THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 12, 1996 TAG: 9606110004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: By DONALD KERR
LENGTH: 86 lines
Ever hear of a paradox? Well, here is one for you. At a time when state and local governments are looking for ways of axing budgets, a number of folks are interested in increasing spending for technology in K-12 education. This year alone, the General Assembly earmarked $120 million for the commonwealth's 1,800 K-12 schools to buy computers and get linked to the Internet.
Unfortunately, that amount is a little shy of what it will probably cost for Virginia's Department of Education goals of one computer per every five students and all classrooms connected to the Internet by the year 2002. Try up to $600 million. That is dependent on a number of things.
Whether the 100,000 computers in Virginia schools can actually be used for instructional purposes and the Internet remains in question. The majority of these computers are more than three years old, representing older technology and a mixture of operating systems. It is fair to say that the total price tag for these goals will be in excess of $400 million over the next several years. Then there are the recurring costs that could run as high as $65 million to $150 million per year.
There are a number of folks who ask why we need technology in our classrooms in the first place. These same folks believe that the traditional and time-honored three R's are more than adequate. Others, like myself, believe that we have no choice.
At the heart of this debate are the fundamental issues of education reform. Local, state and national scholastic averages vary, but, generally, it is accepted that our education system is not keeping pace with a number of other nations. It is also apparent that technology has created demands for new skills and knowledge not just in the workplace but in society in general.
Virginia's industrial profile is changing. The days of relying on tobacco or agricultural markets have vanished. The forthcoming arrival of Motorola and IBM/Toshiba perhaps signify how Virginia's reliance on technology is changing its economic posture. Pockets of technology-oriented industry have been emerging throughout the state over the past several decades. It is a leader in wireless-telecommunications innovation and products, it is a leader in commercial software development and it has an extensive number of growing entrepreneurial endeavors focused on technology.
Technology has proved itself to be an enabler of change, a vehicle for stimulating learning and a means of increasing productivity. Just about every walk of life in the commonwealth is affected by technology. Today, you can run your checking account entirely over the Internet; farmers are using computers to plan, plant and maintain crops; and few businesses, large or small, do not process information over computers in some form or fashion. The Internet, a conduit for the information highway, contains home pages of a growing number of local communities, businesses and government agencies. All of these are readily accessible to more than 30 million users in 130 countries connected via the Internet.
Why put technology into K-12 programs? Simple: Our children must learn the skills and acquire the knowledge needed to make them productive workers and citizens. This is true whether they go to college or to the workplace after they graduate from high school.
Technology is promoting higher levels of learning among K-12 students across the country. It offers a way of providing all schools, rural or urban, the same opportunities. One has only to explore, or ``surf,'' the Internet under K12 to see the emerging array of materials and information free for the taking.
Yet technology by itself is not the solution. The majority of our 70,000 teachers must be trained on how to use computers. Otherwise, machines will sit in the corner and collect dust. Additionally, we must ensure that adequate support infrastructures are in place to accommodate repair and maintenance for more than 200,000 computers in public schools.
Most administrators and teachers are like the rest of us: They are not computer wizards. They do not understand the technical aspects of a LAN or a WAN. And they have a hard time grasping how much a gigabit of data is.
So what does all this boil down to? First, taxpayers need to be ready to support our children's future. The cost for technology is not cheap, and we will be called upon to pay for it in state taxes and personal-property taxes as well. Additionally, though, we as individuals can help defray some costs and for sure help get technology into classrooms a lot faster. We can do this by volunteering our time and expertise to local schools, helping them figure out exactly how much technology is enough, and then helping them get it.
Industry can help too. Much of the progress that already has been made in integrating technology into K-12 within Virginia has been a direct result of companies such as Bell Atlantic in Richmond, Cox Communications in Hampton Roads, EDS in Northern Virginia, Reynold's Metals and a host of others that have contributed money, equipment and expertise. More than ever before, community-partnership programs are key to effecting a smooth and cost-effective transition to providing our children the education they need for the 21st century. MEMO: Donald Kerr is director of Tech Corps Virginia. He lives in
Woodbridge. by CNB