Cisco and Metri edtech research

By Wesley Fryer On October 1, 2006 · · 1 Comment

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Cisco and the Metri group have released an 18 page PDF file titled, “Technology in Schools: What the Research Says.” Brian Crosby has posted some key excerpts that sound positive, I have not yet taken time to read the full report. I’m glad the report is both treating digital social networking in a more balanced way than we often see in the mainstream media, and also recognizing that technology alone offers no panacea for education’s ills:

Educators are finding that reflective dialog augments learning. Social networking accelerates learning and is facilitated by technology. Students are highly motivated to communicate via technology be it text messaging, email, instant messaging, talking, or videoconferencing. Social networking via technology can connect students to a broad range of interactivity that sharpens and extends thinking and piques intellectual curiosity.

The bottom line is we need great teachers, and we need to help those teachers take the TIME required to engage students in authentic conversations of great depth and high quality. We can buy all the technology we want for our schools, but without great teachers these devices just become fancy doorstops instead of doorways to new worlds of engaged learning.

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On this day..

http://www.teachingeverystudent.blogspot.com KJanowski

Who defines “great teachers?”
For me, a starting place is someone who models lifelong learning and who is willing to learn from his/her students. Someone who uses flexible presentation methods and who incorporates universal design for learning principles so that all students are engaged and can demonstrate what they know at their levels.
Someone who understands that, by definition, digital = accessible, that printed text is an obstacle to learning for many students.
Now I’ll read that article that you referenced above…