INTRODUCTION

This course was designed with real people in mind. The goals of the class are practical and are aimed at improving educational practice. As a summer class the time spent will be intensive. Each week there will be significant work and time online communicating with others. Hopefully, the outcome will be inspiration and a new view of how technology can enhance education.

Each week a lesson like this one has been prepared to guide you in the topic that is being discussed. There are readings to support the lesson, a quiz on the readings, a discussion to participate in and you will be making progress on a long term project. This first week's lesson is really important to lay a groundwork for all that we will be doing in the next six weeks. This is a collaborative class (virtually!) so it is important that we get to know a bit about each other. Introduce yourself with a paragraph in the discussion area (Communication-Discussion Board) as soon as possible. Then make yourself a simple webpage (Communication-Student WebPages). This is a simple process like filling in blanks. You can even put in a picture of yourself or something meaningful to you. During the week take time to look at each other's web pages and descriptions on the discussion board. The following lesson gives very important theoretical background to all of the other parts of the course. Be sure to check out the links in the lesson and bookmark ones that you may want to return to. At the end of each lesson you will find a reading assignment and a discussion assignment. The more participation that there is in the discussion the more interesting and helpful for all of us it will be. Feel free to post your own questions as well as commenting on what others ask.

You can find a detailed explanation of the assessment for the course under Course Information. This week there will be points for the quiz, your personal web page, and participation in the discussion group. A minimum participation in the discussion group is three postings a week. These can be responses to the questions posed, responses to others, or questions that you want to discuss. The point is to have an engaging discussion where we learn from each other. The major points for the course will come from the large project which is writing a technology plan for your school district. Rubrics for both your own web page and the technology plan can be found at:

http://www.missouri.edu/~c701124/TechRub.html

SCENARIO

Before you begin reading this lesson you will need to have a scenario to work with. This will provide you with a theoretical place to apply the things you are learning. You may be teaching now in a school and that is where you want to apply what you are learning. That school will supply your scenario for reading and thinking about the lessons to come. If you are not teaching you may have an idea from a school you worked at in the past, or that your children attend. If you do not have any idea at all you can choose from the three scenarios below. They are imaginary school situations which could be real. Some details are given, but you can supply the rest from your imagination.

Scenario One Scenario Two Scenario Three

TECHNOLOGY AND SCHOOL REFORM
 

One teacher sees the problem as a failure to have learner centered schools. He said, "This is one of the notions that has been rattling inside my head for awhile: "learner centered" schools. Why do students move from class to class? Why don't they come into "work" and sit at their desk most of the day. Of course they go to lunch and the gym and to special meetings elsewhere like the adults, but they should each have their own cubicle, workspace, desk. Why do we waste so much time having the students setup and breakdown their equipment? Why do we switch them from one discipline to another every 45+ minutes? Learner centered? Then make it learner centered. Have the teachers move about a cluster of rooms seeing the students in those rooms. Have teachers move in pairs, trios, flocks, herds to the student and team teach en masse. To make this really work each student has a laptop which jacks right into the ethernet or the infared network of the school, community, Internet. Teachers delivery via the net and the students will really be in the proper learner centered environment we demand. Instead we herd the students in mindless exercises of hallway navigation, wasted time to pack and unpack, and in snippets of knowledge delivered and not extracted by the students. Learner center will not happen until we raze the teacher centered environment we currently call school." Theodore Nellen Lewis J. Perelman has a similar point of view although he is looking at the issue from a marketing/business perspective. He wrote a very controversial book called School's Out. He says that technology has changed our world and that schools are totally outdated. It is his opinion that it is too late to reform schools. We just need to get rid of them. All kids can and need to learn to be learners. Computers on the Internet will allow them to learn what they want, when they want. The computer makes it possible for kids to learn at home, at daycare, or in a special learning center that they attend. Grades are not necessary and are artificial. What will matter is actual evidence of what the student has learned. According to Perelman, "Integrating technology into [today's classrooms] makes about as much sense as integrating the internal combustion engine into a horse." Linda Quinlan is a high school teacher who uses technology in her teaching has a different point of view. She has seen technology have an impact on education in schools. In an article called "Integrating Technology Into the Curriculum" found in High School Magazine, she says: "Our school has found compelling evidence that technology has the power to change the nature of education as dramatically as it has changed every other aspect of American life. For educators to ignore this would be nothing short of irresponsible." From your own experience of teaching and technology, which of two these positions do you support? Which view do you think is most prevalant among teachers? Or among educational researchers? If neither view appeals to you, do you take a position somewhere in the middle? Whose viewpoint are you closest to? Take some time to think about your position on this issue and make notes on it in your notebook. Now go to the Reinventing Schools web site http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/techgap/welcome.html Read carefully the section called "A New Model for Education". What do the authors of this section feel about technology and school reform? Take notes on this to prepare you for the discussion forum.

"Integrating technology into [today's classrooms] makes about as much sense as integrating the internal combustion engine into a horse." Lewis J. Perelman             "Our school has found compelling evidence that technology has the power to change the nature of education as dramatically as it has changed every other aspect of American life. For educators to ignore this would be nothing short of irresponsible." Linda Quinlan

SCHOOL CULTURE

"An alien description of American schools: A place where the relatively young come and watch the relatively old work." Phil Schlecty

One thing that is important for a technology leader to understand is school culture. Some schools are ready for change, others are not, and most are somewhere in-between. What can you do to find out what the culture is like at your school and how you can work successfully in it? First of all imagine yourself as an outsider visiting your own school. As you walk around pay attention to the school's styles and preferencesÉ Do you feel welcome, or feel as though you stick out like a sore thumb? Is the school formal, or casual? Is there a dress code? What is the hallway like? ... noisy? ... organized?... completely quiet with monitors passing out demerits? How is information communicated? Are there bulletin boards in the hallway? Do they display student's work or perfectly designed displays? What values show up? Are there awards for different things? What seems to be considered important? Now go into one or two classrooms and observe: Are they similar, showing a central philosophy? Do students work in groups? How are groups created? And finally, look at the larger picture as if you are involved in the situation: Who takes the roles of leadership and decision making? Is there consensus or more of a dictatorship? Are others consulted and considered in decisions that are made? How can someone gain status and what are the rewards? What are the mechanisms for management? Are they effective? What myths (history, school self-image, stories) and symbols does the school have or use? What do these say about the school culture? What are the beliefs, values and goals that drive the education that goes on in this school? (for example, "grades really show if someone is smart", or "these students will never be big achievers academically, so we will emphasize sports") Now that you have looked at your school culture you have a better idea of how easy or difficult change will be in your school. School change always takes a long time (any change does). The ACOT study shows that teachers go through predictable stages in their use of technology. An article written about SEIR*TEC, SouthEast Islands Regional Technology in Education Consortium, concludes from lessons they learned at their intensive schools sites that "this process takes from three to five years. We have found that in technology poor schools, the process takes even longer." Computer technology complicates the innovation scenario by changing constantly. A school culture that is resistant to change will have a very difficult time integrating technology effectively.

Phil Schlecty, who is quoted at the top of this page, has a web site that talks more about his ideas at his website.

Center for Leadership in School Reform.

http://www.clsr.org/home/rethinking.htm

Go to it now and find something of interest to share with the discussion group, when you come to this week's assignment.

A TECHNOLOGY LEADER
 

A technology leader is a change agent in his/her school. To be successful as a change agent, this individual must relate well with others and also understand the technology. He/she listens to others and hears their concerns. Technology leaders: communicate with the staff regularly. encourage people to work together and learn from each other. motivate others to be concerned and committed to change. One way to do this is to facilitate small collegial learning groups. Choose people who are ready to learn and give them a chance to learn some really cool stuff. This will stimulate the interest and curiosity of others, who may then want to join this type of group. One idea that has worked is to hold workshops before school once a week. Allow teachers to control the content of the workshops so that it is relevant to them by giving them a choice of topics that will be prepared for them to learn each time. Make sure that they receive some reward like extra pay, special recognition, conference attendance, or career ladder credit. Have fun!

is a website that we will use often in this class. In this lesson, find the section on change. From there, choose the first article on the list called "The Breaking Edge of Change" and read it. What type of leadership is the article talking about?

Your first contribution to the discussion group should be a short description of yourself. Include your experience with technology and why you decided to take this class. Remind us to look at your personal website. Include what scenario you are going to be using as a basis for work in this class. Remember you can use one of your own choosing or one of the three imaginary ones listed above.

Next contribute to the discussion on School Reform. This week, we will discuss the culture of your chosen school and how you perceive your role as a technology leader in this situation. Throughout this lesson, you should have been taking notes and thinking about these issues. The following four questions are designed to focus this week's discussion:

• Are you a change agent at your school? What can you do to become one?
• What does school reform mean to you?
• How does technology relate to school reform ... or does it?
• As a technology leader what do you feel you need to learn in this class?

In addition to the web articles referenced earlier in this week's class, read the following articles from the packet you purchased when you registered:

"Factors Which Contribute to Difficulties in Effecting School Change", Cathy Brachbill, AECT Change Division Newsletter, Dec. 97.

"School Reform in the Information Age", Howard D. Mehlinger, Phi Delta Kappan pp.400-407, Feb. 96.

"Restructuring a School and Surviving", Howard Pitler, New Schools and Communities. Vol. 12, No. 1, 52-55.

Until Friday you can take the quiz as often as you want to and it will give you feedback. On Friday morning I will change the quiz set up so that it reports a grade to me. You will no longer be able to take the quiz multiple times.