Meeting with Andrea

Last night Andrea, one of our Lower School Teachers, and I began to look at the content of the maps from Lower School. This year Lower School will not have pull out tech classes, but instead we will work in a sort of project/workshop mode to bring the technology into the classroom. Since this is the first year the whole Lower School will be participating in this model, Andrea and I were evaluating the maps first for plausibility. The maps posted so far are reflections of past projects; they are not definitive of future projects. Part of the fellowship was to determine where we are so that we can see where we need to go. Some or all of the content contained in the maps could be changed, deleted or added to. I think this needs to be really clear. The reason maps were not produced yet for third through sixth grade is because I either don’t have a full picture (we did not have pull out classes for 3-5 in Lower School last year) or we are planning to build together.
As we discussed the constraints of time and schedule, I realized that even though some teachers may have the skills necessary to lead some of the content in the maps, having never taught technology they may not feel a comfort level that would encourage them to branch out on their own. The goal is for teachers to become more fluent with the technology and begin to design lessons enhanced and enriched with the tools they are using. One possible way of assisting teachers as they continue to grow in their skills is to have older students buddy up with younger students. Since Lower School already has a partner model, kindergarten with third, first with fourth and second with fifth we could use this model to have the older students work one-on-one with their partners. This would have the added benefit in the beginning of the year of skill review for the older students.
The tension of developmentally appropriate curriculum and how to best use technology was another idea we explored. What does developmentally appropriate use of technology look like? At what age is it not only okay but also actually beneficial to use technology with younger students? I researched this heavily about ten years ago as part of my graduate studies in Instructional Design. However, a quick read of the National Association for the Education of Young Children position statement helped be gather the research needed to approach this question. Although this statement is under revision, it is still a wealth of research resources. NAEYC clearly states that teachers need to define the technology the students use. They also cite research that supports the use of technology with young children:
“Developmentally appropriate software engages children in creative play, mastery learning, problem solving and conversation.” (p.2)
“Research points to the positive effects of technology in children’s learning and development, both cognitive and social” (p.2)
“Children engage in high levels of spoken communication and cooperation at the computer. They initiate interactions more frequently and in different ways than when engaged with traditional activities, such as puzzles or blocks. They engage in more turn taking at the computer and simultaneously show high levels of language and cooperative –play activity.” (p.2)
“Appropriate use of technology is integrated into the regular learning environment and used as one of many options to support learning.” (p2) I added the emphasis.
This last sentence lends support to the removal of the Lower School Technology Lab as a pull out space to teach tech tools. As we move up the grades, research continues to support the use of technology when it is fully integrated into the curriculum. Students need to use the tools fluently to connect, collaborate, create and evaluate.
In addition to NAEYC, PBS has a long list of position statements and research done by an array of companies, philanthropic organizations and the government.  The bottom line is that using technology in the framework of sound learning theory creates a positive impact. 
We explored the use of digital portfolios and discussed how Catalina has agreed to pioneer this effort with me. Andrea made me realize that it isn’t a large leap from what we are already doing, since most grades already have students create learning goals. The only difference is we would have a digital record from year to year. What subject would be included? Would we try to do all? That seemed overwhelming for everyone involved. Would students decide? That seemed to align best with a student centered approach that would give the child responsibility. John, our Technology Director, and I discussed the best place for this to live and feel Google Sites seems the most reasonable as we have migrated to Google Apps. This still needs further exploration. Questions to consider are:
Can it accommodate an assortment of file types such as sound, video, etc?
How much control do we have over privacy settings? Can we make some parts private? Should we make it all private?
How far would the portfolio follow the student? Just through Lower School? Middle School? Upper School?
We also discussed the goal of eighth graders having the skills to create a personal learning network (PLN). What do we need to do as a Lower School Community to prepare students for this? What skills and competencies can we build into our program in such a way that we continue to enhance our own curriculum and also prepare students to take on the larger share of responsibility for their own learning? We already do this with students on many levels, responsible use of technology, as a tool for learning is another level.