Since adoption of the first State Technology Plan in 1996, Maryland made a commitment to provide all public school students access to technology and frequent opportunities to participate in meaningful and challenging activities and tasks involving those technological tools. On March 26, 2002, the State Board of Education accepted the updated Maryland Plan for Technology in Education. This Plan guides the State's strategic direction related to educational technology over the next three years.

A substantial financial investment by the State, local school systems, the federal government and the private sector over the past seven years has enabled Maryland to make significant progress in fulfilling its commitment. This summary represents the sixth in a series of annual reports that highlight not only this progress, but also the gaps that remain to be addressed. The data provided in this summary is important both for what it shows about the capacity of Maryland students and teachers to access technology-based resources, and for what it reveals about the way that students and teachers experience the technology in their day-to-day learning.

Data summarized in this report was collected in October - December 2002 from each school in the state through an online survey and includes targeted indicators in the following key areas:

1. Technology Infrastructure (computers, networks connections, etc.)
2. Teacher Knowledge and Skills
3. Technology Use by Students, Teachers and Administrators
4. Technology Support

With the updated 2002 Maryland Plan for Technology in Education, new minimum standards were established for key technology areas, particularly relating to counting computers and assessing teacher knowledge and skills. Because new technologies and applications to support learning and improve administrative functions are developing at such a rapid rate, only computers with Pentium II processors or higher or Macintosh equivalents were reported in the Fall 2002 inventory. Older machines do not have the speed or the capacity to handle emerging software applications or timely Internet access.

Standards for assessing the level of teacher knowledge and skills were increased. Because of the rapid pace of technology advancement previous indicators for a novice, intermediate or advanced level a few years ago are no longer the same. Our standards and expectations are higher.

The 2002 survey also attempted to gain more specificity with regard to how students, teachers and administrators use technology. Past surveys included three "Use Categories", namely "Regular Use, Occasional Use, or No Use". The 2002 survey used five "Use Catgories", including "(1) Every day or almost every day, (2) Once or twice per week, (3) A few times per month, (4) A few times per year, or (5) Never."

The changes in the 2002 Survey will provide better data and ultimately allow for better decision making to insure that technology is increasing student learning in Maryland. A short-term implication, however, is the loss of pure longitudinal data in the areas of the survey that were changed.

Results

The results are summarized by state and local school system averages as well as by individual school reports. For a balanced view, it is important to look not only at state and district averages, but also at the data being reported by each individual school.

Due to the revision in standards in the new State Technology Plan, results of the Fall 2002 Technology Inventory will show a slight decline in student-to-computer ratios in some districts, although the state average remained steady at 5:1. Given the raised standard that was used, this data is encouraging. It means that most districts are continuing to invest in updated computers to keep up with the technology change. For those districts which show a declining student-to-computer ratio, it points out the need for a continuing investment in their technology infrastructure. Investments in technology are not one time expenses, but require on ongoing commitment and investment. Significantly, for the first time Baltimore City met and exceeded the state target ratio of 5:1 with an impressive 3.5:1 ratio.

Maryland continues to make steady and significant progress toward our goal of having 100% of classrooms connected to the Internet. In 1997, due to lack of wiring, only 23 percent of classrooms were able to access the Internet. Now 92 percent of classrooms have the capability to take advantage of this important resource. Only Baltimore City and Prince Georges County have less than 90% of classrooms connected to the Internet, at 68% and 88% respectively.

As a result of the upgrade in standards regarding the assessment of teacher knowledge and skills, comparisons to past years are difficult. According to the data, only 64% of teachers report being at an intermediate level or higher in Internet use, with 65% being at an intermediate level with technology integration in the classroom. Given the significant increase in the standards this year, it is not surprising that the percentages declined over the past year. The data does clearly indicate the need to create, expand and improve professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators. High quality professional development linked to content standards and the integration of technology into instruction is essential to insuring that teachers are able to make the best use of technology as a tool for improving student achievement.

Maryland continues to make steady progress toward established targets in many other areas. Technology support for school networks and equipment as well as for professional development is shared by a number of individuals within local school systems. In addition students, teachers, and administrators are using the technology on a regular basis for a variety of activities.

How - and with what frequency - teachers use technology with their students to support learning continues to be troublesome. Similar to the data reported last year, some of the most complex and powerful uses of technology are not implemented in classrooms across Maryland on a regular basis, even in schools where technology is readily available. Only 16 percent of schools report that their students regularly use technology to manipulate and analyze data or information on a regular basis. Only 12 percent report that their students regularly use it to perform measurements and collect data. Yet these types of tasks are ones where technology can facilitate the processes of critical thinking and decision-making that we are trying to develop in our students. It is important to note that the "use categories" were changed in this year's survey to provide greater specificity, so direct comparisons to data from previous years are difficult.

The Digital Divide

Challenges still remain in eliminating the digital divide in Maryland. The latest data show that the divide has been significantly decreased when looking at student-to-computer ratios, with some of the highest poverty schools having more computers meeting the new standard than the more affluent schools. Schools with the highest poverty, however, remain below average in classroom Internet connectivity, teacher knowledge and skills, and student and administrator use of technology.

It is the digital divide in student use that is of most concern. Data show that, in general, the higher the poverty level of the schools, the less frequently the technology is used for tasks that require higher level thinking and meaningful application of knowledge and skills. The difference is striking when one looks at the percentage of schools reporting that their students regularly* use technology to:

Given recent research that links improved student learning with these uses of technology, it is imperative to eliminate this gap. Teachers, especially in these high poverty schools, continue to need more professional development in using technology with their students, particularly for meaningful, challenging, and thought-provoking tasks. Administrators need to understand their important role in eliminating the gap as well.

Implications

At a time when Maryland is launching a revised strategic plan to raise student achievement, this report on technology in schools comes at a critical juncture. As Maryland moves forward to ensure that every student receives a quality education and is provided the opportunity to reach high levels of achievement, technology will play a pivotal role in delivering on this promise.

What this data tells us about the capacity of each local school system, each individual school, and each classroom to provide students with meaningful, engaging, and complex tasks that involve technology, will enable us to eliminate the gaps now that otherwise will close doors to our children in the future.

Because of the State's budget crisis, erasing existing gaps will be a challenge. Schools and school systems must continue their significant technology investment to maintain adequate technology infrastructure, to provide enhanced professional development for teachers and administrators, and to integrate meaningful and engaging digital content into classroom curricula.