Computer technology has become more and more important to Californians over the past decade, but their role in schools has been largely unknown.
In a recent nationwide survey regarding schools’ use of technology and to gauge readiness for new online assessments, 42 percent of California schools took part in answering questions on what kinds of computers, internet and technical training were being provided to students and administrators.
In a California Department of Education press release, State Schools Superintendent Tom Torlakson said that more schools participating would give the state much better data to assess their use of technology.
"We know our schools already face enormous day-to-day challenges—but we also need to understand what issues they face as we move to online testing over the next few years," Torlakson said. "That’s why we need the broadest participation possible in this survey, so that we provide as much assistance as possible to schools as they make the transition to 21st century testing."
The test, called the Technology Readiness Tool, asked school administrators about the type, display size, and screen resolution of the school computers, as well as the Internet bandwidth. The test also asked whether they had concerns on the level of technical training and understanding of the school administrators.
However, the low response rate, the unaudited and voluntary nature of the test, and the fact that schools frequently change technology means that the state will most likely not use this test to draw conclusions, but to establish a starting baseline for the surveys as they continue through 2014.
The survey did reveal that 75.5 percent of schools have computers with memory capacity of 1 gigabyte or greater, and that 48.1 percent of schools use a wireless Internet connection.
