Since the adoption of the first State Technology Plan in 1996, Maryland has made a commitment to provide all public school students access to technology and frequent opportunities to participate in meaningful and challenging activities and tasks involving those technological tools. On March 26, 2002, the State Board of Education accepted the updated Maryland Plan for Technology in Education, which expires in 2005. This Plan guides the State's strategic direction related to educational technology.

A substantial financial investment by the State, local school systems, the federal government and the private sector over the past eight years has enabled Maryland to make significant progress in fulfilling its commitment. This summary represents the seventh in a series of annual reports that highlight not only this progress, but also the gaps that remain to be addressed. The data provided in this summary are important both for what it shows about the capacity of Maryland students and teachers to access technology-based resources, and for what it reveals about the way that students and teachers experience the technology in their day-to-day learning.

Most of the data summarized in this report were collected in October - December 2003 from each school in the state through an online survey and includes targeted indicators in the following key areas:

1. Technology Infrastructure and Access
2. Teacher Knowledge and Skills
3. Technology Use by Students, Teachers and Administrators
4. Technology Support

The results are summarized by state and local school system averages as well as by individual school reports. For a balanced view, it is important to look not only at state and district averages, but also at the data being reported by each individual school.

Technology Infrastructure and Access

Schools across the state continue to make strong progress as it relates to technology infrastructure and access. With few exceptions, infrastructure and access are in place and schools possess sufficient numbers of computers and almost all classrooms are connected to the Internet.

The -computer ratio across the state remained on target with the State Technology Plan at 5:1 (that is 5 students per computer). One notable exception is Wicomico County where the student-to-computer ratio is 10:1. Also, Baltimore City saw their student-to-computer ratio worsen from a 4:1 in 2002 to a 5:1 in 2003. This suggests the possibility that the 2002 Baltimore City data was overstated since it is unlikely that there are fewer computers in 2003 versus 2002, and we believe that the City schools improved their data collection process to generate more accurate data in 2003.

Overall Maryland continues to make steady and significant progress toward our goal of having 100% of classrooms connected to the Internet. At this point it is a rare exception that a Maryland classroom is not connected to the Internet (currently 93% of all classrooms in Maryland are connected.) The one major exception is Baltimore City, where only 65% of all classrooms are connected to the Internet.

Teacher Knowledge and Skills

With technology infrastructure and access in place, it is critical that teachers possess sufficient knowledge and skills to use the technology tools to improve student achievement. The State Technology Plan calls for a focus on high quality professional development linked to content standards and the integration of technology into instruction to insure that teachers are prepared.

The 2003 data suggest that, while the trends are in the right direction, only modest gains have been made with regard to teacher knowledge and skills in three areas: Computer Use, Internet Use, and Technology Use. According to the data, schools report that 67% of teachers are at an intermediate level or higher in Internet use in 2003, versus 64% in 2002. The survey shows 69% of teachers at an intermediate or higher level with technology integration in the classroom in 2003, versus 65% in 2002. The data indicate the need for a renewed focus on improved professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators.

Technology Use by Students, Teachers and Administrators

The 2003 data suggest that clear gains have been made regarding how technology is used by students, teachers, and administrators. For example 42% of schools report that their students use technology to plan, draft, proofread, revise and publish written text Every day, or almost every day in 2003, versus 34% in 2002. The 2003 data show that 49% of all schools report that their students gather information/data from a variety of sources (e.g. via Internet, World Wide Web, Online services, CD-ROM-based reference software) Every day, or almost every day in 2003, versus 36% in 2002. While these are two of the more simplistic uses of technology in the classroom, it is encouraging to see the gains.

It is also instructive to look at the more complex uses of technology that research suggests should lead to improved problem solving skills. With regard to how often technology was used to Manipulate, analyze and interpret information, the data indicate a 50% improvement in the frequency of such use from 2002 to 2003, from 6% in 2002 to 9% in 2003 in the Every day, or almost every day category. While the improvement is clear year-over-year (and consistent across many of the more complex uses), it is also apparent that there is significant room for additional improvement. Most experts agree that it is this type of high-end application that fosters the higher order thinking skills that our students need to succeed in today’s high-paced information society.

Clear gains were also seen with regard to teacher and administrator use of technology. As an example, the 2003 data show that 43% of teachers statewide use the web to research educational topics every day or almost every day, compared to 35% in 2002. In 2003, 90% of administrators used technology to communicate with staff every day or almost every day, compared to 78% in 2002. Comparable gains were seen in many uses of technology by teachers and administrators.

The Digital Divide

Strong efforts to bridge the digital divide continue in Maryland; however, challenges remain. Significant progress has been made regarding student-to-computer ratio with minimal variance evident between high and low poverty schools. However, classrooms in the highest poverty schools are much less likely to have Internet access enabled. Nearly 100% of classrooms in low poverty schools are connected to the Internet, while only 76% of high poverty schools have similar connections. The lack of classroom connectivity in Baltimore City is driving this statistic. Schools with the highest poverty remain below average in teacher knowledge and skills, and student and administrator use of technology.

As in years past, the digital divide in student use is of most concern. Data show that, in general, the higher the poverty level of the schools, the less frequently the technology is used for tasks that require higher level thinking and meaningful application of knowledge and skills. The difference is striking when one looks at the percentage of schools reporting that their students regularly* use technology to:

	Low Poverty	High Poverty
Draft, revise, and publish writing	68%	30%
Gather information from the Internet	70%	50%
Communicate or report information	50%	17%
Manipulate, analyze or interpret data	20%	10%
Perform measurements and gather data	17%	5%

* Regularly is defined as every day or almost every day /once or twice per week

Given recent research that links improved student learning with these uses of technology, it is imperative to eliminate this gap. Further motivation to eliminate this gap comes from the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which requires that all students be technologically literate by the end of eighth grade and that all teachers be highly-qualified. Teachers, especially in these high poverty schools, continue to need more professional development in using technology with their students, particularly for meaningful, challenging, and thought-provoking tasks.

Recommendations

Technology infrastructure and access is essentially in place in Maryland schools. While gains have been made with regard to the effective use of technology in the classroom, there is significant room for improvement. To insure that technology delivers on the promise of making significant contributions to improving learning for all Maryland students, it is recommended that:

1. A revised Technology Plan, aligned with State and local master plans, be developed with a focus on the tight and seamless integration of technology tools into existing curriculum to improve student achievement using the technology inventory, the latest research and other data sets as a foundation.
2. High quality and sustained professional development, focused on integrating engaging applications and digital content into the curriculum on a regular basis, be made available to all teachers.
3. High quality applications and digital content, that develop higher order, critical thinking and problem solving skills, be integrated into regular classroom activities.
4. The digital divide be closed to insure that students in high poverty schools are not left behind in our 21st century information society.
5. Technology programs and the associated funding be integrated into base school budgets, with sufficient funding to maintain and upgrade existing infrastructure, deliver sustained professional development and procure applications and digital content for the classroom.