Winter 2001 LInC Vision for Best Use of Technology
Technology can be integrated to improve student learning by empowering
students to:
Direct their own Learning
- Direct their own learning using technology as a tool.
Teachers will be: guiding, facilitating, co-investigating,
learning, etc ...
Students will be: exploring, researching, investigating,
thinking, collaborating ...
- Work on current real-world problems and issues.
Communicate and Collaborate
- Communicate and collaborate (local and distance)
- Have a window to the world (especially useful in rural areas).
- Connect with other cultures.
- Collaborate with other students and experts that have different
perspectives, geography, experiences, skills, or resources.
- Gather valid / authentic data (science testing,
graphing data, research, email)
- Work in teams on projects.
Publish Student Work
- Publish original results / projects / data / pictures to the world.
- Develop a product to demonstrate their learning.
- Share information.
Access and Manage the Latest Resources
- Access the latest data, world data and resources.
- Think critically as they sort through information.
- Manage information.
- Use learning environments that can "even the playing field"
by matching different learning styles or adapting to students'
needs.
- Participate in interactive learning experiences.
- Develop confidence in handling new tools.
Other Goals for Technology Integration:
- Technology can help students and teachers do things that
they might not have been able to do in the past OR help them
produce things that are better.
- Technology needs to be a "tool", not something else that we teach.
- Technology should be used for learning something of value.
- Technology use should be more than just a new delivery system for
the same boring exercises. We don't need another set of high dollar
flash cards.
- Instruction should dictate technology. Don't just use technology
for technology's sake.
- Technology use should not be passive.
- Technology should be utilized in a setting that allows students to
work freely with, for example, laptops rather than the traditional
formal structure of computer "labs."
- Don't underestimate the learner - this lead to a discussion of
Tapscott's "Growing up Digital" and the importance of challenging
today's digital kids.
- "Techies" need to be ambassadors of technology to other
teachers. They need to make projects for other teachers doable or
easy so that others will join in. Projects that are stimulating
and productive give the teachers the "shot in the arm" that
they need to get started using technology in their classrooms, etc.
This page was created from the discussion in the January 10, 2001
LInC Online course.