State agency calls on teachers to do more with technology
January 6, 2010
The Columbus Dispatch
Technology will never replace a good teacher.
But more Ohio teachers could use technology to better prepare students to succeed in school and life, a new state report finds.
“Just as literacy has the power to reduce barriers to success and advancement, technology has the ability to open new doors and opportunities by transforming the learning and teaching environment,” said Kate Harkin, executive director of eTech Ohio.
The state agency, which promotes educational technology in Ohio, announced yesterday that it has submitted a five-year plan to Gov. Ted Strickland and lawmakers to prepare students for jobs and help grow the economy.
The group found that although most Ohio schools and colleges use computers and the Internet to teach students, they don’t do enough with new technology.
“Existing technologies allow high-school students to assess their skills and prepare for college online, college students to develop lower-cost educational plans that will land them a career in a growth industry, and educators to access the latest, most effective curriculum without having to leave their classrooms,” said Eric D. Fingerhut, Ohio’s higher-education chancellor.
ETech’s plan calls for the state to provide more training to help teachers use handheld devices, podcasts, social-networking sites and other technology. The report doesn’t provide details about how this might be done because it wants school districts and colleges to create individual programs to deal with their particular needs, Harkin said.
“Educators have long recognized that people learn in a variety of ways, whether reading textbooks, watching lectures or listening to tapes,” she said. “All can be delivered by technologies that currently are readily available.”
The agency also would like schools and colleges to provide more online classes and to take better advantage of the state’s network of public radio and television stations, which have provided educational content for years.
High-school students, for example, can take Advanced Placement or early-college courses online, earning credit for college and saving money. And underqualified and laid-off workers can gain skills to get better jobs.
Columbus State Community College has a center that teaches instructors how to use new technology, said Tom Erney, dean of institutional services. The school is the state’s largest provider of online classes.
Erney said he likes eTech’s focus on emerging technologies, such as smart phones, digital recorders and electronic textbooks.
The state plan includes 12 ways to measure how many students and teachers use technology for learning and teaching and how many of those students later go on to college, including classes online.
Mark Real, who heads KidsOhio, a nonprofit education-research group based in Columbus, said the plan provides a good starting point.
“I think it is absolutely the right direction and helpful because it outlines next steps,” he said.
