Unplugged:

1
Unplugged

• How Portable Wireless Technology Has Transformed
  the Use and Integration of Technology
• Inter-Lakes School District
• Meredith, NH

2
Unplugged

• Dick Dumais, District Technology Coordinator
• Jeremy Hillger, Grade 6 Math/Science Teacher
• Brad Allen, HS Business and GenWhy Teacher
• Kathleen Hill, Curriculum Coordinator

3
Wireless Technology

• History
• One or two computer classroom
• Computer labs
• Computers moved to central location to set up lab
  (SCS)
• Little tech support

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Wireless Technology

• Consequences
• Labs used for computer application instruction
  are unavailable for class projects
• One computer in the room does not allow groups to
  use computer
• SCS teachers without computers for 2 days

5
Wireless Technology

• Consequences
• Teachers slow to adopt technology as part of the
  curriculum
• Early adopting teachers have little support
• Early adopting teachers do not have tools needed
  to work

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Wireless Technology

• Consequences
• frustrated teachers
• frustrated administrators
• frustrated students

7
Todays problems come from yesterdays
solutions. -Senge

• Prior to wireless technology, the best solution
  was to give every classroom one or two computers
  and train teachers to do the best they could in
  the one computer classroom.

8
The harder you push, the harder the system pushes
back. -Senge

• Adding computers to classrooms did not increase
  computer use in the classroom.

9
Behavior grows better before it grows
worse. -Senge

• Labs allowed students to learn fundamental
  applications but there was not enough time to use
  the skills in an integrated way. With limited
  access to computers, teachers could not expect
  students to complete projects using integrated
  technology.

10
The cure can be worse than the disease. -Senge

• Teachers grew to believe that technology skills
  are best taught in a pull out format (computer
  lab) without the use of integration.

11
The easy way out usually leads back in. -Senge

• Teachers continued to use computers as fancy
  typewriters (word processors) and call that
  integration.

12
Cause and effect are not closely related in time
and space. -Senge

• Teachers failed to see that student application
  of skills is often lost.

13
Limited tools
Limited budget
Limit integration
Limited need for new computers
Limited student use
14
There is no blame. -Senge

• The goal
• Find a way to provide teachers with the tools
  needed for technology integration.

15
Small changes can produce big results-but the
areas of highest leverage are often the least
obvious. -Senge

• Wireless computer labs looked like a luxury at
  first.

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Wireless Technology
Classroom tools
Support for technology in school district budget.
Increased integration
Teachers asking for new computers
Increased student use
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Wireless Technology

• Whats next
• Improved professional development

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Wireless Technology
Professional Development
Classroom tools
Support for technology in school district budget.
Increased integration
Teachers asking for new computers
Increased student use
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Wireless Technology

• Results
• Increased integration of technology
• Web CT
• Mayaquest
• Gen Y
• Classroom web pages
• EBD Classroom Challenges

20
Wireless technology

• Results
• Increased integration of technology
• Classroom projects
• Cooperative learning
• Integration between computer application classes
  and classroom projects

21
Resources

• The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge
• How Teachers Learn Technology Best, Jamie
  MacKenzie
• The Unwired Classroom Wireless Computers Come of
  Age, Jamie MacKenzie