|
This week, we asked Education World's Tech Team to share with us the questions they hear most frequently -- and their responses to those questions.
How often do I need to save my work? How do I make time to work technology
into the curriculum? Why do I need to understand the computer? Where did
my file go? What if I break the computer? How can I learn this application
well enough to help my students?
Those are just a few of the questions that members of Education World's
Technology Team hear over and over and over again.
This week, our Tech Team members share the answers they give to those
questions and others. Their practiced responses prove, once and for all,
that technology teachers possess patience in abundance. And they must!
Patient responses to commonly asked questions -- well thought-out or
misguided -- are the building blocks that will transform a reluctant teacher
into one who is comfortable using technology in tangible and truly worthwhile
ways.
"How am I going to find time to 'do' technology in my classroom? I already
don't have time to do all that is expected of me. What do I give up?"
For Kathy Campbell, teacher facilitator of technology for the St.
Charles Parish (Louisiana) Schools, that question is as common as
flies at a picnic.
"Technology needs to become a tool for learning, not another subject
to teach," Campbell patiently explained.
"At first, many teachers don't know what to ask or how to
ask a question," said Tech Team member Libby Adams. "They
begin asking questions when they begin to feel comfortable
using technology." |
|
"As a teacher, your primary goal is to use technology to supplement learning
-- rather than teaching technology in isolation," Campbell continued. "The
use of computers should be so infused that the students think that technology
is part of the natural learning process." Don't give up on proven strategies
and practices just to insert technology, Campbell added. Instead, seek
ways to insert technology where it enhances student learning.
"I begin by looking at the core curriculum with the staff at my school,"
added Libby Adams, computer resource teacher at Troost
Academy in Kansas City, Missouri. "We talk about what teachers are
presently teaching and then we talk about how we might integrate technology.
We look at appropriate software applications. We talk about how the Internet
might be used. We check the readability of [Web] sites to make sure they
are age-appropriate and that students can use them independently."
Stew Pruslin -- a third-grade teacher and technology specialist at J.T.
Hood School in North Reading, Massachusetts -- hears the "time question"
from time to time too.
"My role is more behind the scenes and maintenance," noted Pruslin,
who would like to see a person in his school whose full time job would
be dedicated to helping teachers work technology into their classrooms
and their curricula.
"I would like to see a building technology integration specialist, much
like a reading specialist, who comes around, works in classrooms, helps
with special projects, 'gets the ball rolling, ...'" said Pruslin. "Right
now, we have one such specialist for the five schools in our district,
but one per building would be better."
So you're ready to start infusing technology, you've found valuable
ways to make it an integral -- and integrated -- part of the curriculum,
but now you wonder how you can ever manage when you have two computers
for 22 kids?
Susan Myers is an integration specialist in the Lockport (New York)
School District. Planning ways to manage the integration of technology
is a large part of her job.
"Classroom management is a big issue," said Myers, "and I usually suggest
a center approach. The computers are one of the centers, and the students
rotate to that center in groups. In that way, every student can have access
to technology every day."
Many teachers worry about managing computers because they are not secure
in their own knowledge of them. That lack of knowledge can be very disconcerting
for a teacher who is use to being organized, hands-on, and goal-oriented.
"The teacher doesn't always have to know the application well enough
to help students," said Myers. "Often I train the students and the teacher
at the same time in the classroom. I may present a 20-minute lesson on
an application such as Hyperstudio. After the lesson, many students just
pick it up naturally and problem-solve on their own. ... The students
will help each other, and the teacher will learn from them as they learn."
The next time that application is used, the teacher might know as much
as the students do. And soon after that, the teacher might begin to get
really creative with the application. ... That's how reluctant teachers
become true technology infusers!
Susan Myers isn't the only one who has found that students can be a
tremendous help by taking on some computer training responsibilities.
Katy Wonnacott has had a similar experience at Signal Hill School in Belleville,
Illinois.
"Many of the teachers in our school are still relatively new at technology
integration," said Wonnacott, a social studies teacher who often serves
as an impromptu technology coordinator. And, like many technology coordinators,
she is frequently asked how the computer might be used to individualize
instruction for students, especially bright students.
If Wonnacott doesn't know which software packages or Web sites to recommend
to a teacher, she will often post a question on one of the listservs she
belongs to. Listservs can be "super sources" of such information, she
said. Then she passes that information -- and the software, if she has
it or can purchase it -- along to the teacher to use with the student.
Often, the student will end up teaching herself or himself how to use
the Web site or the software.
"Though I don't approve of using the computer as a baby-sitter, I deviously
know that I am also planting a resource in the classroom in the form of
that student," added Wonnacott. Once the child explores the Web site or
learns the software, that child can aid the rest of the class -- and the
teacher -- by serving as an instructor and by solving problems as they
come up.
"It's especially gratifying when that child is one who might be struggling
in school," added Wonnacott. "That child becomes a computer 'guru,' and
the success that occurs often adds to that child's self-esteem."
Libby Adams also tries to train students as technology teachers. "We
try to develop student 'mavens' who are pros on different pieces of software,"
says Adams, who serves as the students' trainer. "The mavens then go into
the classroom and teach two students in the room the application. Those
students then work with others in the room, and the teaching continues.
"Another strategy that has been very helpful is that our teachers attend
the computer lab with their students," added Adams. In the lab, teachers
have several choices. "If I'm teaching a new program or about a new Web
site, they take the role of a student. [Otherwise] the time can be used
to look at appropriate software or Web sites they might use.
"Most teachers develop a system in their classrooms to rotate students
on their computers," said Adams, adding, "computers are never used for
reward or punishment. They are learning tools to be used by all students.
Once that is understood by all students, the management system seems to
fall into place."
Another common fear (or excuse?) expressed by teachers reluctant to
use technology is the fear of what lurks on the Internet. Most of Education
World's Tech Team members have heard that worry voiced in one way or another.
"Many teachers -- and parents -- who have never dealt with the Internet
are quite convinced that somehow a student can be tracked down very easily
through a school Web site, or any other Web site for that matter," said
John Simeone, Webmaster and an instrumental music teacher at Beach
Street Middle School in West Islip, New York. "I try to assure them
that it is safe for a school to be on-line and that we never post names
and pictures together.
"It's funny," added Simeone, "we have posted names, addresses, and pictures
of kids for years in local newspapers and school newspapers, and that
has never scared anyone. ... I assure [parents] that we built our school
Web site with safety in mind, and we go out of our way to ensure that
safety."
For additional Education World articles about Internet safety,
see the listing at the end of this article.
Technology teachers know when they have finally turned the corner with
a teacher who is reluctant to use technology in the classroom. It's that
moment when the teacher doesn't panic if something goes wrong -- that
moment when the teacher finally realizes that a computer glitch doesn't
mean "I've broken it!"
Education World's Tech Team members are constantly encouraging novice
technology users to experiment, to make mistakes. Sooner or later, those
teachers will make most of the common mistakes. Once a teacher realizes
that a "broken" computer is a really an opportunity to learn something
more about how computers operate, they've overcome a huge hurdle.
"How did you learn all this?" is a question Corrie Rosetti hears all
the time as he's teaching teachers the fine points of computer use. "My
answer is 'I just played,'" said Rosetti, a language arts and technology
teacher at Lincoln Middle School in Clarkston, Washington. "There isn't
much you are going to do from the keyboard that is going to cause major
damage to your system," he tells teachers, challenging them to "Give it
a try and see what happens."
A hands-on approach to learning is what most technology teachers suggest.
And it's the approach most use to solve problems too.
"I believe in a hands-on approach to teaching," said Fred Holmes, Webmaster
for the Osceola
Public Schools in Nebraska. "I talk teachers through the steps as
they do it for themselves." Mistakes are corrected as they go along. "I
tell them I learned by trial and error," said Bill Bagley, co-Webmaster
and social studies teacher at Cullman
High School in Alabama. "I tell them I learn best if I just dig in
and see what happens." If a teacher responds with a fearful look and comments
about being afraid to "tear up my computer," then he offers this advice:
"Most new computers are very simple to use ... so enjoy your computer,
and don't worry about all the stories that you have heard about how easy
they are to crash. They are also very easy to fix."
When Jennifer Wagner hears the question "What if I break the computer?"
she knows she's dealing with a teacher who hasn't attended one of the
afternoon or evening training sessions she's offered. "The teachers who
have attended know that the [blank] blue screen does not mean death
to the computer, it just means to call for the technician," says Wagner,
computer coordinator at Crossroads Christian School in Corona, California.
Other common questions Wagner hears include "Why do I need to understand
the computer?" and "Where did the file go that I saved on the computer
yesterday?"
"Again, lack of training leads to lack of understanding," said Wagner,
adding with a smile, "What I like most is that the question about saving
files is usually followed with the comment, 'The computer must have eaten
it.' I continually tell my staff that the computer is not human and it
does not randomly delete files just to frustrate teachers, but alas, they
don't believe me!"
But it's true! Ask any member of Education World's Tech Team. They'll
tell you that dedicated training followed by "playing" and "trial and
error" -- and by calling for technical support when the computer "breaks"
or when a file is "eaten" -- is the way that every technology pro has
learned. Once computer novices understand those things -- really
understand them -- then they can move forward. Then they're novices
no longer!
- Getting
Started on the Internet: Safe Surfing How can teachers and computer
specialists help teach students the skills they need to be efficient
and safe Internet surfers? Education World offers ideas and Internet
resources for tackling the task in this article, the sixth article in
our "Getting Started on the Internet" series. (5/4/98)
- Getting
Started on the Internet: Developing an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)
The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for Internet use is one of the most
important documents a school will produce. Creating a workable AUP requires
thoughtful research and planning. Education World offers food for thought
and a few useful tools for educators faced with developing a workable
AUP for their schools' students. (9/28/98)
- The
Internet Safety Debate Yes -- it's OK to filter Internet content
in schools. No -- students should learn how to handle the Internet as
it is. The debate continues ... and no solution is in sight. (4/27/98)
- Paving
the Way to Internet Safety! Read the details of President Clinton's
strategy for making the Internet child-safe and family-friendly, and
check out a handful of Web sites that will help you provide a safe Internet
experience for your students. (8/25/97)
Article by Gary Hopkins
Education World® Editor-in-Chief
Copyright © 2005 Education World
11/01/1999
Updated 08/23/2005
|
