Technology in Teachers’ Hands Spells Success

With results pointing to success, the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program launched in 12 schools last summer will expand to 12 more schools this fall, giving it the ability to reach more than 12,000 students.

The program is a collaboration with the Verizon Foundation and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and targets schools that have invested in the hardware and networking to bring mobile devices (tablets, smart phones and netbooks) into the classroom, but need additional support to integrate the technology into curriculum.

The objective is to increase the technology proficiency of teachers and students, and to increase the engagement and achievement of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) – a key component of the foundation’s strategy to focus on improving education in the United States.

“The results we have seen to date are very encouraging,” said Justina Nixon-Saintil, who leads the education and technology initiatives for the foundation. “They show that technology in the classroom, when used effectively, can have a meaningful impact on student achievement.”

An ISTE survey conducted earlier this year shows

• The most commonly noted change in learning was an increased problem-solving ability in 40 percent of students.
   
• An average of one in three of students in the VILS program showed increased academic achievement; 38 percent showed increased engagement and 52 percent demonstrated increased proficiency with mobile technologies.
   
• More than one in three students received higher scores on classroom assessments
   
• Students of VILS teachers were more inclined than their non-VILS peers to go to college, more confident of being admitted, and more inclined to major in a STEM field
   
• VILS students reported more positive views about math and science and more frequent use of various technology tools, including computers, mobile phones, tablets, and digital media data and tools

According to the recently released EdTech: Revolution In Education report from STEMconnector, 80 percent of the fastest-growing occupations in the United States require STEM adequacy, but the country is not graduating enough students who are able to fulfill this growing need. The result: as many as 3 million STEM jobs have gone unfilled.