What's one of the first things a company trying to improve its productivity does? It takes a close look at what management theorist call its "human resource investment," and it makes sure employees have the best tools available to do their jobs and the training to use the tools. That's why computers have replaced typewriters in so many offices. And it's why a paralegal looking for case law these days will dial into a database instead of going to the library. It seems odd, then, that as we agonize over improving productivity in our schools, we ignore the primitive level of technology in most classrooms.
It is true that many schools are doing a good job of acquainting students with one powerful new piece of technology -- the microcomputer. This is important, and we must continue the effort. But teaching kids how to use a computer keyboard and doing some simple programming doesn't have much impact on a school's productivity. Often, the computers are isolated in a computer room and presided over by a computer specialist. And most classroom teachers make do with the chalk, chalkboard, textbooks and instructional aids that were antiques when our grandparents were in school.
That's hard to understand. If teachers had the technology that is now available in many offices, we would solve some of the persistent problems in our schools. For example, computers, together with videodiscs and videotapes, could help a teacher individualize lessons and begin to break down the classroom-lecture system that forces students to learn one way no matter what their individual differences are. But perhaps things are starting to change. I say that because programs in several school districts and a couple of states are beginning to give teachers technology and train them in its use.
The most impressive of these programs, which belongs to the Cuyahoga Valley (Ohio) joint Vocational School District, helps link the classroom with the workplace. The district was a pioneer in using technology throughout the 80s. By 1987, though, school leaders had realized that making computers generally available and offering computer literacy classes to students did not necessarily lead to extensive use of computer technology in the classroom.
Cuyahoga did not try to solve this problem by posting some sign-up sheets and offering a couple of seminars in computer use. The Partnership, which it launched in 1987, acknowledged the fact that experienced professionals need systematic retraining if they are to abandon the technologies that have served them in the past -- especially when the new technologies are radically different from the old.
The Partnership's answer was to provide teachers and other staff members with computer systems and printers for home and personal use. In return, participants in the program signed up for 100 hours of training in the use of the equipment and its application to education. Staff received the equipment up front and signed contracts authorizing the school district to dock their salaries to pay for equipment if they failed to complete the training. The training was offered at school in the afternoons, and participants were able to practice their new skills at home and become comfortable in using them.
The response was phenomenal. In the first year of the program, I00 percent of the faculty participated -- and I00 percent completed the training. In the second year, these vocational/technical teachers, who were now knowledgeable about computers, went out into their industries and surveyed the state-of-the-art technology being used in the workplace. Then, they made recommendations to the school administration about appropriate hardware and software for their classrooms. The administration made the purchases suggested, and now teachers are able to employ the latest technology in their areas -- and familiarize their students with it.
In Michigan, the state is taking steps to put computers onto the hands of teachers. This spring, under the auspices of a program called the Classroom of Tomorrow, the state department of education invited all Michigan classroom teachers to write proposals for computer systems to be used in their classrooms. When these proposals are screened, 10,000 of Michigan's 70,000 teachers will be awarded computer systems, and they will be trained in how to make the best use of their systems in the classroom. In the fall, the state expects to award 5,000 more computer systems under this program.
People who accept the idea that offices and factories need the latest in technology if they are to be productive and competitive often consider technology for schools a frill. How else can we explain the fact that few teachers even have easy access to a telephone? Providing teachers with technology and training to use it will automatically transform our schools, but it's an important step toward getting us the productive, world-class education system that we need.