Dear Governor Rowland:

On August 6 you asked me to develop a comprehensive plan to ensure that Connecticut’s schools and libraries are prepared to meet the computer and information technology needs of the 21^st Century. This letter serves as a final report of my findings and recommendations.

Since August I have visited more than two dozen schools across the state, spoken with a number of federal officials and state legislators, read countless reports and surveys, met with officials of the state Board of Education, Department of Higher Education, State Library, Department of Information Technology, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, Connecticut Education Association, Joint Committee on Educational Technology, Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, Connecticut Voices for Children, Connecticut Academy of Science and a host of other groups and organizations.

I am truly grateful for the information and assistance provided to me by teachers, students, local school administrators, representatives of the above-listed organizations, business leaders and other concerned citizens who have been an important part of my efforts during the last four months.

Their support has been invaluable.

I would also like to acknowledge the work and dedication of the professionals – teachers, staff and administrators – in our public schools who have worked tirelessly to establish and promote the integration of information technology into the educational system. My school visits around the state have afforded me the opportunity to see first-hand the technological advancements being made at all grade levels. Great things are happening in our schools, and the future is bright for our students.

Though awed by some of the designs and operations of the technology itself, I was far more impressed by the passion and commitment of educators who have taken the lead in implementing educational technology applications. They fully understand and appreciate the promise that informational technology holds in educational settings, and they have worked hard, on behalf of our students, to make that technology accessible, understandable and user-friendly. They deserve our gratitude and our respect.

The Growing Importance of Information Technology

There is, I have found, a growing concern in the state that more needs to be done to integrate information technology into classroom learning. We must prepare our students, and indeed all our citizens, for the challenges that will be inherent in an increasingly technology-driven economy and society.

Without question, computers have grown to play a progressively more important and integrated role in nearly every aspect of our lives. They are the operational controls of the cars we drive, the planes in which we fly, the banking machines we use, even many of the heating systems found in our homes. Computers are used in traffic signals, elevators, gasoline pumps, cash registers, police cruisers and golf carts. Indeed, as evidenced by the Y2K phenomenon, it is clear that computers have become a vital lifeline that links us to commerce, family, business and education.

Quite frankly, it is astonishing to think how thoroughly pervasive computers have become in our society, given the relatively short history of computer development and usage. It was little more than 50 years ago that ENIAC, the first general-purpose computer, was designed and put into use. Unwieldy and exceedingly elementary by today’s technology standards, ENIAC utilized 18,000 vacuum tubes and occupied 1,800 square feet of space. The behemoth size of ENIAC is almost inconceivable today in light of the proliferation of compact and lightweight desktop and laptop computers.

In 1971, the first microprocessor was released by Intel and ten years later, in 1981, IBM introduced its first personal computers (PC’s), making computers more affordable and practical for home and office use. And it was just ten years ago that the World Wide Web was created by Dr. Tim Berners-Lee of the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

The number of people who have gone online since the web’s introduction in 1989 has grown geometrically. In fact, according to an eGlobal Report released this past June by eMarketer, the number of active internet users around the world will grow to 130.6 million by the end of this year. An estimated 350 million users will be online by 2003, an amazing increase of 167% in just four short years. The anticipated growth rates of internet commerce are just as startling, with revenues expected to increase from $98.4 billion in 1999 to more than $1.2 trillion by 2003.

It is clear from this brief history and from the above-mentioned statistics that the potential for future computer development and information technology application is limitless. Computers will become a truly ubiquitous presence in our lives at home, in the workplace and in the classroom.

The Critical Role of Educational Technology

To a very large extent, private industry and natural market forces will direct and control information technology advances and usage in the home and at the workplace. Governments, however, must bear most of the responsibility for planning, fostering and implementing a significantly broadened integration of information technology in the classrooms of Connecticut.

The importance of this responsibility cannot be understated and cannot be ignored, for the students in our schools today will be the business, government and community leaders of tomorrow.

They will need to compete and to excel in an increasingly technology-based economy, and success will depend in large part on the training and education they receive during their school years.

As we greet the dawning of the 21^st Century, we must improve that training and education, and we must ensure that our students have access to state-of-the-art computer technology from kindergarten through graduate school. That means that computers in the classroom must become as commonplace as a chalkboard, and that collaborative educational technology efforts must be undertaken between teachers, students, parents and administrators.

To be sure, we in Connecticut have already begun to address some of the technology needs of our schools and libraries. For instance, our state Department of Education has developed a Statewide Educational Technology Plan and offers a range of programs and personnel resources directed at assisting local school districts on a variety of educational technology issues. Also, the state has allocated $30 million in grants in the past few years to cities and towns to cover computer wiring and connectivity costs. Further, Connecticut municipalities have received $22.3 million from the federal government under the Universal Service Fund (or E-Rate) program.

While progress has indeed been made, there is still room for improvement in terms of integrating information technology into classroom learning. In July, 1999 the Progressive Policy Institute issued a "State New Economy Index" in which it rated the 50 individual states in terms of pertinent economic indicators and overall preparedness for the "new economy" of the new millennium. The good news is that Connecticut ranked fifth in the nation as a leader in the new economy, meaning that we are well positioned and well prepared in terms of workforce education, venture capital, patents, scientists and engineers, high tech jobs, initial public offerings, online population, and other economic-based factors.

The less encouraging news is that Connecticut ranks 42^nd in the nation in terms of technology in schools. The ranking was based on a "weighted measure of the percentage of classrooms wired for the Internet, teachers with technology training, and schools with more than 50 percent of teachers having school-based e-mail accounts."

While I do not believe that these measures by themselves offer a true and complete reflection of our technological capabilities, Connecticut’s low ranking in this index is simply unacceptable, especially concerning something as important as the integration of technology education in the classroom.

Simply put, educational technology must become a serious priority of state government, for Connecticut cannot be off-line when it comes to computers in the classroom.

Too many classrooms continue to be without computers. Too many schools and classrooms have yet to be wired or connected to computer systems. Too many teachers have not had the opportunity for specialized, and sometimes basic, computer training. Too many administrators are frustrated by the lack of resources for technology enhancements and for appropriate support staff. And too few students have ample and properly tutored access to school-based computers and the internet.

But the critical value of information technology in the classroom cannot be measured simply by the number of wires coming into a building or a classroom or by the number of computers on an inventory list. It’s not about the latest software programs or the most powerful hard drives. It’s about using technology to open new doors to learning. It’s about serving teachers and inspiring students.

Technology may be used for online research, individualized student instruction, homework assignments, in-class labs and experiments, and facilitating communication between students and between parents and teachers. It promotes inquiry learning. It fosters cooperative learning. It encourages after-class schoolwork.

In short, it serves to more seriously engage students in all aspects of learning. No longer is a student’s venue for learning contained within the walls of a classroom or the covers of a book. A student learning about China may travel electronically to that country and take a video tour of the cultural and governmental sites or conduct a real-time interview with a Chinese student or official. A student whose own district does not offer a particular course could use distance learning to enroll in another district and take the course online. A student researching a paper on Franklin Roosevelt could use video and voice technology to personally see and hear the speeches of a president who died decades before they were born.

I believe the potential for technology applications in educational settings is unlimited. It will open new doors and generations of young minds to new worlds, new experiences and new opportunities for learning. It will also be of critical importance in training the workforce of the future.

Preparing the Workforce for the 21^st Century

Connecticut has seen an abundance of business and job growth in the past five years, with an emphasis on the development of technology-based businesses. In fact, the state Department of Labor (DOL) has estimated that technology-based businesses currently account for one out of every six jobs in Connecticut, and the highest growth rates in employment opportunities are expected to occur in the technology industry.

More specifically, DOL predicts a 93.2 percent increase in estimated employment opportunities for computer engineers and a 77.1 percent increase for systems analysts positions. These two positions remain the top two occupations ranked by growth in the state, reflecting a national trend.

But nearly all occupations, regardless of type, require some computer exposure or use. For instance, manufacturing employees operate machines guided, in large part, by computer programs. Many police officers now have lap top computers in their cruisers to record arrest information or retrieve background information. Health care workers, from doctors and nurses to x-ray technicians, constantly use a host of specialized and sophisticated medical technology equipment in delivering patient care. Most government employees and private sector office employees have grown dependent on the use of desktop PC’s, fax machines, e-mail and voice mail.

Given that information technology now transcends nearly every occupation and every industry sector, it is vital that we prepare our students, the workforce of tomorrow, in terms of computer proficiency and technology skill training. Continued economic expansion and growth in Connecticut will depend on it. Satisfying, well-paying jobs for workers will depend on it. A steady stream of skilled, trained workers for employers will depend on it.

The Digital Divide

As we look to the future and as we move forward with information technology, we must continually ask who will be left behind. A so-called digital divide does exist and it widens as technology evolves. It’s real and it’s disturbing.

But the divide cannot be defined solely in economic terms. There are other equally disconcerting divides. Gender divides. Racial divides. Education and training divides. Information divides.

Bridging these digital divides will not be easy, but it must done. In so many ways, information technology has the potential to be a great equalizer, so it must be accessed and utilized unreservedly and affordably by everyone, especially students.

Bridging the digital divides today may in fact allow us to bridge other divides tomorrow, for increased educational and training opportunities will open up a great many new horizons for future generations. From Hartford to Hamden and New London to New Canaan, increased educational technology will translate into increased life opportunities.

And the best way to bridge the digital divide, to train the workforce, to inspire students and open new doors to learning, to completely connect and equip our classrooms and to embrace the growing social and economic force of computers, is to make a high-yield investment in educational technology.

Frankly, it is an investment we cannot afford not to make. The risks only come in not preparing our students and our citizens for the 21^st Century.

It will take an investment not just in financial terms, but in commitment, in vision and in planning. If we succeed, and we must, our efforts will lead to a renewed overall investment in public education and to a major investment in our future workforce.

Recommendations

In order to begin making the investments necessary to ensure that our schools and libraries are prepared to meet the computer and information technology needs of the 21^st Century, I would recommend:

• That all Connecticut students be "Cyber-Ready by the Sixth Grade" in terms of competency in the use of technology for life-long learning. Specific technology skill training, such as computer and technology literacy, information literacy and the ability to integrate technology effectively in all aspects of learning, should be made a formal part of local curriculum and should be measured by appropriate and periodic grade-level benchmarks. Model benchmarks would be developed by the state Board of Education, by July 1, 2000, and distributed to local school districts for guidance and utilization.