File name:Education.Opportunities.on.Infohighway.txt File location: debra.dgbt.doc.ca /dbd/ftp/pub/isc/Canadian.Information.Highway Date archived: Wed Oct 26 13:42:36 EDT 1994 Archive name: Industry Canada, Canadian Federal Government Archived by: tyson@debra.dgbt.doc.ca Originator: --------------------------------------- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Contact: Luc Fournier fournier.luc@istc.ca Kim MacKinnon mackinnon.kim@istc.ca Education is an area on the verge of a major transformation. Numerous pressures have caused such a change. Changes to the Canadian economy, government cuts, demands from parents and critics are all factors influencing education reform. Surveys indicate that Canadians expect the Information Highway to provide a solution. Education is also very visible, representing one of the largest expenditures in the Canadian economy ($55 billion), and Canadians appear to be dissatisfied with the results. It is important to note that the dissatisfaction observed appears to be at least partially related to studies that have widely disputed results in the educational community. The object of this report is not to analyse or criticize the results of these studies, but to use them as background information. This can help the reader understand the issues at stake, and provides an estimate of their potential economic impact. The most serious problems identified are: - The illiteracy and numeracy problems estimated at costing the economy $4 billion a year; - The significant drop-out rate The Conference Board of Canada estimated that Canada could save $26 billion if the drop-out rate was reduced from the 1989 level of 34%, to 10% by the year 2000; - Our students poor results in international tests indicate that they are not keeping pace with students from other countries. There are over six million elementary, secondary, college and university students in Canada studying in over 16 500 institutions staffed by almost 370 000 educators. Enrolment has been going up steadily since the mid-1980s. The schooling requirement for jobs is also increasing. By the year 2000, two thirds of jobs will need post-secondary education. Most importantly, the skill set is changing and we now require the skills learned or developed through the use of C&IT. To understand how the Information Highway can be successfully used, we also need to understand the current situation of C&IT in schools, and examine the ways in which it is now being used. We cannot throw technology (the Information Highway) at the problem and expect to get instantaneous results. Questions one must ask are: Is there anything in schools to connect to the Information Highway? How much will it cost? Who will pay? Will it be used? Is there content to access? What do we expect to accomplish? Will it replace busing, books, teachers, etc.? Answers are not easy. This paper attempts to identify the issues to be debated and perhaps provide some of the answers. These issues include the following: - An insufficient amount of equipment found in schools today is capable of connecting to the Information Highway. - Computers in schools are generally old and lack the sophistication needed to take advantage of the Information Highway. - Computer penetration level is low in schools, with an average of one computer per 15 to 20 students. - Technological deployment is often done through pilot projects. - Generally, there is a low level of computer literacy among educators. - Some educators lack an appreciation for C&IT, and generally are unaware of the potential capabilities of C&IT in the classroom. - Successful deployment of C&IT is most often centred on highly motivated principals and teachers. Principals and teachers are the main catalysts of successful C&IT deployment. - Technology in the classroom does not automatically guarantee better results for students. - Technology in the classroom generally goes through three stages before achieving maturity: teaching about computers; computer-based learning/training; and using computers as a tool in the classroom. - The use of C&IT for the Francophone community will be more difficult, as French-language software and information on the network is scarce. A number of successful implementations of C&IT in Canada can be cited, but overall they represent only a small fraction of the potential for improvement through the use of technology. People must also realize that there is more to C&IT in education than tele-education and courseware. While these technologies are very visible, many of the most successful implementations use neither. We have determined that successful deployment of C&IT is closely linked to the following fundamental elements: - Schools should become resource centres for continuing education. This would provide well-equipped centres for training, and would ensure that technological resources are used more effectively. - Educators should work closely with industry, research centres and universities to ensure that the programs they develop are practical, useful and relevant to students future requirements. - Education should rely on a set of technical standards for hardware and software that permit the use of appropriate platforms for the task at hand. - Technology deployment should be ongoing. - Educators should seek the help of corporations and the community to deploy technology. - Efforts should be made to ensure that rural and remote areas of the country are served adequately and at reasonable cost by communication networks. The cost of improving C&IT in schools to take advantage of the Information Highway is very high, and would require a major shift in spending and curriculum delivery. We estimate that it would cost approximately $5 billion a year to deploy and maintain a high level of technology in schools. To make the deployment successful, a major training effort of educators would be necessary. To train the over 300 000 educators in primary and secondary schools for two weeks on C&IT would represent a 12 000 person-year effort. Teachers would also require ongoing training to stay current. Results achieved through the successful deployment and use of C&IT can be dramatic. A number of examples where C&IT has had a major impact are noted in this report. For example, researchers observed that social interaction and co-operation in problem-solving are enhanced, that students are focussed on the task at hand, and that average students can excel. Successful deployment can also reduce the cost of education and time to learn while improving retention rates. We believe that nine steps can be taken immediately to address the situation and prepare education for the arrival of the Information Highway. Without this, the expectations of Canadians vis-…-vis Information Highway services will not be met. 1. The provincial and federal ministers responsible for education and the Information Highway should collaboratively undertake the development of a strategy to deploy technology in education. 2. Seed funding should be provided to form an association of organizations interested in technology in education, which will maintain a national resource centre on the subject. The centre would make available documents from all the Ministries of Education and other sources related to technology in education. The association could organize local and national conferences and provide training for educators. 3. A network of research centres in the field of technology- based learning from across Canada should be formed. These centres should disseminate the results of their activities, and thereby increase their profile. Funding could be provided to support research in the use of technology, to determine the impact of new technologies on learning, to determine the best practices and to facilitate the deployment of those most promising. The alliance would work closely with the faculties of education to transfer the knowledge of its members to new teachers being trained and to the professors teaching them. 4. Following the example of many provinces, the federal government should provide public education and learning institutions with access to the government inter-city services at periods of low usage. More than one million hours on the digital network could be made available for teaching, at minimal cost to the federal government. This would give institutions the opportunity to radiate their expertise across the country. This would be of particular benefit to continuing education programs. 5. Funds should be provided to conduct several (10 to 20) case studies on the cost and benefits of supporting technology-assisted education compared to the traditional system. The case studies, based on a common methodology, would be representative of different needs from across the country. 6. Seed funding should be provided for small initiatives for educators to stimulate the use of technology in the classroom using a model similar to that of the Education Technology Centre of British Columbia through its Technology Development Project Grants (TDPs). 7. Statistics Canada should gather and disseminate comprehensive statistics related to technology in education. Such statistics are currently unavailable, either nationally or on a regular basis. 8. The development of French content on the network, and of software to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by technology-assisted learning, should be supported. The current lack of French resources on the network makes the use of networks to access information in French schools very ineffective. Funding for Aboriginal languages content should also be considered. 9. Help should be provided in the formation of co-operatives to purchase C&IT equipment, services and software, to benefit from volume pricing and to reduce redundancy. The use of C&IT in education appears to be very effective when it is well implemented, but the implementation and ongoing costs can be high. Over the past decade, many experiments have been carried out and best practices have emerged. If the lessons learned from these projects were used in the widespread implementation of technology in schools, the results could be dramatic. The large sums of money invested could be offset by making Canadians better prepared to find employment. The use of C&IT provides a more enjoyable learning environment that could help reduce the drop-out rate, and increase retention rates and overall academic achievement. Drop-out, illiteracy and numeracy problems cost several billion dollars each year to the Canadian economy in lost productivity, lost earnings, and unrealized tax revenues, as well as in additional expenditures to address related social problems. If technology in schools could address only part of these problems, the investment would be quickly and easily repaid. .