I must say I had to re-read chapter two a few times because I found the chapter to be a bit hard to follow. There were pieces, however, I made note of in terms of what is necessary in order to successfully implement technology into our curriculum/school.
Strategic versus operational plans made a lot of sense to me. Strategic plans should definitely be revisited and revised and in doing so, the operational plan is revised and "moves forward from the previous operational plan" (LeBaron,2001, p.18). There is also a good plan listed on page 19 for implementing technology into the curriculum (LeBaron, 2001).
If you take ideas like those of Pratt (1994) and Eisner (1985) then planning and integration would be easy and effective (LeBaron, 2001). Essentialism, cultural transmission, individual fulfillment (my favorite) and social transformation should always lay the foundation for ideas involved in curriculum planning (LeBaron, 2001).
And constructivist view is needed in creating such perspectives in the classroom and school-wide. An "evolving interaction between unique personal experiences and the new phenomena that individuals bring to them" is a great way to bring meaning to lessons and technology is instrumental in creating that interaction (LeBaron, 2001). With a constructivist view, the learning environment would only be further enhanced because goals are created with exchanges that build knowledge.
Once the thought processes for designing curricula planning begin, then the six steps of the planning process can be utilized. A vision that resounds the feelings of the many individuals involved is necessary, as involvement is key in integration success. Communication of goals, assessment and expectations need to be voiced and agreed upon. Businesses, teachers, parents and media/ITRT personnel are extremely helpful in the sharing process.
I think ITRT's are probably the most essential part of the integration equation. If we did not have an ITRT that made a point of stopping us in the hallway or coming by our classes, I don't think we would have as much integration as we do. She was very personable and we almost felt bad if we did not try her ideas because she tried so hard to work with us and get us involved with technology and its wonderful attributes. This year, our ITRT is much less available and I don't feel as though I use as much tech. as I should, simply because the relationship is different. Our ITRT last year even knew our principal pretty well and she traveled among schools!
A personable, driven ITRT is a big help when trying to "get the story" out as Sanna Jarvela discusses in chapter 4 of LeBaron's book (LeBaron & Collier., 2001). Learning involves so many pieces and I hope we all agree that memorization and technology just do not get along, when it comes to providing an enriched learning environment. Jarvela discusses inquiry and its importance in our students' classrooms.
Through inquiry, students develop questions independently and use resources to find their answers. Inquiry brings more meaning through that process of finding answers to independently created questions.
I thought the projects discussed (CSILE) were okay but I think we can do better when wanting to create more inquiry based learning. We can use technology quite heavily and student achievement can easily be enhanced. Of course, we should follow Jarvela's principles, such as developing group roles within class activities and those students should work well together in order to create a great class environment, conducive to creativity and knowledge gain. Evaluation of lessons and activities should always follow activities and lay the foundation for the integration of technology.
When I used the remote controls (can not remember what this software is called!) with quizzes, the students loved it. Each student is assigned a number in the computer program and questions are placed in a document within the software program. When class begins, the folder is opened within that program and has questions in it that my co-teacher and I have developed. Each question is given a point value and they are all multiple choice. Then the students are given a remote with their assigned number on it and we open the quiz on our computer and it is projected on the big screen for the students to see, kind of like jeopardy but no one really pays attention to who is which number, nice feature.
Questions are answered based on categories chosen by students and the quiz runs rather quickly. According to Jarvela, this type of activity supports student autonomy because there is almost a transfer of "responsibility from teacher to student" (Grolnick & Ryan, 1987; Turner, 1995; LeBaron & Collier, 2001). This makes good sense; technology helps create a shift of responsibility, as students and teachers are better able to work together on tasks and goals. Students feel more ownership, as they did with the quiz software, making learning more meaningful because concepts are retained.
Technology allows for more communication, more involvement, thorough reporting and documentation, allowing the "story of" lessons to be told. And students are better skilled and better prepared because of technology integration in our lessons.
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You did a nice job narrowing the focus of our author to two distinct areas. When reading complex material this is the best strategy to use.
I like your interpretation of a constructivist view of learning - a learning environment that is enhanced by clear goals intermixed with exchanges to aid in building knowledge. Interesting.
I would agree that ITRTs are one of the most important members of this planning team. Without ITRTs in our schools technology use would be limited and constructivist strategies would be far from being used in our classrooms. ITRTs are very important and each teacher should utilize them more and show their appreciation and encouragement. As ITRTs are given more schools to cover and more duties to fulfill time within each school with each teacher becomes noticeably less. How can this be changed?
Technology can be incorporated more into our classrooms - Did I just say that! While this is happening we can still meet our learning objectives and goals if we plan for each when planning our lessons. Teachers with the help of ITRTs can provide engaging learning environments that incorporate a variety of resources from people, Internet, books, literature, etc. Jarvela’s lesson ideas provide just a taste of the possibilities that await us and our classrooms. I wonder when we will take that leap ourselves?
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