“Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.” Pablo Picasso
"You Can Always Look It Up — Or Can You?" E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
"To me that is the biggest challenge the educational system faces in the next few years. Schools are not dealing with the way teenagers learn. They are taught by people that grew up and finished their education before the internet era. Lots of teachers still lack the skills to teach current teenagers in the way they are familiar with and can understand. Loads of information is coming to them via the internet and everything they do is through the screen: the learning, the reading, downloading and listening to music, writing, designing and most importantly: communicating with the world. And if everything teenagers do is through the screen, why then is there so little taught through the screen??? It's time for a change, it's time to blog!......." Elmine Wijnia
Personal Philosophy Statement
on Instructional Technology
"What our students understand (and that we, as teachers, seem blind to) is that the very nature of information has changed. It's changed in what it looks like, what we look at to view it, where we find it, what we can do with it, and how we communicate it. We live in a brand new, and dynamically rich information environment, and if we are going to reach our students in a way that is relevant to their world and their future (and ours), then we must teach them from this new information environment."
David Warlick
In 1800, the year the first battery was invented, a new era in technology began—the modern era—one where humanity started using and controlling electricity. Through the lens of technology, we can see first-hand the explosion of knowledge in the last two centuries and the exponential increase of that knowledge. What is technology? Simply put, it is tools that enhance our abilities to do things, and the knowledge we, as a civilization, has acquired to create those tools. It is the application of science to our everyday lives.
Technological advances in the classroom are not exempt from this invention explosion, though it has moved more slowly. From the blackboards of 1801 to whiteboards to SMART boards, advances are becoming commonplace in classrooms across the country. On their website, presentationstore.com, Orin Knopp, President of PPI Inc. writes, "You can't take a child who is used to living in a multimedia environment, doing homework with the television, MP3 player and instant messaging all going on at the same time and put them in a classroom with 18th Century, Blackboard, technology and expect to hold their interest."
Some think that technology is 'merely' a tool, and others believe that it will radically alter the learning process and structure. Reality, no doubt, is somewhere in between. Personally speaking, I believe that technology in the classroom is a positive development for students, teachers and administrators alike. But we are in a transitional stage moving towards greater adaptation and integration of modern technologies across the curriculum. From schools with little or no technology, to schools with laptops for every student, adoption of technology varies widely. One or two computers in a classroom, with or without Internet access, is still typical in many locales, but so are SMART boards, graphic calculators, and LCD projectors.
Integrating technology in schools is an important initiative. Why? – because it is part of our culture and way of life. Imagine a business operating without computers, trying to keep track of customer orders and inventory, or any organization keeping track of revenues and expenses without electronic equipment. It’s unheard of, because these tools are just too productive to ignore. In fact, many traditional organizations have been able to grow and prosper in ways they could never have in the past because of technological advances. We can't ignore technology, and, in my opinion, it can, and does make a significant contribution to the way we teach, and the way students learn.
These technologies give us new ways to engage students in learning. Presentation tools are no longer static; I have an LCD projector connected to my computer. Using this, I can provide group instruction with real time demonstrations, display Internet content, and immediately have access to other materials on the school server, or the Internet as needs dictate. Interactive white boards are a huge success, and graphing calculators give students instant feedback and perspective to see how problems are related and solved. I also have control and management software installed in my classroom. I can record demonstrations quickly and students who need or want to review the demonstration can go to the videotape, giving me more time to spend with individuals. This software package, NETOps, lets me tailor student Internet and computer experiences to stay on-target with the lesson. From my workstation, I can monitor student’s computer desktops, project them to share with the class, switch control of the computer between me and the student, have students demonstrate tasks to the entire classroom from their workstations, and send instant messages. It’s also a real time-saver; it lets me log on or off any student workstation, and even shut them down from my desk.
Change – it’s all around us – and it’s time for educational institutions to extend these technologies to the classroom. The costs have dropped, the technologies are pervasive. Our students need to understand what they do, how and when they are used, and be able to understand and analyze their impact on society. As portability and connectivity improves, computing and Internet resources will become more ubiquitous and useful in the classroom. Consider these options: with the Internet I have easy access to all subject materials, multiple instructional and assessment resources. Indeed, it has been an invaluable resource for curriculum and lesson planning. Entire course curriculums, lesson plans, and tools to create instructional plans and rubrics are available online. I can plan online field trips for my classes to museums and locales all over the world. My students can create and pursue webquests and blogs, web pages, videos, Internet radio broadcasts, electronic portfolios, creative publications and presentations, research and use primary sources, find real-time scientific data, get instant feedback, share research findings and observations, and contribute to interactive writing projects. These are just a few ways web-based technology can be used in today’s classrooms.
As a teacher, I constantly strive to bring quality instruction to a very diverse population. With computing help, it is much easier for me to do that. Software, hardware and connectivity improvements that allow greater flexibility and adaptive technology options for TAG, IEP, and ESL students are more widely available. Students, who have trouble reading, can use text-to-speech software, and download video and audio files to assist them; digital translation tools are available for ESL students; gifted students have an accessible outlet to go beyond the standard curriculum. The possibilities are ever-expanding.
For a technology to be fully embraced by the schools, it must first provide an instructional advantage. Clearly, many of these new tools do just that. Students can quickly use the Internet to explore and study information well beyond the scope of traditional books, and access current and real-time data. Studies can be individualized and adapted to integrate learning styles, and supplement all areas of knowledge.
Technology can better enable teachers to be more of a facilitator and less of an expert, guiding and coaching students. The structure of the classroom could be dramatically altered. With access to global networking technology, students can learn from anywhere that is ‘plugged’ in. The digitization of information makes it flexible, more accessible and customizable. If a student needs more clarification, the click of a mouse can bring it right to the desk. Questions, comments, discussion threads, video clips, can all be linked to learning sources. In areas of assessment, computerization enables instant feedback and monitoring. Many tests are already scored this way, and progress reports can be automatically generated. I don’t have to get copies of everything for my students. I can upload any number and type documents onto the local network for them to use. Indeed, I already do that in my technology classes. If students had access in all their classes, more materials can be made available that way. Even without Internet access, Intranet capabilities make that feasible. Adoption of these methodologies will expand. In areas of curriculum, instruction and assessment, technology is already having an important, and positive, impact.
The transformation induced by the information age is still in its early stages. For fuller implementation, technology must be readily affordable, networked, and portable. If it is expensive and difficult to maneuver, like many computers, its impact is limited. These limitations are evaporating. The global scope of the Internet, greater implementation of the World Wide Web by society, miniaturization and integration of communication and computing devices, will continue to expand educational horizons. As more portable devices are developed, and time goes on, the associated cost falls. Inexpensive, task-oriented word processing and note-taking tablets are already available.
Inexpensive, and capacious, storage devices will proliferate, going beyond today’s flash drive with limited file storage. These technologies can enable a host of new applications. Imagine that students could have a portable hard drive that plugs into a “smart desk” at school and is easily transported to home, or elsewhere, connecting via a USB-type port into a variety of devices. These digital consoles would provide input and output devices, and embedded microprocessors. The school’s “student education” console would immediately recognize the user, enable appropriate software applications and resource connectively once the student connected their drive.
This scenario is not that far-fetched. Personally, I recently acquired an external, portable, 40 gigabyte hard drive that is 4 x 2.5 x .5 inches and very lightweight. It could be a very seamless operation to link my device to functional consoles, in the same way a laptop user might use a docking station. In a school environment, educators would open access to relevant programs, data and files for students to use in class. The system would be networked to teacher and administrator consoles. These controlling consoles would enable educators to set up the student workspace, lock-out inappropriate resources to help keep students on-task, and better enable differentiated learning tools. Many attendance, grading, monitoring and reporting functions would operate automatically.
Indeed, technology has the potential to significantly alter school practices. To use technology solely to re-enact traditional practices is antiquated and a poor use of resources. Curriculum goals, materials, assessment and communication policies, together with teacher development, will continue to shift as the Information Age continues. The transformation has just begun.
Organization for Educational Technology and Curriculum (OETC). Instructional Technology Best Practices.Drew Hinds: author. [Online] July, 2006 at http://www.oetc.org/bestpractices.html
