UCLA SMP EdNews, April 2005

by John Otterness, UCLA SMP Faculty

"As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it."

—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

In the previous issue of EdNews, we mentioned that schools make a choice in their use of computers between "bringing about conformity" or "dealing critically with reality." This choice determines the future they want to enable for their students. As schools choose technology for the use of their teachers and staff, they face a similar issue - do they choose technology to reinforce their current practices or do they choose technology to change their current practices? How will they choose to enable the possible futures for their school?

Imbedded in every decision about the choice of technology a school makes are assumptions about teaching and learning. When a school chooses to replace all the chalkboards with whiteboards, or provide every teacher with an overhead, or provide every teacher with a computer-interactive whiteboard, there are implications about how teaching will be done and how learning will happen. Even the choice of a program to keep track of and analyze data will be determined by what the school thinks is important to know about a student or a group of students in the midst of the learning process.

Technology can encourage questions or technology can stifle questions - for the staff, as well as students and parents. How schools go about choosing technology and why they choose the technology they do are insights into their hopes for their students. It gives form to how they make these hopes into their future. In the marketplace of technology, there are many pieces of hardware and many kinds of software available that propose to help schools with their goal of educating students. Carlos Arguello, the founder and director of Studio C in Guatemala, describes what technology did for him: "There are different types of brain, and mine is very intuitive and artistic, and computers were really able to guide me and help me." As schools decide on what technology they will use to help students learn, their understanding of their ideas about teaching and learning will help them choose technology to help all students, even the Carloses.

by Gann Matsuda, UCLA SMP Technology Coordinator

In this issue of UCLA SMP EdNews, we will highlight a few tools and resources that can be used to enhance students' ability to learn, as well some products that will enhance anyone's computing experience.

And as we stated in our March edition, please keep in mind that before purchasing or installing any of these products, be sure to consult whomever is responsible for providing technical support for the computers in your school or office, as some products may not be compatible with your system(s).

DISCLAIMER: Although we have listed selected products in this edition of UCLA SMP EdNews as ones that you may wish to consider, the UCLA School Management Program does not officially endorse or recommend any product or service.

The APPLE LEARNING INTERCHANGE provides lesson plans and activities, digital learning events, professional development activities and much more, all in an educational context, and not just for Apple Macintosh computers--Windows users can benefit too. Apple's QUICKTIME software, which is available for Macintosh or Windows computers, is required to view video footage that is available on this web site.

If you are like most people, you must be tired of having to deal with all the adware, spyware and other security problems that plague Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser. An outstanding alternative browser is FIREFOX 1.0.2. This is the next generation of the old NetScape browser. Millions of users around the world have already downloaded it and the consensus seems to be that it is a big improvement over the old NetScape and Internet Explorer. Available for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and other platforms.

Are you constantly having to re-install software on machines in your computer lab because someone "accidentally" deleted something? Or are you finding unauthorized software on your lab machines? If you want to keep your lab machines in the pristine condition as when they were first installed and prevent users from installing unauthorized software, take a look at DEEP FREEZE from Faronics. Deep Freeze protects and preserves original computer configurations--each restart resets the computer to its original state, as if nothing had changed, making management of computers in lab or other situations easier. Available for Windows and Macintosh computers.

Do you see nothing but pop-up windows when you open Internet Explorer? Is your computer running slower and slower as time goes on? If so, your computer likely has spyware and adware installed and you need to remove it and prevent future incursions. SPYBOT SEARCH AND DESTROY is one of the best anti-spyware/anti-adware products available for Windows computers, and best of all, it is free!

Tired of the same old graphic organizers? Want to put some "inspiration" in your thinking? And in your students thinking? Got Computers? Try INSPIRATION (grade 6 to adult) and/or KIDSPIRATION (primary grades). It lets you link ideas graphically, or in outline form, and switch back and forth easily. It lets you inspire, brainstorm, plan, organize and create new ways to use your ideas. Try it to plan your next writing assignment, department meeting, grade-level meeting or faculty meeting--and use it during the meeting to track ideas! Their web site has a free 30-day trial you can download (not recommended for dial-up Internet users).

Technology can provide us with numerous means to enable our desired educational futures; the software and hardware mentioned here are only a few. Chances are, whatever future you have in mind, there is a technological solution which will help to bring it a little closer to fruition.

In our last issue, we asked our readers, "In what ways have you used technology to enhance student learning and achievement in your classroom or school?"

Rudy Rizo, Instructional Technology Applications Facilitator with LAUSD, writes:

"I appreciate the fact that you began to touch upon the uses of technology in this edition of EdNews. The quotes you included in this newsletter speak volumes. I hope that in future issues you continue to address this important aspect of education and continue to look into Open Source projects and community initiatives, such as MIT OpenCourseWare, OpenContent.org, and Wikipedia.org. Although these initiatives are not K-12 per se, they have profound implications to teaching and access to 'knowledge.'"

Nerinita Pellegatti from Verdugo Hills High School (LAUSD Local District 2) wrote us back and told us of some wonderful advances she has made with her students:

"Seeking to improve the reading and writing skills of students who scored below basic in the California Standards Test, I wrote and implemented a method (Technology in Reading Improvement Programs, "TRIP©") that combines evaluation by computer-based reading and writing software, with an individualized curriculum.   Students are evaluated through tests at the beginning and end of each term.   During the first evaluation process, goals are carefully drafted and students are taught how to absorb more in the classroom based on their own individual learning style and reading level.   TRIP© has shown record levels of improvement, bringing students up one to two reading grade levels per semester!   In pilot studies the results were dramatic, proving that students who took the course for two consecutive semesters, increased their scores on the California Standards Test by an average of 40%."

You can download a PDF file (36K) of the full text of Ms. Pellegatti's comments, as well as a PowerPoint show (712K) and/or PDF (588K) of her results (Adobe Reader required to view/open PDF files).

For this month’s topic:

"In what ways has technology enabled your school to reach its goals?"

Let us know some of your experiences with technology and its effects on your school culture. Please click here to add your responses to this month's combined brainpower. We will share some of your ideas in a future issue of EdNews.

Barbara Linsley has a special interest in collaborative, educational community projects and strategic planning. Her work with UCLA SMP has included external evaluator and program implementation assistance with underperforming schools in the II/USP, HPSG, and CSR programs, coaching in the Reading by 9 principals program, grant writing, and facilitating a variety of professional development workshops in the areas of leadership, parent involvement, classroom walk-throughs, Critical Friends Group protocols (reviewing of student work), and technology. Previous to her work with UCLA SMP, Barbara taught for 25 years in Ontario-Montclair School District and served as a technology trainer, G.A.T.E. facilitator, and mentor teacher. She has taught technology credential courses at California State University, San Marcos, and the University of La Verne, and curriculum credential classes at Pacific Oaks College. Collaborative community projects have encompassed: a model technology research project with parents and students; an environmental science community-business-school district partnership that annually involved 1200 students, seven school districts, and local environmental agencies; technology strategic planning and school networking projects; and the coordination of local CUE (Computer-Using Educators) conferences. As a consultant for Discovery Communications, Inc., Barbara leads technology workshops for educators and parents and designs online curricular resources. She holds an M.A. from Pacific Oaks College, a B.A. from Scripps College, and was awarded Computer-Using Educators' "Gold Disk" Award for contributions to the organization.

"A vision is only an idea or an image of a more desirable future…
but the right vision is an idea so energizing that it in effect jump-starts the future
by calling forth the skills, talents, and resources to make it happen."

• Coaching: Bringing About the Best in Yourself and Others

• Where Are They Now? -- Catching Up With Members of the UCLA SMP Family

• Ask SMP / Ask Your Colleagues: In future editions, we will share our responses to some of your questions (and, sometimes, use those questions as the basis for future Combined Brainpower topics).  If you have any questions regarding your teaching practice or other issues at the school site, please click here to Ask SMP.  We will include your questions and our answers in future editions.

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A nonprofit school reform initiative of the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies and The Anderson School, the UCLA School Management Program (UCLA SMP) is devoted to the sustainable transformation of public schools into learner-centered organizations where all students can achieve at high levels.

UCLA SMP works with educators, administrators, and community members to create well-managed schools, to enhance teacher effectiveness, and to improve student achievement through professional development leading to personal transformation and community building.

Since the program was launched in 1992, UCLA SMP has worked with over 700 schools in districts throughout California.