Home PublicationsL&LIssuesVolume 27 (1999-2000) November (No. 3)

Integrating Technology: Some Things You Should Know
   by Laurie B. Dias
Laurie sets the stage for technology professional development by raising four questions: What is technology integration and what isn't it? Where does technology integration happen? What are the barriers to technology integration? What are the stages of technology integration?

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Eight Steps to Success: Technology Staff Development that Works
  by Barbara Bray
Simply placing technology in classrooms or computer labs does not mean that teachers will know how to use it or that the curriculum will be better for its presence. Teachers already have so much to keep up with. Add a computer to the mix and what teacher wouldn't feel overwhelmed? Barbara provides a practical plan for designing staff development for a school or district so that teachers can keep up with all of these demands.

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From Computer Lab to Technology Class: A Formula for Transformation
  by Sandra Sherwood
When it comes to teaching classroom teachers to integrate technology into their classes, too often they are told they will integrate technology, given a brief "how to," and left on their own to figure out how to really do it. In an all-too-familiar scenario, a school district creates a computer lab and hires a teacher's aide to supervise the lab. Software is selected eclectically. During the school year, students move in and out of the computer lab. They learn the mechanical aspects of computer use, but they do not see that technology is a tool. The teachers transport the students to the lab, but the teachers see no curricular purpose for the lab. This formula results in wasted dollars and frustrated teachers. Sandra describes what can happen when a certified teacher in the building works with his or her colleagues to promote technology integration throughout their school.

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Linking Educators to Learning
  by Beth Buchler and Guy Ballard
Are you trying to integrate the Internet into your teaching but don't know where to start? The Link2Learn CD is an excellent resource for teachers at all levels of technology comfort and skill. Read how two educators made it fit their state's staff development needs.

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Professional Competencies for the Digital Age Classroom
  by Ed Coughlin
As the price for technology in schools has soared from the millions to the billions in annual spending, policy makers and members of the media are beginning to ask for evidence of improvements in student learning. But in an environment where the use of technology is not focused on specific learning needs, improvements in student learning are virtually impossible to assess. Ed describes the many useful resources and projects from the Milken Family Foundation Technology Exchange, including an online technology competency assessment tool.

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Software Releases
  by Judi Mathis Johnson
Judi's descriptions of new releases in educational software are now available online.

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Lifelong Learning:
A Powerful Idea Shaping Education
  by David Moursund
David describes the characteristics of a lifelong learner and how to foster a love of learning in students. This powerful lesson plans relate back to his list of 10 powerful ideas.

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Eight Steps to Success:
Technology Staff Development that Works
  by Barbara Bray
See description above.

Linking Educators to Learning
  by Beth Buchler and Guy Ballard
Beth and Guy describe the work they did adapting the Link2Learn CD-ROM for teachers in their county. (It was originally developed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.) Use this valuable resource online

http://l2l.org

Advanced Technology Training:
Multimedia Institutes Go to the Museum District
  by Diane Garner and Richard Alan Smith
Diane and Richard describe a long-term district and museum collaboration to provide advanced multimedia training to K–12 science teachers. Teacher trainers, incentives, and free software and hardware are some of the keys to this program's longevity and success.

Beyond Tool Training:
Professional Development for Elementary Math Teachers
  by Cathy Miles Grant
Elementary math teachers learn that through collaboration with their peers and with the support of a comprehensive schoolwide approach to professional development, they can deepen their understandings of mathematics, teaching, and learning while enhancing their technology skills.

Project-Based Student Technology Competencies:
Expanding Technology Infrastructure and the Need for Staff Development
  by Catherine Collier
Start with a solid five-year technology plan. Add funding, teacher leaders, and the goal of systemwide technology integration based on student technology competencies. What do you have? The Shirley School System has an effective model for integrating technology into all of their schools.

First Steps in Telecollaboration
  by Judi Harris
An e-mail program and a Web browser can give any teacher access to a wide variety of learning activities that can be done with students in different locations. This month, Judi Harris discusses opportunities and choices for joining telecollaborative projects designed by other teachers.

Mining the Internet Online
   by Glen Bull, Gina Bull, & Judi Harris
Mining the Internet is an ongoing column in L&L. Frequently the Internet changes substantially in the six months between the time that a column is submitted and the time it appears in print. The Mining the Internet Web site will provide a location for updates to each issue’s column. It will also provide a way to offer active links to Internet locations mentioned in the column and a place for material that would not fit in the confines of a four-page column. The column will therefore become a hybrid mix of print materials that will appear in each issue of L&L and supplementary materials that will be placed on the Web each month.

http://teach.virginia.edu/go/mining/

Copyright © 1999, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). All rights reserved.