Think Papers - Digital Infrastructure Report

Implications For the Chicago Region: Education and Training As They Affect Employment And Workplace Issues
Karen D. Frazer and Steven S. Wildman
Northwestern University

The Role of Information Technology in Education:
New Directions for Change
The incorporation of information technology into the education sector has proceeded slowly, but with revolutionary implications for improving current practice and establishing the basis for future change. Beginning with the creation of the ARPANET in the late 1960s, the scientific research community pioneered the use of information technology, particularly in the form of advanced communications networks, to extend scientific capabilities to new fields of intellectual endeavor. As government support for networking diffused the technology throughout higher research and education during the next two decades, the ability of individuals to exchange information, share resources, and undertake innovative forms of research was enhanced further by the emergence of the worldwide network of networks known as the Internet.
Today, advanced computer networking and information technology is available to most 4-year colleges and universities in the United States, with connections to the Internet growing at a rate of 10% annually around the world. Scientists, universities, technology corporations, and government agencies together have thus led the way toward creation of global information infrastructure for use by society in the 21st century and beyond.
Once the Internet's reach promoted greater public awareness of the possibilities of information technology to create social and economic opportunity, and prompted the invention of user-friendly applications and interfaces, it was only a short step to the conclusion that advanced information infrastructure could provide additional benefits to the educational process at earlier and earlier stages. Professors in disciplines from engineering to English were using such services as electronic mail and the World Wide Web to empower college students both in and out of the classroom, encouraging greater contact among diverse student populations as well as supporting the retrieval and processing of the increasing wealth of information available on-line. As a result, while the importance of providing access to computers for students in high schools and even grade schools had been acknowledged since the 1980s, observing the specific benefits of connectivity to on-line resources has prompted the U.S. and other governments to begin to provide funding for extension of networking and information technology to kindergarten through the 12th grade.
Educators, administrators, government officials, and the public have placed great hope in information technology as a fundamental part of education reform. The effort to develop information technology applications for education has become entangled in this larger policy debate, from President Clinton's announcement that the 1996-2000 Administration would make support for education a centerpiece of its activities, to local school board and private sector initiatives, to recent scholarly reports and books on the future of the U.S. educational system. The capabilities of advanced information infrastructure to link learning communities, to exchange knowledge and work cooperatively across time and geographic limits, has dovetailed with movements toward radical restructuring of classroom learning toward a more interactive and collaborative model. While the adoption of computers in schools in the last decade has emphasized support for traditional curricular activities such as drills, memorization, or demonstrations, using networking technology in particular has become the new focus for transforming traditional pedagogy because of its potential to "engage students in meaningful learning and collaboration involving challenging real-life tasks." (Illinois State Board of Education, K-12 Information Technology Plan).
Although many studies of the effects of information technology on the educational process are not yet complete, a recent survey of current research by the Educational Testing Service does provide evidence that increases in student performance and teacher satisfaction result from information technology in the classroom. Pilot projects as well as established trials in Union City, New Jersey, the State of Indiana's "Buddy Project" initiative, and the CHILD project in Florida elementary schools have offered computers and access to on-line services to K-12 graders within the context of new curriculum and courseware, with positive results. Progress is slow, however: as of 1995, only 14 percent of U.S. classrooms are connected to the Internet and average ratio of students to computers is 24 to 1. Furthermore, studies have shown that any plans for deployment of information technology in schools must address how existing disparities between urban and rural, affluent and poor school districts may be exaggerated by differences in access to technology.
Finally, the connections among advanced information technology, preparing students for the demands of a global information economy, and education extend to encompass the issue of availability of network infrastructure for those already employed in the workforce or seeking skills outside of a 4-year college setting. In particular, community colleges, adult literacy centers, and job training facilities are expected to play a crucial role in promoting access to information infrastructure and its capabilities. The Illinois State Board of Education's K-12 Information Technology Plan includes the following opportunities for this part of the educational system: realization of economies of scale in purchasing technology, formation of industry-government-education partnerships in planning and implementation of information infrastructure, and participation in advocacy efforts in communications policymaking at local, state, and federal levels.
Information Technology and the Organization of Work
Preparing today's students to be tomorrow's workers has captured the attention of government, industry, and the public. According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Education, Getting America's Students Ready for the 21st Century: Meeting the Technology Literacy Challenge, in a global, interdependent, "post-industrial" economy "success as a nation will depend substantially on our students' ability to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary for high-technology work and informed citizenship." Over 80% of parents view computer literacy as "absolutely essential" and computer technology as the most important resource they could make available to their children for the future. As we examine the direction of social and economic change, it is clear that many of the most desirable and high-paying jobs are being created in sectors dependent upon information technology such as health care, telecommunications, and financial services. The experience of industry over the last two decades of adopting information technology in the workplace suggests, however, that the most effective way of maximizing the returns on technology investment involves more than simply applying new technologies to perform old tasks: the organization of the workplace itself must adapt and innovate.
Research concerning the effects of private and public sector investment in computers, telecommunications equipment and services, and on-line services on firms, workers and productivity has illuminated several directions of change in today's work environment. New markets have been created, not only for suppliers of information technology equipment and services but also for new products and services based upon these industries. Electronic commerce, for example, is expected to generate over $8 billion dollars in 1997, allowing consumers to buy everything from automobiles to books to flowers through on-line services and the Internet. The size and traditional boundaries of firms have become more permeable and fluid, as common information resources are pooled and made available via internal and external networks among the far-flung units of multinational corporations, their suppliers, and clients. Businesses that have realized strong productivity gains and growing profit margins from the use of information technology are most often those who have "re-engineered" their production and business processes: for example, "just-in-time" computer inventory management allows for supply decisions to be made on the basis of the most current information on demand, input availability, and capacity utilization. Such flexibility allows firms to provide "mass customization of products" and the "speedy delivery of goods and services" (Gurbaxani & Whang, "The Impact of Information Systems on Organizations and Markets," Communications of the ACM 1991). Production processes are also made more efficient as the development cycle for products is shortened, reducing costs and permitting better matching of product designs to market demands. (Wildman, "Information Technology, Private Networks, and Productivity," in Private Networks and Public Objectives, E. Noam, ed. 1996.) Finally, successful firms have altered their internal incentive structure as well as marketing and outreach activities to take advantage of the ways in which information technology and advanced information infrastructure collapse time, geography, and in some cases cultural or political impediments to economic growth.
Together with these structural changes, transformation of the roles and activities of workers as a result of information technology are remaking the content and purpose of today's workplace. Workers increasingly will be required to access new forms of digitized information, work collectively and creatively to produce and to problem-solve, and communicate their findings and results effectively using advanced telecommunications and information technology. This will necessitate encouraging the freedom and professional development of workers even at the lowest levels of an organization, recognizing and providing incentives for highly self-motivated individuals to take on more responsibilities while removing barriers to effective use of organizational resources. Because of both the new empowerment of workers and the growing information processing and dissemination capabilities of information technology, fewer middle managers will be required and those that remain will have to adjust to these challenges. New lines of communication within an organization may be established, while workers may take part in temporary project teams formed around specific short, intermediate and long-term goals for the organization which workers themselves helped to develop. Information storage and retrieval functions traditionally the responsibility of middle management in support of the entire organization will diffuse upward and downward throughout the workplace of the future, putting information at the fingertips of all workers and making advanced knowledge in the management of information systems an essential part of management training in every industry.
As work structure and expectations change, so will the location of work: over 15 million U.S. workers telecommute, with 30 million utilizing some form of home office. Telecommuting has been particularly important to technical and sales personnel, who are often on the road or need to be responsive to clients outside of a single office location. This trend requires lifestyle changes as well as a reorganization of work, with many corporations providing training in telecommuting for workers to adjust to working at home. However, telecommuting may contribute to quality of life for the highly motivated, entrepreneurial worker of the 21st century, by allowing them to schedule work when they are most productive, lessen concern about maintaining proximity to young children, or avoid the distractions of everyday office routine. Furthermore, once workers become accustomed to telecommuting, many choose to do so part-time or full-time in new enterprises of their own, creating "virtual businesses" based on the use of networking technology. In these ways, information technology –- particularly the development of advanced communications networks –– provides many more options for the trained worker of the future.
Local and Regionally: Plans for the Digital Future
In addition to its distinguished history of supporting advanced information infrastructure development in higher education, the state of Illinois, including the metropolitan Chicago region, has provided a number of opportunities for students from kindergarten through 12 grades to obtain access to information technology during the course of instruction. Learning technology hubs provide school districts with technical assistance and training; a statewide network currently offers connectivity to school districts for administrators; 72 economically disadvantaged districts are participating in community technology planning with the help of state grants; and hundreds of classrooms are participating in various on-line research projects. In FY1996, state lawmakers appropriated $15 million, or $8 per student, for information technology applications in education, and the Illinois State Board of Education's K-12 Information Technology Plan calls for an increase in FY1998 of approximately $95 million, in order to accelerate Illinois' progress in the use of technology in reforming education in line with other highly populated states. In and around Cook County, municipal organization such as Regional Offices of Education and Intermediate Service Centers offer Web-based resources for schools, including teacher training, announcements of conferences and other professional development activities, links to schools with on-line connections, and information regarding connectivity and grant availability.
These initiatives are all based on the growing consensus among educators, policy makers, industry, and the public that the development of advanced communications network infrastructure will not only attract new private and public investment to the region, but lay a foundation for continued economic growth and social progress by reforming the educational system. The two primary challenges to achieving this vision involves funding, especially in terms of maintaining or improving equity between school districts, and implementation of substantive curricular and pedagogical change. However, Illinois and the metropolitan Chicago region are well positioned to confront these challenges. A significant innovation in the K-12 Information Technology Plan consists in the specific and explicit calls for private sector partnerships and local community leadership in education technology planning. To address the difficulties in reforming the organizational structure of education services, the report provides a framework for construction of "learning communities" beyond the traditional boundaries of specific school campuses, as well as calls for consideration of performance measurement issues.
Finally, as the growth of the Internet was led by higher education to extend its benefits from the scientific research community to the wider population, the metropolitan Chicago region in particular is aided by the achievements in advanced information infrastructure building of universities such as Northwestern University and the University of Illinois. The development and integration of advanced digital networks throughout the region will benefit from this accumulation of experience. In order to fully leverage existing knowledge and resources, however, the private sector will also play a significant role in Chicago's digital future. Major international technology firms with corporate presence in and around metropolitan Chicago include Motorola and Ameritech as well as firms which provide an array of related services, including Electronic Data Systems and Andersen Consulting. New investment by these and other firms will be drawn by the continued development of advanced network infrastructure together with the pool of new workers schooled with information technology in the region's educational system. The Chicago area is already one of the hubs of the information economy and today the metropolitan Chicago region is successfully building on this foundation.