Principals As Tech Leaders

The Principal as Technology Leader Richard Smyth Library Media Specialist Cathedral High School Boston, MA Artie Gribbins Technology Coordinator St. Mary Jr./Sr. High Lynn, MA

Agenda

Part I: Why should we support technology?

9:00am – 12:00pm

Richard Smyth

Part II: How do we support technology?

1pm – 4pm

Artie Gribbons

Part I: Why Support Technology?

I. Analogy Exercise

II. Defining Technology

III. The Webquest Model

IV. Resources

I. Fill In The Blanks Pen : Computer as _________ : _________

Analogy Activity

Write down one or two analogies that come to mind.

Share your answers in small groups of three or four.

Choose the one in the group that you like best and prepare to share with the larger group

Large group sharing

(10-15 minutes)

II. How Are We Using "Technology"? How does this question change if we accept the following equation: Pen = Technology ???

Can you please repeat the question? If pen = technology, then How are we using technology? becomes How are we teaching?

Complaints About New “Tech” “ Students today depend on paper too much. They don’t know how to write on a slate without getting dust all over themselves. They can’t clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?” (Principals’ publication, 1815)

More complaints…. “ Students today depend too much on ink. They don’t know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil.” (Teacher’s journal, 1815)

More complaints… “ Students today depend too much on store-bought ink. They don’t know how to make their own. When they run out they will be unable to write words or ciphers until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education.” ( Rural American Teacher, 1928)

More complaints… “ Students today depend on these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib. We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of learning how to cope in the real business world which is not so extravagant.” ( PTA Gazette, 1941)

More complaints… “ Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The American values of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Businesses and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries.” ( Federal Teachers, 1950)

More complaints… “ Students are being exposed to a way of life that does not require them to use a lot of creative thinking or to reach out to other resources because it can all be found on the computer.” (Catholic school teacher, 1999)

“… it can all be found on the computer”

III. The Webquest Model: History

Bernie Sanders and Tom March

Developed in early 1995 at San Diego State University

Webquest: Increasingly Popular Google results—comparison to other education terms lesson plan 1,340,000 WebQuest 664,000 standardized test 469,000 cooperative learning 427,000 multiple intelligence 402,000 problem-based learning 398,000 high-stakes testing 129,000 Bloom's Taxonomy 53,300

Webquest Activity

Go to http://webquest.sdsu.edu/

Click “Training Materials”

Under “Overview and Underpinnings,” click A Webquest about Webquests MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL

The Children's Machine ". . . computers serve best when they allow everything to change." Seymour Papert. The Children’s Machine: Rethinking School in The Age of Computers . New York: Basic Books, 1993.

Computers: Regressive or Progressive? "Paradoxically, the same technology has the potential to detechnicalize learning. Were this to happen, I would count it as a far larger change than the appearance on every desk of a computer programmed to lead the student through the paces of the same old curriculum." Papert. The Children’s Machine , pp. 55-56.

Sociomedia vs. Hypermedia The neologism sociomedia suggests "that computer media exist for 'social' purposes." Edward Barrett. "Sociomedia: An Introduction." In Sociomedia: Multimedia, Hypermedia, and the Social Construction of Knowledge." Ed. Edward Barrett. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992. 1-10.

Engagement and Construction Engagement --> "interaction with people" Construction --> "students create a product from their collaboration" Ben Shneiderman. "Education by Engagement and Construction: A Strategic Education Initiative for a Multimedia Renewal of American Educa- tion." Sociomedia pp. 18, 20.

Example #1 of Sociomedia