BALTIMORE, MD (8/25/04) --- As students prepare for a new school year, a report released today by the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education (MBRT) indicates that the substantial investment in technology for Maryland’s public schools made by the state and local districts, the federal government, and the private sector over the past eight years is paying off.

According to MBRT’s seventh annual survey of technology in Maryland public schools, access to technology is at an all-time high. Overall, Maryland has reached its goal of one high/mid capacity computer for every five students, while 93% of all classrooms statewide are connected to the Internet.

The state also has made clear gains in how technology is being used by students, teachers, and administrators. For example, 42% of schools now report that students use technology to plan, draft, proofread, revise, and publish written text every day or almost every day, versus 34% in the previous survey. Similarly, 49% of all schools report that students gather information and data from the Internet, online services, and reference software, versus 36% in the last survey.

Maryland continues to make significant progress in maintaining its commitment to provide all public school students with access to technology, and regular opportunities to participate in meaningful and challenging activities that make use of technology, says MBRT Executive Director June Streckfus.

Still, problems persist, particularly in Baltimore City. While it is now rare for classrooms around the state not to be connected to the Internet, the new MBRT survey indicates that 65% of City classrooms have an Internet connection. The City also saw its student-to-computer ratio worsen from 4-to-1 in the last survey to 5-to-1, although MBRT attributes that decline to a more accurate method for data collection in City schools.

Further, the MBRT survey shows that only modest gains have been made statewide with respect to teacher knowledge and skills in using computers and the Internet. According to the data, 67% of teachers report being at an intermediate level or higher in Internet use. That compares to 64% in the previous survey.

Similarly, the new survey indicates that 69% of teachers are at an intermediate or higher level in integrating technology into the classroom only a four percentage point increase over the last survey.

We believe that technology is a critical component of a quality education program, and when properly used, it is capable of accelerating student learning, improving instruction, and facilitating data analysis, explains Streckfus. Bottom line, if students gain the right skills before they graduate, they’ll be better positioned to compete as they enter college or the workplace.

To that end, the MBRT report recommends that high-quality, sustained professional development that is focused on regular integration of engaging applications and digital content into the curriculum must be made available to all teachers.

Other survey recommendations include integrating high-quality applications and digital content that develop higher order, critical thinking and problem-solving skills into regular classroom activities, and elimination of the so-called digital divide between students in high poverty and other students.

According to the survey, the differences in technology use when comparing high poverty and low poverty schools remain striking:

• 30% of high poverty schools regularly use technology to draft, revise, and publish writing, as compared to 68% of low poverty schools;
• 17% of high poverty schools regularly use technology to communicate or report information, versus 50% of low poverty schools;
• 5% of high poverty schools regularly use technology to perform measurements and gather data, versus 17% of low poverty schools.

Given the conclusive research that links student learning with these uses of technology, it is imperative that this gap be eliminated, says Maryland State School Superintendent Dr. Nancy S. Grasmick.

To accomplish that, the Thornton Commission previously recommended and MBRT supports integrating technology programs and all associated funding into base school budgets, with funding placed at sufficiently high levels to maintain and upgrade the existing technology infrastructure, deliver sustained professional development, and procure applications and digital content for the classroom.

Student learning is the bottom line, notes Robert Marshall, President and CEO of AWS Convergence Technologies and Chair of MBRT’s Committee on Technology in Education. We have made tremendous progress in acquiring technology infrastructure and establishing the connectivity needed in our schools. But the investment in technology cannot end there. Teachers and students must acquire and use meaningful content and apply technology as a tool to significantly improve learning.

The report concludes that to remain in the forefront nationally with respect to technology access and use in public schools, Maryland must update its Technology Plan so that it is in complete alignment with the new national technology guidelines

According to MBRT, the state’s Technology Plan must focus on the tight and seamless integration of technology tools into existing curriculum to improve student achievement, using the technology inventory, the latest research, and other data sets as a foundation.

MBRT’s online technology survey developed by AWS, MBRT’s Committee on Technology in Education, and the Maryland State Department of Education has revolutionized Maryland’s ability not only to collect data on what technology exists in public schools, but to analyze and report how it is being used, how it affects learning, and where it is not being used effectively.

Plans call for MBRT’s Committee on Technology in Education to continue analyzing the data collected from the technology inventory, using findings as a planning tool in charting the state’s strategic direction and in identifying future areas of concern. The new MBRT survey results are posted online at www.mbrt.org. # # #