Technology: It's Everywhere. Or Is It?

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Is your child getting the technology he or she needs at school?

Parents need to know. Having enough computers in the classroom, good Internet access, and the knowledge to use them are all vital parts of your child's education. Technology, when correctly used in the classroom, can improve both your child's learning and his or her teachers' instruction.

Fortunately, you can learn the state of technology at your child's school, and how it compares with schools across the state. Every year, the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education (MBRT) carries out a detailed survey of technology in Maryland public schools. Here's a quick summary of where things stand this year:

• According to the MBRT survey, 97% of teachers surveyed use technology regularly to communicate with staff members and other colleagues. Eight out of 10 teachers regularly use technology to maintain data on students, however, and only two-thirds regularly use technology to analyze and/or report student or school improvement data.
• The MBRT survey also indicates that teacher knowledge and skills with respect to technology have risen slightly. Seventy-four percent of teachers rate themselves at an intermediate skill level or higher in the use and integration of technology, compared to 72% when the survey was last conducted in 2005; 72% rank themselves at an intermediate level regarding Internet use, compared to 70% in 2005.
• Student proficiency with technology also appears to have stagnated, particularly in areas that research suggests should provide the greatest dividends for learning. The number of students using technology to manipulate and analyze data rose slightly since the previous MBRT survey, from 38% to 39%, while 30% of students reported using technology to perform measurements and collect data compared to 29% in 2005.
• The new MBRT survey - like its predecessors - shows that a Digital Divide still exists between the use of technology in low-poverty versus high-poverty areas. The survey shows that the higher the poverty level of schools, the less frequently technology is being used for tasks that require higher-level thinking and meaningful application of knowledge and skills.
• While in-school access to technology nationally is 80% for students from both low-poverty and high-poverty areas, there is a huge divide in access to technology in the home. Home access to technology for low-poverty students nationally currently stands at 88%, while in-home access for high-poverty students drops to 37%.

  The new MBRT survey results are posted online at www.mbrt.org. The results are available by county and by school.

  (see the detailed report )

  What can parents do?

  To start with, you can look up the technology survey summary of your child's school and see how it compares with county and statewide averages. Go to MBRT's Web site at www.mbrt.org, click on "Technology Resource Inventory," and then look at Technology Inventory Results by school.

  If you have questions or concerns, talk with your child's teacher, the principal, or the person responsible for technology in your child's school. Make sure your child is getting the technology he or she needs for the future - now.

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