Enhancing Education Through Technology
On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110). The legislation, which reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), provides increased flexibility and local control to States and school districts, emphasizes strong accountability for results, offers expanded options for parents of disadvantaged children, and supports teaching methods that have a solid scientific research foundation. (The legislation is available on the U.S. Department of Education’s website at http://www.ed.gov under the heading “President’s and Secretary’s Priorities”.)
The reauthorized ESEA establishes the Enhancing Education Through Technology (Ed Tech) Program, which consolidates the current Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) Program and the Technology Innovative Challenge Grant Program into a single State formula grant program (ESEA Title II, Part D, Subpart 1). The primary goal of the Ed Tech program is to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in schools. It is also designed to assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student is technologically literate by the end of eighth grade, and to encourage the effective integration of technology with teacher training and curriculum development to establish successful research-based instructional methods.
Under the Ed Tech program, the U.S. Department of Education provides grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) on the basis of their proportionate share of funding under Part A of Title I. States may retain up to 5 percent of their allocations for State-level activities, and must distribute one-half of the remainder by formula to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) and the other one-half competitively to eligible local entities.
Goals of the Ed Tech Program:
The primary goal of the Ed Tech program is to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary and secondary schools. It is also designed to assist every student – regardless of race, ethnicity, income, geographical location, or disability – in becoming technologically literate by the end of eighth grade, and to encourage the effective integration of technology resources and systems with professional development and curriculum development to promote research-based instructional methods that can be widely replicated.
Purposes of the Ed Tech Program:
Formula Funds:
Each State must subgrant 50 percent of the remainder of it’s Ed Tech allotment to eligible local educational agencies. A State distributes Ed Tech formula grant funds to eligible LEAs on the basis of each LEA’s proportionate share of funds under Part A of Title I for that year. A recipient of Ed Tech funds generally must spend at least 25 percent of its award on ongoing, sustained, and intensive high-quality professional development and has considerable flexibility concerning the additional activities that it may support with Ed Tech funds. Kansas Department of Education manages the formula portion of EETT through the State and Federal Programs Division.
Competitive Grants:
In Kansas, we believe that powerful technology integration strategies cannot emerge without hands-on, "real" learning opportunities for students and teachers. Technology is a powerful tool, but it is only a tool. Effective teaching practices must first be in place before technology can be utilized to its fullest potential. Through the power of technology, learning can happen anytime and anywhere. As educators, we need to provide realistic and meaningful learning opportunities both in and outside the classroom.
KSDE is targeting the competitive portion of Enhancing Education Through Technology funds available to Kansas schools under Title II, Part D of the ESEA Reauthorization, No Child Left Behind, to assist schools with student and teacher empowerment to infuse technology into an engaging and active environment that enables the learner to become a technologist, problem solver, researcher and communicator.
The No Child Left Behind Act requires that all projects funded through the competitive grant process must show research-based evidence of effectiveness. Through the use of its EETT competitive grant funds, KSDE will approach technology integration by awarding grants to fund the following project:
Questions/Comments:
Melinda Stanley
mstanley@ksde.org
Kansas State Department of Education
120 SE 10th Avenue
Topeka KS 66612-1182
785.296.7922
- Assist states and localities in implementing and supporting a comprehensive system that effectively uses technology in elementary and secondary schools to improve student academic achievement.
- Encourage the establishment or expansion of initiatives (including those involving public-private partnerships) that are designed to increase access to technology, particularly in schools served by “high-need local educational agencies” as defined in F-5.
- Assist states and localities in the acquisition, development, interconnection, implementation, improvement, and maintenance of an effective educational technology infrastructure in a manner that expand access of technology to students (particularly disadvantaged students) and teachers.
- Support initiatives that enable school personnel and administrators to integrate technology effectively into curriculum and instruction that are aligned with State standards, through such means as high-quality professional development programs.
- Enhance ongoing professional development for teachers, principals, and administrators by providing constant access to training and updated research in teaching and learning through electronic means.
- Support the development and use of electronic networks and other innovative methods, such as distance learning, to provide specialized or rigorous courses or curricula to students who would not otherwise have access to such information, particularly to those in geographically isolated regions.
- Support local efforts to use technology to promote parent and family involvement in education and to enhance communication among students, parents, teachers, principals, and administrators.
- Support the rigorous evaluation of programs funded under the Ed Tech Act, particularly regarding the impact of these programs on student academic achievement, and ensure that the results are widely accessible through electronic means.