Technology: Leveling the Playing Field

I attended a workshop yesterday that was held at the Schultz Center, facilitated by renowned Apple Curriculum "Evangelist" Dr. Mark Benno, titled, "Remaking Student Projects That Are Out Of This World". It was great to see all of the wonderful activities and ideas that Mark pulled together to share with us. We learned about some free Internet resources, and got an overview of the new iLife and iWorks suites, and the ease with which students can create amazing products. We learned about document sharing online using the new iWorks.com website, and even joined a wiki where we all shared ideas for integrating technology into curriculum. The hands-on portion of the workshop had us working collaboratively on an enhanced podcast, using iWorks, iPhoto and GarageBand. We had a blast and you could see the wheels turning in everyones' heads and the "light bulbs" burning brightly.

Probably the best part of the day was when a teacher, who just happens to be a media specialist and the district's Teacher of Year, shared some student work with us. She and her classroom teachers planned an activity that addressed "author's purpose", that integrated technology, the study of fables, creative writing, and visual art. It was great! The students learned about and read fables in the media center, as they worked on author's purpose and genre studies in their classroom. They began writing original fables, which they illustrated in their Art class. The media specialist facilitated their reading their original fables, recording and editing them in GarageBand. She scanned their original artwork and brought those into iPhoto. She also provided them with transitions ("and then they", "because of", etc.) for their podcasts. The finished products were wonderful! The best part about it was that these 2nd grade students completely understood the concept of a fable and the author's purpose because they were engaged in their learning and motivated by the use of technology. They had complete ownership of their learning! Isn't this better than giving quizzes and tests?

Another teacher from Chets Creek Elementary shared that their teachers had all been working collaboratively using Ning and also had wiki's and blogs. Most of the teachers post homework assignments and use their blogs to keep the parents and community informed. No longer can a student say that they didn't do their homework because they misplaced the sheet, when it's available online. The faculty and staff of this school were early adopters of technology and have been doing amazing things! Visit their site, then click "Resources" and then "Blogs, Wikis and Websites".

At the end of our afternoon, participants shared their thoughts and feelings about integrating technology. A principal of an elementary school made some remarks that really resonated with me. She said that using technology with her school's ESE students allows them to "wind up where they've never been before". She said that the ease of use of these wonderful technology tools allows her exceptional needs students to create products that look sharp and professional, and as "good as work done by other students". Her ESE students never have to feel like their work is not good enough when they are using technology tools to create their original products. How awesome is that?

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