Saturday, February 7, 1998

Reality Bytes?
Sylwia Bielec & Denise Quildon

Reality Bytes?: observational data as to what is being accomplished through one-day technology in-service training for teachers.

The long-sought after but as yet unmaterialized computer revolution promised to upend traditional teaching and school structure. It was thought that educators would embrace these new electronic tools that appeared in brand new computer labs in schools across the world. Solomon & Solomon (1995) equate this initial stage of computer integration to the "Field of Dreams" , tied to the beliefthat "put [technology] there and it will be used"(1995, p. 38).Unfortunately, it takes more than a lab full of shiny new machines to affect classroom processes that have, for the most part, changed very little for the past several decades. It is wise to ask what steps must be taken to ensure that technology, once placed in a school, is used wisely and effectively by students and teachers alike.

At the core of the effective classroom integration of technology are teachers that are skilled, competent, confident, motivated and innovative in the educational use of computers (Gilmore, 1995). For the most part, school administrations In North America and Europe have already identified in-service teacher training as essential in helping educators fill this gap in their professional development (Zammit, 1992; Faseyitan, 1996)and to help teachers adequately"meet the challenge of computers in schools and optimise their instructional potential" (Gilmore, 1995). There is an urgent need to focus critically on the quality and nature of teacher training in this area so that teachers can develop the requisite personal, professional, and technical competences to meet the many challenges ofa sensitive integration of technology into the classroom setting.

When assessing any type of in-service education program it is important to examine both the factors that contribute to its success as well as the context in which this training takes place. In the context of a one-day training model, affectionately dubbed our "One Day Wonder,", this paper will examine various aspects of the personal, professional and technical competences that teachers currently require. It also explores teacher attitudes toward both in-service training and toward the integration of computers into their curricula This paper will also discuss the perceived changing role of the teacher from primary vehicle for the delivery of information to instructional designer. It will discuss the barriers to integration,such as lack of time to learn and to prepare, inadequate facilities, lack of administrative and technical support , and accelerating pace of change.

Concordia University's Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance (CSLP) in partnership with the bilingual, Montreal-area South Shore School Board (SSSB) began designing technology training initiatives for teachers in April of 1997.In designing the One-Day Wonder, we needed to incorporate the most positive aspects of an existing five-day model into a flexible one-day, five-hour time frame, while remaining sensitive to the varying degrees of computer experience, possible anxiety, and ambivalence about in-service training in general that we expected to encounter from teachers in different schools. With this is mind, an amalgam team, composed of CSLP members and teacher-consultants from the South Shore School Board,co-designed and co-implemented a primarily hands-on approach permitting teachers to manipulate different software and peripherals in the context of a self-designed project with the assistance and advice of trainers in the role of mentors.

Since September 1997, The One-Day Wonder has been piloted eight times (between Sept 1997 and Nov 1997) in both elementary and secondary school settings.Although preliminary open-ended evaluation results indicate that overall teachers were satisfied with the training, it is necessary and useful to examine in greater depth what long-term effects, if any, have resulted from the One-Day Wonder in order to assess it relative worth.

Has anybody seen my umbrella?
Denis Daignault & Tamara Lynch (553-6 )

Has anybody seen my umbrella? CD-ROM

As the definition of the term literacy is expanded to include computers and other media, the use of interactive technology plays an important role in the conceptional development of this and similar programs. The educational gaming aspects of the disk make up an important element of the interactivity. An electronic storybookpermits the user complete control over the pacing and review of the material.. The development of deductive skills, expansion of vocabulary and word comprehension are encouraged through a number of multi-level word games and other activities. Drill and practice becomes a fun and constantly changing activity. Through the use of storytelling and creative word play, the program provides a vehicle for children to practice and develop a variety of language skills in an entertaining but educational manner. In doing so, this CD-ROM takes the process of the acquisition of literacy skills beyond the classroom through a convergence of old techniques and new technology.

The Virtual Apple
Tania Marchitello and Laura Sellitto

The Virtual Apple: Blending traditional and modern media comfortably in teaching, learning, and in re-presenting learning.

Multimedia and telecommunicational technology are innovative mechanisms in the educational realm. New approaches in education often cause fear and anxiety for the teaching profession, particularly at the elementary level where so many core skills and abilities must be promoted in children. Taking this reality into consideration, we hope to demonstrate that incorporating technology into the curriculum need not be a fearful or uncomfortable experience for any of the classroom participants.

We have created a trans-disciplinary lesson plan dealing with the growth of the apple. This lesson plan blends traditional and modern media of teaching: Not only will technology be used by the students in their construction of the project but it will also be used by the teacher in preparing the students for this lesson along with other more tactile and familiar manipulables for learning. Students will present their projects using media as well.

Our lesson plan is geared towards the students in the upper elementary levels, however, it could be modified to suit the developmental abilities of children in lower grades. The goal of the lesson plan is to encourage the students to use technology in the process and or the final presentation of their project on the growth of the apple. The class will be grouped (jigsawed) according to the seven stages of the growth of the apple. The end product of the project will be in the form of a pooled set of oral presentations, which allows for both the sharing of resources and the revisiting of familiar pieces of information as newly understood in their context of overview within the whole apple project. Incorporating the use of technology for this project is meant to expose the students gradually to technology and to avoid instilling anxiety in any of the educational participants. Therefore, for example, students will be provided with the opportunity to present in front of the class using the means of media or mixed media for transmitting information with which they feel most comfortable.

The use of technology provides the children with a wider access to information. Learning to combine information from a variety of different mediums can be very useful for future learning. Join us on our journey to promote comfort and ease on all sides while using computers creatively both inside and outside of the classroom. (Note: Our lesson plan will be available for those who attend and would wish to have a copy).