Can technology save the world? Will putting a computer in a classroom end hunger and precipitate world peace? Probably not, but computers and other technology can, and should, bring about a fundamental change in the ways teachers teach and students learn. But, how, exactly? And possibly more importantly, why?
This paper will examine the reasons for using technology with students, the pedagogy behind the technology use, and some of the practical elements of the high-tech classroom.
What is the purpose of using advanced technology in the classroom? Does a computer or video camera or scanner really allow students to do anything that a textbook and piece of paper don't? In a word, yes.
- When content and strategies meet accepted education standards, research shows that technology:
- Increases performance when interactivity is prominent.
- Improves attitude and confidence-especially for "at risk" students.
- Provides instructional opportunities otherwise not available.
- Can increase opportunities for student-constructed learning.
- Increases student collaboration on projects.
- Increases mastery of vocational and work force skills.
- Helps prepare students for work when emphasized as a problem solving tool.
- Significantly improves problem solving skills of special education students.
The increasingly diverse student population, coupled with the family, social and economic challenges facing almost every student make it imperative that we use every tool we have to help our children succeed. If using a computer can motivate a child and help her learn better and in ways that will enable her to be a productive adult, we have a responsibility to make sure she has access to one.
The jury is still out on whether using technology applications will help students perform better on standardized tests, but that may be a moot point anyway. As portfolios and other forms of authentic assessment gain popularity and respect, less and less emphasis is placed on test scores. Few adults ever take multiple choice tests at work.
What is it about computers that makes them invaluable instructional tools? What are the benefits in using computers in the classroom? A brief review of modern learning theory answer these questions.
Constructivism
According to constructivist principles and current educational thought and practice, the understanding and meaning of information and experiences is individual to each learner (Jonassen, 1991; Duffy and Cunningham, 1996). Each person makes her own sense of the world, and her structure of "reality" relies on her experiences and interpretations.
Learning is thus an active process of constructing, rather than acquiring, knowledge, and instruction is a process of supporting that construction rather than communicating knowledge (Duffy and Cunningham, 1996, p. 171).
Schema and Mental Models
Learners use several forms of mental representations to construct their knowledge and understanding of information. Through experience and interaction, they build "schemata". Although specific definitions of schemata vary, all agree that it has these characteristics: (1) It is an organized structure that exists in memory and contains the sum of our knowledge of the world. (2) It is more abstract than our everyday experiences. (3) It is composed of concepts that are linked together with statements about their relationships. (4) It is dynamic and changes through experience and instruction. (5) It provides a context for interpreting and incorporating new knowledge (Winn and Snyder, 1996).
The learner also creates mental models, which are bascially broader in concept than schemata because a model specifies causal relationships among objects within it (Winn and Snyder, 1996). All the knowledge we possess, then, is organized in some fashion into schema and mental models. The process of constructing knowledge and understanding therefore includes the processes of building schema and mental models.
Mental Models and Technology?
The technological environment provides many opportunities and methods for the learner to build schema and the mental models based on them. The information encountered and the experiences the user chooses will be added to the existing schemata and update the individual's mental model of the concepts, and will thus determine her understanding of the situation or scenario.
For example, each student's schema and mental model of a concept, such as molecular structure, is unique. Any additional exposure to the concept will allow the learner to clarify or enhance her mental model. Here, learning is a constructive process through which the learner creates new knowledge by extracting information from the environment (the experience with the presentation of molecular structure) and integrating it with what is already known (existing mental model of molecules) (Kozma, 1991).
What Does This Mean in the Classroom?
Advanced technology is uniquely suited to assist learners in constructing, as well as expressing, their knowledge. Software applications can help learners grasp and make meaning of difficult or abstract concepts and information better than books or other media, because they can provide structures and representations students do not possess themselves (Kozma, 1991). Text-based media, such as textbooks, are limited in their ability to make models or demonstrate processes that the learner cannot perform. In addition, poor readers expend energy decoding the text that could be used for comprehension and mental model construction (Kozma, 1991).
Students can also create technology-based worlds to express their understanding and knowledge in a particular area. Instructors can evaluate the students' learning based on the quality and completeness of the model represented. Learners who may not be proficient in the language of instruction or who have verbal or written communication disabilities can especially benefit from using certain technological applications, because their difficulty with language does not stand in the way of their learning. The increasing diversity of our students makes this a worthwhile point in considering the adoption of advanced technologies.
Technology can also allow students to do things that would normally be too dangerous or expensive to do in the real classroom. Students can virtually experiment with chemicals or other substances without the danger of real explosions, burns, or other mishaps. The cost of the materials (other than hardware and software) is also eliminated. Students can take virtual field trips to places that they would not otherwise have the opportunity to experience (McLellan, 1996).
Computers, then, should not be used simply for the sake of using technology. The equipment becomes another tool students and teachers have to obtain information and make meaning, becoming an integral part of the learning experience. The tool becomes transparent, and the end products, knowledge and skills, are the focus of the students' and teacher's efforts.
Integrating technology into the regular classroom is not easy! Planning of activities, the role of the teacher, classroom management, and the types of student projects are all affected by the presence of computers.
Activities and Student Projects
Computers usually work best as centers, through which groups of students rotate during the class period. For example, a group of students may be working on a multimedia science project or conducting research using the Internet. The rest of the class might be using other media for research or working on paper layouts of the projects.
Student projects involving technology are usually long term activities, in which students synthesize information on a particular topic, such as the solar system, and present their findings. Presentations might be videos, PowerPoint presentations, Hyperstudio stacks, or Director movies.
However, student projects do not always have to be extremely complex. Students can scan pictures of themselves to use in an autobiography, or can practice their foreign language skills by sending email to students in an another country.
The key in technology-based projects is for students to use the technology to construct and illustrate their knowledge in ways that traditional, linear teaching methods do not permit. The technology motivates like nothing else for most students, and makes the curriculum interesting and relevant to all.
Some exemplary models of curriculum units in which technology is an integral part:
- SCORE Language Arts
- Triton Project
- Global SchoolNet
- Virtual Frog Dissection
Filamentality, a site sponsored by Pacific Bell, provides and excellent tool to begin the construction of an Internet based lesson.
Role of the Teacher
If the new technologies are used effectively, the teacher interacts with students much more than in a traditional classroom. She is a facilitator and guide to the discovery and gradual mastery of knowledge, skills and attitudes. The computer allows students to progress and learn at their own pace, and teachers become coaches who tailor their assistance to the needs of the child. Different students have different questions, and each gets exactly the help she needs.
When teachers use the computer to teach, they tend to work with small groups of students or individual students rather than with the class as a whole at any given time. This allows them to develop a much more accurate and realistic impression of what students do and do not understand, as well as build closer personal relationships with their students. (Goire, Bracewell, and Laferri¶re, 1996)
The computer plays roughly the same role as the piano: only by playing piano or working on acomputer can a student learn; teachers serve as a guide to ensure that the interactions between the student and the piano or computer contribute to the student's learning. Teachers concentrate more on students who need help, who are usually the weakest, while in the traditional classroom, they tend to give priority to the strongest students. (Goire, Bracewell, and Laferri¶re, 1996)
Classroom Management
Managing the technological classroom is challenging, at the least. Students must have some degree of autonomy and be able to work without the teacher's constant attention. They must also have at least the basic skills necessary to operate the computer and the software programs they are required to use.
In addition to the basic computer skills, at least some students should be class experts in the software being used and in trouble-shooting minor difficulties. They can be trained in the necessary skills at lunchtime or after school, and other students using the computers ask them for help before asking the teacher. Students learn problem solving and critical thinking skills, and the teacher is freed to assist other students. When the experts cannot solve the problem, then they consult the teacher. (Payton, 1997)
Additional adults in the classroom can also make the high-tech classroom more manageable. A parent volunteer or teacher's aide can assist with questions, and make sure everyone at the computers stays focused on their tasks. Schools can also find business and community partners to participate in the classroom, and make use of the mentor or resource teachers available in the district.
Some Tips
A few things to keep in mind when bringing computers into the classroom:
- If students will be working with the Internet, make sure each has a signed Appropriate Use Policy BEFORE using the computers. Sample AUPs can be found here.
- Make sure each student has his/her own disk, and that all work is stored on that disk. Discourage the lending and sharing of disks, and make each student responsible for holding onto his/her disk.
- Or, create a folder for each student on the file server. They can save their work in the folder, and access it from any networked computer on campus.
A potential problem here is that students may open folders of other students and copy work. Emphasis on the consequences for this behavior may reduce the risk of it happening.
- If possible, position all computers in the classroom so that all monitors are visible from anywhere in the room.
- If students are conducting Internet research, make a page of links or a list of bookmarks to help them get started. They can search on their own if they need more information, but some links to use as a beginning can avoid a lot of wasted time and frustration.
Unfortunately, many schools skimp on this part of their technology planning. They figure that once they have the hardware and software, teachers will some how find the time and the skills to use everything. This is exactly the wrong approach.
Teachers are amazingly creative and energetic people who can do great things with very little, but they can't do everything on their own. They must be given opportunities and time to learn new software and hardware, and to create ways to incorporate their new skills into their teaching repertoires.
Schools should investigate the training and support included with the purchase of hardware and software, as well as make use of the technology services provided by the local and county school districts (Payton, 1997). School-based training sessions must be mandatory, so that all staff is provided with the information and skills. Some teachers may be resistant at first, but will usually benefit from the instruction if given enough support. Training sessions should also be organized into grade or subject area, so that teachers are sure to find something that applies directly to them and to their students. Who could blame the Math teacher for becoming frustrated during a session geared for Social Studies teachers?
In addition to the basics of the productivity tools (word processors and grading programs, for example), teacher training must also cover using technology in the classroom with the students. Creating curriculum units that integrate technology is challenging, and teachers must be given the tools and the time to do this successfully.
Training benefits both teachers and students. In one study by Vanderbilt University, teachers received extensive instruction and support in the pedagogy of the technological use, the characteristics of the operating system, and in using the technology with their students. Student outcomes demonstrated significant increases in the understanding of mathematical word problems as well as increases in the number of accurate solutions to the problems in comparison with performance by control group students.(Goire, Bracewell, and Laferri¶re, 1996)
Technology, in and of itself, will not have the slightest impact on students or education as a whole. Only when the machines become tools to use toward achieving the end of a relevant, productive education have the computers made a difference. The evidence clearly supports the use of advanced technology in the classroom. Anything that can motivate students, encourage them to collaborate and think creatively to solve problems, and make contact with those who are difficult to reach is definitely worth the expense. Technology not for technology's sake, but to enrich the curriculum and make it important and accesible to every student.
Will technology really save the world? Maybe not. But it just might make contact with that kid who CAN.
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