And the plan envisions a fundamental change in the role of teachers, making them less a lecturer at the front of the room and more of a guide helping students through lessons delivered on computers
The key sentence for me is in the second paragraph:"And the plan envisions a fundamental change in the role of teachers, making them less a lecturer at the front of the room and more of a guide helping students through lessons delivered on computers" - I see that as not just related to technology but to the new strucyure for how classrooms should be organized. To make technology the scapegoat for this new organization is deflecting from the bigger issue of how to teach effectively, through lecture or through inquiry-based, project based, and constructivist methodologies.
An article from edutopia about someone who works with people to integrate technology into the classroom successfully. He offers a list of specific ideas
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"GFW High school in Minnesota is really leading the race at this point. I read the blog Ed Galaxy by Kevin Cummins regularly. Kevin frequently shares great stuff. Today is a wonderful article, The Ultimate Guide to Using iPads in the Classroom. In that article, he links to the GFW iPad Policy, Procedures and information. It is chalked full of good information for any school thinking about 1:1 with iPads. So, I did a little diggin and found their school website, including the iPad initiative pages that has even more useful information. They are in their 2nd year of this, so, clearly they have a lot of the bugs worked out. No need to re-invent the wheel, take their lead and learn from them!! What more can I say, but WOW!!"
"the school's chief teaching tools are anything but high-tech: pens and paper, knitting needles and, occasionally, mud. Not a computer to be found. No screens at all. They are not allowed in the classroom, and the school even frowns on their use at home."
Lodge McCammon's technique for flipped teaching, involving hand-drawn boards and personal lectures. Interesting and potentially powerful, but remember that this is just one perspective on how to accomplish flipped teaching. There are others out there.
A study that sheds light on the debates and the intersections of technology and 21st century skills from the vantage point of school-based educators. Attitudes of more than 1000 educators is explored
skill-driven mixes interaction with a facilitator through email, discussion forums, and face-to-face meetings with self-paced learning, such as Web-based courses and books.
A wonderful authentic learning scenario in which 3rd graders create a multimedia documentation of their community. They team with high school kids who help with the use of technology, and with local experts to gain knowledge; then the students create a lasting document of their understanding. Just great stuff, and totally relevant across many age levels.
"Third graders become historians, writers, and videographers as they explore the geography and geology of their community."
"I used to have to tell my students about phenomena, or have them read; now I can show them," says Jim Doane, a science teacher at Scarborough Middle School, in Scarborough, Maine. When we begin adding digital demonstrations through video and Flash animation, we are giving students new, better ways to get information."
This is sooo true - I love that I can show my kindergartners a video of a baby worm hatching from it's cocoon because the odds of us being able to see it in our worm bin despite the number of actual cocoons we may see are very,very low! Or videos of leaves changing color (in fast time) when we discuss chlorphyll and sunlight and fall. Or a magnificent closeup of our very own red wigglers as they "move" across the Promethean Board.