Executive Summary:
Hot Technologies for K-12 Schools
Hot Technologies for K-12 Schools is the third report by CoSN's Emerging Technologies Committee. Based upon
extensive research and interviews with educators, administrators, and industry experts, the 28-page report evaluates
the most promising technologies in store for schools addressing 5 key educational issues. The report can be purchased
through CoSN's online Catalog.
As technology companies introduce innovative products and services for
the education market, school districts have the opportunity to invest
in technologies designed to improve instruction and operations-from
teaching, learning and assessments to organizational efficiency.
Perhaps the greatest promise of anticipated technologies is their
potential to transform schools through innovation. Without innovation,
schools risk stagnating in an increasingly sophisticated world. Lack of
public support and funding in this country could jeopardize innovation,
which would be a profound setback to American schooling and
competitiveness.
In this guide, the Emerging Technologies Committee (ETC) of the
Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) will look at the most promising
technologies in store for schools. The committee comprises volunteers
from school districts, companies, not-for-profit organizations and
institutions of higher education, so we bring the perspectives of both
education and industry to our focus on the coming attractions in
educational technology.
Chief technology officers and other technology decision makers in
schools will find this guide especially useful for sorting through
possibilities for their schools. Policy makers and business leaders who
provide technology to the education market should find it informative
as well.
What's Next? Technologies for Five Key Educational Issues
To determine the hot prospects for educational technology, the ETC
first identified five key educational issues that matter in schools
today. We divided the committee into five research teams to examine new
technologies that address these five issues:
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Technologies that galvanize the instructional process and promote authentic learning activities: active highly portable large storage devices and
datacasting.
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Technologies that improve assessment and evaluation at all levels of the organization: electronic response systems, intelligent essay graders,
intelligent pattern analysis and performance projections, and data warehouses.
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Technologies that address diverse learning styles and student needs. This section includes a review of the principles of Universal Design as
well as sound-field amplification, and multisensory, customized learning tools.
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Technologies that build community in the school environment: programmable phone systems, student information systems, learning management systems,
and blogs.
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Technologies that improve the efficiency of school administration: Radio Frequency Identification Data (RFID).
To narrow the possibilities for inclusion in this guide, the ETC
imposed three criteria for selection. Every technology must have the
potential to:
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Address major challenges for one of the five key educational issues.
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Transform or fundamentally change schools, rather than make small or incremental improvements.
- Meet feasibility requirements, including cost effectiveness and
school readiness in terms of technology infrastructures and
professional capacity.
We also considered whether a technology is "emerging" or "emerged." Our
answer: A technology is still emerging if it is not yet a "must-have."
For example, a few years ago e-mail was an optional technology. In
fact, it was limited in its effectiveness as a communication tool when
only some people in an organization had regular access to it. Today, it
is a must-have, must-use technology for most people in most
organizations.
This guide covers some of the technologies that are likely to be
tomorrow's "must-have" tools - in the context of the unique
opportunities, challenges and constraints of schools.