Day 11: Evaluating the Impact of Technology on Teaching and Learning

Truly incorporating technology into the classroom means more than buying computer equipment. As teachers, we must be willing to change the way we teach. Lead, Don't Lecture advocates teaching by coaching as opposed to pouring information into students. One of the teachers interviewed pointed out that, “You learn best when you make sense and make your own meaning. So, I try to give my students experiences.” I agree with her constructivist point of view. I try to give my students as many hands-on opportunities as possible. However, as the article notes, “too much testing doesn't leave much time for being a good coach.” But, nothing says that you have to give up whole-class instruction. Sometimes this is necessary, especially when introducing new concepts.
Tips for changing the way we teach are given in Transforming Learning with Technology. Connecting learning to real-world practice is one of the best ways to use technology. Technology can be used to focus attention as we utilize it in student projects. Finding a way to connect technology to work opportunities and/or vocational training programs is a great way to utilize computers in high school classrooms.
But, what if you don’t have the knowledge needed to use the technology yourself? Then How Do Teachers Become Tech Wizards?, is a great article to start. When I reviewed what separates the tech wizards from the other techies? , I found that I fit all three characteristics: being open to new ideas, having problem solving skills, and having determination. But, guess what? I realized that to be a good teacher of anything, you need to have these characteristics. We just need to remember to use them when dealing with technology.
The scenarios seen in Making Good Change are common in many schools. “Not much has changed,” is the lament after spending many dollars on tech equipment. The typical teacher only dabbles in technology use; he/she views it as an extra. I must admit that with all my tech training, I still find myself falling back to basics sometimes. But, it order to see true change, we must follow the principles of implementing good change: (1) focus on something that is likely to win broad acceptance, in other words, on something that you can sell. (2) cultivate those who will be the ones to implement those change, i.e. the teachers. (3) deploy resources strategically, in other words, give to those who will use them. (4) keep in mind that teachers will have to give up the “daily press” of teaching.

Day 10: Evaluating Web Sites AND Standards

Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask and Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools both offer valuable tutorials on checking the validity of a web source. I already use some of these techniques such as googling the author. But, this was the first time that I heard of using alexa.com to check for other links. Both of these evaluation sites would be good instructional tools for use with my students. Many of them think that because something is on the web, it must be true. I would like to use these with one of the pages that I know is untrustworthy, perhaps the “tree cow” example that we discussed in class.

Like the author of Implementing the Standards into Projects, I too like to pull out my standards before planning any new unit. I have a binder at school and a copy on my desktop for home use. Frankly, it is the only way I know how to lesson plan. It keeps me focused on my end goal so that my projects don’t go off on a tangent. With so much to cover before AIMS each year, I can’t afford to go off on tangents.

Day 9: Building Global Learning Communities AND School Web Sites

Like the author of Seymour Paper on Project-Based Learning, I am a firm believer in Project-Based Learning. However, as he points out in his paper, it is very hard to use project-based learning and know that, in the end, the students will be assessed with straight fact multiple-choice tests. There is a disconnect between the two things that can be very confusing to the students who understand the material but maybe don’t know memorize well or remember it in exactly those words. And yet, I still use the PBL when possible because of it jumpstarts the motivation of all students (especially those who don’t memorize well). And self-motivation is the key to successful learning.

Designing School Web Sites to Deliver suggests reasons why a school should have a website. One of those is that parents now “shop” for schools online much like they shop for other items. As we compete, even within school districts, for increased student numbers, the ability to market ourselves is becoming more critical. An Internet Tour of Your School is one more way to allow parents and students to buy in to attending your school. And by allowing students to create the tour, perhaps as a lesson, you are merging two purposes, marketing and education.
Although How to Plan Your School's Web Site was geared towards private schools trying to sell themselves, webpage creators at the public schools could gain some valuable tips from this site as well. All web pages should be audience-centered, filled with relevant content (less fluff), and easy to navigate.

Day 8: Equity Issues

Although Caught in the Digital Divide is eight years old, the point that it makes about the widening gap between those who have access to technology and those who do not it. I agree with the suggestion that attitude has as much to do with the divide as economics. It’s about ignorance. As educators, we can change that from the bottom up. By utilizing technology in our lessons and showing the value to our students, they will grow up with a positive attitude toward technology. The initiative discussed in Community Technology Centers: A National Movement to Close the Digital Divide can help to bridge the economic barrier to technology; educators need to bridge the attitude barrier. We need to provide meaningful opportunities for students to use technology.

Day 7: Information Literacy

The days of simply opening up an encyclopedia and copying down what you found are over. With the wide range of material to choose from on the Internet, we must now teach our children how to locate, evaluate, and use that information. Teaching Information Literacy: Tips and Resources and Media Literacy both provide strategies on how teachers can do that.
The first article offers specific tips and links. One of the most valuable for me was the link to QUICK. This would make a good tool for teaching how to evaluate a website. Although it is purportedly designed for ages 5-7, the language (words like relevant and bias) suggests that this site would be appropriate for intermediate grades as well.

The multimedia lesson offered in Media Literacy is a classic, student-centered activity. By creating their own multimedia project, they can gain some insight into what the message behind the media can be.

Building Information Literacy: Strategies for Developing Informed Decision Makers and Independent Lifelong Learners continues the theme that we need to shift our way of thinking about education. We have evolved from an industrial, product-based society to one that focuses information. Since this information comes in a variety of forms, not just print, we must teach our students how to access all media and use it properly.

Day 6: The Internet: Surfing Safety

Unfortunately, as with many advances in inventions, people frequently find a way to pervert a good thing. In this instance, the good thing is the simplicity of searching the Web. Predators have found it easy to locate victims in cyber space. As a result, we must now teach our children how to be safe online just as we would teach them how to be safe on the streets. Safe Passage: Teaching Kids to be Safe and Responsible Online provided a portal to an interesting link, Jo Cool or Jo Fool, which allows 12-14-year-olds to test their surfing skills. It will be on my links list for the beginning of the school year. Child Safety on the Information Highway provides good guidelines for parents on how to monitor their child’s online use. However, I would also temper that with an article on the benefits of the Internet. Otherwise, some parental reactions might be to deny computer access altogether.

Day 5: Technology Transforming Education

Rearrange the Desks: Move the chairs to open their minds – I agree that seating can directly affect the mood of a classroom. Whenever I teach with the whiteboard at the side of the classroom, I encourage students to move to closer empty seats or even the floor while they take notes. Some students move just so they can sit on the floor. This eases the formality of a lesson and increases the flow of class conversations.

Big Ideas for Better Schools – The ideas mentioned in this article are great in theory. But as always, implementing them is usually where the bottleneck appears. As individual teachers, we have the power to apply the first seven suggestions. In fact, that belief is what brought me to this Master’s program in the first place. However, in order to put into practice the last four suggestions involving school and community, we must convince others of the value. Sometimes, that is not so easy. Getting the money and support from school board members, legislators, and even parents to implement calendar and/or construction changes can be difficult in a climate where education spending is not always the highest priority.

Counting on Computers shows how one school district in Chicago has overcome some of those money and support barriers. However, the article is almost ten years; I’d be curious to see how far the technology acquisition has come. This article is a nice segue into The Next Step, which deals with what we should do now that we have all those computers. The author deals with five key elements: vision, planning, faculty development, support, and assessment. I especially like the suggestion of a planning committee who are more concerned with a process than a finite plan. It reflects the flexibility of technology itself. The table showing time needed for teacher proficiency mirrors what I have found in my own experiences. Much of my own technology learning (until now) has been self-taught. In this time of instant technology, instant proficiency is also expected. As with any other tool, teachers need time to use technology and adapt their teaching to it.

Day 4: Web Quests AND Copyright and Ethics Issues

WebQuests by Alice Christie provided a comprehensive overview of WebQuests. The advantage of using these tools in the classroom far outweighs the teacher preparation time needed. WebQuests seem an ideal tool to integrate technology in that they provide a constructivist environment for students. They also seem to be authentic, problem-based assignments that can be highly engaging thus increasing student motivation.

Kathy Schrock's WebQuest Page is a great starting point for anyone wanting to create a WebQuest. She even provides a link to templates that teachers can download and individualize in a web editor. One of my favorite links was to a tutorial. The tutorial offered tips and insights into the making of a WebQuest that I have not seen elsewhere.

The New Plagiarism: Seven Antidotes to Prevent Highway Robbery in an Electronic Age should be required reading for all writing teachers. This is the first time that I have seen a step-by-step approach to teaching students how to take online notes. It shows a significant, and more relevant, change in the way we teach our students how to research. Although I always have the “talk” about plagiarism with my students, I sometimes forget that they need specific steps to help them break their habits. This language and process is simple enough for even my sixth graders to use.

Talking to Students About Cyber-Ethics provides a framework for explaining about copyright of software. Sample discussions and exercises are made available for use with children in grades 3-5. But, I think that this conversation should be had with middle grades as well. With the proliferation of music download sites, the talk could also center on music piracy. The article also provides a link to http://www.PlayItCyberSafe.com that would make a good follow-up activity. The site is divided into three sections, kids, parents, and teachers. The kids’ section offers fun, interactive games and more information about cyber-ethics.

Day 3 - Searching the Internet

Step Zero: What to Do Before Searching and Four NETS for Better Searching
I must admit that rarely do I sit down ahead of time to choose my keywords for searching the Internet. I usually start with one or two words and then narrow my search as I see the results. However, using the 3M approach to plan ahead will probably save valuable time. Although I have used Bernie Dodge’s first Three Nets, the fourth, looking for similar pages, was new to me. I usually look for similar pages the hard way – by typing keywords from the existing page. No more simple searches for my students or me. At the beginning of the first research assignment, I plan to have a lesson on advanced searching. It will save time for all of us.


Information Search Strategies on the Internet: A Critical Component of New Literacies
The author points out that adults spend 70% of their time online searching the Internet. This is obviously a necessary skill for our students to have to seek information in the future. Therefore, since our job as teachers is to prepare our students for the future, it follows that we must teach them how to properly obtain online information. For instance, reading a textbook is different from reading a website. The textbook is reading linearly from left to right from beginning to end. A website usually has links within text which result in jumping around, sometimes to unrelated information. Students must be taught strategies to search for information on the Internet and how to properly evaluate what they find. Problem-solving skills must be developed.

Although my district is fortunate in that we can give most students access to technology, our digital divide is more focused on the disparity of levels of technological experience. As was reflected in the study, our problem comes with some teachers who are resistant or ignorant of how to integrate the technology into curriculum. The end result is that a disparity develops among the students’ experiences with technology and the gap in skill levels between students grows. And the snowball continues to roll.

Day 2 Readings – The Internet and Email

The Hobbes’ Internet Timeline was an interesting walk through Internet history. What is interesting to note is that as Internet use became less centrally controlled and more commercially controlled, advancements became more rapid. The free market system started to energize growth. Unfortunately, such rapid growth of information exchange caused a rebound effect in that some governments started to put restrictions on the Internet. I have seen a similar effect on student use of the Internet. As children become more proficient with the Internet and increase their usage, the knee-jerk reaction of some parents and educators is to restrict access. A better alternative would be to guide these users and teach them how to safely utilize this tool.




An Internet Primer for Teachers and The World at Your Fingertips were both valuable resources for teachers who are beginners to technology integration. The primer provided a bare bones outline to how search the Internet. I think it would also be useful for a teacher to actually participate in one of the Headbone Derbies offered for student use. Hands-on learning is just as valuable for the teacher as for the students. The teacher would then have a substantive instead of a theoretical understanding on how to conduct an Internet search. The second reading was informative in that it provided specific benefits of Internet use in the classroom. Richer learning, better time management, and increased opportunities for professional development are practical reasons for a teacher to integrate technological tools into the classroom. As teachers, we are always looking for ways to deepen student understanding of content. And what teacher wouldn’t give his/her eyeteeth for more time to get that material covered? I especially appreciate the use of the technology to increase teacher learning. As the only adult in the room, sometimes teachers feel very isolated. Technology, especially email and websites, has provided me with the chance to share ideas, solve problems, and expand my lessons.


Technology Integration as a Transforming Teaching Strategy points out one of the biggest obstacles in technology integration in the classroom – teachers’ limited knowledge on how to incorporate technology into existing curriculum. While principals are relying on younger, tech-savvy, new teachers to bring technology into the classroom, they fail to recognize that although these teachers may know how to use the technology, they don’t always know how to teach with it. Universities do not include these lessons in the teacher preparatory classes. Existing teachers often receive one-day trainings in a technology tool and are then left to their own devices in figuring out how to practically integrate that tool into their instruction.
Truly successful technology integration seems to have constructivism at its core. One suggested model has three elements: (1) use of software to create, manipulate, and enhance student learning, (2) use of problem-based assignments, and (3) constructive learning environments. Lessons where students use technology as a tool to explore and solve real-world situations allow them to build their own knowledge.
Teachers must be given many opportunities to see how to change the way they teach a topic. Interactions with other teachers who successfully integrate technology, classes where the teacher as student utilizes the technology, and a willingness to allow students to guide their own creation of knowledge are a few steps in the right direction.