Senator Maria Cantwell Floor Statement (as prepared) on the Cantwell-Enzi Education Amendment
"Developing Best Practices for Technology in Education"
Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that embraces the powerful role technology can have as tool in educating our nation's children.
Just as technology has brought innovation and efficiency to our daily lives and our businesses, technology has already demonstrated its enormous potential to enhance the ways that we can prepare our children to meet the educational demands of the changing economy.
Across the country, we have seen how proper uses of technology can transform a conventional curriculum into a multi-media, interactive experience that not only helps children learn more effectively, but does so in a way that is enjoyable and fosters a student's passion for learning.
Numerous recent studies, including those done by the Department of Education, the White House Office on Science and Technology and the RAND Corporation, have shown that technology serves the goals of education in several important ways:
Supporting student performance - technology provides opportunities for acquiring problem-solving skills and methods for learning in innovative and interactive ways.
Increased motivation and self-esteem - studies have found that one of the most common effects of technology on students is an increase in the motivation of students who experience education in new and enjoyable ways.
Preparing students for the future - as both higher education and the workplace are increasingly becoming infused with technology, technology is a crucial component of student preparation. Last fall, ROCKMAN ET AL, a San Francisco-based independent research organization, released another study showing that integrated use of computer technology in schools significantly increases student learning. The study focused on the first three years of Microsoft's Anytime, Anywhere Learning Program, which provides laptop computers for students and works with teachers to integrate the technology into lesson plans and daily classwork. Among other results, the study showed that integrated access to technology improves students' writing and encourages collaboration among students. Such students are more involved in their schoolwork, more likely to explore topics on their own, to review and revise their work more often, and to work on long projects.
The potential impact of technology on education is no secret. In fact, schools have dramatically increased their focus on putting technology in the classroom. Both the public and private sector have been diligently wiring school buildings and putting computers in many classrooms - making access to computers and the Internet increasingly commonplace.
But as the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. The same is true for children - just putting technology into a school does not ensure that teachers know how to use it or children are able to learn from it.
Unless technology is properly integrated into curriculum, the students will not realize the benefits of having the access. Without teachers who know how to use computers to teach the kids, the kids will not benefit.
When teachers are well trained, and technology is used effectively to unleash children's imagination and creativity, it's magic.
In the small town of Tonasket, Washington, for example, Larry Alexander combines computer technology and a 500-tree apple orchard his fifth-grade class planted behind the school in an innovative program that teaches his students about math, science, community and technology. The kids study topics ranging from cell growth and the life cycle of moths to geometry and economics in a hands-on learning experience that is so much fun they literally run to class each day.
In addition to computers and access, we need to assure teacher training and curriculum development. The Cantwell-Enzi amendment is a good first step toward fixing this problem - in effect, bridging the technology and teaching divide.
To accomplish this goal, our amendment takes two tracks, first, the amendment requires that any state application for a technology grant under Title II explicitly lay out a plan to integrate the system resources with teacher training and professional development, and curriculum development.
Second, to help identify these best practices, the amendment will also require a study to evaluate and highlight which of these strategies work and which do not work in bringing technology to the classroom.
Before I proceed further, I want to thank Senator Kennedy for his exceptional work and leadership in moving this bill through the Senate, and I want to thank him and his staff for working with me on this amendment.
I also want to thank Senator Enzi for working with me in developing this amendment. His leadership in technology issues during his tenure in the Senate has been outstanding and I look forward to continuing to work with him on these issues.
Schools across the country are being given the tool of technology. Indeed, the total annual investment in education technology is currently almost $5 billion per year.
According to a recently released study by NetDay, although 97 percent of teachers have some type of access to computers in their schools, only 32 percent of teachers say that computers are well integrated into their classrooms and curricula.
We can do better.
Teachers around the country are finding ways to enhance the classroom experience by teaching conventional topics with technological tools. Schools and businesses in my home state of Washington are leaders in these areas.
For example, in rural, agricultural Eastern Washington, Diane Peterson wanted to improve her Waterville Elementary 4th and 5th graders' success with math, science, reading, and writing. She found that University of Washington scientists needed data gathered on local vegetation and weather - she put those facts together and came up with a plan. Students were able to use e-mail and shared web-sites to write, organize and present a useful study to the Western Washington scientists The students are learning math and science skills through real-world experience, possible only through the use of the Internet. And helping science to boot.
Also, administrators in districts around the countries are increasingly finding particular methods and strategies that are crucial to realizing the value of technology. The Seattle Public School District, for example, has undertaken an effort to employ at every school a person who, with expertise in both education and technology, trains and advises teachers in how to use technology to teach different subjects.
Teachers now have a resource to guide them as they bring technology into the classroom. The district has found that having a person who can educate teachers and help them make the most of the technology available to them can make the difference between technology as an educational tool or as a waste of money.
The Bill and Melinda Gates foundations have been leaders in improving education through the use of technology. For example, in Washington State, the Foundation had created the $45 million "Teacher Leadership Project," a grant program to provide leadership development for 1,000 K-12 teachers a year, over three years. Participants receive in-depth training, as well as hardware and software to create a technology-rich learning environment. Teachers attend workshops and seminars, participate in e-mail discussions, keep records of their experiences, and assist with assessment and evaluation. Clearly, assessment and evaluation are critical to the future application for this program. This program is an excellent model to bring technology into the classroom.
These programs show that when used effectively, technology can enhance learning.
But to fully employ technology as an educational tool across the country we must develop programs that take into account the real needs for education and that can be scaled for implementation by any school or district.
Successful strategies are those that not only install computers, but also integrate these resources in three crucial ways, through:
Teacher Training and professional development - we must teach the teachers so they can use technology to teach the children.
Curriculum development - Technology isn't helpful unless it is incorporated into lesson plans.
Resource allocation - In order to be successful, a program should match the technology needs to the goals of the program. The Cantwell-Enzi amendment addresses these important elements of technology in education by requiring that local and state agencies incorporate these criteria into their education plans.
Through these requirements, the Cantwell-Enzi amendment will encourage the development of best practices for the use of technology in schools. Practices that can be scaled up in states and local districts around the country.
Additionally, this amendment will ensure that the Department of Education leads the way in identifying best practices for the use of technology by assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of these strategies.
Teachers, administrators, private sector organizations, and non-profit groups are developing innovative approaches in countless classrooms, schools and districts.
Too often, however, the programs and strategies are springing up in isolation -- without any mechanisms to facilitate the evaluation and sharing of the results of these efforts.
My amendment will bridge this information gap. Not only will this amendment help provide assistance to schools, districts and states as they begin using technology in the classroom, but this will help ensure that federal monies are spent prudently and effectively.
This amendment directs the Secretary of Education to complete a comprehensive report after three years to describe what works and what doesn't work - providing guidance to educators and policymakers at the federal, state and local levels. This report will describe the strategies being implemented around the country that best achieve their intended goals.
Using this report we will be able to identify which programs work well and could be adapted successfully for use in other school districts. The report need not be exhaustive, but it must be comprehensive -- if a program works, we should know about it. We need a clear inventory of successful programs to identify the best practices educators can implement.
Mr. President, this amendment will succeed in identifying these best practices and helping to bridge the gap between the vast potential for technology as an educational tool, and the challenges facing teachers who use it in the classroom.
I am very pleased to have received the support of the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction, The Dean of the University of Washington College of Education, the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science in the University of Washington Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SchoolTone Alliance, Sun Microsystems, AOL/Time-Warner, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and the Business Software Alliance. I would like to offer their letters for the record at this time.
I urge my colleagues to vote yes on Senate Amendment 630, the Cantwell-Enzi amendment to develop best practices for the use of technology in education.
Thank you.
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