“There was a Time when all I needed was a textbook, Filmstrip and a Mimeographed Quiz” by Tony Brewer

by Tony Brewer

http://www.tonybrewer.com/

author of “Technology Integration in the 21st Century Classroom” and “WebQuests: The Second to Guided Empowerment”

from lower Alabama (LA)j

we have technology in Alabama, have been using color chalked for 3 weeks

wants to help us relax
– not have to be rocket science, it can be popular science
– don’t have to reinvent the wheel
– what to talk about boiling technology down to the basics

3 basic levels of tech integration
– communication
– computing
– critical thinking

remember mimeographied quizes and filmstrips?
– kids today won’t tolerate this, they want to be edutained

We are here today because info tech is still changing (the road)
– we have been the sage on the stage, that was the teaching model of the past
– now we need to look at the way teachers teach, the way students learn, the way the world thinks

3 different

Traditional classroom teacher: uses standard textbook, is the sage on the stage
– not a thing wrong with that, but kids are demanding more

techno-constuctivism: this is project based learning
– adopted technology to deliver 100% of your content
– this is has been unfair to expect teachers to do this

techno-traditional classroom teacher
– I ask teachers to use some technology that will accelerate what you are doing with students but using technology
– write with word, do a PPT for your lecture, etc
– this causes kids to pay better attention

special needs kids are biggest winners, we are keeping kids focused for 90 minutes at a time
– kids are hooked on technology, it is changing the way teachers teach, “of this there is no doubt”

Beware technology is not a panacea
– can be a real pain

old model: experience and knoweldge go through teacher to the student
new model: knowledge database (Internet) is in the middle, around it is the teacher, and the students

you are silly if you create your own webquest, you are silly if you create your own, but there is 500K out there and it would be dumb for you to create your own

How do we do this: The 3 C’s (communication, computing, critical thinking)
– communication has 2 forms: other people, and other computers
– 2 heads are always better than one

What if we post the same question to 2.6 million teachers nationwide
– we need to communicate with other people and remote computers

everyone now is googling
– now you don’t have to google with boolean searches

on tonybrewer.com you can find the handouts from all his sessions

Have you heard new-gen search engines: kartu, vivisimo, etc
– can offer suggestions when you search

Communication:
– most replicated internet project: “Are there monsters living under your bed?”
– got over 1200 stories from all over the world, in many different languages
– most successful stories every done

Another project example
– great international mystery novel project
– each classroom wrote a different chapter in their own language, kept circulating it around the world
– 2nd most popular project ever done online

it is all about communication, how do you get started
– best way: do something someone else has already done
– best websites: www.epals.com or www.iecc.org
– tens of thousands of projects on there for you to try

Computing: doing something with the data or information that the kids obtained through communicating

– story of Houdini using elecromagnet and a barbell, with strong men, small children, etc

Example of computing project with native americans “and their issues”
– wars, lands, etc
– break kids into teams, each team researches a different aspect of native american life and creates a powerpoint
– finally posted a note on the internet and got
– native american students in Michigan mailed instructions and built a real birch bark canoe
– kids used technology to build a real project or product

Last C: critical thinking
– analyzing/discussing the data collected
– drawing conclusions
– writing persuasive essays
– extending the original lesson

Example of a critical thinking project: “The Dirt-bag Project”
– years ago doing a presentation on project based learning
— posted this on the internet, said if you live anywhere in the world, analyze the soil you have, identify minerals, contaminants
– got 256 soil samples from all over the world
– got world map, and wherever they got the message, wrote data on 3 x 5 card
– saw similarities between soil of west Africa and eastern South America

school found out their soil 17x as much lead as normal, then did another sample, found out their soil was a hazardous waste site
– example of students doing a project that is locally important
– found out who owned land previously: the war of northern aggression, this was the site of the conferderate ammo dump for making lead
– found out Sherman had burned the ammo dump
– kids got metal detector and found lots of artifacts
— found sword, pistol, revolver, letter that a union officer had left
— “of course your project won’t be that cool”
– now the kids do re-enactment

What are kids doing with technology?
– exploring
constructing
discussion
expalining
organizting
etc..

teachers are creating a new environment that is technology friendly, you have transitioned from the sage on the side to the guide on the side

What is tech doing?
– presenting easy access to a wealth of info
– allows for fast and fun communication
– accomodates multiple learning styles and rates
– promotes lifelong learning
– multimedia excites students about learning

technology doesn’t care who you are or what you are

do we know if it promotes lifelong learning? we don’t know, we haven’t had anyone live long enough
– we are finding improvement in all academic areas

do a project each year diving off of a reef in Costa Rica

Is technology really helping?
– yes we are finding out in every area it is having a profound effect on learning
— motivation, self-esteem, self-confidence, academic skills (math, science, social studies, language arts, reading and writing)
— special needs students also showed remarkable improvement in all areas

-based on 2 year (2000-2001) study conducted by Interactive Educational Systems Design, New York, NY

turn lessons into engaging online games
– choose to search advanced in google, look for .ppt files, enter in jeopardy games, you will get lots of powerpoint presos of jeopardy games created and posted online

what do you think kids enjoy more: drill and kill with paper, or electronic games….

be careful with language translation software….