The 2001 Census of Technology collected data from 2253 school buildings, as compared to 2132 building in 2000. Generally, the 2001 building-level data continue the improvement trends noted over the years; however, some interesting dips were also noted.  The consistency in the downward changes suggests that the 2001 results were likely affected by the data collected from the 121 buildings that completed reports for the first time in 2001. It suggests that these buildings have less involvement and experience in formalizing plans for the acquisition and use of education technology. 

Technology Planning
A school building long-range technology plan, like a district plan, should provide a road map to help the school implement strategies that promote the district’s mission, advance district and school improvement plans, and improve the teaching and learning occurring in the building. Items 1 and 3 asked if buildings had a technology and/or a comprehensive school improvement plan (CSIP). Question 1 also asked who was involved in developing the building technology plan, while question 2 dealt with who was involved in implementing and evaluating the plan.  Question 4 pertained to school partners in supporting technology.

Almost every statistic related to technology planning showed a slight decrease in 2001, yet the overall trends held true. More plans address student learning and staff development. More instructional staff and a greater variety of staff are involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the school building technology plan.

Table 1 indicates the percentage of school buildings that have technology plans and school improvement plans, and the percentage of building plans included in district plans.

Table 1

Table 2 lists the technology components addressed by building technology plans, in rank order. While the percentages are consistently lower this year, the overall ranking of the components hasn’t changed.  In addition to addressing the acquisition of technology, higher rates of technology plans are also addressing student learning and technology staff development.

Table 2

                        Percentage                 Technology Component

83%                 Hardware and Peripherals

82%                 Staff Training

81%                 Computer Software

78%                 Curriculum Integration

73%                 Equipment Maintenance

73%                 Internal Connections

65%                 Review Requirements

48%                 External Connections

47%                 Electrical Wiring / Capacity

   8%                Assistive Technology

Table 3 indicates who was involved in making 2001 technology-related decisions at the building level in terms of technology acquisition and implementation. As mentioned above, while the percentages are lower this year, buildings increasingly involve more instructional staff in decisions related to education technology. A wider representative body is also noted. Early COT data indicated principals and teachers mainly made these decisions, with little or no representation of the student body, parents, or the community.  While principals and teachers remain highly involved in the decision-making, the percentage of buildings that also include the following has doubled since 1998: instructional technology staff, curriculum consultants, and business representatives. Increasing by 50 to 75% are groups that include technology team members, library media specialists, parents, teachers, and principals.

Table 3

                        Percentage                 Representative / Group 

                                    85%                 Principal                                                                                                                                  85%                 Teachers
                                    81%                 Technology Team
                                    75%                 Library Media Specialist
                                    61%                 Parents
                                    51%                 Instructional Technology Contact
                                    32%                 Business Representatives
                                    25%                 Curriculum Staff / Consultants
                                       5%                Students                                 

Item 4 asked about building partnerships with business or higher education that help support district technology initiatives. While the number of buildings that reported having a technology partner in 2001 was only 659 (29%), this is markedly higher than the 6% in 1998.  Table 4 indicates the type and frequency of building partners reported for 2001.

Table 4

                        Partner Type                               Number of Buildings

                        College/University                                418

                        Business – Technology Related         190

                        Business – Other                                136

Technology Professional Development
Nine items on the Building-level COT addressed training issues. Questions addressed the kind and number of staff responsible for staff development, priority training needs for building technical and instructional staff, the kinds and hours of training available to staff, and the technical skills of staff.

Items 5 and 6 asked who is responsible for the technical training and support of building staff and the number of staff available. Table 5 indicates those responsible for technical training, 1998 through 2001. The 2001 data follow the trend of relying more on district staff and less on outside vendors. The average district-level FTE rose from 2.6 in 2000 to over 3 people, while the number of building-level staff dropped slightly, from 1 to .8 of a person.

Table 5

Figure 6 shows the shifts in training priorities for the school building’s faculty. As more staff  become familiar with basic computer operations, an increasing emphasis is being placed on training that addresses how to evaluate Internet information and deliver instruction with instructional technology.

Figure 6

Figure 7 shows a shift in priority training needs for the building’s technical support staff, too.
Training is changing from an emphasis on basic applications to curriculum integration and more advanced LAN applications.

Figure 7

Table 8

Items 10 and 11 asked about teacher technology standards and existing skill levels. The number of buildings requiring technology skills for employment or continued employment rose from 7% in 1998 to 17% in 2001. Overall, the skill levels of principals, teachers, and technology support staff have increased over the past 4 years. Beginner levels for all three groups have decreased. Figure 9 illustrates the increases at the advanced level. Figure 10 shows the percentage of staff at the advanced level combined with those at the intermediate level.

Figure 9

Figure 10

The final training questions asked buildings to indicate the number of training days offered for technology related issues, and whether or not the offerings were expected to increase, decrease, or stay the same the next year. The average number of technology training days indicated in 2001 was 2.8 days, compared to the 3.5 days in 2000 and 1999, and 3 days in 1998.  While in the past over half of the buildings expected an increase in the future number of days being offered in future years, over half of the 2001 respondents expected next year’s training to remain the same.

Hardware and Support

In the Hardware and Support section of the Census of Technology, school buildings provided information for seven different items that ranged from responsibility for school building hardware to types and locations of the technologies available.

Table 11 shows responses to Item 14 about who is responsible for the technical maintenance and/or support of hardware in your school building. Over 90% of buildings rely on district staff.

Table 11

Figure 12 indicates the number of FTE responsible for technical maintenance and support in the building.  While the steady increase in the number is encouraging, averages do not tell how many buildings have little or no support as compared to buildings with great support.

Figure 12

                                                            
Items 6 through 19 and 21 asked buildings to identify the number of computers by type and location, operating systems, and capacity. The total number of computers in the 2253 buildings in March 2001 was 237,115. Of the total number of computers, 86% are located in instructional rooms (classrooms, libraries, and labs), 81% run at Pentium/Pentium equivalent speeds or higher, and 75% of them being PC Compatible machines. [Computers with Pentium speeds is the standard used to identify Internet-capable computers.] In the past four years school buildings have purchased a considerable number of computers. Schools need an ample supply of modern equipment to provide with ready access to software and online information whenever appropriate, and not have to wait for scheduled periods of lab time.

Table 13 indicates the total numbers of computers, percent computers residing in all instructional rooms, percent located in classrooms, percent with Pentium speeds or higher, and percent PC compatible, The number of computers reported in 2001 represents an 80% increase over the 1998 total. With the influx of new computers, the percentage of Internet-capable (high speed) computers has increased from 44% to 85%. Except for the slight drop in 2001, over 90% of building-level computers are located in computer labs, classrooms, and library/media centers. The most encouraging statistic pertains to the increased percentage of computers located in the classroom.

            Table 13

Figure 14 indicates the ratios of students to computer, 1998 - 2001. There has been a steady decline in the numbers of students per computers, overall; per high-speed (Internet-capable) computer; and per Internet-connected computer. The greatest decline relates to Internet-connected computers. More and more buildings and computers are connected to the Internet, due in part by the Technology Network Project and school networking efforts.

Figure 14

Items 18 and 19 indicate that PC-compatible machines represent 80% of all multimedia equipped computers in the building, and that schools continue to project purchasing additional computers in coming years at a steady rate. 

Table 15, derived from Item 21 data, identifies a variety of technologies available in buildings, by type and location.  The table indicates that classrooms lag behind other rooms with respect to telephone and Internet access and complete workstations (Internet-connected computer, printer, and projection device).

Table 15

Item 22 asks schools to report the numbers of a variety of peripheral units/systems located in the 2253 school buildings, 1998-2001.  Table 16 lists these technologies in rank order according to 2001 data.  There is a marked increase for each technology item since 1998, except for the number of satellite receivers reported in 2001. The drop from over 1000 receivers to fewer than 500 likely is a result of significant cut in VIDEO Program funds and the fact that many of the receivers are 7-12 years old and not capable of receiving digital programming.

Table 16