I am totally on board with struggling to envision the best way to bring =
teachers around to engage in the many ways available resources online =
and technology tools can be used to enhance the curriculum.
My current rant is that those of us with "technology" in our title =
should try and shift to a new paradigm - if we were to refer to =
ourselves more in terms of "curriculum coordinators" instead, then we =
would be talking to teachers about the range of opportunities they have =
to incorporate technology tools and resources (or not) as they think =
about their changing curriculum. This follows Seymour Papert's rant that =
we don't have conferences about how to use pencils and pens, so why do =
we have them on how to use technology? The focus in schools should =
always be on the students and the curriculum and creating a way for the =
two to most successfully intersect.
Just as we need to engage our students, who seem tired and burned out, =
in pursuits that are meaningful and inspiring to them, we need to invent =
ways to engage faculty (also tired and burned out) in interesting, =
relevant, meaningful professional development. But what is the hook that =
will really get them on board?
What has been the most inspiring professional development (curriculum or =
technology related) that anyone has hit upon so far?
Jenni Swanson Voorhees
Sidwell Friends School
-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators on behalf of Fred Bartels
Sent: Mon 3/3/2008 10:50 AM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Professional Development Related to Information Technology
=20
The specs and pricing of a laptop we are likely to recommend to students
entering our one-to-one program were recently updated. The 2008-2009
school year will be the 10th year of our laptop program. What has =
happened
with laptop computer technology over the past ten years? What is likely =
to
happen over the next ten years?
Let's start with the core capabilities.=20
1999 2008 2018 (projected using 1999-2008 rates)
=09
RAM 96 2000 41666 in MegaBytes=09
CPU 300 2400 19200 in Mhz=09
HD 3.2 160 8000 in GigaBytes=09
COST 2086 1199 689 in constant dollars (inflation adjusted)
In addition the 2008 laptop has:
-faster wireless networking
-a higher resolution screen
-lighter weight
-a much better operating system
-a built in video camera
-a DVD read/write optical drive vs a CD-ROM drive
The only thing that hasn't improved much is battery life.
During this same 10 year period the Internet has blossomed into a vast
rich resource of information, much of questionable worth or even =
harmful,
but much of it incredibly useful. The Internet has also developed, via =
Web
2.0 tools, into a communications medium that allows all of us to be
publishers as well as consumers of information. It is a sure bet that =
the
Internet and Internet-based software will continue to evolve at a torrid
pace over the next 10 years.
My school is working hard to adjust its practices to take advantage of =
all
this, as are most schools. If the next ten years bring changes in
information technology at a similar pace -which seems likely- then many
more adjustments will be needed.=20
One of the biggest challenges we face in the next decade is retraining =
the
adults in our communities so that they can take advantage of the
educational opportunities being opened up by increasingly powerful
information technology.
I suspect that many of our schools have been adding or repositioning =
staff
to focus on technology-related professional development. It would be =
great
to develop a forum for these people to share ideas and practices. Before
creating such a forum I thought I'd canvas the ISED community for ideas. =
Thanks,
Fred
-------------------------
Fred Bartels
Head - Computer Department
Rye Country Day School
914-925-4610
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