1) Technologies should be used as tools for students to construct their own knowledge, not as a way for instructors to directly teach students. 2) When students use technologies like semantic networking programs to organize their own understanding, they learn more and take ownership of the knowledge as designers of their own work. 3) Allowing students to use technology to construct their own knowledge supports how experts develop understanding and aligns with constructivist learning theories of thinkers like Piaget and Vygotsky.

1. “ technologies should not support learning by attempting to instruct the learners, but rather should be used as knowledge construction tools that students learn with, not from . In this way, learners function as designers, and the computers function as Mind tools for interpreting and organizing their personal knowledge.”

4. We know that the through learning we construct models of concepts mentally and neurotically process, organize and recall that knowledge. Experts in fields of study do this automatically. Your Doctor is able to assess and recognize certain symptoms through as process of recognizing and eliminating information. This is a model that he/she has constructed (or a mental design). His/her brain in essence has designed a template for certain criteria. When we facilitate students in organizing information in this way we are acting as a support system that allows them to analyze information and think critically in order to organize and criterialize information, leading to higher cognitive processing….. The people who learn the most from designing instructional materials are the designers, not the learners for whom the materials are intended. The process of articulating what we know in order to construct a knowledge base forces learners to reflect on what they are studying in new and meaningful ways. The common homily, "the quickest way to learn about something is to have to teach it, "explains the effectiveness of Mind tools, because learners are teaching the computer.

5. Technology as Use big public conversation the nation is not having about education, the one that will ultimately determine not merely whether some fraction of our children get "left behind" but also whether an entire generation of kids will fail to make the grade in the global economy because they can't think their way through abstract problems Mission Statement The Mission of the Office of Technology Transfer is to have a fully integrated Technology Transfer Department structured to manage University intellectual property, fullfill the University's federal obligations regarding transferring Unversity generated technologies to the public, and interact with industry to commercialize University intellectual property while increasing income and supporting the University's mission. Office of Technology Transfer University of Miami 1475 N.W. 12 th Ave., Suite #2012 Miami, FL 33136 Telephone # (305) 243-5689 Fax # (305) 243-3510 In most public schools technology exists only as a tool for teachers to display information, in essences the new chalk board. This type of use of technology is not interactive with students.

6. According to much of the literature and information written about the use of technology in the classroom teachers need not fear that they will be made obsolete. They will, however, feel increasing pressure to bring their methods--along with the curriculum--into line with the way the modern world works. That means putting a greater emphasis on teaching kids to collaborate and solve problems in small groups and apply what they've learned in the real world. Besides, research shows that kids learn better that way than with the old chalk-and-talk approach.