In attendance: Ilene, Michael, Bridget, Elisa, Anne-Marie A., Jane, Mary H., Catherine, Kathi G., Denise, Ann Marie D.
Questions Addressed:
- What are the skills necessary for students in the 21st century?
- What does technology integration look like for us at Elmwood today?
- What is Hopkinton Public School's vision of technology integration?
- How can we make better use of our lab?
A slideshow was presented to the group that focused on Hopkinton Public School's vision of technology integration. The skills necessary for students in the 21st century were discussed. We watched a short interview with Thomas Friedman presented on the Jim Lehrer News Hour. Mr. Friedman discussed outsourcing and the loss of jobs to Americans. He also discussed how important the skills of collaboration, effective communication, problem solving, inventing and creating would be in the future.
Feedback from staff in regards to technology at Elmwood was addressed. Our grade representatives, Anne-Marie A. and Denise mentioned these issues/suggestions:
- iPass - issues with connectivity at home, cutting and pasting
- lab usage - more open flexible access, more flexibility at beginning and end of lab time
- equality of color printing
- classroom computers - need more memory
- hardware - needs to be more functional
- confusion over the role of the technology specialist
- communication with staff about hardware and software issues
- less emphasis on podcasting, blogging - greater emphasis on learning about programs such as Word, Publisher, and PowerPoint
- technology integration specialist needs to be in the lab for the beginning of all lab classes
- What is the technology curriculum? What should teachers be teaching?
- When software is updated, it needs to be updated in the classroom also.
Ann Marie D. addressed some of these issues.
- The technology standards are being reviewed and revamped by the technology department. They will be presented to teachers upon completion.
- The philosophy of HPS states that technology should be used as a tool to effectively deliver the curriculum.
- HPS's vision of the role of the technology specialist: to work with teachers to design learning experiences within the units they are teaching, and to help teachers use technology within their classrooms.
- We are working towards understanding why some of the technological issues in the lab have been happening. Lori has been making some changes to see if they help solve some of these problems. She will be creating a new image for the computers this summer.
We wrestled with the question of how we should schedule the lab for next year. No clear consensus was reached.
What we concluded:
- There was great confusion on curriculum. It seems that some teachers were given technology standards last year which they believed to be the "technology curriculum" they were expected to teach. We discussed that there is no technology curriculum, rather it should be used within the curriculum you teach. This should be clarified for all staff.
- How do we best communicate the vision of technology integration to all staff?
- Professional development will be necessary that focuses on how to teach units that infuse technology. How is this best done?
- Time is needed for teachers and the technology specialist to design units that integrate technology.
- We hope to explore ways for all students to have these common learning experiences.
- How can we, as a team of educators, move in a positive fashion towards this common vision of technology integration?
- How can we lend support to one another in the process?
- What kinds of professional development opportunities are necessary?
- How can we best convey HPS's technology vision to all staff?
- What should the scheduling of the lab look like?
The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Monday June 11th from 2:45-4:15. Please feel free to enter comments on this blog page. You may do so anonymously. You can also email any of the members of this committee with any of your concerns or suggestions.
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