Library
& Information Science, Course 233: School Library Media
Centers.
Dr. David Loertscher
Spring, 1999
(t7final.html)
The Ideal High School in Oceanview, California became a digital high school three years ago. They wrote a visouary technology plan that promised the world. Now the money has ended. The school has been wired. The library serves as network central. Each classroom has 6-8 networked computers, all with Internet access and with networked access to an array of information sources from the library (periodicals, databases, - the works). Each student has a personal email account and has space on the server to store personal files and projects. The nice thing is, it all works. Ideal High School has a full time library media teacher and a full time paraprofessional. It has a full time professional technology teacher and a full time technician. The potential to create an entirely new information and technology environment is there.
The problem is that the teachers in the high school are pretty traditional. They have all attended professional development days concerning technology, have had numerous opportunities to learn how to use technology, have been exposed to many ideas for incorporating technology into their teaching, but thus far, have resisted technology as an integral tool for their teaching.
Now the grant is at an end. The costs to keep the technology and the library/technology staff going are very high. A group of teachers (The Committee on Good Teaching) is about to present a major paper to the school board. It will call for the reistating of traditional values and the de-emphasis of technology in the future - and, most importantly, will ask that funds that have been used to support technology now be assigned to programs that have taken a back seat in the last three years.
Hearing that The Committee on Good Teaching will be making their presentation, the library and technology staff and a small group of teachers approach the superintendent. She recommends that a seminar be held so that the Board can hear both sides. She suggests that the opposing committee be named the Technology Implementation Committee.
The Issue: Resolved: The Ideal High School Should Reinvent It's Current Emphasis on Technology Systems and Concentrate, Instead, on Delivering Quality Education.
Step One: Build Background for the Case - one hour - in the computer lab
In groups of two, explore Internet Sites and documents you brought concerning both sides of the issue. Explore as many documents as you can, doing mind maps of positive contributions and negative factors of technology in education.
Sites for The Committee on Good Teaching:
• http://www.theatlantic.com/search/searcher.phtml
Then search for computer delusion - this will send you to a list of articles and you want the one entitled: The Computer Delusion by Todd Oppenheimer. Also look at articles on the first page under the bullet "Learning in the Real World." This bibliography will send you to other articles critical of technology.
Sites for The Technology Implementation Committee:
• Use technology plans you brought for ideas• Use Information Power
• Use any other documents you brought with you.
• http://www.gsn.org/web/index.htm
click on Library of References, Readings and Resources
click on Recent EdTech Studies
The first three items are fairly positive• http://ctap.k12.ca.us/dhs/downloads.html
click on old grants
look at digital high school grant applications - try Chico and Fairfield among others.
Step Two: Build the Case on Each Side - 30 minutes - in the classroom (find a space for each committee)
One partner will become a member of the Committee on Good Teaching. The second partner will become a member of the Technology Implementation Committee. Divide into two committees in the North and two committees in the south.
First order of business: Select a spokesperson for each committee in the north and in the south.
Second: Using the mind maps produced by the partners, create a summary chart of your position.
Third: Help the spokesperson be prepared to give a 5-min. presentation to the seminar.
Step Three: Present the Case - 30 minutes - on television
Hear the 5-minute presentations from the Committees on Good Teaching (north and south)
Hear the 5-minue presentations from the Technology Implementation Committees (north and south)
Step Four: Reinvent the Case - 30 minutes - find a space (outside on the lawn?)
At the conclusion of the presentations, the superintendent addresses the group and says that while both sides have good points the future of the District Technology Plan must combine the best elements of both points of view into a vision for the future. That technology must be present in that plan, but it also must be held accountable to improve the quality of education.
Divide up into groups of eight - four members who where on the Committee for Good Teaching and four who were on the Technology Implementation Committee. Brainstorm the rudiments of a reinvented District Technology Plan. Post these elements on the 233 Assignment page under group 10. Be sure to list the members of the group that worked on the new vision. One person from the group should volunteer to do the posting at home rather than go back to the lab.
Step Five: Do an AAR as a Committee of the Whole with your Instructor via telelecture. - class back on television.