C.T. IN “THE LAND OF PLENTY

C.T. IN “THE LAND OF PLENTY”

I was fortunate to visit three international schools in South-East Asia to observe, discuss and reflect on the development of Information and Communication Technology in those institutions, as part of the Minolta/Don Le Prou study award for 2000. Given that such schools could be expected to have the personnel, the financial support and a largely computer literate student population three focus questions were identified on which to base the study:

1. How do these schools organise and deliver I.C.T. programmes to their students?
2. What issues, problems or dilemmas are they faced with?
3. What issues are relevant to the New Zealand situation and what can we learn from them?

SCHOOL ONE

The International School Manila (I.S.M.), founded in 1920, is a private, non-profit, co-educational facility. I.S.M. is organised into three distinct schools – Elementary, Middle and High School. Each school has its own administration, teaching and support staff and its own principal directly responsible to a school superintendent who in turn is responsible to a ten member Board of Trustees. The roll of the school is just over 1800.

While, from a New Zealand perspective, this school has vast, almost extravagant resources (nearly one computer to two students), an understanding of issues confronting the school is helpful.

The school’s plan for resource development illustrates that, regardless of comprehensive resourcing, there is never quite enough. In the case of I.S.M. the provision of personal laptops for all pupils and teaching staff is the next level. However, this move has not yet found universal acceptance from all school decision makers and I believe is some way off.

Curriculum integration of information technology is complicated. Progress in this area is helped by generous resourcing but also depends on staff skill and, more importantly, on the match between curriculum requirements and software applicability. If information technology is to result in improved learning outcomes for students, software needs to be provided with this in mind. Students can readily be taught how to use technology. The important question then is how this skill is harnessed to bring about improvements in mastering learning outcomes.

Staff development is recognised by I.S.M. as a major issue, as it is in all schools. However, one wonders whether their stated aim of spending at least fifty percent of their staff development budget on technology is feasible. The key question is how many ‘priorities’ a school can address at one time.

The use of technology to improve communication throughout the school and with parents is exciting. However, much is to be done to make this work efficiently and effectively. For example, the principal received a large number of e-mails, few of which seemed necessary. There is much work to be done in defining what information goes where and for what purpose. The use of e-mail to communicate with parents is an excellent idea. Teachers use e-mail to send home class newsletters and to follow up issues such as homework or student behaviour with particular parents. This appears to work well.

Overall International School Manila illustrates two major points. It is exciting what excellent resources and enthusiastic staff can accomplish. On the other hand it is also clear that major issues such as resourcing, staff development and communication pitfalls remain.

SCHOOL TWO

The Singapore International School changed its name to the United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) in 1975. The United World College movement has nine schools around the world. The movement aims to promote international understanding and to make education relevant to the global needs of the modern world. UWCSEA has a roll of over 2000 students.

Once again, by New Zealand standards, this school is extremely well resourced with the emphasis now on developing effective programmes using these resources. Expansion is under way with e-mail facilities, the development of a website and classroom networking. The I.C.T. programme in this school appears to focus almost exclusively on computer technology.

Curriculum integration is seen as very important. The approach is to teach basic I.C.T. skills in lower year levels and secondly to utilise software that enhances curriculum outcomes while reinforcing and expanding on information technology skills.

Staff development is largely seen as a personal responsibility supported by school organization funding. The approach to staff in-service was summed up in the following quote from a principal:
“Teachers don’t have to come (to I.T. training sessions) but they do have to know”.

In other words to be a teacher in an International school one is expected to have a reasonable level of computer literacy.

SCHOOL THREE

The Singapore American School (SAS) was established to provide an “American” education for children of United States’ citizens residing in Singapore. The curriculum and teaching systems are American. All administrators (principals and deputy principals) are American and the majority of teachers are also from the U.S.A. although they also employ some Australian and New Zealand teachers. SAS has a total roll of 2,700 students

The resources at this school are extraordinary. With technology there is clearly enough equipment, software, skilled personnel and available space to do whatever is seen as necessary.

The school has a seemingly relaxed approach to this issue because information technology is part of the overall educational environment. This is not because I.C.T. is unimportant but rather because the important place of I.C.T. is well established, resourced and organised. In many ways this is an ideal arrangement.

The recognition of I.C.T. in this school, as in others I visited, revolves very much around computers. No one would preclude other forms of technology as useful in learning but computer education and the use of computers for education are paramount in information technology programmes in all three schools visited.

NEW ZEALAND ISSUES

No definitive answers are given nor, during the course of this study, were any seen. Rather this is an attempt to add to the debate by raising questions that could be seen as difficult or even controversial.

1. Resourcing
“To err is human but to really foul things up requires a computer.” Anonymous

It is acknowledged that the international schools visited during the course of this investigation are relatively large, wealthy and have a highly computer literate student group. However, it is clear that if schools in New Zealand are to address information technology seriously the issue of resourcing needs examination. Although schools are working hard to address I.C.T., with some Government support, I believe the following questions are important for us to consider:
· Do schools have enough hardware to give students regular access to computers?
· Do schools have appropriate software that builds I.C.T. skills while enhancing learning outcomes in our seven essential learning areas?
· Have schools got co-ordinators to oversee the introduction of I.C.T. policies?
· Do classroom teachers have access to specialist teachers with responsibility for software selection and use, classroom teacher up-skilling and classroom programme integration?
· Do schools have staff who can ensure appropriate purchasing is done, the best use is made of equipment and technical difficulties are resolved?
· Do school facilities have designated teaching spaces provided for I.C.T. rather than cribbing classroom or storage space?
· Are schools able to budget for equipment replacement programmes (on a 3 – 5 year basis)?

The progress that is made in I.C.T. depends on the allocation of funding, which in turn depends on the priority given to I.C.T. by Government and school based leaders. The cost is high and it is interesting that some people are already questioning the value of computers in primary schools, given the money, time and expertise they require.

It could be argued that much of this concern stems from a clash between the old and new priorities. Schools have traditionally invested large sums of money in areas such as physical education and the arts. The building of halls, auditoriums, swimming pools and other sports facilities is to be applauded. Perhaps now we have a new area to recognise. I believe this needs to develop on a national basis rather than relying on, what one might call, piecemeal local initiatives, laudable as they may well be.

2. Professional Development
“We have the hardware, we have the software, what we now need is the peopleware.”
I.T. Co-ordinator, Manila.

The professional development of staff is a crucial area and this is recognised in all the schools I visited as well as in New Zealand. The questions that need addressing are:
· What is the balance between personal teacher responsibility for up-skilling and school provision of training programmes? This needs to be a partnership with schools providing opportunity for learning and teachers accepting the responsibility for knowing.
· When can professional development be undertaken? One international school runs courses after school, in the weekends and during holidays. In New Zealand professional development release from class teaching is common. A further question is how much time should be devoted to professional development during class time and how often can a primary teacher be absent from class before the class programme suffers?
· How many professional development “priorities” can teachers cope with at any one time? Teaching is obviously complex, time intensive and personally demanding. Ideally national priorities should be set and achieved before others are introduced. Otherwise schools could be in danger of doing all things superficially.

3. Communication
Developments in communication using computers are tremendously exciting. Internet use in schools is established and growing. Intranets are being established as classroom networking is put in place. As schools increase electronic communication, policies will be required regarding access to, storage of, and manipulation of information. Privacy issues will need to be addressed.

The sheer volume of material being exchanged is also likely to escalate. How this is dealt with needs to be examined. Once again school policies will need to outline what information is required, by whom and for what purpose.

4. Curriculum Integration
All three schools visited are addressing this issue. The basic skills of computer use are taught early. Students are also taught the advantages of computers as a tool to achieve their goals, i.e. the ability of a computer to store, retrieve and manipulate information. Students are then helped to use computers to enhance curriculum outcomes. However, to do this requires access to hardware, appropriate software and a planned and co-ordinated approach organised over years. All of this requires resources as pointed out in number 1 above.

However, the issue of access to appropriate software is one that needs addressing. I believe this probably limits the successful use of computers in New Zealand more than any other factor. Perhaps an organization such as Learning Media should be sourcing and distributing relevant curriculum specific software to schools in the same manner as they provide print material for language programmes.

5. Information and communication technology and equity
“Machines are worshipped because they are beautiful and valued because they confer power; they are hated because they are hideous and loathed because they impose slavery.”
Bertrand Russell

I believe access to computers and computer-enhanced learning is a major issue. If access to information technology is not equitably distributed there is a potential learning gap more severe than the literacy and numeracy gap that is currently causing concern. Given that access to knowledge is a major source of influence in society and the role of computers in knowledge acquisition, it seems crucial that students in our schools have the opportunity to be computer confident at an early age. Limited access to I.C.T. has the potential to lead to an increasing “power gap” in society.

There is an argument that computers are only part of an information and communication technology programme. This may be correct but computers are certainly the major part. Another argument is that computers are ‘only a tool’ to aid learning. I venture to suggest computers are not only a tool, rather they are ‘the tool’ to aid learning.

Of course computers cannot teach everything, and they will never replace skilled teachers. However, information technology is only beginning to impact on our school programmes. Information technology is about computers in the same way reading is about books. It is accepted that access to books is necessary for learning success. In a similar light I predict access to I.C.T. equipment will become necessary for learning success in the future. If we are not careful, access to I.C.T. resources will be the equity issue of the future, if it is not already.

Conclusion
During the course of this investigation I spent time with the staff and students in three amazing schools. To everyone involved, teachers or learners, I extend my appreciation and thanks. I was fortunate to be reminded that as educators we live and work in the exciting global business of education.

Thanks are also due to Minolta N.Z., New Zealand Principals’ Federation and the Board of Trustees and staff of Manurewa Central School. Without their support this project would not have been possible. It is also timely to remind colleagues of the opportunity presented by the Minolta/Don Le Prou Award. This is an opportunity to go places, see things and reflect on worlds far removed from our own.

The above comments are much abbreviated from a report written for N.Z.P.F. Full copies may be obtained from the author or downloaded from www.mancent.school.nz

Correspondence concerning this article is welcome and should be addressed to the author at Manurewa Central School, ph (09) 266-8782, fax (09) 266-5488, e-mail principal@mancent.school.nz Copyright © NZPF 2003

Efforts to implement KBK “2004 The Competency Based Curriculum”, Considering the Past Failed Curricu

Efforts to implement KBK “2004 The Competency Based Curriculum”, Considering the Past Failed Curricu

Republika
In spite of the fact that (current KBK) is the result of upgraded curriculum from the previous one, KBK is estimated to suit the objectives of building a whole dimension for human needs. Indonesian educational system which had been using 1994 curriculum could be said as a failure. This is due to the non - conducive learning environment. Moreover the system does not suit to the Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) which is a collection of theories on child development.
In spite of the fact that (current KBK) is the result of upgraded curriculum from the previous one, KBK is estimated to suit the objectives of building a whole dimension for human needs. Indonesian educational system which had been using 1994 curriculum could be said as a failure. This is due to the non - conducive learning environment. Moreover the system does not suit to the Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) which is a collection of theories on child development.

It was Ratna Megawangi, Phd who pointed out the failure (of the curriculum) in a discussion at Bandung, a few days ago. The discussion was organized by Simpul Pendidikan with 2004 Curriculum Pro-Contra: Is there an opportunity for Holistic Learning? as the theme. The meeting was attended by representatives from Simpul Pendidikan’s school members and college students who concerned about the education development.

Ratna said the system could kill student’s learning motivation to the point that they would feel bored in class. This Executive Director of Indonesian Heritage Foundation (IHF) made an example, since grade 1 until grade 12, even until college years, students were forced to sit quietly, to listen to teachers, and to take notes, without any interactive dialog between teachers and students.

Especially “multilog” in particular which was a dialog between teachers and students, students to others, students and themselves in order to have a deep thought and to reflect the courses. “It is not surprising that the generation produced is a generation who is not critical, just like a robot,” she said.

She predicted the curriculum was too heavy; therefore, it could only be absorbed by the 15 percent of the most intelligent from students enrolled. The fact that there was a rank system in elementary school could make students have low self esteems. This reality could affect mental development of the students. It is really different from developed countries, like America and Japan; the students do not get any rank until they are on third grades.

The curriculum implementation, according to her, probably could be one of the main causes of a high number of students discontinuing their education. Taking the data from Bappenas, from 15 million students who enter first grade, only half of them could reach grade 6. In addition, Ratna added, the failure of our educational system was because it did not match the concept of holistic education, which was, the concept that involved and develop every aspects of human potential in a holistic way.

In other words, the learning process should be able to shape a human as a whole who is skillful in facing the challenging and fast pace changes. And also has a spiritual conscience that he is a part of the whole.

It was a bit different from Ratna, The Head of Moral, Religion, and Social Science from Pusat Kurikulum Balitbang, Dr. Hermana Soemantri, M.A considers the mistakes of education were not only at the curriculum system that was used. There were other factors, such as, the existing teachers’ qualities. “As long as there are no competent teachers, any curriculums which are used will give the same result, there will be no transformation on students’ qualities,” he said.
How do we solve it? Ratna said that a nation’s life in global era currently also needs high competencies. The higher the competency level of a nation, the higher the nation’s ability level to solve any problems in their life. Indonesian, she mentioned, could not be separated from any developments and changes
According to her, in development and its continuous changes, there were needs for improvement on national education system. It was concluded in the seminar, that the Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi (KBK) “2004 Competency Based Curriculum” could answer the existing development demands. It was considered as a good momentum to reform the educational system which suits the demands of 21st century, particularly in preparing students to be able to adapt with the fast paced environment, creative, and always have strong motivations to keep on learning.
Ratna admitted, KBK is the curriculum which relatively new, it is the revision of the previous curriculum. The KBK concept, according to her, is suitable to the objective of building each dimension of human’s needs.
Just like Hermana Soemantrie stated, this revised curriculum, is based on policies which are stated in government regulations. For instance, UUD 1945, and its alteration, TAP MPR year 1999 on GBHN, UU No 20/2003 on National Education System, UU No.22/1999 on Regional Government as well as PP No.25/2000 on Government Authority and Province Authority as Autonomic Area.
KBK makes all of the students democratically and justifiably to have knowledge, skills, and manners. KBK is also focus on students, it means, he mentioned, the implementation is custom made for students’ development stages through an active, creative, effective, and pleasant learning process. The continuing and comprehensive estimation could be very important in order to reach the accomplishments.
All of the learning experienced should be designed continuously from Kindergarten until college years. The approach that is used, Hermana mentioned, focuses on the diverse needs of the students and should integrates various disciplines. The accomplishments of this learning process demand partnerships on responsibilities from students, teachers, schools, and religious school, parents, universities, enterprises and industries, and also communities.
Besides, he also brought up; the standard competency was organized by the head quarters and its implementation was modified based on the needs and the capability of each region, schools, and religious schools. This standard, he added, could be the based of diversification curriculum which could be founded by each educational institution, region’s potential, students, students and also match with international standard.
KBK success, according to Ratna, needs paradigm changes from each education implementer. Consequently, in its implementation it is necessary to apply the new learning methods which are proven to improve the learning experience qualities and teaching methods in classes. For instances, student active learning, cooperative learning, and inquiry-based learning, or integrated learning methods.
As Herman stated, Ratna also indicated that in order to improve the learning qualities, and teaching methods, trainings for teachers to improve the effectiveness of KBK concepts in classes were important. She acknowledged that it is necessary to improve Manajemen Berbasis Sekolah (MBS)/ “School Based Management” program, therefore, schools could have authorities to make decisions. “Decisions could be in a scope of optimizing the existing resources management, education’s quality improvement, and teachers’ competencies improvement which are based on the team work with the community.
rif/bur
Answering Educational Challenges
Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi (KBK) “Competency Based Curriculum” was applied in many schools. The KBK experiments were done in many regions. Even though, Sekretaris Ditjen Pendidikan Dasar and Menengah (Dikdasmen) Depdiknas, Sungkowo Mudjiamanu admitted, that the KBK tryouts had not be done collectively. There are still schools that have not implemented the KBK. “This is done through phases, and it could not be forced,” he said, “at least, not until the next three years” .

There are schools that are not ready for KBK, due to teachers’ competencies. Due to the fact that in applying KBK, Sungkowo stated, teachers must be capable to choose topics which are already prepared in syllabus. In the syllabus, usually, it is selected which competency that students could get. In addition, a teacher must be able to change the teaching methodology. Contrary to the past, for instance, by not using “one man show” (teaching methodology). “This is tough” he said.

For this purpose, trainings were created for teachers. It was organized since 2002, by Badan Penelitian and Pengembangan (Balitbang) Depdiknas, as well as, the directorates in Primary and Secondary Education.

KBK development- as described before by Kepala Pusat Kurikulum, Balitbang, Depdiknas, Siskandar – is meant to answer the education challenges. This curriculum is giving standard competencies nationally; syllabus organization was elected by each region or school. The competency could just be the foundation nationally.

Sylabus organization are expected to be done by the teachers at school, couple of teachers are included in MGMP (Musyawarah Guru Mata Pelajaran) or dinas pendidikan kabupaten. This is a way to form the operations of the competency and its basic material as the foundation for each teacher to plan, to implement, to manage the learning activities. The syllabus contains competency and elaboration (descriptions and detail) course material, learning experience, evaluation, and time allocation.

KBK gives standard competencies for a certain education levels. For example, if a student passed grade 6th, minimally, he/she should be capable to make sentences in a simple language. Therefore, if a child attends educational for certain years, it was expected that (he/she) understands the lessons according to education level that (he/she) attended.

In KBK, he said, the learning process should be completed. In other words, children are expected to understand the courses that were given. In addition, in KBK deducted class hours took place compared to the previous curriculum. This was meant to increase the teaching and learning process. With the less restricted time, it was expected students could understand the courses given.

The Future Teachers

The Future Teachers

by: Isjoni

Our nation, and our public needs capable teachers to boost our educational image and status which already gives bad impression, just like unruly threads. Even on how to start, when, and not only who started but also from where we have to start.

If, each one of us realizes, has concerns, and wants to share, we have to start to gather up, therefore, our education as we stated above, and could be anticipated. For that reason, we need to get a single perception, a single step, and a single objective on how to lift up that “buried log”, in order to have a qualified education program, and it is also expected to increase the image level of our education which is still in the lowest level in Asia.

One thing that is still be in our focus point is “to plan the future teachers”. The Future Teacher is a teacher whose capabilities, and skill to create learning process optimally, in addition to, his/ her sensitivity in reading the century’s sign, and own wide scope of intellectual levels, and progressive thinking, and should never satisfied with their knowledge.

An ideal future teacher qualities for many every one, is a;

1. Planner
Means, a teacher should have his/her own established personal working program, this working program which is not only a periodic program, i.e., preparing a set of students learning documents, such as Semester Program, a course program in a whole, LKS,etc. But also, a teacher should plan on how the learning process could be applied successfully, and of course on how to implement the plan, everything should be well planned.

2. Innovator,
Means that he/ she has a drive to make innovations which is related to learning process pattern, including teaching method, learning resource medias, and evaluation tools and system, and any other nurturing effects. A teacher, who, individually or by team work is capable to change the old patterns, which is so far do not give maximum result, and transforms it into more a maximum results.

3. Motivator,
Means that a future teacher posses a motivation to continually learn and learn, and consequently gives motivation to his/her students to learn and keep on learning as their teacher exemplified.

4. Capable personal,
Means that a teacher is expected to own knowledge, capabilities, and skills and also a stable manners and resources so that he/she is capable enough to manage an effective learning process.

5. Developer,
Means a teacher needs to develop himself / herself, and accordingly spread his/ her abilities and skills for his/ her students and for everyone. A future teacher should be thirsty for skills, and act sensitively toward IPTEKS (Natural Science and Technology) development, for example, being literate and skillful using computer, internet, and any other multimedia learning process models.

Therefore, a future teacher should act as a facilitator; protector, guides, and has a proper figure ( discipline, loyal, responsible, creative, serve the students according to school’s vision and mission) is motivated to provide meaningful learning process by renovating the learning experience based on students’ skills and focus in order to create an intellectually conducive class physically and socially; knowledgeable on material, class, and technology; has the “The Habits for Highly Effective People” and “Quantum Teaching” characters in addition to humanistic approach towards students; A teacher should have an ability to use computer, teaching language and teaching psychology to be applied in a class proportionally. Apply the reward schemes and human disciplines toward other teachers and employees.

A future teacher should posses an ability to develop students capability through understandings, activities, and learning resources in accordance to the century development by developing life survival skill, therefore, students not only could posses independent, adaptable, and cooperative, but also competitive qualities to face challenges, and everyday needs. (A future teacher should be) effectively, presenting motivations, self confidence, and ability to be independent and cooperative. On the other hands, a future teacher should grow and develop disciplines, responsibilities, and own moral ethics, and high concern, and to nurture students autodidact abilities, and giving rewards and appreciation towards students so they could be proud of their school and respect other people’s opinion and achievements. It is also necessary to nurture humble characters in order not to be over motivated and become hubris. ( Teachers should) get trainings on how to think critically, learning process strategy, time management and how to control emotions, hence, students IQ and EQ can be equally compatible.

In addition, a future teacher should possess optimal basic skills for his/her specialization, also his/ her performance in and outside of the class should not be in any doubt. Consequently, a future teacher should be proud of his/ her professions, and should be loyal to his/her professional ethic codes.

Therefore, to be a future teacher, specializations are needed, and perhaps it could not be separated from their heart and that they choose being a teacher as his/her main and first choice. Weternik gives a phrase rouping or “the calling”. The rouping could be the basic for every teacher to call themselves “THE FUTURE TEACHER”. Hopefully.

I am isjoni agrees if the manuscript that I sent could be published and used in Pendidikan Network Homepage and I guarantee that this manuscript is authorized by me and is official ( no copyright).

Utilize Museum as Learning Resources

Utilize Museum as Learning Resources

Iwan Hermawan, S.Pd., M.Pd

“If a nation is a family that lives in their traditional house, then a museum could be considered as a family album. In that album all of the family members’ photographs are well kept and organized from each period of time and each generation. The photographs could be viewed and not only visited the past, since time is not only parted as the past dimension, but also part of today and tomorrow morning. A photograph is a time to look intently and taking the time to know the story of each photograph, not only by occasions but also the meaning behind of those occasions. The significations of the whole identities, in and outside of the cities. The photographs at the end of the days are not only considered as objects anymore” (HU Pikiran Rakyat, 22 February 2001)
This description shows that museum does not only function as an institution that collects and exhibits objects which are related to historical development of human life and their environment, but also an institution that has a duty to train and to develop nation’s cultural value that is useful to strengthen a nation’s personality and identity, reinforce faith and obedience towards God, and increase self respect and nationality pride.
In fact, nowadays many people in society, including education society, only sees museum functions as a place to keep and maintain historical objects and monument to decorate cities. Consequently, many people are not so enthusiastic to spend time to go to museum because they think museums are conventional and not prestigious, nonetheless if all level of societies take the time to enjoy and to try to understand the meaning behind each objects displayed in museum, there will be a transformation of the historical value from previous generation to the existing generation.
In education field, museum could not be separated from its existence, since it could answer many questions that rise from the learning experience particularly in human, cultural, and environment historical development.
Museum as learning resources
As an institution that keeps, maintains and displays many everlasting pieces of works, and human’s production, museum is learning resources for education society, through out the artifacts that are exhibited, the visitors are able to learn so many things that are relevant to values, concerns, and humanities.
Observation activity by students in museums is stepping-stones to come up with some thought and new ideas, due to this activity student are triggered to use all of their abilities with optimal critical thinking. Students critical thinking according to Takai and Connor (1998) includes: a. Comparing and Contrasting (ability to recognize similarity and differences of any observed objects)b. Identifying and Classifying (ability to identify and to classify objects from identified groups)c. Describing (ability to give description of observed objects written and orally) d. Predicting (ability to predict the next cycle of an observed object)e. Summarizing (ability to summarize information from the museum briefly and accurately).
Critical thinking ability could not just appear by itself without any sufficient amount of guidance and supervisions from teachers. Some efforts could be done by teachers in growing the ability to think critically through visiting museum activities, such as:a. During the learning activities in class for a certain material, teachers could invite, assign, and advice students to visit museum to find the facts from the explanation in the textbooks and their evidences which are found in museum. This activity ideally should involve students, not in a big numbers, to make it easier for the teachers and museum guides to guide students observing museum collections.
b. Giving introductions in advanced to students before the visit to the museum, especially with material, which would be observed. This occasion should be done in order to enable students to increase their interest of knowing and proofing what has been informed by the teacher or museum guides.
c. Providing supporting tools for students learning experience in a format of LKS (student’s workbooks), which their material structured as brief and resourceful as possible to increase students’ critical thinking on the observed objects.
d. During the visit, the teacher and the museum guides should be within students’ reach in order to give guidance and giving a brief discussion with students regarding to the observed objects.
e. After the visits, students are assigned to give reports on conclusion from any material that is informed through out the visits, and the results must be discussed in the class.
f. At the end of the activity, the teacher should evaluate the visit as a parameter of its accomplishment.
Other efforts that could be performed by the teachers during the museum visits, the museum developer (curator) also need to do various efforts with the intention that those visitors, especially the education society, should get maximal results in their museum visit activities. Some efforts that could be done by the museum developer in order to utilize museum as a learning resources, are:
a. Providing a brief information panel on room separation and segregation of the collections that are exhibited in front of the museum entrance, therefore, visitors could gain the whole concept of museum exhibits as they enter the museum entrance door, as a result even if the visitor just enter one of the rooms, he/she would not loose “the story” of the exhibitions.
b. Providing informational panels presented completely and attractively as the enhancement for the exhibition collections and their dioramas.
c. Providing various supporting facilities for educational activities, such as leaflet, brochure, guidance books, film, micro film, slide and students’ workbook (LKS), therefore, visitors could learn the exhibits easily.
d. In relevance to LKS (students’ workbook) in particular, it is necessary to design various museum LKS that fit students needs based on students’ ages and they have to be able to increase students’ critical thinking according to their own level.
e. Museum needs to organize several interesting games that are able to increase students’ understandings of objects that are exhibited.
The importance of cooperation between School and Museum Developer
As it was mentioned above that optimal museum utilization could be reached if the introductions from the material or the objects exhibited are given before visiting the museum Throughout the pre-visit exploration activity, it is expected that student are able to grasp various relevant information from objects exhibited according to what has been expected. Moreover, the teachers could give guidance during the visit; they need to cooperate with the curators in order to get complete information on museum and its exhibited collections.
On the other hand, curators could design various educational programs in the museum and its supporting facilities, it is important to cooperate with education society thus the educational program and its supporting, such as, LKS, could fit the requirement of school curriculum. Other than that, between one museum to another which are still located at the same city it is also important to coordinate a team work to produce museum guides books jointly which will be distributed to education society, especially schools, hence when students are going to visit museums, it will be easier for teachers to select which museum will be visited in accordance to curriculum prerequisite at the time.
At last, utilizing museum as learning resources is expected to increase our education quality and its museum existence and not only a decoration or city monument, hopefully…
I, Iwan Hermawan, S.Pd., M.Pd agrees if this resources sent and listed and used in the Educational Homepage Network, and I guarantee this manuscript is my own work and under my own authorization (no copyright)

School of Electrotechnics and Informatics

A Bridge between Engineering and Mathematics
Budi Rahardjo
School of Electrotechnics and Informatics
Institut Teknologi Bandung
2007
br@paume.itb.ac.id

We live in an exciting time in which business is done through electronic means. Electronic business, transactions, and communications are now part of our daily lives. We do not go to physical bank anymore but go to ATM machines. We, at least in Indonesia, use our cellular phones everyday. We feel insecure if we left our cellular phones at home. Some say that we become too dependent on electronic devices. All of this is possible due to the technology development in computers and telecommunication.
One key aspect of electronic business acceptance is security. Confidentiality, privacy, integrity, and availability are aspects of security that must be guaranteed in electronic business transactions.
Encryption is one means to provide security. Encryption depends heavily on math. Encryption algorithms such as RSA or ECC are basically mathematical equations.
These encryption algorithms must be implemented in software or hardware. This task falls upon the shoulder of engineers, be that software engineers or hardware engineers. Thus, engineers must understand the mathematics behind them and how to implement them in software or hardware.
Implementing encryption, which is basically math equations, in software or hardware is not straight forward. There is a limited resource in hardware implementation. Small and portable electronic devices have limited memory and CPU cycle. Computing the equations must be done in real-time if the solution is going to be implemented in real applications. We do not want to wait for five minutes in an ATM booth for the machine to finish its encryption process. The time it takes to process the data should be acceptable.
When an electronic engineer creates a circuit, be that analog or digital circuit, she actually creates a set of mathematical equations. In digital circuit, the mathematical equation is “simpler” but they have a large number of such equations. For example, a chip may have two million variables. The scale of the problem what makes it difficult to solve, even with the help of computers.
Engineers may have strong foundation in mathematics. They may even have interest in it, but many times we hear complain that math is not taught properly in engineering classes. The materials taught in these classes are boring and too abstracts for engineering students. The result is a hate towards mathematics.
A bridge between engineering and mathematics must be built.
There have been many examples of digital heroes who got interested in engineering because they read books on certain topics, including mathematics. These books inspire them to become engineers and develop products that make our live better.
Mixing engineers and mathematicians in various occasions would be another example of such a bridge. This effort should not be limited to formal occassions only, but to include informal settings.
Let us develop such bridges

A Brief History of Instructional Design

A Brief History of Instructional Design

Douglas Leigh



As a formal discipline, Instructional Systems Design has been a long time in the making. The early contributions of thinkers such as Aristotle, Socrates and Plato regarding the cognitive basis of learning and memory was later expanded by the 13th century philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas who discussed the perception of teachings in terms of free will. Four hundred years later, John Locke advanced Aristotle's notion of human's initial state of mental blankness by proposing that almost all reason and knowledge must be gained from experience. Then, at the turn of the 20th century John Dewey presented several tenets of the philosophy of education which promoted the idea that learning occurs best when married with doing, rather than rote regurgitation of facts.
As the 1920's approached, a behaviorist approach to educational psychology became increasingly predominant. Thorndike's theory of connectionism represents the original stimulus-response (S-R) model of behavioral psychology, and was expanded on some twenty years later by Hull in his exposition of drive reduction – a motivational model of behavior which emphasizes learner's wants, attention, and activities. With the Industrial Revolution came an increased attention to productivity, and educational behaviorists during the 1920's such as Sidney Pressey applied mechanized technology to increase the efficiency of the learning process. Though their initial incarnation did not see much use after the Depression, many of the lessons learned research into these teaching machines regarding the delivery of standardized instruction contributed to the instructional media research & development movement of World War II.
The advent of the Second World War presented a tremendous instructional dilemma: the rapid training of hundreds of thousands of military personnel. Ralph Tyler's work a decade before WWII indicated that objectives were most useful to instructional developers if written in terms of desired learner behaviors. Armed with this knowledge and the experience of creating standardize methods of instructional delivery using teaching machines, military researchers developed a bevy of training films and other mediated materials for instructional purposes. In part, the United States' heavy investment in training and R&D was credited with the country's victory in the war. With the economic boom that followed, federal dollars followed researcher's desire to better flesh out the underpinnings of learning, cognition, and instruction.
The 1950's are characterized by a shift away from the uninformed application of instructional technology to the formulation of theoretical models of learning. The publication of B. F. Skinner's The Science of Learning and the Art of Teaching in 1954 canonized the basic behaviorist principles of S-R, feedback, and reinforcement. As the key element of his theory of operant conditioning, the reinforcement of desired learner responses was also incorporated into Skinner's implementations of programmed instruction. Considered by many the progenitor of contemporary instructional design, programmed instruction emphasizes the formulation of behavioral objectives, breaking instructional content into small units and rewarding correct responses early and often.
Another substantial instructional theorist of the 1950's was Benjamin Bloom. His 1956 taxonomy of intellectual behaviors provided instructors a means by which to decide how to impart instructional content to learners most effectively. Advocating a mastery approach to learning, Bloom endorsed instructional techniques that varied both instruction and time according to learner requirements. While this approach provided instructional developers a means by which to match subject matter and instructional methods, Bloom's taxonomy was not in and of itself capable of satisfying the desire of large organizations to relate resources and processes to the performances of individuals. To achieve this researchers in the military's Air Research and Development Command borrowed from Ludwig von Bertalanffy's General Systems Theory of biological interactions to integrate the operations of a wide range of departments, such as training, intelligence, and staffing. Combined with the Bloom's Taxonomy, the systems approach to instructional and organizational development allowed planners and policy-makers to match the content and delivery of instruction in a fashion which considered both super- and sub-systems (the organization as a whole, as well as groups and individuals within the organization). These advances of Skinner, Bloom and von Bertalanffy were usually employed to develop instruction in what was only assumed to be an effective an efficient manner. The formalization of a standardized design process still had yet to be devised.
Again it was a crisis that spurred the next evolution of instructional technology – a shift away from an emphasis in the development of instructional programs to one which focused on the design of entire curriculum. Again the crisis was a war, but this time the war was a political one. In 1957 the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite and began the "space race". America was taken by surprise and the government was forced to reevaluate the education system and its shortcomings. Science and math programs were the first to be targeted, and the government employed experts in these fields to bring the content up to date.
In 1962 Robert Glaser synthesized the work of previous researchers and introduced the concept of "instructional design", submitting a model which links learner analysis to the design and development of instruction. Interestingly, Glaser's contribution to the current field of instructional systems is not so much in the advancement of his model, but in work concerning Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI), an approach whereby the results of a learner's placement test are used to plan learner-specific instruction.
At the same time Glaser was developing his theories of instructional design and IPI, Robert Mager published his treatise on the construction of performance objectives. Mager suggested that an objective should describe in measurable terms who an objective targets, the behavior they will have exhibited, the conditions or limitations under which they must carry out this behavior, and the criteria against which their behavior will be gauged.
As early as 1962 when he published "Military Training and Principles of Learning" Robert Gagné demonstrated a concern for the different levels of learning. His differentiation of psychomotor skills, verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, and attitudes provides a companion to Bloom's six cognitive domains of learning. Later, Gagné extended his thinking to include nine instructional events that detail the conditions necessary for learning to occur. These events have long since been used for the basis for the design of instruction and the selection of appropriate media.
The mediation of instruction entered the computer age in the 1960's when Patrick Suppes conducted his initial investigations into computer-assisted instruction (CAI) at Stanford University. Developed through a systematic analysis of curriculum, Suppes' CAI provided learner feedback, branching, and response tracking – aspects were later incorporated into the PLATO system in the 1970's and continue guide the development of today's instructional software.
By the late 1960's America was again in crisis. Not only was the country involved in another war, but the nation's schools were unable to elicit the achievement from learners it anticipated. Grant Venn argued that since only 19% of first graders complete a bachelor or arts degree, that the current educational system is only serving the advantaged minority of schoolchildren. To counter this trend Robert Morgan proposed to conduct an experiment with an "organic curriculum" which would to incorporate into the educational system the best instructional practices identified through research. Accepted in 1967 the proposal by the US Office of Education, the project was dubbed "Educational Systems for the 1970's", or ES'70. Morgan engaged an array of experts in the field of learning, cognition, and instructional design to contribute to the project and carried out multiple experiments in a variety of settings. Of these was Leslie Briggs, who had demonstrated that an instructionally designed course could yield up to 2:1 increase over conventionally designed courses in terms of achievement, reduction in variance, and reduction of time-to-completion – this effect was four times that of the control group which received no training. In 1970, Morgan partnered with the Florida Research and Development Advisory Board to conduct a nation-wide educational reform project in South Korea. Faced with the task of increasing the achievement of learners while at the same time reducing the cost of schooling from $41.27 per student per year Morgan applied some of the same techniques as had been piloted in the ES'70 project and achieved striking results: an increase in student achievement, a more efficient organization of instructors and course content, an increased teacher to student ratio, a reduction in salary cost, and a reduction in yearly per student cost by $9.80.
Around this time Roger Kaufman developed a problem-solving framework for educational strategic planning which provided practitioners a means by which to demonstrate value-added not only for the learner, but the school system and society as a whole. This framework provided the basis for the Organizational Elements Model (OEM), a needs assessment model which specifies results to be achieved at societal, organizational, and individual performance levels. By rigorously defining needs as gaps in results Kaufman emphasized that performance improvement interventions can not demonstrate return-on-investment unless those interventions were derived from the requirements of these three primary clients and beneficiaries of organizational action. This approach to needs assessment and strategic planning has since been used across the world as the foundation for planning, evaluation, and continuous improvement in military, business, and educational settings.
A variety of models for instructional system design proliferated the late 1970's and early 80's: Gagné and Briggs, Branson, Dick and Carey, and Atkins, to name a few. One possible reason for this phenomenon deals with the establishment of formal education and training departments within both public and private organizations. Faced with the computerized technologies of the times, these organizations require a means by which to quickly develop appropriate methods by which to educate internal employees in the new business practices ushered into existence by the Information Age. Another explanation is that businesses, especially consulting organizations, are becoming increasingly required to demonstrate value-added not only to their organization, but to the clients they serve. The evaluation and continuous improvement components of contemporary models of ISD make far strides from the early develop-and-implement models of the middle of the century in this aspect.
In the 1990's a dual focus on technology and performance improvement has developed. For example, in his 1988 essay "Why the Schools Can't Improve: The Upper Limit Hypothesis" Robert Branson offers an argument for systemic school reform, suggesting that schools are operating at near peak efficiency and must be redesigned from the top down using technological interventions. Later in that year Branson was contracted by the Florida Department of Education (DOE) to analyze it's various programs and plan a system-wide technology-based educational reform initiative for Florida called Schoolyear 2000. Over the next several years Branson's team developed and piloted multiple computerized instructional technologies, as well as models of the interaction between the internal operations of the school system and the experiences and knowledge of students, parents, and teachers.
Developments in performance improvement outside ISD during the 1990's such as Quality Management (QM), Organizational Engineering, and Change Management have required that instructional designers look outside their profession to demonstrate the utility of their practice. Introduced earlier by Deming, QM has swept public and private organizations alike in the 90's. Whereas initially thought of in terms of "quality control" or "zero defects", quality practices have evolved into tools for organizational continuous improvement. Similarly, instructional designers in the 90's often work alongside authorities in the field of organizational engineering. Characterized by a concern for an organization's culture and interaction between groups, organizational engineering seeks to improve organizations through the identification of relationships between an organization's vision, mission, goals, methods and personnel. Similarly, change management has become a business in and of itself, with leaders such as Darly Conner and Joel Barker pioneering methods for and models of organizational change.
The advent of new media, such as the Internet and hypermedia, has brought about not only technological innovations, but also coupled these with new ways of approaching learning and instruction. As opposed to the behavioralist perspective that emphasizes learning objectives, the constructivist approach holds that learners construct their understanding of reality from interpretations of their experiences. Theorists such as Thomas Duffy and Seymour Papert suggest that constructivism provides a model whereby socio-cultural and cognitive issues regarding the design of learning environments can be supported by computer tools. This philosophy has been applied to such computerized technologies as online help systems and programming language LOGO.
In the future, instructional designers are likely to choose one of two paths: specialist or generalist. In the prior path, designers will focus on one aspect of learning or instruction and act as consultants or subject matter experts, whether internal or external to the organization. The other approach is one more aligned with managerial activities. Since the field is becoming too broad for most designers to work with authority in all matters, this option allows practitioners to oversee the development of instructional projects, rather than narrow their efforts exclusively on assessment, analysis, design, development, implementation, evaluation or continuous improvement.
References
Boling, E. (1996). Instructional Technology Foundations I: Historical Timelines Project Page [Online]. Available: http://education.indiana.edu/~istcore/r511/datelist.html [1998, June 7].
Kearsley, G. (1994). Learning & Instruction: The TIP Database [Online]. Available: http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/educ/tip/1.htm [1998, June 7].
Reiser, R. A. (1987). Instructional Technology: A History. In R. M. Gagné (ed.), Instructional Technology: Foundations (pp. 11 - 40). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Shrock, S. A. (No date). A Brief History of Instructional Development [Online].Available: http://uttc-med.utb.edu/6320/chapters/summary_ch2.html [1998, June 7].

Internet: Between Good and Evil

Irfana Steviano www.e-dukasi.net

The Internet is a wasteful technology. Do you realize what useless things it does nowadays?. Do you know what is the fastest growing Internet industry? If your answer is pornography, then you probably use the Internet for this: first is users who uses the Internet primarily to support daily activities, office work, and surfing porn sites on their free time. Secondly is users who uses the Internet primarily to surf on porn sites, to support daily activities and office work after they had finished surfing porn sites. Thirdly is users who uses the Internet primarily to support daily activities, office work, and already had enough about porn and wish to ends it. Internet pornography is a new wave of business. However it has become an industry with multi billions of dollars in annual revenue. The development of Internet pornography was followed by rapid changes in technology. Pornography industries began to used Internet as their new business media because of the Internet features it is easy to build, has a mass effect, and easy to access any where and any time. In the beginning Internet was merely used to transfer data among computers and for research purpose. The development was begin in 1962 at MIT. After long researches and experiments, Internet was first introduces to public in 1991 by the formation of Internet society. The term for Internet was then published in 1995 by The Federal Networking Council (FNC). Web 2.0 was the latest technology that Internet used nowadays, it was used to build social networking community sites. You can easily find most of the sites are offering friends networkings systems such as; Friendster, Facebook, My Space, and Tagged. The same systems was used by pornography industries to offer their new develop features; online dating. �In the adult world the [site] with the most friends wins.� said Mark Tiara (president of United Adult Sites) 1. While Internet Pornography has become an income generator for the industries, the Internet also has made tremendous revolution in learning. Internet also helps to build better education. Many students were using Internet as their way to get information, help their research, broadened their knowledge and help the special needs students with e-learning systems.

WildTech Learning

WildTech Learning

by Eric Christianson

The residents of North Pend Oreille County have reason to be very proud of the technology students at Selkirk High School. Selkirk Technology students have been working closely this year as one of the 57 school districts associated with the Wilderness Technology Alliance, which partnership has offered unparalleled opportunities to the Selkirk students. Of the 57 schools involved in the program, 16 schools will be allowed to send 4 students each to a free week long technology training this summer on Mt. Rainier. Of those 16 lucky schools, one school has been given the honor to send an additional crew of Tech students to help facilitate that technology camp: Of the 57 schools involved, Selkirk earned the honor! What have the students been doing to earn this honor?
Computer classes. The students are teaching a night class one day a week for the local community. We offer the full gambit of computer instruction, covering everything from hardware, setup, office, webpage design, or any other aspect of computer that any of the students know. The class has been well attended and has proven to be an excellent fundraiser for the Tech Club. Further, there has been such terrific feedback from the adults attending regarding how well the students perform in conducting the course that, regardless of it's huge financial impact for the club, is a terrific school/community event that fosters a better appreciation of the students and their skills.
Networking. The students completely rewired the Jr./Sr. High School complex to accommodate a new computer network system installed this year. This project included running the new wires, disposing of the old system, installing RJ-45 ends, and making the entire system compatible with the new fiber optic cable and new switches, hubs, and servers. Rumor has it that a few students even tried their hand at fusion-splicing the fiber optic cable. While the Ione Primary and Lillian Bailey schools had the wiring professionally installed, the Selkirk students installed the network and brought the machines online in all three schools in the district. One can only imagine how many thousands of dollars the students saved the taxpayers with their ambitious program of volunteerism.
Webpages. The students are beginning to pursue a webpage design service for the local community. The club intends to create webpages at free or reduced cost if they have a strong community interest, or intend to charge slightly under market for other web pages. The students have been working with Macromedia software and now have such expertise that they feel comfortable taking it to the community and showing off their creations. For this purpose, Macromedia has donated thousands of dollars of software to the district (thank you Macromedia!). We have freshmen students making hundreds of dollars in their spare time producing webpages at home, which sure beats mowing lawns for spending money.
Refurbishing. When businesses upgrade their computer systems, the WTA acts as a vehicle to distribute their old computer equipment to school districts. So far this year, the WTA has provided approximately 70 Pentium based computers to Selkirk, which the technology students have refurbished and placed into service throughout the school district. Now, the students are hoping to begin placing refurbished systems to low income families in the community at ridiculously low prices.
Troubleshooting. The students provide computer repair and troubleshooting services throughout the district to keep the current computers running. This volunteer service relieves the district of having to pay a computer technician. The students also typically make themselves available to assist members of the community who call with computer issues, providing a valuable community service.
Student-teaching-student. The Selkirk model is based on students passing on their knowledge to the next generation of students. In April, we will begin a Junior High Technology class to bring these skills to the next level of students. A group of approximately 5 high school Techies will basically teach the junior high class, under the supervision of a teacher. The goal of the class will be to teach the junior high students how to refurbish computers, many of which computers may then be sold to the community. Under this model, everybody wins!
Certifications. Selkirk has up to 10 students, primarily freshmen and sophomore, who hope to sit for the A+ Certification examination this spring. The A+ Certification is basically a "computer technician" certification, with which the students could start right out of high school at approximately $35,000 per year. Additionally, three tech students are taking the beginning courses for the Cisco Certification through Riverside High School through teleconferencing equipment. With the Cisco Certification, people are currently starting at approximately $60,000 per year. Obviously, the hard work these students are putting in should pay off in the future.
Rock Climbing. While it might seem unrelated, these same students comprise the majority of students who have developed the Selkirk Outdoor Club. This combination of outdoor education and technology is what the WTA was founded on, and Selkirk is not only the state model for the technology portion of the program, but Selkirk is basically writing the book for the outdoor programs for the other districts. In early March these students traveled to Spokane to give rock-climbing lessons to a group of students from Rogers High School. It was beautiful to see the level of professionalism shown by such a young group of students as they safely taught inner-city youth how to trust and support each other.
Those are the projects currently under way and of which the community should be proud. These projects are primarily student driven and student maintained, following the extremely successful principle of students-teaching-students. The most effective method of teaching these students has been to merely get out of the way and quit trying to impede the students by sharing the teacher's limited knowledge, which allows the students to grow at a much faster pace. This model is gaining national attention. Currently there are two national magazines developing features on the WTA and prominently looking at the Selkirk students. The Spokesman Review has shown an interest in developing a feature story on the Selkirk tech students. Ford Motor Company is talking to the WTA about the idea of bringing this model to the Detroit schools. In April, the director of the WTA will be the keynote speaker at a U.S. Department of Education conference speaking to as many as 5000 principals from throughout the nation. Much of his speech will center on the educational model that the Selkirk students have perfected and the tremendous achievement created in this tiny school in the middle of the woods.
While there are many tech students providing tremendous value to the program, there are a few whose efforts have been far above any expectations. If you happen to see John Beacham, Daniel Dafoe, David Fairbairn, Joseph Kinney, Brandt March, Denny McDonald, John Mott, or Ray Starkey on the street, tell them "thank you" for their selfless volunteerism and professionalism. If you happen to see Principal Larry Reed on the street, tell him "thank you" for providing an atmosphere and the encouragement to make all of this possible. North Pend Oreille County should be proud!
About the Author:
Eric is currently teaching technology for the Selkirk School District in the northeast corner of the state of Washington. He has developed an outdoor program that corresponds with the technology program, and has the same students actively involved in both. Eric's background includes nine successful years as an active attorney, three years primarily in Juvenile Court. After years attempting to help children caught up on the criminal justice system, it became Eric Christianson's mission in life to get involved with youth before they reach that stage and try to prevent the negative cycle from beginning. You can contact Eric at emc@selkirk.k12.wa.us.
About WildTech:
WildTech is a student-based technology enterprise currently consisting of 51 schools in Washington State (and growing). It was created in partnership with the Wilderness Technology Alliance, OSPI (Washington's State Education Agency), Macromedia, Microsoft, and others. Our nonprofit mission is to provide project-based learning opportunities for high school students that teach real-world job skills while "bridging the digital divide" in their local communities. The latter provides key character, community service, and citizenship skills to students. Experienced students return to actually teach the technology class. This removes generally slower learning adults from having to keep up with improvements in technology, and places them into the role of facilitating the creation of self-sustaining technology "Enterprise" in their schools.
Copyright April 2001 New Horizons for Learning, all rights reserved.http://www.newhorizons.org/E-mail:info@newhorizons.org

Students Develop IT Projects that Deliver Service

Students Develop IT Projects that Deliver Service

by John Willinsky

This course isn't about technology-it's about management!", declared a student, with an exasperated but knowing voice in the classroom debate on the upcoming years' learning outcomes for Information Technology Management (ITM) course which a high school teacher was holding with her students. The student had come to recognize that learning how to manage technology is the key to ITM, and that management is not about some individual who sits in the corner office, but rather about individual and shared responsibility for getting the job done. The story also illustrates the collaboration of student and teacher that goes on in an ITM course, where learning outcomes are met through the identification of personal, group and "client" objectives, realized through a project-driven approach to studying information technology or computer studies for grades 10-12.
The defining characteristic of the ITM program is the M, for management. The students are learning to apply their skills to helping others in the school and community with new technologies, providing this service through collaborative projects that enable the students to learn and practice project management strategies commonly used in a knowledge economy. The students gain course credit through the provision of technical support, training, software development, and communication of IT issues and opportunities, making the school's IT environment a better place for both learning and information management, while they examine the social issues surrounding information technology, whether involving privacy, piracy, access, or gender. They come to see managing technology as, above all, a service which they can provide to others, a service through which they learn more about people and work-processes than just technology. Providing technology services and participating in collaborative projects enables the students and teachers, as well as people in the community, to realize the potential of technology for learning, creating, sharing, and connecting.
What does it mean to learn through service to others? The ITM program is designed to provide students with authentic problem-solving experiences, engaging with different communities of experts as they seek answers to technology challenges encountered while supporting users who need assistance with new technologies. It places the students in collaborative learning situations that develop their sense of accountability and responsibility. They are learning about the nature of work in today's new economy, a workplace fueled by the development of new technologies, where business success is determined not by the ability to "build a better mousetrap", but by exemplary service delivery to the customer or client. In British Columbia the services which students provide as part of the ITM program has been recognized as a valid form of accredited "work experience" required for graduation.
What do the students actually do in an ITM course. Well, in terms of the projects the student might take on, we can offer this example sent to us by Laurane Parris who teaches the program in a B.C. school. She writes that, "with this emphasis on helping people manage, ITM students offer services ranging from providing on-the-spot relief to such calls as 'Help, the printer's jammed!' or 'How do I send e- mail?' They also get deeply involved in more complex, longer term projects such as:
Building a school home page that will go up this year on the Web.
Creating animations in 3-D to run on the hall monitors displaying school/community events.
Participating in the planning, configuring and installation of a LAN at the nearby elementary school.
Developing a hypercard stack on peer counselors to guide students.
Implementing a FirstClass Server as the school's e-mail system and bulletin board. Assembling a demonstration computer in a clear plastic case.
Implementing a web server to create and maintain web pages for nonprofit groups in the community.
Planning a web radio station for the broadcasting class to run.
Establishing a production center for desktop publishing and multimedia presentations in the school.
Laurane points out that service involves the sharing of expertise. Every student in the class must teach, starting with one-to-one and working toward full-scale PowerPoint presentations to an audience of unfamiliar adults. Students teach each other technical skills. They also teach the teachers. They give in-school workshops on the software used for grading and she has told us, "by the end of term students who know ReMark are chased down hallways by desperate teachers." The students have also taught workshops to teachers on CorelDraw and have provided district Internet training where they were responsible for working with the librarian to train up to 1400 students and 100 teachers on how to use the Internet.
And judging by the comments of the grade 10 student who led the CorelDraw workshop, it was an exhilarating experience. "It was about November. Miss Jones just handed me this CorelDraw booklet and said learn the program," the student told us, "I'd never used it before, never touched it. So, 'learn it because in 2 months you've got to teach a seminar on it to teachers,' and I was just like, 'I can't do this,' you know. And then when I came out of it, I taught the whole thing, and...no negative comments came back...Oh, it was a total, a total great achievement."
One important aspect in ITM is its ability to draw students with an affinity for technology away from the screen and into sharing their expertise with others, developing a whole new set of skills and a sense of accomplishment for them. This social aspect of working with people also proves to have an appeal for those students who have not traditionally been drawn to computer courses, such as young women. One young woman in the grade 10 class explained it this way: "As I got into Information Technology Management, it seemed to be more girls, actually, and I think it is, I don't know why, but it seems to be that the boys seemed to be more attracted to it for some reason, and that's why I was surprised that it seemed to be more girls, maybe because of the independence thing. But I think that over the next few years its going to get more equal between, that's for sure."
When it came to describing what she liked about the program, she told us about the responsibility, independence and sense of completeness to the work she did. "I think learning more about how to develop your own type of program which you're interested in ... like, I did for the Counseling Centre that was the most positive thing, because I had to do the whole thing all together, instead of just learning about one thing one day and then changing to another one. So that was the most positive thing for me." The Information Technology Management program was initiated in 1994 by Knowledge Architecture Inc. a Vancouver company that was established by an educator and IT industry professional to make a distinct social and technological contribution within Canada's telecommunications, information and education infrastructure. In a very short period, the company worked with teachers and industry people to develop one of the first project-learning programs. Students are currently taking ITM courses in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.
In the first year of program delivery, ITM was offered as a traditional paper-based curriculum of learning outcomes and assessment activities that was delivered by staff mentors who had experience in the IT industry and who visited the schools to provide ongoing teacher and student support on how to provide a professional level of service to the school and community. This support for the ITM program is now delivered through a Web-based learning resource known as Studio A, which provides a workspace for each ITM student. Studio A forms a password-protected intranet within the ITM classroom for teachers and students, as well as a larger intranet among all of the ITM students in Canada and the US.
The student's personalized workspace has at its center a project book which provides the student with the templates, tables and informational links needed for planning projects in close collaboration with other students. The project book encourages students to achieve a high degree of accountability to both the "client" and the teacher. The student also has a set of electronic project tools they can access from their workspace to assist them with projects such as making presentations or web pages or collaborating electronically. They also have an electronic portfolio for placing materials to be evaluated by the teacher or for showing to prospective employers.
We have learned from other service learning projects how critical it is to have students reflect on what has been accomplished through their projects and where they can grow. To support this process, the student's project book includes a skills matrix for students to set goals and review progress in light of the course's goals and assignments which also forms part of the project book. The student can also reach out through the project book to a wide variety of telementors who have joined the ITM program to provide online help with technical and service questions, as well as career advice.
After working in their project books, students can also take a stroll through the Studio A neighborhood which offers ITM students and teachers a chance to check out what others in the program are up to in the Student Showcase, visit the Cafe' for up the minute news and a chance to exchange opinions, seek or offer help, make conversation, use the ThinkTank for evaluating issues and policies in essays or reports, or look up Just-in-Time-Learning to help them build the know-how in Information Technology they need for projects.
While ITM students are provided with a fully supported workspace on the Web, the ITM teacher has not been forgotten. The teacher also has a personalized project book in Studio A which serves as a management tool for the ITM class. Teachers can publish the course outline and requirements in all of the students' project books. They are able to track the students' projects, and evaluate and comment on the work that students place in their portfolio. They can use their project book to review the class's progress with students and parents. The Just-in-Time Learning section has a special section on professional development for the teacher which helps with how to teach in an ITM program based on teachers' experience with the program, as well as introducing teachers and students to professional methods used in service delivery of the IT industry.
After three years of developing the Information Technology Management program and building Studio A to support it, we now seek to expand this model of a web-supported collaborative environment to other subject areas that could thrive in a project environment. Whether in business education classes providing marketing support to local businesses, communications classes doing brochures for community groups, a drama class putting on a play series, there's no limit to the projects and services students can get involved in. The Studio A website is now being developed to support collaborative learning across a much wider range of subject areas, so that students can have greater opportunities to acquire skills and experiences, as well as the pride that comes of providing a welcomed services to others, that will serve them a lifetime.
To give the final word to Laurane who has been teaching in the ITM program over the last three years, she manages to capture the excitement and challenge of traveling along the new learning highway: "Experience has convinced me that helping 'clients' with real problems, teaching people about web pages, or just being there on a help-desk is the most powerful motivator in the world, for students. Mind you, the other side of that is that being recognized as an expert can be pretty heady stuff at 16 or 17. And part of your role as teacher is going to be helping students cope with these new roles and responsibilities."
About the Author
John Willinsky is the 1997-98 Wm. Allen Chair in Education at Seattle University where he is working on questions of education and technology, while on leave from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He is also a consultant to Familyware International that has licensed Studio A and the ITM Program to form part of the Family Central Website. To contact him:
John WillinskySchool of EducationSeattle UniversitySeattle, WA 98122-4460206-287-9056 (0) 206-287-2053 (F)
willinsk@unixg.ubc.ca
Copyright © January 1998
New Horizons for Learning,
all rights reserved.http://www.newhorizons.org E-mail: info@newhorizons.org

National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers: Preparing Teachers to Use Technology

National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers: Preparing Teachers to Use Technologyedited

by M. G. KellyISTE, 2002

A pivotal new professional development book aimed at preparing teachers on effective uses of technology in education is now available from the International Society for Technology In Education (ISTE). National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers�Preparing Teachers to Use Technology provides a vital resource for preservice and inservice teacher training across grade levels and content areas.
According to M.G. (Peggy) Kelly, EdD, National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers�Preparing Teachers to Use Technology editor and document development director, cutbacks in education funding have created a huge demand for effective teacher training resources. "Teachers today often face classrooms of students more technologically literate than they are," she notes. "Preparing Teachers to Use Technology provides essential teacher training information about integrating technology into a classroom setting using effective teaching practices. This book provides teacher educators and staff developers the skills and information needed to prepare productive 21st century teachers." Dr. Kelly adds that the new book is also a valuable resource to help schools and universities meet new guidelines for teacher training and professional development mandated by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
This nearly 400-page book, the first to comprehensively outline models for standards-based integration of technology for teacher education, was created by consensus. Writing teams of teachers and teacher educators from around the country collaborated to develop teacher preparation standards, assessments, and conditions that facilitate the use of technology to support student learning. According to Lajeane Thomas, PhD, director of the ISTE NETS Project, "This book provides an exemplary resource for integration of technology with curriculum in teacher education programs. Teacher educators facilitate their students' effective use of technology through the NETS for Teachers, accessing peer-reviewed lesson plans, models, strategies, and demonstrations of technology infusion."
National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers�Preparing Teachers to Use Technology includes:
32 demonstration lessons covering math, science, social studies, and language arts in early childhood, elementary, middle school, and secondary programs;
8 demonstration lessons for foundations courses; and
separate chapters devoted to model strategies, assessment, student teaching/internships, first-year teaching, and staff development.
New Horizons for Learninghttp://www.newhorizons.org

Multimedia Encourages New Learning Styles

Multimedia Encourages New Learning Styles
by David Thornburg, Ph.D.

Educational technology, when used appropriately, helps the teacher and the students to create a caring, creative community of learners. -- Joan Riedl, The Integrated Technology Classroom: Building Self- Reliant Learners
Modern computer and communication technology is becoming commonplace in a growing number of schools. The presence of hi-tech does not mean that it is being used wisely, however. One of the properties of most technologies is that they are as capable of perpetuating paradigms of the past as they are of setting the stage for the future.
Consider classroom computers, for example. When these tools first came into our schools, many of them were used to present math drill to students who simply moved their practice from a four-dollar workbook to a $2,500 computer. The ultimate altar to the Skinnerian gods was the "Integrated Learning System," comprising a laboratory filled with instructional computers that replicated the full-frontal approach to content delivery. Tragically, many students who had previously failed to learn through this approach when it was applied by a human teacher now had the opportunity to replicate their failure with a computer instead.
Proven pedagogical models, such as Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, provide educators with concrete strategies for addressing the needs of every learner. It is important to recognize that, just as students may have their own dominant modalities of expression and learning, teachers do as well. This is where technology can play an increasingly valuable role.
This does not mean, however, that any program filled with rich media elements is automatically valuable. Our task in education is to engage, not entertain, the learner. Our new tools provide the capability to do this, but the art of software development still requires careful thought about both the pedagogy and curriculum.
One of the more exciting areas today is that of student-generated media. When computers become commonplace, we can free students from the constraints of the linear, purely word based report, and allow students to express their mastery of a subject through multimedia creations of their own. These pieces can incorporate a rich panoply of visual and auditory devices, as well as provide numerous pathways through the material using the medium of "hypertext." Multimedia creations using tools such as Hyperstudio, for example, may represent the new illuminated manuscript -- sensory rich documents that can become part of each learner's portfolio.
Add to this the multimedia capabilities of the web, and students literally have the world of information at their fingertips, with much of this information available to them in ways easy for them to grasp.
As new media are used by students both as their source of raw information and as the tools through which they express their mastery, the role of educator changes. Instead of teachers providing "content" to students, they now are freed to help students find "context" and meaning in their studies. T. S. Eliot's poem "The Rock" addresses these issues when he asks:
Where is the life we've lost in living?Where is the wisdom we've lost in knowledge?Where is the knowledge we've lost in information?
Modern technological tools let us work with information in ways that honor the unique learning modalities of each student. The educator's role in this new era is to help run Eliot's lines backward -- to help our students find the knowledge in the information, to help them find the wisdom in this knowledge, and, most importantly, to help them find the life in living.

Multimedia Technology and Children's Development

Multimedia Technology and Children's Development:
A Report on Child Research Net Symposium
in Tokyo, Japan, January 1998
by Dee Dickinson

During the last week of January, 1998 in Tokyo, Dr. Noboru Kobayashi convened the first international symposium of Child Research Net, a network and web site focused on children's issues throughout the world. Dr. Kobayashi is an internationally recognized pediatrician, former director of Children's Hospital, Tokyo, and former head of the Japanese Council on School Reform.
The theme of the symposium was "Evolution of Child Development in the Multimedia Environment." Dr. Koyayashi opened the conference by noting that
Today's children and those of the future will grow up immersed in the multimedia environment. I anxiously await to see how these children will integrate the various media into their environments, creating and expanding their cognitive, social, physical, and creative capacities. The "wall" of information and technology that divided adults and children in the past is now not so thick, as children are now able to access all types of information easily using these technologies. They are also able to engage themselves in many types of virtual experiences which will allow them to broaden their skills and imagination. However, the question of how these children should best utilize, to their fullest potential, multimedia technologies and how adults who guide these children should scaffold them still remains unclear.
The site of this symposium lent itself dramatically to the topic, as participants often found themselves working hard to distinguish the virtual from the real in Tokyo. Large, beautiful aquariums filled with tropical fish were discovered at very close range to be high definition video. Baby sitters are hired by youngsters to care for their virtual pets--and real funerals are held for their demise. Virtual reality experiences cause real physical and emotional reactions.
Presenters at the symposium included eleven representatives of foreign countries and fifteen Japanese, including pediatricians, multimedia specialists, professors of education, and educators. Reports on the use of multimedia technology throughout the world were given by Dr. Per Miljeteig and Ms. Marie Louise Bistrup, from Childwatch International, Norway; Dr. Anura Goonasekera, director of Asian Media Information and Communication Centre, Singapore; Dr. Brett Brown, director of Child Trends, Inc., and Dee Dickinson, CEO of New Horizons for Learning U.S.A; Dr. Denise Li Meng Goh, National University Hospital, Singapore; Dr. Hong-Fa Ho, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan; Dr. A. Murat Tuncer, director of the Institute of Child Health and Children's Hospital, Turkey, and Mr. Yukio Shimauchi, Benesse Corp., Japan.
The networks represented have formed the beginning of a consortium of websites focused on children's needs worldwide. Hot links have now been formed between Child Research Net , Childwatch International , Asian Media Information and Communication Centre , Child Trends, Inc., and New Horizons for Learning.
The invitational symposium, which was attended by around one hundred Japanese, was translated into both English and Japanese. In addition to the country reports, topics included learning to learn through new technologies, edutainment, designing and utilizing new kinds of learning spaces, using the Internet, virtual reality, new science education in the Internet Age, growing up in a multimedia environment, and the future of "cyber-child" research. Participants also heard descriptions of how multimedia technology is being used in the schools of Japan at all levels. These reports are all posted on Child Research Net's Web site.
Dr. Michitka Hirose, of the University of Tokyo, offered dramatic examples of the use of virtual reality in Tokyo Children's Hospital with paralyzed and developmentally delayed children. A physically disabled child was shown playing soccer, hitting a real soccer ball into virtual reality where it was received by a VR goalie, providing the child with a nearly real physical experience. There was interesting discussion of how VR could help to scaffold children's development that was not occurring naturally.
A new kind of children's web site of constructivist activities was demonstrated by Dr. Idit Harel. She showed how MaMaMedia, with its brightly colored, multisensory array of activities has been created to appeal to the children she calls "the clickerati" generation. (See the site at MaMaMedia.com)
Dr. Seymour Papert, professor at the MIT Media Laboratory in the U.S., announced that he and Nicholas Negroponte, director of the Media Lab, are proposing a project to equip every child in the world with a computer that can access the Internet. (There was no discussion of how children who are dealing with problems of health, hunger, homelessness, illiteracy, or common language will be able to make use of the computers.) From Tokyo, Dr. Papert flew to Europe to begin setting up a thousand "electronic outposts," to begin this project.
This symposium has raised important issues related to children's use of powerful new multimedia technologies. One primary concern that was raised a number of times relates to how parents and educators can help children to balance their activities between natural world experiences and the electronic world. At the end of the first day, a young Japanese lady in the audience asked to speak. She said, "Last week we had a big snow in Tokyo. It was very beautiful, and I remembered as a child being so excited about playing in the snow, feeling snowflakes on my face, making snow people, and tossing snowballs. I looked out of my window, and there were no footprints in the snow."
Among the numerous questions that emerged from this symposium:
Is it important to set up further research projects on the effects of multimedia technology on children's physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development?
Is it important for children to learn to focus attention and do reflective thinking before they are challenged by multi-tasking activities?
Is it important to further assess the effects of violent technologies, multimedia technologies that bombard developing sensory and neurological systems, and technologies that substitute for real world experiences--for better or for worse?
Is it important to further assess the effects of multimedia games that offer challenging intellectual tasks and scaffold higher order thinking processes?
Should more educators and parents be demanding software products that have been proved to enhance learning and cognitive development as well as being entertaining?
Should distributors of television programs throughout the world take responsibility for the values and messages they promote?

Virtual Reality In Education

Virtual Reality In Education
by John Shaffer

Virtual reality can work for educators as a tool in assisting students to become immersed in a learning environment where they can participate in their own learning in a technology based environment. My name is John Shaffer. I am a seventh grade Science teacher in Academy School District Twenty in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Academy School District Twenty scored very high on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 1998. District 20 ranked second in science in the United States, along with the highest performing countries including the Netherlands, Japan, Singapore, Korea, and Chinese Taipei, and well above the world average in math. From an educator's standpoint this is one indicator of our great district.
Over the last two years, I have written a paper, using research I have compiled from various authors to discuss the potential relationship between virtual reality and visual/auditory cortex growth. I call it Visual Perception Reaction Training (VPRT). The thought process involves the use of virtual reality to enhance educational learning. The information I have compiled discusses the potential growth of the visual and auditory cortex using virtual reality as a realistic immersive stimulant. I feel confident that I have the evidence to warrant a research and development program to prove the educational benefits to students. Research and application in related areas such as medicine have already shown success.
This introduction intends to show that further examination of the visual cortex should be considered. The problem is to discover and establish a measurable correlation between visual stimulus and visual cortex modification. The finding would then support Visual Perception Reaction Training (VPRT). The proposal is based on using the immersion in virtual reality to increase a person's physical or educational level of response to visual stimuli.
The research originally focused around why some people perceive stimuli at a slower rate than others. It has been stated that the top baseball players can see the stitches on the baseball as the pitcher releases it from his hand. Professionals such as, Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, top seeded tennis players, hockey players and others at this level appear to slow the level of the stimulating activity for positive results in their specific sport.
The investigation began October 13, 1998 while driving to work and listening to the radio about baseball players Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire and their history making athletic season. I thought about the years I raced professional motocross, enduro and jet skis. I had spent hours in a Formula Vee car, Formula Ford car and motorcycles on a road coarse. The time was spent at speeds close to 140 miles per hour for long periods of time. I remembered that I quickly noticed when I left the track and entered the freeway, the sensation of speed, at 65 miles per hour, was tremendously distorted as it seemed much slower. I felt as though I could get out of the vehicle and walk at that speed, something of course you would not want to try. This led to the present day thought of remembering what speed felt like. I was able to come back to motocross after sixteen years, and noticed the ground going by at an incredibly fast rate. After spending hours on the motorcycle, practicing and racing, the ground is visually beginning to slow, although my physical speed is increasing. Another illustration example may be, if a baseball is continually seen at 120 miles per hour, those pitched at 90 miles per hour are potentially perceived at a slower rate and a higher hitting success would be the outcome.
The perceived rate of motion applies to a person as they adapt or are conditioned to an environmental stimulus. In professional motocross, motorcycle road racing, Cart, Indy, Nascar, Trans-Am, for example, the speeds are sensational to visual and physical reaction. In these sports, speeds often reaching 200 miles per hour are visually adjusted to fit the conditions given for each type of event. An illustration of speed adjustment is noted when a motorcycle road racer falls and slides across the pavement. When falling and sliding, the rider slows to a level that feels controllable only to find that he has misjudged the speed. This judgment error results in his body cartwheeling end over end and then coming to a violent stop. People that have been directly involved in a car accident, for example, say the event happened slowly while witnesses claim the accident appeared to have occurred at an incredibly fast rate.
The next phase that led substantially to the focus of this project was a research article that was written by Dr. David Ferster, Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University. In Dr. Ferster's research paper on Excitatory and Inhibitory Conductance Changes in Simple Cells of Cat Visual Cortex, he made a statement regarding his research findings that he found membrane conductance grew by 20-200 percent with stimulus contrast. I first e-mailed Dr. Ferster, November 25,1998, and asked him if this type of study had been done with humans. He wrote that, "The experiments we did to get those results involve inserting very fine electrodes into the neurons of the visual cortex. It is theoretically possible to do this in humans who are undergoing brain surgery, but even then it is nearly impossible for technical reasons. But there is no reason to think that what we find in cats is not happening in humans. The two species are very similar in many aspects of their visual function". With that information as a background, I began an investigation to find more information about visual cortex development. My main goal was to discover if there is a potential link that could deliver visual cortex stimulation through "Virtual Reality." I e-mailed Dr Ferster again, October 16, 2000, and asked if he had any knowledge of studies or research reflecting virtual reality and the visual cortex. He stated, "No, I am not sure how the two would relate to one another." I then sent him the material I compiled and his reply was, "Very interesting. There are a few other efforts based on brain plasticity studies to train people's brains that I know of. Scientific Learning.com, for example, is a company founded by Paula Tallal and Mike Merzneich. Merzneich, in particular, has done some of the most compelling studies of maps in the monkey somatosensory cortex and how they change with repeated sensory experience. I recommend that you look at his papers."
I contacted Scientific Learning and made an attempt to gain more information. The reply was, "The amazing success we have seen with the Fast ForWord family of programs is due largely to the fact that the brain is plastic and can continue to change throughout an individual's life. Our company was created from the research of Paula Tallal, Mike Merzenich, Bill Jenkins, Steve Miller, and others, whose work with language and the brain has resulted in the Fast ForWord program. Fast ForWord addresses auditory processing issues in individuals who have difficulty with receptive language skills. The training exercises in Fast ForWord take the participant through an intense period of auditory stimuli. Training on these exercises for 100 minutes a day five days a week for four to eight weeks has resulted in increased neural activity in that part of the brain which handles auditory processing. We have seen these changes in very young participants, as well as adults."
I gave Dr. Jacobs, Laboratory of Quantitative Neuromorphology Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado the material to review, November 18, 2000, and he commented; "I've looked over the material you gave me. Not easy to make specific comments since it is a compilation of materials rather than a unified manuscript. Nevertheless, seems like a promising start for the direction you'd like to go. A couple of comments come to mind after looking things over. First, the type of visual processing you are most interested in probably is that which takes place in the parietal lobe (as part of the "where" system). Second, you might be interested in knowing that there are more projections to the LGN (lateral giniculate nucleus) from the visual cortex, than vice-versa-such is the nature of the brain: all information coming into the cortex is already heavily modulated by the cortex and other sub cortical structures, that is, there is no objective reality. This kind of descending control is extremely important, and may play an important role in virtual realities. Third, neuroimaging research, particularly, fMRI, will be particular important for your endeavor. One book that might give you a general overview of neuroimaging research is, Carter: Mapping the Mind. Fourth, another researcher that may be of interest is Damasio, and particularly his book: Descartes' Error and a newer book." I met with Dr. Jacobs and had a great long conversation about the feasibility and different areas of application of a multisensory approach for learning.
I contacted Dr. Bryan Kolb, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, The University of Lethbridge, AB Canada, January 24, 2001. Dr. Kolb wrote a book titled, Brain Plasticity and Behavior. I asked him if there had been studies or research using virtual reality as a stimulant that may enhance the growth of the visual cortex. Dr. Kolb responded, "Good question. I am not aware of any such research but I have forwarded your question to a colleague who is a vision expert who might be more helpful. I do know that there are some groups in Europe who have been trying to use virtual reality techniques for rehabilitation programs after brain injury but these are still in a preliminary state. Good luck with your question."
Using the direct application of Virtual Reality, that would provide the ultimate in visual and auditory stimulus, it is projected to show that a multisensory experience has application in many areas. Within the chosen content areas, expected outcomes are based with the direction of the program that is developed. Therefore, the greater knowledge of the task, the better the performance will be.
The following are possible applications that I have in mind:
development of "VR math flash cards" (vision, color, touch, sound)
bilingual math VR flash cards
bilingual reading; imagine, walking into a VR room, touching items and getting feedback.
social studies; imagine, looking at a VR globe, where a country and information can pop up when pressed, on a world geography map filled with experiences of geography, culture, peoples daily lives, language, and founding history.
science; demonstrating cells, photosynthesis, space, chemistry, geology, physical and environmental science.
I would like to see validation as an important focus in this multi-modal/multi-sensory learning environment. I would think this could be done with qualitative and quantitative analysis in the development of these types of programs. In the beginning we should look at programs that are simplistic and then grow in complexity. Using the relationship with virtual reality as an educational tool, (VR) or any other media immersion should allow a student to actively become part of a learning and reviewing process. This process I feel will put the concept to the test using vision, audio, and tactile experiences. I hope that this gives insight for continued development of a educational multimedia experience.
In education we are always striving to develop technology that helps develop and move students from concrete thought into more abstract or formal operation thinking. With the "Virtual Reality" approach we can develop and refine a new learning environment. This learning environment can be entertaining and educational and the applications can promote facilitating sequential learning. As an educator I see the need to tie together the basics of education and the technology of the twenty-first Century.
When we listen to students and watch students, we will find that they are trying to tell us and show us how they learn.
With this in mind I hope to become involved in any of the following areas:
participate directly in research regarding Virtual Reality benefits.
This would include all areas of program development, data gathering and analysis.
Working with a facility or school test site that would be willing to participate in program development.
This would involve developing Virtual Reality learning experiences for application in the classroom content curriculum. One such area to develop, mathematic programs and follow data for student enhancement.
Direct involvement with a commercial venture.
This area would pursue all data and concepts in developing programs including education, sports training and entertainment.