Important Information

1. Important Information • This presentation was created by Patrick Crispen. • You are free to reuse this presentation provided that you • Not make any money from this presentation. • Give credit where credit is due.

2. Information for Presenters • On slide 28, click on the Web page image and then click on the “Turning the Tables – Students Teach Teachers” link. When the page loads, click on the “Play Video” link near the top of the page.

3. Students as Teachers of Technology a presentation byPatrick Douglas Crispen

4. No Child Left Behind • On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001. • It reformed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. • The NCLBA is founded on the belief that “[t]he federal role in education is not to serve the system. It is to serve the children.” http://www.nochildleftbehind.gov/

5. Four Basic Principles of NCLBA • Stronger accountability for results • Increased flexibility and local control • Expanded options for parents • Emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work Source: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/esea/

6. So What Does “No Child Left Behind” Have to Do with Educational Technology?

7. Apple’s Education Research Page • Well, there’s actually research out there that shows that educational technology has a positive impact on student performance. • One of the best online archives of this research is Apple’s education research page. http://www.apple.com/education/research/

8. Seven Key Research Conclusions • Students, especially those with few advantages in life, learn basic skills — reading, writing, and arithmetic — better and faster if they have a chance to practice those skills using technology. • Technology engages students, and as a result they spend more time on basic learning tasks than students who use a more traditional approach. Source: http://www.apple.com/education/research/

9. Seven Key Research Conclusions • Technology offers educators a way to individualize curriculum and customize it to the needs of individual students so all children can achieve their potential. • Students who have the opportunity to use technology to acquire and organize information show a higher level of comprehension and a greater likelihood of using what they learn later in their lives. Source: http://www.apple.com/education/research/

10. Seven Key Research Conclusions • By giving students access to a broader range of resources and technologies, students can use a variety of communication media to express their ideas more clearly and powerfully. • Technology can decrease absenteeism, lower dropout rates, and motivate more students to continue on to college. • Students who regularly use technology take more pride in their work, have greater confidence in their abilities, and develop higher levels of self-esteem.

11. NCLBA and Ed Tech • So, ed tech can have a positive impact on learning outcomes, something that’s going to be quite helpful when it comes time to deal with the whole “accountability” issue. • And, besides, Part D of the NCLBA is something called the “Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) Act of 2001.” Image: aoc.gov

12. Did You Know that the No Child Left Behind Act Has a Section on Educational Technology? Neither did I. I guess we probably need to take a quick peek at that section.

13. NCLBA and EETT, E-I-E-I-O! • The primary goal of the EETT section of the NCLBA is to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary schools and secondary schools. • Don’t you just LOVE these acronyms? Image: aoc.gov

14. Two Additional EETT Goals • To assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student is technologically literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade, regardless of the student's race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or disability. • To encourage the effective integration of technology resources and systems with teacher training and curriculum development to establish research-based instructional methods that can be widely implemented as best practices by State educational agencies and local educational agencies.

15. Monday, Bloody Monday! • These are neat goals – student achievement, technological literacy, best-practices sharing – but there’s nothing really new about any of these. • What’s new is that these goals are now both institutionalized and nationalized. • We and our fellow educators are going to be measured on our performance towards these national ed tech goals. • And we’re going to be held accountable by everyone – the feds, the state, the district, and the parents – if we fall short. • “Someday versus Monday” time is over. • It’s MONDAY!

16. How Do We “Walk the Talk?” • If we had a wad of cash we could hire a mess of tech gurus to help us infuse technology into every classroom. • The CEO of BellSouth once told me that most Fortune 500 companies have, on average, one tech support person for every 30 users. • Outside of the Milton Hershey School (with 1,300 students and a US$5.5 billion endowment) there isn’t a school in the world that can afford a Fortune 500 level of service and support. Image: federationforpeace.com

17. Paging Captain Yossarian • So Washington expects us to infuse technology throughout the curriculum in order to improve student performance. • But we don’t have the time, money, or quantity of trained tech staff to actually infuse technology throughout the curriculum.

18. And Now, It’s Time for Some Good Old Ed Tech Blaspheme! • Brace yourself … this next bullet point is going to offend you like you’ve never been offended. You ready? Okay. Here goes … • One possible way to avoid the Catch-22 is to face a cold-hard fact: EDUCATORS HONESTLY DON’T NEED TO KNOW TECHNOLOGY!

19. Think About It • Do you honestly think that Bill Gates creates all of his own PowerPoint presentations? • If I were a betting man, I’d bet the answer is no. • Gates has someone else create most of his presentations for him. • He dictates the content and then lets his subordinates worry about the design. • AND GATES IS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMPANY THAT MAKES POWERPOINT!

20. Gates’ Secret • Gates can get away with not having to create all of his own PowerPoint presentation because • He owns the entire world. • He has people on his payroll who will create many of his PowerPoint presentations for him. • This leaves Gates free to lead Microsoft’s development team. http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/

21. Why Can’t Teachers Enjoy The Same Luxury?

22. Two Reasons • Bill Gates and Oprah have all the money. • Classroom tech support is, to put it bluntly, “thin on the ground.”

23. Shortages Abound • Schools all over the country are facing serious shortages in practically everything. • Funding • Qualified teachers • Basic equipment • In fact, the only thing that schools DON’T have a shortage of are STUDENTS!

24. As Silly As This May Sound, Why Not Turn to the Students to Solve the Technology Infusion Problem?

25. Let’s See Lieberman Ban This GTA! • College professors don’t have to learn how to use technology (unless they want to) because they have grad students who will do the tech work for them. • Why not apply a similar concept to K-12?

26. Turning the Tables • According to Dennis Harper (whom we’ll meet in a bit), students make up 92% of K-12, posses 95% of the technology know-how, and are 100% of why schools exist. • Instead of training teachers with technology skills in order to improve student learning, we can train students with technology skills in order to improve teachers’ teaching.

27. Turning the Tables • By inverting the teaching paradigm, we can actually attain the promise of technology in education (the promise that the NCLBA now requires.) • I know all this sounds backwards, but watch this … http://glef.org/

28. History of Gen Y • In 1996, the Olympia (WA) School District received a five-year Technology Innovation Challenge Grant from the U.S. Department of Education to launch what was then called “Gen www.Y.” • Developed by Dr. Dennis Harper, the district’s technology coordinator • Implemented across six districts and 35 schools—12 elementary schools, 14 middles schools, and nine high schools • The Gen www.Y goal was (and remains) simple: to increase educators’ use of technology for improving student learning.

29. The Cast of Characters • Generation Yes (Youth and Educators Succeeding) provides technology programs and programs that emphasize student involvement. • http://genyes.org/ • Gen Y (formerly Gen www.Y) is the flagship and original course of Generation Yes (and what we’re talking about today.)

30. Other Generation Yes Courses • Gen Did • Gen Y alumni use their technology expertise to benefit not only their school but their community. • Gen SCI • Students learn how to keep their school’s hardware, software, and network infrastructure working efficiently. • Gen GIT • “Girls Issues and Technology” • For female students who have opted out of technology electives or who “don’t like computers.” • Let’s get back to Gen Y …

31. The Old Model of Staff Development • The standard K-12 staff development model involves hiring an expert to conduct a one-day program / workshop / conference / symposium / snooze-fest with the faculty. • The expert leaves, and then the teachers receive little, if any, ongoing support to guide them once they are back in the classroom. • Because of this – and because of the often overlooked fact that integration of new tech skills into the daily practice of teaching is bloody time consuming – few teachers actually apply what they “learn” from the expert.

32. The New Model • The Generation Yes staff members trains a mentor teacher in your school. • The mentor teacher then offers an 18 week course for your school’s Gen Y students. • The mentor teacher not only teaches the Gen Y students how to use educational technology, but also how to build the communication, collaboration, and project management skills necessary to create and deliver technology-enriched lessons.

33. Studio Art (9th Grade) • By the fourth week, each Gen Y student is paired with a “partner-teacher” (a teacher who the student normally–though not necessarily– has during the school day) and together they select a future lesson that they can enhance with a technology-based lesson plan.

34. The “Magic” of Gen Y • THIS ISN’T HAPHAZARD! • The student, with the partner-teacher’s guidance and assistance, drafts a project description outlining • Project objectives • Materials and equipment • Procedures • Evaluation indicators • Instructional context • Aligned curriculum standards. • This project description is then posted online (on the password-protected Gen Y site.)

35. Wait! It Gets Even Better! • A Gen Y consultant with subject area expertise then reviews the student’s proposal online, offering feedback on the project’s • Feasibility. • Soundness of purpose. • Organization. • Alignment of project objectives, procedures, and assessment. • The consultant (who is provided by Generation Yes) also helps align the project to district, state, or national standards.

36. The Finished Lesson • Following consultant review, the student works under the guidance of both his/her Gen Y teacher and partner-teacher to complete the project. • The culmination of this effort is the final delivery of the project to the partner-teacher’s class(es).

37. Some Additional Gen Y Benefits • Through Gen Y, teachers and students collaborate to develop a technology-enriched lesson or project that is aligned to district, state, or national standards. • Teachers learn in their own classroom how best to use the technology resources at their disposal. • If the teachers don’t want to learn how to use technology, they don’t have to. Thanks to the teacher’s Gen Y student, technology is STILL infused into that teacher’s curriculum. • And, because all of the Gen Y project reports from around the country are stored on the genyes.org Web site, licensed Gen Y schools have access to THOUSANDS of projects they can use as guides or ideas for future projects.

38. Thornburg on Gen Y One of the things I like is that the course does not simply focus on technology. It focuses also on important interpersonal skills (listening, sharing ideas, etc.) that are needed to work effectively with others. The poise and grace of students who have completed this course are worthwhile outcomes, even if nothing else was achieved. In a videotape describing the project, one student talked about his experience of going from Washington State to an inner-city school in Washington, DC to help jump start the program there. His warmth and enthusiasm and genteel nature was apparent in the video. He has skills that will last him a lifetime! From http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/thornburg/thornburg499.shtm

39. Thornburg on Gen Y In talking with other students connected with this program, their enthusiasm is palpable. They feel that what they know is being honored. While the teachers are not expected to pick up the technical skills as a result of working with these students, many of them start to see the benefits that technology can bring to their instruction. Instead of having outsiders (like Dennis and me) telling them how wonderful technology can be in the classroom, they get to experience it first-hand with the ongoing assistance of their students. From http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/thornburg/thornburg499.shtm

40. Okay … nice commercial. But does Gen Y really WORK?

41. DOE on Gen Y • Between September 1999 and April 2000, the US Department of Education’s Educational Technology Expert Panel on Exemplary and Promising Educational Technology Programs reviewed 134 ed tech programs and models. • They measured • The quality of the programs • Their educational significance • Evidence of effectiveness • Usefulness to others

42. The Results • Only two of the 134 programs were rated exemplary: • The Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project • Generation Y • You can read the DOE’s report online at http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edtechprograms

43. Evidence of Effectiveness • Gen Y students, partner-teachers, and coordinating teachers reported that 90% of the students completed their projects. • 93% of the partner-teachers considered the projects to be of high quality. • 92% of the partner teachers reported using the projects in their regular classes; 94% plan to update or extend the projects in future class activities.

44. Evidence of Effectiveness In spring 1999, 807 partner-teachers completed surveys before beginning the program, and 631 completed follow-up surveys at the end of the semester. • 95% consider Gen Y a good method for providing support and assistance to teachers as they integrate technology into their classes, reported a desire to continue participating in the program, and said they would continue to rebuild lesson plans to benefit from using educational technology. • 82% of the teachers reported that the experience would change the way that they teach in the future.

45. Evidence of Effectiveness When asked their opinion about using technology in education after participating in Gen Y, • 98% said they felt technology facilitates positive changes in classroom teaching and learning practices. • 52% said they wanted to learn more about using new technologies. • 62% percent attributed these results to their participation in Gen Y.

46. To Learn More about Gen Y • Visit the Generation Yes Web site at http://genyes.org/ • ISTE has Gen Y curriculum kits and CD-ROMs for sale in their bookstore at http://iste.org/ • Alabama’s DOE is also a good resource.

47. Alabama is Going with Gen Y Statewide. What is Mississippi Doing?

48. Mississippi and ExplorNet • About 40 schools in 27 Mississippi counties offer construction programs. • ExplorNet trains teachers, provides curricula and orders the necessary computer parts. • Students learn how to build computers from scratch, and how to troubleshoot and refurbish donated machines.

49. The Results • Through this project, • Mississippi students recently built 6,000 computers which have gone into Mississippi classrooms. • Mississippi now has at least one Internet-connected computer in every classroom in the state. • For more information, check out http://www.explornet.org/

50. Any Questions?