District Administration - April 2006 - (Page 32)

ON LOCATION: ARLINGTON, VA Measuring IMPROVEMENT C. Jackson Grayson Jr. tells attendees at the COSN conference that in order to improve achievement in schools, educators must focus on the process behind what they do. Value Education leaders ask: What are the results of using technology in the classroom? BY ANGELA PASCOPELLA Buying a laptop computer for every student: outcomes, educators must focus About $1,000 on the processes behind what they Hiring a consultant to teach teachers how to do, whether it be dealing with food use laptops in lessons: services, teaching or curriculum Roughly $1,500/day development. What is the process Watching students use technology to draw behind an administrative task? How conclusions something they wouldn't do you teach? The idea is to start normally be able to do: from the beginning, which gives PRICELESS administrators a framework. And it's also important that educators and policy makers not Adm i n ist rators nationwide, vendors lose the idea that public schools and business leaders gathered at the are in crisis so improvements can Consortium of School Networking's 11th annual K-12 School Networking continue to be made, said Grayson, who is also director of APQC's Conference in Arlington, Va., in even be separated anymore from Education Initiative. March, focusing on Measuring the educational goals. The time has To move from spending $4 per Value of Education Technology. come to use technology the way student for technology per year to Ses sion s addressed the future of pencils were once used, as a tool that $250 per student, which covers education, digital schools and one- students could not learn without. professional development, hardware on-one computing initiatives, all Now is not the time to ask the and software, the Kershaw County issues that many districts are still community to be patient with School District in South Carolina had struggling with. schools, to give them time to study to ensure the community believed it Ot her sessions reiterated the the value of their initiatives, some was the right thing to do, according need to pump up professional educators agree. It's time to act. to Superintendent Herbert Berg, development so teachers could use another presenter at the conference. technology more effectively and to QUANTIFYING RESULTS Moving to a one-to-one computer integrate more technology in class C. Jackson Grayson Jr., chairman initiative last year for students has so it's not simply another subject. and CEO of American Productivity had fantastic results, he said. CoSN's Lifetime Achievement Award & Quality Center, explained during In January 2005, every high recipient Seymour Papert noted one session that in order to improve school freshman was given a Hewlett- during his acceptance speech that achievement in school or change Packa rd laptop that was theirs for the word technology should not 32 April 2006 District Administration cosn.w.indd 32 3/20/06 12:08:15 PM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - April 2006

Contents
Editor's Letter
Letters
Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Measuring Value
Budget Talk
Underfunded
Are Your Schools Competitive?
Back from the Brink
Rigorous Expectations
Getting Connected
How to Get Your Bond Passed
The Online Edge/Odvard Egil Dyrli
Speaking Out/Gary Stager
Research Corner
Problem/Solution
Leadership Books
New Products
By the Numbers

District Administration - April 2006