This analogy of equipping sailing vessels with steam engines works well as an illustration of technology being plugged into traditional classrooms.
We need to get the teacher into
the game. The teacher needs to get in there and be part of the
learning process, actively engaged in solving the problem with the
students and learning with the students—not teaching but
modeling learning with the students by functioning as an expert
learner solving problems and constructing new knowledge with the
students.
Any
organization that adopts a new technology without significant
organizational change is doomed to failure. You have to change the
organization. You cannot just add the technology. You have to
actively work on changing the roles of the teachers, the roles of
the students, the roles of the parents, and the roles of the
administrators, and start to work toward building new relationships
and new structures
we will get the same result if we
introduce modern learning technologies in our schools but do not
prepare teachers to work in this new learning environment. If we want to take
advantage of these new technologies and the billions we are
investing in equipment for our schools, we have to prepare teachers
very differently than we have in the past. We have to change our
own model of teaching and instruction in higher education.
Trying to introduce new technologies into schools without
these changes would be similar to efforts in the sailing industry
during the 1800s, when steam engines were installed in wooden
sailing ships.
We will not get
out of our wooden ship schools until we use communication
technologies for two-way interactivity that allows us to
collaboratively construct the learning experience and new
knowledge.
"This is the US Teachers' Guide for using the Professional Cartoonists Index web site in your classes. We have developed lesson plans for using the editorial cartoons as a teaching tool in Social Sciences, Art, Journalism and English at all levels."
ThinkQuest is a protected, online learning platform that enables teachers to integrate learning projects into their classroom curriculum and students to develop critical 21st century skills. It includes a project environment where teachers and students engage in collaborative learning; a competition space where students participate in website development contests; and the award-winning ThinkQuest library, a learning resource visited by millions.
The Networked Student was inspired by CCK08, a Connectivism course offered by George Siemens and Stephen Downes during fall 2008. It depicts an actual project completed by Wendy Drexler's high school students. The Networked Student concept map was inspired by Alec Couros' Networked Teacher. I hope that teachers will use it to help their colleagues, parents, and students understand networked learning in the 21st century.
Saugus Union School District in Santa Clarita, CA is launching a new program for its fourth-grade students that couples writing and science using ultra-mobile devices and collaborative learning software, among other technologies. According to information supplied to us by the district, the initiative is being funded through a $1.4 million EETT competitive grant the district recently won.
The initiative, dubbed "Student Writing Achievement Through Technology Enhanced Collaboration" (SWATTEC), focuses on writing achievement within the science curriculum. EETT funding will provide access to Asus wireless ultra-mobile devices (UMDs) for all 1,700 fourth-grade students in the district, Web-based writing tools, and an online collaborative learning environment. It will also provide teachers with laptops, projectors, printers, interactive pads, mobile carts, and wireless hardware. Teachers are also receiving professional development for the initiative.
"Despite sluggish gains in reading, our nation has not seriously integrated digital tools and new teaching practices into all classrooms. Schools of education are still failing to teach student teachers how to integrate digital media in the classroom... We recommend the following for policymakers, business leaders and practitioners to consider help make schools more effective."
Book clip art All clip art, about English and Language Arts, in Discovery Education's Clip Art Gallery created by Mark A. Hicks, illustrator. Teachers are allowed to download up to ten images if the follow the copyright directions.
Shmoop content is written primarily by Ph.D. and Masters students from top universities, like Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and Yale. We source our work (see "Citations") and set rigorous academic standards. Teachers and students should feel confident to cite Shmoop as a source in essays and papers.
Free to use, the site provides high-quality, digital images that can be used by teachers and students. The only proviso seems to be that they can't be sold on. Find images by keyword of browsing.
Using Technology as a Tool for Learning and Developing 21st Century Citizenship Skills: An Examination of the NETS and Technology Use by Preservice Teachers With Their K-12 Students