Martha Alewine is a consultant to the South Carolina State Department of Education working with standards for information literacy. Martha presented to the group on state standards that have been adopted for Information and Communications Technology (ITC).

• Content Standards
• Standards for the 21st Century Learner
• NETS-Students
• Partnership for 21st Century Skills
• SC Internet Safety Standards
• SC K-12 ICT Scope and Sequence
• IMPACT: Teaching and Learning for the 21st Century 

The standards have been brought together and are available on the IMPACT wiki.

Martha provided a folder of resources for the SCITA participants.

Other resources mentioned by Martha

• Glogster – www.glogster.com/edu - allows users to create online multimedia posters.

I love the fact that technolgy can take us to a whole new world. Students could be engaged in so many ways through the use of technology. The opportunities and experiences are endless.

Technology can also hinder the flow of the teaching process. Offline difficulties, equipment malfunctions, etc. are always a possibility. The technology is only as good as the teacher—lack of teacher training is also an issue with technology.

Teachers are helped by technology when they can learn from its seemingly inumerable disadvantages and reflect on its relevancy for everyday learning to take place.

Technology is definitely a tool that can help teachers and students in the classroom.  Technology as a tool FOR instruction enables a teacher to utilize innovative and effective resources to reach, engage, and inspire students.  Technology provides a means for a teacher to remove the walls of the classroom as we saw with Chris Craft’s examples yesterday. It lets students see that they are a CONTRIBUTING part of a greater community. Simple equipment such as document cameras and LCD projectors allow teachers to physically share the wonders of his/her discoveries with an entire class.  This also allows the teacher to MODEL ethical use and inquiry processes with his/her students.

Technology as a tool FOR LEARNING presents even more assistance in the classroom. It allows students with multiple learning styles the opportunity to shine. It allows students to work inthe upper levels of Bloom’s where they are creating and evaluating their own work as well as that of others. Software possibilities are endless which can help teachers differentiate the instructions to the level appropriate for EACH student.

Technology can be a hinderance in education, however.  Integrating technology into lessons can take extra time as previewing websites and preparing students to properly visit the Web takes time.  Assembling equipment and making sure it works properly takes time and can disrupt the delivery of the lesson if something goes wrong. Sometimes using technology can distract from the objective of the lesson…the students focus on the “toys” and do not connect to the standard being addressed. In addition to these hinderances, I think teachers do experience an overload of technology that can cause a breakdown. For example, our teachers were expected to learn to use a new email system, new Office version, new grade book software and new Accelerated Reader software all within a few weeks of each other.  Even those of us who were “savvy” had a difficult time with it all. Training and practice has to be a vital component…..which is happily why we are here!!!

I absolutely love technology and I am a big proponent of it within the classroom. Last year, I had a promethean board in my classroom and it was used on a daily basis. We used it for powerpoints, interactive websites, united streaming videos, as a literacy work station, and also for simple word processing for note taking. Last year, I was the only teacher on my grade level that had a promethean board, so my students felt priveleged! They thoroughly enjoyed using and interacting with the board every day! Currently, I am working on my Masters in Technology in Education, so I am learning about various strategies such as podcasting, creating websites, etc. to integrate into my classroom. I have decided to go this route with technology because I feel that providing these oportunities to students at school may open up doors to students. They are provided with opportunities that they may not have anywhere else, such as home!

There are usually just as many cons as there are pros when it comes to technology. With students, it does not provide that moral support for students as a teacher would. It deminshes the human relationship factor. There are also the technical issues of technology. It never helps your plans when the internet goes down or a piece of equipment doesn’t work properly!

One of the biggest hinderances is becoming “enthralled” with the technology to the point we begin to allow it to become a substitute for instruction istead of using it to enrich instruction.  It should never overshadow or replace the teacher.  While it can engage students, technology can never inspire or instill a love of learning in students.

Pros:  The “cool” factor is definitely a pro for technology.  I think if you can get a student’s attention and they say “wow, that’s cool” they’re more apt to listen and take notice.  Another pro I see is that children in today’s society are so surrounded by technology and used to the overload, although they may not see it as such.  Music, flashes of light, movement on screens- it just seems to liven things up. A white board seems rather boring in comparison. Another pro is certainly the ability to bring something to the student who has no prior knowledge.  This year I had a student who had never stepped inside a church sanctuary.  When we talked about MLK Jr., he couldn’t relate to a pulpit.  With United Streaming, I was able to give him a picture of that.  It certainly doesn’t replace the real experience, but at least it gave him a picture.

Cons:  It doesn’t always cooperate when you need it! (It seems for me, when I am being observed by an administrator!)  It’s easy to become dependent on it and then it the server is down or what not- you panic and say “What now?”  Also another con is the misinformation factor.  Facts need to be verified. Lastly, to me, there needs to be times when the children are seated at my feet, listening to a story, and create the own picture in their head. They can’t always be “entertained” by dazzling pictures and sounds.

Education is better with technology in several ways. First, incorporating technology in education provides many opportunities to students that they may not have otherwise. Through technology students are exposed to resources they may not have access to and to experiences that they may never have authentically. Technology allows teachers to engage students actively in their learning. Rather than passively listening to a lecture or reading a text, students are given the opportunity to participate in their education through avenues such as blogging, podcasting, texting, etc. The use of technology also allows teachers to meet a variety of students’ needs and differentiate accordingly. For example, a student who learns best through auditory methods may benefit from podcasts that can be re-played as needed. Likewise, a student who learns best visually, may benefit from the use of a promethean or similar board. Students are given so many opportunities to incorporate technology resources they may experience in daily life with their education. This in itself makes their education more real-world.

Despite the many benefits of technology in education, there are also ways that technology may hinder a student’s education. The primary hinderance for a meaningful education is that technology often takes out the personal relationship factor that is a huge part of education. When students begin interacting more and more through devices, computers, and virtually, the human interaction is not as prominent. The relationships that are built between students and teachers are a critical part of the educational foundation.

Quotes from my children:  ”I like to use the ipods so I don’t have to listen to the teacher yap.”  “I like the Promethean board when the teacher lets me use it.”  “Most of my teachers don’t use technology, well sometimes the Promethean board.”

Education is helped by technology because the students become more  excited and involved in the learning process.  They want to participate.   I love to see how excited my 1st graders become when they know they will get a turn on the board or computer.  They want to take part in these activities.  Even wigglers/talkers will be still and quiet for some length of time if they know they will have a turn sooner.  They are excited and more willing to try.  If  I put a learning activity on the board for a workstation on Monday, they will remind me to put it up again everyday.  They are also very concerned with their report when they know I will be checking to see what and how they did on programs such as Odyssey.  Being able to change from one thing to another quickly helps keep students involved.  It is also easy to use many resources to differentiate the instruction.  One child may understand the concept by watching a video while another needs to try it out to understand. 

Some of  the advantages can also be a hindrance. Lessons which do not involve technology may not be as exciting to the students.  Sometimes coming up with plan B when technology doesn’t work is difficult.  One of the biggest problems I have had with technology is not being able to leave anything on the Promethean board for a substitute.  Most of them do not even want to report the lunch count on the computer.

Needless to say,  the benefits of technology are countless and as we discovered today, what is considered technology is in the eyes of the beholder as well as in the era of time which we live. Antique stores and my attic are full of technology!! As society grows in the digital and communication era, teachers have new ways to engage, give opportunities, explore with and teach their students. We are given another tool in which to work. Technology provides “specialized tools”  that help us to bring our students to the next level, even when the technology WAS colored chalk or  an overhead projector. Some of us still don’t have much more than an overhead projector.

Technology doesn’t have the ability to teach.  I used to have a poster in my room that states a computer is only as smart as the operator. As teachers we can have all the bells and whistles given to us but if we don’t know how to ring and blow them, then they are just thingamajigs and doomaflachees that sit in a box.  Another discovery today (and MANY other days in my career and life) was that technology doesn’t always work the way anticipated and you should always have a plan B. Of course as good teachers we ALWAYS have a plan B??!!??    affordability, availability and logistics of technology are  always pitfalls in this area. Technology should be available consistently throughout each school but the affordability hinders the logistics. 

I have another poster that says “THE BEST COMPUTER YOU HAVE IS THE ONE BETWEEN YOUR EARS”

I’m putting my technology to bed now……..