor, uhiversitips are also beginning to sell andto patent the results of their research." Manyof these arrangements are being made with thecooperation of business. Moreover, severalfaculty members acting iiidependentlir havejoined with suppliers of venture capital to es-tablish new companies in fields such as genet-ics and electronics."

If universities are to keep pace with theircompetitors in the profitmaking sector, it isclear that, given diminished Government fund-ing, they will have to make some new finan-cial arrangements with industry. This develop-ment has caused some concern within the aca-demic community. Meeting in Rome, Italy, anumber of biologists recently identified someof the issues that might arise if universitiesbecome deeply involved in commercial ven-tures. To preserve their proprietary rights,universities might, for example, begin torestrict the free exchange of information, aprocess upon which so many of the universi-ty's traditional functions depend. In an effortto presetve traditival values, some academicsare now trying to tlevelop guidelines for col-laboration.

Today, as the demand for knowledge and thecost of its generation increase, many collegesand universities are finding it More difficultto be all-purpose "multiversities."* Unable toobtain Government or industry funding, manysmall liberal arts colleges, for example, can no

"Lopkowski, op, dit.'For example. Stanford University recently sold the design

of their software chip of music synthesizer. developed by oneof their music professors, to Yamaha of Japan for 9700,000.

""The Acedemic-Industrial Ccuplex," Science voL 216, May28, 1982.

'For example. Hoechst AG, German pharmaceutical firm,recently provided 970 million for the founding of new depart-ment of molecular biology at the Massachusetta General Hos-pita In exchange for this contribut4on, the Massachneetta Gen-eral Hospital has agreed to grant Hoechst exclusive worldwidelicensee to any patentable developments that result from com-pany-sponsored research. Harvard Medical School has similaragreement with E. I. du Pont de Nemours. In exchange for116 million contribution to build new genetics department, Har-yard has agreed to grant Du Pont licenses to market any com-mercially useful research for which it has paid.

"Ibid.; and Yanchinaki, op. cit."the term "multiversky" wu coined by Clark K. It refers

to university communities where teaching and research ac-tivities coexist but are performed in and by different sectorsof the university.

(Ch. 6The PrOvision of Educetio In the United tes 81

, .

' lb

longer afford to pursue major research efforts.And many larger institutions ve had tocurtail some of their research epartments.Others are beginning to shift tir educationalfocus from one that emphasizes the liberal artsto one that prepares students for careers in agreat variety of new and expanding technical,semiprofessional, and managerial occupations.This public/private development may havelar-reaching consequences. If more and more col-leges and universities begin to function as sin-gle-purpose organizations, they may find thatthey face much stiffer competition from thegrowing number of other single-purpose insti-tutions now seeking to provide education inthe marketplace.

Information and communication technolo-gies have potential applications for all aspectsof higher education. They can play an impor-tant role, for example, both in providing aliberal education as well as in training in-dividuals for specific roles in society. They canserve, moreover, to facilitate research and thestoring, retrieving and sharing of knowledge.Many of the ways in which the new technolo-

,gies can be used will be of special interest tothose universities which, in the face of shifting'demands and shrinking resources, are search-ing for new ways to become more economicallyand socially secure.

They might be used, for example, to providefaculty support in routine and remedial learn-ing situations. The need for such support islikely to increase in the future, given an in-crease in the costs of providing higher educa-tion, an increase in the number of collegestpdents who will come from minority back-grbunds, an increase in number of adults seek-ing higher education, and an increase in theneed for job retraining. Many colleges and uni-versities are already using and developing newways to apply information and communicationtechnologies for these purposes. At NorthCarolina State University, for example, stu-dents and faculty members worked togetherto develop a successful video tape instruc-tional program that teaches strategies forstudying and learning."

"Thleecan: The Digest of the Center for Learning and Ms-communkatione vol. 1, issue 1, October 1981.

In tomtit/km*1 Pchnology and its impact on American Education

ANIL.

The new technologies can also be used to ex-tend the boundaries of the university to pro-Aida vide teaching facilities to those who wouldotherwise not have access to them. Many col-leges and univexsities have, for example,joined with public broadcasting stations tobroadcast college credit telecourses as part ofa new Adult Learning Service to be coordi-nated nationally by the Public BroadcastingServices." Members of the health communi-ty have, Moreover, used video teleconferenc-ing to provide continuing medical educationto professionals throughout the country.°'

Communication and information technolo-glee can also be used to distribute scarde teach-ing and faculty resources across many cam-puses. Recognizing the potential for sharing,

"James J. Johnson, "A Case Study: The Healthy Pulse ofMedical Video Teleconferencing," Satellite Communications,May 1981, pp. 19-23.

Jilm714111

Columbia University graduate students with allotted msinframe time ars worldng at the consoles (top). Their work is crankedinto their department's information and stored for further processing at the Unversitys Mainframe Computer Center

111

Cit 8The Provision of Education in the United States 83

several colleges and universities have formedconsortia to advise and assist them in the useof media-based maferials. A telecoinmdhica-tions task force was recently formed at the Na-tional Association of State Universities andLand Grant Colleges," for example.

While the use of computers in college anduniversity teaching has traditionally beenlimited to the fields of math and science, it isincreasingly being extended to other areas aswell. Viewing computer literacy as an essen-tial element of any general education, g num-ber of liberal arts colleges, such as Harvardand Wells, now require that all of theirstudents become familiar with the computer.Faculty members and students have experi-mented in using the computer to teach a widerange of courses including drama, English lit-erature, psychology, and the classics." Wherestudents on a campus have ready access tocomputers, they are using them more andmore not as an adjunct to, but as an integralpart of their learning routines."*

By facilitating sharing, information andcommunication technologies can help reducethe costs of and increase the resources avail-

. able forperforming university research. Net-works to transmit data, voice, and video be-

"Thlescan. May/Juno 1982.Wired University Is On Its Way," Business Week,

Apr. 24. 1982."1 bid.'Last year, for example. 60 of the entering students at Renn-

selaar Polytechnic Institute were given computers as an ex-periment to sae how they would be used. Within short periodof time, those students became very comfortable with them.using them as extensively as students who had brought theirown computers to campus.

tween universities are already being estab-fished. Some will provide individual users ac-cess to library resources and scientific databases, while others, like Bitnet, will allowfaculty members .and students to communi-cate with their colleagues at different collegesand research institutions and provide an en-vironment in which they can exchange ideasand information, and even coauthor papers."By extendhig their traditional boundaries, thenew information and communications technol-ogies may help the universities to adapt to thechanged needs and circumstances of an infor-mation age.

However, at the same time, and for manyof the same reasons, they may also serve toundermine those aspects of the university thathave traditionally set it apart fromandabovethe rest of society. Semiautonomouscommunities' universities were expected tooperate by a special set of rules and standardsthat would foster the develophient and thepreservation of knowledge as a goal in and ofitself. And members of the academic commu-nity, assumed to be loyal to these goals, werecalled on to serve as independent observersand critics of society. The widescale deploy-ment of information technologies may affectthe university's ability to perform this role.Increasingly linked to outside groups, the uni-versity community may be less able to func-tion as an independent source of knowledgeand as independenfr observer of society.

411"Bitnet Links Yale University, City Univorsity of Now York,

Columbia University. Princeton University, Rutgers Univer-city. Penn StatiaJniversity. Brown University, Boston Univer-sity. and Cornell University.

Two-Year and Community CollegesMore than any Other educational institution,

the American community college has ex-hibited an ability and willingness to adaptrapidly to changing societal needs and cir-cumstances. Experienced in reaching out toprovide nontraditional services to new cat-egories of students, community colleges mayhave a special need for, and be particularly

suited to talie advantage of, the new infora-tion technologies.

Community colleges emerged at the end ofthe 19th century to accommodate the grow-ing number of youths who, looking some kindof postsecondary education, either were unpre-pared for or could not find room in the tradi-

b u

84 Informational Technology and Its impact on American Education

tional college and university system." Someof theae new colleges were extensions of sec-ondary schools; others were 4-year collegenconverted to 2-year programs. Referred to asjunior colleges, they provided a general collegecfirriculum designed to be transferrable to 4-Year colleges and universities.

Today, as the change in their name sug-gests, community colleges offer a curriculamore oriented towards the needs of local com-munities. Having continually added new func-tions as the need arose, community collegesnow provide a wide variety of educational serv-ices. These include:"

academic transfer programs;terminal general education programs;technical productive skills programs;life skill programs not related to employ-ment;remedial programs;cultural, social, and recreational pro-grams; andcounseling.

To provide such a wide variety of programsand services, community colleges have em-ployed untraditional organizational structuresand educational techniques. Willing to adaptthe institution to the n9pds of their students,they have followed policies of open admissions,made use of the special skills of nonacademic,part-time faculty members, allowed flexiblescheduling, and offered courses off-campus insuch remote places as nursing homes, prisons,and storefronts."

Because of their organizational flexibility,their open-door policies, and their aggressive-ness in recruiting new students, communitycolleges benefited more than any other institu-tions of higher education from the postwarbaby boom and from ihe national emphasisduring the 1960's 'on providing equal educe-

.,"For a history of community colleges, see Ralph R. Fields,

The Community College Movement (New York: McGraw Hill.1962).

"Clark Kerr. "Change. and Challenge. Ahead for th;et-munity Collgee," Community and Junior College Journia v .

50, May 1960."Barbara Guthrie-Morse. "Agenda for the 80.: Community

Collo(' Organizational Reform" Coduounity Collage Review,spring 1981, pp. 0-8.

tional opportunities. Their growth during thisperiod was phenomenal. Enrollment increasedby 930 percent, and, on the average, one newcollege was established every week."

Today there are 1,194 2-year community col-leges in the United States, approximatelythree-quarters of which are publicly supported.Together they constituted in 1979 a $52-billionenterprise." In 1980, community colleges en-rolled 1,718 full-time and 2,733 part-time stu-dents, and employed about 87,000 full-timeand 115,400 part-time faculty members. Al-though their distributionwarids from State toStatO, they account for a substantial propor-tion of higher educational enrollments in allof them. In 1979, one-third of all students, and27 percent of all full-time students were en-rolled in community colleges."

Although a large portion of all students ofhigher education are enrolled in communitycolleges, community college students differsignificantly from those who have historical-ly attended 4-year colleges and universities.As compared with those in the more tradi-tional institutions, community college stu-dents are more likely to be older, registeredpart-time and in noncredit courses, to comefrom lower economic badigrounds and fromminority groups, and to be in greater need ofremedial instruction."

Because of their demonstrated ability toadapt to change, and to attract new groupsof students, community collegee, unlike mostother institutions of higher education, arepredicted to grow throughout the 1980's.Their future will, however, not be withoutproblems.

As total levels of enrollment decline, alleduca6onal institutions will begin to competefor the same categories of students. Once alone-in marketing tivir service to nontraditionalgrouprist students, cOmmunity colleges may,

"D. W. Breneman and S. C. Nelson, Financing CommunityCollege.: An Economk Perepective (Washington. D.C.: TheBrookings Institution. 1981).

"Ibid."Ibid."Ibid.

Ch. 6 The Provision of Education ikths United States 85

in the future, have to compete with highschools' to provide adult basic education, witharea vocational centers and proprietary in-stitutions to teach vocational and commercialskills, with company-based training programsto provide job specific instruction, and with4-year public and private colleges and univer-sities to teach part-time and general educationcourses:"

Community colleges will also have to com-pete with other institutions for scarce publicresources.' Charging relatively lower tuitionfees than other institutions of higher educe--

."43. V. Martorana and Wayne D. Smut:. "SUR. Legielation.Politics. and Community Colleges." Community College Repview, winter 1960: S. V. Martorana and W. Cary McGuire. "Re-cent Legal Action Affecting Community College.: A NationalSurvey." Community College Review, fall 1976.

Lion, community colleges are more dependentthan most on public funding.

In recent years, State governments haveassumed greater resposibility for and controlover community college affairs." In a periodof increased costs and declining revpnues,State policymakers, now responsible 'for amuch broader area of educational activities,may have to reevaluate the rationale accordingto which educational funds are allocated. Com-munity colleges may be partictilarly vulner-able in such a reevaluation, since there is lessgeneral recognition of, and no longstandingtradition to publicly finance, many of the func-tions that they perform."

"Breneman and Nelson, op. cit."Ibid.

Proprietary EdrationProprietary educational institutions are

profitrseeking institutions that offer programsclosely geared to preparing students to enterspecific jobs and occupations. Over the years,four types of proprietary institutions haveevolved, each appealing to a distinct educa-tional market. They include trade and tech-nical schools, licensed occupational schools(e.g., cosmetology and barbering), independentbusiness schools, and home study schools.Most private and profit-seeking, preschool,elementary, secondary, and preparatoryschools are not considered part of the pro-prietary educational system, perhaps becausethey are less occupation-oriented and their cur-riculums tend to be more traditionally struc-tured.

Status of Proprietary SchoolsProprietary schools have existed as distinct

institutions in the United States since the1880's. Many were typical small businesses oftile timeestablished by individual entrepre-

neurs or as family operations." The over-whelming majority of these schools are stillindividually owned today, but corporate own-ership is now the most common form of pro-'prietary school organize on." Most schoolsare small. The average pivate school enroll-ment (includes ponprofit in 1978 was 153,compared with an average enrollment of 668during the same year for public postsecondary,noncorrespondence schools."

According to biennial surveys of postsec-ondary schools that offer occupational pro-grams, conducted by the National Center forEducation Statistics (NCES), the number of

"Donald E. Mellon. The Rale of the EntrsprensurEckicatorin Private Business Education in thy United States Prom 1860to 1915: A Study in Conditioned Entrepreneurship 1975 doc-toral dissertation, York University. Graduate School ofBusing.. Administration.

"Steven M. Jung. Proprietary Vocatkmal Education (Collumbus. ()him National Cantafor Reeesrch,rSitrational. The OhioState University. 1980) .

"Evelyn R. Kay, Enrollments and Programs in NoncollegistePostsecondary Schools, 1978 (Washington. D.C.: NationalCenter for Education Statistics. 1979).

86 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

proprietary schools had increased from 5,814in 1978 to 6,141 in 1980, of which 4,151, (67.6percent) were .accredited." Of the 1.5 millionstudents enrolled in 1978 in all public and pri-vate noncorrespondmice postsecondary schools,61 percent (or 928,000 students) attendeMpro-prietary institutions."'An unPublished NC4Ssurvey indicated in 1980 that total 'postsecond-ary Occupational enrolhhents had increased to2.4. million and that the number of studentsattending all types of noncorrespondence pro-prietar'schools had risen as well. (No compre-hensive enrollment figure for 1980 is available

---at present.) CosmetoIoebarber schools, busi-ness/commercial schools, flight schools, andtrade schools were the largest groups of pro-prietary institutions, operating in 1980 (seetable 15). As indicated in ,table 16, more ofthese schools are accredited than EFy of theother types of proprietary institutions.

There are an estimated 250 home studyschools in the United States. The 70 of thesethat are accredited have some 1.5 rnillionstudents enrolled annually."

It has been suggested that vocational educa-tion began to evolve when those seeing the

f""Statistics of Postecondary Schbols With OccupationalProgrOms," National Center for Education Statistics EarlyRelease, September 1981.

"Kay, op. cit."Intervjew wieh Michael P. Lambert, Assistant Director, Na-

tional Home Study Cquncil, fall/winter 1981.

need for additional and expanded occupationaltraining attempted to join two separate &lace-tional systemscraftsmen education, whichprior to that time hadbeen in the hands of thecraftsmen themselves, and academic educe.'tion, which had developed around the conceptof scholarship. Attempts by educationally in-novative individuals to place the preparationof craftsmen in the same context.as academiceducation met resistance from more tradi-tional educators. However, the need for oc-cupational education remained.

Vocational education developed as a sepa-rate branch of what was then the traditionaleducation system, but traditional academicschool standards--zsuch as length of programsand methodologYwere superimposed on thisnew type of educational experience. This re-suited in a vocational peogram that was tooabstract and " . . . lacked the desired technicalknowledge and practical skill ""

While public and nonprofit vocational educa-tion programs continued to develop over theyears; the need to which proprietary educationhactbecome at least a partial response beganto take shape. A study, of pesonality charac-teristics of 19,th to early 20th century privatebusiness school founders indicates that those

"Melain L. Eiarlow, "Our Important Past," in The Future ofVocational Education, Swanson, Gordon I. (ed.) (Arlington, Va:American Vocational Association, 1981).

Table *S.Number of Postsecondary Schools With Occupational PrOgrams, ByControl and By Type of School: Aggregate United States, 1980 (universe data)

\Type of ,school -..,, Total schools Public

Privateindependent

Proprietary 'nonprofit P

Vocational/technisal ' .. 689 591 85 43Technical institute . 107 2 96 9Business/commercial 1,388 3 1,348 37

,Cosnietology/barber .Flight school .

2,128928

11.

1

2125926

.01

4

Trade school 773 8 739 26

Arts/design . 250 0 233 17

Hospital school 859 1'71 51 637

Allied health ,._ 384 117 220 47Junior/community college 1,116 905 86 125

College/unlyersIty 647 260 11 376

4

Other,

T9tal224

9,493, 0

2,061221

6,1413

1,291

SOURCE:, "Statistics, of Postsecondary Schools With Occupational Programs," National Center for Education Statistics EarlyRelease, September roar. ' ..,

Ch. 82-The Provis n of Education)n the United States 87

Table Ie.Number of Postsecondary Schools With OccControl and By Type of School: Aggregate U

1980 (accredited schools only')

upatlonal rograms, Byhad St os,

Type of 'school-Total schools Public

Private

ProprietaryIndependent

nonprofitVocational/technical 681 591 64 6Technical institute 92 2 83 7Business/commercial 743 3 731 9Cosmetologylbarber 1,713 3 1,710Flight school 714 1 712. 1'Trade school 420 8 398 14Arts/design 148 0 136 , 10Hospital school 809 , 171 39 599Allied health 301 117 161 23.Junior/community college 1,112 905 84 123College/univec7ity 647 260 11 376Other 25 0 22 3

Total ' 7,383 2,061 4,151 1,171alncludes all schools accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting association, wi.thsr InstitutionW or Specialized, oreligible for participation in certain Federal programs.

.SOURCE:4*StatistIcs of Postsecondary Schools With Occupational Programs," Nationa1 Center for Education Statistics Early

Release, September 1961.

were successlul in their ventuires poa-sessed both educational expertise and businessknow-how. More oftenthan not, in the earlyyears, ability as an educator was subordinate

. to that of entrepreneur.At the end of this period, however, the en-

trepreneur without considerable sophisticationin educational matters was unable to compete'in the industry." Perhaps the entrepreneurialskills of these early business educators andtheir counterparts in trade and technicalschools enabled them to identify significantmarkets, while their educational skills enabledthem to translate market needd into educa-,tional programs.

Some view proprietary education as fillinga vacuum in occupational training that wascreated by the failure of continued develop-ment of apprenticeship education and thepublic vocational education system in theUnited States. In Europe,, where these twotypes of educational experiences are thriving,no private vocational sehool, system hasevolved."

"Doro fly e5nn, Proprietary.yocational Schools: An Al-ternative Lifeetyk kr the Disenchanted/Disadvantaged paperpresented at the National Center for Research in VocationidEducation's Employability Conference, Columbus, Ohio, Oc- #tober 1981.

,

Characteristics of ProprietarySchools

Perhaps the most distinctive characteristicof proprietary schools is their flexibility.Because they are operated as businesses, theyare constax4ly monitoring the needs of theirrespective arkets, for their survival dependson how well they meet the needs of their cli-ents who are seeking adequate preparation foremployment. The balance that must be main-tained between providing suitable training andmaking a reasonable profit results in continu-

' ous assessinent of and changes in operationand instruction."

Proprietary schools are totally dependent onstudent tuition income. Rarely if ever are theyendowed or do they-provide student scholar-

' ships. AEI a result of the Education Amend=ments of 1972, their enrollees are eligible forfintncial assiatanee from such Federal pro-grams As Basic Educational OpportunityGrants and Federally Insured Student Loans.In comparisions of the costs of private irersuspublic vocational education programs, in-cluding Federal and State assistance to publicinstitutions, proprietary school programs are

"A. Harvey Belitsky, Private Vocational Schools and TheirStudents: Limited Objectives; Unlimited Opportunities (Cam-bridge, Mass.: Schenkman Publishing Co., Inc., 1969).

88 Information* Technology, and its Impact on American Education,

less costly, although tuition for studentsenrolled in private, profit-seeking institutionsis higher."

The course offerings of these institutionstend to be shorter than those of their public-ly funded counterparts, and liberal arts re-quirements are usually not a part of their cur-ricula. Because enrollments are much smallerthan those in publicly funded vocationalschools and their ariministrative structures areless complex, they can develop materials andintroduce new courses more quickly in the oc-cupational fields that are in demand in the in-dustrial job market (e.g., data processing).More often than not proprietary schools in--elude as course content only those principleswhich are directly related to and necessary formastery of a specific occupation. A year-roundschedule of day and evening classes is com-mon."

Instructors in proprietary schools tend tobe selected because of their work experienceand craftmanship rather than on the basis oftheir experience in the classroom or their aca-demic degrees. They are not tenured employ-ees, and are constantly evaluated in terms oftheir achievement -of student satisfaction endgraduate employability." In some proprietaryschools, instructers also serve as placementcounselors. This is seen by some school admin-istrators as yet another way to ensure thatwhat is taught in the classroom is appropriatepreparation for entry or reentry into the jobmarket."

Another characteristic of proprietary schooleducation is its emphasis on the development

9 of what might be called widely accepted workbehavior in enrollees. Students are exPectedto attend classes or risk suspension, to com-plete assignments in a timely-fashion, and,especially in business school programs, dressaccotding toY common business standards,since all these characteristics are seen as

"Jung, op. cit."Belitsky, op. cit."Cann, op. cit."Interview with Stephen Priedheim, President, Association

of Independent Colleges and Schools, fall/winter 1981.

necessary for successful; long-term employ-ment."

MarketS Served byProprietary Schools

A.1980 study that used1975 data suggeststhat, in general, proprietaiy school studentsshare the following characteristics:

A larger percentage are female and blackas compared with students in communitycolleges;They are more likely to come from lowerincome backgrounds and be older, mar-ried, and out of high school for a longertime; andThey are more likely th4m community col-lege freshman to receiie Anantial aid fromFederal funding sources. The most fre-qüent source is the Basic Edization Op-portunity Grant, which supported 4 optof 10 students. The greatest source of dol-lars is the. Guaranteed Student LoanPrograms.

Furthercomparisons in the study of students*ithin the proprietary school sector revealtheir diversity:

The, enrollees in independent businessschools are largely women, while enrolleesin trade and technical schools are consid-erably older and are comprised of a highproportion of veterans, married students,.

- and minorities.More trade and technical school studentscome from wealthier families than dothose in business schools.Independent busir4ess school students aremore likely to participate in college workstudy prçgramsand trade and technicalschool students are more likely to supporttheir studies through 'GI benefits andmoney earned from full-time work."

"Marci L. dox, Charaftaristics of Students Attending Pro-prietary Schools and Factors Influencing Their Institutionalaroice, 1980 doctoral dissertation, University of California: LosAngeles.

p.

Ch. 6-The Provision of Education In the United States 89

A study of proprietary schools and collegesconducted in 1975 found that students who at-tend proprietary schools are, for the most Part,ignored by institutions of higher education.Proprietary 'schools do not compete for stu-dents with colleges and universities, but in-stead meet a specific market need. Their great-est potential impact oh higher education is indiverting Federal assistance from collegiateinstitutions."

In the 1978survey of postsecondary schoolswith occupational programs conducted byNCES, 32 percent of men and 38 percent ofwomen attended private schools (includes non-profit). The survey results show that, duringthe period 1974 to 1978, more women thanmen were enrolled in private (includes non-profit) schools. As illustrated in table 17,female enrollments fluctuated from 52.9 per-Cent to 54.2 percent. Enrollments for males inprivate schools increased significantly from 61percent to 67 percent during the same 4-'yearperiod. Increases in enrollment levels in pri-vate schools from 1974 through 1978 accountedfor Most of the enrollment growth in postsec-ondary occupational education.

While individual enrollees represent the pri-mary target audience for all types of propri-etary education programs, business and indus-try, as well as State and local education agen-cies, have been looked on by some segments

"J. Miclael Ervin, The Proprietary School: Assessing Its Im-pact on the Collegiate Sector (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Universityof Michigan,:, Center for the Study of Higher Education,February 1975).

Table 17.-Percent filstrIbutlOn. of Men andWomen by Control of School

Control Total Men WomenPublic 100.0 58.5 41.5Private 100.0 47.1 52.9

Total, 1974 100.0 51.0 49.0

Public 100.0 54.7 45.3Private 100.0 45.8 54.2

Total, 1976 100.0 48.8 51.2

100.0 53.1 46.9Private 100.0 45:8 54.2

Total, 1978 100.0 48.0 52.0SOURCE Evelyn R Kay, Enrollments and Programs In Noncollegiste Postsecond-

ary Schools, 1978 (Washington, DC Notional Center for EducationStatistics), p

ILA

a

of the profit-seeking educational system as im-portant markets. Prior to and during WorldWar II, for example, extensive amounts oftraining for industry were carried out by trade,technical, correspondence, and home studyschools. After the war, however, there was adramatic drop in the volume of contract train-ing, as companies who had not already doneso began to establish their own in-house train-,ing capabilities."

Although relations between proprietaryschool educators and nonprofit educators havebeen and continue to be strained due to theirdifferent views about the profit waive in edu-cation, State education agencies and, localschool districts are beginning to approachprofit-seeking institutions to operate specialprograms. The Vocational Education Act of1963 cleared the way for public agencies to es-tablish contractual relationships with proprie-tary schools where such schools can " . . .

make a significant contribution to attainingthe objectives of the State plan for vocationaleducation and provide subatantially equiva-lent training at a lower cost; orprovideequip-ment or services not available in public institu-tions.'

Despite this enabling legislation, contract-ing between public and proprietary institu-tions reinainsat fairly low levels. In 1977, con-tracting between local school districts andprivate Vocational schools made up between0.6 and 1 percent of Federal outlays tor voca-tional education under Part B of the Voca-tional Education Act. Barriers identified tomore extensive utilization of proprietaryschools included a distrust of the profitmotive, a concern over ' highly publicizedabuses of Federal student loan programs bysome profit-seeking institutions, and theabsenceof administrative systems that wouldencourage more working agreements."

"Interview with William A. Goddard, Executive Director, Na- .

tional Associatitm of Trade tuid Technical Schools; Interviewwith Michael P. Lambert, fall/winter 1981.

"Educational Testing Service, Education Policy Rtsearch In-stitute, Private Schoole and Public Poficy (Washington, D.C.:Office of Education, September 1978).

"Ibid.

b

90 informational Technolo6 and its impact on American Education

Applications of InformationTechnology in Proprietary

EducationAll proprietary education industry leaders

and school administrators interviewed in thisinvestigation expressed awarenefis of the in-creasing role of information technology. How-ever, differences of opinion exist as to- howuseful such technology is in specific types ofproprietary institutions. It is interesting tonote the applications of information technol-ogy within a group of institutions forced to bewary of high administrative costs, and knownfor their ability to be flexible and responsiveto frequently changing needs in their respec-tive markets.

Trade and Technical SchoolsLittle or no use of any form of information

technology is being made by accredited tradeand technical institutions. This type of pro-prietary school tends to be highly instructoioriented, to emphasize learning by doing, andto restrict the amounts of theory presented inthe classroom to that which is directly jsb-related. Video tapes are sometimes used todemonstrate equipment operation and to pro-vide individuals with performance feedback.Costs associated with 'the use of educationaltechnology are cited as a reason for its limiteduse. Data processing schools are the only pos-sible exceptions,

Licensed Occupational SchoolsTo date, schools of cosmetology and barber

colleges have made very little use of informa-tion technology in their occupational pro-grams. The most commonly utilized forms oftechnology in the cosmetology field tend to bevideo tape, used to record remarks of visitinginstructors or to demonstrate particular proc-esses and/or techniques, and audio cassettes,used to record instructor presentations. Al-though the potential for the use of educationaltechnology is recognized, the relatjvely smallsizeof most licensed occupational schools and

Its

the investment required for equipment andsoftware result in few applications."

Proprietary- Busin'ess Schools,Video tape, closed-circuit television, compu-

ter-managed instruction (CMI), and computer-assisted instruction (CAI) are all in use at pres-ent in profit-seeking business schools. Videotape is by far the most common form of tech-nology being'applied, closely followed by CMI,which is used for tracking applications, enroll-ments, financial aid, grading, and placement."At Johnson and Wales College in Providence,R.I., closed-circuit television is used to libktwo classrooms and to provide better viewingof cooking demonstrations for students at-tending the culinary arts program.

An electronics school affiliated with John-son and Wales also makes use of closed-circuittelevision in selected classroom sessions. Al-though cost remains a major deterrent to fur-ther use of these and other technologies, theadministrator of this school feels that pro-prietary business schools will be forced tomake greater applications of technology in theclassroom, given what he calls the "videoorientation" of today's students."

Coleman College, located in LaMesa, Calif.and founded in 1973, offers programs in dataprocessing and computer electronics to a stu-dent body of 800. Closed-circuit television isutilized in every course offered. The college hastwo large viewing rooms as well as individualviewing stations for student use, and its ownvideo tape studio. Video tape is used to recordlectures prior to delivery, and then to highlight'them with graphics. Coleman has a CMI sys-tem used to monitor student progress, to se-lect appropriate readings, and to administertesting."

"Interview with Gerald Donaway, Executive Director, Na-tional Association of Trade and Technical Schools, fall/winter1981,

"Interview with Stephen Friedheim; also interview with JackIrene, Executive Vice President, Johnson and Wales College,fall/winter 1981.

"I bid."Interview with Coleman Furr, Chairmarrof the Board, Cole-

man College, fall/winter 1981.

Ch. 6The Provision of Education in the United States 91

Home Study SchoolsAt present, the home study industry re-

mains very print-oriented. The National RadioInstitute (NRI), a wholly owned subsidiary ofMcGraw-Hill, Inc., and the largest technicalcorrespondence school in the country, with anaverage annual enrollment of 60,000, uses ,aCMI system that permits student examina-tions to be graded, annotated with persoffal-ized comments and mailed back to the enrolleewithin a 24-hour period. The admissions andfinancial records of NRI have just recentlybeen converted to a computer format. Lesson-grading records will be automated in the nextphase.

As part of a video cassette repair course nowoffered by the school, two instructional videotapes have been developed, that soon will bedistributed to enrollees. Plans for 1982 call forthe addition of CAI to the microcomputertechnolou course, which begins by taking thestudent through basic electronics and endswith microtechnology. A TRS-80 computer, in-cluded in the cost of the course, is shipped toeach student after successful completion of acertain number of lessons on basic electronics.Enrollees learn how to repair the computer andhow to develop and run simple software pro-grams. Through CAI units, to be added nextyear, students will learn how to do elementaryprograming in BASIC. Cost is a major deter-rent in conversion of , additional coursep toCAI, video disk, or any other form of tech-nology.'"

Future UsesBy far the segment of the proprietary school

industry doing the most to encourage "addi-tional applications of information technology'in future education .Programs is the homestudy group. A recent review of current pritc-tices in home study suggested that greater useof educational technology is one way to ensureregeneration of the industry."' In May 1981,

.cmlinterview with John 4'. Thompson, President, NationalRadio Institute; also interview with Louis Frenzel, Senior VicePresident, Product Development, National Radio Institute,fall:winter 198.1.

'Louis E. Frenzel, "Ten Reasons Why Home Study May NotSurvive the 80'a," NHSC News, fall 1981, pp. I118.

the National Home Study Council (NHSC) es-tablished a forum for educatorsInown as theGreen Chair Group to predict what shapehome study will take by 2000.

In addition to a series of papers producedby selected individuals, the end-product of theeffort will be a predictive model, developedfrom a Delphi survey series administered togroup members. From the first round ofpapers submitted to NHSC in 1981, it is clearthat these educators see extensive use of in-formation technology in "distance educa-tion"the new name they have coined forhome studyin the very near future. Whilethey see the continued use of print xnedia,some predict that in most homes there will beinteractive video and voice units with hard-copy capability that may be utilized by dis-tance educators. Others feel that home studystudents will be offered a choice of straight lee-

. ture or interactive systems similar to today'sPLATO. There is speculation that laser-basedholography will be perfected to the point thatit will be used to bring the instructorlife-sized and three-dimensionalinto the home.There will also be interactive Computer simula-tion capability.

Some see enrollment as a process that willbe handled through home-based electronic de-vices or through home study industry-spon-

f sored centers set up for this purpose. Industry-supported regional counseling centers willoperate as nonprofit cooperativeS. Counselorswill be trained and compensated by distanteducation suppliers who are cooperative mem-bers. Satellites will be the most likely modeof transmission and will create a climate inwhich transnational education programs willbe commonplace.

Technologies currently available, such. asvideo tape, video disk, CAI on microcom-puters, and cable will increase in use. Onepanel member expressed the view that in thefuture information technology will.allow dis-tant educational institutions to offer their stu-dents personalized instruction and servicescomparable to those of residence training pro-grams, while at the /same time continuing toallow them " . . . to study at their own paceand to have a full-time job while they are pur-

02 Informational Technology and Its impact on American Education

suing a program of study." One representa-tive cautioned however, that the major prob-lems in application will come, as they have todate, from " . . . enthusiasts for technologywho are long on fervor and short on under-standing," . not from those who resist itsutilization.10'

Future Uses by OtherIndustry Segments

While cost will -remain a prohibiting factorfor the foreseeable future, other proprietaryeducators, especially business schools, arespeculating on how existing technologies Will

"Green, Chair Group, Unpublished Papers (Washington,D.C.: National Home Study Council, 1981),

be applied in the future in their institutions.For example, local television stations may beused to brQadcast courses emanating from in-dependent business schools)" One businesscollege administrator Suggested that his in-stitution might adapt its culinary arts pro-gram for delivery to the home market via tele-vision. Another business school official fetAsthat within 3 to 5 years, video disk will becomepractical for acquisition, due to considerablecost reductions. He also hopes that increasedavailability of video telecohferencing equip-ment through local telephone company offices,plus cost reductions associated with its use,will make application of this technology fea-sible.

"Interview with Stephen Friedheim.

Education in the HomeThe family household has always been a cen-

ter of learning, and its members have alwaysplayed a key role in providing educationalservices. Grounded in the social and economicorder, the family household mediates the cul-ture, helping to provide the behavioral andcognitive skills members need to perform ef-fectively in society.

Learning within a household is a loose andinformal process. Family members act as bothteachers and learners. By interacting with oneanother, they adopt roles, acquire personali-ty traits, form values, and pattern their be-havior.'" Of all of the institutions thateducate, the family, is the most versatile andthe least restricted with respect to the educa-tional methods and the technologies it-can use.Given this versatility, the household may pro-vide a particularly suitable environment forusing the new information technologies. Ifwidely used for educational purposes in thehome, the new information technologies could-make the household an increasingl portantcenter of learning.

_-"James Garbarino, "The Family: A School for Li g," Na-

tional Elementary School Principa4 vol. 66, Ma. 976.

Status of Educationin the Home

Although most people receive most of theirformal education in institutions outside theirhomes, the home has always played an impor-,tant role in education, particularly in theeducation of the young. For even though fami-ly members are not primarily responsible forthe instruction of cognitive skills, theirbehavior in the home strongly affects at-titudes about learning. Recent studies haveshown that the home environment is the mostsignificant single factor that determines aca-demic achievement)"

Adults also learn in the home, either in-directly through interaction with others orthrough deliberate efforts to acquire certainkinds of knowledge and skills. Books, maga-zines, radio, and television can all be used athome as learning resources. Some adults maycontinue to receive formal education in theirhomes through correspondence courses)" *

1"James S. Coleman,Equality of Educational Opportunity,Arno Press, 1979.

I"Decle, op, cit.*The National Home Study Council estimates that there are

4 million correspondence students in the United States. Because

Ch 6The Provision of Education In the United States 93

Today the Amerfcan family is undergoingsome radical changes that could significantlyaffect its ability to provide educational serv-ices in the home. At present, for example,about 40 percent of all American families arestructured or operating in a way that marked-ly varies from the traditional norm. Since1960, there has been, for example, a 100-per-cent increase in the number of single-parentfamilies, and, since 1970, a 33-percent increasein the number of households headed by wom-en." Because single parents have less timeand fewer resources to spend in or on the homethan do couples, these changes may seriouslyreduce the ability of some families to providefor the educational needs of their children. Arecent study found that children from single-

, parent families fare less well in school, bothsocially and academically.'

The educational needs of the family are alsochanging. Until recently most people had bythe end of their childhood developed and ac-quired the skills and resources they needed tooperate effectively in society. Today, however,with the explosive growth in the fund ofknowledge, people are becoming increasinglydependent on continuing education for boththeir social and their economic welfare. It hasbeen estimated that the average Americangrowing up today will have to be retrained fourtimes during his working life. He will also needmore education if he is to participate in mak-ing decisions about his life and environment,and if he is to make effective use of his in-creased leisure time.'"

How well families of the future can meetthese enhanced educational needs will dependnot only on the organization of the family and

education in the home is such an informal process, it is difficultto determine its extent. A number of recent surveys have con-cluded, however, that nearly 90 percent of all adulth undertakeat least one major project a year.

Winifred I. Warnat, "Future Families as Household SchoolInstitutions," Education: A Time for Decisions, Kathleen M.Redd and Arthur M. Harkins (eds.), selections from the SecondAnnual Conference or the Education Section of the WorldFuture Society, 1980.

David Melendez, "A Developing Paradox: The Role of Fam-ily Education," Clearing Howse, vol. 66, No. 6, January 1982.

'"Katherine Patricia Ctoiss, Adulais Leaxners (San Fran-cisco: Joesey-Bass Publishers, 1981).

on its relationship to the rest of society, butalso on the kind of technologies that are avail-able to assist them. Printing and the masspublication and circulation of books, news-papers, and periodicals, for instance, havegreatly improved the pOssibilities for learningin the home. And the invention and widescaledeployment of radio and television has alsohad an extraordinary impact with respect towho learns, and what is learned at home."°

Many new educational technologies such ascable, video disks, and the personal computerare now being made available for use in thehome at more affordable costs. In 1981; therewas a market for about 1 million personal com-puters. It is estimated that by the late 1980'sas many as half the families in the UnitedStates will have them in their homes. It is pre-dicted, moreover, that, by the end of the1980's, the percentage of homes wired for ca-ble will increase from the present 28 to 50 per-cent."

Because the widespread deploythent of in-formation technologies will significantly affecthow members of a family interact and use theirtime together in the home, it will haVe a signifi-cant effect on education. It is diffictilt to pre-dict, however, what that impact will be.

The new information technologies could sig-nificantly improve the learning environmentfor children in the home. Parents often lackthe time and expertise necessary to effective-ly supplement their children's education athome. Traditional resources such as books,television programs and recordings are essen-tially passive and cannot be tailored to meetindividual needs. The new technologies are in-dividually oriented and interactive. Becausethey can rapidly process information, they canbe used, moreover, to assist parents in diag-

"'Clark C. Abt, "What the Future Holds for Children in theTV Computer Age: Unprecedented Promises and IntolerableThreats to Child Development," an adapted version of thekeynote addrees to the National Council for Children and Televi-sion Symposium on Children, Families, and the New Video Com-puter Technologies, Princeton, NI., Mar. 10, 1980.

"'Clement Bezokl, Home Ounputers and Thlecommunkationsin the Future Environment of Children, a Preliminary Report.May 1980,-for the Foundation for Child Development by theInstitute for Alternative Futures.

94 Informational Technology and Its impact on American Education

wee

A family leaves a store In Yonkers, N.Y., with a computer andsoftware to be used by an oceanographer father and his

high-school-age children

nosing learning problems and in developingcreative approaches to remedy them."

If they enhance the household resourcesavailable for instruction, the technologies willmake it easier for the growing number ofparents who, dissatisfied with formal educa-tional institutions, would prefer to educate.their children at home."5 The teehnologiesmay make it easier for parents to meet, theeducational standards required by many Statecompulsory education laws.

"Victor Walling, Thomas C. Thomas, and Meredith A. Lar-son. Educational Implkatkine of In-Home Electronic 71schnol-ogy, SRI prepared for the Department of Health. Education,and Welfare, Washington D.C., May 31, 1979.

"'Leah Beth Ward, "What Happens When Parents TurnTeachers," The New York Times Winter Survey of Education,sec. 13, Sunday, Jan. 10, 1980.

rrh. number of parenta who choose to educate their childrenat home is difficult to estimate, since many parents do itclandestinely so as to avoid court battles.4kccording to the Na-tional Association for the Legal Support for alternative schools,the number of families, now about 1 million, is rapidly growing.

rAsinstitutions that acquire, store, manage, .

'land disseminate information, libraries providea variety of educational services. The learningenvironment in a library is unstructured. In-

While the new technologies may serve to en-hance the possibilities for learning in allhouseholds, tlley could be of special educa-tional value to those individuals who haveraditionally found it difficult to learn in for-mal educational settings or institutions. Manyadults, for exaniple, have often been inhibitedfrom participating in traditional educationalprograms because they felt too self-consciousor because such programs were too expensive,time-consuzning or inconvenient. Educationalservices delivered directly to the home couldovercome such barriers. In addition, childrenliving at home with a single parent who works, -and handicapped individuals, confined morethan usual to the home, may also find that thenew information technologies have, for them,a special educational potential.'"

On the other hand, it is possible that thetechnologies may actually diminish the oppor-tunities for home education. Like television,they may be more of a technological than -acultural success. Instead of increasing individ-uals' access to information, and providing newways of problem-solving, they may, in fact,lead to an unproductive use of time, providechildren access to pornography and violence,and replace formal learning aiAivities withmuch less valuable ones." Moreover, if thetechnologies are primarily designed for andmade available to middle-class families, theycould increase rather than diminish the gapbetween the educationally advantaged and dis-advantaged.

"Walling, op. cit."Abt, op. cit.; and J. Weizenbaum, "Once MoreA Computer

Revolution," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, vol. 34,September 1978, pp. 12-19.

Librariesdividuals of all ages are free to come and goas they please; to learn on their own, and attheir own pace. Information is presented ingeneral terms so as to be most relevant to a

Ch. 6The Provision of Education in the United States 95

broad, undifferentiated clientele. The tradi-tional medium by which learning takes placeis the printed word.

Today, libraries are at a turning point. Theymust make some major decisions aboutwhether and how they shouldemploy the newtechnologiesdecisions that will significant-ly affect their ability to perform what has beentheir traditional educational role. Taking ad-vantage of these technologies, libraries mightincrease and/or enhance the educational ac-tivities that they provide. On the other hand,libraries might use these technologies as themeans of shifting their role from one of pro-viding publiC services such as education to oneof providing information on a fee-paying basis.

Education in the LibraryIn the United States, libraries have always

been regarded as popular, educational institu-tions. Like the public schools, they derivedtheir support from the public education andreform movements that developed after theCivil War."' Traveling libraries were foundedto bring news and reading materials to ruralareas where book deposit stations were set upin grange halls, neighborhood stores, fire sta-tions, and women's dubs. In the cities, librar-ies were established not only to provide accessto books but alsolike the settlement housesto provide a haven and adult education pro-grams for a growing number of working-classimmigrants. These libraries developed fapid-ly during the post-Civil War period, and evencontinued to thrive in the depression years.'

More recently, libraries have tried to provideprograms, materials, and services that couldhelp all individuals, whether they could reador not, to attain their educational goals. TheNational Commission on Libraries and Infor-mation Sciences, for example, recentlyadopted the goal of:"'

providing every iiidividual in the United4tate5 with equal opportunity of access toi.v H. Mathews, Libraries for Today and Thtuorrow (Garden

City. N.Y.: Doubleday & Co.. 1976).'"Ibid.

that part of the total information resourceswhich will satisfy the individual's working,cultural, and leisure time needs and interest,regardless of the individual's location, orsocial or physical level of achievement.

The important educational role that librariesperform has been recognized and supported bythe Federal Govermnent. Federal aid to librar-ies was first granted, in fact, as part of theFederal Government's efforts to enhance andequalize educational opportunities.

Status of LibrariesThere are in the the United States today

29,446 indivichial libraries, some publicly andsome privately supported. These include14,390 public libraries or library branches,4,676 adademic libraries, 489 military librar-ies, 1,451 civilian government libraries, 5,294special libraries, 429 law libraries, 1,705 med-ical libraries, and 1,012 religious libraries. Inaddition, there are library media centers in 85percent of the public schools."

Not all of these institutions provide educa-tional services. Unlike public libraries, speciallibraries, for example, are supported and main-tained to provide a specific kind of informa-tion to a particular clientele. They are notnecessarily open to the public.

Although libraries were once a major centerof activity in many communities, they havebecome increasingly irrelevant to many Amer-icans. Television and the inexpensive paper-back book have replaced the library as a ma-jor source of information and entertainment.Now only about two-thirds of the populationof a typical community use the public library.Another third have never used it at all."°

Lacking public support, many libraries op-erate under severe economic constraints. Mostnegatively affected are those that provideeducational servicespublic libraries, schoollibraries, and univereities. Public libraries, forexample, are dependent for their financing and

"'The Bowker Annual of Library and Book Trade Informa--don, 26th ed..*1 980.

"'Mathews, op. cit.,

98 informational Technology and Its Impact on Amerkan Education

support on local communities that are them-selves experiencing severe economic difficul-ties. Approximately 81 percent of their financ-ing comes from local property taxes, funds forwhich many social services compete. Of thesefunds, public libraries typically; receive lessthan 1 percent. Unable to meet increased costswith declining budgets, many libraries havehad to cut back their services, buy fewer mate-rials, shorten hours and share resources."'

Also vulnerable are academic librariessome of which have, over the last decade, hadto reduce their expenditures for materials by20 to 40 percent." To meet the rising costsof operations, the Firestone Library at Prince-ton University is now considering chargingfees for all nonaffiliated users."

The major research and special librarieshave had fewer of these problems. Becausethey have a more clearly defined and econom-ically valued role in their institutional en-vironments, they are more financially secure.

The growing demand for information andthe development of information technologiesoffer libraries an opportunity to establish anew rationale for their existence and a newbasis of economic support. Demographicchanges, new lifestyles, and changing valuesmay create new library users With greater anddifferent information needs, and the new in-formation technologies may provide possibleways of meeting them."

Taking advantage of theiS developments,some libraries are already moving ahead todefine a new role for themselves as informa-tion brokers." If they are to move in thisdirection, many libraries may, however, have

" Ibid.int bid.I"Princeton Alumni Winkle'', Apr. 19, 1982.1"Leigh Estalrook (ed.), Libraries in Poet Industrial Socie-

ty (Drys Press, 1917); Into the Information Age: A Perspectivefor Federal Action on Information (Chicago: American LibraryMeociation, 1918); Robert Taylor, "Professional Education andthe liformation Enykonment," LibnuyJourna1 Sept. 15, 19/9,pp. 1871-18t5.

1Estabrook, op. cit..; Taylor, op. cit.!Electzonic technologies are already beginning to reshape the

traditional library as software becomes commercially availablefor carrying out overall library operations.

1

to reconsider their tractitional policy of pro-viding free services to the public.sTo competeeffectively with the growing number of otherinformation enterprises, they will have to

, restructure their operations to meet the spe-- cific needs of their paying clientele. Unless

libiaries receive indreased public support orsubsidies from their private operations, fewerhuman and economic resources will be avail-

' able to provide educational services to thepublic.

Not all libraries will use the new technol-ogies to compete in the information market.Some libraries are trying to regain a base ofpopular support by using the new technologiesto enhance the public services that they per-form." In the Plattsburg public library inupstate New York, for example, a microcom-puter has been used successfully to develop

"'Into the Information Aga op. cit.'Competing with librariis in the information market are

growing number of profit-making institutions that, taking ad-vantage of the new information technologies, provide a broad

range of information services for fee. Describing themselvesas information brokers or as information spaeialista, they pro-, vide such services u supplying bibliographies end documents,and, in some cuss, conducting substantial reeearch. Large orga-nizations bill their clients at about $100 per hour; the smallerones at about $26 to $36 per hOur. The business of providinginformation is thriying one, and one that is predicted to dou-ble in volume over the next years.

At the Trediffrfn Public Library, Trediffrin, Pa., the public paysfor access to the computer

Ch 8The Provision of Education in the United States 97

computer literacy among rural children.*'" Ifpublic libraries are to expand their educationalprograms in this way, they may need some ad-ditional support. Given the recent poor sup-port for libraries, the economic situation inmany communities, and the limited awarenessof the potential use and value of the new tech-nologies, libraries may find it impossible toraise the initial capital needed to undertakenew programs of this sort.

Whether because they lack funds or becausethey lack initiative, some libraries will notutilize the new technologies at all, Usingrin-

*The new tee&o/ogies will, moreover, allow libraries to servebetter u centers of information. The Los Angeles County PublicLibrary, for instance, now uses cable to provide informationservices in over 100 libraries to the 2.6 million residents of LosAngeles County. These services are designed for both the tradi-tional library user and the nonuser, including the nonreader.As part of this program, librarian, continually learn how toaims the infonnatiosal. cultural. and racrsatiosal needs of theircommunitas, and the best methods for handling, retrieving,storing, and disseminating information (Los Angeles CountyPublic Library Draft Cable TV Policy Statement).

Anne F. Romans and Stanley A. Ransom. "An Apple a Day:Microcomputers in the Public Library," American Libraries,December 1980.

house information ancl traditiOnal means ofdelivery, they will continue to provide freeeducational, recreational, and cultural servicesin local library buildings to those citizens whovalue them. If libraries follow this, path,however, they may become less and less rele-vant to a public that increasingly values infor-mation and is computer-literate. As on-line in-formation takes the place of books, these li-braries will have less that is of interest to thepublic. It is conceivable, moreover, that as theproprietors of nonprint media are paid fees forthe use of their materials, the authors of bookshoused in public libraries may seek greatercompensation for the use of theirs.*1" Withdiminshed public support and a shrinking cli-entele, these libraries may be unable to gen-erate the economic resources necessary tomaintain even their traditional services.

°This pmgram has been quite stisaful in meeting ita goal.Attracted to the computer, more and more children are becom-ing regular library visitors. Adults use the computer on off-hours to try out their own programior to develop software forbusiness use.

'"B. Benderly, "Libraries Do Exploit Authors," Letters tothe Editor, The WashIngten.Post, June 26, 1982, p. 16.

MuseumsThe museum is an institution that houses

a collection of objects of cultural and scientificsignificance. The museum documents, orders,and preserves these objects for others to ex-amine. It often helps to interpret and to)ex-plain them and to provide a context in whichthey may be best understood and 'enjoyed.

Museums in their current form are onlyabout 200 years old. They were established fora variety of purposes: members of royal andaristocratic families built them to house theirtreasures; religious orders estabfl 4thi toenhance their places of worship; governmeused them to cultivate national sentiments;scholars and artists established them to fosterresearch and to publicize their achievements;manufacturers and industrialists used themto publicly display their wares; and wealthy

individuals built museums as memorials tothemselves."

Museun? EducationAlthough education has never beeri their pri-

mary function;a11 museums possess valuable-*educational resources. The objects from muse-

Illn collections can be used not only as self-con-tained exhibits, but also as illustrations forcourses, lectures, and other educational pur-Roses. Designed to be relevant to a diverse laypublic, museum education is relatively un-

'English authors are compensated. for example, in act6rdancewith how often their books are borrowed from public libraries.Since the money to pay the authors comes from the govern-ment, the books are freely available to th public.

'"United Nations Educational, Scient ic and CulturalOrganization, Vie Organization qt-Idueoum Paris, 1960.

98 intoolnatlanal Technology end Its impact on knrican Education

structured. Visitors can come and go at will,drawing whatever they please from the experi-ence. The exhibits they view are not elwaysordered in a typical pedagogical fashion; thatis, sequentially and according to a lesson plan.More often, their arrangement is designed toenhance a particular display."°

Museum education is also more activp thanthe passive education that takes place in aclassroom. It facilitates individual participa-tion, interaction, and response.1'1 Museum vis-itors are, for example, often encouraged to in-teract with museum guides, to make drawingsof art objects, to feel the texture of materials,and to pull the levers on machines" In itsvaried purposes, its lack of educatio al struc-ture, and its openness to the p bfic, themuseum, is similar to the iibraryj In fact,together they have been described as con-stituting the two halves of the public'smemory. But museum education, while similarin purpose, is different in method. It is moresensory, using experience itself as a pedagog-ical tool. In comparing the two it has beensaid, for example, that whereas the museumrepresents the right half of the educationalhemisphere, the library represents-the left.'"

In the United States, museums have alwaysbeen conceived of aS having an important ed-ucational function. Education was consideredto be so important, in fact, that in somemuseums educational programs were set upeven before buildings were built or before col-lections were assembled. Many museums wereexpected to provide vocational training to-gether with more general educational serv-ices." The Cleveland Museum, for example,was required by its charter to maintain an in-dustrial training school." Several other

Museums and Education. Eric Larrabee (MI (Washington.D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1968).

"'Barbara Newson, '"I'he Museum u Educator and theEducation of Teachers," Teachers College Record Februari1978`, vol. 79. No. 3.

1"Birbara Newson and Adele Silver (eds.), The Art Museumas Educator (Berkeley, Calif.: The Council on Museums andEducetion in the Visual Arts, University of California Press).

museums began conducting vocational coun-seling and training during the depressionyears. Today, American museums have sub-stantially increased their educational offeringsto the public.

Status of Museums*There are approximately 1,821 museums in

the United States Of these, 62 percent areorganized around a historical tteme, 34 "per-

cent around an theme, and 34 percentaround a science theme. A large majority offersome educational programs. The most corn-

' mon programs involve school children and arejointly sponsored by museums and State andlocal educational departments." Programs

,directed at elementary and secondary schools,often entail museum visits designed to ac-quaint children with a museum's resources.Some museums also provide classes for in-dividual students at this age level. For junior'and senior high school students, there areclasses in special subject areas. Museum pro-grams for university students and post-graduates are least well developed."

Museums also provide educational servicesaimed at other members of the community.These programs include adult educational pro-grams and some special programs designed tomeet the unique educational needs of par-ticular groups such as the economically disad-vantaged or the blind.

The ability of museums to provide educa-tional services is circumscribed by the limitedresources available to them. Most museumsare small, operating with budgets of less than$50,000. Only 10 percent have operatingbudgets of $1 million or more. Museum re-soUrces are, moreover, relatively insecure. Forexample, two thirds of all museums in theUnited States rely oil private saurces for finan-cial support, and more than half provide ad-missions free. Museump must also rely heavi-

As defined by the National Council for the Endowment forthe Arts in their study. MUSEUMS USA 1974.

Nibid"Museums I.ISA, National Endowment for the Arts, Wash-

ington, D.0 . 1974.

Ch 8The Provision of Education in tit* UMW States 99

ly on volunteers, who outnumber the full-time'and part-time professionals working in muse-

Because much of their distinction and ap-peal derives from their ability to communicatein a sensory, unstructured fashion, museumsmay be particularly vulnerable to competitionfrom the new information technologies that .

will have a similar appeal. On the other hand,

W

by their very nature, they may be particular-ly well-suited to acquaint the public with thesetechnologies. Some musunia are, in fact, al-ready offering the public first hand experiencewith microcomputati and video disks. The ex-t4it to which museums will be able to continue,to provide this seryice Will depend not only onShe amount of resourCes that they have attheir disposal. It -will also depend on thereadiness of both museum leaders and the pub-lic to view museums as relevant and dynamicinstitutions.

Mk.

In the Capitol Children's Museum, Washington, D.C., children are provecitaifIth their first contact with the eltililputer. Theytake their first stepe tentatively but soon find that the computer Itself Is an Interactive teacher, rewarding them. immedlatoiy

for the right moves

Business and Labor'39kdvanced training and education are assum-

ing special roles in tbe lives of Americansemployed in all sectors of the economy, butespecially among those who work in businessand industry. Continuing breakthroughs intechnology and their subsequent applicationsin the workplace change the working lives ofprofessional employees, skilled craftspeopje,semi-skilled workers, and office support per-

'111.th A. Browns Chargetastiatk, of Industry-Bawd andLataxBased nuking and Ethic:am hvgrama, !DeWitt: Unaof Information Tichnplogy in 9uch Programa: An Overview(Washington. D.C:: OTA. 1981); and Beth A. Brown. Charac-teristics of Industry-Based Training and Educatkm Programa,Including Uses of Informatkin Thchnologr.Seleeted Cam Studilia (Washington'. D.C.: OTA. 1981).

sonnel. Such change may take-the form ofslightly motfified practices'and procedures or.even of entirely new job functiona fpr whichindividuals must 'be retratned. TIfifyrodOsnow occurs as often in older industries Bubbas steel, rubber, and auto, a it does in thenewer high-technology firms, even if the de-gree of change and the reasons for it differsignificantly.

Both groups are faced with the need to can-stantly reexamine methods and processes inorder to improve efficiency and remain com-petitive in the marketplace. This reevaluationis especiplly necessary when the markets areinternatibnal in scope and.when competition

9()

100 infprmational Tectmo logy and its impact on American Education

must take into account many variables suchas wage levels, government subsidies to busi-ness and export levels. The day is fast ap-proaching when career-related training andeducation at all occupational levels will be alifelong process and possibly a mandatory one.

Ito le of Education inthe Workplace

Even in periods when there are no majorchanges, work force expansion and employeeturnover require that training and educationprograms be provided by companies for newpersonnel. In addition, current staff must beprovided- with opportunities to upgrade theirskills and to acquire new ones if they are tobe effective in the jobs or to prepare them-selves for advancement opportunities. Com-panies sometimes also provide special pro-grams for employees wishing to make majorcareer changes. Whatever events or policiesmake it necessary, more and more corporateresources are being earmarked for instruc-tional activities.

The delivery of educational services toemployees in business and industry is ac-complished in a number of ways. A large por-tion of it is provided through establishedpublic and private, nonprofit and for-profiteducational institutions, either by contract or .in the form of cooperatively designed and ad-ministered programs. But an equally large por-tion is being sponsored, designed, and oper-ated by companies themselves. Labor unionsand labor organizations also are heavily in-volved in work-related training and education,both as cosponsors and as initiators.

Some say that the movement of industryand labor into the educational arena reflectstheir dissatisfaction with existing educationalstructures and is a comment on educators'lack of responsiveness to the needs of in-dividuals for some degree of work preparationprior to employment. Others feel that tradi-tional educational institution's cannot be ex-pected to keep up with rapid changes in equip-ment and procedures. Still others argue that

the sheer size of the task of necessary train-ing, retraining, and professional developmenthas demanded that industry and labor becomemore deeply involved, and that a little healthycompetition among a broacler base, of alternative education providers can do nothing butimprove the quality of education overall. How-ever one views the situation, all the signs pointto increased involvement of industry and laborin training and education.

Industry-Based Trainingand Education

Growth in industry-based training and ed-ucation has been particularly pronouncedthe end of World War II, although most gerfirms have been engaged in some forms if in-struction since their founding. While o oneactually knows how many employees 'ci-pate in instructional programs each year, somemeasures of the degree and scope of activitiesare available. The American Society for Train-ing and Development (ASTD) estimates thatcorporations spend $30 billion annually forprograms, staff, and materials. ASTD has alsocalculated that in the United States there areat least 75,000 individuals engaged full-timein-house training and deVelopment activities,plus another 75,000, who are employed on apart-time basis. Approximately two-thirds ofASTD's 40,000 members are employed in theprivate sector, either as training consultants,as staff members within corporate training de-partmentS, or as managers, directors, or vicepresidents of those departments.

A Conference Board survey- of industry ed-ucation conducted in 1974 indicated that 75percent of the 610 companies responding pro-vided some in-house courses for employees; 89percent had tuition refund programs; and 74perce9t authorized and paid for selectedemployees, usually managers and other pro-fessionals, to take outside courses duringworking hours. The Conference Board esti-mates, moreover, that, among the 32 millionindividuals employed by companies that responded to the survey and that had staffs of500 employees or more, about 3.7 millionor

Ch. 8The Provision of Education in the United States 101

11 percenttook part in in-house coursessponsored by their firms during workinghours, and approximately 700,000, or another2 percent, participated in company coursesdelivered during nonworking hours. Exemptemployees were more frequent enrollees thanthose m the nonexempt category. Only thosefirms that had 1,000 employees or fewer ap-peared to place greater reliance on hiring pre-trained personnel or to utilize on-the-jobtraining.'"

Broad estimates of worker participation areprobably lower than the estimates that mightbe found today, especially given the presenttrend within U.S. factories towards installingcomputer-assisted design and computer as-sisted manufacturing systems (CAD/CAM),and the retraining requirements that accom-pany their use. In a study comparing the ef-fects of technological change on the need forhuman resources in the chemical and alliedProducts industries in the United Kingdom,Japan", and the United States, it was predictedthat major U.S. companies, in order to meettheir need for retrained production workers,would be compelled within the next 5 years toset up special training schools to provide

\ 'craftsmen" level instruction to their processoperators."'

In addition to these changes, one can alsoexpect that the increased use of robots andother forms of computer-assisted productionmay result in widespread restructuring of es-;,tablished occupational groups. This may, inturn, create a need for more job-related in-structional programs.

Today's corporate training programs coveralmost all aspects of company operations, notjust manufacturing. Typically, instructionalofferings address the following skills and cor-porate program areas:

manufacturing and technical;specialized skills development;

.10Seymour Lustermans. Education in Industry (New York:The Conference Board. 1977).

"'Frank Bradbury and John Russell, Technologv Change andIts Manpower Implications: A Comparative Study of the Chem-ical and Allied Products Industry in the UK, U. St, and Japan,Chemical and Allied Products Industry Training Board. 1980.

sales and marketing;safety;data processing;management and executive development;clerical and secretarial;basic education (remedial programs inmath and oral and written communica-tions for hourly as well as salaried em-ployees);tuition assistance (now considered bymost companies to be part of the instruc-tional program, rather than just an ele-ment of the corporate benefits package);trainer'S training (which is offered in firmswith many small or broadly scattered in-stallations where.supervisors and othersmust assume responsibility for adminis-tering training packages or managingsome form of instructional program); andretraining.

Trend Toward DecentralizedInstruction,

The size of the work force, the numbers ofpersons-to be trained, flie existence of multi-ple facilities, and the complexity of instruc-tional needs have all led to the decentraliza-tion of corporate training operations. Whilesome firms maintain control of training de-sign, development, and delivery functions atthe corporate level, others handle some or allinstructional responsibilities at the divisionalor plant level. In these situations, the role ofthe corporate-level training group is usuallyone of encouraging the sharing of informationamong all personnel involved in the develop-ment of human resources: Industrial trainingactivities tend to be based in the personnel,industrial relations, or engineering depart-ments. Sometimes three or more departmentsshare the responsibility for instructional de-velopment, focusing on one or more of the fol-lowing staff groups:

production line (unskilled and semi-skilled);skilled trades;

,technical (usually engineering, data proc-essing, and R&D);

102 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

management;supervisory (first-line); andprofessional (specialists who are not tech-nical staff and who may not supervise ormanage operations).

Training: Investment v.Expense ,

In companies that have a staff of over 500,size does not appear to be important in deter-mining perceptions about employee education.If training is viewed as an investment that hasa long-term payoff, even firms that have ex-perienced economic difficulties may be willingto provide adequate financial support for in-structional programs. Some corporate train-ing groups, when they have the support of topmanagement, are able to obtain the resourcesnecessary to expand into new instructionalareas and to use the latest equipment. Man-agement has recognized a direct correlationbetween training, reduced turnover, andhigher productivity. In some companies, how-ever, training personnel have small budgets.They have to prepare in-depth justificationsfor refunding even at current levels of expend-itures, and to prepare elaborate documentationfor proposals to expand instructional activitiesand to utilize new equipment.

Relationship With LocalEducational Institutions and

Industry-SponsoredEducational Institutions

One-third of the 50 companies that OTAcontacted in the course of this study, haveestablished some sort of working relationshipwith high schools, vocational/technicalschools, and colleges and universities in orderto train or educate employees.

Companies and educational institutionsjointly develop and administer programs, forwhich the firms provide ongoing financial sup-port and donations of eqpipment. One com-pany works with 10 local vocational/technicalschools and community colleges to deliver

entry-level, production-line training on an as-needed basis. Another firm has established itsown in-house associate degree program, withassistance from several local colleges. In yetanother case, a corporation has been the majorforce behind the establishment of an independ-ent, degree-granting institute that offers grad-uate-level instruction in software engineeringto personnel of high-technology firms in theNew England region, as well as to other inter-ested individuals in the United States andabroad.

It has been suggested that such corporate-founded institutions compete with, and willthus detract from, established college anduniversity programs. Predictions have beenmade, for example, that as many as 300 col-leges may doge their doors during the 1980'sdue to declining numbers of high school grad-uates, at a time when 300 company-sponsoredinstitutions of higher learning will begin op-erations.'" However, companies do not seethemselves as being in direct competition withtraditional institutions of higher education.They maintain that they have establishedtheir programs to meet needs that the tradi-tional education community never addressed;that their needs are so specialized that theymust be met in-house; and that traditional in-stitutions do not have the capacity, either interins of resources or in terms of schedulingflexibility, to provide for their needs.

Information Technology inCorporate Instruction

Communications technology is being ap-plied to a limited extentiin the instructionalprograms of both centralized and decentral-ized corporate training operations. However,the trend toward the decentralization of train-ing in larger firms has increased the potentialfor more widespread use. First of all, while thefront-end development time may be increased,the use of technology allows more standardiza-tion irr instructor-dependent designs than

'"Henry M. Brickell and Carol B. Aclanian, "The Collegesand Business Competition," New York Times Survey of Con-tinuing Education, Aug. 30, 1981.

h 8The Provision of Education In the Unitd States 103

cQuld otherwise be achieved, especially incaaes invol 1 g the direct transfer of largeamounts of owledge. Second, while the costof developm nt and the expenditures forequipment are greater, the low costs of repro-ducing the instructional package for distribu-tion to the field offices or plants, or of the com-puter time necessary for field staff to accessa centralized instructional system, makes theutilization of the technology an attractiVeoption.

Third, especially in the case of self-instruc-tion tiacliages, there is greater flexibility in thescheduling of training sessions and more op-portunities for employees to participate, re-gardless of the nature or location of their worksite. Also, travel cost for employees attendingcentralized instructional programs are elimi-nated, and greater integration of instructionalprograms with actual worksite operations be-comes possible.

One company has developed an instructionalpackage for production-line equipment main-tenance personnel that is run on a microcom-puter integrated with a video disk unit thatallows for both graphics and text display. Thepackage is used in classroom instruction ses-sions, but several units have been installed onthe production line, where the maintenanceand repair staff are assisted on an ongoingbasis. Finally, in both centralized and decen-tralized instructional settings, tethnology-based training modules or,programs, (particu-larly those that are computer-assisted) may beused to bring course participants to a desiredlevel of competency or to determine initialcompetence levels for designing classroominstruction.

Factors That May AffectInstructional Use of

TechnologyWhile communications technology has

achieved acceptance within industry-based in-structional programs over the past few years,there are still a number of obstacles to be over-come before more widespread utilization willbe achieved. Cost is most frequently cited asa major deterrent, particularly for computer-

based instructional systems and newer formsof technology such as video disk, teleconfer-encing, and closed-circuit television.

Another problem area is that of hardware-software compatibility, especially for cor-porate trainers who want to purchase cnmmer-cial courseware but who have lii-houge com-puter capabilities Qn which they want to build.Many companies have made the decision todevelop their own instructional packagesrather than invest in a new system of hard-ware on which commercially available course-ware would run. The frequency with which in-structional programs must be modified--as,for example, in R&D-related trainingmaymake the use of computer-based programs andvideo disk impractical.

Even the type of inst cti itself may pre-clude the use of technology, or example, com-puter-assisted instruction has, to date, beenfound to be of little value in advanced engi-neering and software development courses, aswell as in apprenticeship skills training. Thisis due to the complexity of the informationthat must be conveyed and, in the case of ap-prenticeship, to the need for repeated demon-,stration by a knowledgeable instructor whocan respond to a trainee's questions and whocan demonstrate on actual equipment. Manycorporate trainers still feel that classroom in-struction is the best approach. Others resistthe use of technology in their programs be-cause they feel that they are often being soldtechnology for technology's sake, rather thanas a tool to be utilized within the frameworkof an existing instructional system.

Computer-Based InstructionComputer-assisted instruction (CAI) ap-

pear' s to be a commonly utilized technology forindustrial training. A recent survey of the usesof microcomputers in the training programsof selected Fortune 600 companies reVealedthat, of the 66 firms responding, about 60 per-cent were utilizing either mainframes or mi-crocomputers.'" In companies contacted by

"'Greg Kearsley, Michael J. Hillesohn, and Robert J. Seidel,The Use of Microcomputers for 71-aining: Business and Industry(Alexandria, Va.: Human Resources Research Organization,March 1981).

y

104 informational Technology and its impact on American Education

OTA for this study, technical personnel suchas entry-level engineers, field service repre-sentatives for computerized equipment, devel-opment programers, and applications pro-gramers are frequently trained using CAIpackages.

Some companies develop their own CAIsoftware; others purchase commercial pack-ages. The airline industry makes extensive useof this mode of instruction for ground person-nel. Some particularly interesting applicationsmay be seen in pilot training, where CAI isused in combination with video disk to replacemore expensive flight simulators. The insur-ance industry is beginning to utilize CAIcourses with selected field office staff, such asthee claims representatives and premium aud-itors. Occupational groups most infrequentlymentioned as potential trainees are adminis-trative/secretarial personnel and production-line staff.

Computer-managed instruction (CM I), un-like CA.I, is rarely found in the industrial set-ting, although there are cases where it is usedin airline and insurance companies. Corporatetraining personnel may not yet appreciate thepossible advantages of CMI; they may feelthat functions are best handled by instruc-tional staff; or they may view CMI as beingtoo costly an application.

Video DiskThe most controversial form of technology)

for use in corporate training is video disk.Many firms have investigated its potential ap-plication, but few seem to be utilizing it atpresent. One automobile manufacturer has de-veloped a video disk program to train autodealer mechanics on how to repair the new carmodels. A computer hardware and softwarecompany uses video disk in training itscustomer service engineering staff: It hasrecently converted all of the instructional pro-grams used in its 60 field centers for ctistomerand staff education from video tape to videodisk.

Most corporate training representativeswho are enthusiastic about video disk mentionits random access capability and its ability toexpand its utility through integration with amicrocomputer. However, many instructorsdo not believe that the differences betweenvideo disk and video tape warrant the addi-tional investment, especially if video tapeequipment has recently been purchased. Otherconcerns have to do with the cost of video diskequipment, the cost of producing master disksrelative to the number olcopies required, andthe inability of revising a video disk programonce it has been created. It appears that it willbe several more years before many industrialtraining applications of video disk will berealized.

TeleconferencingAt present, teleconferencing is of limited use

in industry-based training and education pro-grams. Industry representatives feel, for themost part, that costs are still too high to makeapplications feasible unless the-technology hasbeen acquired for other uses, such as businessmeetings, and is accessible at a subsidizedrate. One firm; experimenting with audio tele-conferencing to link an ihstructor with a groupof trainees assembled several hundred milesaway, found that the lack of visual stimulidistracted many of the participants who, inthis case, were midlevel managers.

Anotb.er company, engaged in hotel, motel,and food service operations, uses a full tele-conferencing system, initially establishedamong 70 of its facilities for conventionclientele, for in-house quarterly business per-formance conferences: Some firms have ten-tative plans to experiment over the next fewyears with teleconferencing in field staff train-ing.

Satellite CommunicationsApplications of satellite technology within

corporate training and education programs arerare, but many companies with extensive na-

1

Ch. 8Tha Provision of Education in that Unitd Statas. 105

tional or international field office networksplace it high on their lists for future use, oncecosts come down and they are more certainabout how itr,can be more effectively used. Thetechnical instruction group of one major high-technology firm is now looking into how sat-ellite technology might be used to beamclasses that originate at the corporate engi-neering and development installations aroundthe world.

Another high-technology corporation, hav-ing looked into the use of satellite communica-tions for initial and repeated instruction ofmarketing personnel based in various parts ofthe world, decided against pursuing the proj-ect because of the cost and the uncertaintiesinvolved in securing information transmittedin this way.

ImplicationsThere is considerable potential for the more

widespread application of communicationstechnology in instructional programs withinbusiness and industry. Training requirementswill increase tremendously through the year2000 and beyond, and there are sufficient fi-nancial resources to invest in equipment andcourseware. However, the presence of corn-Nters and other equipment irtthe plant doesnot necessarily guarantee that educational andinstructional applications of the technologywill be made. Neither the level of sophistica-tion of the training system nor the degree ofcorporate support for employee education en-sure that the technology will be used. Thosewho are employing the computer, the videodisk, and other forms of technology in theirinstructional programs seem to have takentheir own initiative to find out how these toolsmight be most effectively applied.

The educational technology industry has notyet developed a comprehensive sales strategyto use with the corporate market. A numberof training administrators who have contactedsales representatives reportedly felt that theywere being sold technology for technology'ssakeiather than as an instructional tool. If

broader and deeper utilizatipn of technologyin corporaie instruction is a future goal, pres-ent marketing strategies may have to be re-viewed and altered significantly.

Union-Sponsored Trainingand Education

Labor unions and labor organizatiohs havea long history of involvement in training andeducation. The American Federation of Labor(AFL) began to provide such services to mem-bers in 1881, the year of its founding. In 1921,the AFL was instrumental in establishing aWorker's Education Bureau, a separate bodythat carried out programs for its affiliateunions. By 1929, the Bureau had become theformal education arm of the AFL. In 1936, 1year after its establishment, the Congress ofIndustrial Organizations (CIO) created aneducation department.

When these two labor groups merged in1965 to form the AFL-CIO, the emphasis ontraining and education was continued. A neweducation department was formed, and even-tually the Human Resources Development In-stitute (1968) and the George Meany Centerof Labor Studies (1968) were created to ad-dress the expanded needs for apprenticeship.recruitment and instruction and to train unionmembers to assume leadership positions with-in the labor movement.

At present, the AFL-CIO has 102 affiliateunions which, together with a few independentunions, constitute the labor movement in theUnited States.'"

Education ProgramsThe majority of the edgcational programs

offered, sponsored, or otherwise supported bythe labor movement, fall into one of three

, categories:1. College Programs: These are usually 2-

and 4-year degree programs in labor stud-

"'Interview with Edgar R. Czarnecki. Assistant EducationDirector, AFIs,-CIO, fall/winter 1981.

106 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

,,ies offered through community colleges,colleges, and universities. In some casesthey are single for-credit courses jointlydeveloped by unions and local postsecond-ary institutions around such subjects ascollective bargaining or leadership tech-niques.

2. Apprenticeship Programs: Apprentice-ship programs usually entail specializedtraining in a skilled trade, craft, or occu-pation that is provided at the worksiteand in off-the-job instruction of sometype. Most of these programs are oper-ated by the unions themselves or) arejointly sponsored by unions and industry.However, a fair share are now offered bycommunity colleges under contract or viajoint ventures with unions. All 17 of thebuilding trade unions offer apprenticeshipprograms, as do the maritime trade unionsfor those engaged in shipbuilding, ma-chining, and seafaring.

Other unions with apprenticeship sys-tems include those who represent mold-ers, pattern makers, and upholsterers, toname a few. According to figures suppliedby the Human Resourcei DevelopmentInstitute, there were, at the close of 1979,323,866 persons enrolled in apprentice-ship programs. Of this number, 18.2 per-cent were minorities, 6.4 percent werefemale, and 23.7 percent were veterans.The Labor Department's Bureau of Ap-prenticeship and Training has set a long-range goal of having 500,000 registeredapprentices by 1984.

3. Special Programs: The largest number oftraining activities available to union

'members are special, or noncredit, coursesoffered by the education departments ofindividual unions to representatives onvarious levelsfrom that of shop stewardto local president. Collective bargainingtechniques, labor law, and parliamentaryprocedures are popular subjects.

Tuition assistance programs provided bymanagement under negotiated contracts withunions are not considered to be a part of thetraining and education programs provided by

the labor movement. However, thousands ofunionized workers take advantage of this ben-efit every year and enroll in courses, most ofwhich are required by companies to be job-related.'" Because of the availability of thesebenefits, a number of college programs havebeen establish&I in union halls and otherfacilities near industrial plants. Classes are of-fered at hours that will allow workers to at-

..

tend on hourly shifts.Courses are offered year-round, and the ex-

istence of weekend classes ^mks partici-pants to earn bachelor's degrees in 4 yearswhile they continue to work full-time.'" Thefirst such program, Wayne State University's"Weekend Worker College" (Detroit), was de-veloped in conjunction with the United AutoWorkers. The curriculum consists of 1 year ofhumanities, 1 year of social sciences, 1 yearof physical sciences, and a fourth year devotedto a major field. A 2-ear associate de&ree isalso offered.'47 Some 20 programs of this kindwere expected to be under way by the end of1981, and the American Federation of Teach-ers is now trying to establish similar projectsin six other locations.'"

Other Types of InstructionalPrograms

Various unions have been active in pro-viding other training and educational servicesto their memberships and to the communityas a whole. Unions and companies in some

jareas of the country have cosponsored train-ing designed to prepare individuals for ad-vancement from entry-level positions or whatwould otherwise be considered jobs with nopromotional opportunities. Funding, in mostcases, has been provided by the Comprehen-sive Employment and Training Act (CETA)title II and title III grants, although some pro-

'"Interview with John Carney, Education Director, UnitedSteelworkers of America, fall/winteP1981.

"'interview with Jane McDonald and John Good, Human Re-sources Develdpment Institute (AFL-CIO), fall/winter 1981.

1"" Worker v; More Colleges Offer Program for Blue CollarEmployees," Wall Stroot Journal May 12, 1981, p. 1.

"'Interview with Edgar It. Czarnecki, fall/winter 1981.

Ch. 6The Provision of Education in .the United States 107

grams have been privately funded by labor,by industry, or jointly by labor and industry.

Where other jobs are available within areasonable geographic range, unions have alsoengaged 'in the retraining of members whohave lost their jobs due to plant closings andsite relocations. The "Mass Layoff Job SearchClub" was formed in Midland, Pa., to providesuch assistance to 300 former Crucible Steelworkers whose jobs were eliminated. The pro-gram is jointly sponsored by the United Steel-workers local and Crucible Steel. In St. Louis,Mo., a joint labor-manageinent committee hasbeen formed throuih which local unions, busi-nesses, educational institutions, and com-munity-based organizations are workingtogether to identify ways of dealing with thelarge numbers of displaced workers in the area.On the campuses of local community colleges,career readjustment and-reemployment cen-ters have been set up to handle the needs ofan expected 1,000 participants.'"

For several years, the AFL-CIO's HumanResources Development Institute has oper-ated a nationwide apprentice outreach pro-gram for minorities and women to recruit andprepare them for available apprenticeshipslots. Many AFL-CIO affiliates and independ-ent unions conduct preapprenticeship trainingsessions and basic education programs foryoung people who wish to improve their read-ing, math, and other skills, so that they mightqualify for participation in apprenticeship pro-grams. Career education and vocational ex-ploration programs sponsored by local schoolsystems and others also receive substantialsupport from labor unions and labor organi-zations.'5°

Information Technology inUnion-Swonsored InstructionThere is no evidence in the literature or in

the interviews conducted by OTA with laboreducation directors to suggest that unions are

'"Interview with jane McDonald and John Good, fall/winter1981

"Ibid.

taking great advantage of information tech-nologies. These technologies may be con-sidered inappropriate to the apprenticeshipsystem. The.importance of the individual in-structor, the duration of the apprenticeshipperiod, lasting usually 4 years, and the uniquefunds of information that must be conveyed,such as local building codes which differ fromarea to area, tend to discourage the use of tech-nology such as computer-assisted instruction.

In the college programs and special pro-grams, there is also little use of informationtechnology. One reason for their infrequent useis that the lecture method has generally beenconsidered to be successful in labor educationprograms. Films, slides, and video cassetteswere most often used by those who were in-terviewed. The United Steelworkers of Amer-ica, for example, uses video tapes and cas-settes in mock arbitration exercises at theunion's Linden Hall Residential Training Cen-ter, but they use no other form of technology.The cost of computer-based learning systemswas cited as a deterrent to their use.'5'

A national AFL-CIO training representativestated that most member unions were just be-ginning to use video cassettes in arbitrationsimulations and for circulating messages oftheir presidents to State and local chapters.He also described a model communicationsproject, "To Educate the People Consortium,"which was staged by Wayne University as apart of its local instructional program. Tostimulate interest in using the medium as aneducational device, union representatives in100 cities across the country were connectedby a network via two-way, closed-circuit televi-sion. The demonstration was so successfulthat another model broadcast, "Safety andHealth for Women," is now being planned.'"

A Texas State AFL-CIO representative re-ported that video cassettes were used in educa-tion programs, but he indicated that none ofthe other newer forms of technology werebeing used because they were inappropriatefor the kinds of programs offeredmostly

"Interview with John Carney, fall/winter 1981."Interview with Edgar R. Czarnecki, fall/winter 1981.

108 Informational Technology and Its Impact on Amer/ Can Education

workshopsand because they were too ,cost-ly."2 A Dallas AFL-CIO representative couldidentify no applications of technology. Heregards classroom training with lectures as themost popular format. However, he hopes touse cable television once it becomes availablein the Dallas area as a way of more effective-ly reaching the membership (1985)." TheUnited Rubber Workers do not use educa-tional technology either, and they have notthought about it for the future.'"

The International Brotherhood of ElectricalWorkers (IBE W) employs computer systemsto track apprentices in training. It hasestablished some joint information systemswith the Department of Labor's Bureau of Ap-prenticeship Training. In addition, an IBEWrepresentative reported that video disks are

"Interview with Ruth Effinger, Education Director, TexasState AFL-CIO, fall/winter 1981.

Interview with Willie Chapman, AFL-CIO, Dallas, Tex., fall/winter 1981.

"Interview with James Peake, Education Director, UnitedRubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers, fall/winter 1981.

used in labor education seminars. Unions thatare using video cassettes in training packagesinclude the United Carpenters and Joiners ofAmerica and the American Postal Workers.'"

In contrast to industry-based instructionalactivities, there seems to be less potential forapplications of information technology inunion-sponsored training and edugation pro-grams, primarily because such programs arestill highly instructor-centered and classroom-oriented. However, the success of closed-cir-cuit television experiments initiated by thelabor movement suggests that this form oftechnology might achieve more acceptanceand be utilized for national and regional educa-tional sessions in the future. Perhaps unionassociation with colleges and universities thatutilize educational technology in labor educa-tion courses and degree programs may resultin more widespread application in union-spon-sored training and education activities.

"'Interview with Kenneth Edwards, Director, Skill Improve-ment Training, International Brotherhood of Electrical Work-ers, fall/winter 1981.

;

Chapter 7

State of Research and Developmentin Educational Technology

Support of basic research and development (R&D) in most fields of technol-ogy has traditionally been ñ function of the Federal Government. The Govern-ment has also funded applied research when its purpose was to advance certainnational goals or to serve the mission needs of Federal agencies. R&D not onlygenerates important new knowledge about educational technology, but, when donein academic centers, it can also provide an instructional base with which to trainexperts needed to create effective instructional materials.

FindingsGaps in our knowledge about informationtechnology could limit our ability to use iteffectively, and, if leading to its inappropri-ate implementation, could negatively affectboth the learners and the institutions usingthe technology.The Department of Defense (DOD) now pro-vides the bulk of R&D eupportin the fieldof learning technology.Civilian agency funding for R&D in learn-ing technology, the majority of which comesfrom the Department of Education, hasfallen precipitously from a temporary short-term peak in the late 1960's.If Congress wanted to stimulate effectiveeducatknal applications of informationtechnology, it would have to undertake orfoster a substantial program for R&D. TheSecretary of Education has stated that aprogram of research support is a major ad-

ministrative priority, and that such a pro-gram has been built into the 1983 budgetrequest.Given the number of agencies that have anexisting or potential interest in R&D in thisarea, the Federal Government may want tocoordinate these efforts so as to allow fora greater exchange of information and amore efficient and effective allocation ofresponsibilities. The responsibility for suchcoordination could be vested in a singleagency, or existing interagency group, or anagency especially established for that pur-pose.

In light of the tight Federal budget and thepotential interest of the private sector ineducational technology, mechanisms for.leveraging Federal support to stimulate in-dustry and foundation funding for R&Dmight be investigated.

Introduction and BackgroundSince the 1950's, R&D in educational tech-

nology has been funded by the Federal Gov-ernment, by foundations, by the business com-munity, and, in some tases, by all three in col-laboration with one another. To date, the role

of the Federal Government has been to pro-vide initial and limited ongoing support thatmight serve to attract other sources of fund-ing. The Federal agencies most deeply in-volved have been the National Science Foun-

II I

112 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

dation (NSF), the Department of Education(OE) (formerly a part of the Department ofHealth, Education, and Welfare), and DOD.

Acting on a legislative mandate to fostercomputing in science education, NSF, throughits Science and Engineering Education Direc-torate, has funded a variety of computer-assisted learning research efforts, includingthe initial development of the PLATO instruc-tional system at the University of Illinois in1959.' Grants have been made to provide ini-tial and ongoing support of educational televi-sion projects such as NOVA and 3-2-1 Con-tact, both of which have reCeived worldwideacclaim and have served as models for pro-grams in other nations. NSF has also fundedefforts to determine how computer-controlledvideo disk may be used to enhance science'education in physics and biology. It has issuedgrants for science news coverage broadcast on227 public radio stations, and has sponsoredearly satellite experiments. In addition, in fis-cal years 1980 and 1981, NSF and the Nation-al Institute of Education (NIE) jointly funded"Mathematics Education Using Inform onTechnology," a program that, through tof small grants, has encouraged the develop-ment of computer ,software for use in mathe-matics curricula.

Support of educational technology R&Ddates back to the early 1960's with the incep-tion of the Educational Broadcast FacilitiesProgram, which was designed to improve thenational capatoilities of public radio and televi-sion. Iri fiscal year 1968, OE funding of theChildren's Television Workshop, along withthat'of the Carnegie and Ford foundations, ledto the creation of Sesame Street and The Elec-tric Company, two programs that have woninternational recognition. Computer-based in-structional mat,e 'als on the elementary, sec-ondary, and.c egetilevels for target popula-tions such as t e handicapped, video disks forclassrdom use, and experiments with educa-

'The National Science Foundation Act, Public Law 81-507.

tional broadcasts via satellite, have all beenundertaken with OE support.

DOD has also made significant contribu-tions to the R&D of educational technologies.Faced (since the 1970's) with a greater needto provide basic skills instruction to recruits,to train individuals to operate more complexequipment, and to deliver instruction in thefield in multiple locations, the military hasplaced renewed emphasis on developing appli-cations of technology. Through the tri-servicesof the Army, the Navy/Marine Corps, and theAir Force, DOD has, since then, sponsoredR&D projects in the areas of:

computer-based education;computerized-adaptive testing; .

simulation and gaming;video disk technology;artificial intelligence;instructional development/authoring aids;andjob-oriented basic skills training.'

Other agencies that have made grants on aperiodic basis include the National Aeronau-tics and Space Administration (health/educa-tion satellite projects in the 19701s), the En-vironmental Protection Agency, the Depart--ment of Interibr, the National Institues ofHealth (contributions to NSF grants in sciencebroadcasting), and the Department of Com-merce (telecomniunications projects jointlyfunded with OE).

In recent years, the Federal Government'sinvolvement in and support for educationalhardware, software, and basic research has de-creased. A brief review of the current trendsin R&D, and of the comparative roles that thepublic and private sectors have played in thisarea will contribute to an understanding of thecauses and potentittl impact of declining Fed-eral support.

'B. K. Waters and J. H. Laurence, Information TechnologyTransfer From Military R&D to Civilian Education and Train-ing, report prepared by Human Reeources Research Organiza-tion for the Office of Technology Aasessawnt, January.1982.

Ia

Ch 7State of Research wç1 Development In Educational Thchnology 113

Changing. R&D ClimateSince 1980, the industrial sector has pro-

vided more funding for all types of R&D ac-tivities than the Federal Government. Recentprojections indicate that, in 1982, industrialfunding will rise to $37.7 billion, which repre-sents an 11.4-percent increase over 1981, and48.6 percent of the total $77.6 billion availablefor support of R&D. Federal funding will riseto $37 billion, an increase of 13.3 percent over1981, and 47.7 percent of the total R&D ex-penditure for 1982. Academic institutions areexpected to contribute $1.7 billion (2.2 percentof total), while other nonprofit groups will pro-vide $1.1 billion (1.5 percent of total). Industrywill perform 70.8 percent ($55 billion) of allR&D, while the Federal Government will carryout only 13 percent ($10.1 billiona large por-tion of this defense-related). Academic institu-tions will perform 12.5 percent of all R&D($9.7 billion) and other nonprofit groups 3.6percent ($2.8 billion). Thus, although once atthe center of basic research and R&D efforts,Colleges and universities will now receive onlyone-fifth of the moneys earmarked for theseactivi ties.'

The Economic Recovery Tax Act:of 1981may improve the universities' chances ofreceiving basic research grants from industry,since it allows companies to treat such grantsas qualified research expenses on which 25 per-cent tax credits may be claimed. The act is alsoexpected to encourage corporations to donatescientific equipment to universities for R&Duse.' Some firms are also establishing long-term working relationships with universitiesfor the performance of basic and applied re-search. These arrangements are economical tothem because of lower labor costs. In addition,faced with increased international competi-tion, firms are more interested in tapping thereserves of university research talent.'

9,1 J Ouga, Probable beveL, of R&D Expenditures in 1982Forecast And Anidros ICAumbuts, Ohio Battelle Laboratories.Iiecember 19811

'It W Wood. "Research end Development EtpendituresUnder the Economic Recovery Tax Act," Taxes November1981. pp 777 783

4"1it4untry Funding of Research at Schooln Grown an FirmnFind t4Work Bargain," Wall Street Journal, vol 102. June24. 1980, p 14

Shifts in the source of funding of and in themajority of performers of R&D from the publicand nonprofit sectors to the private sectorhave occuired after a period in which the busi-ness community (especially manufacturing in-dustries) had sharply reduced involvement inbasic research and long-term R&D projects.As reasons for these changes, business leaderscite increased Government regulation, in-creased rates of inflation that make return onlong-term investments more questionable anan increased concern for the short-term effectsof R&D on profits. As a consequence, manycompanies have focused their R&D efforts onshort-term, low-risk, incremental projects.'

Industrial R&D funding has also been 'af-fected by the availability of R&D tax shelterslimited partnerships formed to finance newproduct development. These provide compa-nies with virtually free money until their prod-ucts can be marketed. But these shelters areused only in selected parts of the country, andthen, only in newer firms willing to take great-er risks.'

To complicate matters further, a severeshortage of scientists and engineers, projectedto last through the 1990's, has had a tremen-dous impact on U.S. R&D efforts in all sec-tors. The most alarming effects are seen in thefaculties of colleges and universities, where,at Ithe start of the 1980-81 academic year, ap-proximately 10 perceilt of the teaching/re-search engineering positions remained vacant.Only 5 percent of engineering undergraduatesnow choose to pursue doctorates in contrastto 11 percent in the 19709s. Thogb who earnhigher degre'es are electing to start careers inindustry, where salaries are considerably high-er and equipment and resources are more plen-tiful. In a recent NSF study of engineeringschools conducted by the American Council onEducation, 35 percent of the responden0 re-ported that, because of shortages in peison-nel, their institutions had to cut back research

Mannfidd, "How Economists See R&D," Harvard Dual-ne.vt &view, November-December 1981, pp.. 98-100.

'"It&D Tax Shehern Are Catching On," DunS BusinersMmth pp. 88-87

114 informational Technology and its impact on American Education

efforts, increase faculty teaching loads, andcurtail certain courses when demand for engi-..neering talent, espec4ally in high-lechnolOgyindustries is at an all-time high.'

'F. J. Atelsek,and I. L. Goinberg, Recruitment and Reten-tion of Full-Time Engineering Faculty, Fall, 1980 (WaShington,

- D.C.: American Council on Education, October 1981).

S.

The shift in .sources of funding and in theamount of R&D performed by industry, aswell as the critical shortages of scientists andengineers, have weakened the ability of theUnited States to compete in worldwide R&Dactivities, and have hampered U.S. manufac-turing firms from effectively competing in in-ternational markets..

Federal FundingEven more critical than the state of R&D

in general is the current state of R&D for edu-cational technology. Analyses made in March1981 of the Federal bUdget proposals for fiscalyear 1982 indicate that education and researchprograms, which accounted for approximately4 percent of all Federal spending in 1980, willconstitute 13 percent of the total spending re-duCtions. Even with the approved fiscal year1982 funding levels established by Congressin December 1981, Federal expenditures foreducation and research in constant dollars willbe well below actual 1980. levels. In 1982,spending will be about 20 percent below 1980levels, and, by 1984, it may fall by as muchas 53 percent below.

Federal support represents a significant por-tionin some cases up-to 25 percentof fundsthat the nonprofit sector, including univer-

ta,

sities and other educational institutions, usesfor operations and programs. Federal supportgrew over the past 20 years,. as the FederalGovernment came to rely increasinglyprofit organizations to deliver and/or eN4ilitaii4:-..federally funded programs,. While foundationsand corporations have been generous withfunding, their contributions will probably notmake up for reduced Federal involvement, es-pecially since nearly one out of every four ofthe dollars eliminated from tlie Federal budgetfor fiscal year 1982 would have gone to a non-profit organization.°

'L. A. Salamon with A. J. Abramson, The Federal Govern-ment and the Nonprofit Sector: Implications of the ReaganBudget Proposals (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, May1981).

Private FundingFoundations have also played an important

educational role by financing commissions andstudies, funding deveiopMent and demonstra-tion projects, orgtmizing conferences, and sup-porting think-tanks Recently, the Sloan Foun-dation supported a conference at which educa-tor*and representatives Of industry discussedhow mathematicians ,might be retrained forcareers in applied computer science in orderto alleviate severe occupational shortages. The

Carnegie Foundation has participated in joint-ly funded broadcasting projects produced byNSF. The Hewlitt Packard Foundation has ex-pressed an interest in supporting NSF-spon-sored science programs for commercial televi-sion. Plans for the project may be jeopardized,however, because of funding reductions withinNSF's Office of Science and Engineering Edu-cation (formerly the Science and EngineeringEducation Directorate).

Ch. 7State of Research and Developthent in Educational Technology 115

In the past, selected companies have beengeberous in their support of education. Somehave participated with Federal and Stategovernments in jointly funded computer-based learning projects as well as other tech-nology-based activities. Although it is difficultto estimate the amount of corporate supportfor educational technology, education hasalways been a high-priority area for support.The Annual Surveys of Corporate Oontribu-tions, a series conducted by the ConferenceBoard for the years 1978, 1979, and 1980,shows that contributions made to educationalinstitutions and organizations for a wide vaH-ety of purposes have increased from $256.3million to $375.8 millionfrom 37 percent ofthe total contributions of reporting companiesin 1978 ($693.2 million) to 37.7 percent of thosefirms reporting in 1980 ($994.6 million)." Sup-port of education measured as a percentage ofpretax net income has increased from 0.179 in1978 to 0.220 in 1980." However, if fundingfor such activities is to remain at the 1980levels (in constant dollars), private donationswill have to increase substantially in all pro-gram areas, including education and research.An Urban Institute study of howthe Federalbudget cuts, as proposed in March 1981,would affect the educational programs of non-profit institutions showed that they will re-ceive $0.7 billiondollars less in income frompublic sources, and they will receive $7.3billion from private sources. To maintain theexisting value of private support, contribu-tions from the private sector must increase by17.9 percent:

. . . private giving would have to increase by144 percent between 1980 and 1984 in orderto keep up with inflation and make up for rev-enue lost to nonprofit organizations as a con-

"It is important to note that response rates to the AnnualSurvey of Corporate Contributions varied for the years cited:1978-759 companies; 1979-786 companies; 1980-732 com-panies. Annual tabulations of corporate contxibutions publiihedby the American Association of fund-Raising Counsel, showthat giving levels for 1980 and 1981 were $2.7 billion and $3.0billion respictively.

Conference Board and the Council for Financial Aid to Edu-cation, Advance Report F1-om the Annual Survey of CorporateContributions, 1980 (New York: The Conference Board, Inc.,1981).

sequence of the budget cuts. BY comparison,however, during the most recent five-yearPeriod, private giving in practice increttsedonly. 38 percent. In other words, in order forprivate nonprofit organizations to hold theirown . . . even using (advpinistration) inflationassumptions, private giving would have to in-crease four times faster between 1980 and1984 than it did over the five-year period justended.' 2

There is evidence that corporations are will-ing to increase their support of educational,arts, and social service programs affgcted by

-Federal budget reductions. Corporate givingclubs are being organized by business leadersin various part of the country to ensure thatcompanies set aside up to 5 percent of pretaxrevenues for this purpose. However, accordingto Internal Revenue Service records, onlyabout 35 ptcent of the Nation's 1 5 millionprofit-reporting firms claimed any charitabledeductions in 1977 (latest figures available),with only 58,000 taking advantage of the full5 percent allowable deduction. Furthermore,most of these donations went to support localcommunity projects rather than national pro-grams. Few, if any, of these donations carrywith them the requirement that projects' re-sults be widely disseminated."

Hopefully, the founding of such clubs willoffset- the potential negative effect that theprovisions of the Economic Recoir'ery Tax Actof 1981 might have on charitable donations.Because the act allows faster clepreciation andmore investment tax credits, it will have theeffect of reducing taxable income." A recentConference Board survey of trends in businessvolunteerism in the largest U.S. manufactur-ing, service, financial, and transport firms indi-cated that, for a variety of reasonsamongthem current economic conditions, companiesare not redirecting or expanding their programinterests in response to Federal budget reduc-tions. In fact they may not be able to give asmuch in the future as they have in the past.

"Salmon and Abramson, op. cit.""How Corporate 'Clubs' RE the Gap in Giving," Business

Week, Now.23, 1981, pp. 54F-55.""More 'Mx Incentives for R&D," Business Week, Sept. 7,

1981, pp. 74L,P.

116 Informational Technology and Its impact on American Education

Some respondents said that they thought thata lower corporate tax rate may well discouragegiving. Representatives of 6 of the 10 com-panies said that they do mit expect to lendmore executives to nonprofit institutions in

place of, or in addition to, direct contribu-tions."

IhE. P. McGuire and N. Weber, Business Volunteerism: Pms-poets for 1982 (New York: The Conference Board, Inc., January1982).

Federal Commitment to EducationalTechnology R&D, Fiscal Year 1982

, Approved congressional budget levels andconversations with budget and program offi-cers in NSF, OE, DOD, and other agencies,suggest ihat the Federal investment in educa-tional technology R&D in fiscal year 1982 willamount to $273.915 million, $256 million ofwhich will be utilized by the tri-services(Army, Navy/Marine Corps, and Air Force) asa part of the Training and Personnel SystemsTechnology Program (TPST). Ongoing pro-. gram elements of TPST, according to whichspecific projects are funded, are listed in table18; selected project topics funded within these,program elements are listed by service branchin table 19.

Of the remaining $17.915 million (non-DODfunding), the largest percentage-an estimated$5.55 million-will go to support comptiter re-search, including software development in sci-ence, math, reading, and written communica-tions. Educational television projects willreceive the second highest amount-an esti-mated $5.236 million. The remaining $7.129millioi will be used to support educational ap-plications of video disk and teleconferencingand to develop special technology applicationsfor educating the handicapped.

Breakdowns of R&D funding within NSF,OE, and DOD and estimates of the dollars setaside for educational technology R&D projectsin fissal year 1982 are given in tables 20, 21,and 22. NSF has provided $4.536 million-0.457 percent of the agency's total projectedR&D expenditure ($991 million)-to grants ofthis type. Educational technology projects willbe funded to varying degrees within six pro-gram areas in OE. The total projected amountis $13.379 million, 12.45 percent of the ap-

- Table 18.-Department of Defense Training andPersonnel Systems Technology R&D Program

Elements and Funding .Levels-Fiscal Year 1981-82

Program element

Dollars in millionsFiscal year Fiscal year

1981 1982

ArmyTraining, personnel, and human

engineering $3.9 $4.0Human factors in systems development . 7.0 8.7Human performance effectiveness and

simulation 3.2 3.5Manpower, personnel, and training 8.2 6.0Nonsystem training devices technology 2.7 2.7Synthetic flight simulators 3.9 7.8Manpower and personnel 3.4 4.7Nonsystem training devices deyelopinent 0.0 1.4

Human factors in training andoperational effectiveness 151 3.1

Education and training 7.8 9.8

Training and sImUlatIon 1.5 2.2Synthetic flight training systems 0.8 8.3Nonsystem training devices engineering . 12.2 12.9

$54.3 $74.9

Navy and Manna Corps *Behavioral and social sciences 7.7 8.8Human factors and simulation

technology 5.9 8.5Personnel and training technology 5.7 6.4

Human factors engineering development. 2.9 3.1

Manpower control system development 3.1 2.8Man-machlne technology 0.0 0.0Education and training 4.8 3.7

Navy technical information presentationsystem 1.8 1.3

Marine Corps advanced manpowertraining system 1.3 1.5

Training devices technology 8.0 8.0Training devices prototype development . 13.9 10.4Prototype manpower/personnel systems . 1.1 5.0Mr warfare training devices 43.7 27.9Surface wartare training devices 34.4 41.7Submarine warfare training devices 2.9 4.6

$105.2 $131.7Air ForceHuman resources 4.8 4.9Aerospace biotechnology

,. 8.2 8.8Training and simulation technology 12.9 14.2

Personnel utilization technology 5.3 5.5

Advanced simulator technology 3.2 2.2

innovations In education and training . 1.7 2.5Flight simulator development 5.5 11.3

$41.8 $49.4

Total $201.1 $258.0

SOURCE: Department of Defense, Of Sc. of the Undersecretary for Research endEngineering, compiled January 1982.

111

Ch. 7State of Research and Development in Educational Technology 117

Table 19.Training and Personnel SystemsTechnology R&D Program: Selected Project

. ToplcsFiscal Year 198142

ArmyMan-computer communication techniquesAppliation of video disk to tactical training and skillQualification testingTechnology-based basic skills and individual skills

development systemsComputer-based maintenance training aidsIntegration of microwave and computer technologiesComputer-based maintenance training aldsNavy/Marine CorpsComputer-based maintenance training and other

computer-based instructional systemsIndividualized automated training 'techniqueComputer literacy (teaching computer programing skills)Advanced training technolbgy developmentAdvanced voice isteractive systems developmentComputer-assisted design and evaluation systemsComputerized personnel acquisition system developmentUtilization of computer graphics tor maintenance

instructionComputer-based basic skills instructionAdvanced computer-aided instruction for complex skillsExperimental, technology-based combat team training

systemsComputerized course authoring systemsComputer-based speech recognition and synthesis

'Air ForceHuman-computer combinationsComputer-aided technical instructionAdvanced visual technologiesComputer-based maintenance aidsSOURCE: Department of Defense, Office of the Undersecretary for Research

and Engineering.

proved R&D funding level of $107.4 million.Of $19.9 billion approved for DOD R&D fund-ing, 1.28 percent, or $256 million, will be spenton training and simulation devices, computerinstructional software development, and othertechnology-based projects. Government-widecommitment levels to educational technologyprojects are broken down by agency in table23.

Table 20.National Science Foundation R&D Budget, Fiscal Year 1982for Selected Program Areas

Program areaApproved.R&D Funds for education Percent offunding level technology R&D program total

Mathematicarand Physical Sciences $273 million 0 0Engineering and Applied SciencesScientific, Technological, and

$92 million 0it

0

International Affairs and Cross-Directorate Programs $40 million

Science Education, Development, andResearch' $21 million Estimated $2.2

million computingin education.

21.6%

Estimated $2.338million sciencebroadcasting.

Subtotal, selected program areas $428 million 10.6536s' Total (all R&D within agency) $991 million 0.457%

aLogislatIve mandate to foster computing In science education.SOURCE: American Association for the Adyencement of Science, National Science Foundation, and Office of Technology

Auessmont.

$4.536 million$4. million

118 informational Tochnolorly and Its impact on American Education

VC ,

Table 21.-Department of Education R&D Budget, Fiscal Year 1982for Selected Program Areas

Program areaApproved R&D Funds for education Percent offunding level technology R&D program total

National institute of Education $53.4 millionNational Institute fOr Handicapped

Research $28.6 millionBilingual Education $8.0 millionHandicapped Research Innovation &

Development $7.2 millionVocational Educational Programs of $5.5 million

National Significance (est.)Educational Technology $8.679 millionSpecial Education ResourcesFund for the Improvement of

Postsecondary Education $10 millionTotal (all R&D within agency) $107.4 million

SOURCE: Department of Education and Office of Moho° logy Assessment

$1.3 million (est.) 2.43%

$0.2 million (est.)0

$0.9 million

$8.679 million$1.8 million

$2.5 million$13.379 million

6.99

12.5

100

4012.45%

Table 22.-Department of Defense R&D Budget, Fiscal Year-1982for Selected Divisions

Approved R&D Funds for education Percent ofDepartment funding level technology R&D program total

Army 118 billion $74.9 million' (est.) 20.8%Navy and Marine Corps 15.9 billion $131.7 million' (est.) 2.23Air Force - $8.9 billion $49.4 million' (est.) 5.55Defense agencies $1.7 billion 0 0

Total (all R&D within department) $19.9 billion $258.0 million 1.28%

'Additional R&D efforts may exist ihat are not _captured within training and personnel technology program daM 'base.

SOURCE American Association for the Advancement of Science; Department of Defense; end Office of Tschnoiogy Asseurnent.

Table 23.-Projected Federal Expenditures for Educational Technology R&D,Fiscal Year 1914

DepartmentProjected expenditura educational Total R&D budget

technology-R&D (approved levels)

National Science Foundation $4.538 million (est.) $991 millionDepartment of Education $13.379 million (est.) $107.4 millionDepartment of Defense $258 million (est.) $19.9 billion

Total '$273.915 million (est.) $20.99 billionSOURCE Office of Technology Assessment and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Discontinued and Consolidated ProjectsResearch on the educational applications of

satellite technology will wt be supported bythe Federal Government m fiscal year 1982,with the exception of one small project spon-sored by NIB and conducted by a regional edu-cational laboratory. Support for Federal tele-,communications research and demonstrationhas been discontinued, except for two projects

that will receive some funding for fiscal year1982. The Deafnet Telecommunications Mod-el, the product of a 3-year effort that involvedmodifying existing electronic mail technology,will be disseminated to potential users undera $300,000 grant. OE's Division of Education-al Technology (Office of Educational Researchand Improvement) will provide $1 1 million to

1 3

Ch. 7State of Research and Development In Educational .TechnOlogy 119

support "Project Best," a series of telecon-ferences designed to help officials in 45 statesto understand the potential of the thnology.The National Telecommunications Programestal?lished by Congress in 1976 to "promotethe development of nonbroadcast telecornmu-nicatons facilities and services for educationand other social services". was not reauthor-ized for fiscal year 1982. It would also appearthat a 3;year project that was designed todemonstrate the use of teleteit in the UnitedStates and that was jointly sPonsored by OE,NSF, the National Telecommunications infor-mation Administration, and the CanadianGovernment, will he discontinued. (In finalyear 1981, OE contributed $1 millioh to theeffort.) The Television and /Radio Programauthorized by the Emergency School Aid Act

of 1972 under which grants to reduce minor-ity isolation in the mediwere made, as wellas the Basic Skills and Technology Programauthorized by the Education Amendments of1978, designed to encourage research into theapplication of technology to problems in basicskills instruction, have been consolidated withother programs into a State educational blockgrant at overall ?educed levels of funding. (In

, 1981-82,the combined support for these pitoprograms amounted to $6.5 million.) OE sup-port for video disk development will not bepursued dtie to lack of funds. However, severalvideo disk projects included within a group ofmultiyear contractS previously awarded byOE (an estimated $20 million investment forall such contracts) are scheduled for comple-tion in fiscal year 1983 and fiscal year 1984.

COnOnuing ProjectsMultiyear grants, that will continue to be

funded in, fiscal year 1982 are listed by agen-cy in table 24. Seven ongoing educational tele-vision projects will bfezet2nported by OE. Theuse and adaptation o ology for the hand-icapped and for special education will be en-couraged. And, through the Fund for the Im-provement of Postsecondary Education, grantswill be made to local educational projects thatuse teleconferencing, computer-aided instruc-

\ tion, video disk, and other forms of technol-ogy (estimated $25.7 million). NSF will con-tinue its science broadcasting program ($2.336millioq) and will review its computer-basededucation projects and others similar to them($2.2 million). Support has been discontinuedfor the Mathematics Education Using Infor-mation Technology Program, designed to en-courage computer courseware development,and previously supported jointly with OE. To

datq, NSF has contributed $3.5 million, andNIahas contributed $0.5 million to this proj-ect. In fiscal year 1982-83, NIE will providJ$0.6 million in support.

Information about which spetkic projectswill be funded in this fiscal year undyrelements of DOD's Training Personnel andSystems Technology Program is still unavail-able. However, some idea abont the nature ofthese activities can be gained by looking atselected tasks that are under waY at the ArmyResearch Institute (ARI). ARI will continuedevelopment of a hand-held computer for vo-cabulary building, a computer-assisted careercounseling system, and a special data manage-ment system that will integrate video disktechnology with a computer for basic skills in-struction (estimated at $2.25 million).

11 i

120 Informational Tochnologyand Its Impact on AmericaP Education

Table U.Continuation Grants for EducePlonal Technology R&D, Fiscal Year 19824

Program

Ctspartment ot EducationDivision of Educational TeChnology(Office of Educational Researchand improvement

National institute forHandicapped Research

Special Education Resources

ifs I

Handicapped ResearchinnovationDevelopment

National institute of Education

Fund for the improvement ofPostsecondary Education

National Science FoundationOffice of Science and

Engineering Education

Department ol thilentuoArmyNavy and Marine CorpsAir Force

Total ,,,,

Grant description Funding level

Microcomputer Software$2.25 million

Devlopment Elementary grades (3 yrs funding a1S150,000 per project)Ohio State mathematics, development and tesN,pg In 25 schools by

fiscal year 1983,Wycatt reading; Bolt, Beranek and Newman written cOmmunication

di ,composition

Video sk $0.221 million

microComputer softwareUniversity of4Nebruka development of Spanish-English dicVonary and

American Institute of Research video disk for music and math curriculafor elementary grades, 45 site demonstrations and electronic mall

componentTeleconferencing

$0250 million"Project Mut" assistance to officials In 45 States In understanding $1 1 mlillon

potential of technology, electronic mailbox component;8 teleconferences

TelevisionSeven protects: (selected grants highlighted) $18 175 million

"3-2.1 Contact:" production funds to Children's Television Workshop

($1 million)"Power House:" health and nutritioneconomically disadvantaged

minority youth ($3.5 million)."Kids," program for lmntary grades on.redib broadcasting($1 nililion)

Adaptation of educational technology for use by' handicapped

°salmi Telecommunications Projectmodel dissemination($0.3 million).

Line 1 Caption Broad Casting Progrem ($1.5 million).Technology Utilization Project

"Matnernetics Education Using Information Technology:" (until fiscalyear' 198283 Jointly funded with NSF; $0.8 million). Computercourleware development "Calculator information Center" ($0.1°Ipi Ilion).

"Computer Softwar Clearinghouse" ($0.2 million). Portion of RegionalEducational Laporatories budget utilized for educational technologyprojects: courstware development; satellite telecommunications project- -(est. $0.4 million). -

Educationel television, teleconferencing, computeraided instruction, and

video disk (local projects)

Computer.baSed education, CADICAMb educatiOn, and other projectscurrently up fotreview

Scienc groecicestlngPrism PrOductions, Inc., "How About:" 90 socOnd science series forcommercial television (syndicated to 140 stationsjointly funded withGeneral Motors Research Labs; NSF contribution: $0.208 million).

Children's Television Workshop, "3-2.1 Contact:" sCience programing;National Public Redio, "Science information on Public Redlo:"stablishment of scienc production capabilities and provision for sciencecoverage for distribution to 227 public radio stations ($0.198 million).

See tables 18 and 19 for program elements and project topicsSu tables 18 and 19 for program elements and project topicsSee tables 18 and 19 for program elements and project topics

*Mine funded with fiscal Iffi AY 1980 and fiscal year' 1981 moneysCADICAM-Comoutereselat d doeIgnicomputer-essleted manufacture

SOURCE Office of Technology Assessment

a

$0 2 million (est )

$1 8 million (est )

$0 9 million (est.)

$1 3 million (est)

$1 5 million (est.)

$1.7 miliion (651.)

$2.336 million

$73.5 million$131.7.millIon$49.4 million

$284.338 million_

I

Ch. 7State of Research and Development In Educational Technology 121

New Grants fOrA breakehmn of the funds that have been

tentatively earmarked or committed for newprojects within OE, NSF, and DOD is shownin table 25. Approximately $6.8 Million areavatlable, $5.4 million within OE. The Armyhas established a new Non-System TrainingDevi Ces Development Program with an initialbudget of $1.4 million. NSF will fund only onenew project in fiscal year 1981ti $0.5 million,

'effort toloster innovative,ideas for using com-puters in sCience education. The project wasconceived after NSF had been approached by-several manufacturers who offered to provithtfree microcomputers for experimentatitm ineducational institutions.

A revealing analysis of Federal support ofR&D for educational technology in fiscal year1981 is shown in table 26, which presents esti-mates of funding levels for pitrticular types oftechnology. Educational television will receive

Fiscal Year 1982(

more money than any other form of technol-ogyan estimated $21.411 million, a sum thatincludes grants for local demonstrations. Fromfiscal year 1968 through fiscal year 1980, theChildren's Television Workshop receivetlgrants from OE totaling $46 3 million for th7developmgit and production of SeasameStreet and The Electric Companyan avetageof $3.56 million per year." If the increasedcosts of television production and general in-flation are" taken into-account, the $21.411million Federal 'support level for fiscal year1982 will clearly be insufficiently maintain thesame volume of programing that previouslyexisted. This year, OE's Office of EducationalResearch aTnd Improvement (Division of Edu-cational Technology) has plans to award only

A. Zuaker, Support of Educational Technology by theU.S Department of Education: 1971-1980 (Washington, D.C.:D.S. Department of Education, February 1982).

Taiga 25.hiew Wants for Educational Technology R&D, Fiscal Year 1082

Pro,ramDopartmont of EducationDivision of Educational

TechnologyNational Institute for

Handicapped Research

Special Ectucition ResourcesHandicapped ResearCh

Innovation anddevelopment

Natfonal Inatitdte ofEducation

Fund foethe ImproveAnt ofPostsecondary Education

National &Apnea FoundationScience and Engineering

Education Office

Dapartniant of Deans*ArrnyNavy and Marine CorpsMr Force

Total

Grant description

Educational television projects

Adaptation of educational technology for uise byhandicapped; other topics to be identified.

Bank Street College: 26- to 15-minute programs for ITV orETV use, plus computer game software, computergraphics, and video disk application.

"Careers In Electronics and Computers".(working tItle):two 60-minute prograrns that focus on opportunities foryoung people and displaced workers.

None 0Technology utilization projects 0

Funding level

$2.9 million (est.)

$1 million (est.)

None 0

Based on proposals received to date (40 percent are foreducation technology projects

"Gift Program:" (in response to gift of microcomputersoffered by two producer companies) foster innovativeideas for using computers In science education.

Nonsystem Training Devices DevelopmentNoneNone

VI million (est.)

$0.5 million

$1.4 million00

$6.8 million (est?,SOURCE Office of TechnotOgy Assessment

122 Informational Technology and Its Irmiact on American Education

Table 28.Fedoral R&D Funding for Educational Technology Fiscal Year 1982By Type of Technology' ',gab

TechnologyComputer.based instruction

Agencies funding

Educational televisionTeleconferencingVideo diskElectronic mallSatellite

CalculatorsOther

Total

National Science Foundation;Department of Education;Department of Defenst,

Department of EducationDepartment of EducationDepartment of EducationDepartment of EducationDepartment of Education (Funding

of Regional Laboratories)Department o,f Education

Funding level$5.55 million (est.)

$21.411 million$1.1 million (est.)$0.975 million (est.)$0.3 million (est.)$0.05 million (est.)

$0.3. million (est.)$4.55 million (est.)

$34.236 million (est.)

Sncludes multiyear projects funded with4scal year 1950 and Hecal year 1951 moneys

SOURCE Office of Tochoology Assessment

two new educational television grants thatamount to $2.9 million. Computer-based in-struction (including software development) isthe only technology that will be supported infiscal year 1982 by all three Federal agencies

(at a total level of $5.55 million). Other tech-nologies, such as video disk, electronic mail,and calculators, will each receive between $0.2million and1$0.3 million in Federal support, allof it coming from OE.

Federal Support for EducationalLaboratories

With the Cooperative Research Act of 1963and the Elementary and Secondary EducationAct of 1965, the U.S. Office ef Educationestablished regional centers and laboratoriesfor.educational research to focus efforts andto encourage experimentation undercontrolledconditions. In fiscal year 1982, NIE will pro-vide $28 million for these centers and lab-oratories. Of this amount, about $335,000 willbe used to support educational technologyprojects. The Wisconsin Center for Educa-tional Research at the University of Wiscon-sin at Madison, Wis., will investigate possi-ble uses of microcomputers in problem-solvingand language skills instruction. The Univer-

sity of Pittsburgh's Learning Research andDevelopment Center has initiated small curric-ulum software development projects in devel-opmental reading, writing, and mathematics.Through e communications skills project, theSouthwest Regional Laboratory hopes to de-velop microcomputer softwarefor student usein generating, manipulating, and editing textin an interactive mode. Some of the fundingfor educational technology R&D projectscomes from the States, as do some okthe fundsto support the Northwest Regional Education-al LaboratorS, educational satellite project forR&D dissemination.

4,

Educational Technology R&D Support byOther Nations

While the U.S. Government is rcommitment to develop new applications of in-

formation technology in education, a numberof other countries are planning or initiating

117

Ch. 7State of Research and DevelOpment in Educational Technology 123,

major programs. Some have succeeded in at-tracting U.S. researchers as major partici-pants.

FranceIn January 1982, France announced plaits

to establish a World Center for ComputerScience and Human Resources for the ex-pressed purpose of designing personal com-puter systems fpr use in training and educa-tion projects InCdustrialized and Third Worldcountries. With an initial annual operatingbudget of $20 million, the center staff has ten-tative plans to develop computer-based educa-tion projects in Senegal, Kuwait, Ghana, andthe Philippines. The center will most probablyreceive additional financial support from thosecountries. Programs to retrain workers whosejobs have been eliminated through automationare also under consideration.

Some see the establishment of the center asevidence that the French Government regardsthe computer as an important agent of socialchange and that it views its development asan important factor in determining how wellthe French will compete with the UnitedStates in the field of microelectronics."Although the center's board of directors willhave international representatives, at leastnine French cabinet ministers will be amongits members." The chairman of the World Cen-ter will report directly to President FrancoisMitterand, an indication of the importancethat the French Government attaches to theproject.

Two U.S. scientibts have accepted positionswith the center. Nieols Negoponte, a professorof computer graphics at the Massachusetts In-stitute pf Technology (MIT), will assume thepost of director. Seymour Papert, founder ofMIT's artificial intelligence program and de-veloper of the computer programing languageLOGO, will serve as its chief scientist.

"-Micros Are This Year's Paris Fashion," New Scientist. Feb.25. 1992, p. 488.

"M. Schrage. "France Plana Computer World Center," Wash,ington Poet. Jan. 28. 1982.

Testifying on May 19, 1982, before the Sub-committee on Investigations and Oversightand the Subcommittee on Science, Research,and Technology of the House Committee onScience and Technology, Jean Jacques Servan-Schreiber, chairman of.the World Center, de-scribed it as the first of a network of suchfacilities that will focus on human resourcedevelopment through application of computertechnology. He expressed the hope that theUnited States would establish the next suchcenter, encourage the funding of others, andcooperate with Ft-vice in " . . . the implemen-tation of a policy aimed at the stimulapion ofworldwide economic activity and e&ploy-ment."

European CommissionThe European Commission, the independent

policy-operating body'of the European Com-munity, plans to launch a 10-year, $1.6 billionprogram to aid research in computer-relatedtechnology. Funding will come from the com,-rnissiob, from the industrial sector, and fromother sources. These funds will be distributedas grants to European research groups, pri-vate laboratories, and universities for concen-trated efforts in such areas as office technol-ogy, factory automation, software, advancedmicroelectronic chips, and aritificial intelli-gence. European researchers and business rep-resentatives will discuss the project during1982. Plans call for theprogram to be initiatedbefore the end of 1983.20

United KingdomBritain believes that its future role in inter-

national markets will be largely affected by theinvestments it makes now in fostering the de-velopment ,3f information technology. Withthis in mina, the British Government is estab-lishing a comprehensive policy for information

"J. J. Servan-Schreiber, testimony of Jean Jacques Servan-Schreiber, before the Subcommittaeon Investigations and Over-sight and Subcommittee on Science,'Reasarch. and Teehnology,Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Repre-sentatives, May 19, 1982.

EEC Stakes 855 Million on Tomorrow's Computers," NewScientist, Jan, 7, 1982, p. 6.

ational Technology and Its Impact on American Education (

technology that will have the following keyelements:

provision of a national telecommunica-tions network;theklevelopment of a (statutory and reg-ulatory framework designed to encouragefurther growth of information technologyproducts and services;initiation of actions to create an aware-ness4of the inherent advantages of infor-mation technology and to stimulate in-terest in utilizing new-services and equip-ment; anddirect support to the development of newproducts and techniques.

A Ministry for Information Technology hasbeen created within the Department of In-dustry, to sell-ye as the point of coordinationfor all government activities. Apart fromdesignating 1982 as Information TechnologyYear, the British Government has launcheda $1.2 million public awareness campaign. Itis, moreover, in the process of initiating a vari-ety of projects, including one designed to placea microcomputer in every secondary school bythe end of 1982, and anotherknown as theMicroelectronidt ih Education Programthatwill provide instruction to teachers on the useof the computer as a classroom learning aid.

Clearly, the actions that nations are takingto encourage basic research and product-related R&D in information technology are inaccordance with the ideas U.S. researchershave about Government support and par-ticipation. In hearings before the Subcommit-tee on Domestic and International ScientificPlanning, Analysis, and Cooperation of theHouse Committee on Science and Technology,held in 1977, researchers from educational in-stitutions and other nonprofit settings, as wellas representatives from the computer hard-ware and software industry, advocated the es-tablishment of large-scale, "critical mass proj-ects" through which continued innovations ineducational technology could be achieved. Anuthler of participants cited the need for con-tinuity in funding and ongoing support forprojects lasting from 6 to 10 years rather than

for the traditional 1- to 3-year cycles charac-teristic of Federal funding. They frequentlymentioned the vital role that the Governmentplays in fostering development of the technol-ogy and &eliminating constraints that-inhibitapplications. William C. Norris, Chairman andChief Executive Office of ControlData Corp.,one of the U.S. firms most active in computer-based education, underlined the importance ofthe Federal Government's role in encouraging,through funding and other meansi cooperativeR&D efforts between universities and, in-dustry, in order to ensure that bisic researchis undertaken and new products continue tobe developed and disseminated tozspecificmarkets. Recommendations made akthe hear-ings also included the establishment of a na-tional center and/or regional centers - thatwou4d focus on further developments in educa-tional technology."

Implications of the PresentFederal Role in Educational

Technology R&DCommitments made to R&D for educational

technology at the level of fiscal year 1982 fund-ing do not permit the Federal Government tocOntinue to serve as a major par4cipant in,and catalyst for, new research activfties. Givendecreased Federal funding level, and staffshortages, the degree to which t e universitycommunity will participate in the future is alsoin question. Thus, private industry will haveto provide the largest percentage of researchdollars, and to perform most R&D functions.In a climate of increasing international com-petition, in which industry will tend to investmore in product-related R&D that ensuresreturn on investment rather than in more fun-damental research, the future of U.S.-basedbasic research and other nonmarket-orientedefforts is in doubt. This situation contrastssharply with the European examples where na-

"Committ.oe on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Repre-sentatives, Computers and the Learning Society, hearing beforethe Subcommittee on International Scientific Planning, Analy-sis, and Cooperation, Oct.. 4. 6, 12, 13, 18, and 27, 1977 (Wash-ington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978).

Ch. 7State of Research and Development In Educational Technology 125

tional governments are becoming actite par-ticipants in establishing national programs. InThird, World countries, governments are alsoeager to utilize information technology to im-prove their training and educational progyams.

Plans are underway at OE to establish anEducational Technology Initiative, a $16 mil-lion program that, over a 3-year period begin-ning in fiscal year 1983, will focus on the de-velopment of educational software. This initia-tive will also set up lighthouse school demon-stratims, where ijaplications of educationaltechnology may be observed by school admin-istrators and others, and an information clear-

inghouse and exchange." By leveTaging funds,the proposed program seeks to attract match-ing funds from industry to develop educationalsoftware to meet school specifications. Givenpast levels of Federal involvement in suchpublic:private R&D projects, it is questionablewhether the Federal contribution of $3.3 mil-lion extended over a 3- to 6-year period will beenough to stimulate private investments.

"Department of Education, Office of Educational Researchand Improvement, FY/83 Program/Buflget Plan: Secretary'sThchnology Initiative (Wuhington. D.C.?Departmeat of Educa-tion, February 1982).

Present and Future Support forEducational Technology R&D

Arguments favoring Federal involvement inR&D stress the riskiness of investment inthese early. stages of market development andthe fact that much needs to be learned abouthow to use these new media most effectively.Some of the case studies that follow suggestthat Federal support has been a critical fac-tor in bringing experiments such as SesameStreet and PLATO to the point where com-mercial success stimulates private interest. IfCongress decides to emphasize R&D in educa-tional technology, several issues must beresolved.

Source of Funding. The Federal Govern-ment is only one of seveçal potential sourcesof R&D support. Are thud ways of pro-viding Federal support that encourage in-vestment in R&D by private industry, foun--dations, and even local and State educationagencies? Mechanisms for coordinating andpooling research funds from multiplesources have to be explored.Level of Funding. Several experta have ex-pressed the opinion that current funding isfar beloW the critical level neceasary tomake significant and rapid improvementsin the state of the art. They point out thatthe French World Center has a starting

budget of over $20 million per year and thatArevious Federal efforts in educational tech-nblogy were funded at a significantly higherlevel than at present.

Stability of Support. Perhaps more impor-tant than the particular funding level is thefact that in order to encourage the forma-tion of high-quality centers of research andto foster the entry of capable researchersinto the field, there will need to be a long-term commitment to support R&D at what-ever level is deemed appropriate.

Type of ResearchThere are four broadareas of research in learning technology:1) research on the hardware technology it-self to develop appropriate educationaldevices; 2) research on software develop-ment afid courseware authoring techniques,such as how to make the best instructionaluse of information technology; 3) researchon human-machine communication and in-teraction such as that on languages, key-board and screen design, and the use ofgraphic images to transfer information; and4) research on cognitive learning and on howindividuals interact with educational sys-tems.

126 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Basic Research or Development. The prop-er role of the Federal Governmdnt in fund-ing research, however, is more clearly estab-lished in basic research and becomes lessclearly so as the work is more developmen-tal in nature. Tfte closer a project moves todeveloping a potentially marketable applica-tion, the more t se issues come into focus:

what is the apprdpriate overlap betweenGovernment and private funding, and

assuming that a Government funded proj-ect turns out to be a commercial success,how can it then best be moved quicklyinto the private sector?

Case Studies of Landmarkt&D DisseminationEfforts in Educational Technology

This section includes four case studies of ed-ucational technology projects initiated part- tion.ly or wholly with Federal funding. These proj-ects have significantly affected the educational Contextprocess, in some cases broadening the defini-tion of what education is and where it can takeplace. The first case study describes the for-mation of the Children's Television Workshop;the second, the development, production, and

c, marketing of PLATO, a computer-based learn-ing system; the third, the establishment of theComputer Curriculum Corp. as an outgroWthof federally supported, university-based re-search in computer-based instructional sys-tems for schools; and the fourth, the creationof CONDUIT, a nonprofit group that evalu-ates, packages, and distributes computer-based learnirfg materials to secondary andpostsecondary institutions.

tion of public policy, technology, and educa-

Case Study 1: The Children'sTelevision Workshop

The Children's Television Workshop (CTW),the creator of the prize-winning educationaltelevision series, Sesame Street and The Elec-tric Company, was the first television programproducer to design educational programs ona large scale specifically for preschool children.The CTW expecience illustrates the highly suc-cessful use of technology for educational pur-poses, a substantial Federal Government in-vestment and role, and the creation of a uniqueorganization. It can therefore provide usefulinsights into and lessons about, the interrela-

CTW was f in 1968 at a time whenearly childhoód stu4les had established howimportant the preschool years are in laying thefoundation for subsequent intellectual devel-opment. It was a period when educators, in-creasingly aware of the exceedingly largenumber of hours that young children werewatching TV each day, were becoming con-cerned about the kind of programing being of-fered. There was at the same time a growingsensitivity to the disparity in school readinessbetween advantaged and disadvantaged chil-dren.

CTW decided to experiment with a showthat would attempt to capture the attentionof young childrer, parpcularly those from low-income families. It was suspected that childrenfrom disadvantaged familiefwatched TV evenmore than middle class children. Surveysshowed that 90 percent of all families with in-,comes below $5,000 owned at least one televi-sion set and that disadvantaged families withpreschool children had their sets on for anestimated 54 hours per week.

Budget and OrganizationIn 1968, CTW,was set up as an autonomou"s

unit within National Education Television,which served as a corporate umbrella for the

Ch 7State of Research and Development in Educational Technology 127

purpose of receiving grants. Two years later,it betame independent as a nonprofit corpora-tion. The budget for its initial 2 years was $8millionthe first year for preparation, and thesecond fof production and broadcast. The U.S.Office of Education agreed to pay 50 percentof this cost; the remainder was funded primari-ly by the Ford Foundation and the CarnegieCorp.-

The present CT\W b'udget is around $33 mil-lion, most of which is spent to pay the costs,of its nonbroadcast enterprises such as theprinting and postage for three widely cir-culated magazines.

Foundation support has tapered off, andFederal support for Ssame Street ended infiscal year 1982. As result, the staff wasrecently cut back, and 's community out-reach program was redIiced. While new pro-graming continues for existing series, no newlarge-scale projects have been announced.

An effort has been ma e to generate newrevenues through a whol4 series of productsbased on CTW programs. ese include books,records, toys, games, and yen clothing. CTWestimates that in 1982, royillty revenues fromthe sales of nonbroadcast materials will total$22 million, $16 million of which will go tocover costs, leaving an anticipated net revenueof $6 million to be applied to the continuingcost of Sesame Street and other educationalprojects.

CTW has also established a unique educe-,tionaj park known as "Sesame Place" in BucksCoufity, Pe. Designed for children age 3 andup, it is of special interest because, in additionto having dozens of outdoor play elements andindoor science exhibits, it provides 60 Applecomputers on which children can plan educa-tional games developed by CTW. A secondpark was opened in the summer of 1982 nearDallas, Tex. CTW also has a traveling road-show called Sesame Street Live.

As another potentially important newcrev-enue-producing venture, CTW is developingand marketing game software for the personalcomputer. While these games are intended to

be educational, one of their design criterion igthat they also be entertaining.

CTW ProgramdCTW created three highly successful large-

scale educational sdries for children: SesameStreet, The Electric Company, and 3-2-1 Con-tact. Sesame Street the pioneer program,demonstrated that lugh-quality education pro-grams could win mass audiences of children.After Sesame Street, CTW went on to developanother equally successful show in its reading'program for young children called The Elec,-,tric Company. Supplementary reading mat&rials to reinforce both these programs weredeveloped for students, teachers, and parents.

The most recent series, 3-2-1 Contact, wasdesigned for children between the years of 8and 12. Its aim was to acquaint children withthe nature of scientific thinking and with someareas of scientific investigation. The initialseason ran daily for 26 weeks. Five programsper week were built around a weekly themesuch as light/dark, hot/cold, growth/decay, andfast/slow. As with Sesame Street and TheElectric Company, actual voduction waspreceded by careful study beginning with anexamination of need. It was discovered, for ex-ample, that half of the States had no sciencerequirements for teacher certification at theelementary school level, and that only 6 per-cent of 9-year-old students ranked science astheir favorite subject. The developmentalstages of 3-2-1 Contact involved 6 months forfeasibility studies, 6 months for testing anddevelopment, and 6 months for production.

CTW also produced Feeling Good, an adultseries on health; Best of Families, a series inAmerican social history; and a commercialtelevision family special: The Lion, the Witch,and the Wardrobe, which won an Emmy m theoutstanding animated television special of theyear.

CTW considoit none of its program seriesto be a finished product. Programs are con-stantly brought up-to-date, expanded, andrevised for greater audience appeal and educe-

128 Informational Technology end Its Impact on American EduCation

tional impact. Sesame Street went on from itsemphasis on cognitive learning to include suchsocietal goals as cooperation, conflict resolu-tion, and fair play. Sesame Street and TheElectakCompany programs were also adaptedto th*special needs of the mentally retarded,the deaf, and the Spanish speaking. 3-2-1 Con-tact was incorporated into museumprogramsthroughout the country and was made an inte-gral part of the Girl Scout program for obtain-

a special 3-2-1 badge. 3-2-1 Contact hasbeen used in prisons, and Sesame Street hasbeen used with the refugee boat children.

Impact of CTWWith Sesame Street and The Electric Com-

pany, CTW proved that skillful educationalprograming could win a mass audience. Theircombined audience in the United States hasbeen*stimated at 15 million people. They arethe two most watched programs on public tele-vision. Sesame Street regularly commands alarger audience among 2 to 5 year olds ihanany other commercial television program.Studies conducted in low-income neighbor-hoods suggest that from 80 to 90 percent ofthe children watch. CTW programs are alsocost effective. Cost per viewer per program,for each crw program, has been less than 1percent per day.

Teachers throughout the United States re-port that children arrive in school moreknowledgeable and more able to master fun-damental skills in reading and arithmetic. TheCTW style has been copied by other televisionproducers, and many parents and teachershave reported a Change in their own thinkingabout education.

CTW programs are now, offered in at leasteight different languages and are shown innearly 50 countries and territories. They havereceived 18 Emmy's, the European Prix Jeu-nesse, the Japan Prize, and numerous otherawards and commendations. In 1979, theSmithsonian Institute's Museum of American .`History celebrated PTW's 10th birthday witha 3-month long exhibit.

AMong the factors cited as contributing toCTW's success are:

Generous Funding. The large initialfunding for Sesame Street was essentialfor achieving high quality.Planning. Each project has beenplanned very carefully and in great detail,beginning with a feasibility study andworking through all stages; from the time'a CTW project was first considered to thetime it is first broadcast typically takes

years.4K Producer Freedom. CTW had complete

control over the content and design of itsprokram, and could make all programingdeCisions without outside interference.A Delivery System Already in Place.Almost every household had a televisionset and the broadcast time and transmis-sion facilities were available through thepublic broadcasting system.Avail able Professional ExpertkaCTWcould draw from commercial television.PersonnelThe project was initiated byhighly competent, creative people.

Case Study 2: Development,Production, and Marketing

of PLATOPLATO, a computer-based education sys-

tem designed for use with conventional andmultimedia learning aids, was developed at theUniversity of Illinois unclez: the gWdance ofDonald Bitzer. Since its initiation in 1959, ithas been supported by a combinatioirof Fed-eral, State, industrial, and private agenciesand organizations. Most of the financial assist-ance was provided by NSFwith some fundingfrom OE. When OE discontinued its supPort,several corporations also withdrew theirs. Con-trol Data Corp. (CDC) was eventually licensedby the University of Illinois to produce andmarket the PLATO system.

CDC is a worldwide computer and financialservices company based in Minneapolis,Minn., employing 60,000 people and market-

1 3

Ch. 7State of Research and Development In Educational Technology 129

ing products and services in over 47 countries.In 1981, CDC's net earnings totaled $171 mil-lion on combined revenues of $4.2 billion. Since1962, the company has invested more than$900 million in its educational products andservices.

CDC maintains that, in addition to its otherprofitmaking activities, it can also make aprofit by addressing itself to the most intran-sigent problems of our society. In cooperationwith business, educational, and religious or-ganizations and government agencies, CDChas developed projects relating to the innercity, low achieving students, prison inmates,sniall businesses, and independent farmers.Some projects are entirely devoted to educa-tion and some are only partially so. ThePLATO learning is ,heavily used in many ofthese efforts.

PLATO Computer-BasedEducation

In 1981, there were 18 PLATO systems, 10owned and Oersted by CDC and 8 by univer-sities. Nine of the eighteen are located in theUnitd $tates and Canada, and nine are over-seas. The cumulative number of terminal con-tact hours on PLATO IV passed the 10 millionmark in 1979. This is by far the most exten-sively used system of computer-based instruc-tion in the world.

A PLATO system consists of one large cen-tral computer that connects to many terminalsby long-distance telephone lines or satellite.There is no technolOgical limit to how far a ter-minal might be from the main computer; hun-dreds of miles is not uncommon. At the ter-minals, individuals or small groups of studentscan have access to a wide range of instruc-tional materials, which include presentations,drills, tutorials, dialogs, simulations, problem-solving, and games.

PLATO learning can also be delivered onmicrocomputers using disks that store thelearning materials. In 1981, CDC announcedits own microcomputer, the Control Data 110,which runs PLATO as an application. The 110also serves as a small business computer and

can be hookedtp.to the central PLATO sys-tem to deliver PLATO learning on-line.

The nature of the conversation or interac-tion between a student and the computer de-pends on the way in which'the author has writ:ten the instructional materials. Generally, theinteraction has these characteristics:

The student gets immediate responsefrom the computer whenever the studentasks or answers a question.The computer adjusts its lesson to meet.the particular needs and abilities of theindividual student at that moment.The computer keeps track of what the stu-dent has already learned.The student can work in private withoutfear of exposing his weakness to otherpeople.The student can use the computer toassist him in visualizing ideas throughgraphics, computations, examples, andsimulations.

In addition to interacting with the computerprogram, the student can use the PLATO net-work to discuss his studies with teachers orother students, even though they may be phys-ically located thousands of miles away. Thecomputer can diagnose, evaluate, teach, test,-and keep records. The terminal screen is tac-tile-sensitive. If a child is learning to read anddoes not know a worde.g., "mouse"he cantouch the word and, as the word mouse isspoken, it will be replaced by a picture of amouse.

Availability and Use of PLATOIn 1981, about 6,000 PLATO terminals were

used in diverse settings. One type of settingwas the CDC Learning Center, whichis opento the general public and which offers coursesfrom a third grade level to advanced postgrad-uate work. There are 116 CDC Learning Cen-ters throughout the United States, the sub-jects taught at these centers include business,industry, and computer-related subjects aswell as foreign languages, English, math,sciences, education, psychology, the arts, and

1 ,?,

130 Informational Technology end Its Impact on American Education

career counseling. Learning centers offerbusiness, industry, government agencies, andschools a cost-effective alternative to tradi-tional training programs. A company or agen-cy can have PLATO programs written oradapted to their particular training needs andhave the programs made available to theiremployees throughout the country.

Customers caninstall terminals that deliverPLATO CBE; either on-line or off-line, on theirown sites. Schools have terminals onsite in allcases. With the release of PLATO courseware'to other micros, however, the use of PLATOlearning will be able to increase greatly at ahighly reduced cost.

IndustryTo date, the primary use of PLATO has

been for inservice training in industry. Coursesinclude basic management training, account-ing, economics, equipment operation andmaintenance, powerplant operation, computerfundamentals, and computer programing.

Examples, of training needs to whichPLATO has been adapted include:

United Airlines uses PLATO to bring 367new trainees each year up to entry levelfor transitional training. The PLATO-assisted program takes 11 days comparedto the 15 days formerly required withoutPLATO. United Airlines estimates thatit saves $29,827 per year by using thePLATO systems.Control Data Institutes train 7,000 pr&.gramers, operators, and technicians year-ly for the computer industry. In theUnited States, 60,000 people have re-ceived this training since the first ControlData Institute started in 1965. More than50 percent of the training is on PLATO.The Navy successfully adapted CDC'sBasic Skills Learning System to train re-cruits at the Navy Recruit Training Cen-ter in Orlando, Fla. With the help ofPLATO, two to three times the usualnumber of recruits were trained by thesame-sized staff, and they completed theirrequired dourse work in fewer hours. This

PLATO program was administered byregular noncollege Navy personnel afteronly 2 weeks of specialized training.

Higher EducationMany colleges and universities use PLATO

CBE. Some examples of the different ways inwhich PLATO has been integrated into educa-tional curricula are:

The University of Colorado uses PLATOfor developmental English, physics, elec-trical engineering, accounting, educa-tional psychology, and astronomy.The Reading Pennsylvania Area Com-munity College offers PLATO courses inbasic skills, training for local industry,

. and enrichment programs in Math, Rus-sian, and other subjects for exceptional-ly advanced high school students.The University of Delaware uses PLATOin its School of Music to provide drill andpractice with musical notes played by asynthesizer connected to the terminal andoffers PLATO courses in dressmaking,nursing, and agriculture.The American College offers couries inlife insurance and related financial sci-ences to students in all 50 States and 12foreign countries. The networking powerof PLATO is ideal for this widely dis-persed student body.The University of Quebec has eight termi-nals in almost continual operation on the.Trois-Rivieres campus. Faculty memberscreate their own lessons in French, chem:istry, English, physics, geometrical op-tics, data processing, and psychology. Itsometimes takes as long as 250 hours toproduce a 60-minute lesson.

Public SchoolsAlthough CDC is interested in introducing

PLATO into public elementary and secondaryinstitutions, PLATO has not been utilized bypublic schools primarily because of its cost.However, with PLATO learning new beingdelivered on microsboth on CDC microcom-puters and those of other compapiescosts

Ch. 7State of Research and Development in Educational Technology 131

may drop substantially. One example of a suc-cessful application of PLATO is in an inner-city school in Baltimore. In 1979; 200 of Wal-brook High School's 538 seniors failed the Cityof Baltimore math and reading proficiencytests. After 60 days of using PLATO, all Mitnine passed the test. PLATO has helped Wal-brook's low achieving students to increasetheir academic levels as many as three gradesin 1 year.

Today, 180 Walbrook stuffents each receive25 minutes of PLATO instruction daily on oneof the school's 12 terminals. At midterm, a sec-ond group of 180 students is chosen. Thus in1 school year, 360 of the school's 2,350 stu-dents will have received PLATO-assisted in-struction. In addition, two junior high schoolshave two terminals each, and six elementaryschools have one terminal each. The BaltimorePLATO project, initially subsidized by gpc,is now funded by the Baltimore City SchoolSystem.

Special PopulatioRsAmerican Indians.The American Indian

Project of St. Paul, Minn., used the PLATOBasic Skills Program to meet the remedialeducational needs of 1,200 American Indianstudents in 65 urban areas*Some studentswere able to raise their academic levels by 5years in only 6 months of work.

Home Workers.PLATO is used to trainand provide employment for homebound, dis-abled employees. CDC has created jobs in pro-graming for businesses and in developingcourses for the PLATO system. The computernetivork makes communication possible be-tween employers, employees, and fellow Work-ers, thus establishing a community that cangive peer supportto homeworkers nationwide.

Prisoners.In 1974, CDC chose correctionalinstitutions as one entry point for its BasicSkills Learning System. A pilot PLATO BasicSkills Learning program was installed in theMinnesota State Prison in Stillwater. Afteronly 7 hours of PLATO study, inmates aver-aged gains of 1.6 grades in reading; after 12hours, they averaged gains of 2.16 grade§

?c,

in math. Students were anxious to ithecomputer, and here again, as in the case ofthe Indian program, academic success wasmatched by improved social attitudes. PLATOis now used in 20 correctional institutionslocated in 10 States and in the United King-dom.

Unemployed.A CDC program speCificallydesigned for the hardcore unemployed, calledFair Break, consiiits of the PLATO BasicSkills courses in math, reading, and language,as well ai a course in how to choose and geta job. The coursework is supplemented by acounseling and referral program that helpsadult students cope with problems relating tohealth, finances, drugs, and interpersonalproblems. The program also involves peer=group counseling. CDC provides part-timework to program participants for the durationof the course.

Assessing Benefits and CostEffectiveness of PLATO

In attempting to assess the benefits or costeffectiven f a given PLATO application,three fac rs must be taken into account: thedelivery system, the implementatio d the _

courseware.

PLATO as a Delivery System.While someevaluative reports criticize minor aspects ofthe central delivery system, most regard thecentral delivery of PLATO learning as beingexceptional, and believe that its full potentialis still unrealized. The major criticism ofPLATO as a delivery system has been its cost.The most clear-cut beneficial or cost-effectiveuses of PLATO are those in which:

Educational opportunities are deliveredthat would otherwise be unavailable tothe learner population in question.listruction is brought to learners whowould otherwise have to be transportedto a distant site for training.Needed skills and knowledge can be ac-quired more quickly through a PLATOcourse than they can through an alter-

. native instructional method.

132 Infotmational Technology anc1 Its impact on American Education

Implementation of PLATO:Implementa-don refers to the setting and manner in whichinstruction is takenthe institution, the learn-er population, the role and personality of theteacher, the relationship of the MATO learn-ing experience to other instructional compo-nents, the motivational aspects of the environ-ment, and so forth. In a study conducted bythe Educational Testing Service, the use ofPLATO in four community colleges was foundto have no significant effect on student attri-tion, studeit achievement, or student atti-tudes toward their aeademic experience. Parti-cipating instructors tended to view, PLATOfavorably, but teachers judged. their PLATOstudents less favorably than their non-PLATOstudents in ability, motivation, and achieve-ment.

Implementation in Military Training Set-tings.The cost effectiveness of computer-based instruction in military training has beeninvestigated bk analyzing 30 studies of com-puter-based instruction, seven of which usedPLATO; the rest of which used all othercomputer-based systems. It was concludedthat, on the whole, computer-based instructionreduced the time normally needed by studentsto complete courses using conventional in-struction by 30 percent. The difference in theamount of time saved by individualized self-paced instruction compared with computer-based instruction was found to be relativelysmall. The PLATO system was not found tobe more effective than other computer-basedsystems' studies. Furthermore, according totwo cost-effectiveness evaluations, the ArmyPLATO IV system was judged to be less effec-tive than individualized (noncomputerized)instruction.

Implementation in College Settings.Acomprehensive analysis of computer-based col-lege teaching was made that included 69 stud-ies of which an unspecified number were ofPLATO courses. Although about 20 differentcharacteristics of these courses were analyzed,they were not classified according to the par-ticular delivery system that was used (e.g.,PLATO, TICCIT). It was found that a typicalcomputer-based institution class raised stu-

dent achievement by about one-quArter of astandard deviation unit.

Courseware.The term courseware refers tothe programs on PLATO that contain both thecontent and logic of the instruction. An exten-sive variety of different kinds nf coursewarehave been developed for this system.

Seven evaluation studies of the PLATOBasic Skills Learning System have indicatedthat the curriculum is at least as effective assome conventional methods in providingremedial instruction in math and reading. Inone such study, 236 high school students inFlorida received remedial instruction inmathematics via PLATO. Themedian gain forall students was 1.5 grade equivalents afterthey have spent an average of almost 20 hoursin the math lessons. This equivalent equatesto about 1.0 grade equivalent gain for 13 hoursin the curriculum.

Because there was no control group in theFlorida study or in Several of the other evalua-tions of the basic skills curriculum there is noway of knowing whether other instructionalmethods might have been as effective or ascost effective. Where control groups were in-cluded in basic skills evaluations, the resultshave been mixed or inconclusive.

Students using PLATO Basic Skills course-ware tend to cover subject matter more quick-ly than do control groups. For example, at aMinnesota correctional facility, 20 readingstudents gained an average of 1.02 points intest scores after 9.6 hours of PLATO-assistedinstruction. The control group of 6 studentsthat had 15 hours of instruction gained 0.08points. Twenty math students gained 1.76points after 17.6 hours of PLATO. After 25hours of non-PLATO instruction the cor-responding 6 control students gained anaverage of only 0.35 points. In a comparisonof 15 PLATO students with 15 controls atBexar Detention Center, the PLATO studentsgained 1.13 points in math tests. The controlgroup, after more than twice the amount of in-struction time, gained only 0.19 points.

PLATO and other computer-based instruc-tion methods have capabilities that provide

Ch. 7State of Research and Development in Educational Technology 133

unique learning experiences that are impossi-ble or impractical using other means. One ex-ample is a cardiology course at the Universi-ty of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. These pro-grams can simulate virtually any heartbeat.The student is aided by a "stethophone," anelectronic stethoscope that amplifies the low-frequency sounds of the heart, and a terminalscreen that displays a diagram of the patient'sbody. The student can hear heart sounds in-dicative of virtually all coronary conditions,providing an experience which traditionallywould have required first visiting the radi-ulogy department to review X-rays, and thenthe wards to see the patient. Because of thewide variety of cardiac dysfunctions, theurgent nature of cardiac lesions, and the largenumber of medical students, students normal-ly would not have the opportunity while inmedical schools to observe every kind of heartdisease. Previously, classes as large as 118students would spend 50 hours in a traditionallecture environment. With the PLATO sys-tem, that instructional time has been reducedto an average of 20 hours and with a higherlearning rate.

Case Study 3: ComputerCurriculum Corp.

Computer Curriculum Corp. (CCC) is a for-profit company that develops and marketscomputer-assisted instruction (CAI) systemsto schools. It was founded in 1967 by PatrickSuppes as a marketing outgrowth of R&D inCAI that began in 1963, at the Institute forMathematical Studies in the Social Sciencesat Stanford University. The institute's firStinstructional program was a tutorial curricu-lum in elementary mathematical logic. A pre-liminary version of its Osmentary mathemat-ics program was tested in 1964. The first useof CAI in an elementary school took place in1965, when fourth-grade children were givendaily arithmetic Arill-and-practice lessons intheir classroom on a teletype machine con-nected by telephone lines to the institute com-puter. (Before that, the children were trans-ported to the_campus.)

During this time, the institute engaged inR&D on the use of CAI in teaching reading.In 1964, this effort was developed into theStanford Initial Reading Project, the purposeof which was to provide a comprehensive, in-dividualized curriculum that would improvebasic reading skills. First, however, the proj-ect analyzed the obstacles encountered byculturally disadvantaged children in*acquiringreading skills

CCC Product DevelopmentWith private financing, CCC began develop-

ing a marketable CAI package based on theresearch that had been done at Stanford. Byabout 1973 the hardware became inexpensiveenough to develop a system that could be mar-keted at a reasonable cost. Thus, CCC startedas a marketing organization in about 1974. Atthat time, about 20 schools throughout thecountry were using CCC's curricula. Duringthe 1970's, CCC had the only commerciallyviable and extensively validated computer-based curriculuni for elementary schools.

CCC Products and' ServicesThe CCC staffabout 200 employeespro-

vides a turnkey system that includes com-puter hardware, software, curriculum, andsupport services (e.g., teacher training andequipnient maintenance). A typical system ina school has about 16 terminals in a CAIlaboratory, although this amount varies perschool.

The curricula consist of drill-and-practicecourses that supplement-regular instructionin basic skills, primarily in reading andmathematics. In each course, students use thedrills for 10 minutes per day. The three mostwidely used curricula are the inathematicistrands, grades 1-6; reading, grades 3-6; andlanguage arts, grades 3-6. Newer courses, suchas reading for comprehension and problemsolving, are rapidly being adopted.

Funding for R&DInjtial support for the work in elementary

mathematics and reading came from a private

134 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

foundation and was followed up by supportfrom NSF and OE. Since 1963, NSF has sup-ported work with elementary school giftedchildren and OE funded the reading projectat $920,000 from 1964-67. From 1966-68 OEsupported related work in CAI at Stanford.Work with disadvantaged stuakents was sup-ported by title III of the Elemehtary and Sec-ondary Education Act of 1965, and work withthe handicapped, especially deaf students, was.funded by the Bureau of Education for theHandicapped from 1970 to 1973.

A reoriented project in elementary readingand math was conducted from 1967 to 1970with a grant from NSF. Its aim was to designand impt a low-cost CAI curriculum thatwould act *A supplement to classroom in-struction. Because the institute lost its Feder-al R&D support in elementary and secondarycurriculum development after 1970, it had toreuse the elementary school curricula, makingsome special applications for hearing-impairedstudents. The institute then turned most ofits attention to the development of university-level curricula.

ImpactsNearly 1 million students have used CCC

curricula over the past 10 years. In the 1981-82school year, about 200,000 students from 30States, most of whom are from disadvantagedhomes in inner-city and rural environments,used them on a daily basis. CCC educationalmaterials are paid for with title I and otherFederal categorical aid.

Evaluation StucliesCCC curricula have been extensively eval-

uated by many groups, including individualschool systems. A wide variety of populationswere studied including inner-city students;students in different sections of the country;rural students in Appalachia; Americpn Indianstudents in New Mexico; and bilin al, deaf,and mentally retarded students.

The studies have shown that, when used asrecommended, CCC's elementary CAI curric-ula are effective in increasing student achieve-

ment levels. Studies comparing gains of CAIstudents witItgains of non-CAI students showthat the curricula serves as an effective formof supplementary instruction. Studies compar-ing CAI programs with other supplementaryprograms suggest that CAI participants aremore likely to meet achievement objectives.Longitudinal data indicite that achieVementlevels can be expected to increase steadily over

' several years of CAI participation and thatover summer holidays students do not seemto forget the concepts reviewed.

The studies also showed that several bene-fits can be associated with the use of CCC cur-ricula. First, beeause of the categorical aid pro-vided by the Federal programs, CAI was in-troduced on a broad scale among disadvan-taged students, including those that come

" from low-income backgrounds, that are mem-bers of minority groups, or that are handi-capped. Traditionally, innovation takes placein affluent schools. Second, through the de-tailed and highly individualized feedback pro-vided by the computer, students acquire hab-its of precision in their work. Third, increasedstudent motivation and decreases in vandal-ism and truancy were reported. Finally,,stti-dents learned basic skillsin reading and math.

Evaluations led to the following findings:Federally supported R&D had a major im-pact on the state of the art in computer-based learning and teaching. Supportfrom OE and NSF R&D at Stanford Uni-versity significantly influenced the devel-opment of curricula and methods of com-puter-based learning.The focus of the Elementary SecondaryEducation Act on the disadvantaged re-sulted in the development and implemen-tation of high-technology systems thatare effective in providing such studentswith basic skills.Numerous evaluations of the use of CCCcurricula by a wide variety of studentshave all clearly demonstrated that, whenused as recommended, they are effectivein increasing achievement levels i&basicskills.

Ch. 7State of Research and Development in Educational Technology 135

Case Study 4: CONDUITCONDUIT is a 10-year-old nonprofit orga-

nization that packages and distributes high-quality computer-based instructional materi-als to colleges, universities, and Secondaryschools. In 1971; when CONDUIT was cqn-ceived, the major barrier to instructional coin-puting was a lack of quality learning materialsand computer software. Although materialshad been developed at universities and col-leges, they were being used only at theoriginating institution. No organization ex-isted to distribute instructional programs.Because there were so few programs available,there was no visible market large enough tojustify investment by commercial publishers.Without distribution mechanisms or author in-centives, few high-quality materials suitablefor distribution were being developed.

Established as a partial solution to thisproblem, CONDUIT was intended to providethe ofganizational link that would search formaterials, test and review them, revise themso that they could be used at different institu-tions or on different computers, and distributethese packages to other institutions.

Profile of CONDUIT TodayCONDUIT has received support from NSF

and the Fund for Improvement of Post Sec%&Wary Education (FIPSE). It distributes NSFeducational materials that are reviewed, welldocumented, programed for ease of transferto different computers, and kept up-to-date.The instructional materials are all reviewed byexperts in each subject area for conceptualvalidity, instructional usefulness, and overallquality.

A typical institutional padiage consists ofa computer program written in BASIC or For-tran, a student guide explaining objectivesand methods of its use, an instrucitor guide illustrating course applications, notes explain:-ing how to install the program on the com-puter, and the programs written in a form thatcan be read by the computer. Programs areprovided both for use on small personal corn-

puters and for use on the large timesharingcomputers typically found on university cam-puSes.

As of August 1981, CONDUIT distributedabout 100 different packages for use in collegeand precollege courses in biology, chemistry,economics, education, geography, humanities,management science, mathematics, physics,political science, psychology, sociology, andstatistics. CONDUIT has gained an interna-tional reputation, distributing nearly 9,000packages to 1,500 institutions in all 60 Statesand 12 foreign countries.

Budget and FinancingCONDUIT currently operates on a monthly

budget of about $30,000. Two-thirds of thisamount is derived from revenues from the saleof packages and other publications. One-third,or about $10,000, is provided from grants fromNSF's Office of Science and Engineering Ed-ucation Directoiate and FIPSE. Since its in-ception in 1971, CONDUIT has received about2.6 million of support from NSF.

BenefitsThe direct beneficiaries of CONDVIT opera-

tions include students, teachers, and authors;commercial publishers; and other groups ben-efit indirectly.

About 1 million students have benefitedfrom using CONDUIT materials, based onconservative estimate of 120 student usersper package. (At a large university, onepackage might be used by hundreds of stu-dents over several years.)At least 18,000 teachers have benefitedfrom the availability of CONDUIT materi-als, at an average of two teachers per, ,package. Because CONDUIT materials areso well documented, teachers may readilytailor the materials to fit their own courseand teaching style.Authors of computer-based learning materi-als also benefit from CONDUIT*. Over 2,000copies of CONDUITS guidelines for authors

Li u

136 Informational Technology and Its Impact bn American Education

have been distributed and over 100 havehad their materials packaged. Authors arerewarded by having their mkterials widelyused, and they receive royalEies .on sales.

Commercial publishers are also indirect ben-eficiaries. Now that the commercial viabilityof's instructional computer materials hasbeen demonstrated, commercial publishershave become more interested in marketingsuch materials.CONDUIT serves as a useful model to othergroups both within the United States andin other countries. The Northwest RegionalEducation Laboratory drew on CONDUITexpertise in establishing MicroSift toevaluate educational software for precollegeapplications. The British have drawn heav-ily on the CONDUIT model in establishinga similar network.

FindingsSustained Support CONDUIT receivedsustained support at somewhat below halfa million dollars per year, from NSF for sev-eral years before there was any significantpayoff.

About 40 percent.of CONDUIT packageswere originally developed under Federalgrants. Thus, it has provided an importantdissemination function for curriculum devel-opment work.

It is possible for the Federal Governmentto make a major contribution to improvingeducation through a minimal dollar invest-ment, by the creation of an appropriate or-ganizational entity: By 1972, numerousstudies .had concluded that no existingorganization could perform the functionsnecessary to break the cycle of barriers todevelopment and dissemination of educa-tional computing materials. A new kind oforganization would be needed. Many dif-ficulties were encountered in attempting toestablish such a new organization. A fewkey individuals in academia and NSF werecommitted to the idea, however, and it was

through their sustained efforts that theorganization finally became a viable entity.CONDUIT's relatively low level of Federalsupport, and thus low visibility for severalyears, was probably an advantage in work-ing Qtit the numerous technical, political,and educational, pwblems involved.

CONDUIT could not have become a viableorganization had it not been able to use therevenues from the sale of packages for itscontinued operations. This posed manylegal and contractual difficulties for NSF.However, after prolonged negotiations, fi-nancial arrangements were made that en-abled CONDUIT to become close to self-sustaining.Coordination With Other Programs and

\Projects. The NSF Science Education Di-rectorate encouraged projects supported byits other program areas to collaborate withCONDUIT. This collaboration provided im-portant links to develokers of exemplarymaterials and also provided the develop-ment projects with guidance on how tomake useful products.

The support of established institutions,while essential initially, has become less im-portant over time. CONDUIT was original-ly establishad as a consortium of majoreducational computing networks and uni-versity computer centers. These institutionsand networks provided the testing groundand data base for the early CONDUIT in-vestigations into the area of sharing andtransporting edudational software.It is possible to increase the supply of high-quality, marketable materials by conveyingappropriate guidelines and standards toauthors and developers. CONDUIT hasfound that as more authors and develop-ment projects use its guides, the amount ofquality materials available for distributionhas increased.From 3 to 4 years are needed in order torealize a return on investment for qualitycomputer-based instructional materials.

1 :3

Ch 7Stat Ol Research and Development In Educational Technology 137

This figure may be shortened somewhat asthe number of computers increases. How-ever the present situation is such that thetime period required for return on invest-ment is too long for most commercial pub-lishers.

)

In creating and demonstrating the marketfor high-technology materials, quality ofproducts is more critical than quantity.

1 3 ')

to

Chapter 8

Conditions That May Affect theFurther Application of- Information

Technology in EducationWhen attempting to forecast how, when, and where information technology

might be utilized in the education process, particularly by publicly funded institu-tions operating on the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary level, it is nec-essary to look at what is and what is not known about present uses and potentialapplications. While certain forms of information technologytelevision, forexamplehave been in use in education for a number of years and nifty be evaluatedbased on widespread applicSions (e.g., the programing developed by the Children'sTelevision Workshop), other forms of technologysuch as the microcomputer andthe video diskare relatively new and in what might be described as the initialstages of utilization.

Whether or not these technologies live up to their potential in educationalenvironments such as the sottrool, the workplace, and the home is difficult to predict,even in light of successful demonstrations madepossible through public and privatefunding. A discussion of what is known about current conditions and commonperceptions in segments of the education community where technologies have hadsome impact and a description of perceptions of hardware and software vendorsabout the structure and potential of. the education Market are the best means togain an understanding of the circumstancesAat now prevail.

Available Data on Educational Applicationsvocational, spkial education and other types)had at least one microcomputer or terminaldedicated to student instruction (see table 27).This number seems large in the aggregate.However, within individual school districtscomputer availability to individual studentsis severely limited. About 18 percent of thelocal education agenciesthe majority smalldistricts of 2,500 students or lesshad noplans to initiate computer-based student in-struction for the following 3 years (see table28). It was determined that some 52,000 micro-computers and terminals were scatteredthroughout local school districts for studentuse, with microcomputers outnumbering ter-minals by 3 to 2.' A 1982 industry survey con-

stuciant Use of Computers in Sebools (Washington, D.C.: Na-dons! Center for Education Statistics, 1981).

Since few measures have been made of howinformation technology is presently being ap-plied in public and private schools, this discus-sion is limited to interpretations of data col-lected about the use of microcomputers, ter-minals, video cassette recorders, and videodisks.

Microcomputers and TerminalsBased on results of a 1980 survey of a sam-

ple of 579 of 15,834 school districts in theUnited States, it was projected that about one-half of all districts had one or more computerterminals available for student use. Withinthese districts, approximately one out of fourschools (or one-half of all public institutionson the secondary level, 14 percent of those onthe elementary level, and 19 percent of the

141

142 Informational Technology and its impact.on America; fducation

Table 27.Public School Districts Providing Students Access to at Least One Computer for EducationalPurposes: UnitelINStates, 1980 (fable entries ars school districti providing access)

Type of school, by gradealevel

Total (at leastone level)

Combined elementary/secondary schools

Elementary level Secondary level and special schoolsMore thanone level

Type of access (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

At least one microcomputer orone terminal 7,606 2,196 8,161 678 1,884

(in percents of column 1)At least one microcomputer or

one terminal 7,606 29 87 9 25

At least one microcomputer 8,831 29 84 9 22

At least one terminal 2,973 21 99 5 25

At least one microcomputer andone terminal 1,998 17 95 3 15

NOTE Column 1 represents the unduplicated number of districts providing access to computers at wry level. Since some districts make coMputers available at morethen onto type of school, the percepts,in cols. 2-4 Include duplicated counts of districts. The difference between the total duplicated counts (cols. 2-4) end theunduplicated count (col. 1) reprowtnts the percent of districts providing computer access at mom then one lewd (col, 6).

SOURCE Student Use of Computers In Schools (Washington, D.C.: National Center tor Educational Statistics, 1981).

Table W.Availability of Computers WithinDistricts: United States, Fail 1980

By number of computers per districtDistrict* providing access

To microcomputers To terminalsAt least one 8,631 2,973

(In percents) 0

Number of availablecomputers per district

At least one 100One 40

375-10 1311-20More than 20 3

100353714

8

By the number of schools with access, per diStrict

Number of schoolswith access perdistrict

Districts providing accessAt elementary At secondary

schools schoolsAt least one 2,196 8,81Ik

(In percents) ,At least one 100 100One 56 682-4 24 25

a5-10 , 13 611-20 4 (a)More than 20 3 (a)ac.ww than 1 percentNOTE Percents may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

SOURCE: Students Use of Computers In Schools (Washington. D.C.: NationalCenter for Education Statistics, 1981).

ducted by Strategic, Inc., provides forecastsof microcomputer usage in public and privateelementary, secondary, and postsecondaryschools as well as projections of micro-computer courseware sales through 1990.Assuming a total new shipment base of 36,000

units of hardware in 1980, there will have,been,by the end of 1990, 2,030,000 such shipmentsto athools. In addition, by the end of 1990 theinstalled base of microcomputers will growfrom 710,000 in 1980 to 8,860,000, with theaverage cost per unit dropping from $2,100 in1980 to $1,100.' Computer courseware salesare expected to increase during the sameperiod from $4.7 million to $257.5 million. Ifthe projected aftermarket (the sales carriedover from previous years, including course-ware sold with microcomputer systems and re-placement software) is factored into the pro-jection, the total sales figure is expected to risefrom $6.4 million in 1980 to $599.1 million (seetable 29.)

In yet another study of the potential 1980educational market for hardware sales, schoolsrepresented the smallest Of five potentialmarkets. The other fourin tank orderweresmall business, scientific, home and office, buta projected growth rate of 300 percent by 1986would place annual sales at $145 million bythat year.' However, by 1985, the school

'The newest generation of home computers now sell for ho-tween 9800 and 91,000, which has made it possible for manymore parents to consider purchasing them as educational aidsfor their children ("The Home Computer Affirm)," New YorkTimes, June 17, 1982, D-1, D-6).

'Interview with Denis P. Hoye, Director, U.S. Client &MakStrategic, Inc., San Joao, Calif., regarding report entitled Updote on Educational SoftWarw Converging Technologies andStrategies, report No. 1500, 1982.

1 3 gi

Ch. 8Condltions That May Affect the Further Application of Information Technology in Education 143

Table 29.Total Shipments of Microcomputersin Public and Private Schools Operating on the

Elementary, Secondary, and Postsecondary Levehiand Forecasts of Courseware Sales

tow shipmontsTotal nw

1080 1915 End of 1990

shipments .. 36,000. 600,000 2,030,000Installed base . 70,000, 1,630,000 8,860,000Average cost

per unit .... $2,100 $1,600 $1,100

Clow Airware salesNew courseware

sold $4.7 milflonAftermarket

sales (carry-over frompreviousyears andcourswaresold withsystems). $1.7 millionTotal $6.4 million

$77.3 million $257.5 million

$51.5 million $341.6 million$128.8 million $599.1 million

SOURCE Update on Educational Software Converging Technologies andStrategies (San Jon, Cal It Strangle, Inc , 19112)

market was projected to grow at a rate of 300percent, placing annual sales at $146 millionby that year.

Other factors complicate this picture of mar-ket potential. In a 1981 study of 15,442 schooldistricts, it was found that 42 percent had atleast one 711,rocomputer (6,441) with 43 per-cent of these being senior high schools. Juniorhigh and high schools with larger enrollmentswere found to be the most likely to have ac-quired microcomputers, as were those schoolswith per-student instructional materials budg-ets of over $60,000.4

"'Market Survey Discovers Where the Micros Are," Elec.tronk Learning March/April 1982, p. 14.

Video Cassette Recordersand Video Disk

The growth rate of the general market forvideo cassette recorders is expected to be veryhigh, based on 1980 estimates of 1.6 millionrecorders and 6 million prerecorded cassettessold. However, there are no projections thatdifferentiate the education or school marketfrom other markets such as the home, sogrowth in this type of utilization is hard topredict.'

Views differ about the potential popularityof video disk, even in light of suCcessful pro-grams such as the "First National Kidisc."One study eatimated that sales to all types ofconsumers were less than 50,000 in 1980, al-though manufacturers predicted that 250,000units and 5 million video disks would be soldin 1981.° Another market analysis, conductedby Strategic, Inc., in 1982, suggests that by1986 when educational programs and disksbecome more Widely available, over 250,000video disk players integrated with microcom-puters will be in use. Again, this analysis doesnot isolate the school market. At present,Department of Education officials estimatethat there may be less than 100 video diskunits in place in schools.'

"'Videopubliahing Licensing, Manufacturing and Distribu-tion." LINK Researeh Memorandum vol.2, No. 15. December1981.

'Ibid.'F. B. Withrow and L. G. Roberta, The Videodloc: Putting

Education on Silver Platter," Electzonk Learning, May/June1982, pp. 43-44.

Climate for Use of Information Technologyin the Schools

Information gathered in this study aboutthe use of information technology in selectedschool districts seems to indicate that thecomputer-based education is far and away themost accepted at this time. As the case studiesin this report illustrate, computer literacy pro-grams for instructors and students represent

the most common us1, followed by drill andpractice and some simulation exercises. Com-puter literacy courses are particularly popularin some areas on the junior high level.'

,A. Luehrmann, "Computer Literacy: What It Is; Why It'sImportant," Eiectronk Learning, MaylJune 198Z pp. 20, 22.

135

144 e. informational Technology and its impact on American Education

A 1980 survey of school districts sponsoredby the National Center for Education Statis-tics (NCES) confirms the widespread frequen-cy of computer literacy courses within schoolswith at least one terminal or microcomputer.NCES also cites cases where the computer hasbeen used.. to improve student learning inselected subject areas and to stimulate highachievers. Lesi than half of the districtsresponding to the survey utilize the computerin remedial and compensatory programs.When sample districts contacted in the courseof the survey were asked to identify opera-tional and planning needs critical to the initia-tion of use or to the expanded use of computer-assisted instruction, the two Most frequentlymentioned were teacher training and greatervariety of instructional software programs.

Approximately one-third of all districts indi-cated the need for assistance in program plan-ning, technical support orice programs are ini-tiated, and financial assistance for hardwareand software purchases.' Taken together, theOTA case studies of local school districts showthat funding often became a critical factor inthe use of computers in education, especiallyin light of reductions in Federal support toschools, as well as diminishing State and localresources. When traditional funding sourcesin these districts were insufficient or unavail-able for establishing computer programs, corn-

Yr-'National Center for Education Statistics, op. cit..

puter manufaturers or foundations were ap-proached and/or individual parents or PTAsMade donations. These efforts were not equal-ly successful, since local communities varysignificantly with respect to the level ofresources that theSr can make available for ed-ucational activities.

The lack of available courseware was alsoidentified in the case studies as a majorobstacle to initiation and/or expansion of com-puter education programs in schools. Often,when hardware is available and when instruc-tors have a positive view of it, the lack of com-mercial courseware induces teachers to createtheir own courseware either through use ofschool purchased authoring systems or othermeans. The quality of this courseware variessignificantly, frequently because instructorshave masteredusually on their own initi-ativeonly the basics of the authoring systemor programing language.°

In some instances, the price of the course-ware may be an obstacle to more widespreadcomputer use. Table 30 includes informationon ,the average prices, which range from $37.00to over $200.00, for courseware available forsale through industry, Government, andfoundations."

"A. Bork. Large Scak Pmduction and Dietributidn of Com-puterAkind Learning Modulo (Irvine, Calif.: Educational Tech-nology Center, Univenity of California. n.d.).

"The Educational Mkrocomputer Software Market (OakPark, III.: TALMIS, 1981).

Table 30.The Educational Courseware Industry

Investment Sales Production

Developer/distributor Total ,Average Total Average/median Number of products Average price

(x 1,000) ( x 1,000)

Scott Foresman . S1,0004 S1,000a (b) (b) 10 $208.38

Other ED JAV Puplishern 82,121 $177 $13371 $99/$45 68 $203.31

Hardware manufacturers $885 $168 $1,670 $418/8185 85 $50.75

Software houses $1,574 $87 $4,526 $2424100 302 $48.75

Small developetsc $4,800 $31 $2,500 S151S10 1,5002,500 $37.73

Government foundations $1,100 (d) $800 (d) 111 (sample) $60.00

Total $11260 _ $40 $10,687 $37/S50 2,a0-3,000- $50.03

NOTE All data priMded I. for the pedod July 1060 through June 1961 Only Only products available during that period me Included

'Published approximations TALMIS does not report any flnanclot Intomuttlon hy companybTALMIS dom not nowt any financial information by companyC,EatraPblated ppm an 11% sample fla aPP IXI'Oats InsufficientSOURCE TALMIS Annual Report 1061

, Ch. '8Conditions That May Affect tHe Further Application of Information Technology in Education 145

Incorporating the use of the computer in atraditional school environmentcharacterizedby set arias schedules, primarily daytime pro-gramscan present some complex problems,even if the technology is highly valued as aneffective and efficient instructional resource.Teacher resistance may also be a factor, in theuse, or the extent of use, especially if limitedschool budgets have resulted in heavier teach-

4.(

ing loads and less time for teachers to considerpossible new pedogogical approaches. A lackof understanding of the potential of the tech-nology in, the classroom and the lack of-in-structor knoivledge of programing or use ofauthoring packages for courseware develop-ment may also determine if and how informa-tion technologies will be applied.

Hardware and Educational SoftwareVendors: Views of the Education Market

In addition to conditions that might affettthe use of technology in the schools, there arecertain ch-cumstances that may have a bear-ing on how producers of hard*are and educa-tional -software approach the education mar-ketin particnlar, publicly funded institu-tions.

For several years, hardware producers, es-pecially manufacturers of microcomputerssuch as Tandy, Apple, and Commodore, haveattempted to develop the school market whilecultivating the hbme market. Apple and Com-modore have in some instances placed microsin schools free of charge, in order to createawareness in teachers and administrators aswell as to create opportunities for experimen-tation. In most instances to date, the com-panies were responding to requests of schooldistricts. Apple and other'producers have alsobeen active in pushing for Federal legislationthat would create tax incentives for the dona-tion of computers and related equipment toelementary and smdndary schools. H.R. 5573,,"The Technology Education Act of 1982," in-;troduced in the 97th COngress calls for rais-ing the maximum allowable corporate char-itable contribution from 10 to 30 percent ofannual income. The bill was stimulated by Ap-ple's offer to donate computer centers to

75,600 elementary and secondary schoolsagift valued at between $200 million and $300million.

The central problem faced by microcom-puter producers and manufacturers of othertypes of hardware, such as the video cassetterecorder and the video disk, is that they can-not define the real potential of the schoolmarket either in its individuasegments or inits, aggregate form. A recent industry-spon-sored market analysis for video disk, for ex-ample, cautioned against being overlY opti-mistic about sales to all types of consumersover the next few years." And, as is illustratedby the variety of different projections onmicrocomputer sales in general and potentialsales to educators in particular, the futureresponse to this technology is still open toquestion. BeCause of these uncertainties, usingexisting sales strategies with the school mar-ket as.a way of testing the market potentialwithout having to add significantly to marketoverhead. However, this approach may furtherimpede potential sales, if hardware and soft-ware specialists unfamiliar with curriculumdesign and other aspects of school administra-tion atteiript to sell to educators.

"LINK Research Memorandum, op. cit.

1146 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

onditions Affecting CommerCialCourseware Development

A recent issue of Electronic Learning con-tains a directory of 200 educational softwareproducers." An industry-sponsored study con-ducted in 1980 identified some 304 educationalsoftware developersincluding traditionalprint publishers, hardware manufacturers,software firms of various sizes, and founda-,tions and government-sponsored projects (seetable 31). Although, these numberewould seemto suggest that the educational coursewarebusiness is thriving, this is not the case. Thereis considerable skepticismespecially withinthe software industryabout the school mar-ket and its potential. Industry representativesinterviewed in the course of the 1982 Stra-tegic, Inc., survey were concerned about thedifficulty of segmenting the software marketin order to develop products targeted to par-ticular grade levels and subject matter needs.Print publishers who have entered the in-dustry are doing so judiciously in most casesby adapiing existing textbooks to machine-readable form or by' creating software toenhance existing textbooks and other hard-copy materials. This situation differs fromthat in the software development market fOrpersonal computers where there are now some1,000 active firms and over 5,000 availableprograms." Some hardware and softwarefirms have developed authoring systems foruse by educators, but comnkticial coursewarenow available does not meet many of the needsof local school systems. Courseware quality isalso of concern to some educators. At the sametime, the up-front costs associated withcourseware developmentestimated by oneindustry representative at over $250,000 perpackageis more than most firms, given themarket uncertainties, want to risk on. an"unknown quantity." The Department ofEducation's recently announced "TechnologyInitiative" provides for matching funds to bemade available to commercial software devel-

,

a"Electranic Learning Software Directory," Electronic Learn-ing May/June 1982, 1-A-10-A.

""Using Personal Computers," LINK Research Report, voL- -1, No. 1, 1982.

Table 31.What Are th industriesCompeting for Businss

Education/AV publishersCompanies traditionally supply-ing books and AV products to the school marketplace.

12 companies during the period under study (18 withproducts as of September 1981) including:

Educational ActivitiesMilliken

ix Random HouseScott ForesmanSRASociety for Visual EducationSterling Swift Publishing

Hardware manufacturersMicrocomputers manufacturesdevelopihg courseware products for the schools.

5 companies, including:AppleAtariCommodoreTandyTexas Instruments

Software houssSoftware companies selling more than$85,000 in courseware or companies with total software salesover $150,000.

19 companies, including:Brain BoxCreative Computing SoftwareData CommandEdu-WareHartley SoftwareMicro-EdMicroSoftMUSEPrograms Design, Inc.

Small devlopersSoftware companies selling less than$85,000 in courseware and with total sales of all products lessthan $150,000.

Approximately 250 companies (13.6% sampled for thisreportsee app. !k), including:

Avant-Garde CreationsBetamaxBluebird'sCook's Computer Co.Custom ComputerEducational CoursewareMicropiTeacher's PetT.H.E.S.I.S.Teach Yourself by Computer

Foundations and Govrnmnt.sponsoted projectsOrga-nized development and dissemination projects sponsored byprivate foundations, schools, and local, State, or FederalGovernment.

Approximately 12 agencies, including:Apple Education FoundationCONDUITDepartment of EducationMECCNational Science Foundation

SOURCE: Tria Educational Mfcrocomputer Software Market (Oak Park,TALMIS, 1981).

Ch. 8CondltionetThat May Affect the Further Application of Information' Technology In Education' 147

opera to assist in the creation of coursewarefor the schools that, because of market size,May not otherwise be developed. It is still

unknown, however, whether this incentive willbe sufficient to attract more commercialinterest.

Summary of Current ConditionsGiven what is known about present applica-

tions of information technology in the schools,it is clear that the use of computers and otherforms of technology is far from being institu-tionalized at this time. Limited school funds,educators' limited recognition of the potentialof the technology, limited computer literacyamong instructors and students, and the lim-ited variety and range in high-quality, som-

menial courseware have all contributed to thissituation. It is difficult to predict when'or ifconditions in publicly funded educational in-stitutions will change. However; expanded useof information technologyespecially compu-tersin the home and in the workplace Mayresult in pressure from parents, students, andeven employers on local school districts toutilize technology in the instructional process.

Chapter 9

Federai Role in EducationThe Federal Government has long been in-

volved in encouraging or providing financialassistance to State and local educational agen-

cies. The first Federal aid to education oc-with the passage of the Land Ordinance

in 17 . Federal aid continues today in a veryexpanded capacity.

Most Federal education initiatives often at-tempted to address or remedy issues not _di-rectly related to education. For example, theearly land grants were designed not only toensure public education in the newly formedterritories but also to "make public lands moreattractive to prospective buyers. In the 19thcentury, the Morrill Act was enacted to re-spond to the growing educational need forpractical higher education in the areas of sci-ence, agriculture, and industrial training. Simi-

'L. E. Gladieier and T. R. Wolanin, Congress and ihe Colleges(Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1976).

EducationThe Early Years: 1642-1860In 1642, the Massachusetts General Court

passed the Massachusetts Bay Law establish-ing a precedent of local responsibility for edu-cation. This act and the subsequent legislationof 1647, the Old Deluder Law, which called forthe creation of local public schools accordingto population size, were extended on a nationalscale in 1785 by the passage of land ordi-nances:'Under these ordinances, moneys wereset aside from the sale of lands and dedicatedto the maintenance of public schools. Thisprinciple of Federal aid was consistently af-firmed through a series of land grants (State-hood Acts) throughout the next century. His-torians have debated the intent of the legisla-tors in these actionswhether this effort signi-fied a concerted attempt to preempt Staterights in educational matters. Nevertheless,

99-61114 - £1;' -

larly, in 1917 a vocational education act waspassed to reorient local education programs-to meet the needs of changing labor markets,----

By the 1950's, an expanded Federal role inproviding educational services was deemednecessary. Support came in numerous forms,from grants for school construction and veter-an assistance to impact aid programs. By 1965a Federal role in education had been generallyaccepted. The questions raised were no longer,what role, if any, should the Federal Govern-ment play; instead, Congress sought to deter-mine what type of investment should be madeand where and how it would be most effective.The "how" signifie&* next important shiftin the educational debatefrom Congress tothe courts. Today many educational issues areresolved in the judicial arena. In resolvingthese issues the courts rely on interpretationsof the constitution as well as on recent educa-tional legislation.

Legislation98.6 million acres had been set aside for educa-tional purposes by the Federal Government.'

The omission of education from express in-clusion in the constitution has often been thefocus of the debate concerning the extent ofthe Federal GoVernment's role in the educa-tional system. Despite its absence, the framersand other leaders of the time repeatedly calledfor such a Federal role. Most of the proposals,however, were directed at higher education.For President Washington, a Federal role wasimportant for three reasons. First, there wasa desire to encourage a strictly American rath-er than a European education. Second, he per-ceived that nationally sponsored educationwould eliminate sectional and local prejudices.And third, as indicated in his Farewell Ad-

1

'S. W. Tiedt, The Role ofthe Federal Government. in Educa-tion (New York: Oxford University Prom, 1966).

0151

152 informational Technology and its Impact on American Education

dress, Washington considered "the promotionof political intelligence as a national safe-guard." Despite his urgings and the urgingsof other leaders, the principal of local controlas set forth in the Massachusetts Bay Law re-mained constant.'

The land grants and the Ehabling Acts orStatehood Acts are the most cornprehensiveFederal policy implemented during this time.Other individual educationally oriented proj-ects were passed by Congress but they *ereaimed at specific educational concerns such asthe founding in 1802, of the U.S. MilitaryAcademy at West Point.

Other Federal aid during this era took theform of surplus revenue from the Treasury De-partment. Moneys were distributed to theStates but had no specific target. Much of thesurplus revenue was channeled into the publicschools by the States. Also the PreemptionAct of 1841 and the granting in 1849 of landsto the States by the Federal Government con-verted further Federal moneys to the publicschools.

During this time, universal public educationbecame accepted. This new system of publiceducation was accompanied by the develop-tent of a professional class of educators. Bythe closing years of the 19th century, thisgroup became a- highly effective educationallobby.

The Years 1860-1930Between 1860 and 1930, the role and influ-

ence Of the Federal Government in the educa-tional system increased markedly.' Althoughtlisrgrowth was, to a great extent, the result

the CivirWar, it was also dictated by theNation's shift to an industrial society, coupledwith great demographic changes. More impor-t tly, the U.S. Government in the post-War ,

'od pursued many heretofore State and lo-cal concerns of which education wasjust one.

, 'G. Lee, The Stratagies for Federal Aid: First Phase 1870-1890 (New York: Columbia University Teachers College, 1949).

wriedt, op. cit.

Much of the post-Civil War activity was di-rected at rectifying regional inequities in theSouth. Educational measures enacted by theRepublicans allowed for unprecedented Feder-.al influence in southern institutions. Also, theilliteracy rates in the Nation, particularly inthe South (42 percent rate of illiteracy), wereextraordinarily high, necessitating some sortof a4eral remedy.

he passage of the Morrill Act of 1862,*ch set aside land for the establishment of

schools, sigllei4ed the first such Federal aid toschools.' However, unlike earlier land ordi-nances, the act's target was institutions ofhigher education. The arguments in the debateover the Morrill Act are strikingly, similar tothose raised in educational debates today: itsconstitutionality, the preemption of Statesrights, its selectivity of focus, and the cost ofthe legislation, were all cited as cause for de-feat. In its favor were arguments citing a dem-onstrated need for agricultural, industrial, andscientific and technological training, and citingregional inequities in need of remedy.°

The 9ext significant Federal initiative wasthe creation of the Office of Education in 1867.Thotlebate concerning its establishment, whilecontinuing to focus on what role, if any, theFederal Government should play in traditionalState and local affairs, also raised the ques-tion of public v. private education'. A Federalrole was seen as posing a threat to private edu-cation, and the Catholic Church lobbied exten-sively against the bill. The education depart-ment that ultimately emerged was empoweredto collect educational data and statistics, todisseminate information concerning education,and to encourage educational endeavors. Es-tablishing a Federal role, the creation of theOffice of Education lead to the formationlofcongressional committees with'specific edd%-tional responsibilities% In 1869, the Depart-ment of Education was relegated to bureaustatus and was transferred to the Departmentof the Interior. By 1930, the bureau was af-filiated with the Federal Security Agency and

'Lee, op. cit.'Ibid.

Ch. 8 Federal Rol In Education 153

later with the Department of Health, Educa-tion, and We Here..'

Two other acts were passed before the closeof the century, die Hatch Act of 1887 and thesecond Morrill Act. The former added agricul-tural experimental stations to the land grantcolleges, and the latter committed additionalFederal funds to certain Aieas Of higher educa-tion.

A number of other educationally related pro-posals were considered but not passed. Theseare pertinent because in many ways theyformed the framework_of the educational de-bate that continues today. The Hoar bill, intro-duced in 1870, sought to establish a nationalsystem of education. It proposed the creationof "satisfactory common schools, and wherethe States failed to do so, to authorize the Fed-eral Government to provide them." Hoar en-visioned his proposal as one of ". . . protectionfor can economic interests. No Americans tesman will be unwilling to give the Ameri-an workman the advantage in the great in-

dustrial competition which results from supe-riority of knowledge." The bill did not specifyFederal aid, but instead tidvocated that a Fed-eral standard be setpationally for schools. Assuch, it represented to some an intrusion intoState concerns. As with other initiatives of thetime, it was specifically targeted at southerninstitutions.

The Hoar bill resulted in the coalescing ofpositions of professional groups concernedwith educational issues. It also created anawareness in Congress of the issues involvedin an educational debate. The National Educa-tion Association (NEA) roundly denounced thelegislation because it specified a Federal rolebut not Federal assistance. The Catholic lob-by viewed the legislation as an intrusion intoCatholic educational practices and as an attempt

'Ibid.and S. nedt, The Role of Federal Aid: First Phase,

1870-1890 (New York: Oxford University Press).'Brookings Institution, The Effects of Federal Programs on

Higher Educatkei (Wuhington, D.C.: Brookings Institution,,1982): and C. Dobbins (ed.), Highar Education and the FederalGovernment, Programa and Problems (Washington, D.C.:American Council on Education, 1967).

to create one educational norm for the coun-try. Moreover, this bill, along with others dis-cussed below, raised ieisues concerning theFederal role and Federal assistance that werenot reeolved unti11965 with the passage of theElementary and Secondary Education Act(ESEA). The issue of equity associated with

sibgle national standard is in many respectsIsiinilar to those parts of ESEA that allocatemoneys for the educationally disadvantaged.

Two bills, the Pearce bill of 1872 and theBurnside bill of 1879, proposed a national fundfor Public education from the sale of publiclands. The earlier bill sought to midst Statesthat would provide free education to childrenbetween the ages of 6 and 16. The moneysraised were to be used for teachers' salaries.It is interesting to note that the bill wasamended to recognize segregated schools;thus, it signaled a recognition of race as anissue in the educational debate. The latter billdiffered in that land grant colleges were eligi-ble to receive one-third of the educationalgrants from the land sales. In addition, theeducational fund was to be supported with sur,plus moneys from the Patent Office. Theserevenues, combined with those from the landsales, were to be invested in U.S. bonds, thusestablishing a permanent educational fund.Both bills failed to pass both houses. They alsosignified a return to the segmented as opposedto a national approach to educational Con-cerns.

Although no education bills were passed inthis decade, they did serve to raise issues cen-tral to the education debate. A concurrent de-velopment was a significant growth in orga-nized educational advocacy groups and lvb-bies. For example, NEA experienced unprece-dented development and growtli a profes-sional group and lobby that co , wholesale,either support or reject educa on measures.This had not happened previously.

The education legislation Considered in the1880's differed from previous funding mecha-nisms in that it sought to provide Federal rev-enue for education directly to the States. Italso proposed temporary aid m opposed to

1 4 ')

154 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American. Education

long-term aid. In this regard, the Blair bill, in-troduced five times in this decade and passedby the Senate three times, is of particular in-terest. It Oipulated that Federaraid shouldbe provided for 10 years to address emergen-cy conditions in the South, that States wereto supply matching funds, that funds were tobe distributed according to State illiteracyrates (of persons over 10 years old), that de-

43ominational schools were to be excluded, andthat the funds were to be granted within Fed-eral guidelines.'°

More than any otheeeducation legislation,the Blair bill brought educational issues to thefore. None of the measures incorporated intothe bill had ever been addressed together, insuch a comprehensive way, before. Publicawareness was stimulated and pressures wereexerted. Groups that actively participated inthe Blair bill debate included not only NEAand the Catholic lobby but also Protestant de-nominations, business interests, agriculturalinterests, the press, and political parties. Forthe first time, education was included as aplatform issue by the Republican Party. TheDemocratic Party strongly advocated State'srights and local authority over education pol-icy.

The first education-related proposal enactedin the early part of the 20th century was theSmith-Hughes Act of 1917. It provided match-ing funds to States for developing curriculain agricultural, industrial, and home econom-ics; for administrative costs; and for teachers'salaries. This act was amended continuouslyuntil 1968. The George-Barden Act of 1946 in-creased the number of vocational educationprograms and placed administration of theseprograms in the Office of Education. Fromthen on, the amendments to the legislationreduced the Federal role ini agricultural areasand placed more emphasis on education for thedisadvantaged.

Very little educationally oriented legislationwas considered or passed during the next sev-eral decades. Between 1935 and 1943, the Na-

"P. Morgan, "Academia and the Federal Government," Pol.

icy Studies Journal vol. 10, September 1981, p. 76.

tional Youth Administration (NYA) channeledfunds to a number of institutions in supportof work study programs. Over 600,000 stu-dents benefited from the NYA programs."Some teachers and some school constructionwere funded under a variety of New Deal pro-grams (CCC, WPA, and the Federal Emergen-cy Relief Administration), but none of thesemeasures signified an increased Federal role.This scarcity of legislation was due primarilyto the Nations' fiscal crisis and to the fear bylegislators that-any program once institutedwould become permanent.

Several education bills were proposed dur-ing the 1930's and 1940's that reintroducedthe concept of general Federal aid, but nonewere successful. A bill for a student loan pro-gram, the first of its kind, passed in 194. Jun-

' iors and seniors in high school find graduateand professional students in the fields of sci-ence, health, and engineering were eligible forfederally sponsored loans if, following comple-tion of their studies, they joined the war ef-fort. Also, the Serviceman's ReadjustmentAct of 1944, the GI bill, and Public Law 16for disabled veterans were passed. The GI billwati amended to include Korean veterans. Aswith the case in secondary education, a pat-tern of connecting educational legislation toother national concerns was also set in highereducation. "Its (the Government's) interestwas confmed to using higher education to dealwith specific national problems." The legisla-tion did revive the religious and racial contro-versies. Federal aid to education was men-tioned in the Democratic Party platform in1944 with the stipulation that any aid pro-vided be administered by the States. Aid toeducation was not included in the Republicanplatform until 1948.

The Expanding Federal Role:1950-1970's

By proposing school construction grants tolocal communities,- most of the congressional

"Ibid."J. L. Jundquist, Politics and Policy, The Eisenhower, Ken-

nocfy and Johnson Years (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institu-tion, 1968.)

.

Ch. 9Fedoral.Role In Educatio 155

initiative relating to education in the 1950'ssought to circumvent the divisive religious is-sues inherent in the educational debate. Ittherefore became politically attractive to sup-port this form of Federal aid, which was basedon the increasing numbers of children enteringthe school population (baby boom.) In 1941,the Lanham Act was passed providing assist-ance to local communities in lieu of tax reve-nues to soften the impact of the war effort on'State and local governments. Moneys wereallocated to nursery schools and other school-related needs and were later expanded into theImpact Aid programs. The funds and scopeof the Lanham Act were increased by PublicLaw 815 and Public Law 874, which providedconstruction and operating grants to Stateand local districts.

The continuing debate concerning an appro-priate Federal role led to President Eisen-hower's establishing a White House Confer-ence on Education in 1954. The task forcerecommended that the Federal Governmentshould provide financial aid to State and localcommunities for educational purposes. It con-cluded that there was an appropriate role forthe Federal Government in educationalmatters.

The National Defense Education Act (NDEA)of 1958 was passed as a congequence of thewidely held belief that the edutational systemwas inadequate in mathematics, science, andforeign language instruction. This belief wasdirectly related to the successful launching ofthe Soviet spacecraft, Sputzilk Moneys wereprovided on a matching basis to public schoolsand as long-term loans to private institutionsfor needed equipment in these instructionalfields, for curriculum development, for guid-ance counseling, for vocational education indefense-related fields, and for teacher trainingin foreign language instruction. The passageof NDEA resulted in a substantial increase inFederal aid to education. Since Federal dollarshad to be matched by State and local fundsunder proviskme of the act, the overall invest-ment in NDEA programs was large. Between1958 and 1961, 4163 2 OiBliotrin-Federal mon-ey were dispersed. Approximately 75 percent

9

of these funds were directed at developing sci-ence curricula.

The passage of NDEA led to an examina-tion of Federal role in postsecondary educa-tion. This examination was also fostered bythe increasing numbers of students enteringpostsecondary institutions. The educationallegislation passed in the 1950's, which in-cluded postsecondary provisions, tOgetherwith the legislation passed in the 1960's pavedthe way for major legislation in the 1970's. ,This Steady growth of Federal involvement,culminating with the passage 'of the Educa-tion Amendments Act of 1972 (Public Law92-318), was similar in process to the develop-ment of the Federal role in secondary educa-tion.

Two major pieces of legislation that Con-gress passed in the 1960's were the VocationalEducation Act of 1963 and the Higher Educa-tion Facilities Act of 1963. The former was amuch expanded version of the Smith-HughesAct of 1917, establishing a permanent pro-gram for vocational education and settingaside 10 percent of the annual appropriationsfor research and development (R&D) proje6tsin vocational demonstration projects. Concoin-itant to the passage of the Vocational Educa-tion Act was the passage of two amendmentsto NDEA, that extended the act and increasedthe amount of funds available for studentloans. The latter provided Federal aid for con-struCtion of facilities at postsecondary institu-tions. This act was aptly named the "bricksand mortar act." Community junior collegeswere covered by this legislation as was the con-struction of libraries at these institutions."

The next major educational act, the Elemen-tary and Secondary Education Act (ESE A),was passed in 1965. Its passage signaled anunprecedented entry by the Federal Govern-ment into educational affairs. Between thepassage of these two landmark educatiohalacts, Congress and members of the education-al community continuously debated what inexpanOed Federal role in education should en-

"Ibid.

1 4 1.

156 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

tail. In 1964, during the Johnson administra-tion, the War on Poverty had become a domes-tic priority. ESEA, which was one outcome,focused on the poor and disadvantaged child.It incorporated a wide range of programswhich, while ensuring the acts passage by

.their complexity, ultimately seriously hin-dered its effectiveness. However, a diversityof interests rallied to support the act. As withprevious educational legislation, a constituen-cy was built around a noneducational issue.At this time the three main issues to overcomein enacting any educational legislation at thistime were church and state relations, Staterights versus Federal control, and race rela-tions.''

ESEA provided funds for educational R&D,for promoting educational innovation, and for"assisting State agencies to establish these pro-grams. The five original titles addressed manyissues. Title I provided Federal funds to areaswith concentrations of educationally and eco-nomically deprived children. Other titles of theact were designed to assist State agencies invarious areas: title 11school libraries, text-books, and instructional materials; title IIIeducational services and resource centers; title'IVeducational R&D; and title VState ad-ministrafive needs. (See appendix of this chap-ter.)

Initially, two poverty indicators were usedto distribute ESEA funds:.based on the 1960census: 1) the number of children between 5and 17 from families with an income of lessthan $2,000, and 2) the number of children be-tween 5 and 17 from families with income ex-ceeding $2,000 receiving aid under title IV ofthe Social Security Act, Aid to Families WithDependent Children. Responsibilities for ad-ministering the act rested with both the Com-mission a Education and State and local edu-cation agencies.

The act was amended several times. Thesupplemental enactments titles focused on theissues of Federal regulation and grants, assist-

''F. J. Munger and R. F. Fenno, National Policies and FederalAid to Education (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syreuse University Press,1962): and J. L. Jundquist, op. cit.

ance to the handicapped, and bilingual educa-tion. ESEA was designed so that its programswould be adminis red by the State agencieswith local input. TD Federal role would be todistribute funds and to influence the work ofthe States. Acaordingly, control was main-tained in the State and local communities,resolving one of the major conflicts in the edu-cational debate."

Many of the amendments and changes inE SEA were effected for political as well as foreducational reasons. One unanticipated, out-growth of the legislation was the use of ESEAas a means of desegregating schools. Title VIof the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stated that "noperson in the United States shall, on theground of race; color, or national origin be ex-cluded from participation in, be denied benefitof, or be subjected to discrimination under anyprogram or activity receiving Federal finan-cial assistance." ESEA was chosen as a con-duit to enforce this title and to desegregateschools. Another reason for modifying ESEAwas because its meaning was confusing. Everytitle involved different interested parties anddifferent funding mechanisms and addresseddifferent educational concerns. Enforcementand distribution of the funds was administeredby the Office of Education (OE), which tradi-tionally relied on the State and local agenciesfor advice and enforcement. OE was split overwhat this massive and complex educationallegislation meant and how to implement it.Many of the changes in the act reflected anattempt to resolve these problems.

Many of the original concerns surroundingESEA still exist; its complexity, the amountof funding, and dissatisfaction by State agen-cies over Federal regulations. Disillusioned by

"J. S. Berke and M. Kirst, Federal Aid to Education: WhoBenefits? Who bovenis? (Lexington. Mass.: D.C. Heath, 1972);F. M. Wirt and M. Kirst., The Political Web of American Schools(Boston, Mans.: Little, Brown & Co., 1972); F. htWirt and, M.Kirst, The Political and Social Foundations of Education (Berke-ley, Calif.: McCutchan Publishing Corp., 1972); and M. Kirst."The Growth of Federal Influence in Education." in Uses ofthe Sociology of Education, C. Wayne Gordon (ed.) (The 73idYearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education,Pert II) (Chicago: National Society for the Study of Education.1974).

IN

Ch. 9 Fedoral Role In Education 15T

their concerns, both its proponents and oppo-nents sought to amend the act.

The total funds allocated to federally spon-sored programe appear to be a sizable Federalinvestment in education ($8.8 billion in fiscalyear 197.8-791. But when viewed as a propor-tion of a State.and local education budget, theFederal investment seems less significant.Federal funds have accounted for between 6and 9 percent of State and ftal educationbudgets. Monetarily, then, this influence is rel-atively small.

Concerns by local and State officials overregulations designed to enforce provisions ofthe act have been extensive and numerous.Many of the regulations resulted' from theoriginal complexity of ESEA and from theneed to target funds to discreet groups withspecial needs. Concerns and fears relating toFederal control over State and local educationprograms have not been realized. This has re-sulted from a combination of factors: the smallinvestment in each program per communityor per State by the Federal Government; staff-ing constraints at the Federal level, making"control" or extensive influence difficult; pro-visions written into the act prohibiting suchauthority; and, finally, State pressures againstincreased Federal influence."

Timpane (ed.), The Federal Interest in Financing School-ing (Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger, 1974).

With the passage of education legislation inthe 1960's and 1970's, the role of the Federalgovernment in education is, generally speak-ing,. fivefold:

Promotion of equal oppportunity as exem-plified by ESEA, the Education Amend-ments of 1972, by grants and legislationfor the handicapped, by desegregation ef-forts and bilingual decisions, and byothers.Innovation and stimulation of educationreform through research grants, teachertraining, vocatioind education, readingimprovement programs, and others.Provision of grants in support of educa-tional researehthe results of which couldhave broad applications in the Nation'sschools.Promotion of educational preparation foremployent, which can be traced to theSmith-Hughes Azt of 1917. "The school'spotential contribution to economit pro-ductivity was thus the first, and for a longtime, the only expressed national interestin education."Provision of limited funding targetingspecific needs areas such as planninggrants for management purposes on theState level, equalization reforms for Statefinance mechanisms, instructional equip-ment, and others.

"Ibid.

The *Courts 'and EducationAs ESEA moved into the implementation

phase, the educational debate moved into thejudicial arena. The courts have addressed nu-merous education-related issues ranging fromquestions of student and teacher behavior tothose of access to educational reeources. Theseissues, traditionally addressed on the Stateand local level and more recently by Congress,have now become the work of the courts.

The schools have been caught up in thecomplex multiracial and ',think societal prob-lems of our times which involve great moral

and political issues and which the legislativeand executive branches of the governmentseem unwilling or unable to resolve. Althoughlawyers and law courts in general possess nospecial expertise in educational matters, theyhave nonetheless been called upon to lend ahelping hand with these school problems,which are fundamentally a function of socialchange taking place'in society over the pasttwenty years or more."

. Hogan, "Law, Society and the School.," in UN. of tbsSociology of Educadoti, C. W. Gordon (ed.) (The 73rd Yearbookof Education, Part III) (Chicago: National Society for the Studyof Education, 1974), p. 411.

14

158 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education%

The involvement of the courts in educationalissues can, from a historical perspective, bedivided into three phases. Prior to 1850, educa-tional issues were considered by the judiciaryas State and local matters with no court role.Between 1860 and 1960, the court maintainedthis Stance. When many parents brought casesbefore the 'Courts, the courts usually foundthat the 10th amendment declared educationto be a.State and local responsibility. The thirdstage, from 1960 to present, can be cfiaracter-ized as one of active judicial involvement ineducational issues, particularly by the SupremeCourt. During this period the courts were in-volved in all aspects of education, includingadministration, program development, andorganization.

Desegregation.Court involvement in edu-cational matters began in 1954 with the land-mark Brown v. the Topeka Board of Educa-tion decision. In the-ffrown case, the courtsdeclared that schools that were deliberatelysegregating children on the basis of race wereinherently unequal and thus were creating asituation that was unacceptable. "Separatebut equal" was found to constitute a violationof the 14th amendment. This decision not onlypaved the 'way for desegregating schools in theSouth; it also opened up many other legalissues that are still being contested today.Nevertheless, the Brown decision did not trulybecome effective until the passage of the CivilRights Act of 1964.Since the Brown case,courts have addressed such questions as thoserelating to church and state relations in theschools, to free speech, to the financing of edu-cation, to curriculum, and to student andteacher rights. Most of these cases focused onthe first and 14th amendments. In general, the

"courts held that State and local governmentsshould retain their authority over most educa-tional matters.

Religion in the Schools.In one major areaof court involvement: church and state rela-tions, the first and the 10th amendments havebeen used to balance competing constitutionalquestions. The courts have drawn a very fineline in their decisions regarding religious is-sues je education, and no clear pattern has

emerged. The courts have ruled, for example,that there can be no direct aid to parochialschools, yet the States may lend textbooks tothese institutions. In addition, parents can bereimbursed for transportation costs to paro-chial schools. With regard to principles of freespeech, State laws requiring prayiars in publicschools and those preventing the teaching ofthe Darwinian theory of evoluiion in publicschools have been found to be unconstitu-tibnaL Similarly, the courts have ruled that en-forced pledging of allegiance or saluting theflag is in violation of the first amendment. Ingeneral, questions or issues that impose spe-cific standards of conduct on students andteachers have been found to be unconstitu-tional."

Parental Right to Educate.Another areaof limited court involvement has been thequestion of parental right to educate childrenin the home. Since questions arise from Stateto State as to the legality of home instruction,most parents do not openly acknowledge re-moving their children from the public achoolsystem for fear of reprisal from State agenciesand ensuing court actions. It is estimated thatthere are 1 million parents engaging in homeinstruction. Thirty-two States now have legalprovisions for home instruction, but again,these vary from State to State.

State and Local Funding Mechaniams.--:Nearly one-third of all State and local expendi-tures are education related. With increasingpressures from the courts, from parents, frominterest groups, and from the Federal Govern-ment to provide educational services, local dis-tricts are reexamining the means by whichtheir programs are funded. School finance re-form comes at a time of declining enrollmentin many parts of the country and in a climateof reduced funding both on the State level (tax-payer revolts) and nationally, with budget re-ductions and challenges to the traditional'means of fundingproperty taxes. A brief hia-torical examination of funding mechanisms ismerited because funding reforms will affectthe ability of State and local districts to in-

141

''Ibid.

Ch. 9Fdarai Rol in Education 159

troduce information technologies into theirschools.

The educational structure in most North-eastern States largely followed that of Massa-chusetts, in which towns were divided into dis-tricts that retained responsibility over educa-tional matters including school financeapractice that continued through the 18th cen-tury. In the early part of that century, North-ern States began to exercise minimal controlover inspection, curriculum, and similar insti-tutional concerns. Increasing State involve-ment gave rise to the growth of State boardsqf education and, by the 19th century, theState exercised a good deal of control overeducational matters through these boards.Throughout this time of expanded State juris-diction, financial control remained a localresponsibility.

The South, unlike the North, generally reliedheavily on the States for both administrativetasks and financial support. This practice be-came widespread in the post-Civil War period,at which time a system of State financing oflocal districts was firmly established. -'

In. the 20th century with the rise of indus-trialization and increased urbanization, local-ities turned more and more to the States forfinancial relief from the growing educationalburden. It became evident at this time, as inmany of the cases before the courts today, thatthere were wide discrepancies among districtson the amount of fundi expended per child andper school. Some States did increase the fund-ing allocations, though the impact was mini-mal and inequities remained.

By the 1960's, spending on elementary andsecondary education was increasing at an an-nual rate of 10 percent, with enrollments grow-ing by about 30 percent. In the ,1970's withthe rapid decline in enrollments, court chal-lenges to the finance systems, and pressuresfrom taxpayers, made school finance reformbecOme a topic of debate in most State legisla-tures. Every State established commissionsto examine the financing systems, and 18passed legislation to remedy recognized in-equities. Thus, the early 1970's was a period

of heightened'activity within the Statelegisla-tures concerning school finance reform. Thelatter part of the decade was a time of courtinterpretations of State laws as well as a timeof interpreting new legislative actions."

More recently, cases before the courts havefocused on financing mechAnimms employed byState and local governments for school dis-tricts. A series of cases have challenged themeans by which local communities financeeducational services, specifically propertytaxes. In 1971, the California Supreme Courtstruck down the State's system of financingeducation in the Serrano decision. The courtfound that the California system, because itdiscriminated against those living in property-poor districts, violated the 'equal 'protectionclause of both the U.S. and California constitu-tions. In the Rodriguez v. San Antonio Inde-pendent Sihool District, the U.S. SupremeCourt rejected claims similar to those in theSerrano decision. In this instance, the courtdeclared that, although there was inequity inthe financing system in this Texas district,there was "the absence of any evidence thatthe financing system discriminates againstany definable category of poor people orthatit results in the absolute deprivation of educa-tionthe disadvantaged class is not suscepti-ble of identificetion in traditional terms."'

Although the Rodriguez decision found that,Texas' 'fin cing system was not unconstitu-tional, n cases before State courts con-

, tinue to challenge State financing systems. Inearly 1981, 31 casee relating to Serrano issueswere before the courts. The latest challenge,in New York State, found that that State'sfinancing system waa, "constitutionally defi-

e cient" in that it discriminated against childrenliving in poor districts. Reliance on propertytaxes to raise educational revenues has leadto wide diiparities in New York State. In thedecision it was noted that, although educationis not a Federal constitutional right, nor "sucha fundamental State constitutional right as to

NW. N. Grubb and S. Michelson. Stains and Sclx;o1. (Lesing-ton, Mame.: D. C. Heath, 1974).

"D. L. Klrp and M. U. Yudoff, Educational Policy and dmLaw (Berkeley, Calif.: McCurhen Publishing Corp., 1974), p. 587.

1 4 6

100 IP' intorrnational Technology and its impact on Amridan Education

envoke special constitutional protection, it isan interest of great State importance." There-

fore, the equal protection requirement of theState constitution was invoked.

Federal Role in MuseumsFederal support of museums is very recent

and began with the creation of the NationalEndowments for the, Arts and for the Human-ities in 1965. The first program grants tomuseums were initiated in 1971 by the Na-tional Endowment for the Arts. The endow-ments provide grants for projects or specificendeavors. These funds may not be used foroperational purposes to support general pro-grams.

Federal support for the general operation ofmuseum became available with the establish-

, ment of the Institute for Museum Seryices(IMS) in 1977. IMS, now within the Depart-ment of Health and Human Services, is de-

signed to provide funds for rent, heat, lights,and the like to museums. This institute haino funding support in the current fiscal year.Another avenue for support of museum pro-grams, again in a limited fashion, is throughthe Nationhl Science Foundation, which allo-cates funds- to science museums, though theeducational division funding his been cur-tailed.

One of the most crucial forms of Federal sup-port, albeit indirect, is through gifts or done-

( tions to thuseums by individuals or corpora-tions. Tax deductions, made possible throughlegislation, provide. important incentives fordonors.

Federal RoleLibraries begIn to receive significant

amounts of Federal aid only in the 1960's,when the Federal Government undertook amajor effort to provide services and opportu-nities to the disadvantaged members of soci-ety. The major pieces of legislation that pro-vide for assistance to libraries include the fol-lowing."

The Library Services anditonstruction Act(LSCA) of 1964. Replacing the Library Serv-ices Act, this legislation provided a majorimpetus to the use of and interest in librar-ies. Continually reauthorized since then, ithas served as one of the major channelsthrough which the Federal Government hasprovided assistance to libraries.The Elementary and Secondary EducationAct of 1966. Title II of this act authorized$100 million to be spent by States for school

"V. H. Matthews, Libraries for 7bday and 7bmorrowIGar-den City. N.Y.: Doubleday & Co.. 1976.)

in Librarieslibrary resources. As a result, libraries wereestablished in the elementary schools inmany hundreds of cities and rural areas.The Higher Education Act of 1965. Title Iof this act specified that 22 percent of thefunds provided be allocated for public com-munity colleges and technical institutes.Title II provided Federal assistance to col-lege libraries. It authorized funds not onlyfor the purchase of books, periodicals, andother library Materials, but also for library

- training programs and for R&D for newways to program, process, store, and dis-tribute information.The Federal Government has also providedcontinued support to the Nation's researchlibrariesthe Library of Congress, the Na-tional Library of Medicine, and the NationalLibrary of Agriculture.The momentum that developed in the 1960's

in support of libraries began to wane in the1970's. The Nixon administration eliminated

l 4

Ch 9Federal Role In Education 161

from its budget apPropriatIons for all non-Fed-eral libraries. The Carter budget for 1980 alsoreduced librairy funding. It called for a $388million reduction in Federal aid to schools and

- libraries; it eliminated funds for college libraryresources, training, and demonstrations; andit significantly cut back funds for library serv-ices, interlibrary cooperation, and library ma-terials. Similarly, the Reagan administration'sproposals for libraries also call for greatlyreduced funding. Funding, for example, underESEA has been incorporated into block grants

under. the Education Consolidation and Im-provement Program.

Notwithstanding these significant reduc-tions in the subsidies for libraries, the FederalGovernment continues to provide substantialsupport, most of it channeled through Stateagencies. In fiscal year 1982, for cram*, totalFederal appropriations for library services un-der LSCA was $71,620,000, total appropria-tions for libraries and instructional and totalFederal appropriations under title II of theHigher Education Act were $8,568,000.

Effect of Federal TelecommunicationRegulation and Legislation on Education

Regulations, statutes, and ordinances at allthree g vernmental levels have shaped thegrowth 4nd structure of the telecommunica-tion indtkstry and have significantly affectedthe use o ommunication technology byeducators. A be of regulations have at-tempted to foster the application of com-munication services to education directly (e.g.;Federal Communication Commission (FCC)rules governing instructional fixed televisionsystems).

However, while the focus and legislative in-tent of some regulations have been on the pro-vision of educational services, others have fo-cused exclusively on telecommunication per se,disregarding their potential effects on educa-tion. These latter regulations, although nec-essary to effect the provision of telecom-munication services, have inadvertently af-fected the use of modern telecommunicationtechnology for educational purposes by forc-ing educators to compete for its use withwealthier and more politically powerful in-terests. This situation has had a detrimentaleffect on education by preventing and in-hibiting educators from realizing the benefitsof this technology. It has become increasing-ly apparent that telecommunication regulatorsmust recognize the impacts of their decisionson education and must begin to take into ac-count the interests and needs of education in

formulatirig national telecomm 'cationpolicy.

Governmental Control ofTelecommunication

Telecommunication is regulated at all threegovernmental levels. On the local level, pro-graming options are weighed and decisidns aremade. For example, Instructional TelevisionFixed Service (ITFS) licenses are, by their verynature, confined to local delivery of informa-tion. Once FCC has granted an ITFS applica-tion, the local operator/licensee controls itsprograming input and the extent of its output.States have the authority to regulate cablefranchising by local municipalities and to setup rate structures for the public utilities. Mostof the regulation of telecommunication, how-ever, takes place at the Federal level, and itis this level which is of primary interest here.

Governmental Controlof Education

Education is largely controlled at the localand State levels. At the local level, it is car-ried out primarily by local school boards; whileaccreditation and licensure functions are per-formed at the State level. The State's ex-clusive power over education derives from the

762 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American 'Education

Reserved Powers Clause of the 10th =tend-ment." Thus, Federal laws relating to educa-tion usually include a reference to the primacyof the States." For example, the GeneralEducation Provisions Act states that: "Noprovision of any applicable program shall beconstrued to authonz" e any department, agen-cy, officer or employee of the United Statesto-exercise any direction, supervision, or con-trol, over the curriculum, program of instruc-tion, administration, or personnel of any edu-cational institution . ."25

The traditional role of the States in controll-ing education may, where telecommunicationtechnology is concerned, run into direct con-flict with Federal laws and Federal policy.Specifically, State educational policies con-cerning telecommunication may conflict withthe interstate cohunerce'powers of the FederalGovernment, the express provisions of theCommunications Act, and the general princi-ples of the first amendment.* For example, thepower of the States to contiaol education isoften exercised through the process of licen-sure of educational institutions and.services.However, licensure requirements vary wide-ly from State to State. Thus, an institutionthat seeks to offer programs, such as tele-courses, on a regional or national basis mustdeal with several different licensuie;statutes.The question then arises as to whether theState receiving the service has jurisdiction toimpose its licensure requirements on the of-fering institution, especially where the institu-tion has no other contacts 'within the State.

The more fundamental issue, however, iswhether these State licensure requirementsoperate to circumscribe variods available serv-ices and thus impose an undue burden on in-

"The powers not delegated to the United States nor prohib-ited by the Constitution to the States, are reserved to the Statesrespectively, to the People.

"M. B. Goldstein, "State Licensure of Instructional Telecom-munications: An Overview Of a Constitutional Problem," Tele-aqui 1(3):3, January/February 1982.

"General Education Provision Ac4 sec. 432, 20 U.S.C. sec.1232a).

"M. B. Goldstein, A Survey of Key Policy Issues AffectingHigher Education and the Adult Leartner, discussion draft pre-

" -pared for The Ace Commission on Higher Education and theAdult Learner, October 1981, p. 39.

15i

terstate commerce, in violation Of the Com-merce Clause of the constitution." 25 In otherwords, can the several, States constitutional-ly control the delivery of multi-State educa-tional services flowing into their borders or are.such services covered under this clause sub-ject to Federal control? The issue has not yetbeen resolved, but it is clear that in the nearfuture it will demand greater attention and willrequire resolution by the courts." In the mean-time, State licensing authorities are free toadopt discriminatory and protectionist regula-tions that have a potential chilling or in-hibitory effect on the provision and deliveryof educational programs and services.

The Federal CommunicationCommission and Educational-Telecommunication ServicesVarious Federal rules and regulations gov-

erning telecommunication also affect educa-tional programs and services. Under the 1934Communications Act, FCC has jurisdiction toallocate the broadcast spectrum among com-munications services. In the past, the commis-sion has made severalpolicy decisions direct-ly intended to promote educationid access tothe broadcast spectrum. The dearest examplewas the commission's reservation of 242.chan-nels in the very high frequency (VHF), andultrahigh frequency (UHF) bands for educa-tional use. In 1938, 1945, and 1952, respettive-ly, the commission announced that severalradio and television channels were being re-served for the use of nonprofit educational

"The Commerce Clause gives Congress the power to regulateinterstate commerce. U.S. Constitution, art. I, sec. 8, clause 3.

"M. B. Goldstein, "Federal Policy Issues Affecting Instruc-tional Television at the Postsecondary Level," Adult Learningand Pub& Broadcasting, report of a project conducted by theAmerican Association of Community and Junior Colleges-withsupport from the Fund for the Improvement of PostsecondaryEducation (FIPSE), 1980, p. 4.

"This argument was recently raised in an action by Nova Uni-versity, to prevent the State of North Carolina from regulatingthe offering of education 'services in that State when the degreeconferred was authorized by the school's domicile State, Florida.While the case was ultimately decided on narrow statutorygrounds, the issue of State v. Federal powers was strongly enun-ciated in the arguments put forth by both aides. Nova Univer.sity v. University of North Carolina, No. 110A81, N.C., Mir.3, 1982.

z

Ch. 9Federal Role In Education 163

organizations advancing an educational ink-pose. These decisions presaged the beginningof educational or instructional television anddirecily provided for community educationalprograming.

The commission's original intent in settingaside these channels was to proznote nencom-mercial educational broadcasting. FCC tooka broad view of such broadcasting, and no pro-graming requirements were assigned to its in-structional and cultural coMponents. It hasbeen claimed that the failure tadefine the termeducational hroadcasting more narrowly had,in fact, the effect of diminishing the amountof instructional programing, which resulted ina public broadcasting system that serves awider audience." In the absence of a narrow-ly drafted set of regulations governing educa-tional broadcasting, market forces took overand influenced decisions on programing,con-tent by licensees and broadcasters. The pro-graming on the channels originally reservedfor educational broadcasting became pre-dominantly cultural in content.

Instructionel TelevisionFixed Services

The regulation of ITFS is a further illustra-tion of the effect of regulation on the educa-'tional use of telecommunication. ITFS is apoint-to-point communication system that cantransmit up to four channels of programingat one time to predetermined reception pointslocated from 5 to 20 miles away. Therefore, itis a method of transmitting television signalsdirectly to the classroom.

ITFS was established in 1963 when FCCopened 31 channels in the 2500- to 2690-MHzfrequency Yange' for this private distzibutionsystim. It was intended to satisfy the need fora more economical and efficientmeans of dis-tributing high quality learning materials tothe classroom. In the 1970's, FCC issued rulesand regulations that provided for the licens-ing of 28 of the 31 available channels to educa-tional institutions. The remaining three chan-

"S. A. Shoreustein, "Pulling the Plug on Instructional TV,"Chaige, vol. 10, November 1978, p. 37.

nels were to be assigned to municipal or Stategovernments for operation of a similar service,Operational Fixed Service (OFS)."

Soon after ItIFS was established, FCC re-ceived many construction permit requests forthe use of its assigned channels. However, thecost of the components necessary to operatean ITFS system, (transmitters, receivers,studio equipment, down cbnverters, etc.), pre-vented most educational institutions from uti-lizing this technology. ITFS was thus installedanchised predominantly by larger universitiescapable of affording it." Once installed, thesystem was economical to operate. Crirrently,ITFS is being used to provide a variety of ed-ucational services, including adult arid profes-sional continuingiaucation courses. Some uni-versities, such al the University of SouthernCalifornia, use all ITFS system to transmitgraduate engineering courses to nearby busi-nesses and firms with staff engineers. Thefuture of this system and its use as all educa-tional tool is uncertain.

In 1980, FCC began proceedings to reallo-cate the 31 channels in the 2500- to 2690-MHzfrequency range, the assumption being thateducators were not taking full advantage ofthe channels allocated to ITES.." Faced withan increasing demand and a growing numberof applicants for Multipoint Distribution Serv-ices (MDS) and Private Operational Fixed Mi-crowave Seryices (POFMS), FCC proposed toredistribute these channels by allocating 10each to MDS and POFMS, leaving-ITFS withthe remaining 11." As satellite distribution ofprograming made MDS more profitable andas the market demand for MDS grew and de-velciped, FCC proposed to offer MDS opera-tOrs use of part of the spectrum allocated toITFS. Similarly, as business and industryfound new uses for POFMS, demand for fre-""OFS is functionally equivalent to ITFS. It is a short-rangeprivate distribution service intended for governmental as op-posed to instructional use.

"As of Jan. 1, 1981, there ,were 180 ITF$ licensees hr theUnited States, Thlevieioe Factbool4 stations volume, 1981-82ed. No. 60.

"General docket Noe. 40-112; 80-113; 80-118."MDS is a commoa carrier service, dplivering pay-TV prot

griming from a central transmitter to eea1 linepof-sight recep-tion points.

152

164 Informational Technology and Its Ippact on American Education

quencies to operate this service has grown.Thus, FCC proposed to reduce the number ofITFS channels to make room for MDS andPOFMS systems.

Here again, FCC had created by direct reg-ulation a system primarily for offering educa-tional programing. Yet, because of high in-stallation costs, along with budget cuts, ITFShas not been used by most educational institu-tions. Although FCC has not yet acted on thisproposal, clearly a reduction in ITFS channelswill have an effect on cities like New York andLos Angeles where ITFS is widely used. Whileit it, possible that such large metropolitanareas, which have as many as 25 operationalITFS systems, may have to curtail their useand reduce the number of educational servicesoffered, it is more likely that FCC will "grand-father" (allow them to continue under the new

- system). active channels as long as the presentlicensees-retain their control. Only assignedbut inactive ITFS channels would he reas-signed for commercial spectrumguse. A furtherconsequence of the proposed cutback in ITFSchannels is that it may affect the recent PublicBroadcasting Service (PBS) application forITFS facilities.

The Public BroadcastingService

PBS and its member public television sta-tions have applied for ITFS channels to setup the National Narrowcast Service to extendtheir distribution of instructional, edudational,and cultural programing to meet specialized,educational needs. The system is designed toreach those who live where educational pro- .graming is not readily available and to createa local means for expanding the educationalservices offered by PBS stations. If FCC de-cides to reallocate the ITFS frequencies, thisproposed service will be in jeopardy. With few-er ITFS channels available, PBS will have tocompete for channels with other educationalusers. While the FCC proposal will, if adopted,increase the number of channels available forcommercial MDS and POFMS systems, it willalso limit the availability of educational serv-ices to the community through ITFS systems.

In effect, another educational resource wouldbe reduced and replaced by services unlikelyto be available for educational programing.

Low-Power Television andDirect Broadcast SatellitesWhile low-power televisionALPTV) and di-

rect broadcast satellite (DBS) systems maybecome available for distributing educationalprograming, they are not equivalent substi-tutes for ITFS. LPTV applications will begranted on the basis of an available broadcastspectrum, and educational institittions wish-ing to apply for such frequencies will have tocompete with other users for a frequency al-location. In other words, allocation by FCCwill occur entirely apart from the needs of theeducational community. In addition, althoughDBS service has the potential to reach nation-wide audiences, it is unclear whether DBS ap-plicants will, in fact, transmit educational pro-graming to the public or whether educationalinstitutions will be able to afford satellite time.The answer to these uncertainties will beknown in time if rules and regulations areadopted to govern both LPIIT and DBS sys-tems. Given the present emphasis on dereg-ulation, it is unclear whether LPTV and DBSwill be regulated to provide educationalservices.

Cable TelevisionAnother area where telecommunication reg-

ulation has affected education is illustrated bycable television requirements. FCC rules orig-inally required that all cable systems servingmore than 3,500 houtieholds provide oppor-tunities for "educational access with no costfor use of the system."" At present, only a fewuniversities (e.g., Purdue and Oregon StateUniversity) use this resource. Furthermore,specialized, educational programing general-ly comprises a very small part of cablecasters'offerings. The regulation of telecommunicationvia cable is in _transition.

wrheee requirements have been overturned by the courts. SeeMidwest Video Cozp. v. Met 571 F. 2d 1025, 41 R.R. 2d 659(8th Cir. 1978) (Midwest Video H), cert. granted, 47 U.S.L.W.3187 (No. 77-1575). However they would be reinstated to someextent by the passage of S. 2172.

153

Ch. 9Federal Role in Education 165

Telecommunication Legislationand 'Educational Services

The Senate Commerce Committee has re-cently introduced a bill to move primaryjurisdiction over cable regulation from the,cities and States to FCC." The bill also re-quires that cable systems with more than 20channels dedicate 10 percent of such channelsfor use by public, educational, and governmen-tal programers and 10 percent to leased chan-nel programers, all on a first-come, first-served, nondiscriminatory basis." This billrepresents one of many congressional effortsto revise telecommunication regulations andset national telecommunication policy. Al-though this legislation explicitly provides foreducational programing, other bills, such asthose dealing with revision of the 1934 Coin-munications Act, often do not address educa-tional interests. Such congressional con-sideration is necessary to ensure the low-costavailability of telecommunication services toeducators in both the public and privatesector."

As with FCC regulation, telecommunicationlegislationmay have both a direct andindirecteffect on the means by which educational serv-ices are provided and on'the ability of edu-cators to utilize telecommunication for dissem-inating educational materials. Legislation canaffect the cost of interconnections, the meansof delivering services, and the nature of educa-tional programing.

Congress has directly influenced the man-ner and scope by which educalional servicesare provided both in approving*propriationsfor the Corporation for Public Broadcasting(CPB) and by enacting legislation like thePublic Telecommunications Financing Act.39Congress has also proposed legislation which,

""Where Things Stand," Broadcasting Apr. 6, 1982, p. 26."U.S. Congress, Senate, A Bill To Amend the Communica-

tions Act of 1934, S. 2172, 97th Cong., 2d sess., 1982."A. B. Shostak, "The Coming Systems Break: Technology

and Schools of the Future," Phi Degta Kalman, voL 62, January1981, p. 369.

°U.& Congress, Public Telecoinmunkations Financing Act,Public Telecommunications Financing Act, Public Law 96-567,96th Cong., Nov. 2, 1978.

although dealing with telecommunication,could indirectly set a precedent regarding the'provision of educational services. For exam-ple, a bill introduced by the House Subcom-mittee on Telecommunications, Consumer Pro-tection, and Finance, which revises and up-dates title II of the 1934 Communications Actgoverning the provision of telephone and tele-communication services, may have importantimplications in the educational arena:" Accessprovisions under the proposed legislation mayaffect the costs of interconnections for homecomputers. This, in turn, could affect.the de-mand for such terminals Similarly, issues ofmaintenance, ownership, and technical gradesof lines and wiring may affect the quality ofdata communication and ultimately the supplyof information for educational purposes. Theseissues need to be considered by legislators intheir efforts both to rewrite the 1934 Com-munications Act and. to set national telecom-munication policy.

As the foregoing discussion has shown, tele-communication regulation often indirectlydiscriminates against educational tervices byoverlooking the stake educators and institu-tions have in telecommunication resources. Anissue entirely separate from that of telecom-munication legislation and its effect on educa-tion, however, is the issue of Federal regula-tion of education and its effect on the use oftelecommunication. Although warrantingmore consideration, it can only be dealt withbriefly here.

The dearest example of how educational reg-.ulations can have a chilling affect on the edu-cational use of telecommunication is a Vet-erans Administration rule restricting and pro-hibiting reimbursement and aducational bene-fits to veterans for curricula that use coursestaught via television and radio. While the ra-tionale behind this regulation may have beento prevent veterans from claiming credit forsham courses, iclearly discriminates againsttechnology-based delivery systems and hencecan be deemed overbroad. Less restrictive al-

°US Congress, House, A Bill To Amend the Communica-tions Act of 1934 to Revise Provisions of the Act Relating toTekcommunications, H.R. 6168, 97th Cong., 1 st sees., 1981.

186 Informational Tochno logy and Its Impact on Amarican Education

ternatives inust.be found to meet the VeteransAdministration's proper concern without com-promising and discriminating against telecom-munication technology." As with telecommu-

"Goklatain, op. cit., 1980, p. 42.

nication policy, the interests of educators mustbe weighed and considered in drafting Federalregulations.

The Protection of Information Software:An Overyiew

In recent years, the software industry hasbeen plagued by an everincreasing incidenceof piracy." " As software costs have risen, in-formal duplication of programs has increasedand has held down revenues for software pub-lishers." Similarly, piracy via illegal duplica-tiodend distribution has diminished incen-tives for software producers to further devel-opment of novel and innovative software pack-ages, particularly for educational use. Al-though technological solutions are being de-vised to prevent piracy, various ;,egal methodsfor protecting computer software from illicit ,misappropriation are the focus here.

Given the fact that for the present, at least,piracy does and will occur, the question to beresolved is how to protect the software pro-

, ducer or proprietor from infringement of hiscreative property rights. Such protection isnecessary to ensure that adequate incentivesexist for development of innovative software,to protect the considerable investments in itsdevelopment, and to preserve legal means forpublic access to creative works.

There are five currently legal methods thatcan be used to protect computer software;trade secret protection, trademarks, patents,the doctrine of unfair competition, and copy-

"The term software is meant to include any programs anddata bases designed to be used on caenputen, video disks, cable,etc.

"D. U. Gagliardi, "Software: What Is It," APLA QuarterlyJournal 843), 1980, p,, 239. ,

"When programs are copied without permission, publishersdo not receive royalties for their use and their profits are therebyreduced. Sse "Trends in Personal Computer Software Publish-ing," A Reeearch Memorandum, LINK NRM, vol. 2, No. 10,August 1981.

155

rights." None of these, however, provides awell-defined, reliable form of protection fornovel developments in software." The lawregarding software protection in each case ishazy and complicated and still in the earlystages ordevelopment. Thus, it may be nec-essary to use sever& methods simultaneous-ly, with or without technological protection,to achieve maximum legal protection for cer-tain software. While copyrights and tradesecrets are the most widely used and ad-vocated forms of protection, each.of the fivemethods can' afford some degree of securityagainst unauthorized repriauction of costlyand innovative software.

Types of SoftwareAll computer software has three basic com-

ponents. These are the supporting documen-tation, inchiding manuals and flow ettarts; thealgoritlun or process, i.e., the underog ideasor information implemented in the software;and the program or data base itself.

The program itself is embodied either inhuman readable form, such as listings, or incomputer readable form, such as magnetictapes, disks, or paper punch cards. Thesedistinctions are important, because the utili-ty of the various methods of legal protectionmay differ depending on the type of software

"It should be noted that there Ip a diversity of views as towhat forms of legal protection are tly availible and whatforms should be available in the future for software products.Not all legal whalers agree that the five methods surveyed hereare available or should be used for protection.

"H. Levine and A. E. Hall, "Computer Software Protectionand Licensing," a paper preeented at the Second Annual TahnisConference, Chicago, Feb. 28, 1982.

Ch. 9Federal Role In Education 187

component and the formal representation in-volvéa in a particular case.

In Addition, to the three software corn-.ponent-e4, computer programs can be brokendown into three formats or formal represen-tations: the source code, the linkable formats,and the object code.

The source code, or "the code at its source,"is a computer program written in a high-level(computer) language. This representation isthe easiest to read and comprehend and henceto pirate, modify, and expand. The linkable for-mat results from the processing of the sourcecode by the cdmputer's compiler or programconverter. At such a level, it is more difficultto reconstruct and, hence, to appropriate. Theobject code results from loading the linkableformat into the computer in a,form that it canexecute. In this format, the program's under-lying concepts are the most difficult to assim-ilate, comprehend, and appropriate.

Legal Protection for SoftwareTrade Secret Protection

Trade secrets are defined as formulas, proc-esses, mechanisms, compounds, or compila-tions of data not patented but known only bycertain individuals using them in business toobtain a commercial advantage.47 The classicand most widely cited example of a tradesecret is the Coca-Cola formula, which isknown only to certain select Coca-Cola person-nel and has never been patented."

For a trade secret to exist and be enforced,several requirements must be met. The firstis secrecy; a bona fide secret must exist andmust be contained within the business of a par-ticular enterprise. Thus, those who are privyto the secret must be under a duty not todisclose it. This situation is generally achievedby a confidential disclosure agreement or con-tract between the proprietor or software mar-keter and his employees, contractors, li-censee; or leasees. The contract may requirethose with access to the software to take ac-

4'fieetaterneet of Torts, SS 767, Comment (b), 1939.°LINK, op. cit., p. 18.

tions to limit its proliferation. The second re-quirement for trade secrets to exist is noweltyi.e., where the subject matter is un-known to the general public and the trade."

Beyond these two formal requirements fortrade secrecy, the courts have placed somereliance on economic criteria in determiningwhether a protectable trade secret exists. Theamount of money or labor expended in devel-oping information and the value of the infor-mation itself are factors which courts mightconsider in making this determination.

It is well established that computer pro-grams and certain program materials are pro-tectable as trade secrets through civil andcriminal' enforcement actions. However, theboundaries of trade secret protection for soft-ware are unclear. Some courts have protectedalgorithms along with the computer programs,while others have declined to extend protec- 'tion to "general information."" The nature ofthe software, the circumstan' ces of the taking,and the intent of the taker can each influencea court's determination regarding trade secretprotection.

In deciding whether' to utilize trade secretprotection for certain software, a proprietoror marketer considers the following draw-backs. First, trade secrecy can be easily lost.If a secret becomes widely disseminated, thesoftware protected may beeorne part of thepublic domain and thus no loner eligible fortrade secret protection. Thus, trade secrecymay be difficult to maintain''where public salesor large-scale marketing of software is con-templated. Trade secrets den aIto be lost bycarelessness, by intentional' or negligentbreach of contract, or by discovery and dis-closure by competitors, e.g., reverse engineer-ing and subsequent disclosdre. Thb courts aresplit as to whether trade secret protection is

"Novelty for purposes of trade secret law is a relative con-cept unlike novelty for purposes of patent protection. in thelatter case, novelty is absolute; D. Bender, '"rrade Secret Soft-ware Protection," APLA Quarterly Jounig voL v, No. 1, 1977,p. 61. It should be noted that novelty is not required by allStates. See R. Milgrim, Trade Secrete, SS 2.03, 2.08(2). 1979.

"R. Smith and E. It. Yochos, "Legal Protection of SoftwareVia Trade Secrets," APLA Quarterly Journg vol. 8. No. 3,1980, p. 240-241.

168 Informational Technology and Its Impact on.American Education

lost where software is appropriated bymemory. The majority rule is that tradesecrecy does protect against appropriation bymemory." Similarly, there is some debateabout whether trade secreay is lost where asoftware proprietor registers his software forcopyright protection. The issue here is whethersuch registration constitutes publication andhence destroys any-legal claim under the tradesecret method of protection."

In addition, trade secret protectiOn, like theraw of contracts and unlike copyrights orpatents, is controlled by State statute or com-mon law, as distinguished from Federal stat-utory law. Thus, protection for trade secretsdiffers from, jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Inorder to maximize his protection, a manufac-turer or licensor may wish to seek an addi-tional mode Of protection, such as copyright,to ensure uniform legal treatment of his soft-ware. Trade secret protection alone, however,can provide a fairly reliable and economicmeans of shielding software innovation.

Trademark ProtectionTrademarks generally include "any word,

name, symbol, or device or any combinationthereof adopted and used by a manufactureror mbrchant to identify his goods and dis-tinguish them from those manufactured orsold by others." While they are used exten-sively to protect product names, they havebeen used only in a relatively minor mannerto protect computer software. The reason forthis is that in the past computer software hashad a relatively short life, and thus there wasno basis on which to build a proper trademark.The current trend of "longer life" computerprograms may no longer sustain this reason-ing." In addition, trademarks do not directlyprotect the contents of the software fromunauthorized use, appropriation, or duplica-

"'Turner, The Law of Trade Secrets 169, 171, 1962."In a recent case, the court held that this was a question of

fact and not a question of law, Warrington Associates, Inc. v.Real.Tirne Engineering Associates, Inc.; 522 F. Supp. 367 (N.D.lll., 4981).

"fl Lanham Act of 1948, 15 U.S.C. SS 1127."T G. Wbite, "Trademark Protection of Computer Software,"

APLA Quarterly Journal, vol. 8, No. 3, 1980, p. 281.

tion by another. However, trademarks canserve as a complement to other methods ofprotecting the concepts contained in computerprograms. Computer program trademarks canprotect important proprietary intereets in soft-ware by preventing software competitors fromusing the same or similar marks on theirprograms.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office hasrecognized for some time that computer pro-grams are "goods" within the purview of theTrademark Statute." Thus, a trademark on anitem of software represents and is identifiedby the public with the goodwill and reputationof the business that produced it. If the manu-facturer's reputation is good, consumers maytend to buy software based, on the strengthof the mark, even though competing productsmay perform as well. Whether the strengthofmark will be the sole criteria used by con-sumers in seleciing software, or whether thecapabilities of various programs will also betaken into account in making a selection, isan open question. In either case, though, con-sumers will probablY place a6me reliance onthe source of quality control identified throughthe trademark." In this manner, trademarksprovide a relatively inexpensive and simplemeans to protect indirectly computer, pro-grams.

Patent ProtectionAt present, there is much uncertainty about

the applicability of title 35 of the UnitedStates Code (patents) to computer software.The ,case law is inconsistent and confusing,and no clear-cut consensus has been reached.In addition, to the extent that some patentprotection for software is available, it wouldapply only to protect the programmable proc,ess embodied in computer programs." Thus,iiiitent protection for softWere is often difficultto obtain except in conjunction ,with a patent-

"The Lanham Act, 16 U.S.C. 58 1061 et seq."White, op. cit., p. 280. In addition. although service marks

could also be included here, thw are beyond the scope of thisbrief overview and hence exckded from the discussion of trade-marks.

"Bender, op. cit., p.e. See also Diamond v. Mohr and Dia-mond v, Bradley, footnote 15.

Ch. 9Federal Role in Education 169

able piece of compute hardware. Given the un-predictable nature of software patent law andthe relatively high cost of securing patent pro-tection, a software owner may therefore wishto seek other available methods of legal pro-tection for his works. Once clarified, though,patent protection for certain software Mayprove to be superior to other, legal methods.

There are several reasons why patent pro-tection may be preferable to other legalsafeguards of software innovation. One is thatpatent protection is very broad in scope. A pa-tent provides its owner with the exclusiveright to the inventive work for 17 years. Thus,he has the right to exclude others from mak-ing, using, or selling that work. Infringementoccurs when either the work is copied or it hasbeen independently developed. Another reasonis that patents protect the underlying ideasor concepts of a computer program, not merelythe expression of a program, as copyrights do.Thus, while an adaption of a program for usein a different computer may not be a copyrightviolation, it could be found to be a patentinfringement.

The issues concerning the patentability ofsoftware are twofold. The first problem iswhether software is statutory or within thecategories of innovations and discoverieswhich may be patentable. The law is that aninvention is patentable if it consists of "anynew and useful process, machine, manufac-ture, or corn. ,:ition of matter, or any new Miduseful impro ent thereof."" Abstract ideas,laws of na ir , and physical phenomena areexcluded from patent protection." The ques-tion is, do computer programs fall uhder anyof the categories of patentable inventions? Theanswer is that they may, if patentable, fall intothe categories of processes, machines, or man-ufactures.

Several recent cases have overturned thecourts' previous reluctance to hold software

. Patentable." Thus, the court has held that a

"35 U.S.C. SS 101."Diamond v. Diehr, 460 U.S. 176, 209 U.S.P.Q. 1, 7 (1981)."Earlier landmark cases include: Gottschalk v. Benson, 409

U.S. 63, 175 U.S.P.Q. 673 (1972); Dann v. Johnston, 425 U.S.219. 189 U.S.P.Q. 267 (1978); Parker v. Flook, 437 U.S. 684,

statutory claim does not become nonstatutorysimply because it uses a mathematical for-mula, coinputer program, or digital compu-ter." Currently, the law seems to be thatalgorithms or methods of calculation in the'abstract, like the laws of nature, are notstatutory subject matter. However, claimsreciting algorithms or formulas; or presumablycomputer programs that implement or applythose formulas in a structure or process (e.g.,transforming an article from one,state or thingto another), are statutory within the meaningof the patent law."

If certain soft are is found to be statutorythen it must al meet four conditions to befound patenta le: novelty, utility, nonob-viousness, and adequacy of disclosure."Numerous programs should meet these re-quirements. However, many others may im-plement an obvious process in an obvious wayand are valuable solely because of the manhours saved to achieve the result." Theywould, thus, be ineligible for patent protection.The problem then lies in the definition of "ob-viousness." So far, there is no clear consensusabout the appropriate standard tr test to beapplied to determine if a claim meets the non-obviousness condition. Judicial or legislative

- clarification is necessary before the patent-ability of certain software can be determinedwith.any degree of certainty.

It should be noted thee the patentability ofcomputer programs may also depend on thesubjective application of Patent Office guide-lines by patent examiners, and ultimately onthe manner in which patent applications aredrafted. Future clarification of the boundariesof software and compute program protection,however, awaits the outcome of further litiga-tion.

198 U.S.P.Q. 193 (1978). Two recent decisions indicating thatpatent protection may be available for computer software are:Diamond v. Mohr, 450 U.S. 176, 209 U.S.P.Q. 1(1981); and Dia-mond v. Bradley, 460 U.S. 381, 209 U.S.P.Q. 97 (1981).

"Diamond v. Diehr, op. cit."Levine and Hall, op. cit., p. 19."36 U.S.C. 101, 102, 103, 112 (1979)."Bender, op. cit., p. 87-88.

170 Informational Technology and its impact on Amritan Education

Protection Under the Law ofUnfair Competition

Original software (both source and objectcode), computer programs, and data basesmay be protected by the law of unfair competi-tion. Evolving from the landmark case of In-ternational News Service (INS) v. AssociatedPress," the law protects the originator againstmisappropriation by competitors of his workproduct and his inv6tment capital risks. Therationale for the doctrine lies in the equitycourt's philosophy of preventing and mitigat-ing unjust enrichment. Until recently, how-ever, the courts tended to limit the applicationof the unfair competition doctrine to the factsin the INS case. In one recent case, the courts_stated that a valid, unfair competition claimhad been advanced where, for commercial ad-vantage, a competitor had misappropriatedthe benefits and property nets of and had ex-ploited his business values." Similarly, wherereproductions of original recordings werepirated and marketed under a different label,another court upheld the plaintiff's unfair com-petition claim."

While the doctrine has had an underlying ef-fect in cases dealing with unauthorized ap-propriation of data basestoday it,is becom-ing grounds for equitable relief on its ownmerits. Therefore, it may be possible to bringa valid cause of action based on the commonlaw right against unfair competition where acompetitor copies and sells another's softwarefor profit. This method of software protectionmay be of benefit to proprietors who seek toprotect both source and object codes. The lawof unfair competition would most likely makeno distinction between the two for pUrposesof protection. However, it should be borne inmind that unfair competition is a common lawdoctrine and thus may vary from State toState.

"International News Service v. Associated Press, 248 U.S.215, 39 S. Ct. 68 (1918).

"Data Cash Systems, Inc. v. JS&A Group, Inc, 480 F. Suppl.1063 (N.D. 111., 1979), &it'd on other grounds, 628 F. 2d 1038(7th Cir. 1980).

l'A&M Records, Inc., et al v. M M. C Distributing Corp,et al, 197 U.S.P.Q. 698 (Sixth Cir., CA) (1978).

Copyright' ProtectionBy far, the fastesegrowing legal mechanism,

of software protection is the copyright law. Itis now well settled that copyright law isavailable as a method for protecting softwareand computer programs. The question to beresolved, however, is the scope of the protec-tion to be accorded oimputer programs by thisbody of law.

The Copyright Act of 1976 protects originalworks of authorship fixed in any tangiblemedium of expression from which they can beperceived, reproduced, or otherwise com-municated, either directly or with the aid ofa machine or device." Computer programs anddata bases, to the extent that they incorporateauthorship in the expression of original ideasas opposed to the ideas themielves, fall withinthe category of "literary works," and thuswithin the subject thatter of copyright." Theactual processes.' or methods embodied in acomputer program, however, are not withinthe scope of the copyright law."

In 1980, the Computer Software CopyrightAct was passed by Congress." Incorporatingthe recommendations of the national Commis-sion on New Technological Uses of Copy-righted Works, the act revised section 117 ofthe 1976 Copyright Act dealing with rights inconjunction with compubters-and informationsystems." The new section 117 dispelled alldoubts concerning the copyrightability of com-puter programa and made it clear that thereproduction or adaption of computer pro-gralts would constitute acts of infringement.The act also created an important exemptionfor the input or reproduction of computer pro-grams from copies which are sold.

The courts have not reached agreement onthe limits of ccmputer soft*are copyright pro-tection. For example, there is still much debate

"17 U.S.C. SS 102(a)."17 U.S.C. SS 101(a). U.S. House of Representatives Report

94-1476, 94th Cong., 2d seas., p. 54."17 U.S.C. SS 102(b)."Computer Software Copyright Act of 1980, Dec. 12, 1980,

Public Law 96-617, sec. 10."Final Report of the National Commission on Now Techno-

logical Uses of Copyrighted Works, July 31, 1978.

Ch. 9Federal Role In Education 171

as to whether object codes can be protectedby copyright law. In order to be accorded theprotection'-of the copyright laws, a computerprogram must be "an original work of author-ship."" Clearly, if a programer is the"originator" of asource code, than he qualifiesas an "author" within the meaning of thecopyright law. However, the case law is.stilldeveloping on whether this source codeauthorship is preserved in the object code.Since the object code can be viewed as beingphysically produced by a machine, the ques-tion arises as to whether the object code is anexpression of authorship or merely a utili-tarian work outside the scope of Copyright pro-tection. Only original expressions of author-ship, "writings," are protected by copyrightlavfitilere is little doubt that sourceyodes arewnlings within the purview of the copyrightstatute, but the status of object codes is notso clear." "

Other issues associated with the copyright-ability of computer software are preemptionof trade secret protection and the meaning of"substantial similarity," (necessary forcopyright infringement) in the computer con-text." In addition, problems with computersoftware copyright protection arise becausethe act of copying is incidental to use of a com-puter program. In other words, computer in-put (i.e., of a program) constitutes the mak-ing of a copy and is thus a potential infringe-ment of copyright. The 1980 amendment tosection 117 of the Copyright Act remedied thisproblem by providing that it was not an in-fringement for an owner of a copy, of a com-puter program "to make or authorize the mak-ing of another copy or adaption of that com-

"17 U.S.C. ss 102(a)."For illustration of this conflict see: Data Cash Systems, Inc.

v. JS&A Group Inc.. et aL. 480 F. Suppl. 1063 (N.D. III. 1979).&it'd on other grounds. 628 F. 2d 1038 (7th Cir. 1980); TandyCorp. v. Personal Mkrocomputers, Inc., 524 F. Suppl. 171 (N.D.CA 1981). And more generally, Gokistein v. California. 412 U.S.546 (1973).

"D. T. Brooks and M. S. Keplinger, Computer Pro,grams andData Banes: Perfecting Protecting and Licensing ProprietaryRight. After the 1980 Copyright Ainendmenta, Law & Busi-ness, Inc., Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers (1981).

"Thus, would translation of a program from Fortran to Basicbe an infringement? Or, how much retrieval of a work from thecomputer is necessary to constitute substantial similarity?

puter program," provided that the copy oradaption "is created as an essential stepin theutilization of the computer program in con-junction with a machine."" It is important tonote, however, that this exemption only ap-plies to copies of computer programs that aresold. Thus, if a copyright owner chooses tomake the program available only liy lease orby license arrangement, copying is permittedonly under the terms and conditions specifiedby the copyright owner. Otherwise, computerinput can constitute infringement.

Another troublesome area concerns thecopyrightability of video software. Copyrightprotects only the expression of original worksof authorship, not the ideas, methodology, orprocesses embodied in the software or adoptedby the programer. Thus, copyright law pro-tects the audiovisual aspects of video softwareas a display; but does not protect the underly-ing "idea" itself. Protecting the expression ofa game program may necessarily also protectthe system or process embodied in the gameprogram or video display, a result violating theprinciples of the copyright law." Thus, man-ufacturers of video games may protect thevisual display of their software by registeringa videotape of their screens with the CopyrightOffice. While regjstration is not a condition ofcopyright protection, it is a formality relatedto the ability to sue for infringement. Manu-facturers of videogames, however, cannotpreempt others from manufacturing and dis-tributing games utilizing the same inherentideaa (e.g., mazes and dot gobblers) regardlessof how inextricably linked they are to the pro-gram's original' expression. In those caseswhere an injunction has been sought againstdistribution of allegedly similar games, it isnot clear whether the courts relied on the doc-trine of unfair competition or on copyright lawin granting the requested relief. Although thecourts apparently applied copyright law inthese cases, they may have been influenced byunfair competition principles.7'

"17 U.S.C. SS 117(1)."Matthew Bender, Nimmer on Copyrights, sec. 2.18(J) and

8.08 (1980)."See Stern Electronics, Inc. v. Kaufman, 213 U.S.P.Q. 75

(E.D. N.Y., 1981), aff'd _ F. 2d. _ (2d Cir., filed 1/20182).

1 t,h)

172 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

The most that can be said with certainty isthat some aspects of computer software canbe legally protected via copyright. Programstangibly fixed in books, catalogs, and instruc-tion manuals are subject matter of copyright.Programs fixed on cards or ma g etic disksthat can be perceived directly o otherwisecommunicated, e.g., by means of a computerprint-out or terminal, are protectable under thecopyright law." Other software, including 4:43-

j ec t codes, may or may not be within the pur-view of the copyright law. Future develop-ments both in Congress and in the courts willhopefully resolve the issues relating to thiflbody of law. -

:

Another issue relating to audiovisual soft-ware is that, of copyright and home recording.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Cir-cuit held in Universal City Studios v. SonyCorp. (the Betsmax case) that home videotaperecording of over-the-air copyrighted televisionprograms violates the Federal copyright law."While the Court's decision will be reviewed bythe U.S. Supreme Court next term,the NinthCircuit Court ruled that home video taping forprivate, noncowmercial use WU not a "fairuse" under the /976 Copyright Act." Further-more, the court held that manufacturers, re-tailers, distriblitora and advertising agents forvideo cassette recorders could be held "con-tributorily liable" for this infringement.

While the decision has raised considerabledebate concerning the rights of program pro-ducers to control the use of their productionsand the rights of consumers to utilize newhome electronics, it may also have an impacton the educational community. Thus, the ed-ucational community, and more specificallyAction,for Children's Television (ACT), has re-quested congressional legislation designed topermit home recording of television programsfor education use. They argue that home tap-ing would permit children to watch educa-

_"Nicholas Prasinoe, "Legal Protection of Software Via Copy-

right," APLA Quarterly Journal. vol. 8, No. 3, 1980, p. 257."Universal City Studios v. Sony Corp., 659 F. 2d 963 (9th

Cir. 1981). The Supreme Court has recently granted certiorarito review the decision of the Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

"Fair use is codified in 17 U.S.C. SS 107.

tional programs broadcast while they are inschool.

Although a legislative solution to the Beta-max debate is being sought by many in-terested parties, educational groups are con-cerned both that the type of programing soft-ware currently being broadcast and the costof video cassette recorders may change (withor without royalty assessments) as a result ofthe present controversy." Thus, one major'concern is that schools that now buy videocassette recorders and use videotaped pro-grams in the classroom may no longer be ableto afford them. Also, education groups spec-ulate that advertisers may support fewer over-the-air educational prograins as a result ofadvertisement deletion by video cassetterecorder owners. Although these problems remain to be resolved by, the legislature and thecourts, it is clear that producers of educationalprogram software will be affected by the pres-ent taping/copyright controversy. As withcomputerAoftware, the law of copyright inrelation tb audiovisual software is uncertainand still developing." However, as demon-strated by the Betamax case, copyright is a.viable and reliable means of protecting bothcomputer and audiovisual software.

Legal Protection: Issues andEducational Options

It is clear that all five legal mechanisms forsafeguarding software offer some degree ofprotection against misappropriaticin andpiracy. Each method of software protectionhas different remedies for discouraging piracy

"In fact, there are several pending pieces of legislation deal-ing with this issue: H.R. 48013 (10/21/81). These bills would ex-empt private home recording of TV programs from copyrightlaws, but would not preclude later legislation to establishroyalty fee assessed against recorders.

"On Oct. 14, 1981, Rep. Robert Kastenmeier (D-Wis.), Chairof the House Judiciary Committee on Courts, Civil Liberties,and the Administration of Justice, inserted guidelines for off-air taping of copyrfghted works for educational use in the Con-gressional Record. These guidelines were the result of nego-tiated agreement between education groups, the broadcast in-dustry, copyright owners, and industry guilds ahd unions. Theguidelines allow fair classroom use of videotaped TV programswithin specific time limits without infringing the rights of copy-right owners.

1 6.

Ch. 9Federal Rol In Education 173

and punishing infringement. For example, in-junctive relief is available with all five legalmethods. However, destruction of infringingcopies and continuing royalties are availa41eonly for copyright infringement. Similarly,treble, punitive, and statutory damages areavailable only for copyright, patent, and trade-mark infringement. In addition, even wheremonetary and injunctive relief is available, thetype of infringement (e.g., copyright, tradesecret), may influence the way a court appliesthese remedies.

Each method of software protection also hasits advantages and disadvantages and its legaluncertainties. Many of the still unresolvedlegal issue stem from the fact that the pri-mary intent of intellectual property law pro-tection of software is to reward and encouragesoftware treation and innovation, not primari-ly to punish copyists." Yet, as software in-novation becomes more costly and piracy porerampant, software manufacturers seek solu-tions to legal problems and achievement ofboth Purposes of copyright, patent, tradesecret, trademark, and unfair competition law.It is hoped that in the next decade, the courtsand Congress will provide software manufac-turers with reliable methods of protectingtheir valuable investments in- software. Al-though test cases are themselves costly andtime-consuming, the benefits to be reaped byan entire industry may outweigh the economicburdens.

Clearly, the outcome of many of these issueswill affect the educational community's abili-

\

"R. A. Stern, "What Should ge Done About Software Pro-tection?" European Intellectual Property Review, vol. 3, No.12, 1981, p. 341

1

ty to utilize and purchase new electronic hard-ware. Educators need to know their legalrights and obligations, and manufacturerswant to ensure effective protection for theirsoftware. Thus, it is necessary to answer sev-eral questions such as:

How should software be protected whilerecognizing the competing interests ofgroups who use software or benefit fromits use?How can piracy and the various types ofmisappropriation of software be betterdealt with?"How can the incentives be increased forsoftware innovation, especially educa-tional software, when protection entailscostly judicial remedies?

While it may take some time before intellec-tual property law protection of software isclarified, education groups have been involvedin the process. They have proposed that new,uniform legislation dealing only with softwarebe enacted. Alternatively, they have proposedthat legislation exempting the educationalcommunity from liabiliV for use of copy-righted materials be adopted. They have con-sidered bringing test cases into the courtsagainst pirated of educational software on oneor several of the grounds of protection outlinedherein. While it is clear that the econornic andsocial stakes are high, these efforts by theeducational community are aimed at clarify-ing the software protection laws for the benefitof all software publishers and users.

p. 340.

174 informational TeChnology and its impact on American Education

AppendixTitle I: -To provide financial aOsistance . . . tolocal educational agencies serving areas withconcentrations of children from low-income fam-ilies to expand to improve their educational pro-grams (to meet) the special educational needsof educationally deprived children" (Public Law89-10, title I).Title II: Provision of grants to public and pri-vate schools for school library resources, text-books, and instructional materials, based on to-tal school enrollments. Those materials used inthe public schools required prior approval. Alsothooe States, with laws 'prohibiting involvementwith parochial schools, required the ESEA pro-grams to be administered by the Commissionerof Education.

1 6' , 5

Title III: Provision ofcgrants by the Office ofEducation with concurrence by the State Edu-cational Agencies for projedts to encourage edu-cational innovation. Such projects included spe-cial education centers, instructional equipment,guidance cou4seling, and similar services. .

Title IV: Provision of grants to conduct educa-tional research.Title V: Provision of grants to State agenciesto strengthen planning, administration, and dis-semination of statewide educational data at theState agency level.Title VI: Placed a restrictive clause on Federalinvolvement in State and local education pro-grams, specifically over curriculum,,personnel,instructional materials, and administration.

Chapter 10

Implications for Policy

Whether or not the new information technol-ogies fulfill their educational potential will de-pend, in part, on the kinds of actions that theFederal Government takes to assfire that 'these technologies are'used effectively and aremade accessible to alL OTA has identified sev-eral areas where it mak be appropriate-for theFederal Government to play an active rolein ith development. Anticipating s*ucturalchanges in the economy and the growing needfor a highly literate and technically trainedwork force, Congress might wish to encouragethe greater use of educational technologies formanpower training and retraining. Recogniz-ing the educational benefits that can be de-rived from the use of information technologies,Congress might take steps to assure that thepublic has equitable access to them. Aware ofthe powerful nature of the technology, Con-

, gress might take some actions to encouragetheir effective development and use.

Directly or indirectly, Federal policy to en-courage the use of educational technologywould influence a number of stakeholders,among them:

institutions that provide education andtraining,clients for tducational services,producers of hardware and providers ofOformation services,

Arguments forArguments in favor of adopting a policy in

support of educational technology are basedon the premise that the changes in Americansociety are creating new requirements for edu-cation and training. They are based, in particu-lar, on the view that computerbased automa-tion in the manufacturing and service sectorswill require workers who have new skills andwho can be continually retrained as changesoccur and new technologies are adopted. To

producers of curricululn,employers.

I:egislation could be addrea,ed specificallyit any of thSse groupdirct funding forschools to purchase technology, support forstudents taking technology-based education,tax writeoffs or subsidies for donations oftechnology and services, support for the devel-opment of curricula, or incentives for employ-ers to provide job training.

In turn, all of these groups, and their poten-tial use of technology, will be influenced by theshape of education policy. Decisions made byCopgrees will determine the roles various insti-tutions will play in the education system ofthe future. They will determine which optionsfor education and training are available to citi-zens, as well as which citizens will have accessto them. The information industry may alsobe affected. Policy will influence industry deci-sions about what technology and serviced todevelop and market to schools. It will affectwhether curriculum producers will develophigh-quality, technology-based material. Final-ly, policy may influence the nature and levelof skills that employees bring to their jobs andthe choices employers will make about in-house tRaining and retraining.

Federal Actionbe retrainable, the entering work force mustfirst be educated to a high level of basic andtechnological literacy. There will also be a highand growing demand for scientific and techni-cal experts.

It appears that the educational system asit is currently structured and operating willbe unable to fill these needs. Many publicschools face problems such as decreasing tax-

177

till informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

payer support and a decline in the quality ofentrants into the teaching profession. Whilenew commercial educational institutions mayemerge to provide necessary educational serv-ices, their existence may present a seriouschallenge to nonprofit and publicly fundedschools. In making decisions about education-al technologies, Congress may want to takeinto account hoW their application and wide-spread use may affect the roles of present edu-cational institutions.

Information technology could be a major,tool for responding to these challenges. Itcould enhance the productivity of (3,161 in-stitutions and-serve as the incentive for thegrowth of new educational and trainink serv-ices and of new institutions to provide them.If these technologies fulfill their edOcationalpotential, the Nation as a whole would benefitfrom the widespread adoption of educatiorialtechnology by both schools and other educa-tion providers. The Federal Government mightdecide to take an active part in the atioptionof these technologies in order to assure theirequitable distribution, to overcome barriers totheir use, and to support the national dissemi-nation of information.

OTA found that, while many schools areadopting the use of desktoR computers, thereis concern among educators that many schoolsmay be left behind. For a variety of reasons.,lack of funds, rack of information, unmoti-vated faculty, Or parentsthese schools maynot elect to use the technology. Such a choicecould consign their students to poor employ-

ment opportunities and could lead to greaterdisillusionmerit with, and thus loss of supportfor, the public schools. ,Most importantly, itcould result in substantial inequities in theway that educational services are distributed.

Some expeiks think that the development ofgood, innovative curriCulum materials may betoo expensive for the currently limited andfrdgmented market to bear. Notenough schoolsuse computers, video disks, and other technol-ogy to provide a large enough sales base.Under these circumstances curriculum produc-ers will be either inhibited altogether from-pro-ducing material, or they will concentrate onthose few applicationssuch as professionalretrainingthat have a high income potentialat the expehse of more basic education. Fur-thermore, significant developmental work re-mains to be done before the technology canreach its full potential. The Federal Govern-ment might provide the high-risk, critical-,mass funding needed at this time to stimulatethe development of a -technology-based cur-riculum market.

Finally, mechanisms for combining andsharing experience gained from the existingactivities are needed. Some eiperts havepointed out a need for one or more natiomilclearinghouses to review, and evaluate educa-tional software, as well as for research centerswhere new techniques and materials can be de-veloped. Again, Federal leadership is a meansfor creating or aiding the development of suchnationwide activities. -

Arguments Against Federal ActionSome experts have also raised a number of

concerns about Federal involvement in stimu-lating the educational use of the technology.Basically they argue that the private sectorcan and will respond to the needs for improvededucation, and that education policy is theproper domain of local and State governmentsalone.

Federalism has been a major element of edu-cational policy debates for many years. If theFederal Government were to undertake actionto encourage the development or use of educa-tional technology,it is likely that concerns willbe expressed about undue Federal interfer-ences in choices considered to be most appro-priately made at 'the local 'level to sUit local

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Ch. 10Implications for Policy P 179

needs. These concerns would be particularlystrong if Government funds were used to de-velop curricula. .

Any new program initiatiyes will be careful-ly scrutinized for their budgetary iMpacts. Al-though few policy options appear to be extra-ordinarily expeniiive when compared to othereducation and research and developme tbudgets, the Federal education bu isshrinking rapidly. Aby increase of funding fortechnology, no matter how Modest, will appearto be at the expense of other educational priori-ties that. are already being tightly pressed.

Another important concern is that a Federaleducation policy that focuses on technologymight create the impression that technologyis a panacea. Such an impression could diyertattention as well as funds from other signifi-

cant problems that may not be solvable by thetechnology. It could also create overexpecta-.tion followed by unwarranted disillusionmentabaut the potential contributions technolo&could make to education.

Finally, some concern has been expressedabout the potential long-term effect ori learn-ing that may be caused by an extensive useof technology for education. Society would beaugmenting or even replacing an old and well-known processthe classroom and teacherby new technology-based methods. Some peo-ple anticipate a number of possible side effectsthat might have significant negative conse-quences for students. These effects might in-clude shortened attention span, loss of effec-tive learning, or decreased opportunities forsocial interaction.

Congressional OptionsOTA found that a broad ranK) ..df\ Federal

policy options relating to educational technOl-ogy have been suggested. They range in scopefrom policies that call for no Federal action tothose that call for a marshalling ,of Federalresources. All of these policies would, however,be inextricably linked to the broader educationpolicy, which has recently been the focus ofsignificant restructuring. Since OTA has notattempted to perform an overall assessmentof Federal education policy, only a broad over-'view of the structure of some of the more feasi-ble options available has been taken.

Option 1: Subsidize HardwareLegislation has already been introduced to

help schools obtain information technology.For example, H.R. 5573 is intended to increasethe amount of tax deduction allowed to manu-facturers for donations of computer hardware.Such a policy would likely increase the numberof donations of technology to schools, al-though the quantity would depend on thegrowth of the market. Firms with a large back-log of purchase orders might be less inclined

to see an advantage in donations, even if ac-companied by tax writeoffs. On the otherhand, incentives such as advertising, long-term market development, or a sense of publicresponsibility migkt encourage contributions.

. On the negative side, some have suggestedthat schools might be the recipients of obsoles-cent machines as manufacturers dear out theirinventories prior to the introduction of thenext generation of systems. Moreover, schoolsmight tend to accept inappropriate hardwarethat is free rather than purchase equipmentthat best fits their needs,

One congressional option would be to in-crease direct funding to the schools to knowthem to purchase hardware. Such a policywould have the advantage of allowing the in-stitutions to select the equipment they prefer.The OTA case studies indicated that many ofthe'most successful schools that now employcomputers used Federal funds as seed moneyfor their programs Desktop computers can beused to teach introductory computer program-ing and computer literacy without extensive

fk.

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180 Inform lonal Technology and Its Impact on American Education

software. St4ch a course characterized the ini-tial use of cdiputers in many of the schoolsthat OTA ex _Ined. In addition, a substan-tial increase in base of hardware availablein educational ifistitutions would provide amore attractive market for curriculum pro-ducers. It could both encourage the develop-ment of material and decrease the price of soft-ware since *developmeht costs would be writ-ten off over a larger sales base.

Option 2: Subsidize SoftwareMany producers of educational curricula are

interested in the growing market for technol-ogy-based materials, but they are uncertainabout entry. In the early, formative stage ofthe market development, expensive develop-ment projects are risky, at best. In addition,much still needs to be learned about the beeteducational use of the new media. These prob-lems have served to slow the pace of develop-ment.

In response to these problerhs, some havesuggested that the Federal Government pro-vide assistance with developmental costs ofsome major curriculum packages. Either di-rect funding, full or partial, could be providedto the producers, or educational institutionscould be given funds forthe purchase of educa-tional sofware.

Direct support of the producers would allowthe Federal Government to set priorities- intwo ways. Curriculum packages could bei de-signed around those subjects for which a clearnational need existse.g., mathematics andscience, foreign language, or adult literacy.And research and development concerns couldbe taken into account when setting prioritiesfor projects to be funded. Support could begiven to those that showed the most promiseof advancing the state of the art in the usesof education technology. Opponents of suchan approach suggest that priorities for thesetwo concerns are best set at the local level andin the marketplace.

An alternative method of support that takesthese objections into account would be to pro-

vide educational institutions funds to pur-chaie educational software. Such a policywould increase the size and likelihood of apotential market for software and encourageproducers to compete for a share of that mar-ket. Priorities for subject matter would then.be set in the market by the users and produc-ers, and competition would result in increasedquality and decreaied costs. Opponente arguethat many potential educational users are notyet sophisticated enough to exercise their bestjudgment. Their naivete, coupled with the ex-penditure of Federal rather than local funds,could encourage wasteful expenditures on well-marketed but educationally unsound curricu- '

lum packages.

Option 3: Apsume aLeadership Role

The lack of information by the potentialusers of educational technOlogy is the basis forsuggestions that the Federal Government playa leadership role, particularly with respect tothe elementary and secondary schools. Fewteachers or school administrators are trainedin tkinstructional use of computers or otherelectronic media. Unsound decisions in imple-menting technology and selecting curriculumpackages could be extremely costly to schools.Money would be wasted, and potential bene-fits could be lost. Furthermore, exaggeratedexpectations or a bad initial experience withtechnology resulting from a poor implementa-tion strategy could lead to disillusionmentwith educational technology and to significantdelays in its appropriate implementation.

At the same time, OTA case studies suggestthat, at least in a number of schools, there isa great deal of interest and motivation by fac-ulty and administrators, students and parents,and local industries to promote the use of com-puter technology. This motivation, if properlyinformed and gaided, could be an importantdriving force for the implementation of educa-tional technology.

The Federal support might take the form offunding for teacher training, either inservice

Ch..10,44stlona for Policy 181 e

or preservice in the teacher colleges, for deRonstration and development centers, or forinformation clearinghouses. Such activitiesmight be undertaken directly by the Govern,Ment, or through the enconragement of a vari-ety of institutional partnerships involving edu-cation, industry, and nonprofit foundations in-terested in education. S. 2738, for example,would provide tax credits to firms that hirepublic school math find science teachers dur-ing the summer.

OTA has found general agreement thatthere is a significant lack, particularly in thearea of precollege science and mathematics, ofqualified teachers. The 'concern has been ex-pressed both about the numbers of teachersbeing trained and their quality. The FederalGovernment has funded teacher traintng pro-grams in the past, particularly in areas wherethere was a vital national need. For example,inservice programs inecience and mathemat-ics education were funded by the National Sci..ence Foundation.

A major problem noted by some experts andadininistrators in the area of computer train-ing is the natural competition of the privatesector for people with abilities in this area. Oneeffect of the growth of the knowledge industryhas been to increase the earning power of indi-viduals with expertise in science, mathemat-ics, and engineering disciplines. This trend isparticularly apparent in the compnter-relatedfields.

This problem creates a need for more teachereducation. However, it also suggests thatwhile salaries remain significantly lower ineducation than in other sectors, teachers whnareceive such training would need to take this(' ,

possibility into account, through mechanismssuch as:

making commitments to the teaching pro-,fession part of the selection criteria,making contractual agreements withteachers attending the programs thatthey will return to teaching,making agreements with local industrynot to lure teachers newly trained in com-puter technology:

'setting up cooperative programs with lo-cal: industry to provide summer jobs toteachers that have been trained in com-puting, andusing differentials to encourage teacherswith more marketable skills to stay in theeducation profession.

The clearinghouse ahd demonstration centersuggestions respond to the other major non-Monetary barrier: lack of information andguidance on how to institute and use educa-tional technology. For many years, sugges-tions for various forms of such centers havebeen put forth. They could perform a wide va-riety of functions, including the following:

evaluate educational software and dis-seminate their fmdings. The extreme caseof this review process would be for thecenter to certify software as educationallyvalid;provifle a location and experienced stafffor teaehers and administrator trainingprograms;provide expert consulting and guidanée,

, since salaries at such a center might bemore competitive;seem as an instructional test bed for bothnew technology and new teaching tech-niques that integrate instruction andtechnology; andidentify and examine in detail those insti-etutions that have already successfullyidopted technology in order to share theirexperiences more broadly.

Option 4: IncorporateTechnology Initiaiives inGeneral Education Policy

Congress make8 policy that broadly 'ad-dresses the general problems and needs of edu-cation. This broad legislation could be tailoredwhere appropriate, either to encourage techno-logical use Or to remove unintended barriersto such usage.' To the extent that education legislation is

created based on a view of the educational sys-temneeds, providers, and mechanismspol-

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182 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

icy should also take into account the possibil-ity of change from the information revolution.For example:

Vocational education must take into ac-count the problems of experienced work-

, ers displaced byaketomation and the newskill requirements of high-technology in-dustry.Veteran's education must consider wheth-er continuing adult education will shiftfocus from schools to industry or even tothe home.Special education will need to consider theenormous potential of information tech-nology to improve the access of handi-capped to the information stream of U.S.society and, hence, to ateational servicesspecifically tailored to their needs.

ImpactsAny policy relating to educational technol-

ogy will need to be evaluated, not only for itsdirect effect, but also for the potential it holdsfor longer term impacts. OTA has identifiedthree general areas of potential impact thatseem particularly significant for Federal pol-icy.

Implicit ChoicesCongress could influence the long-term de-

velopment of the educational systern throughpoliciks that deliberately or unintentionallyfavoreli particular institutions, clients, or tech-nological mechanisms. As a result, there couldbe significant long-term effects on who is edu-cated in our society, for what purpose, whoprovides it, and what mechanisms are used toprovide it.

OTA found that a variety of new providersof education and educational material are ap-pearing and that the roles of traditional insti-tutions are shifting. It is possible that infor-mation technology will be a powerful tool.fordecreasing costs of instruction or for increas-inglhe quality, distribution, or variety of edu-cational offerings. If so, those institutions thatare able to adapt to its use most quickly willhave a significant competitive advantage over

those that cannot. By focusing on the needsof one or more of these institutionse.g., thepublic schools, libraries, or industrial trainingfacilitiesat the exclusion of others, Congresscould influence_that competitive balance.

Certain objegives may overtly dictate suchpolicies. For example, if it were determined'that public school's lack of access to edu-cational technology put' their students in aseverely-disadvantaged position, Congress

' could, for public policy reasons, focus policyon public schools in order to strengthen theminstitutionally. If it were determined that theproper Federal interest was to see that infor-mation literacy increased among the popula-tion in more general terms, policy 'might ad-dress the needs of libraries or museums. Policythat addresses the need for job training mightconcentrate on industrial education.

Certain clients for educational services mayalso be favored over others. To the extent thatdifferent institutions serve different sets ofneeds, the policy impacts on institutional rolesdiscussed above will also affect the clients. Inaddition, a number of Federal education poli-ciesthose concerned with special education,foreign language instruction, etc.are specif-ically tailored -to the needs of particularlearners.

Finally, policy may be directed at specifictechnologies. OTA found that a wide varietyof computer, telecommunication, and videotechnologies have potential educational appli.cation. Furthermore, they can be combined innew and unexpected ways to form instructionsystems. Policies narrowly focused on onetechnologyTmicrocomputers, two-way cable,etc.could mhibit the full exploration of thepotential of the much wider collection of infor-mation technolaiies.,

Potential Equity ImpactsOTA found concern among some experts

that the widespread implementation of educa-tional technology could create issues of equi-ty. Information technology could acceleratethe existing trend of educational services mov-ing into the private marketplace. To the ex-

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Ch. 10Implications for Policy 183

tent that such a trend affects both the cost andaccessibility of instnittion, it may have a dif-ferential impact on the ability of groups withinthe society to become educated. The cost ofeducation may increase beyond the economicmeans of some. Providers may not have an in:centive to meet certain needs if they see lesspotential for profit in them. Regions may begeographically isolated, without accesi to vital'telecommunication technologies that 'couldprovide needed educational services.

On the other hand, information technologycould also substantially improve access tohigh-quality educational services. Communica-tion services such as direct broadcast satellitecan bring instruction to remote areas. In-homeinformation technology such as two-way cableand personal computers can improve thehomebounds' access to education. Technologycould provide effective education in areas suchas bilingual education, supplementary tutor-ing for children with learning disabilities, orassistance in classroom communication for thephysically handicapped.

To the extent that Federal policy influencesthe impact of educational technology on accessto education, it will also likely influence boththe access of affected groups to jobs and theirability to participate in an increasingly com-plex society.

Long-Term Educational ImpactsFinally, over the long term, a major societal

dependence on information technology couldhave significant educational and psychologiFaleffects on the U.S. population. We have little

4'4 information about what those effects mightbe. While the educational effectiveness of in-formation technology seems generally to be ac-cepted, not much has been learned about themore subtle effects on learning or the possi-ble impacts of more extensive, longer term use.Most likely, some skills will be enhanced byuse of technology while others may be lost orlessened.

To the extent that changes do occur, theremay be concomitant changes in the skills de-

,

mandect by society. For example, some expertsargue thab simple arithmetic skills may be lessimportant in a world of pocket calculators andautomated cash registers, and that spellingMay be less important in light of niodern wordprocessing systems that correci errors. Evenmore importantly, if more and more jobs mayrequire the use of computers and automateddata bases to solve problems, then the skillsthat are particularly enhanced through inter-action with a computer-based education sys-tem may be very important in the future.

The analysis of potential policies and theirimpacts suggest that, while any particular ac-tion will affectlhe future use and developmentof educational technologies, none of them can,by themselves, meet the total challenge facingAmerican education today. As this OTA re-tort demonstrates, to meet the educationalneeds of an information society will involve allindividuals, groups, and institutions. It willrequire the use of a full range of educationalapproaches and technologies. It will, more-over, entail overcoming a wide variety of com-plex institutional and social barriers. And itwill necessitate a thorough understanding andthe continued monitoring of these rapidly un-folding technologies. "

The information age is having a profoundeffect #n American education, increasing theneed and the demand for a broad variety ofeducational services. The Nation's educationalneeds are not now being met, creating a situa-tion that could impede the Nation's economicgrowth, undermine its international competi-tive position, and inerease and exacerbate thesocioeconomic divisions within society. Thenew information technologies offer a promis-ing mechanism, and in some cases the onlymechanism, for responding to these educa-tional needs. Their widescale application willsignificptly affect how and to whom educa-tional services are provided. Such changes willpresent both challenges to and opportunitiesfor American education. Congress could takea number of specific actions to affect the devel-opment, educational application, and distribu-tion of information technologies. But such an

_L

184 Informational Technology and its impact on American Folication

approach would address only a single aspect account the changing needs for education and

of the problem and may generate undesiralale training, considerations of equity, and chang-

I and unexpected side effects. If this is to be ing institutional roles, will be required.

avoided, a broad approach, which takes into

1 7 k

Appendix A

Case Studies: Applicationsof Information Technologies,

This appendix presents a series of case studiesexploring the applications and uses of technologiesin a variety of institutional settings. All were cho-sen to depict current, state-of-the-art uses withininstitutions where application has been successful.

The seven studies describing information tech-nology in the public schools were selected to in-clude examples from the Northeast, Midwest,South, West, and Far West regions of the UnitedStatesand to include rural, suburban, and urbanschool settings. In choosing sites to visit, theMajor criterion was that activities involving tech-nology were already under way and well-estab-lished. These cases were also selected to cover avariety of instructional uses of computers; com-puter literacy, computers as instructional deliverysyatems (CAI-CM I), and computers as tools forproblem-solving.

Three case studies of applications of informationtechnologies in corporate instructional programsare presented to illustrate computer-assisted in-struction, computer-managed instruction, comput-er-based simulation, video disk, and teleconferenc-ing. The studies have been drawn from the airline,high-technology, and tobacco products industries.

Use of information and communication technol-ogles has affectegi all aspects of library services.With a broad overview of different applicationswithin different types of libraries, there are exam-ples of new and innovative programs that are local,county, statewide, and national in scope.

As in libraries, information technology haschanged the nature of educational aervices pro-vided by many museums. Recently, more and moremuseums have been incorporating informationtechnology, particularly computers, into both theirexhibits and their educational programs. A surveyof the uses of the technology in museums and acaae study on a new children's' museum in Wash-ington, D.C., are included to demonstrate currentprograms.

All branches of the military have made substan-tial investments in research and development(R&D) on applications of information technologyto education as well as investments in ongOing pro-grams utilizing these technologies. Desaiptions ofsome of the military's educational programs areincluded to illustrate the types of programs

funded, the range of educational needs found in themilitary, the uses of infozmation technology to ad-dress these needs, and the extent to which theseprograms may be applicable to the civilian educa-tional sector.

Two other aectionsinformation technology andspecial education, and information technology inthe homeare also included in this appendix. Sincespecial education is a field, not an institution, OTAdid not fully explore the uses, impacts, and effectsof these technologies in this area. However, be-cause the technologies will considerably affect theschools in general, OTA examined the possible ap-plication of these technologies for teaching thegifted and the handicapped. In a similar vein, OTAtook a broad overview of educational services thatare now available to be delivered directly to andin the home.

Computers in Education:Lexington Public Schools

Lexington, Mass.The Computers in Education program of the

Lexington, Maas., public schools was selected forstudy because the district is considered to be aleader in the application of computer technology,with experience and expertise that spans over 16years. Located next to Route 128, the home of athousand high-technology companies, the districttypifies a community wherS parents' technical ex-pertise, leadership, and support have had a signifi-cant impact. The Lexington experience illustratesa variety of computing applications, developed byindividual teachers with leadership from the dis-trict's long-range planner and computer specialist.The program also demonstrates a major planningeffort involving teachers, administrators, and parenta. This 2-year effort hu resulted in a com-prehensive blueprint for computers in educationthat depends on the dlistrict's continued ability tohandle financial constraints (Proposition 21/2)through frugal budgeting, redistributing availablefunds, and forming new partnerships with thecommunity (town government) and the private sec-tor.

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188 informational Tochnology ancLits impact on Amrican Educationsa

4411116; .1#

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!L'tvorrnIlLa_

Fifth grade students (at left) at Fiske School, Lexington, Mass., gather about their homeroom's computer console,linked to the Lexington School System's mainframe Digital Equipment Corp. computer, housed at the Lexington HighSchool. The computer Is made available to all of the studInts In the class, much as are books, activity flies, maps,records, and educational materials of all nature. Their homeroom teacher assigns students to the keyboard on rotating

basis, giving them assignments which enhance their computer literacy

The SettingLexington, one of the suburban towns that kir-

rounds Boston, is located in the heart of theState's booming high-technology area. Many ofthe Lexington parents and community membersare employed by the nearby technology industriesin white-collar technical and managerial positions.There has been continual and strong communityinvolvement and support for the schools, with atradition of community particifiation in tOwn gov-ernance and decisionmaking.

Contrary to trends in other districts, 90 percentof Lexington parents send their school-aged chil-dren to the public schools. Assistant Superintend-ent Geoff Pierson observes that the flight to pri-vate schools has not occurred because "there isconsensus about what the schools are doing andparents feel that the schools represent their chil-dren'," interests. "

Lexington is also a relatively homogeneous, af-fluent, middle-class community. The school-agedpopulation is 95-percent white, 3-percent black,and 2-percent Oriental. Seventy percent of highschool graduates, go on to a 4-year college. Lex-ington boasts of having the largest number ofmerit scholars in the area, in part because thereare many "smart kids" in the system, but alsobecause "our program is rigorous and interesting."

A totaI of 6,626 students are enrolled in gradesK-12 in seven elementary, two junior high, and onehigh school. Five years ago, the district, accuratelyprojecting serious enrollment declines, plannedand prepared for significantly fewer students.Over that period fiye schools were closed and 160teaching positions were abolished, while teacher/

Atudent ratios were held constant and the numberof instructional programs was increased. Accord-ing to Superintendent John Lawson, declining en-rolhnents, continuing inflation, and the passage of

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App. ACase StudieS:ApplIcatIons of Information Technologies 189

Proposition 21/2, resulted in the allocation of fewerresources to Ole public sector.

However, Eawson states that the school admin-istration and the school committee have avoidedserious problems by planning carefully and spend-ing frugally, "In an era of limited resources wehave had to develop better priorities, monitor oursuccesses, and determine where we want to gonext." Not all parents and staff have been happywith the budget decisions and allocation of re-sources, but they agree that Lexington has faredbetter than other districts in the State. There isconsensus that the over $17 million 1981-82 budg-et, with a $3,024 per pupil expenditure, supportsa comprehensive, high-quality educational pro-gram.

Computer Applications inthe District

The district's first computer, a Digital Equip-ment Corp. PDP-8 with 14 terminals, was pur-chased with Federal funds by the mathematics de-partment in 1965. Math-related computer courseswere first offered to high school students, and ayear later to junior high school students. As teach-ers and students became involved, interested par-ents worked with them to develop software, to ex-pand programing skills, and to train others.

Spearheading all of the computer activities,Walter Koetke, computer coordinator (no longerwith the district). encouraged parents and teachersand, according to many, demystified computers.He taught his colleagues BASIC, designed seft-ware for the system, and set the foundation forLexington's computer applications. A math spe-cialist trained by Koetke worked with an advancedgroup of primary students, transporting theseyoungsters to a nearby junior high so that theycould have once-a-week computer experiences. Oneof the youngest, a first grader in the group, laterbecame one of the Lexington high school program-ing stars. By the late 1960's, Lexington led in ef-forts to bring computer-related experiences togroups of fifth and sixth graders who were trans-ported to junior high schools by their schools'math specialist and by parent volunteers.

In 1976, with leadership from Frank DiGiam-marino (director of computer services), Koetke,and others, the district obtained funding from theMassachusetts State Department under title VI,part B to develop a computerized system to dealwith the real preblems of data management in alocal school district. Project LEADS developedsoftware for a wide range of management func-

1

tionse.g., budgeting, accounting, sclieduling, at-tendance, and student and personnel data. Projectfunds also supported the purchase of a DEC PDP11/40 and peripheral hardware. Shortly, thissystem was also used to support instructional ac-tivities at the secondary schoolsprimarily inmath and science, but also in other areas. ,

Parents soonliegan to push for computer use in,the elementary schools, locating unused terminalsat work, donating personally owned equipment,and helping the schools get the hardwire installed.In addition, parents and math specialists trainedteaehers. Because teacher acceptance and use ofcomputers was minimal, parents took over opera-tion of the terminals and trained additional parentvolunteers to enable pupils at all elementaryschools to participate. These computer activitiescontinue to build general computer awareness andcomfort and to engage students in problem-solvingactivities, drills, and games. When microcomput-ers came on the market, the Lexington computeractivitists were ready to move.

The first four Commodore PET microcomputerswere purchased with discretionary funds in 1978,and a half-time position for a computer specialistwas created. A year later, an additional 36 PET'swere purchased with Federal Title IVB funds andPTA gifts. At the beginning of the 1978 schoolyear, workshops were offered to reach all teachersto integrate them into instruction. The plan wasto diffuse computers among the schools. With atotal budget of only $800, a computer specialist(Beth Lowd) was hired to work with each school;community volunteers were enlisted to write soft-ware for the PETs or adapt software from the PDP11; and a catalog and materials library was as-sembled.

In June 1980, it was clear that short-term, un-planned use wasn't working. Rotation of the equip-ment was modified to concentrate resources in therooms of interested teachers, and a "models" ap-proach evolved. The wide diffusion of computerswas seen te depend on successes in individualclassrooms first. Another lesson learned was thatthe microcomputers had to be available for morethan a few weeks (e.g., one semester or all year)to ensure maximum payoff in each claseroom.

By 1980, more than 20 models were imple-mented with a focus on computer literacy and ap-plications in math, spelling, social studies, science,and language arts at all grade levels. In each case,models were developed by individual teachers, ateam of teachers, or the entire school staff. Inmany instances, school principals provided staffsupport, while central office staff wrote grant pro-

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190 Informational Technojogy and Its.Impact on American Education

posals to the school boird to get additional fundsfor microcomputers, software, teacher planningtime, etc.

To build awareness of computer potential andto obtain support for the ongoing activities, a 2-day leadership conference was held in October1980. More than 90 district educators attended.Experts from Massachusetts Institute of Technol-ogy (MIT), area colleges, regional cooperatives,local school districts, and the private sector madepresentations. Teachers from the Lexington dis-trict demonstrated hardware and software andstructured hands-on experiences. The conferencewas followed by the formation of computer plan-ning committees.

Workshops and training sessions followed thatwere intended to provide most of the staff sometraining, at least at the awareness level. Teacherparticipation hu so far been voluntary. All of thedistrict's library media specialists have had exten-sive training and, m a result, haie initiated severalprojects: a computerized annetated listing of16mm films; a materials data base for all nonprint

' materials in the district; and a computer center/library media pilot. The media specialist's role hasexpanded in Lexington; in recent budget planningsessions library positions were held constant, part-ly because of the school committee's commitmentto computer activities and because of the plan tofocus computer centers around the media center.

Currently, the district's 60 microcomputers, 2minicomputers, and 33 terminals support the fol-lowing uses:

Kindergarten - Grade 3Reinforcement of number and letter skillsComputer awareness and independencePhonics instructionLOGO modelsBASIC for primary grades

Grades 4 6Word processing for editingBASIC for problem solvingUsing terminals in the classroomLOGOSkills reinforcement

Grades 7 - 9BASIC and computer literacyWord processing for writingSimulations in science

'Skills reinforcementGrades 10 - 12

Six math electives ranging from computerawareness to computer science and assemblylanguage programing

Business applicationsScience applications

LibraryMaterials data baseComputer center/library media center pilot

Management and Systemwide AdministrativeServices

Program budgetingProgram accountingFiscal reportingScheduling

' Grade reportsStudent and personnel data

Parent Involvement andCommunity Support

Parents have participated in the computer activ-ities and served as a resource byr

providing technical advice and assistance.Parents serve on advisory and hardware pur-chasing committees, help install equipment,troubleshoot problems, and support computerplans in school board deliberations;writing educational software for the time-share system and the PET microcomputersand by inputing data in the materials database;helping train students, teachers, and otherparenth on the terminals. Parents help in indi-vidual classrooms using microcomputers, andparticipate in district-level workshop;assisting with computer dubs before and afterschool;supervising the use of the time-seare termi-nals in the elementary schools; andpurchasing and donating equipment. PTAsraised funds to purchase additional microcom-puters. Other parenth donated personallyowned computers and terminals or found ex-cess equipment that was no longer being usedby companies.

Gloria Blooma parent volunteer, MIT gradu-ate, and former computer programerestimatesthat parents currently spend approximately 70hours a week operating the time-share terminalsin the elementary schools. Parents also come toschool committee meetings and meet with thesuperintendent and school principals to help ad-vance the program. Some olmervers of the Lexing-ton program suspect that parenth have led the edu-cators by pressuring and demanding computerprograms for their children. Parents point out,however, that educators must play the key role if

17, ,

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App. AClase Stuies: Applications of Information Technologies 191

computer technology is to become integrated intothe educational process.

Although the major industries are literally nextdoor to Lexington, corporate-level involvementwith the school system is not direct. Rather, col-laboration is primarily through the parents of thepupils or through interested individuals in thecommunity who are also connected to the privatesector. Through these individuals, hardware is do-nated, software is developed, company tours areconducted, and information on careers is dissemi-nated.

ImpactsIronically, increasing success has created prob-

lems. DiGiammarino describes the issues in termsof "the ecstasy and agony of computers." As edii:cators' experience broadens and expertise devel-ops, the potential uses for computers is recognizedthe ecstasy. "This, however, is tempered by therealization that all the. conditions necessary toreach the ecstasy do not currently existtheagony." For example, more and more teachers aremoving ahead with classroom applications, enroll-ing in workshops and degree programs at nearbyuniversities, and, at the same time, requestingmore equipment, software, and in-service training.The present time-share hardware systems areaging fast; the microcomputers break down andare cfifficult to maintain the demand is greaterthan the supply: and funds for teacher in-service,professional development, and sabbaticals are lim-ited.

Impacts on Students. Students are motivatedand interested in computers, and there is evidenceof improved student performance through skillsreinforcement drills. But the existing software forthe minicomputers and microcomputers, obtainedthrough commercial sources and parent, teacher,and student development, is limited in scope.Although high-quality software is becoming avail-able, it is very expensive. The LEADS system hasboth management and instructional applications,but its users are primarily central office staff andspecial education staff. Its potential for diagnosisand tutoring applications and materials retrieval,however, is high. According to school officials,what is needed to make LEADS fully operationalis an upgraded minicomputer, a unified distribu-tive network, and training for both administratorsand teachersto pe implemented during the sec-ond year of the long-range plan.

Finally, there is the issue of program diversity.As programs evolve, different approaches are de-

veloped by individual teachers. Each elementaryand secondary school uses terminals and micro-computers, but the applications and the penetra-tion into all classrooms varies. Some teachers havegreater interest and expertise, hence their stu-dents have different experiences. Parents in some .

schools have become more involved, have accessto resources, and are willing to push harder thanothers. Principals juggle with conflicting needsand set different priorities. The issue of equity inaccess and quality has concerned SuperintendentLawson and his administrative staff. Vlore thanany other factor, it has led to increased leadershipresponsibility for DiGiammarino, an expansion ofLowd's activities, and the creation sof planningcommittees.

For members of the district's computer curricu-lum committee, as well as for others heavily in-volved with computers, the benefits to ,teachers,their students, and the program outweikh theproblems or frustrations. Teachers point to theirnew computer expertise. Many have written theirown programs, and others have helped design andimplement computer models and curriculum mate-rials. Mainly by trial and error, teachers have madethe computer work, and they feel good about whatthey and their students have learned together.There is a pervasive enthusiasm.

Dave Olney, high school physics teacher, imple-ments one of . the district computer models forusing the Apple computer in physics. He spendshours writing programs and expanding his ownknowledge and privious experience with the DECsystem. He is excited about using the microcom-puter to speed up and improve laboratory activi-ties by having students punch-in data, calculateresults, and get immediate feedback. He sees awhole range of applications including the feasibil-ity of modeling problem-solving processes in phys-ics. His enthusiasm results from the intellectualstimulation he derives from the logic processesthat he uses as he programs these activities.

For other teachers, satisfaction comes from ob-serving the progress of their students in writing,in math and reading, or in simply feeling com-fortable with computers in a variety of settings.There is no question that students are enthudasticusers. A group of third and fourth graders work-ing with LOGO and problem-solving strategies, in-terviewed by their teacher, Florence Bailey, re-ported that learning is fun, that mistakes can behandled, that solutions can be derived through ex-perience, and that mastering programing skills ischallenging:

7t

192 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Eric; It's fun, but it's actually school work. It'sbetier than recess! Brad and I make a goodteam. He knows things I don't know, and I

'know what he doesn't.Tim: If you're bored, you just work on the com-

puter, and you're not bored anymore.Tanya: I catp make my awn designs and pictures.

You're learning while you're having fun.Chrissy: The big one upstairs is already programed.

This one you can learn to program with yourown things.

Shannon: You can learn by yourself. ... if you makemistakes. You can fix a circle that's too big.

Increasing numbers of Lexington students, par-ticularly by the time they reach high school, haveexpertise in programing that is impressive. EdGood, director of the high school computer mathcenter, points proudly to students who have writ-ten software for the districts' data managementsystem, for elementary classrooni instructional ac-tivities, and for small businesses in the area. Hecites the high school sophomore who designed theinterface to transfer (download) programs on thePDP 11/40 to the PET's, thereby saving the dis-trict thousands of dollars.

From the models and from other uses, it appearsthat computers are, and will continue to be power-ful tools for both teachers and learners. This no-tion explains, in part, why an increasing numberof staff members are using computers or are inter-ested in having computers in their classroom. JodyJosiassen, a fourth grade teacher, describes his2-year involvement: "In my teacher training pro-gram there was nothing in my education thatspoke to thisthe hardwarethe software. It's abrand new field. I get excited about it from a teach-

'er's point of view because I think it can do thingsin'the classroom for me that I've struggled within the past."

Finally, in further justifying the comprehensiveplans for future computer applications, Lexingtonadministrators and teachers point to their high-technology community and to the increasinglytechnology-related world. Two-thirds of JodyJosiassen's students have their own home comput-ers. He views this phenomenon as the "iceberg outthere and I'm at the very tip." He also sees thatthe schools need to be part of the momentum, "tocatch it, structure it and use it . . . and help mystudents develop their goals ta.use it."

The FutureImplementing the Long-Range-Plan-fur Com-

puters in Education. With district implementationof the'long-range plan, the following examples will

become not only possible, but commonplace. Theplanning document projections include:

A third grade student at a computer stationready to LOAD, RUN, and LIST a programfrom tape or disk.A teacher at a computer terminal obtaininga list of all nonbook resources owned by theLexington School System related to a specificsubject heading for students at the seventhgrade instructional reading level.Elementary school students work at comput-er stations in the learning center or on teach-er prescribed learning activilies which havebeen integrated into the curriculum.The coordinator of language arts updating thelanguage arts curriculum data base from staffevaluative information.A junior high school student electing to takea followup computer course as a result of pos-itive experiences in the required computer lit-eracy program.A student at the senior high school level de-signing his/her own data base management in-formation system.Teachers or students usin mputer termi-nals to address computerized mlonnation sys-tems anywhere in the NatiOn.A teacher queriels a terminal to determine ex-actly what are the educational plan objectivesof two students in the class and what is theirprogress to date.A program director querying a terminal to de-termine the exact cost to date of his programand precisely what portion of that cost hasbeen used for special needs programs.A counselor using the computer to assistscheduling a new student.An elementary principal, concerned about thevalidity of the academic level recommendedfor his students moving to junior high, usinga terminal to examine how previous studentshave achieved in seventh grade relative to thelevel recommended by his school.The data-processing center adding to the database the information from the annual batteryof basic skills tests given to one-quarter of theschoollitiopulation. Also, printing report cardsand searching for those students whose aca-demic achievement is declining.

Acquisition and Placement of Hardware. Keyimplementation strategies include the acquisitionof equipment' over a 5-year peiiod, with a mix ofmicrocomputers, terminals, and replacement of thesystem's PDP 11/40 and 8. Each school will have

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App. ACas Studis: Applications of Information Tochnologis 103

a cluster of inexpensive portable microcomputersand terminals that tie into the central system. Theupgraded central minicomputer system will signif-icantly expand capacity to handle a curriculummateriala data base, software collections, and stu-dent information and management functions.Each elementary school will have a computerlearning center supervised by the library mediaspecialist. A center or cluster will be equipped withthe following:

11 small microcomputers (eeveral available forloan to individual claasrooms),three CRT terminals hooked to the centralminicomputer,one printer directly tied to the central mini-computer, andone printer for the microcomputers network-ing and electronic mail equipment. .

Similar centers will be established at the juniorhigh school, with one center servicing the needsof the computer literacy curriculum as well as theacademic areas outside of math and science. Thesecond center will support math and science appli-cations. Similar configurations are planned for thehigh school, as well as an upgraded computer cen-ter with a replacement of the PDP 11/40 and aphase-out of the PDP 8.

Funding. Recommended equipment will prob-ably cost almost a half-million dollars. Up untilnow, computers and terminals were acquired with-out expenditure of local funds (see previous sec-tions of this report). With reductions in Federaland State funds, the district is searching for otheralternatives, such as corporate contributions fromthe computer hardware manufacturers, to defraypart of the equipment costs. The school commit-tee is also being asked to allocate funds from theoperating budget to support the computer pro-gram. For 1982 to 1983, the plan is to budget$74,566 from local revenues, to use all of the Fed-eral title IVB grants ($16,000) and reimburse-ments to the district for student teaching fromBoston University ($10,000), and to attempt to ob-tain a 50 percent discount from DEC for the newminicomputer as a corporate contribution.

Although implementation of the plan is basedon funding sources such as Federal block grantsand other special area funds, the availability ofthese resources is not guaranteed under presentcircumstances. Furthermore, funding projectionsdeal solely with hardware acquisition. Costs forsoftware, continued training, and maintenance willhave to be absorbed by, operating budgets.

A Separate Department for _Information Sci-ence. The planning committee has recommendedthe establishment of an information science de-partment to lead program activities--handlingstaffing, budgeting, maintaining, and evaluatingthe K-12 computer literady program. The de-partment would also assume responsibility for the .revision, updating, and teaching of higher levelcourses on programing, systems design, and com-puter applications. Inservice training and otherleadership and professional development activitieswould be handled as well. Computer literacy andcomputer science courses would be taken out ofthe math department, and the scope of the pro-gram would be broadened to include all curriculumareas. No new staff positions are contemplated;staff members who have already played leadingroles will be reassigned to the new department.

Training and Curriculum Development: Com-puter Literacy. These efforts will continue withsummer workshops and inservice training activ-ities scheduled on release days at the beginningof the school term and periodically during the year.During the summer, teachers from tire computerliteracy committees will work with Lowd to as-semble and prepare materials for elementary andjunior high school components. These teachers willbe responsible for teaching the course at the juniorand senior high schools in the fall. Resources (stafftime, equipment and software purchase and de-velopment) will l concentrated over the shortterm in grades 5 8, and 10. Remaining portionsof the new currici1lum will be piloted at other gradelevels.

Computers in Education. It is planned to extendthe use of computers as tools for instruction: Thematerials data base will be operational. Becauseof upgraded central computing facilities, teachersand administrators are expected to increase theiruse of computerized data. Also expected to in-crease are the communication and sharing of infor-mation and software via electronic mail among allschools, as well as the number of accessing infor-mation centers and networks within the commu-nity, State, and region.

Parents and the Technology Community. Coop-erative efforts with local district cooperatives anduser groups, with parents, and with the high-tech-nology industries is essential to= Lefington'sfuture. How else, argue the educators, can thedis-trict keep abreast of technological advances', en-courage or demand useful and appropriate soft-ware, make the best use of available resources to

194 tnformational technology and Its Impact on American Education

advance the long-range plane and maximize the po-tential benefits of technology 'for education?

AR a result df-district membership in EDCO, alocal education collaboration, Lexington teacherswill derive benefits from the .computer resourceand demonstration center that is being estab-lished. They will also benefit from the knowledgethat they are not alone, that other districts arecopying with computer applications, too. The reg-ular exchange of information with such districtsis welcomed by the staff. Finally, the technology

. community and the parents offer valuable re-sources. Lewis Clapp, president of a local softwaredevelopment company and also a parent, main-tains "a school system that does not take advan-tage of the intellectual power of its parents andcommunity is doing a disservice to its students1-:particularly in an era of VA's and Reaganomics."

The parents of Lexington recognize progress,but they expect more. For example, Clapp believesit is essential that all teachers be computer-liter-ate; that public and higher education efforts becoordinated; that computhig and Computer sciencecurricula be fully developed to reflect the currentstate of the art; that computer tools be used tosupport the entire curriculum, not juit math orscience; and that every stUdent has adequate ex-posure to computers"knowing What computersare all about and able to run programsmaybeeven able to write their own,by the time they reachhigh school." Clapp arguea that the educationalcommunity and the public schools have a criticalrole tcri'lllay in meeting these goals, but raises seri-ous issues to be faced now ahd in the future:

The tragedy is that national support for this isnonexistentat the time we need it the most. Thelocal district can't do it. Lexingtoneven Lexing-tonmight not be able to (accomplish these goals)with a budget limited to a 21/4 percent increase eachyear . . . It is a disaster for this metion. If we 'failto invest in educatthe nationally, we impact on our. 'fueure and our ability te be -.productive . (andmaintain) ihe edge we have in compiiters, in soft-ware, and in informatkerretrieval.

Resourcep .

A ease study interviewe:John Lawson; SuperintendentGeoff Pierson, Assistant SuperiAtendent*Frank DiGiammarino, Administrative Assistant* for

Planning and Research and Director, dornputerServices

. Beth Loyd, computers-in-Education Specialist*Bob Tucker, yreecher, Estabrook Elementary Schools

Martha AngeVine, Coordinator, Instructional MateriatServices, Curriculum Resource Center*

Luree Jaquith, Media Specialist Bowman ElementarySchools

BeverlY Smith, Teacher, Bowman Elementary School*Jill O'Reilly, Math Teacher, Clark Juniter High SchoolBruce Storm, Teaeher, Clark Junior High SchoolJody Joslassen, Teacher, Harrington School**Dave Olney, Science T*acher, Lexington High SchoolEd Good, Math Teacher, Computer Center, Lexington

High SchoolLouis Clapp,"ParentGloria Bloom, Parent*Member, Computer Pluming Curriculum Committee

"Membe4 Elementary Curriculum Committee

BibliographyDiGiammarino, F:e., Computers in Public Education,

The Second Tirne'Arouh4 preliminary draft, fall 1981.DiGiammarino, F., Koetke, W., Guldager, L., and Clif-

ford, L., Local Education Agenèy Data SYstem: Proj-ect LEADS Lexington Public Schools, September

- 1976.DiGiammarino, F., and Lowd, B., "A Position Pa-

perExpanding the Use of Computers in the Lex-' ingtOn Schools" (revised), June 23, 1980.

DiGiaminarino, F., and Loivd, B., Computers in EdUca-Oen: A 1.4ng Range Plan, Lexington Public Schools,fall 1981.

lexington-Public Schools, 1981-82 Budget Summary,March 1981.

Lexington Public Schools,. Computers in Education,1980-81 report.

Lexington Public Schools, "Computers in Education1979-1980 Progrem Plan."

Computer-Using Educatorsand Computer Literacy

Programs In Novato andCupertino

IntroductionThe Silicon Valley and nearby Communities were

selected for study because the area provides a rich'source and critical mass of educators, schools,students, parents and community members" andbusiness rekesentatives directly involved with

_technology. The area is the center of the Nation'ssemiConductor industry. It is also the home of 'agrowing number of eduCational experts and .lead-ers in computing. There are many exaMples oflocally developed projects sprouted by individualteachers or administrators or parents, which havedeveloped into major programs affecting an entire

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App. ACase Studies: ApplicatIons of information Technologies 195

districts' students and staff. These activities in-volving computers in classrooms also demonstratehow resourceslocal, State, and Federal funding,as well as parentand local experts and the privatesectorare critical to implementation.

COMPUTER-USING EDUCATORS

Comtiuter-Using Educators (CUE) is a supportgroup organized by and for K-12 teachers, teachertrainers, and others interested in the use of com-puters in education. Started by 12 teachers M.thespring of 1978, the organization has mushroomedto a membership of 3,509, primarily in Californiabut also in 48 States and 13 foreign counties. Itsgrowth reflects the phenomenal growth of edu-cational computer applications and mirrors thegrassroots development of programs in schools upand down the San Francisco Bay ,Area. Groupsmodeled after CUE have also been formedthroughout the country.

Through conferences, newsletters, and meetings,CUE is a source of information and a vehicle forsharing experiences with computers, and.their usein educati n. In addition, CUE members origi-nated and ow support the Microcomputer Centerand SO WAP Library of public-domain micro-computer software housed in the San Mateo Coun-ty Office of Education. To quote one member:

Learning is a never-ending process. Formal edu-cation is a small portion of this ongoing process.The role of educators is to aid the learning proc-es;es. The philosophy of CUE should be to showeducatorsmostly bS", examplethe role computerscan play in the learning process. Gomputers can beused in many ways to do many functions. The uses,functions, methods, and materials will change and

' evolve. CUE can help discover and show the way..Microcomtiuter Center and SOFTSWAP. The

stimulus for the software exchange came from aSan Jose State University'proftiosor, Vince Con-treras, a CUE member. He organized the exchangeof public domain and individually contributed soft-ware that was deposited in the San Mateo Educa-tion Resource Center (SMERC) Library in thespring of 1980. By the time school was out, CUEmembers had talked several of their microcomput-er industry contacts into placing microcomputersin the SMERC Library on long-term loan. Tandy(Radio Shack) and Commodore (PET) provided thefirst systems. Ann Lathrop, coordinator of theMicrocomputer Center reports that the center nowhas 14 microcomputers and manufacturers helpmaintain equipment and provide new models asthey have become available.

The center h a steady stream of users. The SanMateo County office of Education provides space,maintenance,,4nd support through Ann Lathrop,library coordinator, and teitoy Finkel, the coun-ty's instructional computing coordinator. Superin-tendent William Jennings cites the center's bene-fits to the county's 24 school districts. Teachersand administrators try out equipment and soft-ware; both Lathrop and Finkel are nearby to pro-vide help and expertise. CUE members and theirdistrict teachers and administrators take advan-tage of the center for meetings, training sessions,demonstrations, and evaluation of hardware andsoftware. The center is visited by representativesfrom hardware companies and software houses,educators and government officials from all overthe State and even educators from other Statesand foreign countries.

Ann Lathrop conceived SOFTSWAP, the soft-ware dissemination and evaluation project, andgarnered the support of colleagues to field-test,evaluate, debug, and clean, up the programs in thesystem. Through SOFTSWAP, teachers can pur-chase software or swap their original program forthat of someone else. Most of the 300 + softwareprograms are short, stand-alone instructionalunits; many are drill and practice exercises for theelementary school level or for remedial work at thesecondary level. All were evaluated by educatorsand edited for factual and spelling errors, inaccu-rate or incomplete instructions, programing errors,etc.

When visitors come.to the center, they can copydissemination disks without charge. Single mailorder disks are $10 apiece, or free if a disk withat least one original program is contributed. Eachdisk contains 12 to 30 programs. Since the majorthrust of SOFTSWAP is sharing with the widestpossible distribution, programs may be freely du-plicated, but not sold.

CUE ConferencesCUE's first. conference, remembers William

(Sandy) Wagner, founder and first president ofClfE, evolved from GITE's early meetings. "We'd

, introduce ourselves, share ideas on curriculum, onsoftware . .. and see more new faces each time. BySeptember 1978 the small group had grown to 50and it was agreed that "we can't go on meetinglike this" . . . a conference would facilitate sharingand in-depth discussions. CUE's first weekendconference in January 1979 attracteil 65 edu-

196 Mformational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

caters, A few informal sessions expanded to multi-ple presentations, wide-ranging exhibits, andhandton workshops in the fall 1980 conference with500 in attendance. By fall 1981, conference attend-ance reachee1,400with some districts sendingall their teachers to view 45 commercial exhibitsand 60 xliffetent speakers. CUE's officers and ex-'ecutive beard members play critical roles in plan-ning, organizing, and running the CUE confer-ences. They work evenings and weekendsall onvolunteered time. The conference coordinatorshandle some fasks with their own personal com-puters, as well.

ImpactsThe expansion of CUE membership and activi-

ties demonstrates not only the growing interestand use of technology in schools, but also the faCtthat teachers need help. They are coming for morethan help, some arguethey're looking for leader-ship. These computer-using educators "are carry-.ing the message that the time to move is now,"notes Arthur Luehrmann, former director of theLawrence Hall of Science Computer Project. "Theleaders are here in these counties who are respond-ing to the signals coming from society, from theemployers, and the parents."

When asked why CUE and the grassroots phe-nomenon developed where it did, many point to the"critical mass" of people that emergedindividu-als developing separate programs and expertise,but living close enough to meet. Finkel points tothe special and unique aspects of CUE. "CUEmembers lire teachers first. We share, we don'thave distribt or school boundaries. We're a net-work of people .. . and it's a stupendous eventeach time we meet." Furthermore, there was aneed for support, training, information, and leader-ship that neither the State education agency, theinstitiitions of higher education, nor the high-tech-nologiv industries were providing.

Future -f

There are indications that the latter situationmay be changing, albeit slowly. The Fremont andLos Gatos High School districts plan to open ajoint Silicon Valley High School with support fromthe Industry Education Council. Equipment andtraining for teachers are being solicited from high-tech industries. The high school will offer entry-level vocational training and courses for the col-lege-bound information sciences major who wantsa head start, and for othercollege-bound students

who want to learn how to use the computer andrelated tools in their studies and future work.Governor Brown of California, in his addressbefore the State. Legislature in January 1982,1called for...new priorities and action:

Our schools must augment the three Ws with thethree C'scomputing, calculating, and communi-

-eating through technology. We will do so or suc-ceeding generations will inherit a society stagnatingin the aftershocks of massive foreign imports anslobsolete industry.In addition to the first priority of an increased

commitment to mathematics, seience, and comput-er instruction in California K-12 schools, the StakeEducation Agency is beginning to address technol-ogy issues. One issue that concerns many of the ..

local educators is how to meet these commitments,given the growing disparity between districts thathaveprograms, trained teachers, and communityresources to draw on andthose districts that donot. Furthermore, not every'district or county inthe State has a major industry to draw on. Evenin the Silicon Valley much of the private sector id

"made up of small, short-term, entrOpreneuria busi-nesses that don't have extensive resources.

In reflecting on the grassroots development andthe enthusiasm of CUE, Joyce Hakansson, 'former-ly at the Lawrence Hall of Science and now a soft-ware designer and developer, cautions: "We needto understand the place of technology and give ita proper role. Don't assign all of our ills totechnology. . . . recognize that technology is justanother tool." Hakansson notes the new statusand positive feelihgs of self-worth resulting frominteraction with microcomputers, but also ob-serves that, "software, the essence and heart ofthe computer, is less than it could be" and that"what youngsters are doing on computers may notbe worth the time or money." The future applica-tions ought to capture the inherent Interest and ,

motivating aspects of the technology and match .

it with children's learning needsto integrate com-puters into the Witching and learning environment.

From the Silicon Valley and surrounding SanFrancisco Bay Area communities, two school dis-tricts were studied. TheSe districts' educationalcomputing programs Were locally developed andtypify the area's orassrooes activities. Key person-nel from these districts are heavily involved inCUE: Biobby Goodsbn, from Cupertino, is CUE'sPresident and 'Helen Joieph, from Novato, is amember of CUE's executive board. In-depthtis-cussions of school district approaches to imple-menting computers in classrooms follow: TheNovato Unified ,District, a rural K-I 2 system at

_1St

App. ACase Studies: Applications of information Technologies 197

the northern tip of Marin County, and the Ciiner-tine Union K-8 district in Santa Clara in the centerof Silicon Valley.

Novato Unified SchoolDistrict, Novato, Calif.

-

The SettingLocated at the upper tip of Marin County ap-

proximately 30 miles north of San Francisco,Novato Unified School District (NUSD)' is one oftwo districts in the cbunty combining elementaryand secondary schools. It is the largest of the .districts in Marin County. It is also more rural andress affluent than other areas in the county. Agri-culture predominates; the major local industry isinsurancethe Fireman's Fund. Incorporated in1961, Novato's community is diverse: blue collarworkers, many San Francisco commuters, a grow-ing number of retirees, and personnel and familiesun the military base. The student body composi-tion is 90-percent white, 5-percent Asian (and in-creasing), 3-percent Hispanics and 2-percent black.14hreelifths of Novato graduates go on to college.

In recent years, student enrollments have de-clined and several schools have been closed. Thepreseqt enrollment of 8,642 is expected to decreasefurther and level off to 7,600 by 1986. Presently,there are eight elementary schools, grades K-6;three junior highs, grades 7-9; two high schools,grades 10-12; and one continuation, grades 9-12.One junior high school is targeted for closing atthe end of this year. If Novato can find buyers forthe surplus school properties it owns outright(three sites are currently for sale), the interest fromthese revenues can be usedfor equipment and cap-ital improvements.

Local educators point out that while MarinCounty boasts the highest per capita income in theBay Area, Novato is the "poorest part." The1981-82 NUSD annual budget is $23,646,286. One-fifth of the budget is federally funded. School fi-nances are and will continue to be a growing areafor concern. Superintendent Ronald Franklin ex-plains the district's bind:

Parents expect that educatioual programs willreflect excellence . . . the toughest thing we have todeil with in being able to handle our commitmeut(to the district's computer and other programs) isthe uncertainty of the financial posture of both Fed-eral and State governments.

Novato's board and administration are concernedbecause they see cuts coming on tall sides. The dis-trict's Federal impact aid has declined from a high

of $938,714 in 1977-78 to1602,324 in 1981-82. In1982-83, impact aid is uncertain. State funds,which provide 70 percent of the district's revenue,have been cut, including categorical aid for specialeducation and gifted and talented programs Ed-ucators note that the impact of Proposition 13passed 4 years ago, is now being felt, since theState's surplus has been depleted.

Computer Applications inthe District

Computer education in the district began 8 yearsago, when a Novato junior high school acquireda teletype machine and shared with DominicanCollege the lease of a telephone lap hookup withthe time-sharing computer at the Lawrence Hallof Science in Berkeley. Novato was one of severalschool districts linked to the Hall's Computer Edu-cation Project (funded by the National, ScienceFoundation). The Hall staff, Lee Berman andJoyce Hakansson, were invaluable resources ascomputer activities evolved, relates Helen Joseph,computer resource teacher and coordinator. Evenafter the time-sharing project ended, she continuedto turn tu them for advice and support.

The district's first microcomputers were ac-quired in 1977, when the time-sharing costs wereescalating. Richard Melendy. 'form& math andscience coordinator, now school principal, andJoseph met with the district's director of instruc-tion and examined how the district might best usethe MGM (mentally gifted minor) funds which had

Asupportedthe time-sharing project. The subse-

quent decision to purchase Commodore PETs wasbased on cost and reliability.

Over the next 3 years the computer programgrew rapidly, expanding to the two senior highs,an additional junior high, and an elementaryschool. In this small district, officials made an ear-ly decision to standardize hardWare because ofteacher training, softWare acquisition, and main-tenance requirements. By 1980, there were 28 mi-docomputers purchased with MGM State funds,magazine sales money, and distirict minigrants.

The development of the program by Joseph andMelendy had strong support from the district ad-ministration. There was consensus that before thedistrict went further, an external assessment andevaluation was needed. Arthur Luehrmann, f9rmerdirector of the Compaer Education Project at theLawrence Hall of Science, spent 3 days in Novatoin March 1980, meeting with more than 60 neoplestudents, teachers, parents, principals, districtadministrators, and school board members. In ad-

198 informational Tirchnology and its impact on American Education

dition to identifying current needs and recom-mending future directions, the strategy was to in-volve and educate all those concerned with com-puter education in the district. Luehrmann's re-port stated:

The present state of computer education inNovato is better than the average situatkon one seesin Bay Area districts today. One finds a solid baseof computer equipment, several experienced andcreative teachers, a larger number of interestedteachers, student demand for increased access tocomputer classes, strong administrative support atmost of the schools, and outstanding work at th,district office in planning and managing the devel:opmeni of computer education programs in the dis-trict during the past several years. The parents andschool board members with whom I spoke were alsosupportive of the aims and accomplishments of theprograms thus far.

Specific fmdings indicated that primary uses werein the secondary schools, where computer pro-graming courses and that computer literacy activ-ities closely identified with mathematics predomi-nated. Demand for classes exceeded supply, andteachers wanted more inservice training.

Luehrmann recommended a cluster arrangementfor each of the five secondary schools, involvingapproximately 15 coniputers connected to a cen-tral disk unit and printer. Further, he recom-mended that the two bigh schools acquire com-puters that would facilitate instruction in a secondprograming language. In the elementary schools,uses Were to continue to be limited to gifted pro-grams in view of the district's current prioritiesand available resoutces.-Luehrmann encouragedthe development of a de facto computer educationdepartment, composed of the teachers of com-puting to develop curricula, course content, de-quencing, and evaluation. He suggested that thedistrict also look at administrative computer uses,drill and practice, and other CAI applications.Finally, he recommended a gradual expansion ofthe program over a 3-year period, with a projectedCost estimate of $110,700 for equipment.

The administration and school board approvedthe recommendations. In fiscal year 1980-81,$30,000 from local funds and IVB Federal moneyswere used to equip the junior highs. A request forfunding the second and third phase of the programwas.submitted to the Buck Foundation, but wasturned down. In fiscal year 1981-82, the gecondpharte was funded, again from the operatingbudget, and one high school is to be equipped withan Apple lab.

Current ProgramsNovato's computer education ,aceivities focuses

on how to use the computer and include program-ing, problem solving, logidal thinking, and debug-ging (tracking down errors). All seventh grader*have a minimum of 3 weeks of a computer literacyunit that tncludes an overview, a historical per-spective, basic terminology, impacts on society,and career awareness. This-unit is followed by 2weeks of hands-on experiences running programs(modeling programing activities, games, applica-tions) and writing, programs. Students can alsotake elective programing and math enrichmentcourses. One high school offers courses in BASICand one offers courses in BASIC and Pascal. Thefew computers in four elementary schools are usedfor computer awareness activities in upper gradesand for enrichmeat in the gifted and talented pro-grams. A total of 77 computers are used through-out the district.

Staff Training Programsand Workshops

All administrators attended districtwide work-shops because the Superintendent felt, "There wasa need for every manager to know why we weresupporting this program." The district also sup-ported numerous teacher workshops run by HelenJoseph and encduraged staff to attend area work-shops conferences, and meetings. With the train-ing activities of the Marin County Teachers Learn-ing Cooperative,. a 3-year federally funded teachercenter, CUE conferences and workshops, and theincreasing number of courses taught at nearby col-leges, there have been many opporeunities for pro-fessional development. In the miring of 1982Joseph offered a course for teachers throughSonoma State College. The district paid Joseph'ssalary and provided the computer lab facility,while the university provided credit. What was ex-citing was that this course introduced program-ing without a mathematics orientation. Thus, itsapplications will be interdisciplinary and, it ishoped, lead to computer applications in a 'widevariety of content areas.

ImpactsIn establishing the priorities for the computer

education activities, the educators and communitymembers in the districthave had to ask: how im-

si

App. ACase Studies: Applications of Information Technologies 199

portant is computer education? As Luehrmann inhis report to the district explained:

There can be no simple answer to this question.Most people in the world have gotten along finewithout knowing what a computer was, and todaymost educated people have never used a computer.But it was also true in Gutenberg's day (and forfour centuries thereafter!) that the majority of peo-ple could not read or write. Yet by the end of thelast century universal literacy had become an ac-cepted goal,of public education, and illiterates wereat a distinct vocational and social disadvantage.Luehrmann argues that those who have comput-

er skills already enjoy several benefits: 1) vocation-al and professional advancement; 2) intellectualpayoffsnew ways to represent or express ideas;3) facilitation of problem solving, particularly inmathematics; and 4) a desirable skill or proficien-cy valued by colleges. These arguments reflect theunderlying iationale for Novato's progran6.

Students in the district are highly motivated inthe courses and computer units. Even when visi-

1ors come into their classrooms, students ignorethem, fully involved with the computer. "We can'tkeep the kids off the machines," stated one teach-er. Novato also boasts of its computer whiz kidsstudents now in high schools and in their first yearof college who have incredible programing skills.Some students sell programs on the side and findcomputer-related work in the summer. One stu-dent, Casey Kosak, has received national recogni-tion and has been featured in an article in Data-mation.

Problems remain, however. Keeping up with theadvances in technology is one major concern.There is already a need to upgrade several of thePETs that were purchased several years ago. Of-ficials know that new hardware may make theircurrent inventory obsolete in a few years, but theyhave no easy choices, especially when funds arelimited. Another area of concern is the impact thatcomputer electives will have on other areas of thecurriculum. Computer courses fill up immediatelywhile industrial arts courses are underenrolled.Moreover, teachers cannot easily be transfecredfrom one course area to another. To complicatematters, the options to take electives may be re-duced as the school day is shortened to save mon-ey for the district. The high schools have alreadyreduced schedules from a full 6-period day to 51/2.

There is still the problem of reaching all of thestudent population, particularly in the high school

'classes. Courses are still tied to the math depart-ment, but Joseph hopes this will soon change. Fi-

1 s

nail); the relationships among programs and thecompetition for resources causes concern. So far,"we've been able to maintain a delicate balance,"says Joseph. But she worries what will happenwhen more schools are closed and staff positionsreduced. There is also some concern that imple-mentation of phase 3 (a second Apple lab) may bedelayed, as well.

The FutureIntegration of computers intd the curriculum is

a major objective for the future. There is alreadysome interest among secondary teachers in Eng-lish, social studies, business, foreign languages,and science. If the computer labs or clusters are/used every period for computer literacy ancippc(-graming courses, this may not be feasible/

There is also an interest in exploring adpfnistra-tive uses of microcomputers in indivichafil schools,particularly to retrieve and handlp/mformation.Melendy expressed his concern fttiout the dispro-portionate amount of time spent in looking up rec-ords, in gathering .data for/ieports, and in otherclerical tasks: "We're 84 working at the quilllevel, when we have the technology to do other-wise."

Contact and interaction with the State Depart-ment of Education/and other districts in the coun-ty are increasing/The county teachers' center hasbecome an impoftant broker. When the State Com-missioner carne to Marin County in spring 1982to focus on edmputers in education, he met withlocal district leaders and others at the center andnearby universities.

Novato elementary schools may participate ina LOGOproject currently being developed by theMarin Community College, the Marin ComputerCenter, and the Teacher Learning Cooperativeunder a grant from the Buck Foundation. TheBuck Foundation (administered by the San Fran-cisco Foundation), funds are restricted to use onlyin Marin County. Currently several proposals for'support of computing in county schoolsincludinga mobile computer education van and a series ofworkshops for teachers are being examined.Joseph would like to see a Marin County sym-posium of national experts and local educators tomeasure the impact of programs. She feels it istime to reflect, to examine current' programs ob-jectively, and to identify limitations and un-answered questions. According to Joseph, "Thisis needed not just here, but all across the Nation."

200 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Cupertino`Union SchoolDistrict, Cupertino, Calif.

The SettingSituated in California's "Silicon Valley," where

apricot groves turn into computer factories over-night, the Cupertino Union School District (Kziliserves a population of 50,000. School populationis 86-percent white, 8-percent Asian, 4-percentHispanic, and 2-percent black. Although the pop-ulation growth rate is one of the highest in theUnited States, an acute housing shortage and in-flated costs have resulted in a decade of decliningenrollment. Fifteen,schoolS have been closed. The12,150 students, half of peak enrollments in 1969,attend 4 junior high and 20 elementary schools.District boundaries cut across six municipal juris-dictions. Parents support the schools, but officialspoint out that only 25 percent of the area's subur-ban population have children in public schools.

Major industries in the area are aerospace- andcomputer-related. Many of the companies aresmall and relatively young. This is a high-tech,middle socioeconomic community with high educa-tional expectations. There is interest from the In-dustry/Education Council and the Chambers ofCommerce and service clubs as the schools re-spond to computer-related, entry-level job needs.

Cupertino has a mature, experienced teaching,.staff whose average age is 47. Ninety-two percentof the teachers are in the top range of the salary

, scale. Declining enrollments and reduced staff'positions make it difficult to maintain high morale,however. Officials note that the district's staff de-velopment and incentive programs and its com-puter project are "our most powerful weapon" inmaintaining enthusiasm and quality education.

With an annual budget of $30 million, 70 per-cent of funding now comes from the State, revers-ing almost exactly the ratio that existed before thepassage of Proposition 13. Educators feel localcontrol of education has eroded. The one benefitof declining enrollments has been the sale of ex-cess Property. Because of high land values, thesesales have resulted in significant capital reserveswhich can be used for equipment and capital im-provements only.

District ProgramsCupertino is the home of the le Computer

CO.: "the boys that designed the Aple grew uphere," relate Cupertino educators, " . and whenthey had put together their first Pjple II proto-

type, they showed it to us." Associate Super-intendent William Zachmeier and computer spe-cialist/teacher Bobby Goodson remember the dayclearly. They were amazed and excited with whatthey saw.

Several months later, when the district's nipproposal for a math prbgram to the State wasturned down, Zachmeier urgefl Goodson to tryagain, but this time to try something with com-puters. With active support from the administra-tion, another proposal was written. Funded byESEA title IVC for 2 years, the junior high schoolproject provided for a full-time director, but noequipment. In addition, IVB money was allocatqdto purchase three 16K Apples; old black-and-whiteTV monitors were located. Goodson learned bytalking to people; attending meetings, and workedwith students and small groups of teachersaschool at a time.

For the 2 years of'the projects, says Goodson,"we felt our way around and 'nickeled and dimed'our way." Approximately three dozen computerswere purchased with IVB funds, MGM Statefunds, and parent donations. After IVC fundiVended, Goodson's position was supported by thelocal district. The approach was "to learn by try-ing out various approaches so that when we wentto the board for their support of a total districtprogram, we knew what we wanted."

In spring of 1981, the superintendent made thedistrict proposal to place computer labs in eachjunior high school, and labs or clusters in half ofthe elementary schools, at a total expenditure of$299,337. On_the night of the presentation, theboard room was packed with teachers, administra-tors, students, and parents. "One by one they gotup and told the board why they wanted comput-ers," remembers Zachmeier. "And the board gaveus everything we asked for," says Goodson.

Computer Literacy CurriculumThe computer literacy program was developed

by teachers using computers in their, classrooms.The program focuses first on computer awareness,and then on computer use.

The goals is that by the end of grade 6, all Cuper-tino students be fully "aware" of computers. Bythe end of grade 8, all students should have hadthe opportunity to use the computer as a tool andto be-introduced to the idea of programing

Inservice Training and Staff Development. Thedistrict has a long tradition of inservice. Staff canearn credit toward salary increments, in exchangefor released time, for conference registration fees,

,

App. ACase Studies: Applications of Information Technologies 701

for instructional supplies, or for university courseworkExtensive computer inservice courses weredeveloped and taught at first by Goodsén. In time,those she, trained taught others; the cadre of re-source people continues to grow. The introductorycourse begins with three short modules of two2-hour sessions, each followed by optional strandsin programing (BASIC, PILOT, LO(0) and soft-ware evaluation and design. Courses for parentaides, secretaries, and others have also beendeveloped.

Approximately 80 percent of the teaching staffhave participated in at least one course. Moreover,all principals and administrative staff attended a1-day workshop in the summer of 1981, led byRiehard Pugh, JHS computer teacher; JudyChamberlin, teacher of the gifted and talented; andBobby Goodson.

Installation of the labs is to proceed in stagesto provide adequate time for schoolwide planningby each faculty and for slipport of the program bythe computer resource teacher. 'Phree labs werecompleted by fall 1981. By 1982-83 all junior highswill have labs. Each computer lab will havea totalof 15 student stations and a teacher demonstra-tion station which includes a large screen TV anda printer. Two of the labs will be equipped withApples and two will be equipped with Ataris.

All but two elementary schools have at least onecomputer as well, and there are at least three dif-4eeent systems in the schools. Diversity of hard-ware at the elementary school level, where comput-ers are used in a variety of ways in classrooms andin the media centers, presents no problems. In thelong run, district officials now think that this di-versity will be an advantage.

Sample ProgramsThe computer lab at Hyde Junior High School

is a large room that accgmmodates the studentmicrocomputer stations comfortably around threesides of its perimeter. Small round tables clusterin the middle, where students cOme for discussion,instruction, and collaborative work. But most ofthe time it is the computers that are busy. Whilethey input data and compose print statements, ar-ticles and pictures on the classroom walls remindthem of the history of computers and where andhow computers are used today. Students all seemto be working on their own assignment. While onestudent writes a program to calculate his grade-

. point average, another designs a simple game, andstill another runs a preset program. Meanwhile,students'at Kennedy Junior High School generate

graphics on the computer, while elementary schoolstudents in the gifted and talented program at theWilson Exploration Center develop new thinkingskills using the computer, and then debug theiroriginal programs.

At Muir Elementary School, computers can bechecked out to parents and teachers; every week-end they are all checked out. Because the computerin the library is used nonstop, access for manystudents is a problem. At the parents' insistence,two introductory workshops were offered to par-ents. The school plans to use parent volunteers toteach computer literacy curriculum activities dur-ing alternate library periods. In this school,

, parents will beCome a major force as volunteersin the program.

At the West Valley Elementary School one suchparent, Cheryl Turner, became a catalyst andprime mover in establishing the schoorscomputerliteracy program. The program began with enthu-siastic teacher and student resporfse to Turner'sdemonstration of a computer she had made froma kit. With strong support from the principal,microcomputers were installed in the library mediacenter and Turner was hired as an aide to teachcomputer literacy. Funding for the microcom-puters Came from the PTA, a grant from theINTEL Corp., and MGM funds. A parent, an Atariexecutive, arranged for a loan of an Atari to theschool. All but two teachers want their studentsto participate in the program. Turner, who has"had a fascination with computers for 20 years,"enjoys being a role model for the students anddemonstrating, especially to the girls, "that it'sokay to enjoy electronics and run around with ascrewdriver in your purse."

ImpactsThe computer literacy program has energized

both teathers and their students. Individual par-ents have been tremendously supportive, althoughby and large Cupertino does not benefit directlyfrom proximity to the corporate world and Silicon \Valley industries.

More than 65 percent of the district's teachershave received literacy training. Goodson sees thebenefits especially for those in dead-end jobs. Neg-ative feelings have been turned around, and newlife has been put into the educational process.Many are convinced that it is the opportunity tobecome a learner and "be in control" that is theirrestible appeal of the program.

Many students "turned off" by school have alsobeen motivated by the program. Many are those

202 informational Technology and its impact on American Education

whose interest and aptitude could not have beenpredicted. The problem now is getting them to gohome from school.

The program has problems, but they do not ap-pear serious. There are teachers who want to beinvolved in computing but who receive little sup-port, or no access to the computers in theirbuildings. The inequity between some of the ele-mentary schools continues to grow..There is alsorecognition that the lab arrangemenEs do not ac-commodate the needs of the science teacher whovonts a computer in class, nor the librarian whowants one in the library, nor the principal whowants one in the office. Additional funds may beallocated or alternate arrangements developed toserve these various needs.

Finally, until recently, there has been no integra-tion of computing programs in the junior highschool wtth programs offered in the high school.Students are frustrated in cases where there 'areno courses or when courses are outdated andequipment is obsolete.

ImplicationsThe district goal is that all schools will have com-

puter laboratories by 1984. Training opportunitieswill be expanded, and flew uses for the computerin the classroom will be explored. Cupertino edu-cators hope that there will be artidUlation and coor-dination between the secondary school systems.

Beyond the new courses and expanded effortsat the secondary level, Associate SuperintendentZachmeier's ultimate goal is to give every young-ster a computer some time in elementary schoolbecause:

There will be a need for new skills and new atti-tudes. It's our job to prepare students for the kindof world that will become not the world that, was.We will have kids who leave Cupertino . . , who willbe fully computer-literate, discriminating buyersand users. And rather than being prisoners of tech-nology, they will be masters of it.

*These first activities provided access to students in theJunior High School GATE program and were supported byState MGM (mentally gifted minor) funds.

°As more equipment is purchased, the district will shift hard-ware CO have uniform equipment in the junior high labs, whereprograming is taught.

Resources .Persons interviewed:Novato Unified School District, Novato, Calif.

Helen Joseph, Computer Resource Teacher and Co-ordinator

Ronald E. Franklin, SuperintendentRichard Melendy, PrincipalJack 0. Rothe, Director of InstructionArthur Luehrmann, Former Director, Computer Project,

Lawrence Hall of ScienceJoyce Hakansson, Former Education Program Ca

ordinator, Lawrence Hall of ScienceCupertino Union School District, Cupertino, Calif;

William Zachmeier, Associate SuperintendentJerry Prizant, Coordinator of Media ServicesBobby Goodson, Teacher, Hyde Junior High School,

Computer Literacy Lab and Coordinator, ComputerPrograms

Frank Clark, Principal, Kennedy Junior High SchoolRichard Pugh, Teacher, Computer Literacy LabRon LaMar, Principal, Hyde Junior High SchoolHarvey Barnett, Principal, West Valley Elementary

SchoolCheryl Turner, Ajde, West Valley Elementary SchoolK. A. Fisk, Principal, Muir Elementary SchoolJudy Chamberlin, Teacher, Gifted and Talented Pra

gram Wilson CenterComputer-Using Educator. - CUE Monthly

Board Meeting, Palo Alto, Calif., Jan. 22, 1982.Bobby Goodson, President, CUE, and computer

resource specialist Cupertino Union School DistrictJose Gutierez, Vice President, CUE, (and faculty

member, San Francisco State UniversityAnn Lathrop, library coordinator, San Mateo County

Board of EducationHelen Joseph, resource teachermath, science, and com-

puters, Novato Unified School DistrictWilliam Sandy Wagner, computer coordinator, Santa

Clara CountyGlenn Fisher, computer coordinator, Alameda CountyLe Roy Finkel, computer coordinator, San Mateo Office

of EducationKaren Kent, director, Teachers Learning Cooperative,

Marin County Office of Education ,

Don McKell, teacher, Independence-High School, SanJose

Brian Sakai, computer teacher, San Carlos High SchoolRuss Bailey, computer district coordinator, San Mateo

City SchoolsBob Enenstein, teacher, Carlmont High School, BelmontSteve King, computer teacher, Crittendon Middle

School, Mountain View

BibliographyLathrop, Ann, and Goodson, Bobby, "How to Start a

Software Exchange," Recreational Computing, issue53, October 1981.

Wagner, William J., "The Story of Computer-UsingEducators," Recreational Computing, issue 48.

Computer-Using Educators Newsletter, vol. 3, No. 6,May 15, 1981; vol. 4, No. 2,3, Oct. 23, 1981; vol. 4,No. 1, Aug. 15, 1981. The newsletter is published sixtimes a year and mailed to CUE members.

App. ACasa Studies: Applications of Information Tochnolople

San Mateo County Office of Education and Com-puter-Using . Educators, Microcomputer Center .

Report, 1980-8L ,

Joeeph, Helen, "Report to the Board of Trustees: Com-puter Education Project," October 1981, Novato Uni-fied School District.

Luehrmenn, Arthur, Computer Education in the NovatoUnified School District: A Needs Assessmen4 May1980.

Goodoon, Bobby, "Computer Literacy in the ElementarySchool: A District-Wide Program." draft, January1982, Cupertino Union School District.

Computer Literacy Curriculum, Cupertino Union SchoolDistrict, 1981.

A Listing of District Computer Inservice Classes,1981-82, Cupertino Union School District.

Technology. Education andTraining, Oxford PublicSchools, Oxford, Mass.

IntroductionThe technology training and education pro-

grams of the Oxford Public Schools were selectedfor study because they provide an example of howa small, rural school district with limited localfunding resources can offer up-to-date educationand training opportunities to its students andadults in the community through partnershipswith private industry and other rural school dis-tricts. This study also provides an example of theimpact of Federal and State grants on the imple-mentation of new programs. Although each grantwas relatively small, "to Oxford they looked likea Hope Diamond," according to the Superintend-ent.

The SettingOriginally a French Huguenot settlement, Ox-

ford was founded more than 300 years ago in cen-tral Massachusetts, approximately 20 miles southof Worcester. Once the center of a thriving mill in-dustry, Oxford's economic base seriously declinedas the mills closed. At present only one small milloperates; it employs five people. No new industrieshave been established. Oxford's population of11,450 is primarily blue-collar. In 1080, Oxford'sannual per capita income was $6,582. Of the adultworking population living in Oxford and surround-ing similar communities, 60 percent are semiskilledor unskilled workers and 11 percent hold profes-sional or managerial positions.

A special program at the Oxford High School DistrictIntroduces students to the world of computer maintenanceand electronics fabrication. This student credits her gradua-tion from Oxford High School to the engaging qualities ofthe curriculum, which, she said, kept her In school after shehad become disenchanted with the regular academic program

The Oxford Public Schools serve 2,460 studentsin grades I{-12 who attend three elementary, onemiddle, arid one high school. Almost all studentsare white; fewer than 1 percent are black, and few-er than 1 percent Hispanic, Of the high schoolgraduates, 30 percent attend 4-year colleges, whileanother 30 percent go on to community college andvocational training institutes.

In this rural community, according to its super-intendent, there is strong support for educationwith local taxes, although Proposition 21/2 now lim-its that revenue source. The 1981-82 budget of $4.2million results in an expenditure of $1,945 perpupil. Many of the teachers are from the local orneighboring areas, and there are common bondsbetween the educators and the school board. Evenwith declining .resources, administrators andteachers feel that there is support from the board

204 Intormational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

and community and that their efforts in behalf ofthe students are appreciated.

Building New Partnerships toLink Education and TtpchnologyTraining

History. Francih Driscoll, superintendent of thissmall, rural school district with almost no local in-dustrial base, searched for ways to meet his stu-dents' diverse needs. Although the district wahsmall, it had students who could not function inregular classrooms because of emotional and learn-ing handicaps, whose abilities were seriously un-derchallenged, and whose interests weren't beingmet. The solution he developed, late in the 1970's,was to form a loose federation of similar districtsnear Oxford, to develop programs that they allneeded.

Driscoll reasoned that by regionalizing pro-grams and services through the federation andother similar cooperative efforts, he could createthe equivalent of a small-sized city and the criticalmass needed. By joining Oxford to Auburn, Lei-cester, Charlton, Dudley, Webster, and thenSouthbridge, the combined federation involved35,000 students, 1,200 teachers, and 62 membersof local boards of educatioh.

The Oxford School Board and administrationagreed that they would serve as fiscal agents forany cooperative projects. Proposals were devel-oped and funded. One ProjectCOFFEE (Cooper-ative Federation for Educational Experiences)provided occupational training and education forstudents with special needs, and was funded bythe Massachusetts State Department of Educa-tion in 1979. A second proposal for a regionalteacher training consortium, the French RiverTeacher Center, was funded b"4413.e-eS. Depart-ment of Education from 1978 to 1981. Both proj-ects are housed in Oxford, with COFFEE in a port-able building next to the high school. The teachercenter was built from surplus motel shells, movedto school land, and assembled and finished withprofessional contractors and studers from thevocational training programs.

As district educators looked at the State's bur.geoning high-technology industries and the grow-ing relationship between education and training,it was clear to them that high technology was notjust for elite students. Informal data gatheredfrom Worcester and Boston area industries re-vealed that entry-level high-tech jobs were under-lined and that 80 percent of those jobs did not re-quire college training. It was also clear that part-

nerships with private industry had to be devel-oped.

John Philipp°, the program director of ProjectCOFFEE, and Rob Richardson, the director of theFrench River Tehcher Center, became involvedwith the local industry councils and the State HighTechnology Cordmission. Serving on committeesand attending meetings, they made direct contactswith individuals from electronics and computer in-dustries located in the Worcester and Bostonareas.

Mike Odom, DEC Executive on loan to theHumphrey Occupational Center, notes that theOxford educators were unusual"they sought ouradvice, and they listened." Similarly, the superin-tendent proposed to the school board that the dis-trict develop a working relationship between edu-cation and industry. The school board, remembersChairman Schur, said, "Go ahead, you have ourblessing."

The district efforts focused on computer technol-ogy, an area that both the special needs trainingprogram and the teachers were interested in. Even-tually, several paths led to one of Massachuhetts'largest computer corporations, Digital EquipmentCo. (DEC). Early contacts were with salesperson-

onel and then, Mary Ann ,Burek of the CorporateContribution Division, who put the district intouch with Del Lippert, Corporate Manager ofEducational Services.

Current 'ProgirmsProject COFFEE. COFFEE is an alternative oc-

cupational education program for the special-needs, disadvantaged, and handicapped studentsof a six-community cooperative school federation.The program includes life-coping skills education,as well as an occupational educational experiencein an adult-like work environment. The high-tech-nology training components provide the studentwith job entry skills, job placement skills, coopera-tive job experiences, shadowing experiences (jobobservation), and a related work study program.

In the electronic assembly component, studentsread and interpret schematic diagrams and me-

. chanical drawings and gain experiences in layout,manufacturing, and assembly of printed circuitsand electronic components. Students test and in-spect electronic components, 'circuits, and assem-blies. They are trained for entrY-level employmentas: electromechanical assemblers, electronic main-tenance workers, drafting assistants (electronics),electronics utility workers, electronics inspectors,electronics mechanics, electronic testers, and elec-

.

App. ACase Studios: Applications of InformatiOn Technologies 205

tronics assemblers. Many of the assembly toolsand testing devices and most of the hardware,components, and circuitry used for hands-on in-struction was donated to the program as a resultof individual, personal contacts with electronicscompanies.

After a year of operation, the Project COFFEEdirector, John Phillip°, and Superintendent Dris-coll planned a new component that would involveuse of state-of-the-art computer hardware. Con-tacts with DEC were made, and the company con-tributed $22,800. In the data-processing compo-nent, started in September 1980, students usestate-of-the-art computer hardware and softwaretechniques in the computer center and an auto-mated office. The instructor assumes the role ofdata-processing manager, and students learn byhands-on experience in hardware operation andmaintenance, computer awareness, and use ofBASIC. They are trained for mitry-level employ-ment as junior programers, console operators,computer service technicians, data typists, printeroperators, control clerks, and computer aides.

Project COFFEE was funded through a state-wide competitive grant process utilizing Federaloccupational education and special educationmoneys authorized under Public Laws 94-482 and94-142, a total of $557,402 for September 1, 1979,through June 30, 1982. In cost breakdowns by pro-gram areas, a total of $167,050 was expended forthe two technology components for more than 100students over the 3 years. The students in thesehigh-technology components use facilities in theOxford district, while students in the distributiveeducation component run and operate The GrandIllusion Printing Co. in Auburn, and students inthe buildings and grounds component work inWebster. The program is continuing tenuoUsly onlocal support, but long-term commitments havenot yet been obtained.

Project KING-By Tech. In the fall of 1980, theGovernor of Massachusetts created the Bay StateSkills Commission te fund projects that would ad-dress the needs of the State's computer industriesfor trained workers. Superintendent Driscollformed a planning group that involved local educa- ,tors and representatives from industry, colleges,the French River Teacher Center, the WorcesterChamber of Commerce's Career Education Consor-tium, and the Central Region Private IndustryCouncil. The key to funding was the stipulationthat 60 percent of financial support come from pri-vate industry and that the other 50 percent beavailable from the Skills Commission.

Late in the fall, Driscoll initiated direct contactwith Del Lippert, Corporate Manager of Educa-tional Training and Services at DEC's headquar-ters in Bedford. Recounts Lippert: "Driscoll hadan idea and the Governor had a hall million in dis-cretionary funds." It was, according to many inOxford, "a meeting of kindred spiritsboth wantto make things better for education."

Project KING-By Tech (Key Industrial NeedsGapped by Technology) was funded in January1981 to provide underemployed and unemploye4adults training opportunities in word processing,office automation, electronic assembly, program-ing, and program application. A total of 110 stu-dents were served with $46,016 from the Bay StateSkill's Commission, $43,016 from DEC, and $3,000from Quinsigamond Community College for in-structors. As a result, the district's inventory ofcomputer center 'hardware was increased, twoteachers received training from DEC, and theworking relationship with DEC was well estab-lished. DEC's Lippert explained that his companywas interested in workinkwith schools "who wantto work with us, want to make something hap-pen." In the case of Oxford, there was a sense thatthe social and manpower views of the district tiedinto those of the company. Furthermore, Lippertfelt that Driscoll conveyed a commitment and en-thusiasm that was unique.

French River Teachers Center. Through theFrench River Teacher Center, 30 guidance counse-lors from Central Massachusetts high schools arelearning about high-technology career opportuni-ties (Project CHANCE). Sixteen sessions (begunin January 1982) included field trips to computercompanies trid companies that use high-tech tools,as well as discussion forums with representativesfrom nearby industries. Audiovisual, self-instruc-tional materials on technologY career donated byDEC will also be used. This project grew out ofactivities with the high-technology industry repre-sentatives from Unitrode in Lexington, PrimeComputer in Natick, and Micro Networks in Wor-cester.

The Teacher Center, federally funded throughSeptember 1981, has continued to operate with adirector and a part-time secretary. Its continuedexistence depends on the director's ability to brok-er new relationships, such as the counselor's proj-ect and other activities with the district's technol-ogy and training-related programs. For example,in February 1981, again through occupational edu-'cation moneys, the Teacher Center provided train-ing for 30 surplus teachers and other unemployed

208 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

adults in computer programing (COBOL), wordprocessing, and electronic test technology andassembly. The $54,080 project received $39,742from the State, $8,640 from DEC, and $5,698 incontributions from the district. Several teacherstrained in the program were able to find new jobsin the industry.

A mobile comptkter bus with $100,000 worth ofequipment was loahed to the French River TeacherCenter for use by area teachers and students inthe spring of 1982. The bus was equipped with aPDP 11-34A computer and two video terminals,one magnetic tape card reader, two hard-copy ter-minals, and several self-paced instructional sta-tions. Owned by DEC, the bus had previously beenoperated by the Commonwealth Center in Cam-bridge.

The Teacher Center will share use of the buswith the Humphrey Occupational Resource Centerin Boston. Present plans are to find minimal fund-ing so that a technician can take the bus fromschool to school, giving youngsters the opportuni-ty to have hands-on experience. The loan of the bus

. was first discussed during a 1-day teacher centerseminar on computer technology held December8, 1980, and attended by representatives ,of. 11school districts, 3 colleges, and private industry.A loose "consortium of computer teachers" wasformed and has met several times.

The center has arranged for teacher workshopsand courses on computers and microcomputers,collaborating with the Commonwealth InserviceInstitute (funded by an IVC grant through theMassachusetts State Department of Education).Area teachers have learned BASIC programinglanguages, explored a variety of software applica-tions, and examined computer applications and im-pacts. The center also organized a technology con-ference with the New England Teachers' CenterCluster, held this May in Worcester. Director RobRichardson's contacts with DEC and other high-tech industries will enable him to schedule fieldtrips, speakers, and presentations.

Lin pactsImpacts on the School System. As far as princi-

pal Roger Bacon is concerned, the benefits out-weigh the problems. The district has equipment"worth a half million dollars that could not havebeen obtained any other way (see table A-1). Fur-thermore this state-of-the-art hardware is sup-ported by DEC training and software. The two Ox-ford teachers trained at DEC have acquired the

most current information and skills, and they im-mediately draw on these skills in working withtheir students. The collaborative partnership withindustry goes far beyond the benefits receivedthus far. It is clear to Oxford's superintendent andhis technology teachers that this working relation-ship is critical in enabling the district to keep upwith the rapid changes in high technology.

Furthermore, DEC's expertise is recognized andrelied on as program additions or revisions are con-sidered. Other nearby companies directly con-cerned with the high-technology training pro-grams are also continually contacted and utilizedas resources. These dose ties to industry, argueOxford educators, make their programs more ef-fectiye and unique. Yi

Impacts on Teachers. Through the French RiverTeacher Center, Oxford teachers and those of thesurrounding districts have participated in work-shops, forums, courses, and visits to itigh-techcompanies. Although no formal assessment ofthese efforts has been made, teachers indicate thatthey are better informed, more comfortable with;technology, and would like to have more oppor-tunities for training.

Impacts on Students. The Federal rld Statefunded programs have reached numerous stu-dents. Project COFFEE students recognize thatthey now have skills, and they feel good aboutthemselves and their program:

. . I'm an electronic asaembler, I have a trade.. . I can build you a stem); before, I only knew how

to pushilthe buttons. . . . There are regular kids(taking the electronics assembly course) . andthey need our help. They can't do the things we can.

. . If the program wasn't here, I'd be out of school. . . we have teachers who upderstaiid us.

In assessments of student progress in entry-levelhigh-technology training skills, based on a seriesof competency tests developed by the project staffand 16 industry/business representatives, 82 per-cent passed electronic assembly and 77 percentpassed computer technology. The success of thesespecial students is related to many factors. Tech-nology skills, special counseling, and basic educa-tional programs have all played a part. For thehigh school principal, the important result is thatthese students are turned around: "When theseseniors graduate this spring and I get to shaketheir hands . . . I feel that this is what educationis all about."

In addition to the COFFEE students, other stu-dents from Oxford High School have also madesignificant gains in computer programing coursesand in independent study projects under the direc-

1 t1

App. ACase Studies: Applications of information Technologies 207

Tabie A-1.Sources of Funds for Computer Hardware and Software, 196041

Direct marketDescription value

1 PDP 11/34 central processing unit . $41,500.001 16-lme multiplexor ... 4,100.002 LA 34 docwrIters . 2,900.001 265 LPM printer . . 7,800.001 VT 100 video terminal. 2,050.003 modem cables 177,001 200 CPM card reader 4,100.00Systems management training .. 2,100.00Data-processing renovation/installation 9,150 003 W3 78 word-processing units . 28,500 00

Electronics assembly training 3,200.001 TS-11 tape drive 15,400.003 VT.100 video terminals 6,150.093 LA 34 decwriters 5,100.00I LA 34 decwriter 1,700.004 V 100 video terminals 8,200.001 AL02 disk drive 5,911.005 RL02 disk cartridges 975.0014 self-paced audilvisual instructional

programs 15,320 0094 hours, level I consultants 5,160 00Instructional supplies 14,130 00

Software programsTqtals

5OURCF' Oxford Public Schools thilonit mass

tion 01 the computer center director, AI Jones. "Inthis kind of an errtironment, yOu don't have topush them, you just have to keep up with them . . .

The interest, the turn-around, the growth, of theseyoungsters is incredible."

As in many other districts, these computer whizkids are at the center early in the morning and latein the evening until Jones locks the door. Severalstudentspresently three or fourwill have theequivalent of 2 years of college-level computingwhen they graduate Wgh school. Another 30 or 40will have 2 years of programing experience, notjust in BASIC, but also in Pascal andinWATBOL(the University of Waterloo, Canada, educationalversion of COBOL). Students learn to operate allphases of the system, and their understanding andexperiences are intentionally geared to the realworld.

Jones talks about one of his students, a junior,who has written a "wonderfully sophisticatectpro-gram to chart and analyze students' chronobiologi-cal rhythms." Jones days this program "is betterthati the 320,000 software package we bought forprincipals." Another stndent recently went to helpa nearby school district that was having major

1

Digital EquipmentCorp.

State/Federalgrants

Oxford SchoolDepartment Total

$23,530.00

2,100.00' 3,000.00

14,250.00

3,085.00

13,325.00

$39,097.00

-0.6,150.001,250.00

13,000.00115.00

2,035-.007,000.00

-0-

-0--0--0-

-0-

$62,627.00

2,100.009,150.00

28,500.00

3,2b0.00

26,650.004,290 00

8,292 00 16,786 00-0-

8,494 00

LI15,320 00 -0- 16,320.002,560 00 2,000.00 5,160.003,150 00 600.00

4,200.00 14,130 004,830.001,950.00

621,0(30 00 29,000.00 -0- 81,000-00$145,104 00 $119,519.00 -0- $264,623 00

problems with its DEC system. h 3 hours he hadsoived many of,the problems.

Only a few problems remain. One is that, onoccasion, security of school records is a problembecause both instruction and management func-tions are together. Also, there is a growing demandfor courses and computer hccess, and demand mayoutpace resources. Finally, there are some whoquestion the district's growing emphasis on tech-nology and programs for special studen4s. Theyworry that other areas will be shortchanged.

Impacts on the Community. According to,scliool .board members. parehts and students sax- againand again, "What a differbfice the tAlmoloily pro-grams have made." Parents describe changes intheir children and indicate that they are now inter-ested, know what they want to do with their lives,and have made complete turnarounds. What ap-pears to be most important to the community isthat these students have goals and some have em--ployable skills., High school principal, Bacon ex-plains: "They (parents and students) know thatcomputers are the 'in' thing in Massachusetts."

By extending the technology programs to under-employed and unemployed adults and surplus

1208 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

teachers, the schools have made maximum use ofthe computer center and have provided benefitsto the community. The absence of continuingfinancial support, however, may limit thelong-term.

When the community parents, school boardmembers, teachers, and administrators are askedwhy it has been possible to bring technology train-ing and education to Oxford, they point to the fol-lowing:

an aggressive, energetic superintendent will-ing to chart unknown waters and take risksin starting programs without the security oflong-term funding;a willingness by the school board and the ad-ministration to serve as ate fiscal agents forthe projects: to write the proposals; to negoti-ate with State and Federal funding agencies;and to contact the private sector;the commitment and ability to work togetheradministration, professional staff, schoolboard, other districts, the private sectorto"get what we need for our students;"the availability of Federal and State funds,without which none of the programs couldhave been initiated;an ability to find resources when they aren'tthere: assembling a teacher center from sur-i.plus concrete motel shells transported to the'site; or scavenging cartons of printout paperused on only one side, which become perfect-ly appropriate for the student's output; orscrounging obsolete electronic equipment,which became the instructional cadavers inthe assembly labs;the use of professionally supervised studentsto reduce building assembly and finishingcosts and, at the same time, meet the studentneed for on-the-job training; anda belief that "everything we do can lead tosomething else."

Finally, they single out the superintendent's lead-ership and skill in unifying all of the participants,forging private sector partnerships on a personalone-to-one basis, convincing State officials fromvarious departments to fund programs jointly, andutilizing public schools and community college fa-cilities to expand technical educational opportu-nities.

FutureHow will programs that have been developed

continue to be supported? "Will the benefits and

the progress made . . . that we are so proudof . . . now be emasculated because of financial con-straints?" worries the school board chairman.With increasing costs, a reduced budget fromProposition 21/2, and fewer Federal dollars for edu-cation, school officials and the community are con-cerned. There is aome hope that the maintenancecosts for these programs will be lower than thestartup costs. Furthermore, it is hoped that theother districts will be able to find a way to pickup local costs.

Finally, Oxford has submitted Project COFFEEfor validation by the Joint Dissemination ReviewBoard of the U.S. Department of Education sothat the Project could be eligible for National Dif-fusion Network Funding. Superintendent Driscollhasn't given up on the State Department of Edu-cation, either.

Then there is further collaboration with the pri-vate sector. Educators argue that turning outtrained, qualified people is the best selling pointthey have. The industry needs their graduates.When Project COFFEE students completed thewiring for the computer center, they proved theywere capable of technically demanding work, andthey saved the district $2,000.

Driscoll's dream for his schools and for his com-munity goes even further. He wants to bring amajor high-technology company manufacturingplant to Oxford. He feels this would strengthenthe town's economic base and provide the long-term support the educational system needs.Others in the community support this idea and arehopeful that the district's technology training pro-grams will be a strong selling point.

ResourcesCase study interviews:

Francis G. Driscoll, SuperintendentRoger Bacon, Principal, Oxford High SchoolJohn Phillipo, Director, Project COFFEEAllen Jones, Director, Computer Center and TeacherRob Richardson, Director, French River Teacher CenterPat Ferreira, former teacher, Oxford High SchoolElaine Birchard, studentGary Bigelow, studentPaul Winiaraki, studentKenny Gatze, studentWalter Schur, Chairman, School BoardPatricia Troy, School Board MemberDel Lippert, Corporate Manager, Educational Services,

Digital Equipment Co., Bedford, Mass.Michael Odom, Digital Equipment Co., Executive-on-

Loan, Humphrey Occupational Center, Boston

'(4.

'

App. ACage Studies: Applications of Information Technologies 209'

BibliographyOxford Public Schools, Proposals to the Bay State Skills

Commission: Key Industrial Needs Gapped By Tech-nology, November 1980.

Oxford Public Schools, Proposal to the Division of Oc-cupational Education and the Division of SpecialEducation, Massachusetts Department of Education,Cooperative Federation for Educational Experience,July 1979 and April 1980.

Oxford Public Schools, A Report of French RiverTeacher Center Activities Related to High Tech-nology In Collaboration With Digital Equipment Cor-poration, February 1982.

Compkiter Literacy Program:Lyons Township Secondary

School District, LaGrange, Ill.Lyons Township's computer program was se-

lected for study because it exemplifies a system-wide application of computing that involves andaffects the district's entire student population andmore than 90 percent of the district's professionalstaff in all curricular areas. This site provides anexample of how a major infusion of computer hard-ware facilitates its widespread use and within aschool system access. Local funds support the pur-chase of hardware, training of teachers, and devel-opment of software. Furthermore, it shows thecritical role played by the local superintendent inconceptualizing the program, initiating action, andsupporting ongoing activities.

The SettingLocated in the southwest suburbs of Chicago,

the two campuses of the Lyons Township HighSchool's (LTHS)in LaGrange and WesternSpringsenroll a total of 4,000 students. Theschool population is drawn from six suburbanareas that are primarily middle-class, bedroomcommunities of Chicago. Approximately 90 per-cent of the students are white; 3 to 4 percent areblack; 3 to 4 percent are Asian; and 4 percent areHispanic. The majority, 75 to 80 percent, of LTHSgraduates go on to college.

The school district's financial base is stable. Lo-cal property tax revenues (which include a strongindustrial base) account for 85 percent of thebudget; the remaining funds come from the State.The current budget is $19 million; per pupilexpenditure is $2,300. School buildings are well-maintainedoffices, hallways, and classrooms arepleasant and clean. Facilities appear to be morethan adequate. (The boardroom looked more like

that of a major corporation than of a schooldistrict.)

There is general consensus among the education-al and lay communities that the district has beenwell, but conservatively, managed to support astrong, traditional curriculum. Through prudentmanagement over the past dozen or so years, sub-stantial sums have been placed in reservesaunique situation, considering the strained eco-nomic condition of most of the Nation's schools.

Declining enrollments, the major area of concernfor the district, may eventually have a negativeaffect on the number of facilities used (one or twocampuses), the variety of programs offered, andthe size of the professional staff. However, thesuperintendent argues that these problems can beresolved, in part, by the district's effective use oftechnology.

On the whole, the district's problems appear mi-nor in comparison with other districts' financialwoes, population shifts, student unrest, and staffreductions. Administrative and teaching staff andboard members acknowledge how fortunate thedistrict is. For example, teachers' salaries are atthe top of national pay scales, and a new 3-yearcontract is in place. The major focus of the,,students and faculty is education, where learningis viewed as a serious endeavor.

Computer Applications inthe District

The district's use of computers goes back to thelate 1960's, when its first mainframe computer waspurchased for the district's management and busi-ness operations. As in other districts, instructionalopportunities for students were limited to a fewhighly specialized courrs in the business andmath departments. Approximately 2 years ago, itbecame appal'ent that the district's computer wasoutdated and would need to be replaQed. In addi-tión, there was a growing interest in expanding in-structional computing activities and a general feel-ing that computer literacy was important. The ini-tial approach, according to a member of the schoolboard, was to expand the large computer system

"to accommodate both needs.At the same time, the board was inter-Viewing

prospective candidates for superintendent. JohnBristol was the board's choice, in part because healready had experience with computers and in-structional applications and had started one of theearliest computer literacy programs in Minnesota.Bristol convinced the board that student uses ofcomputers ought to be considered separately, and

210 informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

that microcomputers provided a viable option toa mainframe computer with terminals. Withstrong support from the board, Bristol came toLaGrange ready to revise and expand the district'scomputer programs.

PlanningThe superintendent's firsthbjective was to de-

velop a plan. From the outset, all the curriculumareas were involved. Decisionmaking was not lim-ited to computer experts; building principals,department chairmen, and interested teacherswere involved. A basic assumption of the plan wasto provide computer experiences for all students:"the use of the computer should not be reservedfor the gifted and/or mathematically oriented stu-dent. The computer needs to and can be utilizedby students of all ability levels, including thosewith limited learning capabilities." Three majorapplications were designated:InstructionLiteracyCompetencySpecialityInstructional supportT*torial workDrill and practiceProblem solvingSimulationInstructional gamesInstructional managementSuccess predictionMonitoring student progressVocational guidanceCollege information

Hardware SelectionAnother component of the planning activities

was the selection of hardware. Not surprisingly,the most important criterion was "to obtain themaximum number of microcomputers' for the dol-lars available." Local maintenance and repaircapability of the hardware vendor was also impor-tant. The planners agreed that highly sophis-ticated microcomputers with sound and colorcapabilities were not needed for this initial phase(computer literacy). However, networking capa-bility was considered highly desirable and, net-working in the laborabory setting is envisioned.

Hardware for the laboratories use a networkedRadio Shack TRS-80, Model III Configuration:one 48K, twin-disk microcomputer, 26 16K, tapemicrocomputers, two networks, and one printer.

Eight laboratoriesfour in each campus of thehigh schoolare installed, with a total of 208terminals for student use. The cost breakdownover a 5-year period is shown in table A-2. Thesuperintendent maintains that these costs arereasonable.

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune,'Superintendent Bristol justified the district's largepurchase:

Some schools are reluctant to buy (microcomput-ers). They say that tomorrow there will be a fasteror cheaper model. But how many tomorrows do youwait for? What is the value to get our students tohave computer literacy now?

Computer Literacy forAll Students

With the installation of over 200 microcomput-ers in eight laboratory settings, students at LyonsTownship High School interact with technologyfirst-hand. During the school day, the laboratoriesare busy with students and their teachers in a vari-ety of subject areas. English students are refin-ing their understanding of paragraphing with atutorial program:, consumer education studentsdevelop budgets using the number-handling capa-bilities of the computer; juniors in social studiesmaster the facts required by the statewide consti-tution test in a series of drill and practice exercises;biology students solve problems using the com-puter as a powerful tool for analysis; and specialeducation students expand their world history vo-cabulary in a series of drills, with opportunity forextended practice with an infinitely patientteacher.

'Chicago Tribune, Sunday, June 7, 1981,

Table A-2.FlveYear Breakdown ofComputer Hardware Costs

Each Total

Hardware (Networked Radio-Shack TRS-114 Model III)

1 48K, twin disk $1,948.10 $1,948.1028 18K, tape 779.22 20,259.722 networks 389.22 778.44

1 printer 904.80 904.80

Total per classroom $23,889.08Total for 8 classrooms X 8 $191,112.48Cost extension

5-year life400 students per year

Cost per student for literacy per year(Total cost + 5 years + (4,000 students + 4,000)$191,112.48 + 5 + 8,000 $4.78/8tudentlyear

SOURCE Lyons Township Secondary School District

App. ACase Studies: Applications of information Technologies 211

These computerzrelated activities are part of theprogram aimed at schoolwide computer literacy.In increasing numbers, students use the terminalsbefore and after school. According to Bristol:

My computers are used all the time. It's the best-used activity I have. To think that we were nowherelast spring and (look at) where we are today, I wouldhave to say we've made a significant step forward.A further step was taken in the spring of 1982,

when all students completed a 5-hour "literacypackage" that included lectures, films, group dis-cussions, and hands-on activities. The package:1) provided information about how computerswork; 2) promoted keyboard familiarity; 3) pro-moted knowledge of BASIC language compo-nents; 4) facilitated programing activities; and5) focused on future technology developments andtheir impacts on society. Current plans are to im-plement this package during second-period classes1 day a week for 5 weeks, on a staggered sched-ulethereby reaching all students with minimaldisruption of ongoing classes.

The subject area applications and the special5-hour computer literacy package were based oncurriculum objectives originally developed by theMinnesota Educational Computing Consortiumand adapted by the Lyons Township teachers tofit local needs.

Other Computer ApplicationsSix different computer specialty courses are now

offered through business education and math-ematics. These courses include data processing,programing languages (BASIC, COBOL, RPG),and systems analysis. Approximately 10 studentscomplete the entire range of courses. However,within the last year, an extra section of the intro-ductory BASIC course was added to the northcampus schedule, and two additional sections wereadded to the south campus schedule. Accordingto one of the computer course teachers in businesseducation, there is a "growing interest from onesemester to the next . . . that is a result of theliteracy program."

Teacher Training andStaff Development

The goal of computer literacy for all studentsand the objective of providing hands-on experiencewith computers in all subject areas made system-wide teacher training not only desirable but abso-lutely essential. Sinde the district could not counton hiring new staff, particularly as enrollmentscontinued to decline, the superintendent's strategy

was to reach out to all faculty members to buildtheir awareness of the potential for computers ineducation, to cultivate their support for the pro-gram by involving them in the planning of work-shops and computer software curricula, and to de-velop their computer literacy through trainingworkshops and other staff development activities.

Costs for most inservice training activities (e.g.,substitutes, consultants, payment for additionalworking hours) were absorbed by the district's op-erating budget. A separate allocation for the sum-mer software development activities was approvedby the school board. By relying primarily on localdistrict resources and scheduling activities duringschool hours, the district reduced training costs.At the same time, this approach widened the baseof support and ensured districtwide commitmentto implementation of the computer applications.

According to Esther Gahala, director of curricu-lum, there appeared to be a strong sense of learn-ing by doing; the staff response was largely posi-tive. Participation in the 8-hour fall workshops wasvoluntary, although some staff felt pressure fromthe administration. Gahala felt: "the value of these(staff development activities) was in finding outwhat not to do with teachers and students as wellas what to do. Each experience refined our judg-ment and helped us in planning the next phase."Even more important to Gahalawho points outthat she was unprepared to and, at first, totallyoverwhelmed by the thought of implementingcomputers in educationwas the emergence Of acadre of 45 to 50 teachers who cotild advise, evalu-ate, and be a strong support system for the restof the faculty.

Software DevelopmentIt is not clear whether software development

was part of the superintendent's original plan.However, once the curriculum committee and ad-visory groups examined available software, therewas a growing consensus that the district wouldneed to develop its own. Proposals for computerapplications were solicited and 47 proposals from16 departments were accepted. Among the propos-als were:

Reinforce the spelling of words English teach-ers believe all students should know.Test the effects of alcohol on parts of thebody, using statistical information, for ahealth course unit on alcohol abuse.Determine the gross national product of acountry after being given certain characteris-tics.

111 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Dri.11 basic chord fingering for learning how toplay the guitar.Recognize grammatical errors in sentences foran English course.Determine appropriate calorie intake based onindividual physical characteristics, physicalactivity, and weight goals for a unit on nutri-tion in a home eamoinics course.

The superintendent wanted to involve teachersin the ongoing development process and, at thesame time, use computer programers to write thesoftware. To bridge the gap between the teacher-authors and the programeA, the superintendentselected teacher-consultants from the staff whohad both curriculum and programing expertise tofunction as supervisors. These supervisors playeda pivotal role in software development by helpingteachers understand how their teaching ideascould be translated into interactive computer for-mats and by helping programers design routinesthat were educationally sound.

Over the summer three software developmentteams (fig. A-1) produced more than 108 differentprogram packets at a cost of $87,000. Originally,Bristol projected that 60 packagerwould be com-pleted at a maximum total cost of $90,000. By hir-ing three local college student computer sciencemajors as programers, the district used local re-sources and paid them at a rate of $10 per hour.However, without the expertise of the three teach-er-supervisors (one of the three was described asa computer genius, able to solve problems andmake the programs run for even the most noviceuser), the ef4ciency of the programers might havebeen reduced.

Impactsit may be too early to assess the impact of the

recent computer-related activities in the Lyons

Township Secondary School District. However,there is evidence to suggest that both studentsand teachers have benefited.

Access to ComputersStudents in this district do have opportunities

to use computers during their regularly scheduledclass time and before and after school. Some stu-dents interviewed carry their own floppy diskswith their books from class to class. Some of thedisks contain games; others hold student pro-grams and ongoing projects. The district does notyet have data on the number of computer-relatedactivities completed by students. However, it c.anbe reasonably assumed that these students are in-teracting with the technology far more than stu-dents in other high schools where the number ofterminals is far less.

Teachers in the district also appear to have sig-nificantly more access to computers. Severalteachers indicated that they regularly work withthe computers on their own time. Some even takemicrocomputers hOme over the weekend.

Interest and MotiivationThere is ample evidence to conclude that teach-

ers and students alike have been stimulated by theprograms. A student reflected: "I was here thissummer. . . . and teachers were askingare thecomputers here today? Each day (the teachers)were learning new things. It really got me gearedupexcited about the computer course this fall."An unanticipated benefit has been the opportuni-ty for both students and their teachers to sharelearning experiences.

Teachers comment repeatedly about the intrin-sic motivation of the computer. Some applicationsare more interesting and effective than others. The

Figure Al.Software Development Modl

SOURCE

Teacher planners Teacher planners

Lyons Township Soconds.ry School District, Ls Grangs III

Teacher planners

App. ACase Studies: Applications of information Technologies 213

degree of meaningful interaction is a key factor,according to Julie McGee, an English teacher. Tomaintain student interest, programs must be clev-erly and creatively designed, "we can't just putour lecture note on the computer." All indicationssuggest that in est and enthusiasm will contin-ue. However, cauVons a student, not all studentsreact the same way: "too much review and testing,large amounts &text (sic too much writing, notenough graphics), mandatory classes may turn thekids off." For the teachers, "time, money, experi-ence, vision" and a willingness on the part of theadministration to revise plans to fit needs will becritical.

Curriculum and Instruction. So far, impacts onthe curriculum have beemlimited to computer lit-eracy activities. The strategy of building applica-tions into existing courses appears to be working.One problem, however, is the uneven developmentof software. Some subjects have many applica-tions (English, home economics) while others haveonly a few. Drill and practice formats predominate.Ordy a few simulations and tutorials exist., Instructional effectiveness of the computerpackages and related activities has not been for-mally assessed. As students and their teachers usethe materials, they indicate that most are work-ing. According to the director of curriculum, "wehave the overwhelming feeling that what we aredoing is worthwhile." However, there is a need toanalyze the appropriateness and effectiveness ofthe materials, not only to improve them, but alsoto move ahead.

Some questions remain: Are the students learn-ing skills and content more effectively? Will allsecond-period teachers adequately cover the com-puter literacy activities? Do the activities resultin student comfort and skill with computers? Isthe computer's potential being realized? How welldo computer programing courses mesh with post-secondary academic programs and vocationaltraining? There is some frustration over not beingable to tackle all of these questions at once.

Professional Growth andDevelopment

Estimates vary on the extent to which LyonsTownship High School teachers have becomecomputer-literate. For many, the workshops in-troduced a welcomed new skill. For others, thegroups were too large, the keyboard and com-puters were too alien, and the fear of failure wasa barrier. Continued meetings and support ac-

tivities have gotten and kept many teachers in-volved, but a few holdouts remain.

On the whole there is ample evidence to suggestthat the majority of the high school faculty hasstrongly supported the program. Direct involve-ment of teachers in Planning, training, and soft-ware development resulted in strong feelings ofpride and ownership. The district's strong supportof professional development appears to be payingoff: 108 software packages are in use; new ideasare continually being developed; and many teach-ers are expanding computer knowledge and exper-tise.on their own timetaking courses, learninfrom more knowledgeable colleagues,-and teachinthemselves. Opportunities for new role as teacher-programers are invigorating and rejuvenating thismature, highly experienced faculty.

The FutureIn the immediate future, the superintendent and

his staff expect to implement the computerliteracy program fully. At summer's end, allstudents will have taken the 5-hour course, and theremaining software padkages will have been com-pleted.

The next steps will focus on developing a com-prehensive plan for computer competency and spe-cialization. Full integration of the computer forcomputer-assisted and computer-managed instruc-tion is expected within the next 5 years. The lat-ter will depend on continued local software devel-opment and the availability of commercial course-ware. In addition, with the major infusion of hard-ware, a corps of teacher experts, and an on-goingprogram, the superintendent believes the districtis ready for research and development. The oppor-tunities for working collaboratively with hardwarevendors, software publishers, university research-ers, and other districts are beginning to be ex-plored. There are tentative plans to hold a softwaredevelopment conference involving educators anddevelopers statewide, perhaps nationwide. Plansalready exist to field test new hardware com-ponents for the Radio Shack computers.

At the heart of future plans are the teachers andstaff in the district. Bristol is convinced that thefull potential for retraining, for new roles, and forcontinued purposeful activity has barely beentapped. It is likely that funds for continued staffdevelopment and for computer activities will beavailable as long as the school board, community,and educators support the various computer acti-vities.

214 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Edycation

ResourcesCase study interviews:

John Bristol, SuperintendentEsther Gahala, Director of Curriculum and InstructionJulie McGee, English TeacherJohn Gentry, Business Education TeacherBill Mchalski, studentJanet Kaski, studentMark Nel ly, studentKim Firestone, studentThe Coates, studentDoug Hammer, studentJean Donnelly, President of the School Board

Bibliography"Computer LiteracyA Comprehensive Program at

Lyons Township High School" Lyons Township Sec-ondary School District, LaGrange, Ill.

"LT Reports: Computer Literacy" Lyons Township Sec-ondary School District, LaGrange, Ill.

Chicago Tribune, June 7, 1981, "School Puts Learningon Line"

Omaha World Herald, June 30, 1981, "School is PuttingComputer Up Front"

Boston Sunday Globe, July 5, 1981, "Bye-bye Black-board"

Chicago Tribune, Oct. 11, 1981, "Computers for Kids"More Than MathComputers Meet Curriculum," 80

M icrocompu ling, September 1981.

Minnesota Schools and theMinnesota EducationalComputing Consortium

The decision to visit selected Minnesota schoolsand focus on the activities and impact of theMinnesota Educational Computing Consortium(MECC) was based on evidence that Minnesotaleads the Nation in computing activities in itseducational system. This case study deals with aState education agency that provides a centralizedsystem for computing and support services. Witha computer inventory of approximately $44 mil-lion' and estimates that 1 to 11/2 percent of annualschool budgets will be used for hardware pur-chases, Minnesota classrooms are expected tohave 10,000 instructional computing stations by1984.

'Data Newsletter, Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium,January/February 1981

The SettingMinnesota is the "Land of 10,000 lakes," and

almost as many computers. Most of the State isrural. Fifty percent of the its population of3,804,971 is concentrated in the Twin Cities ofMinneapolis and St. Paul. There are 437 schooldistricts and a median district size of 722 students.Major industries are agriculture, mining, andcomputer-related technologies.

Minnesota has provided strong support for pub-lic elementary, secondary, vocational, and highereducation. Its education budget has one of thehighest per capita education expenditures in theMidwest. This support has been matched with acommitment to innovation and educational im-provement. Over the last decade, the State hasprovided funding through the Council on QualityEducation (CQE) and title IVC Federal moneys forresearch and development of instructional com-puting applications. Projects have focused on in-struction in all subjects, as well as piloted newways to deliver instruction. Projects such as theHopkins computer-assisted management system,the computer learning center in Littlefork, and theRobbinsdale computer software development, pro-vided working models of technology applicationsand a foundation for statewide activity.

Many Minnesota school districts are sought outfor their computer expertise. The plans of the Min-neapolis public schools demonstrate the extent ofthis expertise. Within the last yeat, the State'sfinancial picture has changed, significantly. Instruggling with an $860 million deficit, thelegislature has begun cutting the $2 billion (2-year)education budget. The cuts, an estimated $120 mil-lion, are expected to take effect in 1982-83. Ed-ucators across the State are concerned that thesereductions will affect teaching positions andprograms.

MECC: A StateComputing Agency

Presently in its ninth year of operation, MECCoperates the world's largest general-purpose, ed-ucational, time-sharing system. An estimated 96percent of Minnesota's students have access tothis time-share system, which is available to itsusers from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. While time-sharing access has remained fairly constant, witha slight increase in off-hour use, the acquisition ofmicrocomputers in the State has accelerated,resulting in a significant increase in computing ac-tivities available to students.

App. ACase Studies: Applications of Information Technologies g 215

HistoryIn 1972, concern about computing and education

led to discussions among the Governor, the chan-cellor of the community college system, the Statecommissioner of education, key State legislators,and private citizens. As a result, remembers JohnHaugo, former executive director of MECC, a taskforce was established by then Governor WendellAnderson. Haugo was hired to head the planningeffort, which resulted in a report that was essen-tially the plan for MECC. In retrospect, severalfa'ctors were critical in initiating a major statewideeducational computing effort that involved ele-mentary, secondary, and higher public education.

First, the computer industries based in Min-nesota (3M, Univac, Honeywell, and Control DataCorp.), created interest in, and awareness of, com-puting. These corporations also provided manycomputer resource personnel. Second, instruc-tional computing was beginning to catch on, andeducators were concerned that if they failed totake an active role, it would develop without theij,input and direction; there was concern that non-educational agencies would take charge. Third,there were examples of successful, cooperative, in-structional computing ventures principally amongthe Suburban Minneapolis schools, the Total In-structional Education Service (TIES) consortium,and evidence that technology could deliver instruc-tional services. With this was also a growing in-terest in cooperation and sharing of resources.Fourth, there was concern about the increased de-mand for computing services and the proliferationof hardware system; in various educational in-stitutions. Fifth, there was recognition that educa-tional funding constraints would limit operations,while a consortium would not be so limited. How-ever, the most important factor, as far as thelegislators were concerned, was equality of educa-tional opportunity. The legislature was sold on thenotion that computing opportunities ought to beavailable in all parts of the State.

The plan, therefore, was to provide access to thecentral computer through a telecommunicationsnetwork. The State would subsidize the telecom-munications cost to provide equal opportunity toall systems, even those most distant from the cen-tral system. Funding for the system and specificservices to users would be contracted annually.Each school district or agency determined whatthey needed. The budget requests were developedand sent to the legislature.

Getting the time-share system to work was noeasy task. In fact, there were many problems with

hardware, telecommunications lines, and softwaresystems. It took at least a year before the systemwas operating.MECC Organization andFunctions

MECC was established in July 1973 to providecomputer services to students, teacher's, andeducational administrators. Organized under theMinnesota Joint Powers Law, its member systemsinclude:

State Department of Education (433 schooldistricts);Minnesota State University System (7 cam-puses);University of Minnesota (5 campuses);Minnesota Community College System (18campuses); andState Department of Administration (statu-tory authority for State University and Com-munity College Systems).

MECC is responsible for coordination and plan-ningmaintaining a long-range master plan foreducational computing and developing biennialplans, providing technical reviews of proposals forfacilities and services, and reporting on what isbeing done with computers by all of public educa-tion. MECC is also responsible for services tomembers, and it is this role that is being expanded(by the revised Joint Powers Agreement, August1981), while the organization's policymaking roleand its role in approving major computer acquisi-tions is being reduced. The latter activities will bedetermined by the State Board of Education withthe Commissioner of Education.

Instructional Services DivisionOperating the Time-Sharing System. The In-

structional Services Division (ISD) runs theworld's largest educational time-share system. Itworks reliably, and is "up" 99 percent of the time.Its Control Data Cyber 73 System, with 448 userports, is currently accessed by more than 2,000 ter-minals located across the State in most publicschools, all community colleges and public univer-sities, and many of Minnesota's private schools.A multiplexing communications network with 23hubs provides access to the computer.' ISD is alsoresponsible for the communications networkitsinstallation, maintenance, and coordination withlocal telephone companies.

'Instructional Mkrocomputing and Timesharing. A Minneaota .Par.spective MECC Instructional Services Long hang+) Planning Project,1981, p 39

216 informational Technology and its impact on American Education

An extensive library of programs supports arange of activities from drill and practice tomathematics problem generators, office manage-ment, and career guidance information. Thirteendifferent computing languages and programs areavailable to users. Software is continually main-tained and improved.

Technical Assistance and Training. ThroughISD, instructional computing coordinators are lo-cated throughout the State in each of the regions.These regional coordinators work with teacherswho in turn serve as lOcal coordinators for theschool district or education agency. According toWill Joke la, MECC Instructional Coordinator forCentral Minnesota, these local coordinates are cru-cial to the program. "They make things happenand are part of the whole planning and implemen-tation process."

For example, when Joke la conducts workshopsacross his region, he often uses local coordinatorsas resources. Joke la also holds sessions to demon-strate new programs for local coordinators, andthese are often times when they share programsdeveloped locally and duplicate MECC microcom-piker programs. He keeps up with computing ac-tivities through the electronic mail system (alsopart of time share) and through visits to localschools and colleges. The regional coordinatorshelp in disseminating information in the newslet-ters, through conferences, and through the elec-tronic mail system.

At the same time, Joke la and others in his rolebecame the link in continuing advances andchanges. Soon after the MECC inexpensive com-puter contract was awarded, Joke la was "tryingout the Atari" and getting ready to demonstrateits use to interested educators. He also deliveredand installed the Apples purchased throughMECC, and literally carted Apples across centralMinnesota. Of his 73 public school districts inRegion III, all have Apples and 62 used the dine-share system in 1981-82.

Since the first purchase of Apple microcompu-ters in 1977, increasing amounts of the coor-dinators' time have gone into supporting micro-computers. Marcia Horn, an instructional coor-dinator in the Twin Cities area, points out that assoon as a workshop is announced, it is filled. Hornis impressed with the eagerness to learn and theexcitement of those who attend her MECC intro-ductory courses. In the sessions, technology ismanipulated, not just talked about. That par-

ticipants recognize the need for hands-on ex-periences is indicated, in part, by their willingnessto bring all the equipment to class. Microcom-puters and diskettes replace books, paper, and pen-cils, as learning tools. Principals, teachers, andlibrarians learn about and learn with the tech-nology, in much the same way as do their students.

Developing Instructional Computing Softwareand Support Materials; Dissemination and Distri-bution. Software that has been designed anddeveloped includes operating system manuals,computer literacy courses, and a range of sup-plementary instructional materials and manage-ment aids. Development is directly linked to theusers (through the creation of software at the locallevel), to field testing and revision, and to im-plementation. Networking, originally begunthrough the time-sharing system, has been ex-tended through the State instructional computingconference, regional meetings, the newsletters, andthe other user activities.

What is dear is the value of sharing ideas, of pro-viding a vehicle for development, and of dissemi-nating this new information to users. Individualteachers, school districts, and regional organiza-tions contribute software. MECC staff work withthe developers to obtain rights to the material,then they document and standardize it so thatother schools can use it. All software and supportmaterials are available to Minnesota users (forcopying) free or at nominal cost.

In October 1980, institutional membershipswere offered to nonprofit educational institutionsoutside of Minnesota. Presently, there are 51 mem-bers in 23 States, Canada, Australia, England,Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, and Switzerland.In addition, software reproduction and distribu-tion rights are arranged with commercial vendorsunder a royalty agreement. The income from theseagreements and sales goes directly back into soft-ware development.

Management InformationServices Division

Management Information Services supports arange of administrative management functions.Every school district in the State is required to usethe finance reporting system developed by MECC.This division has also developed a student supportsystem that handles student data, attendance,scheduling, reporting, and history. The person-nel/payroll system is used by half of the districtsin the State.

App. ACase Studies: Applications of Information Technologies 217

Special Projects DivisionThe Special Projects Division carries out re-

search projects, developments of new applications,and evaluation. With funding from the NationalScience Foundation (NSF), computer literacy cur-riculum modules and support materials are beingdeveloped. An interactive video disk/microcom-puter course in economics is under way with sup-port from private foundations.

ImpactsProviding Access to Computing: Instructional

Time Sharing and Microcomputing. Not only ac-cess but equal access has been Minnesota's goalfor all students. From the very start, it was rec-ognized that there was a need to achieve economyof scale in computer hardware acquisition, tocreate a cost-effective communications network tominimize the systems design and development

costs, to share expertise and applications, to haveuniformity and compatibility of data (administra-tion), and to train educators.

The use of the time-sharing system has been fair-ly consistent in time of the number of ports pur-chased by users and the increase of log-ins and con-nect time, which increased by approximately one-third during 1978-81 (see fig. A-2). Of the elemen-tary, secondary, and vocational school districts,75 percent used the time-sharing system, a slightreduction in use. At the same time, however, mi-crocomputer use rose from 57 percent the year

.....iteforeto 85 percent of all districts.

teThe major use of the time-share sysm is forrograming--up to 45 percentwith students

from all over the State having access to almost adozen different programing languages. The impactof these opportunities is not readily assessedthrough numbers, but clearly many of these stu-dent users have become outstanding programers.Winners of the MECC annual student software

Figure A2.MECC Timesharing System Port Distribution by User System, 1975-81

400

300

200

100

55

1

11

1

1976-76 1976-77 1977.78 1978-79 1979-1980 1980-81

School year

Key1= Elementary/secondary/vocational2 = State universities3 = Community colleges4 = University of Minnesota5 = Nonmember institutions

SOURCE Instruchonal 1Aecmcompuhng and Timesharing A Afennesora Perspecrivo. Report ol ths Instructional GervicesLOng Range Planning Prolecl. Minnesota EducatiOnal Computing Consortium, Juno I, 1081

218 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

competition develop creative and impressive prod-ucts. "Many of the future technology leaders willcome from Minnesota," notes Brumbaugh, "hav-ing had 8 to 10 years of computing opportunitiesin the public schools as well as training at theUniversity of Minnesota's world-renowned com-puter sciences programs." Minnesota benefitsdirectly, since many of these high school and col-lege students are hired as part-time programersat MECC and many enter Minnesota-based indus-tries.

The impact on inctbased access by MECC'searly entry into microcomputing with the awardof the State contract to the Apple Computer Co.is clear. The decision to standardize hardware toone system was based ors the belief that standard-ization was necessary in order to be able to sup-port that system with software and training, there-by indirectly affecting access. (By early 1982, totalApple sales reached 2,863.) Most of the purchasersof these microcomputers are elementary, second-ary, and vocational schools.

In 1981, MECC developed a second set of speci-fications for a low-cost microcomputer. The Statecontract was awarded to Atari, which agreed topay MECC to convert at least 76 of existingMECC/Apple programs. In the first 3 months ofthe Atari contract, 230 microcomputers had beenpurchased.

A major reason that districts are purchasing mi-crocomputers is to provide greater access. Thehigh school in Maple Lake, a small rural district,has three Apples, one TRS-80, and one time-shar-ing port. Before the microcomputers, the 500 stu-dents had limited computing experience throughtime sharing. Even though four microcomputersaren't enough, they make a big difference to MaryJames, a teacher and the district's computer coor-dinator. James is adamant about reaching everyMaple Lake youngster:

By the time they are 35 they all will havecomputersmany for their farm businessesothers in technical work (if they leave MapleLake) and for recreation . .. if most familieshave three snowmobiles sitting in their drive-ways now. they'll soon have computers, too.

It's not just the hardware that makes a differ-ence, it's the support James gets from the rangeof MECC services. In this rural district, with anoperating budget of $2.6 million for 1,320 stu-dents, the opportunity to use computers for in-struction and to provide computer literacy coursesand independent study, is due in large measure toMECC and to local administrative and schoolboard support. James says:

If MECC drops the time share we'd feel it ...the larger city districts will continue. If I losethe port, I can stand it. If I lose the supportof MECC, the whole program goes.

Developing Software and Making It Availableto Users. Software and support materials havebeen steadily developed and revised to support thetime-share system, the Apple microcomputer, andthe Atari microcomputer. On the time-share sys-tem there is a library of more than 960 programsused at all levels. More than 200 microcomputerprograms have been developed, and the numberof new programs continues to expand at a rate of8 to 10 new programs each month.

Although software development has been fo-cused on Minnesota users, in the case of materialsfor the Apple (and now the Atari), two-thirds ofthe software distribution (primarily for the micro-computer) is outside the State. Single-item sales,institutional licensing agreements, and distribu-tion arrangements with commercial vendors haveincreased significantly over the last 2 years.MECC officials point out that all of the incomefrom software sales goes back into development.The current budget for development has tripled,with only 6 percent of the funding for softwaredevelopment coming from Minnesota. Accordingto Brumbaugh:

The amount of reeources invested in instruc-tional computing material development con-tinues to grow, without any reduction in sight. . It's estimated that 260,000 copies of MECCdiskettes have been distributed or sold to com-puter users throughout the world. Softwaresales this year are expected to reach one milliondollars.

Software development has been effective be-cause it has been tied to what teachers want. Ac-tually begun by teachers sharing ideas through thetime-share system, it has continued to build onteacher ideas. Much of the software has primarilybeen cleaned-up, field-tested, documented, andmade available to users by MECC. Another reasonfor success, many argue, was the decision to de-velop software for one microcomputer system.This decision provided an opportunity to refineauthoring procedures, understand the capabilitiesof the machine, and develop more programs (e.g.,instead of three programs for three machines, nineprograms for one machine). After the award of thesecond computer contract, it was not difficult toconvert many Apple programs for the Atari. Theneed and demand for microcomputer coursewarein Minnesota continues, however. In MECC's 1981Computing Opinion Survey, "Schools want mate-

2 I

App. ACase Studieg. Applications of information Technologies 219

rials in all subject areaswith the highestpriorities given to computer science, businesseducation, mathematics, science, and specialeducation," with less need for drill and practiceand games and more need for problem solving,tutorial, and simulations.'

Local districts will continue to develop their ownsoftware and will also continue to purchase com-mercial software. For the latter, it may be desir-able to provide help to schools by developing state-wide purchase contracts for software, as has beendone for hardware. Finally, as the market for soft-ware enlarges, there will be an increase in develop-ment in the private sector, argues Haugo, nowpresident of a software development company.

Impacts of InformationTechnology

Professional Development and Training. Profes-sional development and training is cited frequentlyas a major area of need that must be addressedif education is to take advantage of computer tech-nology. Over a 6-year period (1974-80), MECC hasprovided significant development and training ac-tivities: 3,572 visitations by MECC staff todistricts and campuses; 1,639 informal presenta-tions; 1,756 workshops with a total attendance of26,340; and 623 meetings for local computer coor-dinators. As impressive as these figures are,MECC officials point out that the demand fortraining exceeds capacity. Brumbaugh notes: "Forevery request for service that we fill, we turn onedown." Although many local districts provide ad-ditional training activitiesthe educational serv-ice unit or area vocational technical institutes andcolleges and universities are offering an increas-ing number of coursesthe needs for training arenot fully met.

Furthermore, as State funding resources dimin-ish, continuing to provide the current level of semices will become a problem. According to Brum-baugh, there has to be a way to deal with teacherturn-over (trends show that the more highly tech-nologically trained teachers leave), with newteachers as they enter the system, and with main-taining training for those who want to stay abreastof technological advances. When asked who shoulddo inservice training for instructional computing,teachers and administrators ranked MECC staffas the most desirablefollowed by local staff, thenregional service centers, and finally colleges anduniversities. Data suggests that local staff will beable to assume most introductory demonstrations,

.19fil MEC(' Computer Opinion Survey t ser Opinion on Training

but more advanced topics and courseware author-izing and design will require MECC staff.

Close Ties With Local Districts, Using Local Ex-pertise. The superintendent of the Alexandria Pub-lic Schools, Clayton Hovda, attributes his dis-trict's early involvement with computers to the op-portunity to be part of the statewide time-sharesystem, as well as to the fact that MECC from thevery start had key people "who came through theeducational process, who knew how schoolsworked because they were school-based." Therewas and continues to be a symbiotic relationshipbetween the schools and MECC.

For example, the Alexandria schools sharedcomputing and time-sharing facilities with tiOArea Vocational Technical Institute (AVTI). Thatexperience, along with other examples (TIES), pro-vided a model for extending the time-share con-cept across the State. A further example of thissymbiotic relationship can be seen in the role ofthe local computer coordinators. According to BillFrench of Alexandria, this role is strongly sup-ported by MECC; the fact that most districts havea computer coordinator can be credited to MECC'sefforts.

Providing Leadership. There is no questionabout MECC's leadership in providing hardwarestandardization, software development, and train-ing. However, several school districts and regionalagencies are leaders as well; and districts such asHopkins and Robbinsdale have received nationalrecognition for their computing activities. It is ap-parent that MECC walks a fine line: local auton-omy of programs is highly valued, yet service andassistance are welcomed. The revised Joint PowersAgreement puts MECC squarely in a service role.It is also agreed that there is a need for leadershipand coordination to maintain and advance comput-ing applications; in this regard MECC, as theState's computer agency plays a key role.

School districts outside the State, and evenother nations concerned with educational com-puting, have turned to MECC for advice, technicalassistance, and resources. For example, the firstcomputer contract specifications developed byMECC became the model for the bids developedby the Region IV Education Services Center inTexas and for those prepared by school districtsand several States including Florida, NorthCarolina, and British Columbia. A recent articlewhich surveyed all statewide computing activitiesranked Minnesota as the clear leader.' "No otherState education agency comes close to achieving

Survey of State Governmenta and the New Technologies. Einetronk- Learnmg. November/Derember lDhI

211

- 220 Informational Technology and Its Impact on Amerian Education

the level of commitment and organization achievedby MECC. But many State officials are now realiz-ing that it may be their responsibility to move inthat direction."

The FutureWith reductions of the State subsidy for tele-

communications, increased local costs pose a realbarrier to time sharing, especially' to the smaller,rUral districts further away from the Twin Cities.Although much of the iristructional activities canand will be shifted to the microcomputers, a realloss may well be the availability of advanced pro-graming languages and the communications activ-ities and the electronic mail system which tied somany of the districts to one another. RichardPollack, Director of Special Projects, describes thetime-share system as "the glue that brought it alltogether."

A spate of news stories have highlighted Min-nesrita's financial difficulties. "What the rest ofthe Nation's schools have been facing has finallycaught up with us," one of the educators re-marked. Many districts have begun to tightentheir belts by laying off teachers and increasingpupil-teacher ratios. However, many districts, likeAlexandria, plan to go ahead with plans for theircomputer programs. Bill French, teacher and com-puting coordinator comments: "I can see us buy-ing 4 to 6 Atari's for each elementary school . . .

What's $500 when we pay $2,000 for a typewriteror an Apple?" The additional costs for training andsoftware are, in a s6nse, covered through the serv-ices provided by MECC. Although MECC has al-ready had budget cuts and expects more in thefuture, increasing reyenues from software saleswill lessen the impact

Superintendent Arthur Bruning, of the HopkinsSchool District, a Twin Cities suburb, also expectsto expand his progrsm using the low-cost com-puters. He sees tecitnology bridging home andschool, with the computers going home for ex-tended activities. In this district, with an $18million annual budget, lie argues, "We mill needto set aside resources for technologyfor there isgoing to be a change (in the way we educate young-sters) and the pupil/teacher ratio will increase be-cause of economics:"

Brumbaugh is optimistic. He sees opportunitiesfor expansion of software and new technologicaladvances that will make a difference in instruc-tional computing. One example of these advancesis an interface that allows microcomputers to benetworked or clustered together. Once clustered,

software/ rfiaintenance is reduced, recordkeepingand management funCtions are siriphfied, and cen-tralized printing is feasible. MECC is designing itsown interfaces and networks. By fall of 1982, thesenetworks will be field-tested in selected Minnesotaschools:, In addition, MECC's long-range plann sestimate that the number of instructional com t-ing stations in classrooms in Minnesota's schooIscolleges, and universities will reach 10,000 b1984.

Minnesota computer educators also confident-ly predict continuing developments in instruc-tional computing, pointing to present programsthe result of more than 8 years of experience. TheMECC software and materials, training activities,and the range of successful applications in com-puting, were possible because funding was sus-tained.over a long enough period of time and overa critical mass of educational institlutickand,c.users. MECC's accomplishments, they. 4in tuactivity in Minnesota schools, and t4ep ficantnumber of students with access to these proigramsis the result of the State's vision and its long-termcommitment.

Resourcest

Case study; intervjews:Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium, St.

Paul, Minn.Dale L. Schneiderhan, Acting Executive DirectorKenneth E. Brumbaugh, Director, Instructional Serv-

ices, and Deputy Executive DirectorDouglas P. LaChance, Acting Dir,tar, Management In-

formation ServicesRichard Pollak, Director, Speiinl ProjectsMarge Kosel, Manager, Instructional Systems Devel-

opmentMarcia Horn, Instructional CoordinatorKasey Mork, Instructional CoordinatorWillis Jokela, Instructional Coordinator

Minneapolis Public Schools, Minneapolis, Minn.Paul Dillenberger, Math Resaurce Teacher

Hopldns Public Schools, Hopkins, Minn.Arthur Bruning, SuperintendentKen Corens, Computing CoordinatorDon Sension, Computer Center

Maple Lake Public Schools, Maple Lake, Minn.Mary James, Teacher, Maple Lake High School, and

Computing CoordinatorEagle Bend Public Schools, Eagle Bend, Minn.

Wilbur James, SuperintendentRichard Lundgren, Communicasting Project Director

Alexandria Public Schools; Alexandria, Minn.Bill French, High School Teacher and Computing

Coordinator .

Clayton Hovda, Superintendent

App. ACase Studies: Applications of Information Technologies 221

John Haugo, former Executive Director, MECC1973-1981, presently President, Edu Systems, Inc.,St. Paul, Mimi.

Rib biographyt ,

AM, David H., "Minnesota Educational Computing Con-sortium," Creative Computing, March 1981.

Calkins, Andrew, "A Survey on State Governments andthe New Technologies," Electronic Learning,November/December 1981.

"Computers in the Schools," a Message from the Com-missioner of Education (undatedestimated date fall1980).

Cost-Effective Educational Innovations in Minnesota:A Report of Projects, Minnesota Council on QualityEducation, Division of Special Services, MinnesotaDepartment of Education, St. Paul, Mimi.

Data Newsletter, Minnesota 'Educational ComputingConsortium, January/February 1981.

Instructional Miarocomputipg and Timesharing A Min-nesota Perspectiva The report of the MECC Instruc-tional Services Long Range Planning Project, Min-nesota Educational Computing Consortium, St. Paul,Mimi., June 1, 1981.

1979-1980 Annual Report, Minnesota Educational Com-puting Consortium, June 30, 1980.

1980-81 Annual Report, innesota Educational Com-puting Consortium, J e 30, 1981.

PACE: Proje oAdvanctWroativityin Education, 5thed., ESEA title IV, pt, C in Minnesota, Minnesota De-partment of Education, St. Paul, Mimi.

"The Minnesota Connection," an interview with John-

Haugo, Classroom Computer News, fall 1980.

Instructional ComputingHouston Independent School

District, Houston, Tex.The Houston Independent School District

(HISD) was selected for study because it is a rec-ognized leader in urban education, in developinginnovative programs such as magnet schools andin implementing cooperative efforts with industryand the business community. It has successfullyhalted declining pupil achievement, a major prob-lem for urban school districts. The district alsoprovides examples of how technology can be usedto support and deliver basic skill instruction, tocommunicate with parents, to assist teachers, andto become the basis for technological understand-ing and computer literacy.

Moreover, it provides an example of districtwideleadership and coordination through a newly cre-ated department of technology and the Nation'sfirst associate superintendent for technology.With a growing minority student population, the

irrdistrict has engaged in a planning effort to addressequity and access to ensure that all students ac-quire basic skills and technological competence. Asone of the largest school districts in the Nation,Houston also shows how economies of scale, crit-ical mass, and volume purchasing power can beused to implement new programs and producesoftware/curriculum materials.

The SettingThe Houston metropolitan area population in

1981 was 2.4 million. It is a highly mobile popula-tion with a high growth rate for Hispanics andAsians. A total of 193,702 pupils attend 169 ele-mentary and 70 secondary schools. Over the last10 years the ethnic makeup of the student bodypopulation has shifted from an almost all-whitepopulation to one that is 23 percent white, 44 per-cent black, 30 percent Hispanic, and 3 percentAsian. Approximately 62 percent of the highschool graduates attend college.

Houston is at the center of a booming industrialarea. Its major industries are oil and gas, bank-ing, construction, and chemicals. There are strongties between HISD and area industries, the cham-ber of commerce, and the other business organiza-tions. This relationship has been cultivated byHouston's superintendent, Billy Reagan, over a7-year period. Through cooperative business/school arrangements, the district's pupils and pro-grams have benefited. For example, magnetschools receive hundreds of thousands -of dollariffor equipment and scholarships from companiessuch as Exxon, IBM, DuPont, and others. Thereis evidence that the district's focus on technologyutilization, academic achievement, and careertraining programs has been positively received bythe business community,.

The annual budget of1607 million supports awide array of educational programs for this dis-trict's diverse population. The district currentlyreceives $13 million in Federal title I moneys.Houston administrators expect to feel only a slightimpact from cutbadks in Federal funds, since mostof their revenues are locally generated. Unlikemany urbau districts, Houston's financial base isthriving and its financial future appears secure.

The following issues facing the district affecteducational programs and educational quality:

The shift from an emphasis on desegregation,to an emphasis on quality integrated educa-tion (mid-1970's), to the current emphasis onthe prevention of resegregation.

222 Informational Technology and its Impact on American Education

Changes in family needs (dual wage earners)and an increasing number of single-parentfamilies.An increase in the Hispanic population andenrollment, with a critical shortage of Spanishbilingual teachers.The shortage of math, science, and computerscience teachers; a high teacher turnover ratein critical areas; and difficulty in retaining top-quality teachers.The increased computer use in all aspects ofsociety and in the district.The increase in community support from par-ents, patrons, religious organizations, andbusinesses and professional organizations.The increase in student achievement since anall-time low in 1975, and the desire to main-tain these achievement gains at all levels.

The major challenges, feels SuperintendentRegan, are "continuing to offer quality educationin an integrated environment to all children, andattracting and holding nonminority children, bothfrom within and outside the District."

Instructional ComputingIn the early 1970's, the district's first instruc-

tional computing programs were offered throughthe Region IV Education Service Center's com-puter. By 1972, 20 terminals were used for problemsolving, drill and practice, and BASIC program-ing instruction. Math and data-processing classesat the secondary level were primary users. Com-puting activities were limited, points out PatriciaSturdivant, Associate Superintendent, and t erewere problems with inadequately documentedcourseware programs and manuals and with Ighcosts of hardware and associated maintenancecosts. The links through telephone lines wereunreliable, and when the mainframe was down noinstruction was available. Despite these frustra-tions a small cadre of teachers persevered. Theseeducators, more often than not, were self-taught.Few had computer-science college training.

By 1977-78, Houston's instructional computing,efforts were well established. While computer ap-plications varied, the major emphasis was on in-creasing pupil achievement in reading and math-ematics. Not only was this a major priority for thedistrict, but Federal title I funds were used to sup-ort these high-cost programs. Student gains were"dramatic," according to high school principalFranklin Wesley.

In 1979, the Region IV ESC established a mi-crocomputer task force, to evaluate what was hap-

pening in the region's districts and to preparerecommendations for action. Task force membersincluded Superintendent Reagan, superintendentsof the Byran and Orange Cove School Districts,the director of data processing from SpringBranch ISD, and Sturdivant, then Region IV ESCInstructional Computing Coordinator. The taskforce found that use of time sharing had leveledoff (after 5 years of steady growth), that interestin microcomputers was high, and that microcom-puters were being purchased with "insufficientplanning, and little understanding of their poten-tials or limitations." After purchase, districte werefaced with inadequately trained teachers, a short-age of software, and a lack of technical support forhardware operation and maintenance.

The report recommended that hardware bestandardized to facilitate training, maintenanceand software exchange and development, and thathigh-volume purchase arrangements be made toreduce costs. Bid specifications were developed,and in June 1980, Bell and Howell's Apple IIMicrocomputer System was selected.

The Region IV Instructional Computing Serv-ices Division served as the fiscal agent for schooldistricts purchasing microcomputers. High-vol-ume purchases resulted in savings close to amillion dollars over a 2-year period. In addition,the center provided computer literacy training toarea school administrators and teachers, withmore than 3,000 teachers receiving training. Thecenter also offers a low-cost maintenance servicefor computer hardware; publishes a monthly news-letter; coordinates courseware purchase and selec-tion; loans video tapes, films, and other trainingmaterials; and offers special workshops to meetthe needs of individual school distriets in theregion. The working relationship between HISDand the service center is evidenced by Reagan'schoice of Sturdivant as his new associate super-intendent for technology.

Current ProgramsBy October 1981, the district survey of micro-

computers reported 200 microcomputers locatedin 47 percent of HISD campuses. The most fre-quently used system is the Apple II, 48K. Localfunds were used to purchase 45 percent of themicrocomputers in the school buildings, while Fed-eral funds paid for 31 percent. Parent-teacher or-ganizations bought or helped to buy about 4 per-cent of the systems. Of those reported uses, 44 per-cent focused oh classroom instruction; 29 percent

App. AGase Studies: ApPlications of Information Technologies 223

were used for classroom management, and only 4percent were used in school administration.

A year and a half later (March 1982), the esti-mated number reached 323. While use of the ter-minals linked to a minicomputer has ,decreased,several elementary and secondary campuses con-tinue to operate drill and practice laboratories forcompensatory (title I and SCE) and handicappedstudents.

Managing Competency-Based Education. leBooker T. Washington High School's competency-based education program for students uses theschool's PDP-11 to score student tests, monitorstudent performance on specific learning objec-tives, and report progress to teachers. The school'sprincipal, Wesley, argues that this approach isworking for this school's depressed economic com-munity and its predominantly black population ofstudents who are at the bottom of the academic

scale.Computer ,Science/Programing Languages.

Housed on the same campus (Booker T. Wash-ington) is onel of-the district magnet programsthe High School for the Engineering Profession.These students take computer science courses inBASIC, Fortran, applications, and problem-solv-ing, using terminals connected to the school'sPDP-11. The school's computer science teacherworks jointly with an engineer on loan from IBM.Other secondary schools offer computer sciencecourses of instruction in several programinglanguages on both time-share terminals and micro-computers. In some elementary schools, studentslearn programing in mathematics.

Project BASIC. All secondary schools have im-plemented Project BASIC, a conimercially devel-oped program for HISD's Apple microcomputerswhich monitors reading lab students' progress andtracks their mastery of reading skills. Before im-plementing the program, extensive training tookplace: first of principals, then reading teachers, andfinally technical aids who input data and retrieveinformation on the microcomputer.

Implemented in the 1981-82 school year, theproject required a reorganization of the secondaryreading labs, more than $600,000 (primarily SCEfunds) to purchase hardware, software, and mate-rials to operate the labs, and reallocation of ex-isting operaMng funds to hire 67 basic skills com-puter operators, one media equipment mainte-nance technician, one supervisor, six area readingspecialists, and one systems analyst.

Computer Literacy. A computer literacy cur-riculum, developed by Region IV ESC, is being

piloted in five elementary schools with languageprograms for gifted and talented students. AtAskew Elementary, students learn about com-puters and their impact on society. Their iiarentsare also involved. Together, they find microproc-essors that they use at home, and they collect andread newspaper and magazine articles. In class,students have experiences with the computer indrill and practice, simulation and tutorial ac-tivities. Finally, they learn simple programingroutines. These students seem to enjoy all the ac-tivities, notes one of their teachersparticularlyhands-on experiences. "They love it so limg as theyhave a computer on the end -of it."

Operation Fail Safe. The district's computingpower has also been used since 1977 in a uniqueparent involvement program, Operation Fail-Safe.Although not a teaching application, the programaffects the instructional program. It is designedto reach parents, communicate information abouttheir children's achievement, and help parents helptheir children (see fig. A-3).

This system-wide program is an example of howcomputer technology has been used to provide im-portant data on a timely basis and on a massivescale, impacting 200,000 pupils, notes Sara Cord-ray, program director. Using the Region IV twinCDC Cyber 170 mainframe, HISD profiles eachstudent's performance on the Iowa Test of BasicSkills; generates progress reports listing specificskill strengths in reading and math; develops in-dividualized reading lists (sent home as a letter toeach parent) based on each students' interest and-independent reading level from a data base of12,000 library books; andprepares vouttional pro-files based on a standardized assessment of eachstudent. (Accompanying each profile is a printoutof occupational opportunities and education andtraining requirements.)

Other current uses (documented in the HISDMicrocomputer User Survey) of the microcom-puters vary from school to school. Microcomputersare used in mathematics, reading, science, lan-guage arts, accounting and business education,special education, computer literacy, and program-ing activities. Some schools have computer clubsand some offer classes after school for studentsand parents. Some teachers are creating their ownsoftware, and others use commercially preparedmaterials.

ImpactsWhen Houston educators assess the impacts of

technology on education, they point to improved

21 I 0

224 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

RDOERICKGRATE 3

Figure A-3.Sample "Fall Safe" Parent Letter

BERRI -ELERTEACHER tACO

WAR PARENT,YOUR SUPPORT ANO INVOLVEMENT IN OPERATION FAIL-SAFE IS MkKING A BIG

oIFFERENCE IN HELPING RODERICK'S READING SXILLS. ATTACHED AgE

SOME TORE ACTIVITIES THAT YOU CAN USE A. HamE.

GOOD LUCK IN HELPING YOUR CHILD BECONE A BETTER READER.

READING PRESCRIPTION FOR ROOERICX

MATERIALS* 'NEWSPAPER. COLORED PENCIL.ASK YOUR CHILD TO HUNT HEADLINES FOR BLEND WORDS. ASK HIM -TO

CIRCLE THE ONES HE FINDS. HELP HIN READ WORDS HE DOESN'T KNOW. LET

HIM READ THE WORDS HE DOES KNOW.

PAIR PICKCAN YOUR CHILO HEAR THE TWO WOROS THAT BEGIN ALIKE? READ THE

THREE WORDS TO HIF. TWO OF THEM BEGIN WITH THE SATE SOUND. SEE IF

YOUR CHILD CAN PICK THE PAIR THAT BEGINS ALIKE.

EXAMPLE*SKIP SKILL STAND WHICH TWO BEGIN THE SAME?

(SKIP, SKILL)WHAT TWO LETTERS 'MAKE THATSOUND? USK/

DO THE SAME FOR THESE WORDS:

1. SMUG SPILL SMELL2. STOP SNOW STAIRS3. SPUN SWIM SPOTb. SWING SWEATER SKIRT5. SNUG STONE SNACK6. SMART SMELL SNOWT. SPEAK SPUNK SMILE

GOOFY SENTENCESASK YOUR CHILI) TO MAKE SOFE "GOOFY SENTENCES" WITH THE BLENOS.

THE OBJECT IS TO INCLUDE AS MANY BLEND WORDS AS YOU CAN. THE SEN-.

TENCES CAN BE SILLY FOR FORE FUNaEXAMPLESs

srALL SNAKES SKATE SPEEDILY.

FLIMSY BLUE FROGS DRIVE SMALL PLAY CARS.

TO GET THINGS STARTED. SUGGEST BUILDING A LIST OF BLEND WORDS FOR"ST." "SK." 'SM." "SP." "SW." "SN." 'CIL." "FL." "PL." "SL," "BR.""CR." "IOR.** "FR." "GR.' "PR." "TR. AND "131." BRAINSTORM WITH YCURCHILD TO THINK OF MANY WORDS AS YOU CAN FOR EACH BLEND. THEN WORK TO-

G5THER ON CREATING THE GOOFY SENTENTES.

SOURCE: Houston lndopondont School District.

2!,1,1

App. ACase Studies: Applications of Information Technologies 225

student achievement. The profile of HISD elemen-tary students' mean composite scores from 1971to 1981 documents the increased basic school per-formance of a student population who typically arelow achieVers (see fig. A-4). In 1980-81, the districtcompleted its sequential testing program throughgrade 12. Although the results at the elementarylevel are more impressive, scores in grades 5, 7,8, 9, 10, and lf also show a significant improve-ment in achievement. Although not the sole fac-tor, technology plays a critical role.

When the title I computer-assisted instruction(CAI) program was evaluated, students in grades2-6 averaged gains of 1.1 months in reading and1.2 months in mathematics in 1978-79. Studentsin grades 3-7 made similar gains of 1.1 months inreading, 1.4 months in mathematics, and 1.5months in language in 1980-81. Of teachers whosestudents participated in the CAI labs, 93 percentfelt that student performance improved as a resultof CAI and 63 percent reported that -students'achievement was greater than would be expectedin a traditional instructional program. Whilestudents looked forward to CAI classes, teacherscomplained about the disruption to their classeswhen students were pulled out. Scheduling wasfixed and inflexible. Moreover, when computerswere down or telephone lines malfunctioned stu-dents missed instruction.

Operation Fail Safe was evaluated in 1977-78 todetermine the relationship between parent involve-ment and student achievement. The level of parentinvotvement, determined by the school principal,was compared with students' achievement testscores. At every levelelementary, junior high,and senior higha significant positive relationshipwas documented. A second study of a pilot parent-assist program involved 200 parents of third grade

GE

7.0

6.5

6.0

535 0

1.5

1.0

3 5

Figure A-4.lowa Tests of Basic Skills,Mean Composite Scores, HISD, 1971-81

a I j 11.1971 1972 1973 1971 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981

SOURCE Houston Independent School District

2.i u

students in four schools. After students' readingskill areas were identified, materials were prepack-aged and distributed weekly fer parent-child useat home.

A comparison of these students and a controlgroup (stUdents not participating in the program)revealed higher significant gains for pilot students.Beyond thesestatistical gains, Operation Fail Safehas the strong support of the business communi-ty. Local businesses and corporations have paidfor a $1 million advertising campaign that high-lights parent involvement activities with the mes-sage, "Don't Fail MeHelp Me." Seventy-fourpercent of elementary school parents and 39 per-cent of secondary school parents attend the pro-gram's parent-teacher conferences.

HISD and the Region IV ESC have providedleadership for the 10-1 local area school districthand for the State education agency. The Applemicrocomputer bid process and contract had na-.tional recognition and was used as a basis for otherdistrict and regional educition agency efforts.Region IV was one of 'the first to join theMinnesota Educational Computing Consortium(MECC) as an institutional -member, providingarea schools access to MECC-produced software.

HISD organized a technology conference for theNational Institute of Education's Urban Super-intendents Study Group in December 1981. Theconference brought together educational leaders,hardware manufactures, and educational publish-ers to discuss common needs and to work towardscollaborative efforts.

Finally, the district is bombarded with requestsfor information and for help"everything youknow about computers." There is a steady streamof visitors who come to observe programs and seeteachers and students in action.

As HISD moves its technology programs for-ward, Sturdivant sees the need to help schools toeffectively use the technology that they have. Shebelieves that, before schools acquire hardware oradd to their inventory, they must plan for theiruse. That involves an Understanding of the tech-nology's potential and its limitations, the learningobjectives to be Met, and the trained teachersneeded to implement the program. Sturdivant isalso in favor by focusing on a few applications ata time, so as to give the district leverage for pur-chasing hardware and software. The major pub-lishers will provide what the district needs "if theyknow we will buy." The full impact of technologyon IHSD will come when "technology is fused toeducation . . . to what teachers are doing . . . and(is) not another add-on to the curriculum. If teach-

226 informational Technology and its impact on American Education

ers cait't be convinced that technology will maketheir job easier, they're not going to buy it."

In addition, here will be a concerted effort inHISD to continue to identify those programs thatare working and to replicate them. The key, statesAssociate Superintendent Michael Say, "is tachannel the use of technology and coordinateit . . . Houston is on the verge of moving ahead ina significant way." The district will fund theemerging programs out of State and local fundsbecause "we want to determine our own emphasisand maintain our own programs." Federal funds,he argues, should be used for innovation and state-of-the-art development.

FutureFor HISD, the future is now. Although technol-

ogy is already a part of the Houston educationalscene, with diverse activities well under way, thereis a pervasive feeling among.educational, leadersthat hard decisions must be made, innovative ac-tions initiated, and major resources reallocated asquickly as possible. At the same time, cautionsSay, "We can't just throw technology out thereand expect it to be used." Houston's efforts willfocus heavily on teacher and administrator com-puter-literacy training, and on acquisition of hard-ware and software that is coordinated withplanned program development. SuperintendentReagan believes technology holds "untold prom-ises . . . not to replace teachers but to become thefull partner of the teacher." The district's futureplans are diverse; several are close to implemen-tation or are already under way. Other plans are2 to 5 years away from- completion.

New Roles for Teachers. The position of teachertechnologist with pay incentives (increased salarysupplements) has been approved. Teacher technol-ogists will teach teachers, parents, and youngstersand serve as catalysts, planners, and implementersof computer literacy and other programs on indi-vidual school campuses. These teachers will drawon the small cadre of staff members already im-plementing programs, as well as on others who areready to move into this role. It is hoped that thesenew opportunities and increased pay will hold thedistrict's trained teachers and attract new recruits,many of whom are choosing industry for theircareers.

Extensive Staff Development. Through existingprograms offered at the microcomputer center andthrough the establishment of additional centersand demonstration projects in schools involvingteacher technologists, training activities will be

2ti

significantly expanded. First priority for aware-ness and training activities will be school prin-cipals. School officials note that the principal is thekey figure in program implementation.

Expanding the Use of Microcomputers as In-structional Delivery Systems in the School andHome. School officials expect the number ofmicrocomputers in HISD to increase from thepresent 250 to 300 to approximately 1,000 in ayear and to 5,000 to 7,000 in 5 years. A major useof these machines will be to increase student time-on-task in basic skill areas, especially in title Ischools. Moreover, microcomputers will be madeavailable 0,parents whataVe participated in train-ing sessions and who are willing to help their chil-dren increase academic,skills at home. Pilot pro-grams will begin in September with schools thathave implemented parent-school training and theOperation Fail-Safe partnership activities.

Although there is a lack of available, appropriatesoftware, district leaders believe that there isenough to begin the programs and that more willfollow as the microcomputers are purchased, andthe district envisions software lending librariesavailable to parents who will purchase hardwareon their own. Eventually, Houston's cable systemwill become part of home-school activities, with in-dividual student prescriptions, homework assign-ments, and a range of learning packages gearedto terminals in the home.

Computer Literacy for Diverse Student Popula-tions. Over the next 4 years, the district plans toexpand and develop magnet elementary and sec-ondary schools located near major government,business, industry, higher education, and culturalcenters of the city. This in-town consortium ofmagnet schools will be linked together by commoeprogram components and a common HISD trans-portation system. The plan is to integrate diversecultural, racial, and socioeconomic student popula-tions by offering a strong academic program thatintegrates the use of the computer as an instruc-tional tool in skill development and enrichmentactivities.

Educational programs will take advantage ofnearby resources, expanding HISD's BusinessSchool Partnership Program, which brings volun-teers into the schools to tutor, teach minicourses,and organize field trips. These magnet programswill also use the resources of libraries, museums,universities, colleges, and community centers.With the increased focus on technology, the prac-tical technical expertise of resource people from in-dustry apd the business community will play aneven more important role.

App. ACase Studies: Applications of information Technologies 227

Developing Technology-Based Courses. Oneway to deal with the district's critical shortage ofmath, science, and bilingual teachers is to developcourses that do not require a full-time teacher.Although not on the district's immediate horizon,there is a growing idea that such courses, mini-courses, and the like can be developed because ofadvances in computer and video disk technologies.There is also a plan to make better use of.the dis-trict's in-house television and cable capabilities bydesigning remote-learning stations with instruc-tion coming from a teacher in one location.

While some educators see these plans as vision-ary, others point to HISD'S innovations in otherareas and argue that, under Superintendent Rea-gan's leadership, these ideas will become reality.The superintendent is a powerful persuader: "Un-less technologyi.e., the microcomputer, the videodisk, and televisionis fully developed and ex-ploited to the maximum degree, we will fall fur-ther and further behind in llouston in providingthe manpower for industry, for our defense, andfor our future."

ResourcesCase study interviews:

Houston Independent School District, Houston, Tex.Billy Reagan, Superintendent,Michael Say, Associate Superintendent for InstructionPatricia Sturdivant, Associate Superintendent for

TechnologyRonald Veselka, Amistant Superintendent for Research

and EvaluationSara Cordray, Program Administrator, Parent Support

ProgramsFrank Wesley, Principal, Booker T. Washington High

SchoolRichard Frazier, Teacher, Booker T. Wa8hington High

.SchoolJohn Roustenstraugh, Test Engineer on Loan from IBM

and TeacherHelen Heard, Principal, A8kew Elementary SchoolTwo classrooms of gifted and talented students using

microcomputer8Joy Louisa, Principal, River Oaks Elementary SchoolSusan Otto, Teacher of K-5 computer literacy classe8Madeline Reed, Director of MathematicsCarol Kukendahl, Director of Reading and Language

Art8Patsy Rogers, Computer Resources Director, Microcom-

puter Center for Teacher8

BibliographyHouston Independent School District3830 Richmond AvenueHouston, TX 77027

2 1

Final Evaluation ReportCog:muter A85i8ted In8truc-tion (CAI), Nov. 6, 1981.

Preliminary report on Districtwide Needs Amassmentand Plans for Establishing District goals for the NewAccredition Cycle, Jan. ,21, 1982.

Quality Integrated Education: Challenges and Re-sponses, prepared for the Workshop on the Imple-mentation of the Recommendations of the MagnetSchool Task Force, Dec. 21, 1981.

Houston Independent School District, packet of in-formation, November 1981.

Factor8 Affecting Education in HISD and Texas in the1980'8,_ February 1981.

Elementary School Profiles, 1980-81, August 1981.Secondary School Profiles, 198O81, August 1-981.Approval to Create the Department of Technology,

December 1981.A Status Report on Microcomputer Developments,

Patricia 'Sturdivant, Region IV Education ServiceCenter, October 1979.

Information TecApologyand Education i the

State of AlaskaThe State of Alaska is providing extensive and

varied applications of computer and communica-tions technology to education. Special geographic,demographic, sociological, and financial factorshave made the State a forerunner in educationalinformation technology. Alaska has a populationunusually receptive to change and technology; acompelling need to apply communications and in-formation technology to education; and the finan-cial capability to invest in capital-intensiveinnovations.

Although many of the technical, political, legal,organizational, and educational issues and prob-lems being addressed in Alaska are common toother parts 'of the United States, the special cir-cumstances of Alaska require that any attempt togeneralize from Alaskan experience be done care-fully. Given this provision, it seems reasonable tolook to Alaskan experience for useful lessons in theapplication of technology to education.

The SettingAlaska is the largest State in the United States,

covering a land area equal to about 20 percent ofthe remaining 49 States. Physically separatedfrom the contiguous 48 States, it is characterizedby rugged terrain, extremes of climate, low popula-tion density, limited land transportation, andmany small isolated communities accessible only

228 IntorMational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

by sea or air. The total population of 400,000 in-cludes 50,000 native Americans who belong toseven major and distinct culture and languagegroups. Over 50 different native languages anddialects are spoken in the homes. Alaska's popula-tion overall is relatively young. The frontier char-acter of the region attracts pioneering youngadults, while the rigors of life discourage retireesfrom remaining for their later years.

Alaska has about 90,000 school-age children dis-tributed over an area twice the size of Texas.Alaska's 450 public schools vary in size from 2,500students in an Anchorage high school to 8 or 10,students in one-room schools in remote areas.Although some of the 52 school districts in Alaskaare geographically larger than those in most otherStates, they may have only about 1,000 students.The State is required by court decision to provideeducation to students aged 7 through 16 in theirhome communities, rather than by sending themto boarding schools in other communities.

In rural communities, most students are nativeAmericans who have only brief history of school-ing. The educational level of many parents is low,and the benefits of standard American schoolingare not necessarily valued. Many of the studentshave a history of poor academic performance anda negative view of schools.'

The recent discovery and exploitation of oil inAlaska has provided the financial capability to in-vest large sums of capital in education. In addi-tion to the average per pupil expenditure of near-ly $7,000, there are special projectssuch as $200million for construction of schools and about$125,000 for the installation of a satellite receiverin a rural village. Rural schools are financed totallyby State funds.

It is far beyond the scope of this case study totrace the general history of communications inAlaska. But it is important to recognize that thedevelopments in educational technology in Alas-ka have occurred in the context of a generallyatypical communications situation.

Communications technology that most Ameri-cans take for grantedtelephones, radio, and tel-evisionhave had a very complex and problematichistory in Alaska. Alaska's long-distance tele-phone facilities were operated until 1971 by an armof the U.S. Air Force. The system, served by high-frequency land radio stations, was unreliablebecause of ionospheric disturbances common to

'William J Bramble and Ernest E Polley, "Microcomputer lnetruc-tion in Remote VIlages in Alaska," Alaska Department of Education,1981

the region. In 1971, 142 villages had no telephoneservice at all. RCA Alaska Communicationsbought the system and was certified by the AlaskaPublic Utilities Commission to provide telephoneservice.

RCA encountered a variety of difficulties in-cluding hindrances by weather, unreliable electricpower, employee problems in coping with villageconditions, and villagers lack of sophistication indealing with the new system.' Because of the dif-ficulties of providing communications on a private-industry basis, the Alaska State government haataken a more active role in providing communica-tions.

By the early 1970's, it becanie apparent that sat-ellite technology offered a more promising meansof providing telecommunications services to vil-lages than had any prévhous technology. Severalprojects involving satellites were initiated by theState government, including an experimentfunded jointly by the U.S. Department of Health,Education, and Welfare (HEW) and the NationalAeronautics and Space Administrtransferred to the National Institution (NIE)).' HEW and NIE support for"ATS-6 experiment" was about $2.5 million.

The ATS-6 experiment involved educational : dbiomedical applications of satellite-transmitcolor television and interactive audio to 19 sitesin Alaska. Actual operations lasted only 9 months,during 1974-75, but planning had begun in 1972.The experiment was extensively evaluated and re-ported on."

While some of th se evaluations concluded thatthe experiment was t cost-effective, the projectdid build a base of tec 'cal expertise in the Statewith regard to satellite ommunications technol-ogy,' For example, a gre t deal was learned about

(Lateruca-his

'A. Hills and M. G. Morgan, "Telecommunications in Alaskan Vil-lages," Science. vol. 211, January 1981, pp. 241.248.

1.. Grayson, "Educational Satellites: The ATS-6 Ktporiments," J.

Ed 71,ch. ,S)s., vol. 3(2), fall 1974.13. Cowlan and D. Foote, "A Case Study of tho ATS-6 Health, Educe-

tion and Telecommunications Projects," ARC No. 308.3-C876. EHR-19,Office of Education and Human Resources. Bureau of Technical As-siotance, Agency for International Development, Washington. D.C.,

August 1975.'Office of Telecommunications, "Alaska ATS-6 Health/Education Tel

Experiment; Alaska Education Experiment Final Re-port, vols. 1, II, III and Executive Summary" (Juneau: Office of Tele-communication., Office of the Oovernor of the State of Alaska,

September 1915).'Practical Concepts, Inc., Implkationr of the Alaska Education Sat-

ellite Communkatkme Demonstration for Tekicommunkations Polky.makers Mashington, D.C.: Practical Concepts, Inc., January 1978).

"I'. S. Pittman end J. Orvik. ATS-6 and State Telecommunication.Policy for Rural Menke: An Analysis of Recommendations, Center forNorthern Educational Research, Univermity of Alaska, Falrbank.,Alaska, December 1978.

App. ACase Studies: Applications of Information Technologies 229

the use of low-power ground stations.' Effective-ly structured audio conferences for adult interac-tion were found to be effective for educational pur-poses.' Institutional issues regarding media beganto be addressed, such as ways of providing for local(as opposed to State or national) control overmedia and methods of providing appropriate pro-graming for rural Alaska.

In 1975, the Alaska State Legislature providedan appropriation of about $10 million to initiateconstruction of more than 100 small Earth sta-tions throughout Alaska that would extend sat-ellite-based long-distance telephone service toniáiy coMMunities. The following year, the -legis-lature expanded this satellite network to includetelevision broadcasts for some communities. Since1977, daytime instructional television (ITV) pro-grams have been broadcast by satellite, and sitesreceiving these broadcasts have increased innumber.

In 1978, the Alaska State Department of Educa-tion, with joint funding from NIE and the State,initiated the Educational Telecommunications forAlaska Project. This project, funded at $6 million,has developed several of the major educationaltechnology systems and applications described inthis report, including an electronic mail network,an information retrieval system, and multimediaindividualized courses.

To help determine the instructional potential ofsatellite television, the legislature in 1979 re-quested that a study be made of the feasibility ofusing television for instruction on a statewidebasis. "A Report on the Feasibility of Telecom-munications for Instruction in the State ofAlaska" was submitted to the legislative councilin February 1980. In response to the recommenda-tions of this report, the legislature approved an ap-propriation of $8.6 million to implement the in-structional television and audio conferencing sys-tems now known as the LEARN/ALASKA Net-work. LEARN/ALASKA is managed by the Uni-versity of Alaska Instructional Telecommunica-tidns Consortium (UAITC), a joint organization ofthe University and the State Department of Edu-cation.

Use of Information TechnologySix major kinds of computer and communica-

tions applications are in varying stages of im-

Tereortal communkation with Witham Bramble, Alaska State De-partment of Education. December 1981

1' S. Pittman. op. cit., p. 15

plementation and use in Alaska. These include thefollowing:

instructional television;audio conferencing;electronic mail;information retrieval;individualized study by technology; andcomputer literacy.

Instructional Television. By December 1981, 85Alaskan communities were receiving instructionaltelevision via satellite dish antennas. Additionalcommuthties continue to be added to the LEARN/ALASKA television network. The statewide in-structional teIeviiion chann4brOacasts nearly 18hours of programing every day for audience levelsranging from preschool through adult. The pro-grams may be used directly in class or taped forlater use.

Most of the programs are purchased from educa-tional program producers in the contiguous 48States. However, the State of Alaska is now pro-viding funds for Alaskans to produce programingtailored to the special needs of its regional andcultural groups. The Northwest Arctic SchoolDistrict has receiyed a grant from the State todevelop programing appropriate for the InupiaqEskimos who live in 11 villages scattered through-out the 35,000-8quare-mile district (about the sizeof Indiana). Students in Kotzebue are producingITV programing which can be broadcast live fromKotzebue's transmitter.

Despite the large commitment to State instruc-tional television, many problems remain. First,scheduling of broadcasts to meet user needs is aproblem in a State that spans five time zones.Local taping of broadcasts for later use can resolvethis problem, but there are copyright issues in-volved and not all programs can legally be copied.Second, the high cost of developing the needed pro-grams can not be amortized over a large audiencedue to the sparse populations. Moreover, program-ing aimed at adults in the home is often ineffec-tive when the home environment is crowded andnot a suitable learning environment. Finally, po-litical problems arise when the State-run networkis perceived by local cable TV operators to be incompetition with private industry.

The cultural impact of television has been anissue of considerable interest since the State firsttook initiatives in this area. Mechanisms for pro-viding native consumer control over programing,scheduling, and operations have been of major con-cern since the earliest experiments. For example,James Orvik of the Center for Northern Educa-tional Research observed, 4'Depending on how the

21i

230 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

development of a system is managed, early reli-ance on satellites as the principal means of deliverycould be an open invitation to begin centralizingand homogenizing the entire process of media de-livery and media use. To the extent such a trendwould erode the emergence of local and regionalsystems, there is cause for concern."0

One of the strategies that has been adoptedto ensure local and region1. control for theLEARN/ALASKA network is t e provision forregional programing facilities anti the establish-ment of local capability to devlbp programs.

Aucho Conferencing. In addi n to instructionaltelevision, the LEARN/ALA A network pro-vides the hardware and the communications cape;bility for audio conferences, Which cost about $64per line per hour to operate. In December 1981,the network had 59 audio conferencing sites; 104are planned by September 1982. At each communi-ty audio conference center a coordinator helpsusers with the technical and administrative as-pects of setting up and conducting a conference.A guide assists users in conducting effectiveteleconferences.

The University of Alaska has been an early userof this system for education. Students at many ofthe remote university campuses can join togetherin class discussions through the audio conferenc-ing system. Some faculty members are beginningto develop expertise in the use of this technology,which, although powerful, requires a considerableamount of administrative time to implement. Ac-cording to one professor, a faculty member mustspend about four times more time administeringa course that operates via audio or computer con-ference than he spends for a similar conventionalcourse. These pioneering faculty are developing ex-pertise in the appropriate structuring, manage-ment, and coordination of audio conferences.

Another major application of audio conferenc-ing is for teacher inservice training. This methodis highly cost effective in this State, where travelcosts are very high.

Electronic Mail. Certain characteristics of anelectronic mail system (EMS) make it an ideal tech-nology for overcoming cultural, geographic, andscheduling barriers to education. Through EMS,students with different cultural backgrounds,located in distant places in different time zones,engage in seminar-type discussions with one otherand with their professors. Even when all the stu-dents in a particular class are physically located

Orvik, "ESCD/Alaaka: An Educational Demonstration," J. Com-munication, vol. 27:4, autumn 1977 .

at the main campus, they have more interactionwith each other and with their professor throughthe system than they would be able to have in atypical classroom. This is particularly true fornative Americans whose minority culture back-ground often results in little class participation.The asking and answering of direct questions ina face-to-face setting. is often in opposition toculturally accepted modes of interacting." InAlaska two EMSs serve educational users: theUniversity of Alaska computer network and anEMS operated by the State Department of Edu-cation.

The University network ia by -far the largest,-serving 7,000 users at campuses and agenciesthroughout the State. In the month of November1981, 104,000 messages were transmitted on thissystem. Used in innovative ways for learning andteaching, the University's system made it possi-ble throughout the winter for high school studentsin Nome, Anchorage, Juneau, KAnai, Fairbanks,and Petersburg to participate in an honors pro-gram managed by a professor in the mathematicsdepartment of the University of Fairbanks. Thestudents received assignments, collaborated witheach other, and transmitted their work to the pro-fessor through the system.'2 Problems encoun-tered in using the University network for clasa-room interaction have included: lack of visualmaterial; lack of cross referencing of messages; toomany simultaneous threads of conversation; toohigh a reading level in messages; inability to con-trol negative messages; and student inability todigest unrelated topics.

EMS operated by the State Department of Ed-ucation was developed by the Educational Tele-communications for Alaska (ETA) project. Thisnetwork links administrators of the 52 schooldistricts with each other and with the StateDepartment of Education at Juneau. The systemis directly accessible only to district ad-ministrators, not to school personnel, since thedistrict offices are distant from rural schools. InNovember 1981, the system transmitted about3,500 messages. The primary benefit of thissystem is for State and district administration.

There is no physical interface betvreen theuniversity network and the State EMS. The mostcommonly cited reason for this is security.

Information Retrieval. The Alaska KnowledgeBase, developed as a part of the ETA project, is

"Pangaea! communication with Ronald Scones% at the Center for Crod&Cultural Studies, University of Alaeita. December 1981

. "Personal communication with Dr. van Veldhausen, Department ofMathematics. Unlvaralty of Alaska, Dement:oar 1981

2 1 ,

App. ACase Studies: Applications of Information Technologies 231

a computerized guide to help Alaskan educatorsfind current information about curriculum mate-rials, successful classroom programs, and resourcepeople willing to serve in the schools. Users accessthe knowledge base through the computer ter-minals located in the administrative offices of the62 school districts and the department of educa-tion. During a 3-month period in 1981, about halfthe school districts used the system, retrievingabout 3600 items of information from this knowl-edge base.

Individualized Stady by Technology (1ST). Amajor product of the ETA project is a series of ISTcourses for hie% school students-m remote school,s.These courses are designed to provide instructionthat would allow the small, isolated schools to offera variety of high-quality courses at the secondarylevel without increasing the staff size and withouttransporting students to schools in large popula-tion centers. When a school adopts IST courses,it acquires an Apple computer. The computer isalso used for a variety of other applications suchas high school accounting courses, computerscience and data processing training, and drills inbasic skills.

Six IST courses have been developed: Alaskahistory, English, developmental reading, generalMathematics, general science, and U.S. history.The course packages include student reading ma-terials, lab guides, audio cassettes, teacher guides,text and reference materials, and computer-basedexercises and tests. The computer materials oper-ate on stand-alone microcomputers (Apple II). Animportant component of the course design, com-puter-based activities provide a high degree of in-teraction with the student. In pilot tests of thecourses the computer exercises were the mode ofMstruction most preferred by 74 percent of thestudents. Audio tapes were liked the least.

As typical of technology-based instructional sys-tems, the pilot test evaluations indicate that revi-sions are needed." "Mb-WM an overall modelfor what and how to teach in IST courses has con-tributed to some of the problems with course de-sign, such as the lack of higher cognitive leveltasks, high levels of reading diffictilty, and prob-lems with use of audio tapes."" Nevertheless, theadoption rate in 1981 far exceeded expectations.As of December 1981, 96 schools had adopted one

M. Howe. et al. "Individualized Study by Telecommunications PilotTest Final Evaluation Report," Alaska Department of Education. Juno1980.

Educational Skills Development. Inc., "Final Report Evaluation of1ST Courses FY 81 Pilot Study." Alaska Department of Education.November 1981.

or more of the courses. Apparent benefits of theIST courses include the following:

the courses work well for students whose at-tendance at school is irregular or seasonal,which is the case in many rural Alaskanschools;the courses provide more educational optionswithin a small school;the computer component is motivating, andthe equipment has other applications in theschool;the courses are complete and self-contained,and are not dependent on local material re-sOurces or teacher knowledge of content;the courses provide continuity of curriculumin schools where teacher turnover is high.

Availability of the initial IST courses has pro-vided Alaskan.educators with an example of whatis possible through technology. Demand for addi-tional courses is building, particularly for highschool mathematics and science courses. However,it is not clear at this point how development ofsuch courses will be funded, or even how revisionand maintenance of the initial courses will besupported.

The cost per student of IST courses will dependon the overall number of students using thecourses, the number of students per course perschool, and the lifespan of the materials and pro-grams. It appears that the cost per student percourse of about $900 will be less than the averageAlaskan rural conventional course cost per student(about $7,000). One major cost component for ISTis teacher training. In fiscal ypar Mil, the cost perteacher for training was about $1,500. Travel andper diem expenses accounted for a large propor-tion of these, teacher training costs.

Computer Literacy. In Alaska, as in otherStates, the availabilityDf low-cost microcomputershas generated considerable interest by educatorsin computer-related skills that should become partof the curriculum. Several hundred microcom-puters are now available for student use in schools,and the number is growing rapidly. The AlaskaAssociation of Computer Using Educators hasbeen formed with the help of the State Departmentof Education. The department alio publishes anewsletter for the association.

By providing teacher inservice workshops incomputer literacy and by providing informationto educators on available software, the StateDepartment of Education assumes a leadershiprole in promoting computer literacy. In an arrange-ment with the Minnesota Educational ComputingConsortium (MECC) the department provides cop-

21r;

232 informational Technology and its impact on American Education

ies of MECC educational software free of chargeto the schools. It is now establishing a process forevaluating commercially available courseware andwill seek to make arrangements with publishersto license distribution of courseware in the State.

Computers and Culture. In 1971, the ComputerCenter Director of the University of Alaska begana series of educational experiments in Alaskanhigh schools. He hypothesized that the use of com-puter technology could assist Alaskan natives inovercoming cultural barriers to learning in theclassrootn. He found that Eskimo children inNome broke through cultural isolation through theuse of Fortran programing; that a teacher couldinteract with Indian children through computerterminals when they would not interact with himface-to-face; and that Eskimo children gained anunderstanding of arithmetic through the use ofhandheld calculators."

Impact on the Use of InformationTechnology

The LEARN/ALASKA network and the ETAprojects have been implemented in the past 2years and are just now beginning to be used opera-tionally. The impact of these systems on educa-tion will not be observable for some time. Thereappear to be no plans by the agencies involved tomonitor or evaluate the impact of these systems.

Knowledgeable persons in Alaska make the fol-lowing kinds of predictions of the impacts of com-puter and communications technologies on educa-tion:

curricula of small schools will become morestandardized through use of the IST courses;nonschool-based education, such as corres-pondence courses, will become more impor-tant;individual schools, as opposed to school dis-tricts, will assume greater decisionmakingcontrol;previously isolated cultures will become moresocially sophisticated;native languages will disappear; andcultural barriers to educational progress willbe overcome.

The increasing use of audio conferencing is ren-dering obsolete some institutional mechanismsand jurisdictional boundaries. Communicationsnetworks cut across school district and State lines,

E J Gauss. -Computer Enhancement of Cultural Transition.- pro-ceedings of the 1979 National,Educational Computing Consortium,Iowa City, June 1979

raising issues about institutional jurisdictions overaccreditation of courses, tuition payments, schoolschedules, and the like.

Through their varied experiences in the imple-mentation of computer and communications tech-nology in education, Alaskans have addressedissues of design, implementation, and public policythat very likely all Americans will eventually haveto address. By no means have all these issues beenresolved in Alaska, but therels a more mature un-derstanding of them now than 10 years ago.

What are the risks involved in technologicalinnovation, and how might they be mini-mized? According to a model being developedat the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies at theUniversity of Alaska, the risks of wasted cap-ital investment and undesirable cultural sideeffects can only be minimized if systemsevolve with a high degree of user control overgrowth rate and direction.Should the cultural and other impacts of in-novation be monitored and, if so, how? Thereis no formal mechanism for monitoring im-pacts and outcomes in Alaska. Some believethere is no point in it; others are concernedover our rack of understanding of impacts.What is the appropriate role of State govern-ment in delivering instructione.g., via televi-sion or computer-assisted instruction?By what mechanisms can educational needsbe taken into account in the processes of es-tablishing policies and regulations regardingtelecommunications?How can educators and users drive the designof innovations?How can development of high-quatity, user-relevant programing be financed?

The FutureIncreasing use of computer-assisted instruction

is highly likely in Alaska. The Report of the Gover-nor's Task Force on Effective Schooling recom-mends "computer-assisted instruction as a viablemeans of enhancing schooling with respect to thedevelopment of skills and acquisition of content.""

Application of video disk technology, combinedwith microcomputers, is planned. The Office ofPlanning and Research in the State Departmentof Education has established a design team to ana-lyze authoring systems, assess feasibility of group

tiovernor's Task Form on Effective Schooling. "Effective School-ing Practices." State of Alaska. December 1981

2 .1,

App, ACase Studies: Applications of Information Technologies 233

interactive video disk systems, and prepare recom- 4.mendations for applications to instruction.

'Audio conferencing will be combined with in-structional television to provide interactivecourses. Students watching an instructional televi- 5.sion program will be electronically linked togetherand to the instructor, thus providing a ,techno-logically advanced kind of correspondence course.

University students in Alaska will have increas-ing access to courses at out-of-state institutions 6.via computer and audio conferencing systems.

EDUCOMEDUCOM was founded in 1964 as a nonprofit

organization for colleges, universities, and othernonprofit institutions of higher education. Its cur-rent membership includes over 360 university andcollege-campuses in the United States and abroad.The goal is to help its members make better useof computing and information technology. Areasof application are academic instruction and re-search, college and university administration, andlibrary and information dissemination. EDUCOMprovides the following types of services and activ-ities:

sharing and exchange of specialized compu-ter and information resources;consulting on the management and use ofcomputer technology;maintenance and dissemination of a financialmodeling system;conferences, seminars, workshops, and pub-lications; andresearch and specialized software.

Services and Membership Activities

1. EDUCOM Bulletin. The EDUCOM Bulletin ispublished quarterly, with a circulation of about10,000. The bulletin reports on 'presentations,research projects, applications of informationtechnology to higher education, and systems ofinterest to the education community.

2. Annual Conference. Annual conferences addressresource sharing, computer networking, the de-velopment of information systems, and thertopics of current interest to member i Attu-tions.

3. Seminars. Seminars in 1981 inclu , "Manag-ing Microcomputers on Campus," and "EFPM:The EDUCOM Financial Planning Model."

2

7

Research Reports and Monographs. For exam-ple, the report of a 2-year, NSF-funded study offactors affecting the sharing of computer-bawdresources.Informal Communication& These include lettersto presidents, memoranda, and other mailingsrelating to the sharing of resources and the useof computing and other technologies in highereducation.Discounts. EDUCOM provides for discounts onthe purchase or lease of computing equipmentand related materials and services from selectedvendors.

a"-k)rces. Task forces are designated tostudy special issues of interest to members.

Special ActivitiesEDUCOM provides specialized services through

the activitips of EDUNET, the EDUCOM Con-sulting Group, the EDUCOM Financial PlanningModel (EFPM), and research and development.

EDUNET. This is an international computingnetwork for higher education and research.EDUNET itself neither owns nor operates anycomputing facilities. Rather, it acts as a broker,linking using institutions who have unusual com-puting requirements with 1 of 16 institutional sup-pliers. Connecting links are established throughcommercial communications networks, providedby networks such as Telenet and TYMNET. Typ-ical communications charges are $4 to $6 per hour.All arrangements, including billing, are handledcentrally by EDUNET.

Planning for EDUNET was initiated in 1966under partial sponsorship of NSF. Several studiesand experiments followed, and a full network W88established in 1979. On July 1, 1979, EDUNETbecame a permanent and self-sustaining activityof EDUCOM.

Membership in EDU NET in June 1981 included168 institutions. Local access is provided irr 260U.S. cities, 60 Canadian cities, and 30 foreign coun-tries. Resources available from EDUNET supplierinstitutions include:

electronic mail and conferencing systems,tutorial programs,CAI authoring languages,statistical packages,subroutine libraries,planning and analysis models,simulation languages and games,data bases,data-base management systems,

234 Informational Technology. and Its Impact on American Education

information storage and retrieval systems,programs for textual analysis,graphics software, andtext editors.

EDUNET services also include a hotline, thequarterly EDUNET News, the informalEDUNOTE, a Member's Guide, eleetronic mailand conferencing, training workshops and in-tiodnctory seminars, an on-line catalog of re-sources available from suppliers, and searchestailored to special requirements. EDUNET hasdeveloped special software so that microcom-puters such as the Apple II can access the largecomputers used by EDUNET suppliers.

EDUCOM Consulting Group. EDUCOM Con-sulting Group was formed in 1972 as a source ofithpartial advice on the use of computing and in-formation technology in higher education. Con-sulting is available in four areas:

1. System Performance Evaluation.2. Strategic Resource Planning.3. Organization Planning4. Management Systems Implementation.In 1978, with a grant from Eli Lilly, Si Co.,

EDUCOM built the EDUCOM Financial PlanningModel (EFPM). Users can build and operatebudget models through a question-and-answerroutine that requites no computer sophistication;access is via the EDUNET dial-in network.

EFPM now resides on a Cornell University com-puter. It is used by over 120 institutions. As ofAugusQ981, it cost $2,000 per year ($1,750 forEDUNET members), plus $2,250 °startup con-sulting ($2,000 for EDUCOM members), and from$8 to $20 per terminal hour. It is supported by userfees and grants. EDUCOM supports an EFPMUsers' Group through a monthly newsletter andperiodic meetings. Recent applications have beenmade in foreign higher education, in noneduca-tional settings (the New York Public Library), and .in the development of linkages for access by mi-crocomputer.

Research and Development. Previous studieshave addressed EFPM (described above), com-puting in small colleges, and the role of technologyin library resource sharing. Of special interest isa 2-year study, completed in April 1981 for NSF,to identify factOrs affecting individual and institu-tional sharing of computer-based resources.

Budgets and PinancingThe financing of EDUCOM is like that of other

typical regional service organizations (RS0s).

The typical RSO functions on a very tight budgetwith virtually no discretionary funds, and sonic, pro-portion of continuing income derived from exter-nal funding agencies. With a tight budget, a smallstaff, and high reliance on volunteer efforts, thetypical RSO is in a precarious fmancial situation.In order to offset financial instability, most RSOsrely on a mixture of revenue that includes member-ship fees and fees-for-service, as well as externalfunding.'EDI/COM was incorporated with $1,000 pri-

vately donated by five faculty from five differentmedical schools. No public moneys were involved.It operated entirely on the basis of membershipdues, fees for service, and volunteerism unti11972.Then, in the early 1970's, NSF sponsored threeseminars and the development of a network simu-lation model. This led to the establishment of thePlanning Council on.Computing Education andResearch. The council's activities were funded by.grants from 20 EDUCOM institutions, withmatching grants from the Ford, Carnegie, andExxon Foundations. This funding was restrictedto special activities and did not support day-to-daycomputing. In 1979, the council disbanded withthe launching of EDUNET.

Additional funds have been granted by the LillyFouhdation to develop and maintain EFPM andby the Exxon Foundation to support computingrelating to the law, Over the last 10 years,EDUCOM's total budget has changed, however,from over 50 percent reliance on outside grants toless than 10 percent. Membership dues and feesfor service provide the large majority of its income.A tiny fraction is generated by TELENET dis-counts. Residual requirements are met by the cur-rent Lilly grant.

Future requirements for étternal support are ex-pected to run between $50,000 and $100,000 peryear. Thus, although EDUCOM has made signifi-cant progress toward self-sufficiency, its financialfuture is not yet secure. For example, EDUNETcan balance its books only by drawing on a reservefund established at its inception.

EDUCOM expects to receive progressively lesssupport from the Federal Government, in partbecayse Of current Federal attitudes and in partbecause EDUCOM's own goals rarely match pre-cisely the program interests of specific agencies.One successful strategy has been the solicitationof matching funds, preferably from private foun-dations. This approach assures condensus and

D. Mebane, "Computer-Bued Iteeourcea Sharing in HigherEdu-cation," EDUCOM BUIIeth2. voL 16, No. 8, fall 1981, pp. 27-32.

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App. ACase Studies: Applications of information Technologies 235

commitment on the part of EDUCOM users, asharing of the financial load, and isomorphism be-tween EDUCOM goals and resources.

Indiustry-Based Training andEducation iprograms

The following discussions describe applicationsof educational technology in the corporate instruc-tional programs of three companies. Exampleshave been drawn from the airline, high technologyand tobacco products industries. Forms of infor-mation technology utilized by these companies in-clude computer-assisted instruction (CAI), com-puter-managed instruction, computer-based simu-lation, video disk and teleconferencing.

High TechnologyCAI is put to extensive use by a high-technology

firm 'With corporate headquarters in the Northeast.The company has a large internal education groupand ah executive team that views training andeducation as an integral part of the product devel-opment and mantifacturing process. Managementinstruction, technical training, and customereducation curricula are developed centrally by thestaff within this unit, but instruction is highlydecentralized. Field training centers located inareas of good market potential, are the sites ofmost training for staff and clients. Computer-based instructional packages developed for use at .these oenters, are often distributed directly to cor-porate field offices for initial and refresher stafftraining.

Over the past few years, the company has ex-perienced a severe shortage of college-educatedgeneralists, a type of individual it had previouslyrecruited to fill field-service engineering positions.Formerly, these individuals were given instructionin total systems design and, with access to engi-neering specifications, were expected to be fairlyself-sufficient on field service calls. However, asthe company's product line became more and morediversified, this approach to training and main-tenance became unworkable.

At about the same time, the problems presentedby Classroom training on a fixed schedule, plus theever-increasing travel and salary costs incurredwhile staff were receiving instruction, began tohave impacts. Responding to these conditions, thecompany decided to revamp its recruiting programand training systamlok field-service engineers. Ajob analysis led to the development of three sep-

22

arate types of task-related instruction for threedistinct types of hardware:

terminals,small computer systems, andlarger computer systems.

Having made the divisions, it was possible tolower educational recruitment criteria far belowthe bachelor's degree level for those to be trainedto service terminals and small computer systems.(This was a major breakthrough, since the com-pany empleYs some 16,000 field-service engineersworldwide.) CAI packages were developed in-housbto reduce travel and salary expenditures of Class-room training at the field-education centers. Field-diagnostic centers were established as backups tothe new field-service structure, so that customerecould contact experts knowledgeable in hardwareand software design to diagnose the specific equip-ment malfunctions they were experiencing and torecommend their remediation.

This new training and maintenance system ispaying off in a number of ways. The CAI systemhas proven to be very cost effective. It has enabledmanagers to weave training into existing workschedules, and has been more responsive to in-dividual learning requirements. The new field-service organization has enabled the firni to over-come ivhat was a severe personnel shortage and

. to keep customer service chargee to a minimum.However, a technical education representativestated that the firm must continue to be aware ofthe limitations of CAI in that " . . . people can onlyuse a linear system for so long before the learningcurve is affected; they need contact with other in-dividuals." He urges managers of individual in-stallations to use the syetem with groups of train-ees in a classroom setting for Maximum effective-ness.

At present, no other forms of information tech-nology are used in the staff education program. Inthe near -future, there are plaes to use video diskintegrated with a microcomputer. Cable televisionand satellite communications may also be used inthe technical education programs.

Tobacco Products Co.'As an outgrowth of technological change, a

major tobacco products firm has established a unitwithin its inforMation systems group charged withanalyzing the potential uses of newly availabletechnologies in production and support activitiesof the corporation, including training. As a resultof this program, a project on applications of syn-thetic speech and voice recognition is under way;

236 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

Hughes Aircraft Co.'s Training and MaintenanceInformation System (TMIS) is being used for thefirst time on a corporate production line; CAI isbeing extensively employed; and, within the nextfew _months, a teleconferencing network will beestablished.

At one time, TMIS was being used as a train-ing and maintenance aid for the U.S. Army's tankmaintenance technicians. Under contract to theArmy, Hughes Aircraft had developed the device,which consists of a video disk unit integyated witha microcomputer. Its cathrode ray tube (CRT) isused to present text and digital graphicsoftensimultaneously. After seeing a demonstration ofthe system in the company's corporate trainingcenter and conducting a formal evaluation of itspotential in the factory environment, the tobaccofirm decided to contract with Hughes to developtwo prototype units to train employees to main-tain and repair cigarette packaging equipment(both mechanical and electronic maintenance). Thetwo devicesapproximately 41/2 ft high, 2 ft wide,and 2 ft deepwere installed in 1978.

Initially, the companysaw two distinct applica-tions for TMIS. They planned to develop a train-ing software package for classroom use togetherwith one designed to run in the plant on the pro-duction line, where several units would be in-stalled, to assist maintenance/repair personnel onan ongoing basis. They soon discovered that onemaintenance/repair software package with "im-bedded training" would work in both settings, butin practice still-motion mode (single frames) wouldbe used in the factory.

An evaluation of the prototype units in the train-ing center was conducted in 1979. The results weredramatic in terms of the time and money savedas compared with traditional classroom instruc-tion. As a result, three devices tlzat had beenspecifically constructed foi placement in the in-dustrial environment were ordered from Hughes.Installation of the prototype in the plant is nowin progress and Will be followed by an evaluationof actual production-line use.

Because of the successful use of TMIS, the com-pany is now considering the use of video disk toarchive office records and to create an electronicparts catalog containing simulations of equipmentUsers would be able to walk around a particularitem, focus on its component parts, and thenusing the same systemascertain the number andavailability of the part. Recommendations havealso been made to use video disks for management

Many uses of CAI may be observed throughoutthe company. For the past 3 years the Companyhas used PLATO basic engineering and computerscience skills to train factory and office personnel.It useil Apple computers to teach task-specificskills, such as those entailed in learning machineoperations, where simulation can be a particular-ly useful learning device. Approximately 36 per-cent of all training is devoted to the retraining ofexisting personnel, a process necessitated by con-tinual modernization and modification of factoryequipment.

A considerable amount of new construction andexpansion of existing plants is now under way, anda teleconferencing system designed to link thesefacilities with corporate headquarters is about tobe installed. The company is already examininghow this technology, although originally designedto monitor construction progress, can be appliedto training.

Airline IndustryA major commercial airline has an elaborate

training development system that consists of:a corporate headquarters-based program forsales, instructor, and management training;a corporate headquarters-based computer di-vision training activity;a centralized flight training center, located ata major airport away from corporate head-quarters; anda centralized maintenance training renter, lo-cated at another major airport some distancefrom corporate headquarters.

Once the design phase is complete, sales, instruc-tor, and management training may be deliveredcentrally (corporate headquarters) or at individualairports or ticket offices. A CAI group developscourses that are then used by airline staff via ex-isting terminals to book reservations and relatedactivities. Wherever possible, CAI is used for"straight knowledge transfer." For example, CAIdevelopment staff have devised courses on how tobook reservations, compute fares, and carry outother tasks that are necessary in occupations suchas that of a reservations agent, a passenger serv-ice agent, a storekeeper (airline supplies), a flightattendant, and airport operations personnel. Eachtime the airline's computer division develops a newapplication, lessons are developed centrally, andnotices of their availability are distributed to allairports, ticket offices, and other locatipps, wheremanagement uses them to the extent that they

App. ACase Studiel: Applications of information Technologies 237

apply to entry-level training and/or instruction ofexisting staff.

The airline would like to use the PLATO systemin its management training program, but found ittoo expensive. Uses of satellite technology andtelecommunications systems have been investi:gated, but costs have also precluded their use eventhough it is recognized that they are cost effectivein the long run. Video disk technology has not beenemployed, nor are there any plans to use it in thefuture. Video cassettes are frequently used in man-agement training to enhance traditional methodscarrying out role-playing exercises.

Computer Division TrainingThe Deltac self-instructional video-cassette

system is used by the computer division to pro-vide technical training to programers, not for ini-tial instruction but for professional developmentand upgrading. No other forms of informationtechnology are currently being used.

Flight TrainingMany applications of the PLATO system may

be seen at the airline's Flight Training Center. Aprogram for Initial First Officer training has beendesigned and tested, but little or no use has beenmade of it as yet due to current economic condi-tions within the industry. The company has alsoused PLATO in pilot training, and is now movingahead with a Boeing 767 rdlot training programto be developed entirely on PLATO. For the firsttime, this system will be used in lieu of flightsimulators. Simulating various types of cockpitequipment, PLATO will give 767 pilot trainees away to,master these individual systems that is lessexpensive than using them in combination. Up tonow, PLATO has Only been used to Substitute forthe cockpit procedures trainer, a device that allowsparticipants to practice certain processes afterclassroom instruction, but before flight simulatortraining.

The airline has also been investigating the useof video disks in conjunction with PLATO forflight training of visual effects and it may incor-porate their use into the instructional package bythe end of this year. Teleconferencing is being usedto keep 767 course developers in daily contact withBoeing Aircraft engineers so that training designsmay proceed in advance of actual aircraft delivery.(The airline also used teleconferencing for Boeing747 design conferences.) While there are no plansto use satellite technology, a tomplete video tape

production facility has just been installed at theFlight Training Center, which the manager offlight training hopes to use to develop instruc-tional tapes for distribution to field operations atairports across the country.

Maintenance Training CenterAll airline personnel engaged in maintaining air-

planes and ground equipment either receive in-struction at the Maintenance Training Center orare trained by means of video tapes that are pro-duced there and then shipped to 56 maintenancestations (located at major airports). This is thethird year that the airline has utilized video tapein developing maintenance training packages, ata rate of about 40 packages per year.

The manager of Training Support Servicesstated that the bulk of maintenance training is stillcarried out in the classroom by an instructor.Overhead projectors are used, as are slide-tapepresentations that are developed by in-hoube cur-riculum specialists. Over the years, the airline hasdeveloped a number of computerized simulatorsfor use in training airplane maintenance person-nel, but high cost of simulators cannot be justifiedby the amount of use they get prior to delivery ofa new line of equipment. After the planes are re-ceived, there is always sufficient "ground time"available for training. -

Computer graphics are being investigated, sinceengineering drawings produced in the designphase are made available by airplane manufac-turers on magnetic tape and their volume makesthe use of manila's very difficult. However, costmay turn out to be the key obstacle here. The useof video disk technology has also been explored,but the manager of Training Support Servicesfound it to be " . . . too costly to make that firstdisk . . . ," since his distribution network consistsof only 56 maintenance stations. The cost of con-verting video tape to video disk is also a major pro-hibiting factor.

Information Technologyand Libraries

The libraryan institution that acquires, man-ages, and disseminates informationboth pro-vides educational services and serves as an educa-tional resource. Information technologies offer li-braries unique opportunities and capabilities forenhancing their current services and for extendingthem to new areasparticularly if, "The task of

238 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

the' library is to consider itself an institution forallowing people to utilize information." Conse-quently, the advent of the information revolutioncould alter both the way libraries operate and theirrole in society.

FindingsInformation technology has changed the oper-ation and user information programs of public,special, and academic libraries.Utilizing information technologies for opera-tional programs can make libraries more produc-tive and efficient and allow theMto devote moreresources to other programse.g., user services.Information technologies permit a library(sometimes called an information center) togreatly expand its resources. Networks, on-lineinformation services, and cable services permitthe sharing of materials and provide access toinformation in a way that was not previouslypossible.Libraries may be the only way that certainmembers of society can gain access to informa-tion technologies and to the information thatthese technologies provide.Libraries that fail to adopt these new technol-ogies for information services many risk be-coming irrelevant.

Libraries and InformationTechnologies

Use of biformation and communication technol-ogies has affected all aspects of library services.Software is now commercially available for practi-cally all aspects of library operations: circulation,inventory, acquisitions, periodicals, cataloging,and reserves. The use of the technologies for infor-mation user services has resulted in the formationof library netw9rks and in the ability to access na-tional data bases, thus allowing faster and moreefficient access to information.

PrOgrams oriented both to operation of the li-brary and to user needs are critical for fulfillinga library's mission For instance, an on-line acquisi-tion system can reduce the ordering and receivingtime for a new binary purchase, thus providingpatrons with the desired material in a shorter time.Circulation, cataloging, and other automated li-brary systems offer similar benefits. One exampleof a commercially available system for library

'M. Turoff and M. Spector, "Libraries and the Implications of Com-puter Technology," proceedinp of the AFIPS National Computer Con-ference, voL 45, 1976.

operations is the Automated Library InformationSystem. This system can support many of theoperational procedures in a library and is fullyintegrated.* Its many uses range from charge anddischarge functions to cataloging and the mainte-nance of master holdings.

Networks,

Two or more libraries may form communicationnetworks ntilizing information technologies toenhance the exchange of materials, information,or similar services. The formation of local, regional,and national networks has already significantly al-tered the operation of libraries.

The IRVING Network. When fully operational,the IRVING network in the Denver-Boulder,Colo., area will use communications technologiesto link the library systems of Aurora, Boulder, Lit-tleton, Denvpr, and Jefferson County in order toenhance their current capabilities. Each of the li-brary systems employs different automated sys-tems and in some cases different libraryoperationsproceduies. Connecting these heterogeneous databases, this new communication link will allow

' shared cataloging, more efficient interlibraryloans, shared acquisition, enhanced developmentof special collections, circulation within the entiresystem, an electronic message service, a referenceinformation service, access to administrative data,and increased access to special Collections (e.g.,Denver's Western collection and Jefferson Coun-ty's Asian collection.)

To date, no such systemexists anywhere in theUnited States. This network, designed to expandbeyond the current five systems to accommodateup to 30 other libraries, could serve as the founda-tion for the larger, automated, statewide network

unow der consideration.The planning for IRVING was made possible

t ugh a Library Services Construction Act(LSCA) grant, and its implementation was fundedby the Colorado Board of Education. Studies iden-tified a distributive configuration as the most ef-fecti403 system for transmitting electronic dataamong the libraries in an interactive, on-line mode.Conventional analog service from Mountain Bellwas chosen as the transmission media. The distrib-utive option will require a smaller investment ini-tially than would other alternatives (e.g., the useof public packet switching using public networksaccessed via telephone links) Moreover, software

*A system which I. fully integrated I. one in which the individualprocedures operate in support of the other system procedure.,

App. ACase Studies: Applications of information Technologies 239

for such a system will b'e easier to develop andmaintain. This approach also permits the separa-tion of the operation and the control of the net-work by allowing each participating library to beresponsible for the operation of its own system.'

The CARL Network. Through the Colorado Alli-ance of Research Libraries (CARL) network, sevenresearch libraries will share an on-line public ac-cess catalog reflecting the holdings of all institu-tions. Six of the CARL members are academic li-braries; the seventh is the Denver Public Library,which, as members of both IRVING and CARL,expands the network. The holdings of these li-braries represent 47 percent of the total collectionsand over 90 percent of the unique items in theState. Once these holdings are on-line, a user willhave to search only a single public catalog ratherthan seven. Creating a single on-line catalog forthese institutions will require modilying manyoperating procedures to comply with common for-mats, common records, and a common data base.

The University of Colorado at Boulder, the Colo-rado State University, the University of NorthernColorado, the Colorado School of Mines, the Aur-aria Complex, the University of Denver, and theDenver Public Library have established a nonprof-it organization to create this new research resourcewithin the State.

As in the IRVING Project, LSCA funds wereused for the initial planning efforts. Currently,moneys from the seven institutions; Data PhaseSystems, Inc.; and Tandem are being used to com-plete the project. Two-thirds of CARL is now com-plete. Testing will begin by the summer of 1982;implementation is scheduled for the following fall.Once the public-access on-line catalog is in opera-tion, member libraries intend to investigate elec-tronic delivery of materials between their institu-tions.'

The OCLC Network. On-line College LibraryCenter (OCLC) network is an example of a majorcomputer-based cooperative network that is em-

- ployed by all types of libraries nationally and in-ternationally. The OCLC network allows librariesto acquire and catalog materials, order custom-printed catalog cards, initiate interlibrary loans,and locate materials in member libraries (2,500)and more. Through dedicated, leased telephonelines, members access OCLC services on speciallydesigned terminals, through dial- access terminalsutilizing die TYMNET telecommunications net-

'S. Hartman, IRVNG Coordinator, Boulder Public Library,"Boulder,Colo., February 1982.

'W. Shaw, Executive Director, CARL, lanuary 1982.

work, or by direct dial. The OCLC On-line UnionCatalog contains over 7 4 million bibliographicrecords in MARC (Machine Readable CatalogingFormat). If a library identifies an item of interest,OCLC produces- presorted catalog cards. Alsoavailable are accession lists of newly catalogedmaterials for microform catalogs, circulationrecords, and selected dissemination of information(SDI).*

On-line Information Services. The increasing in-ventory of literature and information is making italmost impossible for a user to keep up, let aloneto catch up. An example of the explosive rate ofinformation growth can be seen in the areas ofchemistry and chemical engineeiing, where therate of literature growth can be tracked by thenumber-of papers abstracted in the publication,Chemical Abstracts. For the 10-year period from1961 through 1970, the rate of increase was 8.4percent; during the 5-year period from 1971through 1975 it more than doubled, to 16.9 per-cent. The recent increase has been even more dra-matic-4.6 percent annually from 1976 through1980.4 This rapid expansion of information has alsotaken place in many other fields, such as medicine,law, and computer science.

On-line services such as national bibliographicdata bases4e.g., DIALOG and BRS)which arecomputerized retrieval systems covering a wide ar-ray of continually expanded subject areaswillmake it possible for libraries to offer their patronsrapid access to a variety of informatien sources atrelatively low cost. For example, PATSEARCH/Video PATSEARCH, contains information on800,000 patents heretofore available only in theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office files in Wash-ington, D.C., on microfilm, or piecemeal throughother data bases. The advantages of on-line serv-ices are listed in table A-3.

Maggie's Place: Pikes Peak Regiodal LAbraryDistrict. On-line community information and refer-ral programs are being explored and instituted bysome libraries as a concomitant of their access tonational information sources and the resources ofother libraries and information services. The PikesPeak Regional Library District in Colorado, for ex-ample, has developed Maggie's Place, a communi-ty information resource, which consists of comput-erized local and regional information of interest toits patrons. Users can access on-line all of the ca-reer and recreational adult educational courses

*SDI is the selection and dissemination of information of specific in-terest to a library patron.

'D. B. Baker, "Recent Trends in Chemical Literature Growth,' C&ENews 69(22):29, June 1, 1981.

2,.,i

240 Informational Technology and Its IMpact on American Education

labia A-3.Advantages of On-Linvo Services

Advantages of on-One services:Produce results very quicklyAre cost effectiveCan be ufed fpr most types,of searchersCan search fields (or data categories) for which there Is

no printed indeHave the capability for searching very complex andelaborate strategiesOffer the opportunity for increasing completeness ofcoverage through searching of multiple sourcesMay contain Information more current than available inthe corresponding printed indexCan be easily updated on demand or at regular intervalsPermit any amount of strategy broadening, narrowing,or changingCauses less fatigue per search and reduces searcher'serrorsRequire very little space for operationSave staff timeSome kinds of data are retrievable only on a computersystemMany more types of information can be searched on-linethan in a manual systemMaterial can be ordered with a simple command andcharged to an accounta copy on demand service

SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessmont

available in the region through this program. Simi-larly, information is available about day-care cen-ters, clubs and other community organizations,social services, and a matching carpool data base.The files are available both in the library and toapproximately 500 members of the communityand businesses with access to terminals.

Programs developed and in use at Maggie'sPlace include those for library resources, network-ing, and community resources. The library re-source files are automated programs that relate tothe operational needs of the library such as circula-tion, reserves, and acquisitions. Networking filesgive the user access to State and national informa-tion resources, such as DIALOG, BRS, ORBIT,RLIN, GIS, COCIS, and The Source.' The commu-nity resource files contain on-line information ofinterest to members of the C4orado Springs com-munity. Currently, they include five files: calendar,day care, clubs, courses, and carpool. All of theseare available for use in the library or in homes orbusinesses via telephone lines.'

Maggie's Place, compared with other public li-

braries, has a number of unique features. First, theamount of automation is unusual. A substantial

'DIALOG: Locidund MINION and Span. Co.. Inc.; BRS: BibliographicRetrieval Service, Inc.; ORBIT: Spasm Development Corp.; COCIS:Colorado Career and Occupational Information Spite= RLIN:Research Libraries Information Network; GIS: Time Share Corp.

'K. Dow lin. Director, Pikes Peak Regional Library District, February

1982.

2

investment has been made by the library district,for this effort (almost $400,000 since 1976). Yet,despite the initial large investment, savings havebeen highover $500,000. Second, the communityresource files are the only such files in the Nation.Beneficial to librarian and user alike, they are acentral and easily accessible source of the kind ofinformation frequently requested. They demon-strate that information technology canassist boththe operational needs of the libriry and the re-source needs of the patrons.

Third, by making the library's programs accessi-ble to outside users (over 500 presently), the li-brary has expanded its capabilities for communityuse and utilized the information technology to itsbest advantage. And last, through the use of thetechnology, Maggie's Place offers all users accessto information resources.

Microcomputers in theLibrary. Many librariesare considering installing a microcomputer on acoin-operated basis. Recently, several firms havebegun to actively market such services to publiclibraries across the country. For example, in a con-tractual arrangement with Copy Systems, Inc.,and CompuVend, a TRS-80 was installed in theTredyffrin Public Library near Philadelphia. Thecomputer is available for patron use at a cost of$0.50 per 15 minutes. The company is responsiblefor the operation and the maintenance of the equip-ment and has provided 24 Radio Shack programtapes, manuals, and workbooks on BASIC lan-guage and programing.

Library patrons may use the terminal for homework, statistical manipulation, learning how toprogram, playing games, and .work. Children andteenagers appear to be the predominant ueers (65percent), although this is expected to changein thenear future Average use of the microcomputer hasbeen 2 to 4 hours per day, 7 days a week. Basedon such community response, a computer with alarger capacity will be installed shortly. The newsystem will provide access to The Source and willattempt to satisfy the computing capacity requirements of the local business community. New pro-gram tapes such as Visicalc will be supplied.

With this arrangement the library uses the tech-nology as an informational and educational re-source. In addition, the library makes it possiblefor all those who do not have access to this tech-nology in their homes or in their businesses to be-come familiar with computers end to have accessto the valuable information resources they pro-vide. The library also benefits in a number of ways:limited staff time is involved; the library is notresponsible for operation and maintenance of the

App. ACas; Studies: Applications of information rech;ologies 241

equipment; no financial burden is placed on thelibrary (e.g., purchase of the equipment); the equip-Ment will be updated to reflect changes in the tech-nology and to reflect market needs in the commu-

, nity; step-by-step instructions allow the user touse the microcomputer with little, if any, midst-ance from a professional; and, thus, no extra stafftraining is necessary.

Other examples of microcomputer use includethe following:

The Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library Systemin upstate New York has in5talle4 a micro-computer for use by patrons. The decision wasprompted by concern on the part of the librar-ian that patrons, particularly children, wereneither familiar with computers nor had ac-cess to the technology. Although the micro-computer was installed in the Children'sRoom, it is available to adults as well. Volun-teers have been teaching computer program-ing, and librarians believe that, based on itsusage, the overall program is an overwhelm-ing success.A cooperative effort has been initiated be-tween the San Bernardino City School Dis-trict, Calif., and the public library to assiststudents in preparing for proficiency tests.Microcomputers in three of the city's librarybranches provide CAI in mathematics and inthe language arts. A queuing system allowshigh school students to be first-priority usersthrough June 30, 1982. Other library patrOns .have access to the terminals that are not be-ing used by students.The public library in Providence, R.I., has in-stalled INFORM, a system whose uses rangefrom bibliographic instruction to the use ofaudiovisual equipment. INFORM is regardedas an on-line library guide or handbook thatalso includes updated information on commu-nity events and agenciee. Its touch-sensitiveterminals are available with graphic and tex-tual capabilities.Groups of school librarians in the St. Louis,Mo., area have developed a series of self-instructional programs for the Apple II thatare user guides for periodical indexes andalmanacs, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations,Current Biography, ancl.poetry indexes. Theprograms are aimed it the secondary schoolto adult levels.The St. Luke's Hospital Health Sciences Li-brary in Missouri has instituted a wide rangeof programs on an Apple II Plus computer.

Current programs include, among others: rec-ordkeeping and reporting for nurses, continu-ing education classes, an "intelligent" termi-nal for on-line searching, nutritional assess-ment of intensive-care newborns, audiovisualinventory listing, and the logging and analy-sis of on-line searching records.

The provision of such services raises new ques-t tions for participating libraries. Where should the

terminals be located. Should provisions be madefor privacy? What type, if any, of collection devel-opment should the library engage in? Should thelibrary sell disks for patron use? Should there bea scheduling or reservation system or should pa-trons use the computer on a first-come first-servedbasis?

Cable Services and Video Facilities. With the ex-pansion of cable franchises nationwide, an increas-ing number of libraries are exploring the potentialof cable for delivering library services. Many li-braries have employed video capabilities for years,but the addition of cable services in a communityhas expandocl the library's resource base. Themost extensive users of cable and video are juniorand community colleges and public libraries. Theformer rely on cable services as a means of deliv-ery, production, and housing of course materials;and the latter, for expanding the library's role asa community information resource center.

Generally, junior and community colleges, be-cause they are relative newcomers to the academicscene, are most actively involved in video pro-graming and cable services. Many colleges eon-structed during the 1960's and early 1970's incor-porated video capabilities in their library facilityor plan. Older research institutions and libraries,on the other hand, generally cannot afford to in-vest in video facilities nor to adopt their Currentstructures to include such facilities.

The Division of Learning Resources at theGreenfield Community College in Massacimsettsis an example of a community college library thathas integrated video capabilities with local cableservicee. The library houses both commerciallyavailable video tapes and faculty/student-pro-duced products. Students in conjunction with theLearning Resources Center and the local cablefranchise produce weekly cablecasts for the com-munity.

The Monroe County Public Library in Blooming-ton, Ind., is an example of a local public libraryactively involved in all aspects of cable and videoservices. The library has cablecast 3,000 to 4,000programs a year (or 60 to 64 hours of programing

2 ,? 6

242 Informational Tichnology and Its Impact on Amrican Education

per week) to the community on.Community AccessChannel Three. Half of the local subscribers(90,000) watch programs on Channel Three. Also38 percent of the subscribers noted that local pro-graming was a primary reason for initiating cableservices.

A wide range of programs are offered and pro-duced by the library. Some programs, such as"Kids Alive," are produced by children with assist-ance from the library staff. Local teachers, trainedby library staff, allow the equipment to be usedfor many school activities. City council meetingsare regularly cablecast; and special-issue pro-grams, about housing and the elderly, for exam-ple are presented.

Because of its active involvement in cablecast-ing, the lthrary and Channel Three have beenasked to participate in the refranchisement proc-ess. Library involvement in this process is com-mon and occurs frequently. In fact, in franchiseproposals library needs and desires are solicitedby the bidders. Some of the programs developedat Maggie's Place will be used at other librariesas a result of cable awards.

Implications of Library Technology. Approxi-mately 10 percent of the libraries of the UnitedStates have some form of automated capabilities,and an increasing number of libraries are explor-ing the possibilities of these technologies. On-lineinformation retrieval services and provision of in-formation technologies enhance the traditionalservices provided by libraries but also raise impor-tant questions of cost. For example, can a libraryafford to run searches for patrons on DIALOGfree of charge? Can it afford to use theoe nationalbibliographic data bases, which require trainedsearchers, and entail cost ranging from $10 to $150per hour? Such costs place an added financial bur-den on public as well as on academic and speciallibraries. For some libraries faced with reducedfunding from State, Federal, and local sources, theprice of the technologi may be particularly bur-densome. However, by not providing these serv-ices, libraries may prevent people from finding andutilizing the information, a situation contrary tothe traditional role of libraries in society. (Further-more, it has been suggested that when librariesprovide these services and develop community re-source files they become competitive with privateinformation vendors.)

Such concerns are particularly relevant to a re-consideration of the role of public libraries in aninformation society. At present, libraries provideaccess to information and knowledge to all uaers

free of charge, but it is questionable whether they,wilfbe able to continue to do so. One role proposedfor libraries incorporates and reflects societalchange. This role would entail:

providing access to complicated or seldomused data bases;providing community conferencing and mes-sage center programs;providing ondine access to information or li-brary resources;providing access to community data and com-munity information locations for referrals;providing access to resources in other libraries

'via networking;, providing access to high-demand information

and materials Via computer or video disks;andproviding access to electronic resources forthose who cannot afford home computers orterminals.'

MuseumsFindings

More and more museums are incorporating in-formation technology, particularly computers,into both their exhibits and their educationalprograms. The technology is uaed for operation-al purposea and to provide computer literacyand related courses.The int/eduction of the technology to museumsis altering the role of these institutions. Thischange is especially evident in the recent esteb .lishment and success of childrens' museumsacross the country.Museums, like libraries, provide important edu-

cational services. Since the establishment of thefirst public museum in 1749, museums have ex-erted a strong influence on U.S. culture. They func-tion as repositories for conserving the world's cul-ture and for relaying it to present and future gen-erations.

Beyond the ovetall educational nature of theirexhibits, most musenms conduct and provide addi-tional educational services. Recently, more andmore have incorpor\ated information technology,particularly computers, into both their exhibitsand their educational programs. They are usedgenerally for operational purposes and to providecomputer literacy and related courses. The delayin acquiring information technology until only re

'Ibid.

9,

App. ACaso Studies: Applications of Information Technologies 243

cently, has been primarily due to the fiscal con-straints common to most museums, which operateon a limited budget and depend on donations-thatcan fluctuate from year to year.'

The Use of ComputersComputers are generally used for four purposes:

for interactive exhibit devices, for exhibit control,'for adminiatraticn, and for education programs.All have educational applications.

Interacthv Exhibit Devices. Museums uee com-puters and related tachnologies to increase the at-tention span and alter the traditional experienceof the typical patron. It is possible, for example,to increase a viewer's attention span froin 10 sec-onds to 3 to 10 minutes, a significant improvementthat has enormous implications for how a museumcan present information. Etamples of exhibitsrange from instruction on how to use a computerto using a computer to calculate quickly the nutri-tional value of a meal, Simulation programa arewidely' utilized, although these are also the mostdifficult to create.

Incorporating computers into an exhibit pre-sents some special problems not pinerally encoun-tered with other media. The jxhibits must be ap-pealing in (rder to attract users, but the programsmust be relatively simple, since most users are un-familiar with the technology. Furthermore, suchprograms must be able to contsnd with repeatedmistakes, constant use, and even abandonment bythe patron.' Thus, developing programs auitablefor a museum environment involves considerableskill.

Exhibit Control The control of exhibits by com-puters has a number of advantages: 1) cost andmaintenance are reduced becauee of fewer compo-nents; 2) additional features can be added at mini-mum cost; 3) control devices can be standardizedfrom exhibit to exhibit; 4) the potential exists tocustomize a patron's experience; and 6) computerspermit greater flexibility in altering,an exhibit atrelatively low cost.'

AdministrattVe Uses. Computers are largelyused for such etaldard purposes as word process-ing, accounting, updating mailing lists, record-keeping, collection management, and inventory.

R. King. Director al Exhibits, Boston Museum of Science. February1982.

'D'Taykor and D. Rheas (eds.), 9urvey of Computer U. in Science-Vecheokgy Museum. (Washington, D.C.: Association of Sciencel'ech-nology Centers. 19811.

Education Uses. During the past 10 years sever-al mus'eums have introduced computer literacyprograms and computer labs. Offering thesecourses is a natural extension of previous andongoing educational activities within museums.And, as with libraries, the availability of such pro-grams makes it possible for users to become ac-quainted with this technology in a nonthreaten-ing environment in which there is no pressure tosucceed or ha',

Hands-On Approach'hie Lawrence Hall of Science. In general, muse-

ums that provide programs in computer literacyhave adopted a hands-on philosophy. This princi-ple was first initiated at the Lawrence Hall of Sci-ence in Berkeley, Calif., in 1972, when an exhibitentitled "Creative Play With Computers" was in-troduced. The exhibit used the university's time-sharing system and teletypes. Since thai, thia pro-gram has been expanded to include a computer lab-'oratory, and computer technology is used exten-sively throughout the exhibits. The computer lab-oratory has 30 microcomputers that can be usedfor computer literacy programs or individual pro-

-...,graming by anyone 8 years or older. The Hall ofScienetrelso-operates the Science Shuttle, whichtransports microcomputers to local schools forcomputer literacy and related classes. The ScienceShuttle has greatly increased the access to com-puter technology by locii echool-age children.

- The Capitol Children's Museum. Newly estab-lished in Washington, D.C., the Capitol Children'sMuseuxn is a learning center with a strong empha-sis on communication. The most recent additionto the facility, the communications wing, tracesthe growth and development of communicationthroughout human history. Like the LawrenceHall of Science the museum uses the hands-on ap-proach in all of its exhibits. Similarly, the muse-um has a computer classroom, the Future Center,with 20 microcomputers.

A visitor to the museum's communications wingis introduced to communication through a soundand light show held in a model of a 30,000-year-oldcave. The cave depicts the earliest type of commu-nication: drawings of man's experience withhunt-ing and tools. Further developments in the formeand means of communication are shown througha wide range of exhibits: torches used by theGreeks to relay mespages, drums used by African

'P. Hirschberg, Coordinator, Communkation, Capital Children's Mu-seum. April 1982.

244 informational Technology and its impact on American Education

tribes to relay messages via different sound pat-terns, and a variety of written formsalphabetsand hieroglyphics. In addition, other ways to communicate such as Braille, Morse code, pig latin,and sign language are shown. Many of the morerecent types are demonstrated by means of videotape players or microcomputers.

The wing also contains telecommunication de-vices. For instance, there is a fully equipped radiostudio available for use where children can prCiduceand tape messages fcr their own use. There arefuture plans for a comparably equipped televisionstudio. Also, there is a scale model of a satellitedish inside the museum that replicates the muse-um's communication satellite dish which can re-ceive up to 40 cable channels.'

The Future Center is classroom equipped with20 Atari 800 microcomputers complete with print-ers, disk drives, and color monitors. Its purpose

is to introduce new users to microcomputerl, andto allow previous users access to the technology.The center thus makes available to everyone boththe technology cod the skills and information itprovides. The coursee offered range from thosedesigned to assist teachers who are unfamiliarwith the technology to become computer-literateto those to introduce children to the technology.Schools that do not have microcomputers canschedule class visits on a regular basis.

The courseware are combinations of programsdeveloped by the mul,eum staff and software do-nated by Atari. For example, PAINT, a softwareand book package, allows the user tO create paint-ings on the Atari, while using a variety of learn-ing skills as well as learning about and exploringthe microcomputer. For more experienced usersthere are courses in programing BASIC. Becauseobtaining quality software is a major problem, thestaff of the museum is actively engaged in design-

..4111111

In the Capitol Children's Museum, Washington, D.C., visiting primary school teacher works with her students as

they become computer-literate. Schools from throughout the Washington area utilize this facility to introduce their

students to the world of computers. Many schools enroll their students In special series of classes designed toenhance their primary and secondary education

44),

App. ACase Studies: Applications of Information Technologies 245

ing and developing software for the Futnte Ceryteed constantly growing and enthusiastic clientele.

As a nonprofit institution, the Capitol Chiln'sMuseum relies on corporate donations and grantsto continue its operations and to develop new ex-hibits and educational services: The majority ofthe museum's equipment has been donated by pri-vate companies; e.g., the satellite dish by Scien-tific Atlanta, the microcomputers from Atari, anda PDP 11/70 and supporting hardware (prihter,video terminal, and disk pack) from the DigitalEquipment Corp. (DEC), to name just a few.

The recent gift of a minicomputer by DEC repre-sents a significant contribution to current mueeumservicee, but more importantly to future potential.Once operational, the PDP 11/70 will be able to in-terconnect all of the museum's exhibits, therebyincreasing the control over their use. It will alsoprovide an internal tracking and information s stem of exhibit usershow many visitors utwhat exhibit for how long, and so forth.

In the long term, the computer will be the basil,for Kid Net, a time-sharing system that will bek,both an internal and external network. Internally,the system will facilitate such activities as elec-tronic mail, games, and demonstrations. External-ly, the network will be connected with other Wash-ington-based institutions such as local schools andCongress and will possibly, tie in with otherchildren's museums such as the one in Boston.Other long-term possibilities include a nationalelectronic newsletter.'

The Use of Video DisksSeveral museums are experimenting with video

disks for storing and preserving collections. Be-cause they are both very new and very costly, fewmuseums, have employed this technology. How-ever, the video disk's features make it uniquelysuited for collection management: large amountsof material can be sorted; materials don'tdeteriorate; researchers are not dependent onoriginal materials; and the content of a museum'scollection of photos, slides, or art can be sent forviewing to other institutions around the world.

The Smithsonian Museum of American Historyis placing some of its collection of (30,000 to38,000) slides and photographs on a video disk.This measure will ensure the life of this combina-tion of materials since most of it is fragile and sub-ject to damage from repeated use.7 In a similar

*Ibid.'J Wallace, National Museum of American History, Smithaonisn,

May 1982.

project, the National Air and Space Museum isplacing some of its photograph collection on videodisks and interfacing the disks with the museum'scomputer. The museum also has an interactivevideo disk which allows patrons to design anaircraft.'

The National Park Service (TVS) of the Depart-ment of the Interior also uses video disk technol-ogy. NPS originally used video tape players atmany of its visitor centers. However, the initialhigh cost of purchasing the equipment, plus thehigh rate of failure, maintenance costs, and tapebreakage, led to initiating trials of videodisk tech-nology. Several video tape players have since beenreplaced by video disks. NPS is also consideringvideo disks for uee in collection management forreasons similar to those of the Smithsonian Ameri-can History Museum. If collection management ofselected projects at NPS is implemented, the diskwould provide access to a variety of educationalmaterials.

Military Uses of InformationTechnology

FindingsAll branches of the military have made substan-tial investments in research and development(R&D) on applications of information technol-ogy to education.The Department of Defense will likely be theonly. Federal agency likely to make major in-vestments in R&D projects with educational ap-plications.Educational uses of information technologyhave focused on two areas: training and basicskills.The need for a very large investment in basicskills training by the military, $66 million in1979, is an indication to some that the publicschools are not providing an adequate educa-tion.Many of the projects initiated by the armedservices could be transferable to the civilian sec-tor, although there may be barriers to transfer.Considering the large investment made by thearmed forces in information technology R&D,it would be useful to establish a mechanismwhereby potentially transferable projects couldbe identified and barriers to transfer removed.

'H. Otano, Chief. Audio-Visual Systems, National Air and SpaceMuseum. Smithsonian Institution. May 26. 1982.

"IF

246 Informational Technology and Its impact on Amrican Education

AIM

4

Fort Gordon Signal Corps Training Center, Fort Gordon, Ga.In former days, Ft. Gordon students wouldget 12 minutesof "hands on" Instruction at this $7 million satellite down-station. The rest of the classroom time was spent In costly

waiting. But with the new Information technologies, instructional time has increased flyefold

The military has been a leader in the develop-ment and use of instructional delivery systemshaving used high technology for many years. Itsgreat need for technical skill training, togetherwith the critical nature of its national security mis-

nn and its nonprofit orientation, has led to atraining technology revolution and a good marketfor state-of-the-art technology in military educa-tion and training.

Interested in new methods of training that im-prove efficiency, reduce training costs, and in-crease the effectivenees of training, the militaryhas turned to information technolou for solutionsto some of its educational and training problems.The armed services need people in operational as-signments. By advancing and applying state-of-the-art technology in training, they hope to turnout quality individuals sooner for operational jobassignments.

In addition to supporting improved general andspecific military skill training, the armed servicesalso support basic skills training. Military jobs de-mand basic skills equal to or greater than thoseof civilian jobs.' Many current recruits lack com-petency in basic skills, a situation that has impor-tant implications for the operation of sophisticatedtechnology and that has led to plans to increase,improve, and automate technology training pro-grams. Anticipated manpower shortages undoubt-edly will necessitate the enlistment and subse-quent training of individuals of less aptitude, thusplacing even greater emphasis on programs for in-struction in basic skills.

'0. %the. Bask Skille in Daiwa (Alexandria, Va.: Human ResourcesResearch Organisatkin, Final Draft Report. November 19813.

As the largest education and training institutionin the Nation, the military constitutes a large andviable market for training equipment, programs,and services. In fiscal year 1982, for example, ap-proximately $10.5 billion will be spent on individ-ual training. The training of indMdualofficers andenlistees is differentiated from the training of oper-ational combat unite, and individual training canbe broken down into a number of categories. In-doctrination and buic training for approximate-ly 338,000 stUdents will cost $822 million, whileapproximately 709,000 students will receive spe-cialized skill training for military jobs at a cost of$2.4 billion.' (See table A-4.) In fiscal year 1982,approximately 286,500 student man-years will bespent at training schools.

The Department of Defense (DOD) now spendsabout $267 million for R&D on training and per-sonnel systems technology, with $181 million or68 percent of this for R&D on simulation and train-ing devices and education and training.' (See tableA-5.) The three service laboratories primarily re-sponsible for military education and training re-search are: The Army Research Institute for theBehaviorial and Social Sciences (ARM. the NavyPerbonnel Research and Development Center(NPRDC); and the Air Force Human ResourcesLaboratory (AFHRL). The number of instructionaltechnology R&D work units by major categoriesin operation as of April 1981 is estimated in tableA-6. While all of the categories listed receive ongo-

Orlansky, "l'eclitiques for tits Marketing of R&D Products inTraining." paper preempted at the Society far Applied Learning Tech.nolop. Warrenton. Va., February 1981.

'Ibid.

231

App. ACasa Studios; Applications of Information Technologies 247

Table A-41.Numbrir of Students and Cost of Various Typesof ITdhrldual Training, Fiscal Year 1982

Type of trainingNumber of students

In thousandsCost inmillions

ApproximateIn thousands

per studyRecruit 338 6822 $2.4KOno-station unit training (Army) 104 322 3.1Officer acquisition 16 313 19.4Specialized skill 709 2,382 3.4,Flight training (basic flying skills) 1,458 229.7Professional devsicipment education

(e.g., military science, engineering,management) 32 330 10.2

Medical training 276Support, management, travel, pay 4,618

$10,521MSOURCE Military Manpower Training Report for Fiscal Year le&

Table A-S.Cost of R&D in Training andPersonnel Systems Technology,

in Thousands of Dollars, Fiscal Year 1482

Army Navy Air Force Total

Human factors $178 $ 14.1 $14.4 $ 46.1Simulation and training devices 24.2 107.1 17.5 148.9Education and training 13.4 11 8 6.8 31.8Manpower and personnel 9.0 19.0 12.0 40.0

Totals . . $64.2 $152.0 $50.6 $286.8

sOURCE J Ortansky. "Techniques for dm lArketIng of R&D Products In Train .paper presented at Ihe Society tor Applied Learning Technology

Wmrenton. Va. February Iasi

Table Ad.Number of Ongoing instructionalTechnology R&D Work Units By Service and

Department of Defense Total, April 1981

Technology

Service #Army Navy Air Force Tote!

Simulation/games 26 49 68 143Instructional system dovelopment 51 59 25 135Training management 26 14 10 50Lewning theory, 13 18 11 42Computer-based education 13 16 9 38Basic skulls 2 4 6Voice technology. 3 3Video disk 2 2

Artificial intelligence 1 1 2

NOTE inclusion of work units Into the categoriirs In the table are fairly mbitraryend are based on work unit Iltles The absolute numbers ol work unitslisted are approximations of service R&D efforts as of the dale of dimetory publication It should be noted Ittel this enumeration does not conalder site cii Ihe work units. only number of work units cited

SOURCE Directory of Reetrarchers tor Human Research end Owerownenr PAOects (Washington, 0 C Office of the Under Secretary of Defenas,**arch and Engineering), pp 7.43

ing support, high-technology simulation and thedevelopment of instructional systems and capabil-ities for more.efficient and effective training ap-pear to receive the most emphasis.

Interservice coordination shows potential forminimizing duplication of research efforts andfunds. The Office of the Under. Secretary of De-fense for Research and Engineering is currentlybuilding a managemect information system thatwill document all of DOD's training reeearch to in-clude funding levels. This system, Manpower andTraining Research Information System (MATRIS),will be fed into the Defense Technical InformationCenter (DTIC).

Comparison of Military andChrilian Education

In considering educational needs, distinctionscan be made between the civilian and military edu-cation sectors, differences which influence the na-ture of education program introduced. Some ofthe similarities and differences between militaryand civilian education and training are:

The military educates and trains personnelwithin a more restricted age, sex, and rangeof ability; typically, military enlisted traineesare 18- to 21-year-old males with a high "schooleducation.Military personnel are paid their salaries whilein training. Thus, instructional proceduresthat reduce trilining time and increase opera-

2'3.,, 1

248 Informational Technology and Its Impact on Ameiican Education

tional assignment time can assist in reducing'training costs.Within the civilian sector, yocational educa-tion, job training for business or industry, andnonmilitary GoVernment training are general-ly more similar to the military's educationalgoals and priorities than is education in ele-mentary and secondary school systems.Measures of effectiveness may vary betweenthe Military and civilian institutions. Militaryresearch on computer-based instruction, forexample, has emphasized saving studenttraining time while maintaining constantachievement. Nonmilitary research generallyemphasizes increasing the amdunt of achieve-ment while keeping the length of courses con-stant.

Computer-ManagedInstruction

In computer-managed instruction (CMI), learn-.ing takes place away from the computer. The com-puter scores tests, interprets results, advises thestudent what to do next, and manages student rec-ords and administrative information.

Advanced Instructional System. The AirForce's Advanced Instructional System (AIS) isan example of a military CMI system. It is a large-scale, prototypical computer-based education sys-tem installed at the Air Force Technical TrainingCenter, Lowry AFB, Denver, Colo. The presentversion consists of 50 student terminals, 11 man-agement tenninals, and aCDC CYBER 73-16 com-puter that can support up to 3,000 students a dayin four courses: inventory management, materialacilities, precision measuring equipment, andweapons mechanics. These courses were selectedtd,reptesent a cross-section of the technical train-ing courses at Lowry, and they serve about 25 per-cent of the base's student body. Management ter-minals provide computer-assisted instruction(CAI) services for use by instvctors (for develop-ing or reVising lessons and for retrieving data col-lected by the system). The system could be ex-panded to provided CAI services to students.

The AIS was designed with two objectives inmind: 1) to develop and implement an individual-ized, computer-based training system in an opera-tional military training enviromnent; and 2) to pro-vide a testbed for computer-based educationalR&D. It includes over 700 student carrels and 500media devices that permit the instructional deliv-ery device (sound-slide, filmstrip, programed text,

etc4 to be adapted to the individual student. Forexample, a slow reader might learn more efficientlyvia, audiovisual presentation rather than viaprinted text. With instructional content duplicatedacross delivery media, the computer assigns mate-rial and devices _according to student aptitudesand preferencep, as well as by resource availabil-ity. The actual allocation of media in the AIS is55 percent printed materials, 35 percent audiovisu-al presentation, and lorpercent CAI.

The AIS computir 'rovides three main supportfunctions: 1) ad.minis ration and management (re-soureenllocation, m terials development, record;keeping, and report/roster generation); 2) instruc-tion (student predictions, individual and team les-son assignment, test scoring, and delivery of in-struction); and 3) data analysis/research (automat-ic data accumulation, sampling Capability for sta-tistical analysis, and standard statistical analysisprograms). The computer thus takes over the ma-jority of the managerial functions of the instruc-tors, permitting them to concentrate on individualstudent instruction.

Many measures were used to evaluate the AIS,including costs, studynt and instructor attitudes,attrition rates, and the ratings of AIS students intheir post-school jobs. In most cases, conipariseonswere made between MS students and pre-AIS stu-dents in the same courses. Cost savings estimateswere made by the Air Tiaining Command man-power accounting personnel.

AIS results have been documented in severaltechnical reports issued by the Air Force HumanResources Laboratory. In generil, AIS students'achievement have been equal to or greater thannon-AIS studentswith net time savings of 15 to40 percent, depending on the course evaluated:Maximum savings have been achieved in the low-er-level, routine courses. Overall cost analysisshows that the system was totally amortized byJanuary 1979, in a period of only, 21/2 years. Thiscomplete recovery Of costs through savings in stu-dent instructional time is particularly noteworthyconsidering the extensive R&D costs included forresearch purposes. The AIS suggests ,that large-scale implementations of CMI would be cost effec-tive.

Student attitudes were clearly very positive. Thestudents felt that they had more bpportunity totalk individually with their instructors than in con-ventional courses (61 percent), that the self-pacedinstruction was a good use of their time (77 per-cent), that they preferred AIS instructions to lec-tures (55 percent), and that the instructors wereavailable whenever they needed them (73 percent).

App. ACase Studies: Applications of Information Technologies 249

'Instructor attitudes, on the other hand, tendedtO be negative in general. They felt threatened andmissed the ego-bolstering lecture method. Courseatirition rates overall tended to rise slightlythrough the first 5 years of AIS implementationfrom a pre-AIS baseline of about 4 percent in 1974to slightly over 5 percent through 1978. Attritionrates, it should be noted, are very sensitive to pol-icy changes. The supervisors of AIS graduates re-ported satisfaction with their performance. Theratings of AID graduates were significantly higherthan comparable ratings of pre-AIS -students. Asample of 199 supervisors rated the performanceof their AIS graduates as follows:

Excellent 25 percentVery Satisfactory 34 percentSatisfactory 37 percentMarginal 4 percentUnsatisfactory 0 percentOverall, the AIS appears to be a successful,

large-scale implementation of CMI. McDonnellDouglas'Corp. is currently modifying the systemto be transportable, to operate on smaller comput-ers, and to be marketable to the Canadian armedservices and to U.S. civilians.

Job-Oriented Basic SkillsTraining

Schools traditionally have 12 years to equip stu-dents with the level of skills necessary for themto function as 'adults in jobs or in further educa-tion. For the most part, schools are successful intheir approach to imparting necessary basic Mullsfor adult life. Fewer than 10 percent of those who

-have completed 12 or more years of schooling areseverely deficient in their application of skills topractical tasks, as estimated by a 1975 adult per-formance leVel study."

However, a substantial number of people eitherdo not complete 12 years of school, or do so with-out gaining the requisite mastery of necessary ba-sic skills for adult life or career performance. Theservices have hid to cope with the critical prob-lems presented when large influxes of poor read-ers entered the armed services, for instance, dur-

ring Project 100,000. The traditional approach toremediate the problems of adults with insufficientbasic skills for career success has been a continua-tion of the school general-literacy program.

However, traditional literacy training by the mil-itary has not been demonstrably successful. The

'Adult Performance Level Project Staff, Adult Functional Competen-cy: A Summary (AuStin, Tex.: University of Texas, 1975).

most direct way to ensure that an individual cancope with specific military skill applications (tocope with a military career or environment) is toteach these applications or ones as similar to themas possible. For these reasons, the military hassponsored R&D leading to a technology for job-oriented basic' skills or remedial literacy training.

A considerable investment in basic skills pro-grams has also been made. As indicated in a De-partment of Defense (DOD) study, during fiscalyear 1979 approximately $56 million and an enr911-,ment of 160,000 were allotted to basic-skills edu-cation.' The military has a bigh demand for listefi-ing, reading, writing, and arithmetic skills. Read-ing levels of material, for example, average in the10-13 grade level range. This far exceeds the read-ing skill levels of many military enlistees as wellas much of the civilian youth population.

Thus, there are a variety of basic skills programsin DOD and the four services. Pre-enlistment pro-grams, such as referral to civilian adult basic edu-

. cation and English as a second language (ESOL)programs, are sponsored by DOD for applicantswho do not meet serVice enlistmentrequirements.All of the services have some form of basic-skillseducation available from the time the new recruitenters the service. One such program is the AirForce PLATO SIP (Skills Improvement Program),which uses CAI to improve the reading skills ofmedical personnel and the math skills of main-tenance technicians.

Project FLIT. Project FLIT, a job-oriented, orfunctional literacy program, is being developedunder Army support. Work on this program wasstarted in 1967 and is ongoing. Military job liter-acy tasks are really quite different from readingskills applications practiced in traditional schools.For example, schools emphasize "reading to learn"while military job tasks involve "reading to do"(e.g., finding specific information or following di-rections). While schools test memory for what isread with dosed book tests, military job tasks aregenerally performed in the presence of the writtenmaterial, which is consulted frequently.

Researchers attempted to estimate the actual lit-eracy demands of military jobs. One product ofthis research was the FORECAST readability for-mula, which was developed using Army job read-ing material and an adult Army recruit population.Another product was a "Guidebook for the Devel-

'Defense Audit Service, Report on the Review of Installation-Spon.eored Education Programs for DOD Pereonnel (Report No. 81-041, Jan-uary 1981),

250 ' Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

opment of Army Training Literature."' Thismanual attempted to help Army writers createperformance-oriented training materials written atan appropriate level for Army readers and orientedto identified job reading tasks.

Project FLIT provides training in identifiedArmy reading tasks using actual Army materials.It was extensivelffield tested and was found toresult in gains in the performance of the job taskstrained. The ideas and techniques of the FLIT pro-gram were incorporated in a job-oriented readingprogram (JORP) for the Air Force, targeted at adifferent population and using different materials,a program also field tested with some success. Ex-pansion of this program to include all "problem"job fields in the Air Force is being considered. TheNavy JOBS program, a remedial program de-signed to prepare motivated, bueotherwise ineligi-ble, people for technical training is also a productof this technology. An additional product is aprototype job reader's task test developed for theArmy and now being modified and reformed.

PREST Program. In the future, the servicesrimy be forced to enlist a greater number of mar-ginally qualified recruits because of manpowershortages. In response to this, the Navy is expand-ing its Academic Remedial Training (ART). TheChief of Naval Education and Training Contractedfor the development and testing of a computer-based approach known as the Performance-Related Enabling Skills Training (PREST) pro-gram. PREST involves on-line reading and studyskills instruction via the PLATO system, aug-mented by Navy-related off-line drill and practice.An automated system such aa this was thoughtto be an attractive alternative to increasing thenumber of instructors.

A 1980 cost analysis showed the automated pro-gram to be less cost effective than increasing thenumber of military instructors. The usage chargefor PLATO with its centralized mainframe wasfound to be the chief reason. This difference in costshould, however, steadily decline in future years.Advances in computer technology will make stand-alone systems more attractive economically thanthe centralized mainframe for this type of fixed in-struction. In addition to projett PREST, NavyR&D efforts are under way to examine the feasi-bility of teaching phonics by a computer-drivenvoice synthesizer. If this is successful, there are

R. P. Kern, T. G. Sticht, D. We RA\ and R. N. Hanks, Guidebook forthe Development of Army Training Literature (Arlington, Va.: U.S../Army Research Institut* for the Behallioral and Social Sciences, No-vember 1976).

2 .4

plans to computerize vocabulary deyelopment,reading comprehension, and study *ills.'

Simulation ProgramsFlight training simulations are exSreinely varied

in scope, purpose, and fidelity of realism. Theysave expense and training time becautie the simu-lator can be repositioned to some starting pointin ffight without taking the actual time and fuelto fly there. Moreover, simulators provide the op-portunity to interrupt the flight at any point togive the student immediate feedback gn particularaspects of pilot performance. Finally', the simula-tor can be used for training in emer: cy maneu-vers that are inherently dangerous s actuallyattempt.

In 1970, the U.S. Air Force Hum 11ResourcesLaboratory's Advanced Systems ,D*, sion con-tracted with the Singer Co. to buil, the mostsophisticated ffight simulator yet de the Ad-

,

vanced Simulator for Pilot Training PT). Un-like other simulators, it was intended or researchas well as for flight training, giving il a multipur-pose potential for transference of restiarch resultsto the civilian sector.

The Army Research Institute for 4.e Behavioraland Social Sciences (ARI) is engaged in the devel-opment of computer-assisted simulation of tacticalcommunications as part of an overall effort in thearea of simulation-based training systems. This ef-fort will provide the Army with the capability tosimulate battlefield communications between lead-ers in the field and support personnel, such as artil-lery fire direction controllers, and the supecior andsubordinate commanders. Battlefield communica-tions are typically very structured and stereo-typed. For instance, the exchanges between an ar-tillery forward observer in the field and the firedirection controller are specified in Army regula-tions.

Training simulations are used to replicate many' military situationsfrom tank driving to elabo-rate ship docking. The Army tank driver simula-tors are fully automatic and include audiovisualas well as motion cues. Suchdevices simulate mal-functions such as brake failure or engine shut-down. Many of these procedures and-malfunctionsappear more than once throughout the programs,and thus allow for repeated practice. The devicealso simulates such activities as driving up hillsand over obstacles.

'R. A. Wisher, Computer-Assisted Literacy kudruction in Monks(NPRDC TR 80-21) San Diego, Calif.: Navy Personnel Research, May1981.

App. ACase Studies: Applications orinloimation Technologies 251

In maintenance simulation, the Navy throughthe NPRDC is developing an Electronic Equip-ment Maintenance System that will simulate elec-tronic receiver and radar systems, using a micro-processor. This system shows promise in facilitat-ing the management of troubleshooting problemsthrough electronic equipment. NPRDC has alsodeveloped a program that teaches how to solvedynamic problems involving the variational anal-ysis of current flow in complex electronic circuits.

The interchangability of technology transfer isdemonptrated through the Army's adaptation ofa commercial coin-operated game by Atari called"Battlezone" to train tank operators. "Battle-zone" is a three-dimensional war game in which theoperator moves around the battlefield at will andshoots at targets as they appear. Because thegame is very realistic, trainees' reflexee and oper-ating skills are improved with practice. Atari has'redesigned the keyboard to mimic an actual con-trol panel and realistically simulate the actions ofa tank.

Video Diska in Military TrainingThe military services, particularly the Army,

have been very active in video disk research. Mostof this work has been initiated or coordinated bythe Army Communicative, Technology Office(ACTO) at Fort Eustis, Va. ACTO's mission is toget the Army "off paper" and into electronic me-dia storage and communication. Both the

1"- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA) and ARI have also supported a numberof video disk research projects for training pur-poses.

One of the first ACTO projects was a "Call forFire" disk that demonstrated the potential of vid-eo disk for packaging multimedia self-study train-ing materials. This disk involved a specially de-signed computertontrolled video disk system. Anumber of different existing training materials(field manuals, training extension course lessôns,video tapes, films, and skill qualification tests)used to train forward observer skills were inte-grated on a single video disk, a good illustrationof the economy of video disk storage. Cost studiesconducted for ACTO around this integrated train-ing package indicated that it would result in sav-ings over the existing materials on the basis of re-ductions in duplication and distribution costsalone.

A second innovative use is the SIDE (Soldier In-formation Delivery Equipment) project, which in-volves the use of video disk for tank turret main-

tenance training. This project utilizes a computer-controlled video disk system called TMIS (Train-ing Management Information System). Video diskis used to store the contents of a large volume (thatis, thousands of pages) of maintenance manualsand skill performance aids. By means of a 5-inchcathode ray display tube connected by cable to theTMIS computer/video .disk station, soldiers areable to use the system while actually doing main-tenance inside a tank. With their electronic mainte-nance manuals, the trainees have more informa-tion at their fingertips than would nornially bepossible in the confined space of a tank turret.

A third innovative project is the use of videodisk for a satellite communitations ground stationrepair course (MOS 26Y10) at the U.S. Army Sig-nal Center, Fort Gordon, Gn.' The satellite commu-nications equipment needed for the course costsabout $12 million, and eaeh repair involves $200to $2,000 worth of parts. There is a great need tominimize equipment usage by unskilled studentswherever possible. The video disk provides low-cost hands-an equipment and repair practice with-out using the actual equipment or parts. A light-pen is used by students to identify switches, selectswitch positions, plug in jacks, or indicate faultyparts to be replaced. In addition to reducing theneed for actual equipment, it is now possible tomeasure student performance in accuracy or speedand to provide feedback while the student is learn-ing.

Yet another innovative effort is the Video Diskinterpersonal Skills Training and Assessment(VISTA) project at Fort Benning, Ga. VISTA in-volves the study of interactive video disk for lead-erehip training and assessment. It is used in a two-screen paradigm to present conflict scenarios thatmight arise between an officer and a subordinate.The officer trainee or candidate is first presentedwith a dynamic, visually simulated situation, in-cluding the initial remark of the subordinate on, thescreen. The trainee must select a response with thelightpen from four options presented visually onthe screen controL The trainee then sees the subor-dinate's reaction to this response on the colormonitor.

The disk features two modes: an experimentalmode in which the interaction simply proceeds onthe basis of the responses and a pedagogical modein which feedback is immediately provided on theappropriateness of the response selected. A totalof eight disks are planned that will provide over

'W. D. Aetna., "The video Disk/Microcomputar for Training," Train-Log and Devokvmant JouinaL May 1981.

,252 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

100 leadership scenarios. A major use of thesedi*s is seen to be an effective, objective, Snd in-expensive assessment of officer candidates.'

A number of other application areas are beingexplored by the Army. One area is the use of videodisk for recruiting. The Joint Optical InformationService (JOINS) allows local recruiters to show vis-ually what type of duties and training are associ-ated with a specific military occupational specialty(MOS)._Currently, some 30 MOSs are available onJOINS.'" In the equipment simulation areas,WICAT, Inc. hlkdeveloped an electronics trouble-shooting-video dfisk for the Hawk missile system.Perceptronics Inc. has developed a video disk-based simulation for the M60 tank gunnery train-ing. Both of ^these projects were supported byDARPA.

A number of video disk projects are also underway in the basic skills area. The U.S. Army Europeis supporting the development of functional liter-acy instruction using a particular job category(MOS 63, Vehicle Maintenance) as a focus. Also,DARPA is exploring the use of the video disk-based Spatial Data Management System (SDMS),originilly developed at the Massachusetts Insti-tute of Technology for training in various life-cop-ing skill areas (e.g., spatial orientation, studyskills, listening).

In addition to these application projects, whichhave resulted in the development of actual videodisks, the Army and DOD have supported re-search projects that eXplore theoretical or proce-dural aspects of the technology. For example, ARIhas supported studies of how video disk relates tothe standard instructional system developmentMethods used to develop training materials in themilitary. The Navy supported an early study. of

'F. N. Dyer, et al., "Interactive Video for Interpersonal Skills Train-ing," 1981.

°J. Tice, "Video Diek Could Get Army 'Off Paper'," Army Times,Aug. 31, 1981, p. 14.

video disk authoring approaches." ACTO has sup-ported research on the electronic conversion ofprint media to video disk and the optional presen-tation features for electronic . delivery systems.(See table A-7 for a atunniary of these applica-tions.)

These research projects have all involved inter-action between a number of different Army/DODagencies and contractors. They bave also involveda variety of different hardware configurations. Itis noteworthy that all of the video disk applica-tions discussed have involved exteinally - pro-gramed interactive capability. Although the Armyhas conducted a few projects with manual and in-ternally programed interactive video -disks (notdiscussed here), it appears that the Army believesthe type of interactive capability provided by. ex-ternal microcomputer control is necessary for theinstructional applications involved in militarytraining. In contrast, industrial training applica-tiiins have focused on the manual and internallyprogramed level of interactive video disks, possi-bly because industry cannot afford the greatercosts of an externally controlled system.

Direct To The HomeAll of the information technologies currently

used by schools, the military, libraries, museums,and industry can also be used in the home. The in-creasing availability of these technologies coupledwith their rapidly declining cost, presents a uniqueopportunity for learning in the home. While mostof the present applications have been directed ata specific age group, the focus is now shifting toprovide programs for more diverse populations.

"Fl. D. Kribs, "Authoring Techniques for Interactive Video Disk,"Journal of Educational Thchnokgy Systems, 8(3), 1980.

Table A-7.Summary of Military Video Disk Projects

Project Groups involved

Call_for fire ACTO/WICAT Inc.SIDE ACTO/Hughes AircraftMOS 26410 ACTO/Signal SchoolVISTA ARI/ACTO/TDI Litton-MelionicsJOINS ACTO/Recruiting Cmd.IHAWK DARPAMICAT Inc.LCP-I ARI/Perceptronics Inc.MOS 63 USAEUR/University Utah/

University MarylandSDMS ARI/DARPA/HumRROSOURCE: Officio of Tichnology Assessmont.

Hardware involved (plityer, microcomputer)Magnavox, Pascal MicroEngine (custom)Thompson, Hughes (custom)OVA 7820, Apple IIDVA 7820, Apple IIDVA 7820, Apple IIDVA 7820, Pascal MicroEngine (custom)DVA 7820, ? (custom)DVA 7820, Apple II

DVA 7820, Cromeco (custom)

App. ACase Studies: Applications of Information Technologies 253

FindingsThere has been a dramatic increase of micro-processors, hand-held devices, and informationservices provided via cable or public televisionin the home.Educational products and services are increas-ingly being niarketed directly to the home.In response to market forces, these echicationalproducts and services are targeted predom-inantly at professionals and families with rel-atively large disposable incomes.As with other educational markets, there is aneed far materials that review and evaluatethese products and services.

Adult MarketAn estimated 37,000 to,73,000 adults participate

in some sort of educational program. Adult pro-grams are offered in a wide-variety of institutionalsettingsin elementary and secondary schools,universities, private institutions, businesses, li-braries, and museums. Adults, the fastest grow-ing segment of American society, represent a po-tentially large sector, of the educational market.However, while manY adults might benefit fromcontinuing education, a large proportion of themhave, as yet, remained uninvolved.

Apart from their number, there are several rea-sons why adults mightvbe expected to constitutea growing sector gf the educational market:

Approximately one-third of all Americanadults are changing or considering changingtheir careers and realize the need for addi-tional education.More and more States require additionaleducational programs for professionals; e.g.,for,recertification of physicians. Continuingeducation has become one condition for licenserenewal in many areas.Within certain fields, education requirementsare being upgraded, increasing the need forcontinued education.'

Adult participation in instructional activitieshas been limited by situational, dispositional, andinstitutional factors. Situational barriers are, forexample, lack of money, insufficient time becauseof job and home responsibilities, lack of child care,and lack of transportation. Attitudes and self-per-ceptions farm the basis of dispositional barriers.Thus, an aged person may feel incapable of learn-

'Public Broadcasting Service, "Program Service, Section IV, ExhibitP-1," Washington. D.C., Jan. 6, 1982.

ing or a high school dropout may feel inadequate-ly prepared in basic knowledge to do well in an-other formal instructional setting. Institutionalbarriers are exemplified by high tuition charges,inconvenient schedufing of courses, and the lackof student services geared to adult needs. Educa-tional services delivered directly to the home viaboth existing and new technologies may overcomemany of these barrier8.2

Instructional TelevisionIn an innovative effortto capture this expanding

market, 600 colleges and universities in coopera-tion with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)provide college courses for credit via local publicservice stations. These courses are aired national-ly by over 200 stations (80 percent of the publicTV stations). Although institutions and stationscan choose from up to nine programs, most offertwo per semester. In the fall of 1981, enrollmentsexceeded 20,000. An increase was expected for thespring semester.

Recognizing the large, virtually untapped homemarket, PBS has already designed courses for theundergraduate student, and, in the near future,plans to provide informal learning courses as wellas professional and career development programs.Current courses, such as "The American ShortStory" and "Personal Finance and Money Man-agement," are of both general and professional in-terest. Colleges and universities participating inthe program provide materials and counselors oncampus, and give midterm and final examinations.They pay PBS a licensing fee and a small chargeper student enrolled. The student pays approxi-mately $150 per course, which covers materials.'

PBS is not alone in providing educational serv-ices via television. Community colleges such asthose in the Coast Community College District,Dallas Community College District, and Miami-Dade Community College District have also beenactively involved in instructional television en-deavors. Cable television companies also supplyeducational materials nationwide. Columbia Cable-vision of Westchester Inc., and Qube, in Colum-bus, Ohio, offer courses with an interactive capa-bility that allow students in the home to answer

C. Dede, Potential Clients for Educational Services Delivered by In.-formation Technology, contractor report to oTA, March 1981.

Public Broadcasting Service, P1V-8/Adult Prograining Department,Background Paper on the Partnership Between Public Television andHigher Education to Deliver Adult Learning Cairns, Washington,D.C., md.; and Public Broadcasting Service, Adult Learning Program-ing Schedule Fact Sheet for Colleges and Universities for Fall 1981,Washington, D.C., n.d.

2:36

254 Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education

questions posed by the instructor in the classroom.Qube (Warner Amex) currently has 50,000 sub-scribers, approximately 34,000 of whom receive itsinteractive programs.' This company offerscourses for credit from four institutions: OhioState University, Capital University, ColumbusTechnical Institute, and Franklin Institute. Be-cause of its interactive capabilities, the Qube sys-tem is educationally unique.

A proposal that could greatly expand education-al services in the home is now under considerationby PBS. The proposed "National NarrowcastService" would establish a resource to nationallydistribute educational, professional training, cul-tural, and information video materials. This serv-ice would also alter the local PBS stations' role,transforming them into local telecommunicationscenters. Using a satellite distribution system tointerconnect local PBS stations, and InstructionalTelevision Fixed Service (ITFS)* to connect thestations, colleges, and other users, programing inthe following areas would be available:

Training material in special skills; safety pro-grams; material designed for rehabilitation of theaged, infirm, or mentally disturbed; clinical studies;new arts and crafts; material intended to keep pro-fessional and semi-professional people abreast of thestate-of-the-art in various fields; in-service trainingfor teachers; instructional material for purposes ofentertainment or cultural advancement.'

Multimedia InstructionThe School of Management and Strategic Stud-

ies of the Western Behavioral 'Sciences Instituteoffers a management program that relies heavilyon information technology. The program is de-signed for executives in the private and public sec-tors (Federal and nonprofit). Following a shortstudy prowam in LaJolla, Calif., participants con-tinue their studies via on-line services, telephoneconversations, teleconferencing, and electronicmail. The terminals and other equipment are in-cluded in the cost of tuition and are retained bythe user at the conclusion of the formal program.Participants install the technology in their homesor offices. This approach has anumber of benefits:the participants continue to work for their spon-soring organization throughout the course of

'LINK. Survey of Selected U. a VidootoxiTwo- Way CATMohotortOperations (New York: LINK. June 15. 1981).

ITFS I. short range multiple distribution technology allowing for

an unlimited number of users in specific area. PBS is proposing theuse of four ITFS channels in sech comrnunitj served by public serv-

ice station.'Public Broadcasting Service. op. cit., 1982.

study (thus, no work time is lost); informationgained from the program can be employed immedi-ately in a working environment; the users becomefamiliar with the technology, which is not usuallythe case for most higher level executives; and usersare networking with both members of the programand with others following completion of the pro-gram.'

,Electronic Learning DevicesApproximately 18 million electronic devices

microprocessor games such as "electronic base-ball" and hand-held devices such as Speak andSpellwere sold between 1979 and 1980. Typical-ly, the price for these games ranges from $10 to$3,000, the cost of a microcomputer. Users of thesedevices can be as young as four, or they can beadults. The growth of this market has been rapidand impressive. Although these games and learn-ing devices were not introduced until the mid tolate 1970's, there are a vast number-on the market.While OTA has made no attempt to evaluate theireffectivenessand particularly the effectivenessof those designed for learning, their uses in thehome will be briefly described.

Given the relatively low cost of production anda growing desire by parents for enhanced educa-tional seryices, the market for microprocessorgames has grown so fast that some major manu-facturers been unable to keeR up with it. Sales ofnonvideo electronic games have skyrocketed from$20 million in 1977 to $1 billion in 1980. The ex-perience of Texas Instruments in the home marketprovides some insight into the development oflearning technologies. One of the early leaders inthis field, Texas Instruments originally sought todevelop a market in schools and not in the home.Their first product was a Texas.Instrument calcu-lator accompanied by a package of instructionalmaterials that was designed to assist teachers andstudents in the classroom. With it the companyhoped to demonstrate the use of the calculator asa learning device. Although this initial packagewas unsuccessful, it led the company to focus onthe home market and to market directly to the in-dividual consumer. Their next product, Little Pro-fessor, was a hand-held device that provides aseries of mathematical problems and answers de-signed to become increasingly difficult. Since theintroduction of Little Professor, Texas Instru-ments has developed and successfully marketed

'TALMIS Conferences, Chicago, III, Fob. 16-19. 1982."'Newest Trends in Toys." Eboor Magazin& Novemblr 1980.

App. ACase Studies: Applications of information Technologies 255

several similar games. One of these, Speak andSpell, differs from earlier games in that it has asynthesized voice that helps the user to spell.

Other manufactureTs have also introduced math-ematical gamese.g., National Semiconductor'sQuiz Kid. There are also other kinds of hanfl-heldlearning devices such as Coleco's Quiz Wiz, amultiple-choice game which asks and providesanswers to 1,001 questions on a wide variety ofsubjects such as sports, movies, television, andhistory.

Video DiskSince the video disk is relatively new, there are

very few examples that demonstrate its education-al applications in the home. Disks that are avail-able for school use are, however, equally applicablefor use in the home. Some examples of these arethe films of Jacques Cousteau, the National Gal-,lery's art masterpieces, movies such as "TomSawyer" or "Better Tennis in 30 Minutes."

The first video disk designed specifically for chil-dren, the "First National Kiddisc," is an interac-tive video disk produced by Optical ProgramingAssociate& It allows for individually paced in-struction. Games on this disk include The FlagGame, in which the user identifies national flags,and A Trip to the Zoo, by which the child can learnto identify 40 animals. Another section of the diskuses the unique two-channel audio available on thevideo disk players to explain pig latin. On onechannel, a child on camera explains in pig latin howto speak pig latin; on the other channel there isa voice-over translation. In a section on,sign lan-guage, the manual alphabet is taught by showingthe sequence in slow motion.

Publishers of educational materials and othersare currently planning new video disk projects.Walt Disney Production, Children's TelevisionWorkshop, and Scholastic Productions as well asencyclopedia publishers are among those who planto utilize this new technology.

In addition, Arete Publishing in cooperationwith the International Institute for Applied Tech-nology (I I AT) has produced an experimental inter-active optical video disk with information fromArete's American Academic Encyclopedia Soundand films were added to articles and illustrationschosen from the encyclopedia. The more than 20segments on the video disk demonstrate the capa-bilities of the technollgy. Starting from a generalsection on the species of dinosaurs, a user maybranch off to find more information about aspecific type of dinosaur. The segment on Ludwig

von Beethoven presents his biography, illustra-tions of his life and musical scores, and musicalsegments from the composer's works. Designed tobe experimental, this disk does not yet cover all21 volumes of the encylopedia, although ARETEhopes to put the entire encyclopedia on disk in thefuture. Still in the research and developmentphase, these disks arenot commercially availablefor use in the home. When they come on the mar-ket, each disk will cost about $500. After purchas-ing a disk, each year the consumer can exchangeit for an updated version for about $100.°

Impacts of InformationTechnology

Of all the information technologies available forthe home, the personal computer is the one thatis expected to have the greatest U80 and for whichthere is expected to be the largest and fastestgrowing market. Furthermore, the microcomputer,in conjunction with other technologies such as thevideo disk or two-way interactive cable, appearsto have the greatest potential for home use.

With the increasing uee of microcomputers inthe home, the educational applications are grow-ing at a fast pace. The personal computer marketwas estimated to be a $1.5 billion to $2 billion in-dustry in 1981. One recent figure notes that thehome market accounts for over COO million insales of both hardware and software.' The numberof personal computers purchased between 1977and 1980 was estimated at around 1 million, anda similar figure was estimated for sales in 1981.Sales are expected to increase substantially forseveral reasons: greater exposure to the technol-ogy in the schools or in business, the introductionof cable services, the availability of informationresources such as The Source and Dow Jones/Retrieval Service, the development of more con-sumer-oriented software, and the declining cost ofthe microcomputer.'° Also, manufacturers will beactively marketing their equipment to the con-sumer.

Together, these factors will lead to a serge in themarket. Microcomputers are now available for aslittle as $100. At this price, the microcomputer canbe used for games or simply to familiarize the userwith the technology. Advertising emphasizing the

'LINK, Optical Videodisc Applicatkine (New York LINK, NRM, vol.3. No. 1, First Quarter, 1082).

"B. Isgur, W. Paine, end H. Mitchell, persons] conanunications.January 1082.

'LINK. Using Personal Computers (New York: LINK. NRR, voL 3.No. I. Second Quarter, 1082).

258 Informational Technology and its Impact on Amrican Education

educational applications in thehome has increasedenormously. In fact, these commercials recall theearlier ones of the encyclopedia salesmen, theirsales pitch being that the microcomputer will as-sist the student in school." Moreover, the prolif-eration of computer stores and the retailing of thetechnology through department stores and the likehas given rise to increased purchases. For exam-ple, Texas Instruments plans to sell their micro-computers through national chain stores such asJ. C. Penney.

The growing diversity of home applications suchas gaming and word processing, and the develop-ment of financial and statistical packages such asVisicalc and others appeal to a wide range of users.One indication of this is the formation of a largenumber of computer clubs. All of the clubs swaphardware and software information. Some providetraining sessions; some are affiliated with a specif-ic manufacturer (e.g., Crab Apples and Crab Pol-ishers); and some are directed at specific interests(e.g., Theater Computer Users in Dallas, Tex., andthe Behavioral Sciences Specialists in Murfrees-boro, Tenn."

There are hundreds of software packages avail-able to assist students in all grades and age groupsin many subjects such as mathematics, the sci-

fences, reading, writing, and spelling. The rapid ex-pansion of the personal computer market shouldresult in a weedy increased volume of educationalsoftware together with a demand for evaluativematerials. As in all other markets for educationalsoftware, there has been very little evaluation ofnew software. While there are catalogs for consum-ers, there are few reviews of most educationalpackages. Users must depend for their evaluationson a limited number of sources: computer newslet-ters, computer magazines, an underground net-ivoik, and the few computer manufacturers whohave begun to produce evaluative reports.

Many analysts believe that the market for hornsand business microcomputers will be driven by theneed to use the technology to retrieve informationand to perform transactions. The technology al-lows a user to connect to on-line data bases andother services via a modem, device that connectsthe microcomputer to a telephone line. Home userscan now connect to services such as The Source,CompuServe, the Dow Jones News/Retrieval Serv-ice, and others. The Source, available through Tele-net and Tymnet packet switch networks, offers

"A. Poi/lick. "Price Decline Spurs Sales." Now York Tinto., June 17,1982, pp. 01.6.

"LINK. op. cit., 1982.

games, electronic mail, news, the "electronic col-lege," and other services. The college, althoughlimited to three courses this year, plans to expandits listings within the next few years. CompuServe,very similar to The Source, acts with the Associ-ated Press as the system operator for 13 U.S.newspapers in an experiment of electronic news-paper delivery. Viewtron, a videotex experimentin Coral Gables, Fla., offered slightly differentservices to home users. Knight-Ridder Newspa-pers and AT&T sponsored news, shopping, travel,banking, games, learning aids, consumer advice,and more to over 700 sites via modified televisionsets. Similarly, Cox Cable Communications is de-veloping INDAX for use by its cable franchises."

The introduction of cable services in the homewill give rise to a large number of new educationalprojects. An estimated 28 percent of the homes inthe United States are wired for cable. It is pre-dicted that 38 percent will be wired by 1985 and50 percent by 1990.'4 Educational services such asthose provided by Cox Cable, Qube, and others areexpected to grow quickly.

Informaiion Technology andSpecial Education

Technologies that are now being developed mayoffer great benefits to individuals that requirespecial educational servicesa group that includest e gifted and those with learning, physical, andemotional disabilities. Since special education isa field, and not an institution, OTA did not fullyexplore the uses, impact, and effects of these tech-nologies on special educational services. However,because the technologies will have a considerableeffect on schools overall, OTA examined some oftheir applications for the gifted and handicapped.

FindingsProviding educational services for students withspecial needs is costly and requires more effortthan providing for students in general.Information technologies will be particularlyvaluable to students with special needs becausethey will reduce the cost of their education andthey will provide them self-paced, individualizedinstruction.Using information technology could ease thefinancial and resource burdens placed on the

"LINK, op. cit.., 1982.''LINK Executive Conference, Neve York City, May 28, 1982.

241

App. ACase Studies: Applications of Infarmation Technologies 257

schools by laws mandating education for thegifted and handicapped.The overall cost of R&D to address the specificneeds of this diverse group is very high, and insome instances, even prohibitive. Each disabil-ity may require a unique technological applica-tion. It has been suggested that increased Fed-eral funding is merited to support the R&D ef-forts needed to encOurage the 'marketing ofthese technological applications.Although a number of technological applica-tions to help handicapped persons are available,they have not been marketed because they aretoo costly.Information technologies can help train manyhandicapped persons for productive work.Information technologies may offer greater ben-

efits to the gifted and the handicapped than to anyother segment of the education market. These stu-dents benefit from specialized individualization, acapability of many emerging instructional technol-ogies. For example, computer programs can be de-signed to translate written material into speechthat is understandable to the blind, or to instructretarded children on a step-by-step basis. Overall,suCh capabilities can help to make handicappedpeople more independent. Other types of programscan help maximize the abilities of gifted students.Recognition of the special needs of these twogroups have led to the passage of two lawsPub-lic Law 142 and Public Law 80-313. These laws re-quire that, using formula grants and preschool in-centive grants, handicapped and gifted children beprovided with special services to be funded in partby the Federal Government.

Information technologies have several attri-butes that make them particularly useful for ad-dressing the special needs of gifted and handi-capped Students) Because their individual situa-tions vary significantly from case to case, thesestudents most often need to have individualizedinstruction that can best be provided by highlyspecialized personnel. Thus, their education is gen-erally labor intensive, and very costly. The new in-formation technologies can provide self-paced andindividualized instruction at a considerably lowercost.

The cost and difficulties entailed in developingthese technologies may, however, preclude theirwidespread application. Although the overall pop-ulation of gifted and handicapped students is sta-tistically large, it is very small when measured in

'( 1)ede. Potential (lent,' for Educational Services Dehyvred by Information Technology. contractor report to (YTA. March 1981

terms of individual disabilities or needs. When de-signed to meet the needs of a Particular group,these technologies can be too costly to produce.'Moreover, the time required from their develop-ment to their production may take as long as 20years.' For these reasons, it has often been pro-posed that the Federal'Government provide sup-port for research and development in this area.

Technology for AdministrationThe use of information technology to administer

special education programs is only now in the proc-ess of being developed, tested, and evaluated.There is a large potential for data management ap-plications in this field, particularly given the re-quirement that each student participate in Indi-vidualized Education Programs (IEP). An IEP de-fines a student's disability(ies) and appropriateeducation program. This exercise is a very time-consuming process that could be greatly facili-tated by the judicious use of information technol-ogy. Computerized diagnostic models are nowbeing developed. One model, developed by Colum-bia Learning Systems, generates a computerizedIEP based on diagnostic information supplied byspecialists. It contains information about studentneeds, their areas of deficiencies and suggestedideas and mat,erial for remedying them. It alsomonitors the student's progress. Other programssuch as these are becoming more and more com-mon.'

The development of diagnostic remedial infor-mation technology procedures is relatively new inthe United States. This type of program tracksstudents to discover their strengths and weak-nesses in specific skills and how they relate to astudent's approach to a specific problem. This in-formation can then be used to determine a courseof remedial action. Most diagnostic models are form athem at ics.'

Information technologies can also be used toschedule the handicapped iic specialized work*or instructional groups using criteria such as ill-

W Sttrn and M It. Redden, Draft Ciise Stu4y of Selected Telecom-mumcation Devices for Ow Deaf contractor report to (YTA, December1981 Much of the work done to develop teletypewriter') for the deafwan done on volunteer basis. donated by handicapped or concernedinclividuabi. The prenent rapid advances in information technology,along with declining contri, may reduce this developmental time

'lbid . p 11'M Lindsey. State-of.the-Art Report, Computers and the Handicap-

ped IMedford. Oreg Northwent Regional Educational Laboratory,Augunt 19811, p 133 There in, for example. the Organized RenourceBank of 1F,P Text IOR111T), and Programing for Individualized Educa-tion 11'1E1

'Ibid.. p 133

2 4

250 Informational Technology and Its Impact on Amrican Education

structional needs, student academic levels staff-ing requirements, and availablity of staff and8Pace.e

Technology As ProstheticDevices

By enabling handicapped persons to speakthrough video and speech syntheaizers, some infor-mation systems can serve as prosthetic devices.For example, the Total Talk Full Speech ComputerTerminal, developed by Maryland Computer Serv-ices, converts computer-transmitted data and in-formation into synthetic speech. The system hasan unlimited vocabulary. It uses rules for enunci-ation, and inflection for clarity. ,Total Talk, whichcosts around $6,000, can provide two-way infonna-tion. Similar devices, the VS-6 and ML-1 voice sye-thesizere, developed by the Votrax Division of\Federal Screw Works, produce electronically syn- \thesized speech from a low-speed, digital input.Both of these systems are designed for personswith visual impairments, and both enable the ueerst..43 work in the areas of computer programing, in-formation processing, and information retrieval.

Many such projects have been successfully in-troduced through joint efforts between the FederalGovernment and the private sector. One exampleis the caption decoder, developed under the spon-sorship of the Department of Health, Education,and Welfare (now the Department of Education),the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Na-tional Broadcasting Co., and the American Broad-casting Ca When attached to a television set,these decoders allow deaf viewers to see captionson eelected networks and programs. Costing $269,they are available through Sears, Roebuck, & Co.'

Another example is Optacon. This device, de-signed for the blind, produces images of printedletters using small, raised, vibrating wires. Withone hind the user guides the pick-up along theprinted page, while the fingers of the other handdetect the images on a stationary device. TheKurzweil Reader, aim developed for use by theblind, "reads" a page of text aloud, using elec-tronic voice synthesis.-For these projects, Federalfunds were invested in the R&D efforts as well asin purchasing equipment for the users.'

Ibid11.7;T.'Department of Education, The Hiatorkal Rota of the U.S Depart-

ment of Education In Appping Elactronk nichnology to Education .

IWeehington. D.C.: Department of Education. February 19811.'IbeL

9

Technology As InstructionalAids

Information technologies have many applica-tions as instructional aids. CAI, for instance, ismod for.a numbei. of different handicaps or disa-bilities. Early ase of CAI for the deaf began at theInstitute for Mathematical Studies in the SocialSciences (IMSSS) at Stanford University. Assess-ments of this work with CAI show general in-creases in the mathematical skills of 3,000 deafstudents. Nonspeaking autistic children have alsobenefited from the use of CAI. Having witnesseda display of 1,000 different audiovisual experienceson o-television-like screen, 13 out of 17 childrenbegan to use some level of speech. The effective-nese of using a computer to teach extremely men-tally retarded children was also demonstrated,when substantial gains were noted in the readingability of 40 children. ,

In Chicago, students with hearing, visual, men-tal, or other learning disabilities have participatedin a project sponsored by the South MetropolitanAssociation for Low Incidence Handicapped. Theproject used CAI programsin math, reading, andthe, language artsthat were prepared by theComputer Curriculum Corp. Although evaluationsare still underway, student progrees has correlatedwith the amount of co-line accese to programs.

In an ongoing study at Utah State University'sExceptional Child Center, computer and videodisks are used with the mentally handicapped. Thetechnologies allow for self-paced and individualizedinstruction. The project programs focus on dis-crimination between sizes, shapes, and colors; ontelling time; on identification olfunctional words;and on the identification of colors. If successful,this project will not only assist mentally handi-capped nonreaders but also those vah other disa-bilities.'

To "encourage research in devising methods toassist handicapped individuals," NSF and RadioShack sponsored a contest in the fall of 1981. Itspurpose was to "create a partnership between per-sonal computing end the rehabilitation, educa-tional, and handicapped communities."" Therewere 900 entries in the contest. A few sample proj-ects were:

Throkildson, W. K. Bickel and J. G. Williams, "A Microcomputer/VidsodirctAl System for the Moderately MeMally Ratarded,".Journal of Special Education Technology, voL II. No. 3, spring 1979.

"Prisee Awarded bt Sawa% for Microcomputer Applications to AidHandicapped People," Electronic Learning, vol. 1. No. 3,January/February 1982, p. 12.

App. ACase Studies: Applications of information Technologies 259

A pocket-sized computer to assist deaf peopleto communicate over telephone linesa RadioShack pocket computer with a coupler and aminiprinter.An "Eye Tracker" to aid severely handi-capped individuals to express words via an in-frared camera and a computer. The cameranotes the position of the user's eyes with aspecific word and the computer "speaks" theword.A computer that teachim deaf children to readlips by outlining lips, mouth, and tongue on

a screen and then moving them to pronouncewords.

The entries in the contest used off-the-shelf tech-nology. Most of the projects could be made avail-able immediately and would be of some use to adisabled person. The contest demonstrated thatthere is no immediate need for extensive R&D.What is needed instead is a way of identifying andencouraging the reformating of the technology toaddress the diverse needs of the handicapped pop-ulation.

24f

Index

Action for Children's Television (ACT), 172Advanced Computer Service (ACS) (see American

Telephone & TelegraphAFL-CIO, 105, 108

Human Resources Development Institute, 107Airline industry, 236-237Alaska, 227-233Alaskan Public Broadcasting Commission, 42American College, 130American Academic Encyclopedia, 255American Federation of Labor (AFL) (oee AFL-CIO)American Federation of Teachers (AFT), 106American Postal Workers, 108American Society for Training and Development

(ASTD), 100American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T), 5, 7

Advanced Computer Service (ACS), 52and packet switching systems, 40plan to enter the information business, 21, 49reorgwilzation of, 40

Anderson, Governor Wendell, 215Angevine, Martha, 194Apple Computer Co., 43, 145, 199, 200, 218Arete Publishing Co., 255Aristotle, 68Army Research Institute (ARI), 119Associated Press, 60Atari (see Warner Communications Co.)AT&T (see American Telephone & Telegraph)Audio conferencing ( ee electronic conferencing)Automation, 8, 30

Bacon, Roger, 206, 207, 208Bailey, 'Florence, 191Bailey, Russ, 202Bank of America, 30Barnett, Harvey, 202Basic Education Opportunity Grants, 87, 88Bigelow, Gary, 208Birchard, Elaine, 208Bitzer, Donald, 128Bloom, Gloria, 190, 194BLS (see Bureau of Labor Statistics)Bristol, John, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214Broadcasting

by direct broadcast satellite (DBS), 41, 47, 164instructional television fixed services

(ATFS), 163-164low-power, 37, 41-42low-power television (LPTV), 164multipoint distribution services (MDS), 183operational fixed service, 169private operational fixed microwave services

(POFMS), 153Brown, Governor Edmund G., 196Brumbaugh, Kenneth E., 218, 220Bruning, Arthur, 220Buck Foundation, 198

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 32, 33Burek, Mary Ann, 204

Capitol Children's Museum, 243-245CARL network, 239Carnegie Foundation, 112, 114Carter administration, 161Catholic Church, 153, 154CBS, 47

..Chamberlin, Judy, 20 gChemical Abstract., 239Chicago Tribune, 210Children's Television Workshop, 56, 112, 121,

126-128Clapp, Lewis, 194Clark, Frank, 202.Coates, 'Mc, 214Coleman College (LaMesa, Calif.), 90Commission of Education (U.S.), 156Commission on New Technological Uses of

CoPyrighted Works, 170Commodore Computers, 145, 189Communication

accessibility of information, 16cable, 6, 40-41computer-enhanced telephone networks, 5, 39-40of data, 15, 30, 52decentralization of systems for, 18employability of individuals skilled in, 30integration with computers and video, 48-49local distribution networks, 40-41quantity of information transferred, 16by satellites, 5, 6, 37, 38-39speed of, 16trends in, 87two-way cable systems, 87-38

Competitionbetween banks and computer service bureaus, 7between IBM end AT&T, 7between investment houses, retail stores, and

banks, 7between telephone companies and newspapers, 7, 21between U.S. Postal Service and

telecommunications firms, 7Compueerve, 50Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) (soecomputers,

educational and instructional uses)Computer conferencing (me elettronic conferencing)Computer Curriculum Corp. (CCC), 133-134Computers, 15, 42-45

animation technique. with, 56automation with, 8, 80in consumer products, 42data storage technology, 6, 46in design and manufacturing, 101desktop, 6, 43-44educational and instructional uses, 3, 9, 43-44,

24 5203

264 Informational Technology and Its impact on American Education

A

56-58, 90-91, 93, 103-104, 112, 122, 128-134,141-143, 145, 178, 187-269

EDUNET system for sharing programs and °

equipment, 40'encouragement of educational use by industry,

43-44hand-hald, 6, 44-45human interface (input/output) technology, -6, 46-46information networks for, 7, 40, 42, 50-61integration with communications and video, 48-49literacy in, 60manpower needs for, 32-34in museums, 243number installed in schools (table), 44number of personal (table), 44in patent searches, 49personal, 5, 93PLATO system (see separate entry)printers for, 46-46programing languages, 46, 91, 136, 189, 190,

198, 201software for, 44, 68, 145-147software protection, 166-173in telecomrnunicition, 6, 6, 39-40, 49voice output technology, 46word processing, 6, 44

COMSAT, 41CONDUIT, 136Conference Board, 100

Annual Surveys of Corporate Contributions, 115Congress

acts of (see legislation)House Committee on Education and Labor, 4House Committee on Science and Technology, 4House Subcommittee on Science, Research, and

Technology, 4House Subcommittee on Select Education, 4House Subcommittee on Telecommunications,

Consumer Protection, and Finance, 166Library of, 160National Telecommunications Program, 119policy alternatives for (see policy options)Senate Commerce Committee, 166tuition tax credit bill, 77

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)(see AFL-CIO)

Constitution (U.S.), 7, 162Contreras, Vince, 195Control Data Corp. (CDC), 67, 128-129Corens, Ken, 220Cordray, Sara, 227Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), 66, 166Cox Cable, 40Crucible Steel Corp., 107Cupertino, Calif., 200-203

Dartmouth College, 60Data, banks

DIALOG Information Services, 61econometric, 61

HARFAX service of Harper and Row, 61Legis (legal citations), 61Medline service & the National Library of

Medicine, 51National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 61on natural resources, 51New York Times Information Service, 61of patent information, 61

Data Resources, Inc., 61Deafnet Telecommunications Model, 118Democratic Party, 154Department of Commerce, 112Department of Defense

Army Non-System Training Devices DevelopmentProgram, 121

funding of educational technology reoearch anddevelopment by, 111-112, 116

Training and Personnel Systems TechnologyProgram (TPST), 116, 119

Department of Education152Bureau of Education for the Handicapped, 134Division of Educational Technology, 118, 121

.estimates of video disk units in schools, 143Fund for the Improvement of Postseconditry

Education, 119funding of computer-based mathematics

instruction, 134funding of educational technology research and

development by, 112, 116, 121, 122funding of PLATO computer-based instruction

system by, 128Mathematics Education Using Information

Technology Program, 119report on science and technology educstion, 32Technology Initiative, 146-147

Department of Energy, 61Department of Health and Human Services, 163Department of Interior, 162

funding of educational technology research anddevelopment by, 112

Department of Justice, 40Department of Labor, 108Department of Treasury, 152DIALOG Information Services, 61.DiGiaMmarino, Frank, 189, 191, 194Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC), 189

entry into desktop computer field, 43Digital telephone networks, 6, 37,19-40

use of computer tschnology by, 48'Dillenberger, Paul, 220Direct broadcast satellite (see broadcasting)Donnelly, Jean, 214now Jones, 61Driscoll, Francis, 204, 206, 208 (

Economy (U.S.)changes in, 19-21educational levels and growth of, 27-28growth from technological innovation, 25-27

Index 265

service sector predominance in, 19-20information sector of, 20-21

onbusiness, 59computer-assisted instruction, 3, 43-44, 56-58cost and effectiveness of technology for, 63-64the courtaand (see litigation)decentralization of, 101-102declining achieveinent levels of students, 30-31definition used in this report, 4and economic growth, 25-28elementary and secondary, 70-77and employability, 27-28Federal aid for, 78-79, 87, 88, 89 -Federal role in, 3, 151-174financial problems of colleges and universities,

80-83 .

-governmental control of, 162-164in the home, 92-94of Information professionals, 32-34of information scientists, 34information technology and9, 55-64, 143-145,

227-233interaetive instruction, 56-59as investment in productivity, (human capital

theory), 28land-grant movement, 78-79legislation, 151-157medical, 58-59need to link different information technologies

for, 63passive instruction, 55-56private schools, 74-77productivity growth in, 20proprietary institutions, 85-92public schools, 70-74as a public good, 68-69research and development in technology for,

111-137and social change, 67-69technical, 29teacher training for educational technology, 9-10tuition tax credit for private, 77two-year and community colleges, 93-85by unions, 105-108in the United States, 67-108universities and four-year colleges, 78-83voucher plan for funding, 76-77

' video disks in, 57in the workplace, 99-105, 235-237 .

Educational Broadcast Facilities Program, 112Educational technology

in the airline industry, 236-237continuing Federal projects in, 119coUrseware development, 146-147conreeware industry (table), 144discontinued and consolidated Federal projects in,

118-119effect of reduced Government spending on, 115

Federal funding of research and develOpment in,_111-112, 114, 116-118

-Fedifff-grants for-sc- year 1982, 121-122hardware and educationel software vendors, 145industries competing for courseviare bueiness

(table); 146private funding of research and development in,

113-114, 114-116research and developm,ent support by other

nations, 122-125for special education, 256-259in Tobacco Products Co., 235-236

EDUCOM, 60, 233-235EDUNET, 40, 60, 233-234The Electric Company (children's television), 56, -

112, 121, 126, 127, 128Electronic conferencing, 7, 51-52

EIS computer conferencifig system, 52in industry-based training, 104NOTEPAD computer conferencing system, 52PLANET computer conferencing system, 52

Electronic games, 43, 46"Electronic Learning, 146Electronic newspapers, 50Eli Lilly & Co., 234Enenstein, Bob, 202Environmental Protection Agency

funding of educational technology research enddeyelopment by, 112

FCC (see Federal Communications Commission)Federal Commuhications Commission (FCC), 40, 41,

42, 50, 161and educational telecommunication services,

162-163Federal Security Agency, 152Federally Insured Student Loans, 87, 88Ferreira, Pat, 208Finkel, Le Roy, 195, 202Firestone, Kim, 21*Fisher, Glenn, 202Fisk, K. A., 202Ford Foundation, 112Franklin, Ronald, 197, 202Frazier, Richer* 227French, Bill, 220Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education

(FIPSE), 135

Gahala, Esther, 211, 214Gatze, Kenny, 208GentrY, John, 214Ginzberg, Eli, 27Good, Ed, 194Goodson, Bobby, 196, 200, 201, 202Gutierez, Jose, 202

Hakansson, Joyce, 196, 197, 202Hammer, Doug, 214HARFAX, 51

24 7

208 Informational Technology and its Impact on American Education

Harper and Row, 51Haugo, John,, 215, 221Heard; Helen, 227,Hewlett Packard Foundation, 114Horn; Marcia, 220Houston (Texas) Independent School District,

22/-227Hovda, Clayton, 219, 220Hughes Aircraft Co., 236

IBM, 5competition in telecommunications by, 7entry into desktop computer field, 43

Infoinedia, 52INFORM system, 241Inftirmation

AT&T plan to enter business of, 21conflicting views of, 8characteristics of modern systems for collecting

and using, 16-17history of systems for, 16as a major sector of the U.S. economy, 5-6, 20-21networks, 7, 50-51.professional manpower needs, 32-34

Information services, 7, 48-51 .

advanced business services, 52. Information technology

in administration and management ofinstruction, 60

automation anti, 30in broadcasting, 6in cable systems, 6, 37case studies on application of, 8-9, 187-259climate for use in schools, 143-145

communications, 37inin corporate instruction, 102-1051cost of application to education, 10cultural effects of, 18data processing, 30data storage, 6, 46decentralizing effect on communications, 18definition of, 4dependence on, 15-16digital telephone networks, 6, 37, 39-40in distribution of education, 60-62economic and social impacts of, 16-19and education in Alaska, 227-233educational uses of, 55-64effect on organizational decisionmaking, 18'effect on political process, 18effect on relationship between individuals and

organizations, 18factors affecting further application in education,

141-147Federal role in, 3, 9, 111412, 114for the handicapped, 9in high& education, 81-83in the home, 252-256impacts on education and training, 4, 8, 9

24

impacts on the home, 255-256impacts on societal institutions, 4, 7-8institutional barriers to use in education, 9integration of various technologies, 9, 48-49the industry for, 5-6labor unions and, 107-108in libraries, 237-242and literacy, 17-18, 19manpower needs for, 10, 32-34military uses of, 245-252potential of, 4private sector role in, 110,114-116in proprietary education, 90-92protection of software, 166-174Psychological effects of, 4-5, 9, 10, 18quality of software for education, 10satellite communications, 6software needs for education, 10socioeconomic inequities created by, 10and special education, 256-259teacher training in, 9-10in testing and diagnosis, 62trends in, 37-62 .video technology, 6-7

Institute fof the Future, 52Institute for Museum Services (IMS), 160INTEL Corp., 201Internal Revenue Service, 6, 15, 115International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

(IBEW), 108I. P. Sharp Co., 51IRVING library network, 238-239

James, Mary, 218, 220James, Wilbur, 220Japan, 32Jaquith, Luree, 194Jennings, William, 194Johnson adiainistration, 156Johnson and Wales College (Providence, R44, 90Jokela, Willis, 216, 220Jones, Allen, 207, 208Joseph, Helen, 196, 198, 199, 202Josiassen, Jody, 192, 194

Kaski, Janet,. 214Kent, Karen, 202King, Steve, 202KOsak, Casey, 199Kosel, Marge, 220Kukendahl, Carol, 227

LaChance, Douglas P., 220Lathrop, Ann, 193, 202LaMar, Ron, 202Lawrence Hall of Science, 243Lawson, John, 188, 194Legie (legal citation data bank), 51Legislation

Blair Bill (1880's), 153-154

Mdex 267

Connnunications Act of 1934, 162, 166Comprehensive Employment and Training Act

(CETA), 106Computer Software Copyright Act, 171Cooperative Research Act of 1963, 122CopYright Act of 1976, 171Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, 113, 116Educational Amendments of 1972, 87, 166Educational Amendments of 1978, 119Elementary and Secondary Education Act

(ESEA) of 1965, 134, 163, 15k, 156, 167, 160Emergency School Aid Act of 1972, 119Enabling Acts, 152General Education Provisions Act, 162George-Barden Act of 1946, 164.GI Bill, 154Hatch Act of 1887, 163Hoar Bill of 1870, 163Higher Education Act of 1966, 160, 161Higher Education Facilities Act of 1963, 166Lanham Act of 1941, 166Library Services and Construction Act

f 1964, 160Massachusetts Bay Law (1642), 161, 162Morrill Act of 1862 (establishing land-grant

colleges), 79, 152National Defense Education Act (NDE A)

of 1968, 166New Deal programs, 164Old Deluder Law (Mass., 1647), 151Pierce Bill of 1872, 163Preemption Act of 1841, 162Public Law 16, 164Public Law 816, 165Public Law 874, 16,6Public Telecommunications Financing Act, 166Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944, 164Smith-Hughes Act of 1917, 164, 157Social Security Act, 166Statehood Acts, 161, 162Technolory Education Act of 1982, 146on telecommunications, 166-166Vocational Education Act, 89, 166

Lexington, Mass.. computers in public schools of, 187-194

Libraries, 4as automated information centers, 60communication networks for, 238-242computers in, 240as educational institutions, 94-97Federal role in, 160-161impact of information technology on, 7-8, 96-97information technology in, 237-242

Lippert, Del, 204, 206, 208, Literacy

in different countries, 32effect of information technology on, 19need for information literacy, 29-32

2 4

LitigationInternational News Service v. Associated

Press, 170Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, 158on parental right to educate, 158on religion in the Schools, 168Rodriguez v. San Antonio Independent School

District, 169on State and local school funding, 168-160Serrano decision, 159Universial City Studios v. Sony Corp., 172

Louisa, Joy, 227Lowd, Beth, 194Luehrmann, Arthur, 196, 197, 198, 199, 202Lundgren, Richard, 220Lyons Township Secondary School District

iLaGrange, Ill.)computers in public schools of, 209-214

Maggie's -Place: Pikes Peak Regional LibraryDistrict; 239-240

Marin Community College (California), 199Marin Computer Center (California), 199Marin County (California) Teachers Learning

Cooperative, 198McGee, Julie, 213, 214McGraw-Hill, Inc., 91Mchalski, Bill, 214McKell, Don, 202Medline, 51Melendy, Richard, 202Microprocessors (see computers)Mill, John Stuart, 68Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium, 68

and computers in Minnesota schools, 214-221Mork, Kasey, 220Museums

as educational institutions, 97-99Federal role in, 160impact of information technology on, 4, 99,

244-246

National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 112National Assessment of Educational Progress, 30National Center for Education Statistics (NCES),

86, 89, 144National Education Association (NEA), 163National Education Television, 126National Home Study Council (NHSC), 91National Institute of Education (NIE), 112, 118, 119National Institutes of Health (NIH), 112National Library of Agriculture, 160National Library of Medicine, 160

Medline service, 61National Radio Institute (NRI), 91National Science Foundation (NSF)

funding of computer-based mathematicsinstruction, 134"

268 informational Technology and its impact on American Education

funding of educational technology research anddevelopment by, 111-112, 114,-116, 121

funding of museum programs, 160funding of PLATO computer-based instruction

system, 128Mathematics Education Using Information

Technology Program, 119Office of Science and Engineering Education, 112,

114, 135report on science and technology education, 32, 33sponsorship of research computer network by, 40

National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 61National Telecommunications Information

Administration, 119Nationa/ Youth Administration (NYA), 164Nel ly, Mark, 214New Jersey Institute of Technology, 62Newspapers

electronic, 49fear of competition from AT&T, 21

New York Times Information Service, 61Ninth Circuit Court (U.S.), 172Nixon administration

educational voucher plan of, 76-77policy on library funding, 160-161

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory,122, 136

Novato, Calif., 197-199NSF (see Nati anal Science Foundation)

OCLC network, 239Odom, Mike, 204, 208Office of Education (OE) (see Department of

Education)Office of Technology Asseasment (OTA), 3, 107

case studies by, 8-9Computer-Bised National Information System, 4findings of this assessment, 4-6, 15-16, 26, 37,

66, 67, 111, 136-137, 238, 246premises of this assessment, 4

Olney, Dave, 191, 194On-line information services

BRS, 239, 240COCIS, 240DIALOG, 239, 240Dow Jones/Retrieval Service, 256GIS, 240ORBIT, 240RLIN, 240The Source, 60, 61, 240, 266

Open University (educational television), 66Oregon State University, 164O'Reilly, Jill, 194Orvik, James, 229OTA (see Office of Technology Assessment)Otto, Susan, 227Oxford, Mass., 203-209

Packet switching, 40Patent Office (aee Patent and Trademark Office)Patent and Trademark Office, 153, 168, 169Pergamon Press, 49Phillip°, John:204, -205, 208_Pierson, Geoff, 188, 194'Plato, 68PLA'r0 (computer-based instructional system), 57,

91, 112use in flight training, 237use in higher education, 130, 132use by industry, 130use in medical education, 133use by the military, 130, 132use in public schools, 130-131use by special populations, 131use by Tobacco Products Co., 235-236

Policy optionsarguments for and against Federal action, 177-179assumption of Federal leadership in educational

technology, 180-181direct funding of demonstration projects,

teacher-training, and institutions, 11direct funding of technology acquisition by

schools, 11elimination of unintended regulatory barriers, 12general education policy incorporating information

technology, 11-12, 181-184subsidies for educational computer hardware, 179subsidies for educational computer software,

11, 180support of research and development, 12tax incentives, 11

Pollak, Richard, 220Postal Service, 7Prizant, Jerry, 202Protestant churches, 164Public Broadcasting Service, 164Publishing

impact of information technology on, 7-8overlap with high technology, 49

Pugh, Richard, 201, 202Purdue University, 164

Radio Shack (see Tandy Corp.)Reading (Pennsylvania) Area Community

College, 130Reagan administration, 161Reagan, Billy, 221, 222, 227Reed, Madeline, 227Republican Party, 154Richardson, Rob, 204, 208Rogers, Patsy, 227 ciRothe, Jack 0., 202Rousseau, Jean Jacques, 68Roustenstraugh, John, 227

25

Index 269

Sakai, Brian, 202Satellite Busineek Systems, 52Satellites

communication by, 6, 37, 38-39in industry-based training, 104-106direct broadcasting from, 41-42

Say, Michael, 226, 227Schneiderhan, Dale L., 220Schools

climate for-information technology use in, 143-145elementary and secondary, 70-77impact of information technology on, 4, 7-8, 19mathematical, technical, and computer literacy

and, 31-32private, 74-77public, 70-74public perception of, 4productivity enhancement by information

technology; 11proprietary, 85-92two-year and community colleges, 83-85universities and four-year colleges, 78-83

Schur, Walter, 208Sension, Don, 220Serrano decision, 159Sesame Street (children's television), 56, 112, 121,

f26, 127, 128Smith, Beverly, 194Social Security Administration, 15Sonoma State College, 198Sony, 47Southwest Regional Laboratory, 122Soviet Union, 32Sputnik, 155Stanford University, 134

Institute for Mathematical Studies, 133Storm, Bruce, 194Strategic, Inc., 142, 143Sturdivant, Patricia, 222, 225, 227Suppes, Patrick, 133Supreme Court (U.S.), 172

Rodriguez v. San Antonio Independent SchoolDthtrict, 159

Tandy Corp. (Radio Shack), 43, 145Telecommunication

effect of Federal regulation and legislation oneducation, 161-162

Government control of, 162Teleconferencing (see Electronic conferencing)Teletext, 7

American-Canadian demonstration project, 119principle of, 49

Television (aka see video technology)cable systems, 38high-resolution, 5, 47instructional television fixed services (ITFS),

163-164Nations] Science Foundation funding of

educational; 112

passive instzuctional programing in, 56satellites in, 39

Texas Instruments, 46Tobacco Products Co., 235-236Tclueville, Alexis de, 68/Taming and Maintenance Information System, 236Troy, Patricia, 208Tucker, Bob, 194Turner, Cheryl, 201, 202

United Carpenters and Joiners of America, 108.United Press Inttrnational, 50United Rubber Workers, 108United Steelworkers of America, 107University of Alberta, 133University of Colorado, 130University of Delaware, 130University of Illinois, 57, 112, 128University of Pittsburgh

Learning Research and Development Center, 122University of Southern California, 163University of Wisconsin

Wisconsin Center for Educational Research, 122University of Quebec, 130Urban Institute, 114U.S. Military Academy at West Point, 152

Veselka, Ronald, 227Veterans Administration, 166Video conferencing (see electronic conferencing)Video disks (see video technology)Video technology, 15

computer animation systems, 56filmless camera, 7, 47improved quality of, 47integration with communications and computers,

48-49in proprietary education, 90-92video cassette recorders, 7, 47, 56, 143video disks, 5, 7, 9, 47-48, 56, 57, 68, 104, 143,

145, 245, 255video processing computer techniques, 56videotext system, 7

Videotext, 49-50VISICALC (computer software), 44, 58Vojta, George, 27

Wagner, William (Sandy), 195, 202War on Poverty, 156Warner Communications Co. (Atari), 43, 46Wayne State University, 106, 107Wesley, yranklin, 222, 227West Germany

technical literaci ip, 32White House Conference on Education (1054), 155Winiarski, Paul, 208

Xerox, 43

Zachmeier, William, 200, 202

2