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May 1, 2003
Energized Teaching
By Barbara Dorff
Do I believe in using technology? Yes, I do. I have personally seen how it brings learning to life for students. I have seen students respond with genuine enthusiasm for learning with daily use of technology. No one thing can be the only answer to all that we face in our public schools today, but technology comes very close to addressing many of our most serious concerns.
True confession: I began using computers in 1995 when I was almost 50. Today I cannot imagine teaching any other way than by using the plethora of technology tools available to us for education! After all, THIS is the 21st Century! Teachers can access technology to encourage authentic research and learning, compile information, report, track, communicate results, communicate expectations, tutor, re-teachıthe list goes on and on. For a teacher, having computers in the classroom is like having extra classroom volunteers. Teachers can use computers to insure they reach every child every day. Computers increase interest and increase the individual student's self-esteem. A student who researches, writes, and creates a report as a Microsoft PowerPointı presentation can also develop an enormous sense of accomplishment, a genuine appreciation for learning, and a sense of self-respect.
In my teaching career, I have taught several different subjects, and I can honestly tell you that all benefit from the use of technology.
My most amazing experience has been with using technology to support the social studies class. Students "become" colonists and are assigned a family history to research. After researching, the students organize presentations using the technology available to create slide shows, virtual museums, or Web pages to present the information they have researched and organized. To further a particular interest such as music, food, or pastimes, the student can research the history of that interest area, and add pages and links to their original web site. In my class, all pages linked from my class page to time periods in history, or to particular areas of interest in history that had been researched by the students. My job as a teacher is to teach the particular technology skills needed, to provide safe and effective Web sites for research, and also to provide guidance in areas such as writing, or perhaps the rules of plagiarism. Students become so engrossed in the research and so excited in the production that they want to stay longer, or come back for extra time after school to work on projects.
Caption: Social studies student giving a presentation
on a SMART Board interactive whiteboard.
Another extremely powerful tool for increasing interest and effectiveness in the classroom is the SMART Boardı interactive whiteboard. This tool is the most incredible piece of technology that I have seen yet. Using an NEC projector and a computer in conjunction with the SMART Board interactive white board makes the computer screen large enough for the whole class to see. When presenting, the teacher or student can simply touch the large interactive whiteboard using a finger as a mouse to access all functions of a desktop, and more. If I write on the board, I can tap the notes and they become text. The text can then be reformatted (bold, font, color, etc.) for emphasis, or interest. Additionally, using the pens, information in any application can be circled, or highlighted. Pictures from the web can be imported and saved for future reference. If a student is absent or needs to review for a test, past lessons can be accessed for review. In addition, all class information and assignments can easily be posted on the school or teacher Web site.
Because the SMART Board interactive whiteboard is large and easy to see, interactive software such as Inspiration becomes even more effective as a teaching and learning tool. We use it for brainstorming and organizing ideas into webs or maps. The teacher can also have immediate access to the Internet for virtual field trips, or create a PowerPoint presentation large enough for all to see! I think teachers would love to try the SMART Board interactive whiteboard!
As an art educator, I combine the use of the digital camera and PowerPoint to teach an art skill and to encourage students to produce their own art lessons. All lessons can be saved on a CD-Rom or posted to the Web for easy access and review. Students develop higher order thinking skills as they evaluate lessons and decide the steps involved with processes such as painting a vase for flowers, or creating a ceramic pot. Students then take digital photos of each step, place them into a PowerPoint, and add descriptive writing to produce fantastic, colorful, easy to understand art lessons. As a teacher, I believe this provides a valuable opportunity because students learn what they teach. Art students can also choose their best work to post in our "gallery" of fine art on the school Web site.
Perhaps the teaching of journalism uses the most sophisticated technology tools. We produced the school's yearbook using a program called PageMakerı, making yearbook production affordable and simple to send to the publisher. Additionally, it gives my students a set of "real world' marketable skills. Perhaps even more advanced are the skills learned and used by the Broadcast Journalism staff. Students create productions using non-linear video editing for daily announcement broadcasts. They expand their skills when producing for school specials, which focus on student interests. Broadcasting students learn to use sound mixers, microphone systems, digital movie cameras, and perhaps most importantly editing software such as Adobe Premierı. They must learn to organize and plan productions, interview effectively, and complete a production on time. Interestingly, my new Apple iBook makes all that digital editing so simple and understandable for my students so Apple has really simplified the process for us. My goal is to attain a mobile iBook laptop lab for my school one day, so my history students can use their research to create productions more efficiently during class!
My own son is able to use his technology skills learned in Broadcast Journalism to supplement his college education. That is real world application!
In Language Arts classes, students film live productions of poetry and prose, or dramas of novel studies where students memorize lines and produce the story learned from the book we read together. Eventually students write and produce stories and dramas for filming. When the camera is running, the students naturally produce a higher quality of work. In our computer lab, language arts students also participate in chat rooms focused on instruction. The student discussions are precise, lively, and give the teacher a chance to evaluate the depth of understanding for each student reading the work. With a tool called SynchronEyesı computer-lab instruction software, the teacher monitors student progress and posts quizzes on their computers. Students respond to the questions after they complete each chapter, and the program automatically marks them and sends the results to the teacher.
As educators, we must take advantage of any and all tools that will inspire our students to learn. Experience has taught me that technology helps students to work on projects that are creative, correct and exciting. Students who had been reluctant learners, become enthusiastic students. Embracing technology in the classroom energizes teaching and gives us more avenues to reach and teach, assess, re-teach, and report. Yes, I do believe in purposefully using technology in the classrooms of America.
Email: Barbara Dorff is the 2002 Texas State Teacher of the Year
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