Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
ROB MCCLENDON: WELL WATCH A TYPICAL AMERICAN TEEN WORK ON A COMPUTER AND IT
MAY SURPRISE YOU; THEY COULD BE LAGGING BEHIND THEIR INTERNATIONAL PEERS
IN ACQUIRING THE TECHNOLOGY SKILLS THEY'LL NEED TO SUCCEED IN OUR
TECH-DRIVEN WORLD.
EXPERTS SAY OTHER COUNTRIES ARE ACTUALLY INVESTING MORE IN
DEVELOPING STUDENTS' TECHNICAL SKILLS.
JOINING ME NOW WITH MORE ON THAT IS OUR ANDY BARTH.
ANDY BARTH: ROB, WE LIVE IN AN INTERCONNECTED GLOBAL ECONOMY WHERE A
STUDENT'S TECHNICAL SKILLS COULD WELL DETERMINE THEIR EARNING POTENTIAL.
[MUSIC].
IN THE WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY, THINGS NEVER STAY THE SAME.
AND, IN THE WORLD OF EDUCATION, IT'S HARD TO KEEP UP.
CORINNE HOISINGTON: I THINK IT'S FRUSTRATING FOR CLASSROOMS BECAUSE THEY
WANT TO USE, TEACH THE NEW TECHNOLOGY TOMORROW.
BUT WITH ALL OF OUR BUDGETS, ESPECIALLY IN THIS TOUGH ECONOMY, WE
NEED TO METER OUR DOLLARS CAREFULLY.
[NATS].
ANDY: CORINNE HOISINGTON IS A PROFESSOR AND COMPUTER SOFTWARE
CONSULTANT AND SAYS THE UNITED STATES IS FALLING BEHIND IN THE CLASSROOM.
CORINNE: HERE IN THE UNITED STATES WE MAKE MICROSOFT AND APPLE AND,
AND WE ARE THE INITIATOR OF ALL THIS TECHNOLOGY; IT'S HOMEGROWN.
BUT SO OFTEN IT SEEMS THAT OTHER COUNTRIES BENEFIT MORE FROM THIS TECHNOLOGY
THAN OUR OWN LOCAL SCHOOLS.
MOST OF OUR SCHOOLS DON'T HAVE, THEIR, THEIR COMPUTERS ARE ON WINDOWS
XP FROM 2001; THAT'S 12 YEARS AGO SOONER.
SO OTHER COUNTRIES YOU GO IN AND YOU WOULD THINK WELL, THEY'RE SO FAR
BEHIND.
I'VE GOTTEN TO SPEAK IN BUDAPEST, NEXT WEEK I'M SPEAKING IN BRUSSELS, AND
THEIR EQUIPMENT IS WAY AHEAD OF OURS.
AND TO GET OUR STUDENTS READY TO COMPETE IN A WORLDWIDE MARKET, OUR
STUDENTS HAVE TO HAVE THE SAME TECHNOLOGY THAT'S HOMEGROWN HERE, RIGHT IN
THE U.S.
ANDY: AND THAT'S WHY SOME OKLAHOMA TEACHERS SPENT PART OF THEIR SUMMER
GOING BACK TO SCHOOL, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SMARTBOARDS.
[NATS].
GONE ARE THE DAYS OF CHALKBOARDS AND ERASERS.
THIS WHITEBOARD CONTAINS ELECTRONICS AND INTERNET CAPABILITY.
CAROL MATTESON IS A PROMETHEAN BOARD INSTRUCTOR.
CAROL MATTESON: IT'S NICE TO SEE OTHER TEACHERS USING THE TECHNOLOGY AND
DISCUSSING DIFFERENT WAYS; I MEAN, I LEARN FROM THEM, AS WELL, LEARNING
DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THEY USE IT AND SHARING HOW I GET TO USE IT IN THE
CLASSROOM. [LAUGHING].
ANDY: AND IT'S THE STUDENTS WHO CAN RECEIVE THE BENEFIT.
CAROL: HOPEFULLY THEY WILL LEAVE HERE AND GO BACK AND BE ABLE TO USE THEIR
BOARDS MORE EFFICIENTLY; AND UH, AND THEIR STUDENTS WILL BE MORE ENGAGED AND
MORE EXCITED ABOUT LEARNING.
ANDY: AND FOURTH GRADE TEACHER KARI NELSON IS CONVINCED HER STUDENTS
LEARN MORE EFFECTIVELY.
KARI NELSON: IT'S, IT'S VERY INTERACTIVE WITH THE KIDS; THEY GET TO GO UP
AND USE IT.
IT MAKES LEARNING A LOT MORE ENJOYABLE; AND, THE KIDS REALLY LIKE USING THE
PROMETHEAN BOARD WHILE THEY'RE LEARNING.
ANDY: AND WHILE NEW TECHNOLOGY IS EXPENSIVE, HOISINGTON SAYS, WHEN YOU
TAKE A HARD LOOK AT IT, THE SOLUTION COULD BE EASIER THAN ONE WOULD
THINK.
CORINNE: I HOPE DEARLY THAT WE WILL INVEST IN TECHNOLOGY.
YOU SAY, WELL HOW CAN WE AFFORD TO DO THIS?
WELL, INSTEAD OF PRINTED BOOKS, THAT AVERAGE ABOUT A $100 A TEXTBOOK, WE CAN
EASILY MAKE IT 70% CHEAPER AND BUY A $30 E-BOOK, THEN BUY EACH STUDENT A
ONE-TO-ONE COMPUTER IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS THAT THEY CAN TAKE HOME.
MAYBE OUR LOCAL SERVICE PROVIDERS IN OUR COMMUNITIES WOULD GIVE
STUDENTS WHO EARN FREE LUNCH, A FREE INTERNET CONNECTIVITY AT HOME TO
EQUAL THAT PLAYING FIELD.
IT'S NOT FAIR THAT A STUDENT GOES HOME, WHO HAS THE INTERNET, HAS THE
WHOLE WORLD TO HELP THEM WITH THEIR HOMEWORK, AND WHERE A STUDENT WHO
DOESN'T HAVE INTERNET CONNECTIVITY.
WELL LET'S FACE IT, THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE THEIR MOM HOME HALF THE TIME BECAUSE
SHE'S WORKING A MIDNIGHT SHIFT.
WE CANNOT EQUAL THE PLAYING FIELD UNTIL EVERY STUDENT HAS THE SAME
CONNECTIVITY AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL.
ANDY: TECHNOLOGY THAT GOES WELL BEYOND A LAPTOP COMPUTER.
TIM BOETTCHER IS THE LEAD DESIGNER OF A VIRTUAL WELDER FOR THE CLASSROOM.
TIM BOETTCHER: WE PUT THIS TOGETHER TO REALLY HELP EDUCATORS ACCELERATE THE
LEARNING PROCESS FOR STUDENTS; AND, REALLY TO ADDRESS THE SKILLS GAP.
THE SIMULATOR, WHAT IT DOES IS IT ALLOWS YOU TO PUT A STUDENT, PUT A
WELDING GUN INTO A STUDENT'S HAND.
THEY CAN VIRTUALLY WELD, THEY CAN DEVELOP ALL THE MUSCLE MEMORY SKILLS; AND,
YOU CAN REALLY TEST AND EVALUATE THEM BEFORE YOU PUT THEM ONTO A SHOP
FLOOR.
ANDY: LEARNING A SKILL THAT'S IN HIGH DEMAND AND PAYS WELL.
TIM: I THINK IT CAN DO A LOT FOR THE CAREERTECH SYSTEM IN OKLAHOMA FROM
THE STANDPOINT THAT IT CAN ATTRACT STUDENTS INTO THE WELDING PROGRAMS.
SO WE THINK ABOUT THIS MASSIVE SKILL GAP THAT WE'RE FACING, WE'RE JUST
ON THE VERY FRONT-END OF THAT CURVE, THIS PROGRAM CAN HELP STUDENTS GET IN,
AND REALLY ATTRACT STUDENTS INTO THE WELDING PROGRAMS, BECAUSE IT'S A
SIMULATION.
STUDENTS ARE ATTRACTED TO THAT.
WE'VE SEEN THAT TIME AND AGAIN WHEN WE, WHEN WE DO THESE CAREER FAIRS WHERE
WE'VE LITERALLY GOT HUNDREDS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT ARE COMING
UP AND COMPETING WITH ONE ANOTHER AND GETTING EXCITED ABOUT WELDING.
AND, THE SIMULATION ALSO TAKES A LOT OF THE FEAR OUT OF IT, RIGHT; BECAUSE
NOW WE CAN HAVE SOMEBODY PRACTICE ON IT BEFORE THEY GET ON A REAL MACHINE.
SO I THINK IT CAN TRANSFORM THE TOP OF THAT WORKFORCE PIPELINE.
[NATS: HAVE IT ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER].
ANDY: TEACHING TODAY'S STUDENTS WITH TOMORROW'S TECHNOLOGY.
[NATS: NOW I HAVE 36 ON TOP, YOU MAY THINK HEY].
NOW I WAS ABLE TO DO THOSE INTERVIEWS AT THIS YEAR'S CAREERTECH SUMMER
CONFERENCE, AND, JUST BY WALKING AROUND THE TRADE SHOW IT'S EASY TO SEE JUST
HOW MUCH OUR CLASSROOMS ARE CHANGING.
ROB: NOW YOU CAN HAVE ALL THE LATEST GADGETS IN THE WORLD, BUT IF THEY'RE NOT
CONNECTED TO A HIGH SPEED NETWORK, THEY DON'T WORK VERY WELL.
ANDY: THAT'S RIGHT ROB, AND MOST OF THE LOW BROADBAND SPEEDS ARE IN
RURAL AREAS; BUT ONCE THE STUDENTS ARE IN THE CLASSROOMS, THEY HAVE ALL
THE ACCESS TO HIGH SPEEDS THEY WANT, BUT ONCE THAT STUDENTS AT HOME IT'S A
WHOLE OTHER SCENARIO.
ROB: SO HOW DO WE STACK UP HERE IN OKLAHOMA IN TERMS OF BROADBAND ACCESS?
ANDY: UNFORTUNATELY, OKLAHOMA IS IN THE BOTTOM FIVE WHEN IT COMES TO HIGH
SPEED ACCESS; AND, ACCORDING TO A NEW REPORT FROM THE FCC, ABOUT 16% OF
OKLAHOMANS STILL DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO BROADBAND, WHICH IS HIGHER THAN THE
NATIONAL AVERAGE OF 6%.
ROB: ALRIGHT, THANK YOU SO MUCH ANDY.
NOW, IF YOU'D LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TECHNOLOGY IN OUR
CLASSROOMS, JUST HEAD TO OUR WEBSITE AND CLICK ON THIS WEEK'S VALUE ADDED.