Rockbridge County Schools beef up technology, but are pencil-and-paper tests on the brink of extinction?

[picture courtesy of www.wlu.edu]

Click here to watch to the vlog version of this story.

At the February 5th Rockbridge County school board meeting held at Natural Bridge Elementary, technology coordinator Paul Leonard called for an increase in the school system's computer network, asking for better hardware, upgrades in wiring, and an increase in technology staff.

Yet the eight schools within the district already own 1,600 computers, over half of which are PCs. With the capabilities to give a computer to each teacher and keep several in each elementary classroom, every school also has a 25-strong computer lab. Moreover, there are hundreds of printers, SmartBoards and overheads, not to mention web services such e-mail and database access. All of this technology makes Rockbridge County one of the more technologically advanced public school districts I've ever heard of. Coming from a public school myself, I never had the opportunity to work in "Smart Classrooms" or have the convenience of a computer in each room.

Leonard says that the main reasoning for the technology growth would be for increased use of online testing. With over 10,000 tests administered online among the past three years, Leonard believes that his proposal will benefit both the students and teachers. Between the convenience of point-and-click test taking and the readiness and ease of grading, he noted that electronic tests have replaced the standard pencil and paper testing.

And according to several major studies, online testing produces the same, if not better, test results. Multiple-choice tests given on a computer garnered the exact same scores as manual tests of the same format, and one study done by Arizona State University in 1997 found that pencil and paper writing tests had significantly worse scores than those answered online. The study showed that those students who preferred using word processing software to write were more successful in online testing than if they put pencil to paper.

Even more, technology businesses are catching on to this integration trend and creating programs to enhance student learning experiences. Microsoft made the Classroom Learning Partner, which helps teachers with large classrooms both tailor their curriculum in real time and monitor the progress of their students during class. Certain text book publishing companies such as McGraw-Hill also jumped on the bandwagon, creating more than 800 digital materials.

While I concur that technology is increasingly becoming integral to the education process and online writing tests may produce better score results, I firmly believe that the boost in computers is unnecessary. The school system already seems to have more than enough computers, as witnessed by the fact that they are too understaffed to even handle them all (there are only four technology personnel.) And call me old-fashioned, but I also believe that reading books and taking manual tests form a firmer connection with the course material than staring at a computer screen.

For more information on this story, check out these links:

The full story on technology coordinator Paul Leonard's proposal:
http://thenews-gazette.com/articles/2007/02/21/news/education/01.txt


See how businesses are jumping on technology integration in education:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/02/06/business.of.life.ap/index.html
http://research.microsoft.com/aboutmsr/miticampus/projects/ActiveLearningProjects/ProjectPage02.htm


View a study which shows online writing tests boost grades more than written ones:
http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v5n3/board/petrie.html

Catching a Break

[from www.wlu.edu]

Things are looking bright for college students (and their parents).

Due to recent action in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Virginia General Assembly, it looks as though some students will catch a break soon regarding tuition. As of Wednesday, January 17, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill which reduces student loan interest rates by half. In a 356-71 decision, the new legislation slices the current 6.8 percent interest rate down to only 3.4 percent. And locally, 24th district Delegate Ben Cline proposed the Community College Transfer Grant Act which would provide “scholarships to community college students who want to continue their education at public four-year institutions” (Cline 1).

With the Congressional bill benefiting some 5.5 million students nationwide and, should it pass, the General Assembly act affecting thousands within the state of Virginia, current and prospective college students are finally seeing a little weight lifted off of their bank accounts. Though both bills maintain certain stipulations (the interest rate cut is for need-based loans only and the transfer grant applies to Virginia residents enrolled in community college with a 3.0+ GPA) the total money saved for those students would well exceed $6 billion.

The College Board’s 2006 polls show that the average cost for one year at a private university is $30,367, the first time ever that it has surpassed $30,000. What’s more, at a four-year public college, the total cost is $12,796 per year. Though some numbers have seen a gradual decrease in the past few years, the fact of the matter is that loans make up 51 percent of all aid provided for students and some 2/3s of the country’s students receive some type of financial help. Essentially, this legislation is going to help a lot of people.

While the fate of Cline’s Community College Transfer Grant Act still hangs in the balance due to the General Assembly opening session just yesterday, the national bill is expected to receive eventual approval by President Bush in the coming months (with some potential adjustments.) Interestingly enough, the House of Representatives bill has long been on the Democrats’ agenda for their first 100 hours this session as the majority party, while the General Assembly legislation Cline proposed is clearly done by a Republican. Yet no matter what side of the isle you might stand, college students across the nation are going to start seeing a bit of relief quite soon.

For more information, check out these links….

AP article on the U.S. House of Representatives Bill: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CONGRESS_RDP?SITE=VAROA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-01-17-17-46-24

News-Gazette article on Cline’s proposed legislation:
http://www.thenews-gazette.com/articles/2007/01/17/breaking_news/breaking5.txt

To track this bill:
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?061+sum+HB1136

Find out your local colleges’ average tuitions: http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/24/pf/college/college_costs/index.htm?postversion=2006102716