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How do you know what you know and how does that knowledge change you? We can have knowledge about technology, knowledge about how to use technology to teach content and knowledge obtained through technology. Sherry Turkle suggests that technology shapes us in powerful ways- our relationships, our thinking and even our spirits. It gives us a "second self." Is it more than a "bicycle for the mind" as Apple suggested almost 20 years ago? I asked the storytellers to talk about how they have been shaped by technology:

• What do you know about technology?
• What do you know because of technology?
• What do you know about yourself because of technology or through technology?

Nan Lombardo
Make sure it's plugged into an electrical socket first. Then check the "on-off" switch. I know that when it all works, my blood pressure is stable and the day runs smoothly. Various forms of technology have afforded me the opportunity to perform tasks in a more efficient manner. I know that I'm not alone in a vast universe... that others throughout the world share my hopes, dreams, fears. We are all truly connected, not only in our humanity, but through twisted pairs of copper wire, microwaves and fiber optics. I can get a myriad of information instantly from nearly anywhere in the world, and I like that.

I entered the last century mid-point and as a result many of the new inventions that made my grandmother's life easier were already in mainstream America. By the time I was learning to become fully functional, there were refrigerators, stoves, telephones, televisions, radios, phonograph players, 8-track tape players and other devices that kids today wouldn't recognize. As new gadgets became available and entered our home, the learning curve began to increase. With use, the new technology started to fit and we wondered how we managed without it... whatever it was. The leap from analog to digital happened in a nanosecond and we continue to race into the future at light speed. I know that if I'm not on the train as it rushes by, I'll be run over. I've become a very patient person in the face of glitches, errors and lack of memory...the computers and mine.

Alexis Moran
I know enough to get by these days but I am only 18 and I am growing at the rate of technology so I am getting taught more and more every time I use technology.

I know that the world is getting more and more into the computer idea and its to a point that you can do anything except physical activities with technology.

I know that I am pretty lucky because I learn and get taught as I grow unlike those who didnšt exactly have computers etc. To make life and work simpler they have to get taught the basics when its common sense for the young.

Julie Botel
Connect the dots and fill in the gaps. – that's our job. For me, now technology is ubiquitous sand I rely on it as if were an extension of my brain. And I don't mean just computer tech – I mean phone, voice mail, palm. My palm helps me keep my head on straight – I can sync up ewith Terry – she can make appointments for me and she knows wehre I am all the time. It helps me organize my thinking. The ability of seraching helps me connect other peope. Someone will say something, and I will say "I knew someone who did that at TranSystems – so I type in TranSytems and up comeds her name. I regularly download things in to palm, lilke tech articles from the NY Times. So if I'm waiting in an office, I can read the Times – that' s a real luxury. Have you seen brain.com. Oh let me show you. I can beam you the articles from the Times technology section.

I know more about building community, about supporting learning, and about extending our abilities to do good things. When I think about is how different a place this is... I am here 3+ years. We had no Internet access, no teachers were using email. We had no portfolios to encourage people to reflect about their work. We had very little access to tech in the classroom. Now we're buying Palms for kids, we're letting kids take computers home with them.

We're doing our vision of the long range plan right now. It was 5 years ago since one was developed and so much has changed. How can we project out three years from now? Three years ago, there was no notion that a Newton would be so small an so inexpensive. We have to be exploring things. We can't write plans that are not open to new technologies. Figure out they can extend our abilities.. That' s what is is really about – extending your abilities. Like eyegalssese. This is extending my aiblity to be in the right place at the right time. That is what we have to help teachers to see – to extend student's ability to see in new ways. We're starting to use much more data in decision making. Technology helps teachers to reflect more on what they are doing. We can graph things and look at data visually. Then their work will be altered by what they see to be true in the data.

I know technology is good for kids in a lot of the same ways it is good for me. I know that it allows me to get a lot more accomplished than I ever could have done without it. I'm able to communicate with people late into the night – and that, for me, is really important.

It allows me to share ideas. I happened to see an article on Palms and I was able to go on line and send those to Gail and Tom so they could begin to think about how we could use it.

It helps me make decisions like I never could before. Excel allows me to do what it – it lets us have richer discussions, because we know what the bottom line is. We couldn't have as rich a dialog about what we want to do, if we had to manually figure out the impact of that on the budget. It's easier to see the effect of a decision on the bottom line. We have great discussions – working with the spreadsheet as we go along.

Technology lets us all be on the same page. – helps us make decisions more quickly – gives us access to people who can help us making better decisions – I sometimes refrain from grabbing from the phone, because I don't want to perceived as impulsive, but I can' t be too far from a phone!

Kathy Conway
The everyday routine of the classroom and the school environment can get complicated. Bells ring. Students scurry here and there. Constant activity, often mandated from the administration, fills almost every minute. There never seems to be enough time to geteverything completed. I know that technology makes my job easier. My attendance and grade records are just a keystroke away from my principal or me. Soon parents will have access to their child's grades via password coded Internet web sites. I know that because of technology I do more writing and editing much more quickly than in the past. My labs, curriculum guides, tests, lesson plans are all on disks and easily modified. I know that students like technology and it is often the way I can get a reluctant student to work.

Because of technology I know:

• about ways to use probes on a CBL to record data accurately and quickly
• how to graph data and determine mathematical relationships exhibited by the data
• how to use chemical compound modeling programs that help my students visualize the way atoms bond in chemical structures
• that there are tutorials and programs on the Internet that allow students to do problem-solving and research were to have students ask for more information
• that I can give them how to contact scientists and researchers at universities and industrial facilities who willingly answer my students' questions
• that my students will more eagerly approach graphing assignments using Excel
• that PowerPoint presentations for my students improve organization skills and require students to verbalize in a logical and clear manner
• that my students are willing to try things they were reluctant to do in the past