How to Learn More
by Jim Lengel, Dean of Faculty, Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, Boston (http://www.bu.edu/jlengel and http://www.lengel.net)
The panoply of new technologies available to teachers and students
gets wider every year. Few educators, even the most tech-savvy, can
keep up with all of the new developments in computers, online
service, handheld devices, wireless networks, and new types of
software. There's a lot to learn, and the rapid progress of new
invention means that what you learned last year can become old hat by
next semester. All of us know colleagues who keep up with the latest
technologies and apply them to their teaching; we know others who
have given up completely as they are overwhelmed by the pace of
change; and many of us remain cautious about jumping into the deep
end of the technology pool. This week's article provides some ideas
for the majority of teachers who want to learn more about what's
possible, but are not ready to devote all their nights and weekends
to the computer.
If you wait until someone comes to teach you how to integrate
technology into your teaching, don't expect to make much progress.
The best way to learn more is to reach out, to your colleagues at
school, to the variety of online sources of knowledge,
and to the ideas you can find in books (despite the growth
of electronic sources, the printed word for many of us remains the
best way to learn.).
In House
An easy way to learn more about using technology is at
your own school. Your colleagues and your students can serve as
sources of inspiration and information, if you take the time to seek
it out. Here's how:
Watch a colleague. Almost every school harbors a teacher
or two whose classrooms are full of technology and who have learned
to make good use of it. They wouldn't mind your stopping by and
asking them to show you some of the lessons they've taught, or
assignments they've given, that make interesting use of technology.
Teachers go through a series of stages as they learn to use
technology; a good place to find new ideas is from a teacher who is
one stage ahead of where you are. To learn more about these stages of
growth, connect to http://www.seirtec.org/ACOTstages.html
. As you read through the descriptions on this site of these stages,
and watch the video clips of teachers, you'll get some ideas of what
your own next steps might be, and which of your colleagues might be
in the best position to help you move ahead.
Share ideas. At your next department or grade-level
meeting, take ten minutes to go around the room and each one share an
idea on how you've employed technology in your classroom. Not
everyone will contribute, but you'll be surprised at how many
practical applications your colleagues have found for the new
technologies. And don't restrict the ideas to full-blown curriculum
units -- encourage people to talk about the small tips and tricks
they've discovered.
Showcase your students. Mount a once-a-year gallery of
student technology projects -- research reports, presentations, slide
shows, videos, web pages and so forth -- that display the many ways
they have used technology to explore and present the topic of the
curriculum. A teacher browsing such a gallery will gather a variety
of new ideas for applying technology to teaching and learning.
Ask your students . Many of our students use technology
more than we do. Don't be afraid to ask them for help, or to teach
you something you don't know how to do. Ask them also to suggest
different ways that technology might be used to understand or explore
the next topic in the syllabus. -- their experience with new devices
and new software my provide insights that you or your colleagues
would never come up with on your own.
Publicize your ignorance. This is not as bad as it
sounds. Sometimes the easiest way to get started learning new things
is to ask aloud in front of your students or colleagues, I wish I
knew how to..., and then wait to see of anyone volunteers to
show you how. This kind of just-in-time, peer-to-peer teaching and
learning is particularly appropriate and effective in a
quickly-changing field such as educational technology.
Be open and flexible . Allow and encourage students to
find new ways to complete their assignments: new sources of online
research; new ways of analyzing data; new tools for organizing ideas
and composing sentences; new media for reporting and presenting
results. Don't unnecessarily restrict the ways you allow work to be
done in such a way as to lock your students out of the new
technologies.
On Line
If you have been a regular reader of this series, then
you know about the growth
in online learning. An easy way to learn more about using
technology is to explore the many web-based resources that can help
you.
Find a tutorial. You'd be surprised at the number of
useful, step-by-step lessons you can find on the web, to help you
learn everything from making
graphs with Excel to how to write
a lesson plan, and many things in between. In the comfort of your
classroom, or in your home office, you can learn specific skills or
educational applications at your own pace. To find a tutorial, you
may simply enter your question into a search engine. Try entering
something like How to find a map online into your favorite
search engine, and see the results.
Get expert advice. Your educator colleagues have posted
hundreds of articles, ideas, lesson plans, and tutorials online. Some
of the best -- in addition to the Power to
Learn site -- can be found at the Apple Learning Interchange, and Kathy Schrock's home page. Most
of the contributions here are from fellow teachers who have found
success with technology and are more than willing to share it.
In Print
Many of us who were born in the last century learn easier
from the printed word than from any other medium. Visit the library,
and browse the books and periodicals designed especially for teachers
who want to use technology in their work. Such as...
Teaching with the Internet: Lessons from the Classroom,
Third Edition, by Donald J. Leu, Deborah Diadiun Leu, Publisher:
Christopher-Gordon Pub; March 1, 2000, ISBN: 1929024207
Book Reports: I Did It on the Computer, by Merle Marsh,
Diane S. Kendall, Childrens Software Press, June, 2001, ISBN:
0972260811
Linking Technology and Curriculum: Integrating the ISTE NETS
Standards into Teaching and Learning (2nd Edition)
by Jeri A. Carroll, Tonya L. Witherspoon, Prentice Hall; December 18,
2001, ISBN: 0130971081
Integrating Technology: A Practical Guide, by James and
Kathleen Lengel, Allyn & Bacon, 2005 (in press).
Curiosity
Behind all of these ways of learning more about
technology lies your own motivation. Unless you remain perpetually
curious about new ways of teaching and learning; and ever alert for a
new technique or teaching idea; and always willing to explore and try
new things, your ability to learn more will be curtailed. Keep an
open mind and a watchful eye, and the opportunities to learn more
will reveal themselves.
(Editor's Note: For very practical ideas on how your students
can use technology to complete standard homework assignments, see the
monthly column called Computers and Homework at http://www.powertolearn.com/articles/computers_and_homework/index.shtml
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