MESSAGE
| DATE | 2003-08-20 |
| FROM | From: "Inker, Evan"
|
| SUBJECT | RE: [hangout] Laptops for All
|
Agreed...
Regards,
Evan
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Milo [mailto:slavik914-at-rennlist.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2003 8:18 PM
To: Inker Evan
Cc: 'hangout-at-nylxs.com'
Subject: Re: [hangout] Laptops for All
Perfect example of how valuable computer science is to society and why
its
technology and its by product shouldnt be held ransom by self interest
groups.
Steve M
On Wednesday, Aug 20, 2003, at 17:47 America/Denver, Inker, Evan wrote:
>
> Laptops for All
> November 1, 2001
>
> http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/content/stories/index.cfm?key=219
>
> A sixth grader lowers a temperature probe inside a beaker full of hot
> water.
> Two of her classmates stare intently at a laptop computer screen,
> watching
> as a graph dynamically changes when a chip of melting ice gradually
> lowers
> the water temperature. Another student sits poised, pen in hand, ready
> to
> record every detail of the science lab on a procedure sheet.
>
> "It's melting!" exclaims one student.
> "The temperature is going down, alright," agrees another. "When the
> ice is gone, we'll hit stop," directs one boy who has been
> given
> the job of data collector for the group.
>
> This popular science lab activity at The Mott Hall School is the
> culmination
> of several days' worth of study and exploration into the heat of
> fusion, or
> the amount of heat required to melt a solid substance into its liquid
> form.
> Throughout the room, the sixth graders are working in groups of five
> students, each team responsible for setting up its station, conducting
> the
> experiment, and then analyzing the results. Their tools comprise a mix
> of
> standard lab equipment (a beaker, a triple beam balance, and the like)
> and
> some decidedly high-tech additions, including a temperature probe
> connected
> to a laptop computer and software that records, graphs, and displays
> the
> changing water temperature in real time. In addition to the temperature
> probes used by Mott Hall students, there are similar probes for gauging
> pressure and sound. All of these devices provide students access to
> the same
> tools scientists use.
>
> Sixth-grade science teacher Mercedes Diez had begun the class with a
> quick
> refresher on phase-change operations but had quickly turned the
> activity
> over to her students. They troubleshoot when one of the probes isn't
> working
> properly, consider possible causes when they get unexpected results,
> and
> brainstorm ways to present their findings to their classmates. For her
> part,
> Diez serves as a facilitator. She responds to the occasional question
> or
> poses one of her own, always encouraging her students to take their
> analysis
> just a little bit further.
>
> Harlem Pioneers
>
> Mott Hall is a math, science, and technology academy in New York
> Community
> School District Six. This fourth- through eighth-grade magnet school
> has
> 425, primarily Hispanic, students. And it's one of a growing number of
> schools in the country where every student and every teacher has his
> or her
> own laptop computer.
>
> Mott Hall opened in 1986, and for the first 10 years of its existence,
> the
> school offered a rigorous but fairly traditional approach to
> education. But
> everything started to change in 1996. That's when a class of fifth
> graders
> and their teacher became pioneers in the use of laptop computers in
> schools.
>
>
> "We saw the introduction of laptops as a wonderful opportunity to
> reexamine
> our curriculum and to confront the Digital Divide," says Principal
> Mirian
> Acosta-Sing. The parents agreed. Together, parents and staff developed
> policies to ensure the safety of students traveling to and from school,
> created a payment plan that relied on the contribution of families and
> the
> school district, and began troubleshooting everything from curriculum
> delivery to basic repair and maintenance.
>
> Over the next five years, Acosta-Sing and her staff built upon that
> first
> pilot project, slowly adding classes and grade levels to the growing
> contingent of laptop pioneers. Finally, in the fall of 1999, the last
> class
> received its laptops.
>
> A Focus on Projects
>
> Visitors to Mott Hall don't have to look hard for evidence of how
> laptop
> computers have changed teaching and learning. While sixth graders are
> conducting experiments with temperature probes, fifth graders are
> creating
> scale models of kites in Excel spreadsheets and reading poems about
> Harlem,
> inspired by digital photographs the students took at nearby St.
> Nicholas
> Park. Seventh graders are creating business plans as part of a project
> on
> entrepreneurship. And the eighth graders, who will soon be graduating
> and
> moving on to some of the city's most prestigious high schools, are
> creating
> a digital photo album and conducting scientific research on methane gas
> emissions, coral reef bleaching, and dozens of other topics of their
> own
> choosing.
>
> Every classroom, every hallway is a showcase for student work. Artwork,
> essays, poems, and science posters cover the walls. And everywhere you
> look
> there are laptop computers. In one classroom, students are logging on
> to an
> Internet chess site to play against a faraway opponent. In another, a
> group
> of students is putting the final touches on a multimedia presentation.
> With
> frequent use has come a comfort with technology that many adults have
> yet to
> achieve. Students manipulate temperature probes and swap network cards
> as
> easily as they might replace the lead in a mechanical pencil or verify
> a
> computation on a calculator.
>
> Teachers, too, have come a long way, thanks in large part to the
> school's
> built-from-the-ground-up approach to professional development. From its
> first day as a laptop pilot school, Mott Hall has relied on the
> expertise of
> its most experienced teachers to advance the technical and curriculum
> savvy
> of its entire staff. Staff development days are used to showcase
> exemplary
> teaching units. More experienced teachers mentor their colleagues (in
> Mott
> Hall lingo they're known as eLearning facilitators), opening up their
> classrooms for observation and taking the time after a long school day
> to
> meet and plan lessons. Partnerships with local universities,
> businesses, and
> other organizations provide yet another level of support and training
> for
> Mott Hall staff.
>
> "We had staff members who bought into this immediately, and we had
> staff
> members who had to be persuaded," acknowledges Marc Briller, Mott
> Hall's
> staff professional developer. He describes an evolution in how Mott
> Hall
> approached the integration of laptops into curriculum. "Here we had
> these
> wonderful laptops and the question that then came up is, 'Well, what
> are we
> going to do with these laptops? How are we going to showcase the
> technology?' We had to ask ourselves how we could fit the laptop into
> the
> curriculum, rather than adapting the curriculum to fit the laptop."
>
> It was that epiphany, says Acosta-Sing, that eventually led to a
> schoolwide
> commitment to project-oriented work. "We still lecture when it's
> important,
> and we still use textbooks when they're needed. But as a school
> community,
> we've embraced multidimensional, interdisciplinary projects. And we use
> these projects," she adds, ever mindful of the growing accountability
> movement, "as evidence that our students are not only meeting, but
> exceeding, the state standards."
>
> Go Fly a Kite
>
> A steady rain is falling outside Room 502, where Sandra Skea's class of
> fifth graders is putting the finishing touches on a second generation
> of
> handmade kites. At one table, Brandon is attaching a new tail to his
> kite in
> hopes of helping it fly longer and higher. At another, Lisbeth and
> Vanessa
> are working intently on their tetrahedron kite, a three-tier design
> made of
> multicolored tissue paper and straws and held together with lots and
> lots of
> glue. Throughout the room, tables are covered with the stuff homemade
> kites
> are made of -- paper, straws, aluminum foil, skewers, string -- all
> contributed by students, their teacher, family, and friends.
>
> By the time we arrive on that wet spring day, students have already
> spent
> several days on the interdisciplinary unit. They've written poetry and
> prose, studied such diverse topics as electromagnetism and the use of
> kite-flying in celebrations, and developed a keen understanding of
> principles of ratios and proportions as they designed and refined their
> kites -- on the computer and then by hand.
>
> Room 502's kite project began much like many of teaching veteran
> Skea's most
> successful units: with a conversation with her class. "We had been
> reading a
> story about kites," she recalls, "and I mentioned in passing that it
> would
> be nice to research kites." The students responded to her suggestion
> with a
> resounding, "Yes!"
>
> Having been somewhat less than successful in their first kite-flying
> expedition, Skea and her students are now back at the drawing board,
> refining their original designs. As soon as the rain stops, they'll put
> their second-generation creations to the test.
>
> But the point of the project isn't to see whose kite flies the highest
> or
> stays in the air the longest -- and that's not how the veteran teacher
> will
> be grading her students. Instead, Skea explains, the rubrics, or
> criteria,
> by which she'll be grading students address how well they work
> together, the
> amount and quality of their research, the thoroughness of their
> writing, and
> how well they planned their first -- and then refined their second --
> kite
> design.
>
> "The kite falling on the ground is not going to cause them to fail,"
> Skea
> adds matter-of-factly, "because that wasn't the purpose of the
> project."
>
> Assessing Student Work
>
> In Skea's class and throughout the school, students benefit from a
> clear
> understanding of the goals of a project, how it relates to grade-level
> standards, and the criteria by which it will be evaluated. Rubrics are
> discussed in class and then posted or handed out for all to review.
> Teachers
> and students (who routinely evaluate one another's work) rely on these
> criteria when assessing everything from kites to science projects to
> research papers.
>
> "The rubrics are our way of showing how each component of a project is
> aligned to standards," says Briller, adding that clearly delineated
> guidelines also ensure that projects are not just engaging but are also
> leading to a deep and meaningful understanding of concepts.
>
> Because so much of the student work is done on the laptops, Mott Hall
> is
> also in the process of creating digital portfolios for its students.
> Although currently in a pilot stage, the goal, says Acosta-Sing, is to
> create a portfolio for each fourth grader and then add new work to this
> digital archive as students progress through the school. By eighth
> grade,
> each student would have an electronic representation of their work at
> Mott
> Hall.
>
> Besides the "internal" evaluations, students at Mott Hall routinely
> participate in academic competitions where their work is assessed by
> other
> students as well as by outside experts. This real-world evaluation,
> says
> Briller, "gives kids the opportunity to understand where they stand in
> relation to other students. Tests are so abstract for kids. These
> competitions make it all very real," he adds.
>
> Like most public school students throughout New York state, Mott Hall
> students are also required to take a series of standardized tests in
> core
> subject areas. Although students receive instruction in the mechanics
> of
> test-taking, students learn the concepts through projects. "It's one
> thing
> to be able to pass a test," says Briller. "The real challenge (is)
> understanding the information and being able to apply it."
>
> Thanks to a standards-based project approach to learning, Mott Hall
> students
> are able to do both.
>
> New Challenges, New Opportunities
>
> If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the staff and
> students
> at Mott Hall should feel truly honored. In September of 2001, a new
> school
> -- Mott Hall II -- opened in New York City, building on the philosophy
> and
> methods developed at the original Mott Hall. Based on the success of
> Mott
> Hall's program, all of the schools in New York Community School
> District Six
> are now moving to the laptop model pioneered by Acosta-Sing and her
> staff.
> Indeed, throughout the country, public schools are embracing the use of
> laptops to support project-based learning.
>
> For their part, Acosta-Sing and her staff are experimenting with new
> tools
> to take the school's commitment to project-oriented work to the next
> level.
> With the help of a pilot grant, for example, students and teachers are
> beginning to investigate ways in which handheld computers can be used
> to
> support the school's project approach to learning. "I'm not sure
> whether it
> will translate into anything useful," says Acosta-Sing with a shrug of
> her
> shoulders. "But we'll experiment with the new tools and then decide as
> a
> community whether they have some value."
>
>
> Copyright (c) 2002 The George Lucas Educational Foundation www.glef.org
>
>
>
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> Fair Use -
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This message contains confidential information and is intended only
for the individual or entity named. If you are not the named addressee
you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail.
Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received
this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system.
E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free
as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive
late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not
accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this
message which arise as a result of e-mail transmission.
If verification is required please request a hard-copy version.
This message is provided for informational purposes and should not
be construed as an invitation or offer to buy or sell any securities or
related financial instruments.
GAM operates in many jurisdictions and is
regulated or licensed in those jurisdictions as required.
****************************************************************************
____________________________
NYLXS: New Yorker Free Software Users Scene
Fair Use -
because it's either fair use or useless....
NYLXS is a trademark of NYLXS, Inc
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