Saturday, January 22, 2005

Why technology?

Such a basic question, but a really important one, especially in these times of fiscal responsibility. What are we getting for our buck, and why should we continue supporting its use in schools. I think there are three reasons…

(1) Technology is used to support learning. Whether its a spreadsheet to analyze data, a videoconference to connect to the outside world, PowerPoint or iMovie to assemble a presentation, technology can be used effectively to allow users to manipulate information in new and creative ways in the classroom.

(2) Technology can be a force in school change. Technology can be most powerful when viewed in conjunction with moving from a lecture-based classroom to one that is more constructivist in nature. Students have more control over their learning, making it more flexible, engaging, and challenging.

(3) It’s a technological world. Our students need to gain far more in school than mastery in the core content areas. Their future jobs will require them to collaborate, debate, compromise and solve problems creatively, often times using technology.

Technology has been the embodiment of much social and economic change in our society during the last century, but particularly in the last decade. Our schools really must keep up with this change or become irrelevant in the lives of our children.

Posted by Randy on 01/22 at 11:24 PM
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Friday, January 21, 2005

Student E-mail

One of the unique things that technology can provide is the ability to collaborate with others outside of the classroom. Prior to the Internet and email, connections with other communities of learners - historians, scientists, artists and the like, were very limited. If we want to take advantage of this unique oportunity for our students to interface with experts we need to provide the means to do that. Email is a start.

In my particular situation, I can’t say I know of anyone who has students in contact with an expert outside of the classroom. Why? I suspect because it just isn’t convenient, or easy. How can we expect students to be involved in this sort of dialogue if we are not providing the tools, such as email?

Naysayers bring up the issues of security - How can we control what students write? Does email open up an area that can lead to management difficulties? I’m not sure. I don’t know if the concerns are real. Or are the warnings just a way to put off the extra set up time and management that student email accounts would require. A few months back, I did an informal survey of some schools in the area. It was pretty evenly split - those who give students email and those who do not. I wonder what sort of issues those that have student email encounter. I wonder what they see as the benefits to the students. This may be an area worth pursuing, especially if we are serious about changing the focus of learning where students communicate with experts and have access to this type of authentic information.

Posted by Randy on 01/21 at 08:09 AM
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Thursday, January 20, 2005

Change

In The New Meaning of Educational Change, change expert Michael Fullan: “Educational change depends on what teachers do and think—it’s as simple and as complex as that.”

Fullan goes on to describe three components in implementing any new program or policy: new revised materials; new teaching approaches; alteration of beliefs. The end goal is for teachers to change their beliefs about what a classroom should look like and how it should operate effectively. It is important to address each of these areas, providing appropriate access to technology, as well as professional development that addresses how to use the technology effectively in teaching practice. As the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) study discovered, “Technology in and of itself will not change education; what matters is how it is used.” If professional development is effective, teachers observe and think about new and effective ways of delivering instruction, thereby increasing the chances that their own teaching changes to model those new methods, in this case, using the new materials of technology.

Professional development is key!

Posted by Randy on 01/20 at 10:25 PM
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