L&L welcomes your feedback. Send
letters to Kate Conley, editor, kconley@iste.org.
Dear Editors:
Your October feature really hit home with me
(L&L, vol. 27 no. 2, “Why Gen www.Y?”
pp. 7–9). Five years ago, I received my master’s
degree in math and computer science education. I envisioned
moving into a teaching position where I could integrate
technology into lessons in existing curriculum areas, rather
than instruct what I felt were useful, yet isolated lessons
about how to use computers and software.
My team members and I wrote lessons, activities, and
units into which we integrated technology for our middle
schoolers. We included best practices across disciplines,
where all team members were occasionally “the
expert.” I gained confidence and experience through my
district-level committee memberships, which were definitely
collaborative. We wrote and analyzed learning objectives,
outcomes, and authentic assessments to align with state
goals! Because of all of the collaboration (and success) I
was a part of, I had grown tremendously and wanted to share
my experience with others.
I recently accepted my current position of Educational
Technology Specialist, where one of my responsibilities is
to help teachers in Grades K–8 integrate technology
across the curriculum in Glencoe (Illinois) School District
35.
I have been fortunate to work with teachers across the
district who exemplify student-teacher collaboration. At
Glencoe’s Central School for fifth through eighth
graders, Mrs. Nancy Riddle’s “Tech Corp”
students collaborate with teachers to design Web pages. They
also assist at staff and community classes during and after
school hours.
Having worked with these students as the instructor, I
have found them to be patient, knowledgeable, and creative
with their teachers. The role reversal is a wonderful
experience for all of the learners involved! I believe that
when students become teachers, even briefly, they build
self-esteem. The opportunity is real and valuable, the
responses haven’t been manufactured, and the students
own the memory of their contributions to others’
learning. The creative problem solving that occurs is a
powerful example of celebrating differences in ideas and
personality.
The collaboration of teachers (teaching experience) and
students (technological experience) provides both groups
with an opportunity to interact at a level where mutual
respect and metacognition occur simultaneously!
Thank you for this great feature article!
Sincerely,
Jean Uselmann (uselmanj@nttc.org)
Educational Technology Specialist, Glencoe (Illinois) School
District #35
(by e-mail)
Dear Editor:
I would like to compliment ISTE for devoting a whole
issue of L&L to the theme of professional
development (vol. 27 no. 3). School districts need to get
teachers through the hardware/software classes into those
that help them integrate technology into their own
curriculum, as well as include the “hot” issues of
testing, standards, and assessment.
Thank you!
Mary Kreul (mkreul@execpc.com)
Richards Elementary School, Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin.
Copyright © 2000, ISTE (International Society for
Technology in Education).
All rights reserved.
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