An Online Adventure With BCReading and Wolftrip
Eric F. Luce
Abstract
This case study of electronic correspondence and interactions will share
some things that seemed "to work" and some things that seemed
not to be considered as "work" when a middle school remedial reading
class went "online" with a university based professor of curriculum
and instruction. The middle school students (and their teacher) became quite
interested in this activity. Moreover, these students were reading and writing
even though their reason for being in remedial reading, instead of in foreign
language class, was that they "couldn't read." Their tested reading
levels were far below grade level.
This report will illustrate challenges and opportunities that arise when
new technologies are used for teaching reading and writing. The case presented
will also illustrate one way that technology was allowed to play a role
in faculty development and training. If it were not for the existence of
a differentiated faculty development and professional performance appraisal
system for the teachers in the middle school setting neither the teacher
nor the class would likely have gone "online." Moreover, without
technical assistance from one of the students in the class (who was a hacker),
this online adventure would never have gotten off the drawing board. This
presentation will describe a way that was found to address questions that
often arise over who will train teachers and how time can be found for teachers
to learn to use technology to support their teaching and their students'
learning.
The Promise and the Predicament
Tremendous expectations are held for the transformation
of culture and society by technology. Pervasive is the belief that computers
will be where work gets done in the future and that computer users will
be the processors of information that will be created, learned and communicated.
(Winik, 1997)
Instructional technology it is believed will transform schooling and learning.
A decade ago, computer literacy for many teachers might have meant having
access to computers in school settings and knowing how to turn them on and
off. Now, the rush is on to have internet access in all classrooms. In many
schools, computers were plunked down in classrooms and this was called access.
A computer in every classroom was a goal. Now, dedicated phone lines with
modems or networked systems represent access while many classrooms have
no telephones if only for school security and safety uses.
Many arguments are martialled in favor of using technology in schools Two
of the most common are that this will better prepare students for the world
of work and motivate students to learn. While these are worthy objectives
they do not readily evoke ways that technology will or can transform instruction,
nor do they provide clues as to how or whether technology can add instructional
value. It is easier to learn about new technologies, than it is to learn
how to teach making use of new technologies so that instructional value
is added.
What are the realities of technology in education? One reality is that too
many overhead projectors sit on shelves around the country because of burned
out bulbs that no one knows how to replace. Another is that while questing
for the silicon classroom, school districts are rushing to spend billions
of dollars on computers and it is not clear that they really know what to
do with them. Until teachers are as comfortable with computers as they are
with blackboards, or there may be a lot of money wasted. (Kaplan and Rogers,
1996)
The larger problems related to classroom computing have to do with how to
make the best use of computers and, more fundamentally, what students are
to learn with and about them. Computer literacy may not necessarily result
in more traditional literacy. Navigating the net, hunting and gathering,
is not the same thing as knowing how to organize and effectively present
information. Desktop publishing does not necessarily result in better writing.
(Kaplan and Rogers)
Time is also a problem. Students may have more time than teachers to learn
about technology if they have parents who can keep them up to date supplied
with the latest hardware and software and if they have an interest in it.
Teachers must work from "bell to bell" and have responsibilities
outside of school as adults on limited budgets of time and money at home.
Staff training in schools for learning new technologies is rarely available
in ways that are common in the world of business. Putting the work of schooling
on the back burner while teachers are tutored on technology is not widely
considered to be an option. (Robinette, 1996)
Daring to put technology to use is risky behavior for teachers. Available
technology may be unreliable, or out of date. Students may know more about
computing than their teachers. Success in integrating technology in the
processes of teaching and learning is hard to measure and quantify. If it
is fun to use computers in school, will it also count as work? Teachers
must wonder whether fun and fundamentals can be combined in an age of accountability
measured by student performance on standardized tests.
It takes time to learn how to use different technologies and to integrate
them into instructional activities. What does that learning curve look like?
Is it a pretty sight? Will it be considered to be teaching which results
in learning at all if such efforts are not immediately recognized as being
successful? Until teachers and teacher educators are comfortable with new
technologies, it may be unlikely that there will be many gains for students
or improvements in schooling which result from access to computers or the
internet. Also, who will teach the teachers and the teacher educators how
to use new technologies to support teaching and learning? Are they largely
on their own to sink or swim with whatever technology is available to them?
Differentiated Professional Performance Appraisal and Professional Development
This case study of electronic correspondence and
interactions will share some things that seemed "to work" and
some things that seemed not to be considered as "work" when a
middle school remedial reading class went "online" with a university
based professor of curriculum and instruction. The middle school students
(and their teacher) became quite interested in this activity. Moreover,
these students were reading and writing even though their reason for being
in remedial reading, instead of in foreign language class, was that they
"couldn't read." Their tested reading levels were far below grade
level. It will also illustrate challenges and opportunities that arise when
new technologies are used for teaching reading and writing.
One solution to the problem of supporting the professional development of
teachers who seek to learn to use new technologies to support their work
with students might involve the adoption of a differentiated professional
performance model such as that being tried in the Lower Merion School District
in eastern Pennsylvania. In Lower Merion where the professional staff is
highly experienced and mature, it is possible for teachers to propose a
professional development plan as an alternative to more traditional forms
of professional performance appraisal, such as the oft-dreaded, but obligatory
programs of formal classroom observation by administrators and supervisors
with which teachers are so familiar. While this may not solve all problems
related to the provision of time and training to support the integration
of new technologies into teaching and learning activities, a differentiated
professional performance plan can legitimize teacher experimentation, inquiry
and research in uncharted territories, such as the internet, which seem
to offer so much educational promise.
One middle school reading teacher in the Lower Merion School District reported
on her experience this way:
What a wonderful journey! When
it took two months to get an internet account I was concerned, but it has
been informative educational, and fun!
The reading teacher had to start her journey by reading, of course! Kidnet: The Kid's Guide to Surfing Through Cyberspace by Debra and Brad Schlepp was a great way to begin.
The book is designed for children ages 9-13 and is filled with information
about getting online and describing the sites that would be of interest
to this age group. It also spoke of what to look out for and some etiquette
for online behavior. I couldn't wait to try out some of the sites only to
find that I couldn't figure out what to do. So on to the next book! Internet
for Kids! A Beginner's Guide to Surfing the Net by Ted Pedersen and Francis
Moss was just what I needed. I went with Cybersarge through the Cyberspace
Academy and felt somewhat better about surfing the net. The book is written
for middle school age kids and is a very clear description of how to surf
and what the rules are in cyberspace. If I could understand, it must be
clearly written!
What really got me moving was one of my students, Jon Wolfe. He was very
excited to see that we had America On Line in the class and taught me much
about it. For Jon the whole thing was so simple that he couldn't believe
I could be wary. He sat me down and gave me some hands on instruction that
was very helpful. From then, he began writing to my husband online and then
his whole class was corresponding with him. From there, Eric's graduate
level Secondary Education Curriculum class was writing to the class. It
was an interesting experience for all of us. The kids did tire of it but
the experience was good. They couldn't wait to read their messages and the
concern over their grammar and spelling was amazing! Classroom management
was difficult, who would get on first and so on. . .
The story that follows illustrates how email was integrated into the curriculum
and activities of a seventh grade remedial reading class. This was an unanticipated
outcome that came about as a reading teacher worked through her professional
performance appraisal project. The work outlined in the original approved
proposal was performed as well. That plan had been for the teacher to first
learn how to logon to and navigate the internet in order to identify new
ways that English as a Second Language (ESL) students might be better supported
in the school. From the teacher's perspective, the results from that part
of the project were somewhat disappointing.
From: WolfTrip
Subj: School
To: EFLuce
Dear Dr. Luce
I am Jon from you wifes class I am at home now my screen name is Wolftrip
and I just wanted to say hi because I got borred. Talk to you next time
in Mrs. Luce's class.
Sincerely,
Jon Wolfe
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 1996 00:33:41 -0500
From: EFLuce
To: WolfTrip
Cc: Bcreading
Subject: Re: School
Jon:
Thanks for writing. I get bored sometimes too. However, I think that this
is really exciting that you are helping Mrs. Luce to learn how to get around
on America on Line and showing both of us how we can have an online conference
between your class at school and my office at the university. I hope that
my students learn a few things when they are with me even if it is only
that they have a few lessons that they can teach me and that I am open to
learning something new. When that happens school just seems to come alive.
I hope that you receive this reply at home, but also that a copy of it arrives
at school tomorrow for y'all to read and then write back to me.
Sincerely,
Dr. Luce
I must admit that I didn't find that much to get ESL students hooked on,
but there were some sites that would be good and many sources for pen pals
who are also ESL students. This would probably be a great way for these
students to share experiences and perhaps not feel quite as isolated.
Many of the sites that I did find gave helpful hints for teachers who have
these students in classes. There were ongoing dialogues about ESL and programs
that work and many discussions of educational philosophy in relation to
language acquisition. I must admit that I hadn't thought about Krashen in
a long time!
The unanticipated outcomes from that teacher's professional development
plan proved to be much more exciting and they became part of a winning formula
that met with student enthusiasm and interest, parental support and endorsement,
as well as administrative interest and approval. Good teacher's plan carefully
for instruction, but they also are alert and make the most of unanticipated
outcomes. If it were not for the existence of a differentiated faculty development
and professional performance appraisal system for the teachers in the middle
school setting neither the teacher nor her class would likely have gone
"online." Without technical assistance from one of the students
in the class (who was a hacker), this story of an online adventure could
not be told. Nonetheless, if this story is to represent the transformation
of education, it will be necessary to ask whether this story is just beginning
or at an end.
WolfTrip
Things sure did come alive for a while. This correspondence
and collaboration began on my semester break when I visited my wife's class
to help her with her internet project and to recharge my batteries in a
real secondary school, BCMS, where my wife is a middle school reading specialist.
I am an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction with responsibilities
for supporting and advising secondary education teacher education students.
It had taken a while to get an internet account created by the supporting
academic computing unit for the middle school. Once the account name and
password had been generated, a dedicated phone line had to be installed
and a modem delivered. By the time of my break, the modem and the phone
line were available. However, the modem still needed to be connected and
communication software needed to be installed on the computer. I said that
I would help. After all, I was partially responsible, or to blame, for this
project. I had encouraged my wife to choose the professional development
performance appraisal option. Now, she not only wanted to get on line. She
also needed to be and she needed some help to do it. This was all new to
her.
While touching base with the school's computer specialist about the modem
and about the school's internet access, procedures and policies, it was
learned that a mini-grant supported school access to America on Line for
special projects. A logon name, BCReading, and a password was generated
to support this professional development effort. Thus equipped, the professor
returned to the reading room to set up the modem for use with the classroom
computer and to show the reading teacher, his wife, that she could get online
and complete her proposed work.
It was after the modem had been installed, but during the installation of
the AOL account that I first noticed WolfTrip, or Jon as he is known by
most people in everyday life. He had come to reading class and was quietly,
but intently, watching me as I quietly, but intently, worked to get the
classroom online. After about five minutes, he approached me with a host
of questions fired in staccato fashion. He thought it was cool that the
classroom might be equipped for AOL. He had an AOL account himself. He surfed
there all the time. His questions came so fast my head was spinning. I was
grateful that the class had other work to do so that I could finish up the
installation and convince myself that this work station was ready for the
reading teacher. She was relieved that the system seemed to work. She was
interested in Jon's interest in AOL and in the computer. She was a bit apprehensive
about what to do next, but that didn't last long because WolfTrip took the
lead.
Shortly after my academic break ended, I received a phone call from the
reading room at the middle school. There had been a request. Jon wanted
to know if the class could "chat" online with me. I said that
I thought that could be arranged. When did they want to do this, I asked.
The answer was now.
To do this, I needed to turn on my computer and logon to AOL. This took
a bit of time. I also had to follow Jon's directions for how to chat since
I had not done this before, nor had the reading teacher. Jon told me, "Logon
to AOL. Go to People Connection. Look for Rooms, then look for Private Rooms."
This was beginning to be a bit frightening. We were out of control. What
would we bump into on the way to Private Rooms?
"When you get to Private Rooms, look for BCReading. We will look for
you. What is your login? We will look for it."
It took most of what was left of the time the class had that day for our
first online encounter to occur, but BCReading and EFLuce did meet in the
Private Rooms and chatted. Everyone got a brief turn--Phil, Matt, Arin,
their teacher, and of course, Jon. It all happened so fast and it was over
before we had hardly begun. No hard copy of that correspondence exists because
it was so unexpected and so new an experience for all of us, but Jon. Besides,
there was not enough time to think about a hard copy since the bell had
sounded at BCMS and the class had to be off to their next destination. I
was calculating my online time and estimating my next AOL billing in my
head. Later on, I thought about the value of a transcript of our session
and made sure that I knew how to prepare one in the future.
It did not take long before the class wanted to chat again. Apparently,
with Jon's help and prodding BCReading had put together an email message
that they had sent to me that included questions for me to answer. Jon and
the class also wanted to chat with me online again. Jane, my wife and their
teacher, called me by telephone and asked if I could go online with them.
The class really wanted to "chat." This time I was ready and while
it took a while for my computer to boot up and to logon to AOL, once again
I met with BCReading in a People Connection Private Room.
Bcreading: Hello we are here
EFLuce: I am here too!
Bcreading: This is Arin the one who was sick yesterday
EFLuce: I haven't really done this before so I have to be able to
type
well, but also know where to type.
Bcreading: I read Mrs. Luces letter from you to her and I am ready
to
answer some of your questions
EFLuce: What is the weather like up there? It is really crummy here
today--rainy and damp.
EFLuce: Fire away!
EFLuce: Who is working the keyboard?
EFLuce: Cam you all see the screen in that little room?
Bcreading: Up here it is probably in the 30's and very cold it is
like a
whole nother winter
Bcreading: Arin is working on the key board sorry I am so slow
EFLuce: Who is there aside from Arin and Mrs. Luce?
Bcreading: Phil, Matt, and Jon do you want to talk to them now?
EFLuce: Are Phil, Matt and Jon there?
EFLuce: I will talk to anyone who wants to get on the computer.
Bcreading: You will get my other letter today when you get mail
EFLuce: Probably that is everyone, right?
Bcreading: Ok well see ya. Matt is coming onto the computer please
respond to my letter Bye
Bcreading: Hi
EFLuce: Good, I will look for it tonight. I will have to keep marking
papers after we finish with this.
Bcreading: Hi
EFLuce: Who is there now?
Bcreading: I am going to Savannah G.A.
EFLuce: Is that Matt who is going to Georgia?
Bcreading: yes
EFLuce: What is going on in Savannah, Georgia?
Bcreading: My grandparents live there
EFLuce: That is a question that you had to think about I guess, or
is
typing something that you are still lear. . .
Bcreading: what
EFLuce: Are you still there? I got a gong sound that stopped my last
sentence.
Bcreading: yes
EFLuce: How many of you know how to type? Did you take classes
in it or have you just learned it on your own?
Bcreading: Phil is going to get on now
EFLuce: Hi Phil!
Bcreading: Yes I take typing lessons
EFLuce: Are you all behaving yourselves today?
EFLuce: What is the band playing in the next room?
Bcreading: yes, of course
EFLuce: Do they have their instrument cases cluttered in the hall?
If
so, watch your step on the way out!
Bcreading: yes
EFLuce: Is that still you Phil?
EFLuce: Have you eaten lunch yet?
Bcreading: yesIwant to talk
EFLuce: Do you eat the school lunch or do you bring your own? Or,
do you skip lunch altogether?
Bcreading: Do you like the sixers
EFLuce: Fire it up Phil!
EFLuce: Yes. But they are pretty pathetic this year even after trading
Bradley.
Bcreading: The coaches son goes to school here.
EFLuce: If they had only drafted Brad Daugherty years ago they
would have had a center to build around.
Bcreading: Jon is going on now
Bcreading: Hi Dr. Luce
EFLuce: Lucas' son? I think he is a good coach. Has the team been
sold to Comcast yet?
EFLuce: Hi Jon!
Bcreading: Hi
EFLuce: How much more time is left in your class?
Bcreading: 10 minutes
EFLuce: Is this fairly interesting?
Bcreading: yes
Bcreading: How is the wheather down there
Bcreading: did you get any flood
EFLuce: I haven't done a whole lot with online services doing this.
The weather is WET and on the cool side.
Bcreading: When class is over Mrs. Luce is going on.
Bcreading: Mrs. Luce is going on I will e-mail you soon
EFLuce: I hope that you all keep writing to me, but make sure to
get
your other work done!
Bcreading: This was good but not a lot of work went on in class
EFLuce: Doesn't this count as work?
Bcreading: Yes it does but not when we are all standing around .
. .
Bcreading: bye bye!!! From all of us
EFLuce: Ok, that is probably the best thing to do. Compose off line
and then put your messages out
EFLuce: Bye.
Bcreading: bye
EFLuce: over and out!
Bcreading: we are leeving now
EFLuce: Me too!
Afterward, the class wrote to me by email about being online. They were
very excited. The sessions online had been interesting, but confusing. Everyone
wanted a turn at the keyboard and electronic messages passed each other
seemingly before they all could be responded to or answered. By printing
out transcripts of the online conversations, we all became more aware of
our typing accuracy if not our spelling ability. A stage of relationship
building had begun with the class and WolfTrip was the facilitator.
Arin and Jon turned out to be "techies" while Phil and Matt were
into sports. Arin and Jon enjoyed being online whether in chat sessions
or in the exchange of email that usually revolved around the ways that they
or their classmates and families were using computers. Phil and Matt mostly
wanted to talk sports. Phil was up on how all of the professional teams
were doing and wanted to know what I thought about their play. Matt was
a soccer player, as I had been at his age, and took the subject of his play
very seriously. With Arin and Jon I could exchange email about how they
were using computers in and out of school and what they liked to do with
them. With Matt I could exchange email about soccer and how he and his indoor
team were doing. If I misunderstood something that Matt thought that he
had told me, he would make sure in no uncertain terms that I understood
his view of things, for example that he was not only a goalkeeper for his
indoor soccer team, but that he also scored goals as a midfielder, sometimes
several goals a game. Phil never quite forgave me when in one early email
letter to the class I seemed to have responded to everyone but him. As a
result, I almost always had to remember to address messages to members of
the class taking pains to respond to Phil first.
One evening when I had gotten in late from my office and had logged on to
my AOL account and was responding to a piece of email from BCReading, I
was surprised by a "splash" across my screen. It was WolfTrip
who had discovered that I was online and he had known how to contact me.
He wanted to have a chat in one of the People Connection Private Rooms.
This too was an unanticipated outcome.
Since it was 10 pm Central Standard time (11 pm Eastern Standard time),
I was tired. I also was not sure that I should be having a private online
chat with one of my wife's students at that hour even if he was our best
internet consultant at that moment. I made some excuses to WolfTrip about
having a long day and needing to finish up my email letter to his class.
Could we chat online some other time? Not a problem, he replied.
When WolfTrip broke in and suggested an online chat a new set of issues
came into focus. It seemed important to contact his parents, and possibly
the parents of the other students in the class, so that they were formally
notified that their children were doing some reading and writing online
using email and that this was one activity that was being integrated into
the work of the class. While the school principal was aware that this teacher
and her class might be exploring internet resources, it also seemed even
more important to keeping the administration informed about these activities
both because it looked as if they might spill over into out of school contexts,
but also because when the class went online the students were crowded around
the computer terminal monitoring the sessions. This was not a traditional
snapshot of what reading class usually looked like. It was important that
there be agreement that this activity be considered as being "on task."
In the end, the principal was delighted that these students were reading
and writing online. Her only wish was for more students to have this experience
in school. When contacted and informed about the BCReading's online adventures
and about WolfTrip's recent nocturnal "surfing" encounter, his
parents too were very supportive. It turned out that he had permission to
go online and to explore the internet on his own. They were pleased to know
that he was able to use what he knew about navigating the "net"
in school and happy that this seemed to be influencing him to want to come
to school more than was sometimes the case.
The next email message from BCReading seemed to confirm both that we had
just had a narrow escape from potential trouble, and that we were onto something
that seemed to offer the remedial reading students motivation to engage
in authentic reading and writing.
Subject: hi
Sent: 3/25/96 11:08 AM
Received: 3/25/96 10:36 PM
From: Bcreading
To: EFLuce
CC: Bcreading
Dear Dr. Luce
I had fun talking to you on-line the other night. I can see how you got
tired. I just had nothing to do and I saw that you were on-line so I sent
you an instant message. My parents saw one of the messages on the computer
and thought that I was talking to a strange guy but I told them that it
was Mrs. Luce's husband. You can still send me messages on-line so it is
ok.
Fondly,
Jon
Dear Dr. Luce,
I do play outdoor soccer. I don't play goalie. I play midfield. The indoor
games are only 25 minutes long. In one game I scored four goals. I don't
wear pads in goal. I got rug burns.
Matt
Dear Dr. Luce,
I wanted to Know if you Like Watching basketball. Did you watch the L.M
game? How about football? Do you like that? Are you an Eagle fan?
From Phil
Dear Dr. Luce,
Thank yo for writting back to me. It was nice to read mail instead of doing
work. It was deightful. Please write back. On Friday I am missing school
to go to Washington D.C. I am so excited. Have you evr beento Washington
D.C. before? I havn't. I am going to get a book out of the library so I
know where to go. But I Am coming back on Monday to finish the last day
of school before break. Where are yo goig for break? Anywhere you havn't
been before? Please tell me all about it when you come back. I can't wait.
How many classes have you taught today? Was it boring? What are yo doing
tonight? have you ever been to FL? My dad just came back from his vacation
visiting my grandmom and step grandpa. They really live in NJ but they have
a house in FL so they can see my cousins in Coral Springs. Talk to you later.
Please write back!!!!!
-Arin
Dear Eric,
Were they ever excited to get your messages! I printed them out so that
they could read them and think about what to write, then we went on with
class and each one responded! I'll call Jon's parents this afternoon.
Love,
Jane
Aside from technological literacy and responding
to and tapping student interests, this activity seemed to offer an opportunity
to make writers and readers out of these students, rather than for them
merely to be students who wrote and read just to comply with adult demands.
Yet, as Arin's posting reveals email was viewed by the students partially
as an escape from reading, writing and schoolwork. They were using skills
of decoding and encoding. The importance of spelling and grammar was now
evident to them as they reviewed the printouts of their online sessions.
The importance of composition as part of the writing process seemed to them
more and more to be part of getting it right when they communicated using
email and the content of the mail they were sending and receiving was rich.
Nonetheless, they also seemed to feel that they were getting out of work
by going online. They didn't always see this activity as really being schoolwork.
It was too much fun. Jon wrote:
Dear Dr. Luce,
Thank you for responding to me. Maby sometime in class or at my house we
can go into reading in People Connection. I have a lot of fun talking to
you on line. I don't know anyones screen name except yours. Good luck on
grading those papers. I think that it is really cool that we can talk to
you in class. Don't tell Mrs. Luce but it takes time off class time.
Fondly,
WolfTrip
Classroom management issues emerged. The students all wanted to get online
at the same time and this was a situation where there was one computer that
was being shared by four students. This correspondence and relationship
would have been even more of a challenge to manage if the computer/student
ratio had been higher. Even with a favorable student/computer ratio, it
was hard to rely on technology to carry the full weight of an effective
instructional program. Sometimes it was unreliable and hard to count on
when needed. Jane wrote:
Dear Eric,
Today was difficult. We had trouble with AOL loading, the whole thing just
froze. Jon did some adjustments on the hard drive. For some reason there
wasn't enough memory. We turned off the computer and got back on later.
What do you think happened? Don't forget Phil, he is feeling left out. You
even forgot his name on the last correspondence. He can be touchy anyway.
I still don't have the system down pat! Talk to you later.
Love,
Jane
Phil never really ever got over the feeling of having been skipped over
in the first round of email messages.
Dear Dr. Luce,
Your response to my last letter never came. Here's what I wanted to Write.
I wanted to know if you liked to watch the Eagles. Who is your favorite
player? Do you like the Phillies?
I know they are not very good but they may be better this year.
Please write back this time to me.
From Phil
Moreover, familiarity eventually seemed to breed boredom. As the activity
of reading and writing email became routine, it began to seem more like
work to the students and their adult partners. There was a point where the
students and the adults involved in this activity began to wonder what was
the point of being online and where was this activity going? This was evident
first in an observation about the students reaction to my questions about
their posting of a book review on the Electronic Schoolhouse Bulletin Board.
Jane observed:
They really are on to the next
thing but your questions to them are good - to make them think about the
purpose of the questions or why the author used questions as a way to move
the story. Maybe you can take some of their examples and go from there
Later, when my Secondary Education Curriculum and Instruction Students entered
into the correspondence with BCReading, the goals and purposes of being
online were further called into question. One of my graduate level teacher
education students wrote:
Hey Guys! It was great getting
your letters although I have to admit that it is a little weird writing
to folks that I don't know.
BCReading concurred:
Dear Friends,
We think it is weird to write to people we don't know also!
Transformation or Just Another Trend
In concluding her report on her professional performance project, the reading
teacher wrote:
I have really just begun my relationship
with the internet. Time is a problem. The best time to get onto Lower Merion's
system is after 10 pm when I'm not at my best. I am looking forward to being
able to hone my skills this summer and to being able to incorporate the
Net into my classroom on a more regular basis.
Thanks for this wonderful opportunity.
Over the course of this online adventure, it became clear that computer
access was not the solution to all the educational challenges that this
reading teacher and her students faced. Nonetheless, having access to a
computer, the internet and email in this middle school setting did result
in new forms of excitement and anticipation while remedial reading students
were reading and writing. These were students who have not always felt that
way about school reading and writing tasks since one of the reasons why
they were placed in reading class was that they all had been identified
as performing seriously below grade level according to standard measures
of reading proficiency.
Having access to a computer, the internet and email in this middle school
setting did help to support the development of new technological and literacy
skills and interests for the students and the teacher. The technology made
it possible to receive and generate authentic input and output while reading
and writing. It also allowed a middle school student to act as a guide and
a teacher not just for his teacher, but for a university based teacher educator
as well. The generation of authentic input and output might possibly be
considered to be school work that is fundamental, even if it also proves
to be fun. The sharing of student and teacher expertise might rightly be
viewed as collaborative learning. The school district's differentiated professional
development model created an opportunity and the motivation that allowed
a teacher to make time to try to learn about technology in the hope of improving
teaching and learning.
Conversely, it would be hard to demonstrate that the academic achievement
of Arin, Phil, Matt and Jon was transformed in the short run by the introduction
and use of new technology in their classroom. In the long run, it is too
soon to know what the outcomes from this activity might be.
Planning to use the available technology was logistically challenging since
there was only one teacher, one terminal and four interested students. Even
with this somewhat favorable student/teacher/technology ratio, technological
access, support, and time for use and learning were limited. If the internet
practices that were tried with this class were to be more successfully integrated
into the curriculum, the culture of computing in the school might be challenged,
the status quo upset and conflicting demands for technological access and
support might not easily be reconciled.
Teachers would still need to have or find time to learn how to use new technology
themselves if they are to be expected to make good use of it with their
students. Also, as the experience of working with BCReading and WolfTrip
shows, new instructional technology in the classroom may be an answer, but
not "the" answer, for engaging student interest. Eventually the
BCReading students grew tired of tending to their email and returned to
some of their other work. An online conversation with BCReading near the
end of the school year after a lapse in contact of more than one month illustrates
that new instructional technologies might work best as options to be exercised
with discretion, rather than as the center of all learning activities.
Bcreading: please go into the private room called Bcreading
EFLuce: OK
Bcreading: cool!!!
EFLuce: Yeah!
Bcreading: where are you?
EFLuce : Here I am!
EFLuce : Where are you?
Bcreading : We have been waiting. what took you so long!
Bcreading : Arin is now on
EFLuce : I know. It took a long time. Hi Arin!
Bcreading : hi Dr. Luce how are you doing\
EFLuce : Ok. Long time since we chatted/met like this!
Bcreading : how is the weather it is about 80 here. it's a very noce
day
EFLuce : You read my mind! It is about 90 here and sunny.
Bcreading : it isn't as boring because we haven't been on for awhile.
. .
References
Kaplan, D.A. and Rogers, A. "The Silicon Classroom,"
Newsweek, April 22, 1996, 60-61.
Pedersen and Moss, F. Internet for Kids: A Beginners's Guide to Surfing
the Net, Price, Stern Sloan, Inc.: New York, New York, 1995.
Robinette, M. "Who Will Teach the Teachers? The Realities of Technology
in Education," MacHome Journal, April 1996, 68-69.
Schepp, D. and Schepp, B. Kidnet: The Kid's Guide to Surfing Through
Cyberspace, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.: New York, New York, 1995.
Winik, L.W. "Do Computers Help Children Learn," Parade Magazine,
February 2, 1997.