The 15% Solution
Nearly 15 years ago, Dave Moursund boldly asserted that
if the educational system in
the United States would spend 2% of its budget for information
technology, then great things
could happen. The 2% suggestion seemed rather wild-eyed,
although some higher education
institutions were already spending at that level. According to
recent data, expenditures
are now close to the 2% level.
In the March 1999 issue of Learning
& Leading with Technology, David
Moursund suggests another radical rethinking of
budgeting and proposes that 15%
of the education budget be spent on information technology. He
describes the changes in
computing power and cost in the last 15 years and then gives
some ideas for reaching this level
of funding.
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The Virtual Trip
As Apple Computer's Steve Jobs pointed out a decade
ago, the journey itself is
the reward. This idea well summarizes the value of project-based
learning,
the underlying subject matter of this feature article. As
Noel Bitner and her coauthors make clear,
by planning and implementing their dream trip, students not only
learn to
understand and use various software applications but also to
solve real-world
problems that truly interest them. And they can do it all with
the sort of
programs that are common now to most classrooms.
Subject: Project-Based Learning
Grade Level: 6-adult (Ages 11 & up)
Technology: word processors, databases, spreadsheets,
PowerPoint
(Microsoft);
Internet
Read...
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Our Classmates: What We Wondered,
What We Hypothesized, and What We Learned
Databases are wonderful tools for showing young
students how pieces of
information relate to one another. In this article,
Susan Monahan describes this fact, as well as how a
hearing-impaired student was
able to show his peers how to use the database he created with a
classmate.
Subject: Special Needs, Multimedia,
Technology
Grade Level: 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Technology: AppleWorks (formerly ClarisWorks,
Apple Computer), HyperStudio (Roger
Wagner Publishing)
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Finding EDSITEment in the Humanities
Would you use the Internet in your classroom if you
knew you could find
reliable humanities resources online? If there were
teacher-tested lesson
plans that enhanced your curriculum? That encourage careful,
analytical
thinking and good writing skills? If so, then perhaps EDSITEment
(http://edsitement.neh.gov
) is the Web site for you. In this article,
Candace Katz describes how this cooperative site is
drawing together the
best of the Internet's humanities projects in one easy-to-use
place.
Subject: Language Arts, Social Studies,
Foreign Language
Grade Level: K-12 (Ages 5-18)
Technology: World Wide Web
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Rolling the Dice
Developing an Understanding of Experimental and Theoretical
Probability
Merely meorizing formulas and theory isn't enough to
get most students to
understand the underlying concepts of statistics and
probability. By taking
hands-on data manipulation and combining it with real-world
examples, though,
many students may better grasp the basic ideas. In this article,
author
David K.
Pugalee suggests
ways to provide that "A-ha!" experience through the better use
of technology.
Subject: Math, Probability
Grade Level: 7-9 (Ages 12-14)
Technology: spreadsheet software (e.g., Microsoft Works or Excel, AppleWorks)
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Hunting for Asteroids,
Comets, and Novas
Have you ever thought that you might empower your
students with the
tools and techniques that could make them famous--and maybe even
save humans
from extinction? It's not as farfetched as it sounds. In this
month's science
article, author Dennis
Erickson
shows how helping science students develop their astronomy
skills could just
lead them to discover the wonders of the night sky.
And, view the online
supplement to this article.
Subject: Astronomy, Space Science, Image
Manipulation
Grade Level: 6-adult (Ages 11 & up)
Technology: NIH Image (National Institues of Health), Scion
Image ( Scion Corp.), JPEGView,
GraphicConverter ( Lemke Software), Web browser (e.g.,
Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer), Starry
Night ( Sienna Software), Minor Planet
Observer (Turbopower); Internet connection; computer with 16MB RAM
and 10MB free hard drive space
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In
the Dark Ages?
How to Create Imaginative, Exciting, and Interactive
Web Sites with Barely More than a Keyboard
Do you feel as if telecommunications projects can't be
done with your
students because your school's computers are stuck in the Dark
Ages?
Steve Feld felt the
same way until
he and his students decided they couldn't wait any longer and
began a
collaborative Internet-based project with a school in Sweden.
And they used
relatively old technology to get it all done.
And, view the online
supplement to this article.
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Meeting the Needs
of the Net Generation
Intensive training in any discipline can make the
difference between
only being familiar with and truly understanding something. As
author
Dorothy Valcarcel
Craig shows,
focused summer training for students in educational technology
has many
benefits: children who can deal more effectively with
information from the
Internet as well as be teachers and leaders among their peers.
Also read the online
supplement to this article.
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Touching Students' Minds
in Cyberspace
8 Creative Tips for Using Distance Education
Perhaps the best feature and use of distance education
is the element
of collaboration. When used for problem-solving instruction,
collaboration becomes more than the sum of its parts--that is,
its participants. In this article, authors
M. Khalid Hamza and Bassem
Alhalabi offer advice on how best to use such an
approach.
Also read the online
supplement to this article.
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The World Wide Web
Interfaces, Databases, and Applications to Education
With computer databases being more widely used, filing
cabinets filled
with dusty papers are slowly being replaced by electronic
records. As author
Richard Repp
demonstrates, teachers
are increasingly able to use such technology in their daily
teaching.
Subject: Web Publishing, Database
Management
Grade Level: All
Technology: FileMaker Pro and Claris Home Page (
Filemaker, Inc.); dedicated Internet connection
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"I Know What We're
Doing, But How Do We Do It?"
Action Sequences for Curriculum-Based Telecomputing
Judi
Harris has written a lot about
telecomputing activities and activity structures. In this
month's Mining
the Internet column, she identifies another way to categorize
and plan
telecomputing activities: action sequences. The seven action
sequences she
describes are Correspond, Compete, Comprehend,
Collect/Share/Compare,
Chain, Come Along, and Collaborate.
Also read the online
supplement to this article.
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Software Reviews
Many programs teach reading to early readers, but not
all of them are
appropriate for special education classrooms. In this month's
Software Reviews
column, reviewer Cynthia
Shick (with
supervising professor Peggy
Tarpley and software editor
Judi Mathis Johnson) explores two programs that are
helpful for both early readers and
students who have special needs: Reading Mansion (
Great Wave Software) and Best Wishes, Ed (
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill School Division)
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Our Multimedia Future
Recent Research on Multimedia's Impact on Education
Should you use multimedia products in your classroom?
If so, how do you pick
quality products? This month's Research Windows addresses these
and other
questions as M. D.
Roblyer
summarizes research on how multimedia may affect
learning, what design and delivery characteristics are most
effective, and
whether current products actually support learning.
Also read the online
supplement to this article.
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Electronic Portfolios
Students Documenting Their Best Work
Electronic portfolios can be an easy and authentic way
to start teachers
using technology in their classrooms. Begin with an easy
template that they
can adapt for their students, but be sure to follow with staff
training.
Also read the online
supplement to this article.
Subject: Staff Development, Portfolios, Assessment
Technology: HyperStudio
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The Works
Updating a Classic
Carol
Truett,
editor of the Computing Librarian column, reviews a book about
using
Microsoft
Works to manage your media center. The Works for Library and
Media
Center Management was written by Janet Naumer and Glenda
Thurman, and
updates Naumer's 1984 work Media Center Management with an
Apple II.
Find out more about the book at
www.lu.com.
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