Technology with Intention

Michael Gorman | Southwest Allen County Schools

By Jac de Haan On January 16, 2012 · Add Comment · In educator profiles

John Long | School District of Palm Beach County

By Jac de Haan On October 24, 2011 · 4 Comments · In educator profiles

Name: John Long (iPad pilot project | eMobilize project | Tech Ambassador Program)
Organization: School District of Palm Beach County
Current title: Technology Program Specialist
Selected accolades: 2003 Apple Distinguished Educator, 2008 Finalist Tech & Learning Leader of the Year, 2007 EMA Outstanding Service to Media Award, Dwyer Award nominee

Is there a clear message that you’d like to communicate with readers?

Just because a teacher can use technology does not mean they know how to teach with it. Just because a student can use technology does not mean they know how to learn with it.

Some people focus on student achievement. I focus on teacher and student learning, because when they learn they achieve.

The best method of professional development is through the role of coaching and modeling. Spending time listening, developing, and modeling. Teachers then can see the vision of how technology can impact students. The students then learn that technology is a great tool for learning.

Technology Connects / Technology Divides

By Jac de Haan On October 20, 2011 · Add Comment · In lesson plans

An Inquiry Lesson for 7th – 12th Grades

By Ethan Delavan

Objective:

Students will apply meta-cognition to conduct an inquiry into the effects of technology as a unifying or divisive force in their relationships with others, while critiquing source information and supporting a call to action with visual displays.

Inquiry Question:

Does the technology we’ve created bring us together as a society, or does it push us apart?

Materials:

Internet research access and digital presentation tools.

Preparation:

Create a digital presentation for your students which demonstrates either that technology pulls us together as a global community or that it tears us apart. Your presentation should model how they might present their own findings. It should be visually engaging, relevant to the age group you are trying to reach and controversial.

For example, you might highlight conclusions from the Kaiser Family Foundation about youth media consumption. Their research found an inverse proportion between hours of media consumption and personal contentedness. Or you might document the work of William Kamkwamba, a rural African youth who used any media he could find to create a hand-‐built, wind-‐powered electric generator for his village. (See [...]