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More Food For Thought

Why Integrate Technology into the Curriculum?: The Reasons Are Many
There’s a place for tech in every classroom.
by Edutopia Staff

“Technology is ubiquitous, touching almost every part of our lives, our communities, our homes. Yet most schools lag far behind when it comes to integrating technology into classroom learning. Many are just beginning to explore the true potential tech offers for teaching and learning. Properly used, technology will help students acquire the skills they need to survive in a complex, highly technological knowledge-based economy.
Integrating technology into classroom instruction means more than teaching basic computer skills and software programs in a separate computer class. Effective tech integration must happen across the curriculum in ways that research shows deepen and enhance the learning process. In particular, it must support four key components of learning: active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts. Effective technology integration is achieved when the use of technology is routine and transparent and when technology supports curricular goals.

Many people believe that technology-enabled project learning is the plus ultra of classroom instruction. Learning through projects while equipped with technology tools allows students to be intellectually challenged while providing them with a realistic snapshot of what the modern office looks like. Through projects, students acquire and refine their analysis and problem-solving skills as they work individually and in teams to find, process, and synthesize information they’ve found online.

The myriad resources of the online world also provide each classroom with more interesting, diverse, and current learning materials. The Web connects students to experts in the real world and provides numerous opportunities for expressing understanding through images, sound, and text.

New tech tools for visualizing and modeling, especially in the sciences, offer students ways to experiment and observe phenomenon and to view results in graphic ways that aid in understanding. And, as an added benefit, with technology tools and a project-learning approach, students are more likely to stay engaged and on task, reducing behavioral problems in the classroom.
Technology also changes the way teachers teach, offering educators effective ways to reach different types of learners and assess student understanding through multiple means. It also enhances the relationship between teacher and student. When technology is effectively integrated into subject areas, teachers grow into roles of adviser, content expert, and coach. Technology helps make teaching and learning more meaningful and fun.”

Student Comments to Video project

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Additions by AJV:

How important do you think knowing how to use technology will be in your future? Are you good at it now? Explain.

I think it is very important to know technology in the future. I am okay at using technology now. I think it is good to know technology in the future because it is going to be used a lot in the future and if you don’t know how to use it then you won’t get a good job.

I think when I am older I will have to use a lot of technology but I am not so good with it right now, but I think I am getting better. Especially since we did this project.

I think if you don’t know how to use technology in the future you are doomed. I think it is very important because almost everything these days has to do with a computer or palm pilots etc. I think I am good at using technology. I know enough to get by.

I think that it is really important because you will have to use it for most jobs and you will have to use it in high school. Right now my understanding of technology is better than when we started this project.

I think that knowing how to use technology is very important because everything is getting harder to use. I am not good with technology right now, if I saw how to do something over and over again, then I could be good at it.

It will be very important to know how to use technology like this because the future seems pretty technologically dependent.

I think knowing how to use technology will be very important in the future because it will become more advanced so you will want to keep up with it. Also, everyone will be using technology, and teachers will want you to do more assignments on the computer, I am not very good at it right now because it confuses me sometimes, and I’m not very patient with the computer. Sometimes I rush and stuff doesn’t get saved.

I think that knowing how to use technology is very important for my future because I would like to go to Brewster Academy and they use computers for homework when it is assigned. It wouldn’t be good if I didn’t know how to use technology because I would not be able to do my homework. I would also be helpful for when I go to college.

I think knowing how to use technology is very important for the future because I’m sure that I will need something like this again in the future. I think I’m pretty used to it now and I think that makes me good at it.

I think that being able to use technology will definitely help in the future. I think you need to know how to use it because you will use it for many different things, like typing papers for school and work and there are many jobs where you will need to use a computer. I am good at using a computer now because I am a very fast typer. I know how to use many programs including Microsoft Word, Excel, Moviemaker, the Internet and other programs. I also can usually figure out how to do things and how to fix things on a computer too.

I think it is very important to know technology in the future. I am okay at using it now. I think it is good to know technology in the future because it is going to be used a lot and if you don’t know how to use it then you won’t get any good jobs.

Knowing how to use technology not only prevents silly mistakes like deleting something so knowing this, my next project will come out better and faster. Technology also speeds up the project. I did not know how to use technology so I made a lot of mistakes proving I’m not very good with it.

Well I think that using the computer to make a movie is good for us. It will help us in future projects in high school or whenever we need to use a computer.

Most likely everything in the future will be hover cars and robots. Technology will be important. Right now, I think I’m pretty good with it. I use the computer a lot so I know how to work with one.

I think it is very important because we wouldn’t have been able to do anything on this video without technology knowledge. I think making this video taught me a lot about technology that I didn’t know yet, like how to convert videos.

I think that being able to use technology will be extremely important in the future because technology like computers are able to tell you everything that you need to know. No, I am not very good with any technology but video games. I don’t really know how to make a decent movie off the top of my head because I ‘m not sure on how to download and upload things without assistance.

Using technology is important because most of the jobs out there now involve working with computers.

It will be very important because technology is getting so advanced. Yes I am good at using tech. I know how to now make a movie and now I can do a lot more on the computer.


I think technology abilities will be very important because eventually that will be all there is. Currently I ‘m pretty good with a computer.

When I go to college, technology will be in common use helping me with my studies. With papers and notes to take, (and my handwriting not being that good) it’s the only way to make sure my work is presented well. Not only in college, but when I get a job, most likely an engineer, use of a computer and machinery is a key essential, so I better start learning the basics. Yes I do think I am good at it now for my grade level, but I’m only at the tip of the iceberg. There is much more I need before I can call myself a pro.

I think knowing how to use technology is extremely important for the future. You will probably be using it everyday depending on your job. I am good at it but I have a lot to learn.


Being able to use this technology will most definitely come in handy in the future for personal and business projects. I do not think I am very good at making videos or using technology in general. I have good, effective ideas, but I’ve always had a bit of a problem when it came to computers, sometimes it was the computer and sometimes me. Either way, things never seemed to work out the way I would’ve preferred them to.

I think technology is pretty important now because it makes a lot of difficult things very easy. I think it will be very important in the future because it’s improving every day and soon people are really going to rely on technology to get things done. I think I’m ok at using technology. I’m not a tech wiz or anything but I’m good enough to get by.

I think it’s important to know how to use technology in our age. Seeing as our age is known as the technological age it should be second nature how to use most technological objects. I’m not half bad at using our technological these days seeing as I use my computer almost everyday and technology like a calculator and objects like that.

Draft 5 of an article about Computer Integration

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Draft 5

In Search of the Ultimate Computer Technology Integrated Project

by Rick Davidson

How two seasoned teachers created one of the most exciting and effective teaching units of their careers.

I have spent the past 13 years involved with computer technology education. When I started, the challenge was to interest the students and teachers into coming into the computer lab at all. I came to my alma mater, Kennett High School in Conway, New Hampshire with two charges. Number one was to get the lab up and running. Number two was to facilitate the proper use of the lab. This was to have been a one year job as I was still active as a professional photographer and video maker. Even then I saw the handwriting on the wall. Imaging as I knew it was about to change. I didn’t know how long it would take but it was clear that digital photography was the wave of the future. After three years at Kennett, I took a new position as a computer teacher at Kingswood Regional Middle School in Wolfeboro, NH. While I was in a position to create my own curriculum, I found that incorporating photography and video making was not met with a lot of enthusiasm. Over the past ten years, my curriculum has evolved to include units on just about every aspect of computing including digital photography and video making. Unlike those early days in Conway when kids used to complain about spending time in the computer lab, now you can’t keep them out. Two years ago my job description changed. I became a computer technology integrator. I felt that I had accomplished a lot during the first year in my new capacity. Somehow, in spite of all the innovations and the fact that the computers in the building were being effectively used on a regular basis, I still hadn’t found an activity that I felt would be the paradigm of computer technology integration.

I often hear from adults, that kids know so much about computers. My experience says otherwise. While most kids are good at text messaging, using IM, and playing games, the vast majority of my incoming middle school students do not type well, do not know how to research, and can not discern between valid and invalid information on the Internet. Most have problems saving their work correctly. They have not had much experience working in teams nor do they understand the implications of publishing their work for an audience rather than for an individual teacher. Many seem to like the idea of using a video or a still camera but don’t want to be bothered with learning how to use the tools capably. I wanted to find a project that would require the students and the teachers to raise the bar. I wanted something that would require a combination of many of those skills that the students should be honing while at the middle school. I wanted something that the result of which, they would be proud to present to the public and something that would require a deeper awareness of local and world issues.. The activity should be self-directed enough that the teachers would serve as guides not as purveyors of information.

Enter Arthur Viens, team leader and social studies teacher for Team Vista at Kingswood Regional Middle School. Vista has always had a reputation for innovation but both Arthur and I had often discussed the fact that neither one of us had found that illusive ideal of computer technology integration. We agreed that video should probably be a part of it. We recognized that the subject matter would have to be something that the students would buy into and be interested in. We also wanted them to come away with an understanding of their chosen topic within the context of its importance on the world stage..

Serendipitously, we both received a flier for the C-Span Student Cam Competition. This appeared to be exactly what we were looking for. Was Arthur willing to go out on a limb and alter his curriculum in order to try something that looked like hard work but also appeared to be so promising? He was. Unfortunately, it became apparent that we would not be able do justice to this kind of unit in time to meet the contest deadline. We figured we could borrow the idea, create the curriculum and be ready to have our students participate in the C-Span contest next time around. We would have our own film festival this coming spring and show the final versions of the student videos there. We would also put them on the school website. The C-Span challenge was to create a video that each group of students felt was the most pressing issue that President Obama should address after taking office. Since we had started with this theme, we decided to stick with it.

First, we showed Arthur’s four classes the winners from past C-Span student entries. We discussed what video making techniques worked or didn’t work. We looked at the use of music to enhance the message. We showed the film “Stand By Me Playing For Change” as an example of this. We talked about the depth of research involved to create a compelling and coherent film. The students committed to subjects ranging from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to abortion, gun control, animal abuse, and the war on drugs. We told the students that they would need to understand their subject thoroughly in order to persuade the president that their point of view was worth his attention. Once again we viewed more C-Span student entries keeping in mind that certain techniques were more effective than others. We also stressed the importance of works cited appearing at the end of their respective videos. Any pictures used in the videos would need proper permission or Creative Commons attribution. Flickr is very good source for images and the photographers are very easy to contact. No one had a problem granting permission to the students. Students could use C-Span Student Cam footage as well as video segments on United Streaming. We also encouraged the students to create their own footage. Music was either created in GarageBand or culled from free music sites that fit fair use guidelines. The final videos were edited in Windows Movie Maker. Sound tracks were also created in Audacity or Windows Movie Maker. Note Taking and script writing was done in Open Office. Conversion issues were pretty much solved by using the free program, Any Video Converter. As we progressed, it became obvious that YouTube also had a wealth of potentially useful programming.. The students were allowed to use YouTube on the condition that they could receive permission to use footage and/or music. Some students even contacted major recording artists to seek permission to use clips for their work. Some students did receive the go ahead. Using YouTube also presented us with some teaching moments. Not all YouTube content is following fair use guidelines. In such cases, the students had to learn to differentiate between what they could and could not use. They needed to also find out who actually held the rights to the material and proceed from there. Using YouTube actually provided the opportunity to discuss in depth the implications of fair use. Had we spoon fed the students with only pre-approved sources, these opportunities would not have presented themselves.

Dealing with the issues of what constitutes good research was perhaps the most important pedagogical outcome of this undertaking. We used the www. martinlutherking.org and Institute for Historical Review to acquaint students with examples of website that might not be what they appear to be. I am convinced that most of the students now understand that they need to carefully read any information they find on the web. As obvious as it may sound, this alone is a major accomplishment on the middle school level. My next initiative will be to encourage all of our teams to include instruction based on what Arthur and I have learned from the evolution of this project. As it turned out, the actual video editing, was the easiest part. By the time they started to use Movie Maker, they had planned their video in Inspiration and Open Office, accumulated their information, video clips, music, and works cited. The students did indeed work very independently. Arthur and I were kept very busy with questions and we were able to take on the role of guides. The questions were surprisingly good and the creativity and depth of the research were both impressive.

Most of the videos were very well done. Some followed our rubric more than others. The students can compare their video to the guidelines in the rubric to see where they succeeded and where they fell short. Evaluations did not stop there. Each class viewed their classmate’s work and, using the rubric, the students became film critics. Arthur and I also shared our thoughts in order to stimulate discussion. Some of the videos were of course better than others. What impressed us the most was that almost all the students were very engaged in the project. Most endeavored to truly increase their understanding of their chosen topic. Most used their creativity to give life to a multi-media presentation they could be proud of. The ability to design well-produced media may well be one of the most important skills that students can develop for future employment. In a recent article in the on line edition of “The Journal”, the results of a nationwide poll of registered voters was reported. Two out of three of the participants felt that students need to learn “computer and technology skills, critical thinking and problem solving skills, and teamwork and collaboration”. All of these were utilized in this assignment along with, reading, writing, organization, higher level thinking, and creativity. In fact, all of the thinking skills from Blooms Revised Taxonomy ranging from remembering, to understanding, to applying, to analyzing, to evaluating, to creating were used in the project. Aren’t these all abilities we should all be helping our students to cultivate?

Finally, we showed “Invisible Children” a very moving film on children soldiers in Northern Uganda. This was made by three amateur video-makers who were in their early twenties. Going to Africa and documenting the atrociousness that they witnessed was life changing for all three young men. The video progresses from an obvious niavite among the film makers into a highly moving series of interviews with the victims of daily violence in the Sudanese refugee camps. Our students were impressed both by the message of the video and by the fact that the boys, not all that much older than themselves, were able to create such an important piece of work. Judging from the student’s reflections, this film was life changing for many of them. They understood the power of visual media and they understood the need for involvement in global issues. Early on in the film, one of the video makers points out that,“media defines our lives and it shapes how we view life.” We will be doing a our students a great disservice if we do not provide them with the skills to understand and use technological media in an ethical, creative and meaningful way.

While watching the videos, I did pick up on two short comings. In some cases the students used acquired clips that should have been edited down. Perhaps next time we may need to consider putting a length limit on how long a clip should be. I also noticed that while the students were required to follow the MLA guidelines in creating a written works cited document, this information did not always appear as completely as it should have in the final credits in the video. There were occasional conflicts in the groups but in every case a solution was found and agreed upon.

Our final take. This project was worth the five weeks, off and on, that we devoted to it. The bar was raised and the students did themselves proud. It was hard work but this is what teaching and learning are all about. All of us, the students included, more than once lost track of time. That was because everyone was so engaged. We provided the tools and the time. The students took over from there. The ability to decipher and evaluate the vast amount of information on the Internet is crucial for success in the 21st Century. Last but not least, they now know how to save.

Equally important, video making, in this case, provided a hands-on, real world opportunity for the students to continue their mastery of social studies, language arts, and computer GLEs. Many of the skills stressed in those areas of study are needed in order to successfully complete a multimedia project such as this one. No less important is the mastery of visual literacy skills. As the film makers pointed out in “Invisible Children”, visual media is where we get much if not most of our information in the modern world. It also influences the way we think. In order to become informed citizens in the twenty first century students will need to know how to interpret and use visual media. The implementation of a combination of skills necessary to reach a desired goal or to create a desired product is as effective in increasing student abilities as teaching to the test. Probably more. It is certainly more real world and much more interesting. In the future, we will take advantage of ever-evolving on line opportunities for communication with other students around the world and as well as experts in many different fields.

“I would like to close with a quote from Dr. Tim Tyson at Mabry Middle School in Marietta, Georgia.

“Potentially, student work can be measured mainly on the value of the contribution it makes on the global stage. This has never before been possible: middle grades student performing on a global stage that can actually matter beyond the immediate classroom. If we truly value empowering young adolescents to live in a culture of personal best, we must find ways of using technology to allow student use of schoolwork to make the world a better place.”

(http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741) “Stand By Me For Change”

“The Journal”www.thejournal.com/the/21stcentryskills/skills/

http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php “Invisible Children”

Think.com

Think.com at KRMS

Think.com will be used at Kingswood Regional Middle School so that students can work on projects at home and at school. As the school year progresses more and more teachers will be adding students to the think.com roster. Parents can access student work by using their child’s user name and password.

Class Over View

Here is an overview of the computer projects in the computer class at Kingswood Regional Middle School.

Course Description-Computer Technology
Rick Davidson

Designing House plans in Paint- Fun way to introduce students to setting up folders, working with the hierarchy of working with computer folders and files. Saving properly.3-5 days
Word Processing (Open Office Writer) including basic layout for pamphlets, letters, and posters
Includes copying layouts and then creating content of their own with similar designs.
Up to four weeks

Periodic typing drills to expose students to the proper typing techniques.
Internet Scavenger Hunt1 to teach proper use of search techniques and using technology for note taking 3-4 days
Web Quest on the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm-to further the development of Internet search techniques. This may take up to a week but not every student will get to it.
Research Project-one week research project, bibliographies, research paper format-more advanced research techniques
Sim City-game simulation to encourage problem solving, expose students to non-violent yet engaging games-encourage reflection and to create a situation where students have to use their thinking skills to figure out the logic of the games. Learning how to use different programs requires the ability to figure out the logic of those programs. It is a very important skill. One week, but students are given time a various other times to work on their final city.
Greeting card-Introduction to desktop publishing- one day
Spreadsheets one and a half weeks
Basic graphs-measurements- one day
basic spreadsheet formulas-addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and auto sum
Create a business order form-multiplication and addition
Yearly household budget showing money earned, spent, balance, and a chart
Grade averages-average formula and chart
Employee data base- basic database concepts

Greeting Card- one day
Math game used periodically the last fifteen minutes of a class to reinforce basic math concepts in a fun way using technology.
Country Brochures-desktop publishing and research-one an half weeks
www.quizlab.com Quizzes I have created to reinforce technology vocabulary and computer safety-students take the quizzes repeatedly and receive immediate feedback. One day and then on going on their own time.
Internet Scavenger Hunt 2- research techniques reinforced-this time two to three days is usually enough.
Holiday Card and Poster-one to two days-desktop publishing
Extra credit-design a menu
Extra credit-use the Internet to make a decision about what car to buy, where to purchase it and how to finance it
Project, if time allows, plan a week’s vacation based on budget and distance limitations

Final Projects: (Four weeks-group work)
Students choose to make a short digital video, work with digital photography, or create a website-in groups students are exposed to skills necessary to complete individual and group projects.
Photo students critique photographs according to composition guidelines and produce a project proposal using skills already used in class. Students learn basic Adobe Photoshop techniques, take pictures and produce collages in Photoshop,
Video Students critique short videos in the advertising media using specific guidelines, create a pitch, then story board, script, shoot, and digitally edit a short fantasy advertisement.
Website students critique existing websites using specific guidelines, create a proposal, learn how to make websites, make three page websites and link them all together.
All groups need to plan their projects, as part of their proposals, using flow charts created in Inspiration.

During the final four week period,students must, in addition to their group projects, individually create a ten slide research PowerPoint type project using Open Office Impress.
They need to take the Quizlab quizzes for the last time for credit
Retype one of the word processing projects using a specific layout design
Recreate the first month of a yearly household budget
Internet Scavenger Hunt 3
Students may choose to complete any other projects they may not have completed during the class.

Class Description

KRMS 7th Grade Computer Class

Seventh Grade Computer Course-Kingswood Regional Middle School

Mr. Davidson

Course Description: We are living in a technological world. Technology is changing the way we do just about everything. It is certainly changing the way we learn and the way we think. It is changing the way we research and the way we communicate. It is extremely important for students to develop the skills necessary to make use of all of the ever-changing tools that are now available to them. Using a networked computer lab, this course will help students to learn to use the Windows 98 operating system. It will also help students work effectively with file management, word processing, spreadsheet, database, desktop publishing, basic layout design, basic web page construction, digital photography, multimedia, Internet, and graphics. Since computers are becoming part of every school curriculum, student’s computer use will use concepts that apply to math, history, science, grammar and spelling. Students will learn the principles and vocabulary of computing. Emphasis will be placed on how computers can help the students in their day-to-day lives. In class projects will stress the importance of problem solving and all aspects of computing in the creative process of publishing on the computer. Students will also be encouraged to evaluate their work themselves. They will also be expected to improve what they have already done and to repeat their work until a quality product has been created. The concept of quality work will be stressed.

In fairness to students who do not have access to computers outside of the school environment, homework assignments will not include computer work. However, non-computing assignments may be an on going part of in-class computing projects. Classroom projects will count very heavily in the grading process. This class will be a “hands on course.” The students will be regularly working on projects in the computer lab. Many may find that they will need to spend extra time in the computer lab. There will be on going quizzes on covered materials and concepts. Some quizzes will be announced. Some will not.

Rational: Students today need to understand how to work with computers. Computers have become necessary tools in every walk of life. The ability to use a computer has become as important as the ability to use a pen or a pencil. Students with well-developed computing skills will experience more success both in school and in later life. The computer is much more than a typewriter. The computer encourages the acquisition of data, the assessment of that data, and the assessment of the presentation (output). Total computing encourages the composer to use many different applications to evoke the desired response in his or her publication. Indeed the type written page is no longer the standard of a good presentation. Today we may easily incorporate, drawings, photographs, charts, graphs, maps, video, and music into our publications. Publication on the computer has become synonymous with performance. The assessment and problem solving process that accompanies the desire to perform well is desirable, creative and educationally productive. It is also important that students realize that the computer can be a great tool for helping them complete quality work.

Guiding Principles: Each student should begin to develop his or her ability to work on various aspects of computing. They should also learn how to begin to intuit the functions that are common to all applications within a given operating system. According to state guidelines, each student must show proficiency in word processing, spreadsheets and simple database. It is also important that students be exposed to, not only these skills, but also the wide variety of applications that are available to them. Students should be encouraged to use all aspects of computing in the process of learning to publish on the computer. The process will involve research, assessment, and publication. The student’s will be encouraged to evoke a desired response from their audience. The creative use of the computer can increase skills in all areas, including math, science, grammar, spelling, writing, reading and overall creativity. The ability to save and improve upon work is an important aspect of creating a quality product.

Outcomes: Students will demonstrate an ability to work on the computer. They will display an ability to work with operating systems and file management. Students will show competencies in various computer applications. They will also demonstrate an understanding of basic computer theory and vocabulary. Working with computers will become a lifetime endeavor. Students will have built a foundation on which they can build in the future. The greatest outcome will be reflected in the students ability to creatively problem solve and effectively choose, use and combine the tools that will assist him or her in publishing his our her best work.

Evaluation: Evaluation will be based on the quality and creativity of completed projects. Tests and quizzes will count, but the goal of this course is to encourage students to understand the value of the computer as a tool that can be used creatively in just about every area of their academic and non-academic lives. The student’s willingness to participate in projects will be taken into consideration. Class participation will count very heavily (see-weighted grades). Grades will also be dependent on the student’s willingness and ability to improve upon work that has already been done. Students should be able to continue to rework their projects until their best quality work has been created.

Required materials: Each student will maintain a folder containing in class notes, projects, handouts, test, quizzes, and grade receipts. Students will be allowed to use all materials in their folders on tests, quizzes and on going projects. Copies of other student’s materials are not allowed.

Grade Rubric: Every project will be presented to the instructor with a grade rubric. Students and the instructor will establish criteria for quality for each project. Once these guidelines have been established, a specific rubric will be created and used to evaluate whether the students have achieved their self-initiated goals.

Parents signature…………………………………………………………………………

One of My Many Outside Interests-Catamount A North Country Thriller

My novel, Catamount A North Country Thriller has been published.

Man’s sacrilegious infringements on Nature’s delicate balance calls down a forgotten Indian curse and releases a raging mountain lion, a catamount in the North Woods. This creature is not supposed to be there and is not supposed to prey on humans, but two young children and their dog pick up its trail behind an isolated summer camp not far from the Canadian border. The children do not return and a search and rescue party sets out after them, but the rampages of the malevolent ghostlike cat hinders their efforts and a violent storm sets off a serious forest fire in the tinder-dry forest.

Opinions

I just finished reading an article in “Teacher Magazine” about Bill Cosby. When he started out as a geometry teacher, he was asked “Why I gotta know this?” He didn’t have an answer and decided that, at that point in his life, he was not ready to be a teacher. He feels that somehow, we need to “tell the children the beauty of our passion.”

As a computer technology teacher, I have not been asked this question often but it has been asked. My response has not always been the most convincing. Sometimes I have quoted some statistic that employers want such and such a skill from their employees. This is, of course true, but these statistics mean very little to a middle school student. Perhaps, I evoked the old adage that it is important to learn how to learn. Again, I strongly believe that this is true, but does this piece of wisdom mean much to a twelve year old.

One thing I have observed, though, is that, in spite of themselves, even students in this age group can become totally involved in what they are doing if they are really interested. Witness that most middle school kids are capable of learning what they need to know to progress to different levels of video games. They are developing and using skills that require problem solving, reflection, and the ability to adapt quickly. Even students with learning disabilities are often capable of doing this. Maybe we should be encouraging more of these types of activities rather than discouraging them.

The answer to the “why do I need to know this”, for me, might fall into the following categories.

1. To express the passion I feel, for stories and fantasy. I think this is what Bill Cosby was talking about.
2. Those stories whether they are in books, on TV, in movies, or photographic, all add to the quality of our lives. In many cases they provoke reflection and open us up to ideas beyond the limits of our own experience. You can learn how to make your own stories.
3. To learn how to problem solve and find solutions in order to produce a publication or product. To cooperate with other members of a group.
4. To understand that computers can make some tasks much easier. Certainly modern word processing beats the old fashioned typewriter for most people. How did I live without the ability to rewrite without starting from scratch?
5. To use the Internet as an incredible source of unlimited knowledge, communication, and, yes, fun.
6. It is not necessary to be a “computer guru”, to reap the benefits of day to day computer use. It is a source of information from finding the weather, the news to perhaps finding a mate. It is rapidly becoming the primary provider of music films, shopping, and, yes, even books.
7. Do some of us, students and adults spend too much time on a computer?
Perhaps, but what a world it is. I don’t want to encourage computer addiction, but how does one of my generation express to the new generation what an incredible tool the PC is?
Tools whether they are music making tools, video making tools, writing tools, web making tools, game making tools, or photographic tools bring out the potential of inner creativity.

The list could go on, but I guess my answer to the student who wants to work in the woods cutting down trees would be to think about the possibilities that are now available to him even if that is his chosen work. The truth be told, I love working in the woods and spend a substantial part of my life away for all the innovations of the modern world. Maybe though I can somehow express my passion for all the opportunities that, I feel, have been opened up to me by the computer. I can only imagine what the future will bring.

I also try to create projects that involve the students so much that they forget that they are learning, or for that matter, working. It works with some of the students a lot of the time, but not all of the kids all of the time. The concept still needs work, but I do believe we should start including those things that the kids themselves are naturally attracted to, such as iPods, gaming, and different forms of communication. It can be done in safe ways. We have, as adults, the tendancy to want to prohibit anything that can be abused. The reality is that the telephone, a car, the US Mail, and hand-written notes can all be abused. I would suggest that we ought to be encouraging our children to not only embrace technology, as most of them already do, but to also to use it wisely.

I would welcome any input as to how better use technology in the classroom. Photos by Rick Davidson

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