sara fassand joe boulanger（莎拉fassand乔雅）（8页）.docVIP

Sara Fass and Joe Boulanger ED610 Professor Taylor 8/19/01 Briefing Project ASSESSMENT As teachers in a small, alternative high school, we have many advantages in developing a useful, realistic staff development plan related to technology. First and foremost, change is possible: we have common planning time and, for the most part, share a common educational philosophy. We agree that we could be integrating technology in a much more effective and considered fashion, and we believe that our emphasis should be on better teaching, rather than simply “mastering technology.” While we have limited resources, we have a collective say in determining how those resources are allocated. The purpose of our project was to assess the program’s current use of technology; consider ways in which we might integrate technology more effectively; examine resources including software, websites, and sample lesson plans; and, finally, create a staff development plan for the coming year which would reflect our individual and program-wide goals. Because there has been so much controversy concerning the importance and effectiveness of computers in education, we started with a review of recent research. Not surprisingly, the research suggests that how computers are used in the classroom, rather than how much time students spend using computers, is key: computers are best used to promote higher-order thinking skills through simulations and applications as opposed to “drill and practice.” It is change in teacher practice stimulated by technology, rather than the technology in and of itself, that has the potential to improve student achievement and school climate. In other words, used correctly, technology can be a tool for promoting changes in instructional practice associated with more project-based, collaborative, experiential learning. This change in practice, rather than the use of computers in and of itself, must be the guiding factor in formulating our staff development