Chapter 8 Technology: How Is It Changing Our Schools?

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Chapter 8Technology: How Is It Changing Our Schools?


How Is Technology Transforming Today’s Schools – Or At Least Some of Them?

• By 1999, 95% of schools had computer and Internet access

• Many students have grown up with technology and expect education to be fast-paced and well-connected to the larger world

• Technology presents teachers with new and, sometimes, challenging ways to think about education




• New Tech high schools – Utilize project-based, group learning with a

technological focus to generate discussion and problem-solving skills

– Teachers become coaches rather than traditional instructors

– One model of an entire school– and structure of schooling—transformed by technology


Join the Dialogue

• Design your ideal school of the future. What will be the place of technology? What limitations will be placed on technology? What will be the place of teachers? Of textbooks? Of students?



• WebQuest– Bernie Dodge created WebQuest– a method

for doing significant student-led research using the World Wide Web

– The focus of learning moves from teacher talk to greater, direct activity on the part of the students

• Teachers lead class by defining specific research problems, goals, and reliable resources



• Many educators debate the effectiveness of technology in classrooms– Advocates claim that with a technology-

based approached, many students become more confident and active learners

– Detractors worry that technology-based learning can divert students and teachers from substantive learning to fascination with the technology itself


Are We On the Edge of a Wonderful New Era or Is There a Downside to All This Technology?

• Seymour Papert: Advocate extraordinaire– “Children have entered a passionate and

enduring love affair with the computer”• Teachers need to use this to their advantage

– The possibilities of computer use are barely explored in many classrooms

• New technology has the previously unimagined ability to make students more active and engaged learners




• Neil Postman: Dissenter– Computer-based technology is negatively

undermining our conception of learning and education

– The very culture into which a new technology has been embedded becomes a different culture

• Examples from impact of television and printing press



• Larry Cuban: A word of caution – Many educators may be overestimating the

impact of technology and the changes it will bring into the classroom

• Example of Edison touting the motion picture as revolutionizing the education system

– Many education reformers may misuse technology to temporarily solve school problems



What Is the Digital Divide and How Does It Affect My Teaching?

• Digital divide: Disconnect that occurs between those with access to technology and those without

• Differences occur both in the availability of resources but also the way in which the computers are used in school


What Is the Digital Divide and How Does It Affect My Teaching?• 2003 NCES Report found:

– 70.7% of public high school students used a computer at home

– Results disaggregated by race:• 81.4% of European American students used a

computer at home• 44.2% of African American students used a

computer at home• 49.1% of Latino students used a computer at

home


What Is the Digital Divide and How Does It Affect My Teaching? • Public schools are working to bridge this

divide. 88% of students reported using computers at school– Results disaggregated by race:

• 89.2% of European American students used computers in the classroom

• 89.0% of African American students used computers in the classroom

• 83.8% of Latino students used computers in the classroom


What Is the Digital Divide and How Does It Affect My Teaching? • How is technology used in schools?

– European American students more frequently use computers for self-directed and engaging simulations

– African American students more frequently use computers for drills and practice

– Boys often take to computers more quickly than girls because of early interaction with computers games

• Computer games are often more violent, gender-biased, and do not cater to girls’ interests


What About Me?

• How old were you when you first used a computer?

• Was it at home or school (or elsewhere)? • Did you have computers in your

classroom and/or in a computer lab? • How did your school use technology?



How Can I Use Technology to Improve My Teaching? • Solomon and Schrum’s six steps that

educators need to take to harness technology for learning: – 1. Teachers must recognize that the Web

provides ways to address standards and acquire information that students need

– 2. Teachers must recognize that many free, high-quality resources are available online

– 3. Teachers must invest in professional technology development


How Can I Use Technology to Improve My Teaching?• Solomon and Schrum’s six steps, cont.

– 4. Teachers have to link Web-based activities with standards-based curricula and topics needed for tests

– 5. Future educators need to be prepared to integrate technology as easily as previous teachers used textbooks and chalkboards

– 6. Teachers must involve parents and community members in understanding the value of using Web-based activities for learning


Reading: “New Tech High: Education Reform Comes to Indiana Classrooms” by Matt L. Ottinger• New Tech High originated in Napa,

California in 1996 to prepare students for technology-based jobs– Introduced in Indiana in November 2005

• The New Tech model – Focuses on project-based, group learning

assignments– Aims to make school more interesting for

students while bridging the digital divide


Reading: “Meet Bernie Dodge—The Frank Lloyd Wright of Learning Environments!” by Linda Starr• WebQuest concept combined Dodge’s

backgrounds in engineering and teaching• A WebQuest project is “built around an

engaging and doable task that elicits higher order thinking of some kind” – Attempts to mimic real-world job projects

• Teachers using WebQuests will need both technical and pedagogical skills– Ability to create Web pages and find information

online – Ability to craft an engaging assignment


Reading: “Networking Teachers Coaxing Colleagues to Use Technology” by Kathleen Kennedy Manzo• Discovery Educator’s Network (DEN)

aims to expand the use of technology in education by: – Offering professional development

opportunities• Live and online conferences

– Technologically experienced teachers show other teachers how to incorporate these tools into their classrooms

– Creating professional networking outlets for teachers

Documents

Chapter 8 Technology: How Is It Changing Our Schools?