upper canada college presentation
TRANSCRIPT
Technology in Education
By Dr. John Thurner,
Presented at Upper CanadaTo
Middle School Teachers
November 2004
Overview
Planning
– Why do we plan?
– Education First!
– Technology Initiatives
Why Technology?
Multiple Goals
Stated Goals
– Improve education
– Meet government standards
Unstated Goals
– Jones school has a super network
– Smith School has a zillion computers
– Wonder school has cable modems
Pressure from:
Parents
Board members
Students
Legislatures
Technology vendors
Technology
will save the world!
Build it and they will come!
Without technology we will be behind!
Some Real Questions:
What are the benefits that technology can bring to
education?
How can technology enhance what we are doing in the
classroom?
What skills do our students really need to be effective
learners in the colleges of the 21st century?
What technology skills will our students need to be
effective citizens of the 21st century?
Create a Plan – any plan
E-Mail to national Listserv:
“ My state is giving away money for
technology, but I need to have a plan. I
know what hardware I need, but they want
some educational goals. Can anyone help
me? ”
Goals must come first!!
Technology Vision
Do you have a clear vision of technology in
your classroom?
Thoughts?
Technology Vision
Does it look like this?
– Apple G5 with a 17” flat panel monitor
– Intel® Xeon® Processor with EM64T Technology
– 21” Sony monitor with living sound
– Special gray mouse with 3 neat little buttons
Technology Vision
What’s your vision of an ideal husband or
wife?
Technology Vision
What’s your vision of an ideal husband or
wife?
Technology Vision
Not Hardware!
Focus on what you know - Education
Establish a vision of better education
Then find technology that can promote the
vision
Summary I
Planning is important
Education First
Clearly understand what you are teaching
and think of ways that technology can help
How to: The Design Structure
David Perkins’ “Knowledge As Design”
– Purpose - Make sure your educational goals are clear
– Structure - work to ensure that each component of your initiative is
linked to the purpose
– Arguments - clearly link each part of the design to the purpose
using what you know about good education
– Models - where possible, give examples of what you are proposing
to do
The technology initiative
“A technology application focused on specific goals or objectives and justified by current understanding of good educational practice.”
– coined by Cindy Dunlap of CELT
What educational goals will be met?
What are you doing and why will it help you meet your goals?
Purposes
Enhance Education
Technology Competencies
What about
Technology Competencies?
Identify technology competencies
Where Possible teach competencies via
subject areas – rather than computer classes
Monitor Competencies
Possible areas
for enhancement
Teaching for Understanding
Generative learning environments
Group Learning
Using technology to scaffold – support
greater understanding
Provide tools for students to take control of
their learning
Where
do you start planning?
Existing Goals and objectives
– Accreditation documents
– IB Curriculum
– Department Summaries
– Curricular Guides
– Technology Plan?
Elementary school example
GRADE TOPICS OBJECTIVES TECH COMPS APPLICATIONS
Letter
Recognition
Sound/Symbol
Relationship
Vocabulary
Development
Writing
Use letters/pictures
to communicate a
message
Begin entering
letters from the
keyboard
Generic
Word
Specific
Kid Pix
K
Elementary school example
Grade Topic Objectives
Technology
Competencies Applications
5Literary analysisPoetry
OceanographyHuman BodyData collection
TessellationsMixed fractionsPer CentMultiplication and divisionNegative numbers
ExplorersColonizationAmerican RevolutionWestward MovementImmigration
Read for pleasure andinformation
Communicate throughwriting
ObserveExperimentInterpretConclude
Problem-solving usingmathematicalknowldege
To understandinfluences on thedevelopment of theUnited States
Select hardware andsoftware appropriate to thetask
Understand basic operationof a modem (withassistance)
GenericWord (K-5)Spreadsheet (4-5)SpecificTabletop MathA.D.A.M. the Life StoryWidget WorkshopReal World MathGreat Ocean RescueReferenceCD-ROMInternetWhaleNetCountry searches
Elementary school example
Technology competencies by grade
– Technology Competencies can be scoped and
sequenced by grade level
– Generally, if you use technology in classrooms, it is
only necessary to monitor the competencies. You don’t
have to constantly measure.
Generic vs Specific Applications
– Generic Applications are a little more expensive at first
– Specific Applications can get very expensive
How will technology
change what you are doing ?
Two Common Challenges
Chinese Menu
Where’s the baby?
Chinese Menu Problem
Often asking for vision is difficult
People don’t know what they want
It’s like asking someone to order a meal on
their first visit to a Chinese restaurant
Find experts, peers, explore Internet
Go to conferences, build communication
channels
Where’s the Baby?
Do not throw out the baby with the bath
water!
Technology changes the nature of your
classroom
Study skills, nature of classroom, classroom
management are all changed.
Planning strategies
Top Down?
Bottom Up?
Top Down Planning/Bottom Up
Implementation?
Champions?
Rain Forest?
The Rain Forest
Sometimes it is hard to force change. But,
if you provide sunlight, fertile soil, enough
water and fertilizer, and sprinkle seeds
liberally, soon things will grow.
The growth can be unpredictable.
Eventually a canopy will begin to form and
wonderful things can happen.
Important Considerations
Process is important
– If some teachers participate in planning – they might implement
Educational Links help fundraising
– Share your plans
– Parents and funders have seen a lot of wasted money
– If you tell them what you are doing and why, they are more willing to support
Summary II
The design model
Technology Initiatives
Don’t lose the baby
Chinese Menu
Rain Forest
Modern Language example
Carl Hobert, Language teacher, asked himself
three questions:
– Why integrate Technology into my Curriculum?
– How do I integrate content and technology?
– Has this integration achieved tangible educational
goals?
(Note: Carl Hobert is now founder and director
of Axis of Hope at Boston University)
Why did Carl integrate
technology into his curriculum?
Language
– Intensive writing practice in target language
with native speakers
– Accommodate a variety of learning styles in the
same classroom
– Tailor language materials to meet student needs
Why did Carl integrate
technology into his curriculum?
Culture– Re-create real-life situations which represent
other cultures
– Motivate students to travel overseas, immersing
themselves in culture
– Make connections with other disciplines
Purpose/Goals:– Extensive writing practice
– Reinforce and expand cultural understanding
– Document year-long correspondence in each country
– Move toward student vacation exchange program
Modern Language Initiative I:
Intercultural E-mail Experiment
Technology Initiative I:
Intercultural E-mail Experiment
Themes of correspondence include:
• Personal Introductions
• US- France Educational differences
• Politics
• The Arts
• The Winter Olympics
Spring vacation Belmont Hill visit to Lycée Louis-le-Grand (March 23)!
Technology Initiative II:
Student Technology Projects
Objectives:
• Develop authentic-language research capabilities
• Evaluate Internet resources in target languages
• Students create projects in French, Spanish and Mandarin-Chinese
• Students present findings to classmates
• Presentations evaluated by instructor and peers
• The best advance to language technology fair
Student Technology Projects
Virtual Travel (Level 1)
History (Level 2)
Art History (Level 3)
Architectural History (Level 4)
Literature (Level 5AP)
Student Technology Projects
Virtual Ancient Rome [Classics]
Original Document Research [History]
NASA [Science]
England Poet Correspondence [English]
E-mail World Experts [Math AP]
y Buñol
Un proyecto de tecnología de Roland Eavey
Valencia y Buñol está aquí
Valencia está en una de los regiones más grandes de España
la bandera
de Valencia
La ciudad de Valencia
Las ruinas del Castillo de los moros
La Fiesta de los moros y los católicos
Las ruinas del teatro viejo
What can a Modern Language teacher
do to institute change? An Action Statement
Attend Professional Conferences
Seek assistance
Develop an Email address book
Buy a book about the Internet
Surf the Net
Visit other schools’ computer facilities and language labs
Did this Technology Initiative achieve
tangible educational goals?
Yes it did!
The “Rain Forest” has not always been
green . . .
Technology support and perseverance are
needed
But you be the judge!
Walking with Grandfather
Walking with Grandfather, winner Gold Apple Award (National Educational Film Festival), a PBS television show, is an example of a technology initiative. It is a videotape of an elder Navajo using teaching tales to educate young Native Americans. The video part was new. The educational initiative has been around nearly 10,000 years. If we are going to enhance or replace something that has worked for a long time, we had better be sure we know why.
Other Initiatives
English Classes
– Process writing
– Interactive Grammar tutorials
Science
– Real data measurement and analysis
– Digital microscopes
– Online textbooks
Other Initiatives
History
– Internet Research
– maps
Art
– Digital Photography
– Web Design/Layout
Classics
– Virtual Cities
Other Initiatives
Athletics
– Video
– Spreadsheets
– Web Pages
Multimedia Literacy
Multimedia literacy
Documenting your world
Happy and Sad times
– Crew video
– Colgate Video
The Tragic Opportunity
Sometime, when the stars are in alignment
and things are going well, a moment in time
will occur that produces an opportunity to do
something important.
On November 11 of the year 2000 such a
moment in time occurred.
The Tragic Opportunity
On that night, in a small college town, there
was a tragedy. Four Colgate Students died.
This was my home town, just rated the 11th
friendliest town in the United States by Forbes
magazine.
The Tragic Opportunity
If students become proficient at using
multimedia tools to document their world,
when tragedy strikes, the artistic effort can
help to heal.
A few weeks after the tragedy, my sons (6 &
13 at the time) were shocked by the event
when we visited their grandparents for the
Thanksgiving holiday.
The Tragic Opportunity
The boys produced the following movie to
express their emotions and provide a graphic
representation of the event to warn their
classmates of the dangers of mixing alcohol
and driving.
When the movie was shown to 430 boys,
grades 7-12 in a chapel, there was silence at
the end when the Mothers Against Drunk
Driving ribbon was blowing on the screen!
The Tragic Opportunity
We see multimedia used to provide powerful
messages by marketing giants, politicians, and
entertainers.
When our students to harness this power
themselves, if only for a brief moment, they
are empowered to take charge of their own
lives.
Judge for yourselves:
Some Resources
Math Applets Polygon applet
TERC is a nonprofit research and development
organization committed to improving mathematics and
science learning and teaching.
United States Governement Educational Reference
Project Zero Site-teaching for understanding.
What Will The Future Bring?
Famous Last Words
Customer Service
Contact Information
John Thurner, Ed.D.
– JKT-Consulting
– (339) 221-0502
Carl Hobert
– Axis of Hope