Before you show teachers how to use a technology,
you have to demonstrate how it will affect their students.
how these projects would help students master the Texas Assessment
of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), and
we received and developed content-specific lesson plans we could bring
back to our classrooms.
But integrating technology requires
more than just a one-off training session. It’s essential that the district’s
instructional technology (IT) department support teachers before, during,
and after introducing the technology.
Ysleta’s IT department played a
central role in the success of the
TIP project. While many IT departments are staffed with “techies,”
Ysleta’s is made up of teachers. That
means they have an insider’s understanding of the issues involved with
using technology in a classroom.
Throughout the TIP project, IT staff
were visible and accessible in our
building.
The school also created a technology cadre of teachers who received
additional training to troubleshoot,
assist other teachers, and address
campus-specific issues.
In addition, it is essential to post
resources online. When manuals, tutorials, and trouble-shooting guides
are available 24/7, teachers can get
support when they need it, at school
or home.
significant gains in mathematics,
reading, and writing and outscored
students in control classrooms in the
district. A greater proportion of those
students also reached the “met the
standard” and “commended” performance levels on the TAKS.
While a key strength of one-to-one
computing is differentiated instruction, whole-group instruction and
collaboration are still vital to the one-to-one classroom experience. Like
traditional lessons, one-to-one lessons
should include teaching, guided practice, and independent practice. Using an LCD projector to show lesson
introductions, videos, and animations
is helpful for whole-class instruction
and discussions. It is also important
to integrate open-ended explorations and collaboration tools, such
as blogs or wikis, to deepen student
understanding, increase motivation,
and strengthen problem-solving skills.
Teachers can facilitate collaboration
and the sharing of student work both
online and offline.
From Old to New
In the early stages of a one-to-one initiative, teachers often find themselves
caught between the print and digital
worlds. That’s why it’s important to
create or update policies to ensure
teachers don’t have to duplicate their
work for both. For example, if a teacher creates a thorough, resource-filled
lesson on an assignment webpage for
students, he or she should not have to
also create a written lesson plan just
because it’s always been done that way.
Similarly, it’s very helpful to switch
to a digital core curriculum. During the TIP project, Ysleta had only
productivity software, online instructional resources, and online formative assessment tools, but none of
these were connected in a meaningful way. To fill this gap, I scoured the
internet to create my own digital curriculum. While I found some good
materials and dramatically enhanced
my internet search skills, the process
was extremely time consuming. I
spent at least one to two hours each
weekday and six to eight hours each
weekend hunting for materials to use
with my students.
Fortunately, new products are
emerging to maximize the strengths
of one-to-one computing. One new
product category, the digital teaching
platform, operates as the primary carrier of core curriculum content and
supports the teacher with tools for
curriculum planning, classroom management, and assessment. In Grand
Prairie ISD in Texas, teachers are using the Time To Know digital teaching
platform and interactive core curriculum to manage classroom activities
and deliver a personalized curriculum
to every student. As a result, the district is realizing the benefits of strategic engagement, including improved
student achievement.
On the 2010 TAKS exams, the
students using this digital platform
and curriculum achieved statistically
Benefits without Boundaries
One of the most important benefits
of one-to-one computing is that it expands learning past the boundaries of
the school day. In my math and algebra
classes, I use blogs to give students opportunities to think and write about
math inside and outside the classroom.
I created a MathBloggers section on my
website ( http://tinyurl.com/3mya27t),
where I post starter questions and ask
students to give me their answers in a
While a key strength of one-to-one computing is differentiated instruction,
whole-group instruction and collaboration are still vital to the one-to-one
classroom experience.
