Notes from "Looking Forward" – part one of a three-part conversation organized by CoSN with support from Technology & Learning.

Reported by Judy Salpeter

On March 28, 2007, during the annual conference of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), a group of K-12 technology leaders came together for a discussion titled "Looking Forward: A Conversation with CoSN Leaders." Participants included past chairs of the CoSN board as well as a small group of industry thought leaders invited by CoSN. The conversation was facilitated by Linda Winters of the Winter Group and the topic under consideration was: "Given the needs of today's learners, as well as the current context of technology in most school districts, what are the most important technology leadership issues that are not receiving enough attention?"

Several themes emerged, including:

The Importance of Leadership
Several participants talked about the importance of enlightened, professional leadership in planning for and guiding a district's technology program. As Bob Moore put it, "Technology leadership needs to be formalized; technology directors and other district-wide leaders need to be viewed as true professionals."

Sheryl Abshire agreed and added that, in addition to great leadership from those with education technology expertise, it is essential to have vision and support from the superintendent and others at the district level. "Nothing happens without this," she said. "Where you have strong, competent and innovative leaders, you can overcome huge barriers. Where such leadership is lacking, policy-makers and the public look at a district's program and say it's not working."

Bringing Together the Technology and Education Camps
An equally important challenge, according to Cheryl Williams is bridging the gap that often exists between two groups of leaders – those in charge of technology implementation and those focusing on education and curriculum issues. "Everybody needs to agree that it's not about the technology; it's about learning," she said. "We can't have powerful and effective learning unless the connection between the two is seamless."

Other discussants suggested that CoSN should work closely with education groups such as AASA or others that are focused on education areas beyond technology. "We should be talking to one another more," one person elaborated. "We [the nation's K-12 technology leaders] need to be at the table when crucial education issues are discussed."

Focusing on Teacher Training and Improving Schools of Education
A major area of concern for a number of participants in the Looking Forward discussion related to teacher preparation and the lack of adequate training on the use of technology in education.

In many cases, they pointed out, the problem relates to the lack of technology itself. Schools of education are often "low on the totem poll" when it comes to status and funding within higher ed institutions. Compounding that is the fact that education professors are often unfamiliar or uncomfortable with technology. And yet, if the next generation of teachers is trained in a setting where technology is nonexistent (or an afterthought), how will they learn to use it to teach in meaningful ways? Or as Karen Bruett put it, "Using technology needs to be part of the expectation for future teachers."

One might think that, with a new generation of tech-savvy college students, the challenge will disappear but Jim Hirsch thinks otherwise. While it's true that most young people today have little fear of digital technology, he says, that does not mean that they understand how to use it to teach. After all, very few of today's education students saw technology used in a central way in their own education; they need to see models of great teachers incorporating technology into the classroom in meaningful ways. "The digital natives/digital immigrants analogy can be taken too far," Hirsch said. "Just because they are technical doesn't mean they understand how to facilitate change or create 21st century learning environments."

David Byer echoed these concerns, suggesting that K-12 technology leaders should "help groups that educate educators. They need to get a sense of the power and possibility of the new tools. If preservice teachers apply the technology as they're learning, it will make its way into the K-12 classroom."

21st Century Learning: Nurturing it, Not Fighting it
Cheryl Lemke, like many others in the room, voiced concerns about the impact of NCLB and the emphasis it has placed on data and testing. "We have let NCLB drive us into using technology solely for data and warehousing – all to the detriment of critical problem solving and other educational uses. We know critical thinking and problem solving are key to education. We need to build on that."

Keith Krueger pointed out the irony in the fact that, while we look at countries that are out-performing us in reading, writing and math and worry about losing our competitive edge, they are viewing us as models to emulate. "There is a reason why the U.S. is the birthplace of Google, iPod and other innovative breakthroughs," he explained. "Other nations, with more top-down education systems, see the need to nurture the sort of creativity that exists in our country. At the same time, we're working hard to squelch the creativity in our students."

Several participants decried that fact that some of the most innovative technologies – especially Web 2.0 tools that involve collaboration and social networking – are being banned from schools today. While such powerful tools transform the rest of the world will schools, once again, be left behind? Although one group member suggested that it might be just as easy to give up on schools and allow the valuable learning to happen outside of the classroom, as is taking place so often today, others felt more hopeful about our ability to support teachers as they learn to use technology to facilitate learning and move from being experts in front of the class to being co-creators of knowledge." As Helen Soule put it, "We must empower the users, not ban the uses."

Educating the Public
Finally, the group agreed that it is important to help educate family members, politicians and other members of the public about the power of technology as a tool for teaching and learning. As one participant pointed out "We need to help them get beyond saying, 'I learned without technology. The textbook was good enough for me so why not for my kid?' Times have changed and the public needs help understanding that."

About the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)

CoSN is the country's premier voice in education technology leadership, serving K-12 technology leaders who through their strategic use of technology, improve teaching and learning. CoSN provides products and services to support and nurture leadership development, advocacy, coalition building, and awareness of emerging technologies.

CoSN leadership initiatives include: Using Technology to Raise the Achievement of ALL Students; Cyber Security for the Digital District; Data-Driven Decision-Making; K-12 Open Technologies; Taking Total Cost of Ownership to the Classroom; Value of Investment and the development of the Council of School District Chief Technology Officers (CTO Council).

CoSN's membership includes a unique blend of education and technology leaders, policy makers, and influencers from the public and private sectors. Our audience includes key technology leaders (often called Chief Technology Officers - CTOs) in leading-edge states and districts, policy makers, private sector leaders, as well as those technology leaders who wish to accelerate their districts' or states' systemic technology use. Visit www.cosn.org or phone 866.267.8747 to find out more about CoSN's programs and activities supporting leadership development to ensure that information technology has a direct and positive impact on student learning in elementary and secondary schools.