Tech Story: Musts

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You have 1 minute – it is a sound bite opportunity. You are the pundit talking about he technomusts for education. I asked the storytellers to think about the essentials with these questions:

What are some remarkable things to do individually with technology, group work, knowledge-building?
What technology couldn't you do without?
What strategies are essential?
What has gotten the most surprising/powerful results with students?

Nan Lombardo
The most remarkable thing to do with technology is communicate more efficiently and effectively. Reaching out has stretched far beyond the wildest imaginations of even the most visionary pioneers who once dreamed of touching the stars. Because of the Internet, I am able to collaborate on projects, commiserate on failures and celebrate successes. Distance is relative. I don't have to arrange for a field trip to have my students interact with other students or experts. We are all able to increase our knowledge by questioning and problem solving in a community of learners.

Even the most introverted student rises to the occasion when presenting information with a group in front of a flashy slide show. The ability to design a product has taken the projects to a new level of maturity.

When I think of what technology I couldn't do without, my thoughts turn to those folks who are around me – they would get pretty tired of hearing me hum all day if I didn't have access to "tunes" from time to time. And the bus ride on field trips has become much less stressful with kids plugged into their personal listening devices! As with everyone else, I have always known and taken for granted so much of the technology we use, that life would be less convenient, but not impossible... our grandmothers survived on less. But I would be most out of harmony without the ability to visit with my friends and family – don't unplug my phones!!!

Alexis Moran
I couldn't do without the Internet or phone calls. PowerPoint projects seem to get the most powerful results with students.

Kathy Conway
I think every teacher should be able to use and teach students to use PowerPoint. This is a wonderful tool for students to use in presentations. It allows for creativity and requires students to think logically, organize information according to a pattern that bests suits their goals, and design a visual tool that adds interest to their presentation.

Excel graphs are an excellent way to have students prepare graphs for lab reports. Every student should know how to type in data for the graphs, determine dependent and independent variables and plot a simple scatter plots and line graphs. This program also allows students to prepare other types of graphs. Graphing calculators are a must in our Chemistry labs. Mathematical relationships are readily connected to experimental data with the stroke of a key.

My laptop has become an extension of my arm. I carry it around for notes at meetings, I use it on long trips in my car when my husband so willingly drives. I would hate to think about being without my laptop. The convenience of a portable computer is something I now take for granted.

Basic strategies in technology use that are essential are

Integrate technology so that it is part of the lesson.The lesson should not be created to use the technology. The technology should be an aid in completion of the goals of the lesson but it should not be the point of the lesson.

Be sure every user of the computer in your classroom has a signed computer use policy on file with the school coordinator and/or you. Keep a record of what computer each student uses, when they use it and for what purpose.

Points to consider when students are using computers

Take the pace slow enough that the novice will feel comfortable.
Pair novice users with those that are more experienced.
Provide time for experienced users to work at their own at a faster pace. This way they are more willing to help others and they still feel a sense of accomplishment and creativity.
Encourage all users in their technology pursuits. Have students try new things.
Backup every file in at least two places.
Teach students basics and essentials and do not assume that they know the basics.
Have students store data disks in individual, separate disk holders with disks that are clearly labeled – class period, project, student name. Do not store all class disks in one box with disks in direct contact. Sooner or later this will corrupt the disk. I have discovered this the hard way.

Deborah Peek-Brown
In order for students to use technology effectively it must become an integral part of the learning. The technology must be a learning tool that supports students in developing understandings about the content. Technology itself cannot be the focus. The technology should help students to reflect on their understandings. It must be part of an overall curriculum that is based on an inquiry approach to learning. Therefor it must be interactive and should allow students to manipulate situations, to ask questions and solve problems. Technology tools should also support student collaboration. When students must explain, share, debate, justify and argue over ideas, true learning is taking place.

One of the tools we use in the Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools (letus) which allows students to ask their own questions called Model-it. This is a dynamic modeling tool that allows students to collaboratively build interactive models of complex systems such as factors affecting water and air quality. The tool is flexible in that it can be used in any content area that deals with cause and effect relationships. It also allows students to build very simple or very complex models depending on their abilities and knowledge. The tool forces students to reflect on their understanding of the content as they build the model. Through the use of this tool students in Detroit have been able to express complex relationships that they might not have otherwise even thought about. This is what technology tools should do.

Angela Cristini

It needs to be real! Students learn best when they are working with real situations that have relevance to their lives, technology especially the Web can keep situations up to the minute. Students in the meteorology project rapidly acquire correct usage and understanding of scientific terminology, meteorological concepts, and satellite interpretation skills when they are asked to predict the occurrence and tracks of catastrophic weather events such as hurricanes, blizzards and tornadoes (especially if school might be closed).

We learn best when we learn together. Students actively listen, discuss, and learn from each other when they must reach consensus to solve a problem. Focused use of software and web resources can allow all learning styles to create and contribute. Students in the watershed project use individual knowledge of GIS and understanding of geology, hydrology, transportation infrastructure, human behavior, and demographics to engage in a simulation that builds on each other�s expertise to design an evacuation plan for their county as a flooding event takes place.

Teachers need a learning community. Educators profit greatly from being connected to a wider community of techno-savvy teachers. All MSET teachers join course list-serves; instead of creating separate lists for each new class of the final core course in the Program we experimented with adding each new class to the existing list. What has evolved is a dynamic community of educators who: help each other problem solve; informally review new software and hardware; argue about MAC vs. PC issues; and keep the group informed about job and grant opportunities.