Teachers and students tackle
new technologies side by side

By Sue Adams

Sometimes it seems almost every conversation about the state of educational technology eventually turns into a hand-wringing session about teacher training. Critics say colleges of education are turning out graduates with little or no preparation in using technology effectively in the classroom, and staff development programs sponsored by school districts tend to leave many teachers confused and/or uninspired.

At Indian Hills Elementary School in Topeka, Kan., we've stopped wringing our hands and started working on a solution. As a result, we think we've found a great way for teachers to learn how to use educational technology effectively: alongside their students.

Identifying the need

Like many schools, Indian Hills had a fine technology lab, equipped with 30 networked computers and an abundance of software. But the occasional six-hour training sessions offered by the Auburn-Washburn School District overwhelmed teachers, and the school's site council noted that the computers were used mainly for educational games. The teachers themselves were the first to admit they were not making the best use of the technology available. They could see their students were using their computers passively--to answer questions or fill in blanks on educational software--and they wanted the kids to use computers more creatively to seek out information and work on their own projects.

The site council, the teachers, and the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) came up with a plan: They decided to hire two facilitators to teach both students and teachers in the computer lab. So in September 1995, Lisa Pettys began working half-days with students in grades 1-3 and the afternoon kindergarten, and I began working half-days with students in grades 4-6 and the morning kindergarten. We're both certified teachers with extensive experience in educational technology, and we both have kids at Indian Hills. Between the two of us, we're able to make sure each of the 510 students at Indian Hills receives computer instruction at least once a week.

Of course, there's nothing unusual about kids visiting a computer class once or twice a week. What makes the approach at Indian Hills distinctive is that the classroom teachers come to the lab and learn side by side with their students. Depending on what's being taught (and on the level of their own skills and comfort), the teachers sometimes act as cofacilitators, but often they spend the lab time acquiring new computer skills and new insight into the effective use of educational technology. Some teachers say their lessons in the computer lab were their first opportunity to use a computer.

Benefits to teachers

Working alongside their students, teachers were getting weekly training sessions where they could see--and try out, with help close at hand--techniques for using technology with students. The computer lab, which had once stood empty for hours at a time, became one of the most popular places in the building.

The teachers had the option of earning three hours of graduate credit at nearby Washburn University. To be eligible for the credit, they had to complete assignments during classroom lab time, document their endeavors in teaching with technology, and attend additional workshops. More than half of the teachers took advantage of this offer. Some even went on to take more advanced classes.

Future teachers also benefit from this project. As part of their training, students in my educational technology classes at Washburn University observe lessons and work with students in the school's computer lab. The Washburn students appreciate this on-the-job training and the accompanying opportunities to preview and evaluate software, and the teachers and facilitators appreciate the extra sets of hands.

Working so closely together, the facilitators and teachers were able to plan and design more meaningful lessons for the students and devise better uses of the time spent in the lab. IBM software--especially GeoWorks and Student Writing Center--helped us create developmentally appropriate lessons in different subject areas. When the sixth-graders were studying Africa, for instance, we showed them how to research countries by accessing information on the Internet. Then we helped the students develop a newsletter with computer-created drawings for graphics.

A growing program

Now in its second year, the project continues to evolve. More comfortable with the equipment and the techniques, teachers are taking on greater responsibility in planning and presenting the lessons, while my colleague and I continue to provide technical assistance and expertise on an as-needed basis.

Some parents have asked Principal Vic Dyck how long he expects teachers will continue to need our help. "Forever," he says, because technology changes on a daily basis, and once teachers catch up, they have to keep up. The principal, the site council, the PTO, and the university have announced their intentions to continue the project indefinitely.

A survey shows 95 percent of the parents say they're willing to continue their financial support of the program. The project, which costs between $15,000 and $16,000 a year, is funded by the PTO.

The district's five other elementary schools plan to adopt this teacher-training model. The districtwide technology plan calls for a technology facilitator to train teachers along with students at each elementary school.

Washburn, too, has promised continuing support. As their own technology skills develop, the university students will be able to provide greater levels of expertise every semester. The university also plans to increase the number and variety of educational technology courses, thereby allowing more future teachers to participate.

Indian Hills and the university also plan to expand their collaboration in other ways. Washburn, for instance, plans to offer some educational technology courses in Indian Hills' computer lab. And Indian Hills will use one of the university's computer labs to develop multimedia projects.

As a staff development program, this collaborative effort has proven much more efficient than taking teachers out of their classrooms for a day or scheduling after-school training sessions. Those old options are enormously expensive and notoriously inefficient in producing change. But working regularly with their students in the computer lab, teachers see how educational technology works, and they want to try it in their classes. The result is just-in-time learning that really works.

-- Sue Adams teaches educational technology in the Department of Education at Washburn University in Topeka, Kan.