Technology in education can serve multiple goals, both stated and unstated. It is important to have a clear vision for how technology enhances educational objectives before implementing initiatives. Effective technology plans start with understanding existing curricular goals and ensuring any technology chosen supports enhancing education. Initiatives should have measurable objectives and justify how the technology helps meet educational goals based on research in learning.

1. Technology in Education
By Dr. John Thurner,
Presented at Upper Canada
To
Middle School Teachers
November 2004

2. Overview
Planning
– Why do we plan?
– Education First!
– Technology Initiatives
Why Technology?

3. Multiple Goals
Stated Goals
– Improve education
– Meet government standards
Unstated Goals
– Jones school has a super network
– Smith School has a zillion computers
– Wonder school has cable modems

4. Pressure from:
Parents
Board members
Students
Legislatures
Technology vendors

5. Technology
will save the world!
Build it and they will come!
Without technology we will be behind!

6. Some Real Questions:
What are the benefits that technology can bring to
education?
How can technology enhance what we are doing in the
classroom?
What skills do our students really need to be effective
learners in the colleges of the 21st century?
What technology skills will our students need to be
effective citizens of the 21st century?

7. Create a Plan – any plan
E-Mail to national Listserv:
“ My state is giving away money for
technology, but I need to have a plan. I
know what hardware I need, but they want
some educational goals. Can anyone help
me? ”
Goals must come first!!

8. Technology Vision
Do you have a clear vision of technology in
your classroom?

9. Thoughts?

10. Technology Vision
Does it look like this?
– Apple G5 with a 17” flat panel monitor
– Intel® Xeon® Processor with EM64T Technology
– 21” Sony monitor with living sound
– Special gray mouse with 3 neat little buttons

11. Technology Vision
What’s your vision of an ideal husband or
wife?

12. Technology Vision
What’s your vision of an ideal husband or
wife?

13. Technology Vision
Not Hardware!
Focus on what you know - Education
Establish a vision of better education
Then find technology that can promote the
vision

14. Summary I
Planning is important
Education First
Clearly understand what you are teaching
and think of ways that technology can help

15. How to: The Design Structure
David Perkins’ “Knowledge As Design”
– Purpose - Make sure your educational goals are clear
– Structure - work to ensure that each component of your initiative is
linked to the purpose
– Arguments - clearly link each part of the design to the purpose
using what you know about good education
– Models - where possible, give examples of what you are proposing
to do

16. The technology initiative
“A technology application focused on
specific goals or objectives and justified by
current understanding of good educational
practice.”
– coined by Cindy Dunlap of CELT
What educational goals will be met?
What are you doing and why will it help
you meet your goals?

17. Purposes
Enhance Education
Technology Competencies

18. What about
Technology Competencies?
Identify technology competencies
Where Possible teach competencies via
subject areas – rather than computer classes
Monitor Competencies

19. Possible areas
for enhancement
Teaching for Understanding
Generative learning environments
Group Learning
Using technology to scaffold – support
greater understanding
Provide tools for students to take control of
their learning

20. Where
do you start planning?
Existing Goals and objectives
– Accreditation documents
– IB Curriculum
– Department Summaries
– Curricular Guides
– Technology Plan?

21. Elementary school example
GRADE TOPICS OBJECTIVES TECH COMPS APPLICATIONS
Letter Use letters/pictures Begin entering Generic
K Recognition to communicate a letters from the Word
message keyboard Specific
Sound/Symbol
Kid Pix
Relationship
Vocabulary
Development
Writing

22. Elementary school example
Technology
Grade Topic O bjectives C ompetencies A pplications
Literary analysis Read for pleasure and Select hardware and Generic
5 Poetry information
Communicate through
software appropriate to the
task
Word (K-5)
Spreadsheet
Oceanography writing (4-5)
Human Body Understand basic operation Specific
Data collection Observe of a modem (with Tabletop Math
Experiment assistance) A.D.A.M. the Life Story
Tessellations Interpret Widget Workshop
Mixed fractions Conclude Real World Math
Per Cent Great Ocean Rescue
Multiplication and division Problem-solving using Reference
Negative numbers mathematical CD-ROM
knowldege Internet
Explorers WhaleNet
Colonization To understand Country searches
American Revolution influences on the
Westward Movement development of the
Immigration United States

23. Elementary school example
Technology competencies by grade
– Technology Competencies can be scoped and
sequenced by grade level
– Generally, if you use technology in classrooms, it is
only necessary to monitor the competencies. You don’t
have to constantly measure.
Generic vs Specific Applications
– Generic Applications are a little more expensive at first
– Specific Applications can get very expensive

24. How will technology
change what you are doing ?

25. Two Common Challenges
Chinese Menu
Where’s the baby?

26. Chinese Menu Problem
Often asking for vision is difficult
People don’t know what they want
It’s like asking someone to order a meal on
their first visit to a Chinese restaurant
Find experts, peers, explore Internet
Go to conferences, build communication
channels

27. Where’s the Baby?
Do not throw out the baby with the bath
water!
Technology changes the nature of your
classroom
Study skills, nature of classroom, classroom
management are all changed.

28. Planning strategies
Top Down?
Bottom Up?
Top Down Planning/Bottom Up
Implementation?
Champions?
Rain Forest?

29. The Rain Forest
Sometimes it is hard to force change. But,
if you provide sunlight, fertile soil, enough
water and fertilizer, and sprinkle seeds
liberally, soon things will grow.
The growth can be unpredictable.
Eventually a canopy will begin to form and
wonderful things can happen.

30. Important Considerations
Process is important
– If some teachers participate in planning – they
might implement
Educational Links help fundraising
– Share your plans
– Parents and funders have seen a lot of wasted
money
– If you tell them what you are doing and why,
they are more willing to support

31. Summary II
The design model
Technology Initiatives
Don’t lose the baby
Chinese Menu
Rain Forest

32. Modern Language example
Carl Hobert, Language teacher, asked himself
three questions:
– Why integrate Technology into my Curriculum?
– How do I integrate content and technology?
– Has this integration achieved tangible educational
goals?
(Note: Carl Hobert is now founder and director
of Axis of Hope at Boston University)

33. Why did Carl integrate
technology into his curriculum?
Language
– Intensive writing practice in target language
with native speakers
– Accommodate a variety of learning styles in the
same classroom
– Tailor language materials to meet student needs

34. Why did Carl integrate
technology into his curriculum?
Culture
– Re-create real-life situations which represent
other cultures
– Motivate students to travel overseas, immersing
themselves in culture
– Make connections with other disciplines

35. Modern Language Initiative I:
Intercultural E-mail Experiment
Purpose/Goals:
– Extensive writing practice
– Reinforce and expand cultural understanding
– Document year-long correspondence in each
country
– Move toward student vacation exchange
program

36. Technology Initiative I:
Intercultural E-mail Experiment
Themes of correspondence include:
• Personal Introductions
• US- France Educational differences
• Politics
• The Arts
• The Winter Olympics
Spring vacation Belmont Hill visit to Lycée
Louis-le-Grand (March 23)!

37. Technology Initiative II:
Student Technology Projects
Objectives:
• Develop authentic-language research capabilities
• Evaluate Internet resources in target languages
• Students create projects in French, Spanish and Mandarin-Chinese
• Students present findings to classmates
• Presentations evaluated by instructor and peers
• The best advance to language technology fair

38. Student Technology Projects
Virtual Travel (Level 1)
History (Level 2)
Art History (Level 3)
Architectural History (Level 4)
Literature (Level 5AP)

39. Student Technology Projects
Virtual Ancient Rome [Classics]
Original Document Research [History]
NASA [Science]
England Poet Correspondence [English]
E-mail World Experts [Math AP]

40. http://travel.lycos.com/destinations/

41. y Buñol
Un proyecto de tecnología de Roland Eavey

42. Valencia y Buñol está aquí

43. la bandera
de Valencia
Valencia está en una de los regiones más grandes de España

44. La ciudad de Valencia

45. Las ruinas del Castillo de los moros

46. La Fiesta de los moros y los católicos

47. Las ruinas del teatro viejo

48. What can a Modern Language teacher
do to institute change? An Action Statement
 Attend Professional Conferences
 Seek assistance
 Develop an Email address book
 Buy a book about the Internet
 Surf the Net
 Visit other schools’ computer facilities and language labs

49. Did this Technology Initiative achieve
tangible educational goals?
Yes it did!
The “Rain Forest” has not always been
green . . .
Technology support and perseverance are
needed
But you be the judge!

50. Walking with Grandfather
Walking with Grandfather, winner Gold Apple
Award (National Educational Film Festival), a
PBS television show, is an example of a
technology initiative. It is a videotape of an elder
Navajo using teaching tales to educate young
Native Americans. The video part was new. The
educational initiative has been around nearly
10,000 years. If we are going to enhance or
replace something that has worked for a long time,
we had better be sure we know why.

51. Other Initiatives
English Classes
– Process writing
– Interactive Grammar tutorials
Science
– Real data measurement and analysis
– Digital microscopes
– Online textbooks

52. Other Initiatives
History
– Internet Research
– maps
Art
– Digital Photography
– Web Design/Layout
Classics
– Virtual Cities

53. Other Initiatives
Athletics
– Video
– Spreadsheets
– Web Pages

54. Multimedia Literacy
Multimedia literacy
Documenting your world
Happy and Sad times
– Crew video
– Colgate Video

55. The Tragic Opportunity
Sometime, when the stars are in alignment
and things are going well, a moment in time
will occur that produces an opportunity to do
something important.
On November 11 of the year 2000 such a
moment in time occurred.

56. The Tragic Opportunity
On that night, in a small college town, there
was a tragedy. Four Colgate Students died.
This was my home town, just rated the 11th
friendliest town in the United States by Forbes
magazine.

57. The Tragic Opportunity
If students become proficient at using
multimedia tools to document their world,
when tragedy strikes, the artistic effort can
help to heal.
A few weeks after the tragedy, my sons (6 &
13 at the time) were shocked by the event
when we visited their grandparents for the
Thanksgiving holiday.

58. The Tragic Opportunity
The boys produced the following movie to
express their emotions and provide a graphic
representation of the event to warn their
classmates of the dangers of mixing alcohol
and driving.
When the movie was shown to 430 boys,
grades 7-12 in a chapel, there was silence at
the end when the Mothers Against Drunk
Driving ribbon was blowing on the screen!

59. The Tragic Opportunity
We see multimedia used to provide powerful
messages by marketing giants, politicians, and
entertainers.
When our students to harness this power
themselves, if only for a brief moment, they
are empowered to take charge of their own
lives.
Judge for yourselves:

60. Some Resources
Math Applets Polygon applet
TERC is a nonprofit research and development
organization committed to improving mathematics and
science learning and teaching.
United States Governement Educational Reference
Project Zero Site-teaching for understanding.

61. What Will The Future Bring?

62. Famous Last Words

63. Customer Service

64. Contact Information
John Thurner, Ed.D.
– JKT-Consulting
– (339) 221-0502
Carl Hobert
– Axis of Hope