Lesson 9

By Lupe Briseno

1. Undertake an Internet search of websites addressing issues of cost-effectiveness and cost benefit analysis of educational technology and share your findings via email with the class.

Cost benefit and effectiveness issues in the introduction of educational technology

John Mitchell

http://www.jma.com.au/openlearncost.htm

"It is well understood that the introduction of technology in the delivery of education is costly, but the real problem is how the costs of that introduction can be calculated.At present the methodology or standard way of examining the matter of such costs does not exist in Australia. The evidence is that there exists an 'owning the problem' problem" (Tinkler et al, 1994, p.38)

The aim of this paper is to raise a number of issues regarding cost benefits and cost effectiveness in relation to the introduction of educational technology, in order to stimulate discussion, not to offer simple answers.

This article also discusses the fact that there are few useful models dealing with cost-benefit of education technology.

New Times Demand New Ways of Learning

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/edtalk/newtimes.htm

Recent research builds a powerful case against what used to be accepted "truths" about learning and technology. First, there is strong evidence that traditional models of learning, traditional definitions of technology effectiveness, and traditional models of the cost effectiveness of technology don't work. In place of these old assumptions, researchers are positing new ways of looking at learning that promote:

• engaged, meaningful learning and collaboration involving challenging and real-life tasks; and

• technology as a tool for learning, communication, and collaboration.

  This article also some great charts to view about indicators of engaged learning and some helpful hints about collaboration in the classroom.

Britannica.com

http://www.britannica.com/bcom/internet_guide_display_page/0,5866,7027,00.html

This site was so vast I did not have a chance to review the whole thing, but it offers hundreds of web-sites and readings about education technology and distance learning. On the whole, it offers every kind of article you can think of in education.

Effectiveness

http://www.ed.gov/Technology/Plan/RAND/Costs/costs4.html

The Costs and Effectiveness of Educational Technology - November 1995

Data on the benefits of optimal school-wide technology implementations, especially implementations in the service of school reform that aims at new student outcomes, new approaches for assessing student outcomes, and new instructional strategies (e.g., a significant measure of individualized student learning using a many-pathed, project-based curriculum) are not and will not soon be available. James Kulik, Bill Hadley, Dexter Fletcher and Luis Osin provided different but overlapping slants on what we know from experimental and empirical data about the effectiveness of student learning using computer technology for the case of limited and well defined curriculum objectives. (We discuss later in the section titled æevaluationÆ what can be inferred from this knowledge.)

The Costs of Incorporating Information
Technology in Education

Brian M. Tissue
Department of Chemistry
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA 24061-0212

http://www.chem.vt.edu/archive/chemconf97/paper04.html

The purpose of this paper is to stimulate discussions concerning the costs and benefits of incorporating computer and network technology in science education. Some costs are obvious, such as the initial price of hardware and software, and the continual costs of upgrades, maintenance, and technical support. Other costs are less obvious. Some examples include an increasing percentage of instructor time spent on remaining adept at using information technology; changes in the use of classroom and laboratory space; and shifts in the use of classroom, laboratory, and student study time as students learn technology skills rather than science concepts. This paper discusses the cost of using information technology in education as one aspect of a continuing escalation in the cost of education and educational tools. This upward price spiral is analogous to the cost of scientific research, which continually increases due to the need for more and more specialized and expensive laboratory space and instrumentation. The challenge for science educators is to provide a high-quality education in ever-expanding fields, in a regime in which funding for science and education has reached a steady-state condition.

Overall, this paper was excellent and talked about more than education technology as a whole, but it discussed that it would take to incorporate this into science education and the cost associated with this infusion.