Becoming Tech Experts

As with fifth and sixth grades, the seventh grade classroom depends on whether the school is an elementary school or middle school. In many Kindergarten through eighth grade schools in Philadelphia, seventh graders have two different teachers rather than only one as with sixth graders. One teacher concentrates on literacy and social studies, while the other teacher takes on mathematics and science. These students cycle between two different classrooms. In contrast, students in middle schools may have a homeroom teacher, but they cycle through a number of different classrooms and teachers for each subject. Their school experiences are much different from those of students who only travel between two classrooms.

Beyond Computers

How do you differentiate eighth grade from other grades? Whether the eighth grade is the last grade in an elementary school or the last grade in a middle school, these are the oldest students in the school. When they graduate from eighth grade many are on their way to high school. By eighth grade the students are thirteen or fourteen years of age, well into the angst years of teenage.

Demonstrating Learning with Computing

Like fifth grade, sixth grade may be in an elementary school or a middle school. In my elementary school way back when in time, sixth grade was the highest grade. This meant we were the oldest in the school and had leadership opportunities – like helping out in the school office or in the cafeteria. We were the ‘big kids on campus,’ so to speak. In some middle schools in Philadelphia, sixth grade has been the youngest group. As noted with fifth grade, there is no doubt a difference in the experiences for students depending on whether they are in an elementary school setting or middle school setting. To such ends, many middle schools are being phased out of the district in exchange for elementary schools that have Kindergarten through eighth grades. Two of the schools represented by these sixth grade teachers were undergoing such changes starting in fall 2005.

Digital Drawing to Digital Graphics

Do you remember your second grade classroom? I remember it being a rather large room, but then I was quite small back then. There were music instruments in one corner of the room that we used to “make music” every week. There were books along one wall, and small tables in the middle of the room where students sat. Students were grouped at the tables such that there were six to eight at any one table. Projects were done together and work was shared giving encouragement or trouble. There were windows along the wall across from the entrance that looked out onto a tree lined street. The school was a Kindergarten through sixth grade in a middle class neighborhood.

Effecting Change in the Classroom Through Professional Development

Over the last 10 to 15 years, a vast amount of money has been invested in computer technology for public education, including establishing or upgrading computer labs, school and classroom connectivity to the Internet and wide area networks, and providing at least one Internet-ready computer per classroom. The Department of Education’s Education Rate, or E-Rate, initiative has made access to computing and Internet connectivity easier, reducing the ratio of students to computers to the 5 to 1 ratio that “many experts consider . . . a reasonable level for the effective use of computers within the schools.” (President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology 1997, p. 14, as cited in Cattagni and Farris, 2001) In addition, we have seen the introduction of mobile computer labs in schools and, more recently, smartboard technology in classrooms. Each innovation has represented a decision by a school district to use scarce resources to bring computing power into classrooms to affect teaching and learning. However, just because tools are present in classrooms does not mean teachers know how to make the most of those tools, so professional development opportunities have been created to help the teachers learn how to use the tools. Not all professional development programs have been equal in helping teachers make the most of new technologies in their classrooms.

Finger Painting to Digital Painting

Like Kindergarten, the first grade classroom is a welcoming site with small tables and chairs for the equally small children who are typical first graders. For children who did not attend Kindergarten, for whatever reason , first grade is when they learn about schooling and the rules that go along with being in school. It is a time to explore ideas, be creative, make friends, learn to be collaborative with others, learn to read better, and much more. While the curriculum is similar to Kindergarten, the level of instruction and expectations for student engagement is slowly becoming higher, but only slightly at this point. Also like Kindergarten, computers tend to be used often for students to express their understanding of a story or concept through creative software. The concept of multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1999), active learning (Dewey, 1938), and applying learning to related knowledge (Vygotsky, 1978) are exemplified in all primary grades, and especially in first grade.

Continuous Practice Improvement

Since the early 1980s education had been challenged to improve student outcomes. It was during these years of debate on what would help schools help children achieve more that microcomputers were making inroads into schools. Apple Computer started the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) project, described briefly in Chapter 3. Microcomputer technology was developing and changing dramatically each year, with new opportunities available to support classroom teaching. Then the World Wide Web came into the mix in 1993, opening up new resources and opportunities for teachers and students. All of a sudden they were not limited to the resources available (or not) in the classrooms or school libraries. The world was opening up to schools in ways never imagined before. However, schools and teachers were still accountable for student learning. How could corporations step up to the challenge of supporting the nations’ future workforce?

Expressing Knowledge in New Ways

How do fifth grade classrooms differ from fourth grade classrooms? The simple answer is that the curricula for mathematics, literacy, science, and social studies are more complex, requiring the students to learn new vocabulary as well as to expand on concepts previously learned. The room will not actually look much different, other than there may be less student work posted around and more rubrics posted for writing, reading genres, ciphering mathematics, or science concepts. Word walls will no doubt still be prevalent, since the vocabulary word of the day is still an important component of learning. And there may be many different word walls, such as one for mathematics or one for science concepts, as examples. Otherwise, the room itself will not appear much different from a fourth grade classroom or sixth grade classroom.

Beyond Finger Painting

Imagine, as best you can, your Kindergarten classroom from way back when, or that of your children’s Kindergarten classroom, or perhaps one in which you teach or have taught. These are spacious rooms with tiny tables and chairs made especially for the small children who inhabit them during the school year. These small children are the future and their education in the early years is so important for establishing a set of skills and knowledge base to support their education for years to come. While all teachers are special, Kindergarten teachers take on the role of weaning children away from the home into the milieu of schooling. They often are a surrogate parent for these children who are away from home in a strange place without Mom or Grandmother or any other relative or familiar figure for the first time in their lives.

"Making Teachers Better"

In 2007, reports from the Office of the Secretary of Education’s website listed statistics about educational technology and schools. As of November 2006, the Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994-2005 report indicated “the ratio of students to instructional computers with Internet access in public schools was 3.8 to 1…” This was a decrease from 2003, when the ratio was 4.4 to 1. (Department of Education, 2006) There was also information about funding, including the $2.25 billion in the federal E-rate program supporting discounts on telecommunications services, Internet access, and networking for schools and libraries. With each Federal funding program for educational technology, professional development was an essential component, requiring up to 25 percent of funds to be used for professional development on using technology to improve student outcomes.