When technology is outdated, when it is unevenly applied in classrooms, it can be like "trying to run the Daytona 500 in a jalopy."

That's the metaphor from Cynthia Eaton, a professor who chairs the NYSUT Committee on Educational Technology. Eaton, adjunct coordinator for the Faculty Association of Suffolk Community College, was reacting to a new report from the University of the State of New York Technology Policy and Practices Council.

The report sets out in plain language what's wrong in K-12 use of technology, and what's needed to fix it (see sidebar).

The report's assessment of conditions matches that of educators in the field who see the deficits every day, said Rod Sherman, president of the Plattsburgh Teachers Association. Sherman, a longtime advocate of systemic development of classroom technology, is a member of the NYSUT Board of Directors.

"Any teacher working in technology in New York state would have known this," he said. "It does take an outside group to come in and move policy-makers."

The report "is in many ways a reality check," according to NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira. "It will take a lot of leadership on the state level to bring more equity and professional development to ensure technology is fully integrated in our teaching," she said. "The 21st century demands it."

The report paints a picture of unequal distribution and creative use of technology in

K-12 classrooms in different parts of New York state. For example, mid-sized cities are reaching more students, and students in large urban districts tend to have technology training and use that is advanced but also unevenly distributed through districts, according to the report.

"Technology can be one tool in closing the achievement gap," Eaton said. "The kids who don't have computers at home — they have to get it in school, or where else are they going to get it? We're so quick at the higher ed level to assume all the kids have it, and they don't."

The Board of Regents in 2004 charged the council with studying the use of technology in teaching and learning. A number of NYSUT members served on the council.

Eaton and Sherman both noted a major theme — that the state needs to get up to speed: There simply aren't enough people at the state level with the skills and resources to handle an overhaul of technology use in New York's schools.

The council's findings stated that "innovative, high-quality use of technology in New York's K-12 schools is more the exception than the rule." The report notes that the state lacks a collective vision for how technology could advance teaching and learning.

Progress has been hurt by a gradual decline in the staffing and prominence of the office overseeing technology at State Ed.

"If New York state wants to pose itself as a leader in technology, it can't do it with a staff of one," Eaton said.

Even if State Ed does rebuild its internal technology staff and devises a statewide plan, it will probably still exceed the ability of any such small group to carry it out, said Sherman. The report suggests that the recommendations be "implemented with care and leadership from within SED (emphasis in original)."

Practitioners' voice

"It says 'within SED' but I really, strongly believe they need a statewide steering committee with a majority of practitioners on it to help them," Sherman said.

A decade ago, Sherman thought State Ed was on the brink of a technology breakthrough for public schools. He was part of a group selected by State Ed in 1997 to bring an IBM program known as " Learning Village" to teachers. Learning Village helped teachers develop lesson plans linked to state educational standards. Sherman remembers the thrill of working on cutting-edge ideas.

After months of hard work, Learning Village quietly fell off the "urgent" list and stalled. Sherman never learned whether cost, time, inertia or a combination of all three killed Learning Village.

This time around, both Eaton and Sherman credit the Regents with recognizing an urgent problem.

State Ed representatives have attended some of those meetings, and that reflects a healthy interest, Sherman said. Now the report and its recommendations are open to public debate.

Change can't come too soon, he added. A decade's worth of students have come and gone through the state's schools since the Learning Village project.

"We lost a lot of time," Sherman said, while technology integration was stalled.

"Many kids were cheated," said NYSUT Vice President Neira. "I'm hoping we get it right this time."

— Darryl McGrath