By Terry Moos, News@Cisco

April 12, 2002

Although education is sometimes slow to embrace change, technology-driven assessment tools show how traditional teaching methods can be transformed using a new model - one that combines the best in instructor-led education with tools that enhance students' learning and teachers' effectiveness.

With the Internet and e-learning becoming more prevalent, traditional education is changing. As legislators and educators look at these changes, education reform becomes more important and the value of technology in education comes to the forefront. In fact, President George W. Bush and Congress recently emphasized the need for more accountability in education in the No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law in January 2002.

But can technology improve methods for accountability? Cisco Chairman of the Board John Morgridge believes it can - a view shared by experts from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A leader in establishing and growing the Cisco Networking Academy Program, Morgridge says e-learning especially when using web-based testing can help students, teachers, and schools become more successful. Academy instructors use testing to make prompt assessments of their students' progress, help them work on areas for improvement, and avoid punitive testing whose feedback is often lagging and unhelpful to students. First-rate teachers remain vital to students' education through a blending of on-line resources with high quality instruction in the classroom. The Cisco Networking Academy Program teaches and tests skills and knowledge.

Launched nearly five years ago, the Cisco Networking Academy Program combines traditional education methods with e-learning technology. As schools were getting wired, many of them had difficulty maintaining the equipment and networks. The Networking Academy program grew out of this challenge. Cisco decided to help students learn to design, build and maintain their school's networks and at the same time develop valuable learning opportunities. Cisco brought together top experts in education and technology, and invested more than $120 million in creating and delivering this e-learning program that enhances the way people learn and retain knowledge.

Today, the Networking Academy program provides a comprehensive e-learning program. It delivers Web-based content, online assessment, student performance tracking, hands-on labs, instructor training and support. The curriculum is developed and updated by education and networking experts and is aligned with U.S. national math and science standards and workplace skills. As a result, more than 261,000 students in high schools, colleges and universities, technical schools, community-based organizations, and other non-traditional education settings are learning advanced Internet technology skills, including networking, Unix, Web design, and other IT essentials.

Using technology to enhance not replace traditional testing methods

Personalized learning helps students understand difficult concepts at their own pace and reinforces key elements critical to successful course completion. At the beginning of the course, a pre-assessment provides instructors and students with a benchmark of where they are. At the class level pre-assessment provides the instructor with information about the class as whole, guiding lesson plans, lectures and work group assignments. During the class students can learn as a group in sequence or individually in a self-paced environment.

Internet-based instruction and frequent tests provide immediate feedback to students, their teachers, and administrators about milestones achieved. This immediate online feedback is helpful in directing students to the concepts they didn't master - by providing pointers back to the relevant portions of the curriculum or to supplemental material designed to improve their understanding of key concepts. The supplemental material may be part of the course or linked from other publishers or content providers.

By targeting specific course areas, teachers can analyze results and evaluate students on an individual basis. Analysis of the data collected enables Cisco to modify and enhance the Academy curriculum and assessment items. This ensures a process of feedback, modification, and continuous improvement that keeps the curriculum current, responsive, and relevant to users in the community.

Top educators look to transform education

"The Internet is different from preceding technologies," the NRC report said, "because it facilitates two-way communication. Not only can local Academy students and teachers receive over the Internet exams and new versions of the curriculum; they can also send back to the central Academy team information critical to evaluating the quality of the exams and the curricula. In addition, the Internet markedly increases the ability of teachers and students to search for information that can be useful in solving problems and constructing arguments. In so doing, it reduces the importance of memorizing facts that can be quickly retrieved from on-line sources. It also dramatically increases the importance of learning to search efficiently, to sort through the vast amount of information the web can make available, and to synthesize and make sense of an abundance of information."

E-learning, with hands-on exercises, is a highly effective tool for reaching students, resulting in well-trained workers. At the same time, there will always be a need for well-trained teachers to help students become successful. As Stanford University education professor Linda Darling-Hammond said, "real accountability comes with well designed curriculum, well-prepared teachers, and a system that enables continuous improvement." The Internet is not a replacement for quality teaching or personalized instruction. Rather, it provides a valuable new resource that opens up information, allows individualized learning, and encourages students to think.

One of the beauties of learning is that it is an infinite process. People have the ability to keep learning, continue their educational process, grow and discover new opportunities. Today's economy requires well-educated, trained workers who can contribute to the solution and weather the business highs and lows. That is perhaps where accountability is truly measured.