Part 1: Springfield District #186
The rationale behind the District's vision for technology in the classroom is that technology is an integral part of the instructional process and all students should be provided access. This use of technology will provide students with opportunities to use problem-solving and critical thinking skills that will be critical in students' later careers. Therefore, the District has developed a five-year plan to achieve the goal of increasing the amount of technology in every classroom.
Grades 5-8 are the first priority, high schools are next, and K-4 buildings are last. This is due to the amount of inservice teachers have received as well as the developmental appropriateness of the use of technology in these grades. At the end of the first year, the plan stipulates that one Macintosh will be placed in every K-4 and high school classroom, while two such computers will be added in every 5-8 room. The plan also allocates $300 for each machine for the purchase of software. By the end of the five years, there will be a total of four computers per classroom in K-4 buildings and six in the middle grades and high schools. Furthermore, buildings will receive TV/VCRs, laser disc players, printers and TV/computer display technologies. In addition, each year of the plan, schools will receive $10 per student to purchase software and peripherals. All buildings will be wired for computer networking, E-mail and Internet, as well. Telephones will also be installed in each classroom.
Another part of the plan calls for
the hiring of additional support staff members. Finally, on-going
training and inservice is imperative for teachers.
Part 2: Lincoln School
Lincoln School's technology plan
reflects the vision of the District. Our technology committee follows
the District Technology Director's idea of the "Rule of Thirds,"
whereby a third of technology funds are allocated to hardware, a
third to software, and a third to training. The focus of the school's
vision is to provide equal opportunities for all students to use
technology as an integral part of their learning process. Funds are
used to upgrade memory and purchase upper-end computers to keep
technology current. Teachers take part in on-going "just-in-time"
training, which has recently been expanded to include students along
with teachers to learn programs being used in the classrooms.
Part 3: Classroom Improvements
The way in which I would like to realistically improve the use of technology in my classroom, involves the purpose for which my students typically use the technology. Much of our integrated curriculum involves the student use of technology for research and presentation purposes. Students use reference CD-ROMs, the Internet, and multimedia software, such as Hyperstudio, to research and present information. These activities greatly enhance the students' communication and presentation skills.
Now that we have fine-tuned these activities, in addition, I would like to expand the uses of technology in my classroom to include a greater variety of resources. I would like to continue locating new Internet sites for use within our science and language arts curriculum. Furthermore, I would like to move to student-created Web sites for presentation purposes. Also, I hope to begin using programs such as Power Point with students, rather than simply using is for my presentation purposes.
Another area that I would like to improve in my classroom, is the use of technology to support our science curriculum. For the most part, students use technology in my science classroom to research topics related to our thematic unit during our culminating project. I would like to investigate more software programs to tie directly into the FOSS science modules for each quarter.
In conclusion, I have developed
plans and utilized technology resources in my classroom since I've
been a part of the Project Lincol'n model of instruction. I am now
quite comfortable with the use of technology and would like to expand
the use beyond what I have implemented to this point.
Part 4: 'Dream Classroom"
I am very fortunate to be a part of Lincoln School where most rooms represent a teacher's dream classroom. My "dream" classroom has its own TV/VCR and laser disc player. All rooms also have a telephone. The building has a direct fiber optic connection to the Internet. I also have four Macintosh computers, an Apple IIGS, and an Apple IIe computer, and a laptop for teacher and/or student use, all of which are sufficient for use in science and language arts stations. The District and our building provide any other necessary technological resources, such as software programs and peripherals.
To improve this "dream" classroom, I would like to have more Macintosh computers available so that at least each one of my seven teams of students would have a computer available at one time. (This number almost matches the District's plan of six computers per classroom at the 5-8 level.) However, this can usually be achieved by utilizing computers in other rooms within our team. Ideally, there would even be enough computers for students to work in pairs on computers rather than in teams of four. This would require at least 14 Macintosh computers per room.
Although my room has an Apple Presentation Kit for computer display on the TV, my "dream" classroom would have a large screen presentation system. This is available in one room within our team at this time but would be very useful, if not practical, in each room.
The average day in my dream classroom would include the use of at least one piece of technology each day by every student. If time and resources were available, students would be involved in a variety of technologies for different purposes in each content area, including locating, retrieving, analyzing, compiling, presenting information. This type of student-centered learning greatly enhances critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills. Through these experiences, students also take responsibility and ownership of their own learning; thus, making these experiences much more meaningful. As I mentioned, the students and teachers at Lincoln School and within much of District #186 are fortunate to be living in "dream" technology classrooms.
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