Issue: Education Technology and the E-Rate

In the last decade, the federal, state, and local governments have invested billions of dollars to put computers in schools and connect classrooms to the Internet. Results are positive related to hardware and connectivity. The percentage of schools connected to the Internet rose from 35 percent in 1994 to 99 percent in 2001. The student to Internet connected computer ratio has improved dramatically in an even shorter time frame, going from 12 students per computer in 1998 to five to one in 2001. In addition, many students who do not have computer and Internet access at home at least have some access at school.

However, there are indications that many schools are not using this new infrastructure to maximum advantage. Some states are currently, in the face of significant budget shortfalls, cutting educational technology funds. Technology fatigue may also be hitting state and local policymakers just as they are given new authority (under the federal No Child Left Behind Act) to transfer federal edtech funds to other uses.

The Benton Foundation believes that educational technology holds great promise for improving teaching and learning. We advocated successfully for the creation of an E-Rate (a federally subsidized education rate of discounted telecommunication’s services to schools and libraries), and have tracked the development of the new $2.25 billion a year federal program. In addition, from the time the nation began a massive effort to put a connected computer in every classroom to the present, we have highlighted what’s at stake and areas of policy improvement in the edtech arena.

In The Sustainability Challenge, the Benton Foundation suggested "top 10" critical actions needed to sustain our school technology infrastructure and to take it to the next level.

 

Keeping Up to Date

Benton's Communications-Related Headlines provides daily updates on developments in the realm of educational technology and other pressing communications issues.

 

Benton Resources & Publications

Preparing Disadvantaged Youth for the Workforce of Tomorrow

Report examines strategies to engage underserved youth populations to help them develop 21st century skills. (PDF)

The Sustainability Challenge: Taking Edtech to the Next Level
Report shows that the massive investment in edtech may be at risk.  (HTML and PDF)

Great Expectations: Leveraging America's Investment in Education Technology
Report examines the impact of the federal E-Rate program in Chicago and Milwaukee. It also includes an evaluation toolkit.   (PDF)

The E-Rate in America: A Tale of Four Cities
The first national-level analysis of the federal E-Rate program, with a focus on its impact in four Midwestern cities.  (PDF)

The Learning Connection: Schools in the Information Age
The 1996 report on the state of education technology in the U.S. (HTML)

 

Other Resources

A number of websites provide online background information and other related links. A select list follows: