Comments

**THOUGHTS, COMMENTS, FEEDBACK**
[|**IHELLER**] **writes:** These are all you hear about at library conferences. I certainly can envision our students engaging in all of these technologies, though, some lend themselves to older students- such as the wikis and blogs. If we could plan ways in which these might be used by the classroom teacher in conjunction with the librarians and technology teachers, I expect that some would be put into practice. I have a few ideas that I would love to share. I would like to use podcasting next year. My second grade biography project this year was a powerpoint. Next year, in conjunction with that, I would like to do a podcast having students interview each other as various famous Americans. I understand that there are headphones with built in microphones and they would be a real help(though they plug into USB ports) The one problem is that to make it a true podcast it needs to be put onto the Web and I am not sure that we want everybody in the world having access to it. But, giving only our school community access is not really what podcasting is about. Obviously, parents would love to have access. I guess that we could make it password protected. Anyway, I know that I am thinking out loud but these are real issues that need to be decided. Thanks. Iris Posted Jun 4, 2007 9:55 am - [|[delete]]

Article posted by E. Fuhrman on 1/11/08: "The Essential Cognitive Backpack" Educational Leadership April 2007). Focus question: How can technology be used as a tool to engage students in the four "I"'s of adult mind work: interpretation, instrumentation, interaction, and inner direction? What are the implications for how we do things in our schools?

[| Essential Cognitive Backpack.doc]

In the April 2008 issue of Phi Delta Kappan (V89, N8) there is an article by Lee Allen titled "The Technology Implications of //A Nation At Risk//." Allen looks back to the technological recommendations made in //A Nation At Risk// and what has, and has not transpired since then. Here are his conclusions:

"The studen-to-computer ratio has certainly improved, from about 60-to-1 in 1983 to about 4-to-1 nationwide in 2007. Yet many academics continue to argue that computers in the classroom contribute little or no instructional value. What has definitely changed is that digital technologies have become ubiquitous in everyday life, and students are becoming increasingly aware of the disconnect between school and the 'real world' where technology is common. The corporate world has long targeted the technological curiosity of young minds via sophisticated video games and interactive websites, and the U.S. military uses online games and simulations to capture the minds and hearts of potential recruits. But most colleges of education continue to instruct aspiring teachers in the same way that the instructors themselves were taught. Meanwhile, school leadership is compelled to enforce the 'all testing, all the time' mandate of No Child Left Behind, which leaves precious little time for such evidently superfluous efforts as the arts, humanities, and technology. This is a precription if not for failure, then for obsolescence."

The author's observation are at the least disturbing, and if they do indeed prove to be prescient, then we as a committee, need to think long and hard about what our classrooms will look like in the days ahead.

Submitted by Steve Schlanger, April 10, 2008

There's an interesting article in Education Week (July 16, 2008) about the "Open Content Movement." It is, I believe, relevant to our discussions and research. It can be accessed by going to www.edweek.org/go/biztech

Submitted by Steve Schlanger, July 30, 2008