Most school-age children in the United States interact every day with a variety of information media—television, video games, multimedia computer systems, audio- and videotape, compact discs, and print. At the same time, workplaces are retooling with advanced technologies and acquiring access to complex, comprehensive information systems to streamline operations. Our youth have so much exposure to technological gadgets and information resources that one would think the transition from school to workplace would be second nature. Not so. According to recent projections, only about 22 percent of people currently entering the labor market possess the technology skills that will be required for 60 percent of new jobs in the year 2000 (Zuckerman 1994).
To eliminate this mismatch between schools and workplace, we need "Information Age" schools. But what does an Information Age school look like, and how do you begin to create such a school?
What It Looks Like
Researchers (Breivik and Senn 1994, Glennan and Melmed 1996, Cuban 1997) point to at least six attributes that characterize an Information Age school. The following descriptions of these attributes include examples of exemplary schools, along with contact information. I have "found" each of the schools by making site visits in my former role as an ASCD regional director and by serving as a judge in a variety of technology competitions.
Interactivity. In schools demonstrating interactivity, students communicate with other students through formal presentations, cooperative learning activities, and informal dialogue. Students and teachers talk to one another about their learning tasks in large groups, small groups, and one-to-one. Students have constant access to and know how to use print and electronic information resources to inform their learning activities. They recognize the value of the information in their own communities and interact with various community members, including businesspeople, social service staff, arts professionals, athletes, older adults, and volunteer workers, enhancing their curriculum studies with authentic information from primary sources.
At the Sun Valley Elementary School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, 4th grade students regularly participate in "keypals" activities to exchange cultural information with schools around the world. Students in grades 5 and 6 use resources from their school and community to develop "talking books" that provide graphic, textual, and auditory lessons on animals, foods, weather, and other classroom topics for the 1st grade class. The librarymedia specialist helps students develop interactive multimedia projects for their classes and the community. One such project takes citizens on an adventure tour of Winnipeg.
Contact: Sun Valley Elementary School, 125 Sun Valley Dr., Winnipeg, Manitoba R2G 2W4, Canada; (204) 663-7664.
Self-initiated learning. When students initiate their own learning, they participate in productive questioning, probing for information they can use rather than waiting for the next question on a test or from a teacher. Information resources are central, not peripheral, in day-to-day learning activities. Students gather their own data to learn about topics, using a variety of sources and practicing effective research techniques. They are able to examine the large quantity of information they have gathered, synthesize it, and reduce it to usable quantities for their purposes. They can analyze and interpret information in the context of the problems or questions they have identified, and they can evaluate not only the quality of the information they've gathered but also the processes they've used to gather it.
The most important role for information technology at Taylorsville Elementary School in Taylorsville, Indiana, is to support a commitment to self-paced, individualized learning. Students participate in a program that emphasizes high expectations in core subjects and allows them to work at their own pace. Teachers use instructional strategies like multiage, multiyear groupings and team-based project work. Teachers facilitate, rather than direct, student learning, and they are comfortable using a variety of information technologies. Two days each school year are devoted to ongoing technology training, and a technology coordinator and three part-time aides assist teachers with their technology-related problem solving.
Contact: Taylorsville Elementary School, 9711 Walnut St., Taylorsville, IN 47280; (812) 526-5448.
A changing role for teachers. To develop self-initiated learners in the Information Age school, the teacher's role must evolve away from dispenser of prefabricated facts to coach and guide. In this continuously changing role, teachers leave fact-finding to the computer, spending their time doing what they were meant to do as content experts: arousing curiosity, asking the right questions at the right time, and stimulating debate and serious discussion around engaging topics. In fact, every adult in the school community communicates the power of knowledge by modeling a love of learning. Pre-service and inservice programs require the use of information resources and technologies as an integrated part of teachers' certification and recertification. Teachers create a community among themselves in which they are willing to plan together, share successes, resolve challenges, and model strategies for one another.
Professional development in information technologies is available daily at Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, in a specialized lab for teachers staffed by a full-time trainer. Proficiency with technology resources is a hiring requirement for teachers. All teaching staff have a three-year period to demonstrate proficiency with voice, data, and video technologies. The rigor of staff training reflects the school's commitment to providing students with an environment that promotes lifelong learning, provides opportunities to access global information and create knowledge, encourages participation from the community, and develops the skills of collaborative problem solving. Teachers and students use information technologies constantly for instruction, assessment, exploration, management, and the school's day-to-day operation.
Contact: Adlai Stevenson High School, One Stevenson Dr., Lincolnshire, IL 60069; (847) 634-4000; Internet: (http://www.district125.k12.il.us).
Media and technology specialists as central participants. Media and technology specialists are critical in the Information Age school, and their role is twofold. Working with students, they are project facilitators. They can ask the initial questions that help students develop a focus for inquiry. They are thoroughly familiar with the school's and district's information resources and can direct students to multidisciplinary materials suitable for their investigations. With their technology skills, they can expose students to resources in a variety of media as well. They can assist students in their efforts to develop technology-enhanced products and presentations.
Working with teachers, they are instructional designers—partners in curriculum development and unit planning. Their expertise with information resources can inform teachers' exploration of curriculum topics and assist them in locating the materials they need. And, because ongoing professional development is an integral part of the work in an Information Age school, media and technology specialists contribute their expertise to the design and delivery of technology-enhanced inservice programs.
Traditionally, students learned information skills in isolation as part of elementary- and middle-level "library skills" development. Technology "literacy" programs took place in computer labs during pull-out programs or in separately scheduled classes. In the Information Age school, such skills are taught on an as-needed basis, and they are integrated throughout the curriculum.
As a result of a districtwide effort to reform curriculum and instruction, the school day at Christopher Columbus Middle School in Union City, New Jersey, is organized into blocks of 90 minutes to two hours. Longer class periods have allowed teachers to create a project-focused, research-based curriculum that integrates the traditional subject areas with access to local and remote information resources through a variety of technologies. In addition to a central computer lab for whole-class instruction and walk-in use, each of the school's 12 classrooms has five computers, a printer, and a video presentation station. Students also have access to multimedia production equipment, computer video editing capabilities, and Internet connectivity from all PCs. Teachers receive three days of paid technology training each year, and a full-time technology coordinator conducts student computer classes, consults with teachers, and handles troubleshooting.
Contact: Christopher Columbus Middle School, 1500 New York Ave., Union City, NJ 07087; (201) 271-2085.
Continuous evaluation. Everyone in the Information Age school recognizes the need for continuous evaluation not limited to scheduled standardized assessments. They engage in a high level of introspection, asking questions about the appropriateness of information resources, the efficiency of information searches, and the quality of information selection and evaluation. They also examine the quality of the products and presentations they use to share the results of their inquiries, as well as the communication process itself.
The Maryland Virtual High School of Science and Mathematics is a collaboration of 15 schools. They use information technologies to focus on computational science studies, accessing the Internet for mentoring, sharing projects, and assessing science resources. Students and teachers search and communicate online through local area networks (LANs) attached to each school's Internet hub. They use various software applications to create computational models of processes such as climate phenomena, animal population changes, and planetary motion. Teachers from the participating schools attend several three-day professional development sessions each year, as well as a five-day workshop at the end of each school year. Project staff are available for schoolwide training and outreach efforts in the various school communities.
Contact: Maryland Virtual High School of Science and Mathematics, 313 Wayne Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20901; (301) 650-6600; Internet: (http://www.mbhs.edu).
A changed environment. An Information Age school has a different look and feel than a traditional school. Classroom methods link information retrieval, analysis, and application with strategies such as cooperative learning, guided inquiry, and thematic teaching. Information technologies are easily accessible, not locked away in media closets or labs. Student projects and products proliferate—not just as display items but as resources for other students and information for future investigations. Classrooms and hallways are frequently the scene of discussions and debates about substantive issues—topics important to both the curriculum and to the students investigating them. Most important, the most probing questions come from the learners, who are curious about a variety of issues and intent on communicating what they discover: How do you know that? What evidence do you have for that? Who says? How can we find out?
The curriculum at Patton Junior High School in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is "driven by students' needs to be productive members of an ever-advancing Information Age" (U.S.D. 207 Technology Initiatives brochure 1996). Instruction reflects the district's efforts to maintain high standards of achievement while encouraging learners to investigate a variety of topics in an exploratory environment. Students use technology tools and develop life skills in a 26-module program that includes topics such as robotics, audio broadcasting, maintaining a healthy heart, and becoming a confident consumer. The media center and classroom computers all provide Internet access. Teachers can use a centralized media management system to remotely schedule videotape, laserdisc, and interactive CD presentations without the need to check out and transport bulky equipment.
Contact: Patton Junior High School, 5 Grant Ave., Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027; (913) 651-7373; Internet: (http://www.ftlvn.k12.ks.us).
How to Begin
To transform your school into an Information Age school, begin by using information technologies to encourage experimentation with the school's program. Focus on improving the connections between curriculum content and school process. Lengthen class periods. Consider multiage grouping. Experiment with interdisciplinary, problem-based, or thematic approaches to instruction. Develop individualized instructional plans for every student. Implement ongoing assessment measures that reflect students' continuous learning (portfolios, projects, performances). Encourage community members to regularly contribute their time and expertise throughout the school. Include them as part of decision-making groups for curriculum and technology planning. Provide incentives to teachers and administrators who demonstrate their willingness to try new methods and share what they've learned with their peers. Hire technology support staff with teaching experience to consult with teachers as well as troubleshoot equipment. Pay teachers to participate in professional development activities.
Rather than sitting back (like passive television viewers) marveling at the ever-increasing quantity of information and the rapidity of change, educators must lead students through a careful, cumulative acquisition of information literacy and technology skills. Teams of school professionals can plan integrated activities focusing on important content while encouraging students to practice these skills. Learners should engage from their earliest years in rich, complex, authentic experiences that provide a tension between creativity and utility. These experiences should also offer frequent opportunities for feedback and an environment of trust and open communication. This "orchestrated immersion" (Palmisano et al. 1993) can help ensure that students will leave their school years better prepared to participate actively and flexibly in their communities and the workplace.
