Technology Integration Assessment
Assess how technology is being utilized in “targeted areas of concern” based on SOL test performance. The questions that we will answer are:
Is there actual “integration” or is technology being added in to satisfy the requirement that technology be used?
Are students using the technology within the learning process, or is the teacher the primary user?
Are we getting students to “buy-in” to the learning activities that are conducted in service of the curriculum? Why or why not?
If there are differences – based on test scores – from classroom to classroom, we might want to find out what they are and use this information to prescribe a set of delivery models for curriculum that meets this data-based need.
We want to have students analyze the information in the curriculum, not just passively “receive it.”1 We want students to produce learning products that demonstrate their knowledge of the curriculum that has been covered. The immediate problem that this presents is that such project-based learning takes more time than typical lecture or worksheet methods of delivery. Therefore we must:
Carefully analyze and prioritize what areas of performance we need to impact
Develop in-depth learning experiences that target multiple areas of concern
Diligently prepare for the presentation of this content and the activities that the learners will perform to demonstrate their knowledge. Follow up at key points in time with activities that ask the learner to reflect on what they have learned prior to testing.
There is no magic bullet. We will find the most intractable problems – one at a time – and bang on them until they fall over. We will then proceed to the next problem, and the next. Along the way we should always be mindful that what we would like to create is a “distributed learning community,” where ideas are heartily debated on the basis of their value to the learning process that benefits the student.2 Where we encounter obstacles, the rubric that informs our decision-making process should be based on engaging the student in the learning process to the highest degree possible. Through this long-term concerted effort a culture of learning that values technology integration for its contribution to the learning process will emerge. Delivery models that were once thought of as indicative of “technology integration” will give way to new methods that engage students in higher – level thinking and move the performance of students beyond what is required by the SOL and demonstrate the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) required of our schools.
1. "The results show significantly higher scores on measurements of information management, communication, and presentation of ideas for experimental groups with online access than for control groups with no online access. It offers evidence that using Scholastic Network and the Internet can help students become independent, critical thinkers, able to find information, organize and evaluate it, and then effectively express their new knowledge and ideas in compelling ways."
The Role of Online Communications in Schools: A National Study
http://www.cast.org/udl/index.cfm?i=121
2. " 'Distributed learning' is a term used to describe educational experiences that are distributed across a variety of geographic settings, across time and across various interactive media. Professional development via distributed learning involves an orchestrated mixture of face-to-face and virtual interactions, often centered on a “learning communities” model. Research shows that, in general, the integration of interactive media into student instruction or teacher professional development shapes the learning experiences of those involved (Dede, Whitehouse and Brown-L’Bahy 2002)."
Enabling Distributed Learning Communities Via Emerging Technologies - Part One
By Dr. Chris Dede, Harvard University
Technological Horizons in Education (T.H.E.) Journal
http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A4963.cfm
Copyright Tom Spencer 2004
Is there actual “integration” or is technology being added in to satisfy the requirement that technology be used?
Are students using the technology within the learning process, or is the teacher the primary user?
Are we getting students to “buy-in” to the learning activities that are conducted in service of the curriculum? Why or why not?
If there are differences – based on test scores – from classroom to classroom, we might want to find out what they are and use this information to prescribe a set of delivery models for curriculum that meets this data-based need.
We want to have students analyze the information in the curriculum, not just passively “receive it.”1 We want students to produce learning products that demonstrate their knowledge of the curriculum that has been covered. The immediate problem that this presents is that such project-based learning takes more time than typical lecture or worksheet methods of delivery. Therefore we must:
Carefully analyze and prioritize what areas of performance we need to impact
Develop in-depth learning experiences that target multiple areas of concern
Diligently prepare for the presentation of this content and the activities that the learners will perform to demonstrate their knowledge. Follow up at key points in time with activities that ask the learner to reflect on what they have learned prior to testing.
There is no magic bullet. We will find the most intractable problems – one at a time – and bang on them until they fall over. We will then proceed to the next problem, and the next. Along the way we should always be mindful that what we would like to create is a “distributed learning community,” where ideas are heartily debated on the basis of their value to the learning process that benefits the student.2 Where we encounter obstacles, the rubric that informs our decision-making process should be based on engaging the student in the learning process to the highest degree possible. Through this long-term concerted effort a culture of learning that values technology integration for its contribution to the learning process will emerge. Delivery models that were once thought of as indicative of “technology integration” will give way to new methods that engage students in higher – level thinking and move the performance of students beyond what is required by the SOL and demonstrate the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) required of our schools.
1. "The results show significantly higher scores on measurements of information management, communication, and presentation of ideas for experimental groups with online access than for control groups with no online access. It offers evidence that using Scholastic Network and the Internet can help students become independent, critical thinkers, able to find information, organize and evaluate it, and then effectively express their new knowledge and ideas in compelling ways."
The Role of Online Communications in Schools: A National Study
http://www.cast.org/udl/index.cfm?i=121
2. " 'Distributed learning' is a term used to describe educational experiences that are distributed across a variety of geographic settings, across time and across various interactive media. Professional development via distributed learning involves an orchestrated mixture of face-to-face and virtual interactions, often centered on a “learning communities” model. Research shows that, in general, the integration of interactive media into student instruction or teacher professional development shapes the learning experiences of those involved (Dede, Whitehouse and Brown-L’Bahy 2002)."
Enabling Distributed Learning Communities Via Emerging Technologies - Part One
By Dr. Chris Dede, Harvard University
Technological Horizons in Education (T.H.E.) Journal
http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A4963.cfm
Copyright Tom Spencer 2004
posted by Tom Spencer at 2:37 PM
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