TECHNOLOGY & EDUCATION DIGEST
Digest No. 7 -- July 7, 1997
A Moderated Mailing List
Steve Wildstrom (steve_wildstrom@businessweek.com), Moderator

Return to Technology & Education

I saw your article in Business Week about technology and the classroom and thought you might be interested in the work Teachers & Writers Collaborative has been doing. T&W sends writers into schools to teach imaginative writing and we publish books about the teaching of writing. We received a grant from Apple Computer and the NYNEX Foundation to introduce computer technologies into the classroom. The project is now in its 2nd year and we've done some great work. We also just published a book entitled THE NEARNESS OF YOU: Students & Teachers Writing Online. It's a great resource for schools interested in how to do projects online, including examples, resources, and essays on ethics in the classroom. I would be happy to send you a copy. I would also love to have you visit the program in New York City at the School for the Physical City, an alternative school.

Sincerely,

Bruce Morrow
Associate Director
Teachers & Writers Collaborative
5 Union Square WEst
New YOrk, NY 10003-3306
212-691-6590
888-BOOKS TW
bmorrow@panix.com
http://www.twc.org

[Bruce reports that he is starting up an on-line forum called WriteNet with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. We'll keep you posted.-MOD]

Title: Project based learning in a technology rich classroom

Summary: Have you ever daydreamed about what it would be like to teach in a school that has a nearly unlimited budget for technology, training, and on site tech support. And an supportive administration that encourages you to use technology to "break-the-mold" in your classroom regardless of cost? This session will show you how to create projects that incorporate the use of multimedia computers, CD-ROMS, the Internet, scanners, digital cameras, digitized video and on-line conferencing. Learn about the research project that Dr. Hambrick from Point Loma University conducted at this school on how technology improves student problem solving ability.

Abstract: Kim Harris and Ramiro Santana are 5th grade teachers at Casita Center for Technology, Science and Math, a magnet school in the Vista Unified School District. At this school there are funds and administrative support to the use technology to its fullest. The intent of this presentation is show what teaching and learning would look like in such a technology rich environment. The presentation will include video clips of their classroom and how students use technology, an overview of how technology is integrated into their project based curriculum, an assessment of how technology improves student learning. Kim and Ramiro are team teachers that integrate their curriculum into projects that range from three to four weeks in length. Students work on these projects both individually and in cooperative learning groups. The example that will be used to demonstrate how they teach will be the "Human Body Project". For this project the curriculum is divided body systems. Each group is assigned system and each group member is assigned a subtopic. During the project each student creates a HyperStudio stack and an oral presentation about their subtopic. Each group then puts the HyperStudio stacks together to a make a stack about their topic. Each group does an oral presentation where each member presents their subtopic. Students must use at least eight different sources to find the information in their project . Examples of sources are books, magazines, encyclopedias, CD-ROMS, the internet and laserdiscs. Students must scan at least one picture and must use at least picture taken with a digital camera. Using the Scholastic Network each group must interview an expert on their subtopic and each child must have at least one question for the expert. Projects may include student created video clips (digitized) and animated sequences. The level of sophistication is dependent on each students ability. Available to the students in Mr. Santana's and Miss Harris' classroom are a scanner, two Quicktake cameras, eight Macintoshes in each room that are on the internet, two laserdisc players, two large screen TVs connected to computers, VCR and Computer Eye.

Chuck Cowles
Asst. Principal
Casita Center for Technology, Science and Math
260 Ceder Rd.
Vista, CA 92084

My friend, Melissa Radin (Family Education Network/Cone Communication) sent me your article in Business Week. She knows a little bit about my first grade classroom, and how I strive to incorporate technology in the classroom. As a first grade teacher, incorporating sophisticated technology can be quite a challenge. However, children of all ages, especially my first graders, love to use e-mail to communicate with their family and friends. I can't even begin to express the excitement my students feels when receiving "instant-messages" on the computer from moms and dads at work. I have often been told that receiving e-mail from Miss Epstein at home, is equally exciting! What a wonderful way of encouraging children to express themselves through writing! I have more ideas about incorporating technology/e-mail into meaningful and developmentally appropriate early childhood curriculum, and would be happy to share these ideas with other interested educators.

Thank-you,

Jennifer Epstein
First Grade teacher
William Mitchell Elementary School
Needham, Massachusetts

Philosophically, the self determination, discipline, communication and research skills necessary to effectively use today's technologies dovetail precisely into my belief that the student is responsible for learning, both in and out of the classroom. As a teacher my role should be to guide and facilitate, not to impart what is thought to be the sole truth of a discipline or particular concept. This independence is at first overpowering to many learners, but eventually the vast majority become empowered by the opportunity, and freed from the cookie cutter methodologies of older pedagogies. As an adult, this is the technique most frequently employed - not lecture, but discovery learning. Constructivism leads to a more holistic knowledge, one rich in associations, not merely an accumulation of static, isolated facts. Learning driven by intrinsic desires, not external rewards and punishments, is my opinion of the most perfect environment.

Since my first experiences with disk driven Apple IIe software, I have been a vocal proponent of the inclusion of technology in all facets of the curriculum. My education took a quantum leap when I was awarded a grant from the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center to work with high speed computing on a Cray-YMP. One day a BASIC IIe, the next day a UNIX DEC Alpha and a SLIP link to a CRAY via a 9600 Baud modem! I can genuinely relate to the fear experienced by first time users of technology, but can use my experience to buttress the argument for how eminently manageable technology can be with a little desire and the right training.

The Keystone Oaks School District is a leader in the implementation of technology in the K-12 curriculum. We have invested heavily in computing and telecommunications technologies, and see the infusion of these tools as integralto the success of our students in the next century and beyond. Every teacher hasa phone and a computer at their disposal, every classroom has a minimum of four computers for student use, and each building has at least two thirty station computer labs for group instruction. We have a WAN of distributed voice, video and data, and connect to the internet via a 10 mb/s fiber. All computers in the district support web browsers, and email is available to all teachers. Students have email on an as-needed basis.

Our staff usage of these tools is expedited by the commitment of the District to making staff development available often, with focus and direction,and at minimal inconvenience to the staff. While they offer a great deal of support, the expectations are also quite high. Staff are presumed to be complementing their teaching with the technologies available, from multimedia to research to word processing and data analysis. Infusion of evolving technologies is not a rapid process, but the administration will not allow this to be used as an excuse for lack of it's inclusion in every students education. We now have the technology, the expectation is for all professional staff to be incorporating it into their courses of study.

Currently I am involved in several unique ventures bringing change to the way students study science in our school. One such project is The Cooperative Satellite Learning Project (CSLP), a course in which a NASA and Allied Signal Technical Services Corporation partnership is utilized to bring Physical and Earth/Space Sciences to life. Technology is truly infused into the course work. Mathematics is used in context, and the problem solving, communication and teamwork skills so coveted by business are integral to the course.

We work in conjunction with the Small Explorers (SMEX) series of scientific satellites, built and flown from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland. Scientists and engineers work with our students, at GSFC, here at KOHS and over the internet via email and CU-Seeme teleconferences.

This project has proven to be very effective at allowing students the opportunity to participate in a technology rich, interdisciplinary learning experience. NASA and ATSC have partnered in this project since 1989, providing resources, funding and the access to facilities which contribute to this incredible learning opportunity. Before coming to Keystone Oaks in August 1996, I initiated and managed the CSLP at South Fayette Twp. Schools for four years, where we earned the NASA teamwork award, presented By Dr. Jim Willetts from NASA HQ.

CSLP students are assessed using a variety of methods, including performance assessment, portfolios and objective examinations.. Since any student may be a part of multiple groups with distinct products, one size fits all will not work. We have adopted a method whereby fifty percent of the students quarterly grade is determined by formally proposing a project, planning the work breakdown and time lines, then reporting out to the project management on how the tasks were met, and obstacles overcome. Products can range from web pages to mission data analysis to accounting ledgers to art projects to digital movies. An outreach group goes to local and __regional schools to inform elementary students of space sciences and careers. It is a reform environment, one which allows students to be co-learners with the instructor, and empowers them to become expert in some area of interest, to the benefit of themselves, the project and the instructor. As they become expert they may then instruct others on a piece of software or some particular aspect of a mission, and increase the leaning opportunities for students downstream. This allows for exponential growth of the knowledge base of the project.

Another interesting example is a grant awarded from the Concord Consortium this school year. We are one of 40 schools chosen nationally for a pilot grant from the US Department of Education to devise and implement precollege course work over the internet. The Concorde Consortium Virtual High School has selected us to be a provider in this ground breaking project. I will be teaching a course entitled Space Based Astronomy, facilitated from Keystone Oaks but including Dr Rene Plume of Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory as a co facilitator, and use the spacecraft, scientists and technicians of several NASA missions as resources. Students will learn of the big questionsOof astronomy, then study orbiting instruments (Hubble, COBE, IRAS and SWAS), capable of gathering data unavailable to ground based observers in hopes of answering these questions. Utilizing the newest software in Lotus Notes - Learning Space, we will develop and implement a course with an asynchronous time frame delivery.

Our students have been actively involved in the Passport to Knowledge Projects, from Live from Antarctica to Live from Mars._k These electronic field trips utilize satellite broadcasts live from remote locations, interaction with the scientists via the internet, and in class usage of lessons developed by PTK. We have participated in online debates, collaborative data gathering activities and other interactive events.

Finally I would mention the Milken Family Foundations Artful Connections Through Technology Project. As a Milken National Award winner I am part of the technology projects through the Foundation, and have this strand to learn more of how to implement art through technology across the curriculum. I will be in Los Angeles from June 25 - 29 to be trained and take part in the Milken National Educators Conference. Last year I was chosen technology coordinator for the Physics/Earth Science Group, studying and codifying scientific misconceptions a in the K-12 population.

CJ Rodkey
Keystone Oaks HS
1000 Kelton Ave
Pittsburgh, Pa 15216

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