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Views You Can Use Vol. III No. 1 |
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| Successful Practices Network |  |
Welcome
to the third year of Views You Can Use.
We have had a
tremendous response to these monthly e-memos on trends and technologies that
are having or will have an impact on education and educators. We are encouraged
and delighted that you find them so useful. Sincerely, Bill Daggett INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
Human Speech Recognition Technology
Computers that speak and
listen — a dream of technology developers for decades — is nearing
reality. Companies such as Microsoft and IBM are poised to hit the
marketplace with a variety of products that will allow users to access
databases using voice commands, conduct transactions via speech requests, and
even facilitate conversations between people who speak different languages.
“During the past three to four years we have made very good progress in
understanding the elements of a sentence,” reports David Nahamoo, Director
of Human Factors Technologies at IBM Research. Consumers, who once viewed
voice recognition technology with trepidation and uncertainty, appear ready
to accept it. In the coming years, we can expect to see this technology
continue. IBM’s Super Human Speech Recognition Project is expected to
produce systems with the capability to transcribe speech into written text
more accurately than humans by 2010. With these types of
technological innovations just over the horizon, we must ask ourselves as
educators — what communication skills really matter, especially in the
areas of information literacy and strategic reading. Source: “Talking
Computers Nearing Reality,” by Michael Kanellos, CNET News.com, July 9,
2003. BIO/NANO TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
Microscopic Laser Implant Could Warn Body
The key to treating disease effectively is early detection. Rather than getting a “snapshot” image of one’s health during annual check-ups, a new technology is on the horizon that will monitor a person’s body continuously for any abnormalities that develop – as they develop. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico have developed a specially coated laser (about the size of a human cell) that, when implanted in the body, will instantly warn patients when the first signs of a disease appear. In the next few years, this technology could give doctors a major advantage in fighting cancer, biohazards, and other health risk exposures. Source: "Tiny
Laser Could Act as Alarm for Body," by Sue Vorenberg, Scripps Howard
News Service. Article appeared in the [Schenectady] Sunday Gazette,
June 23, 2002. Bionic Eyesight for the Blind
Three trial patients who
are blind have received bionic retinal implants with the hope of restoring
their eyesight. The bionic retina works in much the same way that a cochlear
implant is now used to restore hearing in children who are born deaf. The
device is a sliver of silicone and platinum studded with 16 electrodes
(one-third the size of a contact lens) that sits atop the retina. Healthy
remaining retinal cells are stimulated electrically by the implant and relay
visual information to the brain via the optic nerve. The 16-electode implants
do not produce the clarity of normal vision but, eventually, an implant with
up to 1,000 electrodes will be manufactured with the capability of producing
vastly sharper images in a wider field of vision. Think of the implications
for children with learning challenges related to eyesight. This innovation is
right out of Star Trek: The Next
Generation. Gifted children limited by poor vision will reach their full
potential and be integrated into more mainstream learning environments with
less need for special support. Source:
“The Bionic Leading the Blind,” Wired
News, May 11, 2003. Modern Military Vehicles Using Smart Paint
A new kind of paint has
“smart coatings” — nanotechnology that has the ability to change
colors. Modern military machines such as tanks, helicopters, and trucks will
be coated with smart paint, providing them with the ability to change colors.
Not only will the paint offer camouflage on the battlefield, but the
equipment will have the ability to, in effect, heal itself if the paint
becomes corroded or scratched during combat. Applied to today’s
automotive aftermarket, this emerging nanotechnology will change the entire
focus of auto restoration and repair services. Body shop and paint shop
technicians may need the skills to be computer technologists. Source:
“Smart Paint Creates Chameleon Tanks,” BBC
News, November 4,
2002. EDUCATION TRENDSComputer-based
Testing As states continued to
expand their testing programs to meet the provisions of No Child Left Behind, which requires testing in grades 3-8 and again
in high school in multiple disciplines, a trend is emerging… computer-based
testing. Educators, parents, and the public embrace the need for high
standards and accountability for students, teachers, and schools, but have
often felt that the one-time assessment with a high-stakes test was not the
fairest or most educationally sound way to accomplish this goal. Until now,
viable alternatives could not be identified. Computer-based testing
shows promise of becoming an educationally and psychometrically valid,
reliable, fair, and cost-effective option. Due to the growing sophistication
of the technology and the testing market, 12 states and the District of
Columbia have already implemented or are pilot testing computer-based
assessments. Many other states are lobbying to implement the system, but
budget cuts make the money to buy the computers needed to do it hard to come
by. However, proponents and developers of computer-based testing claim that
the tests will be cheaper than paper-and-pencil exams, and they produce
results much more quickly. It certainly appears that more technologically
advanced assessment options will be a continuing trend.
Sources:
“Tech’s Answer to Testing,” Education
Week, May 8, 2003;
“Schools Trying Online Testing” by Kim L. Hooper, The
Indianapolis Star, May 8, 2003. Softening Graduation Requirements
As No Child Left Behind ushers in stringent proficiency and annual
progress requirements, states have begun to rethink their testing programs.
In Florida, the FCAT exams are being called into question because an
alarmingly high number of minority children are failing them. In California,
a number of districts are protesting NCLB legislation due to a significant
number of seniors not graduating because they didn’t pass the state
assessment. In Massachusetts,
progress is being made in all student groups. In 2001, vocational education
students made the greatest gain in pass rate on the grade 10 MCAS over 2000.
However, an amendment was approved last spring that would show legislative
sympathy for special education students by allowing them to graduate even if
they were unable to pass the MCAS. As the AYP provision stipulated in NCLB
comes increasingly into play, it is expected that growing numbers of
opponents of the legislation in other states will challenge their graduation
requirements as well. The issues of standards
and high-stakes assessment are complex and politically charged. They may take
years to refine and resolve. We continue, however, to recommend that
educators – whatever their stance on NCLB – stay committed to focus on
the mandates that are legally sanctioned at present and to do the best they
can with a huge challenge by helping every student succeed. The ongoing
state-by-state research that the International Center is conducting in
crosswalking state standards to the high-medium-low state testing priorities
and to the essential skills has yielded a great deal of information that many
educators are now using to increase proficiency scores and student
achievement. Sources:
“House Softens MCAS Graduation Rule,” by Rick Klein and Michele Kurtz, The
Boston Globe, May 7, 2003; “Student Achievement in Massachusetts: The
Lessons of Nine Years of Education Reform,” by Robert Gaudet, Education
Benchmarks Report #1-02, June 2002; “Scores Show Broad Gains on MCAS,” by
Anand Vaishnav, The Boston Globe,
September 4, 2003 DEMOGRAPHIC
TRENDS The
Changing Influence of Women It
was just a century ago that Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot
refused to admit women because he feared they would waste the precious
resources of his school. How things have changed in a century. This year, 67%
of all Bachelor of Arts degrees and 58% of all Master’s degrees earned in
America went to women. Furthermore, the female-to-male ratio at such
prestigious universities as the University of North Carolina, Boston
University, and New York University is 60-40. Unfortunately, a commensurate
improvement in the number of women in management positions and other
high-paying jobs has not yet materialized. With such a distinct educational
edge, however, it will not likely take another century for women to narrow
this gap as well. As
educators, we must continue to encourage our female students to feel welcomed
in subject areas that have traditionally not
been the “comfort zone” of many girls – math, science, statistics, data
analysis, technology, computer information systems, business management and
other areas that have been perceived as male preserves. Source:
“The New Gender Gap” by Michelle Conlin, Business Week, May 26, 2003. ---------------------------------------------------------- Sharing
Technical Assistance: Another Tool in the School Leadership Repertoire Our
new Successful Practices Network
is a partnership of good schools committed to becoming great schools. Member
schools agree to share their in-house competencies, experiences, and best
practices with other schools. In return, they can seek peer advice in their
own areas of need and interest. A personal liaison from the Network serves
each member school and, on request, connects the school with other schools
and subject-matter experts. For information, contact the International
Center. -------------------------------------------------------------- |
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