[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 96 (Thursday, July 1, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1492-E1493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION EXTENSION ASSISTANCE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. BARCIA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 1, 1999

  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce, along with my 
friend from Oregon, Mr. Wu, the Educational Technology Utilization 
Extension Assistance Act. This bill directs the National Science 
Foundation to work with the Department of Education and the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology to create educational technology 
extension centers based at undergraduate institutions. The focus of 
these centers is to advise and assist local K-12 schools to better 
utilize and integrate their existing ed-tech infrastructure into their 
curriculum and classroom.
  During my tenure in Congress, much attention has been given to the 
subject of computers in the classroom and wiring schools for the 
Internet. These initiatives are often viewed as a panacea for improving 
test scores, and millions of dollars have been invested in these 
technologies. Missing from this strategy is any useful, long-term 
advice on how to best integrate ed-tech into the educational process. 
In fact, one of the last reports produced by the excellent staff of OTA 
highlighted the problem of teachers not being effectively trained on 
how to best use these technologies in the classroom. The same report 
pointed out that local school officials were often unaware of the 
substantial infrastructure and operational costs associated with 
deploying and maintaining these educational technologies.
  These findings were echoed by a February 1999 Department of Education 
report, ``Teacher Quality: A Report on the Preparation and 
Qualification of Public School Teachers.'' The Department of Education 
found that only 1 in 5 teachers felt well-prepared to work in a modern 
classroom. In addition, the most common form of professional 
development for K-12 teachers are 1-day workshops which have little 
relevance to classroom activities. Consequently, the full potential of 
ed-tech has never been fully realized.
  The Educational Technology Utilization Assistance Act is an attempt 
to rectify this gap in the educational infrastructure. This bill does 
not create a new top-down Federal program, but rather it allows local 
extension centers to assist local primary schools to better integrate 
educational technologies into their curriculum. Of course this concept 
is not new. In fact, it is based on the highly successful Agricultural 
Extension Service and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Both of 
these programs are model public/private partnerships that use specific 
solutions to solve unique problems as they are found in the field and 
rejects the ``one

[[Page E1493]]

size fits all'' approach that is so often associated with federal 
government programs.
  It is my hope that using the extension model, educational technology 
centers would represent a public-private partnership with the 
participation of universities, the private sector, state and local 
governments, and the federal agencies. In this spirit of partnership, 
the federal share of funding would be limited to 50 percent, thereby 
ensuring that all stakeholders would have a financial incentive to 
making the ETU Centers successful.
  Once an ETU Center is established, it will be able to tailor its 
activities to local needs, and, more importantly, to share ETU Center 
expertise and experience with local schools. For example, activities 
may include teacher training for new technologies, or integrating the 
school's existing technology infrastructure into their curriculum; 
advising teachers, administrators and school boards on criteria for 
acquisition, utilization, and support of educational technologies; and 
advising K-12 schools on the skills required by local industry.
  Given our rapidly changing economy, it is vital that both teachers 
and students not only be comfortable with the leading technologies of 
today, but also receive periodic training to ensure their ability to 
teach the next generation of technologies. I am confident this 
legislation will accomplish both of these important goals, as well as 
help students develop those skills in demand by industries increasingly 
reliant on technology.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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