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Week 4 Teaching With Technology The focus of Week 4 has been an examination of how technology facilitates collaboration and why communities of practice benefit not only the learning of students but of teachers as well. Web 2.0 tools have made collaborative learning more available, more flexible, and more manageable. The skills students acquire while working collaboratively in the classroom using Web 2.0 tools help to prepare them for life in a 21st Century world. Pitler (2007) states that “Technology can play a unique and vital role in cooperative learning by facilitating group collaboration, providing structure for group tasks, and allowing members of groups to communicate even if they are not working face to face. It can help us realize the hope of schools as places that serve students anytime, anywhere, and facilitate their growth into lifelong learners.” In an era of higher expectations and lower funding, it is extremely beneficial to discover no cost technology tools that are no more than a mouse click away.

We have previously explored using technology to facilitate collaborative learning among students, but this week also dealt with the ways collaboration among educators can improve and enhance the implementation of technology in the classroom. Although schools have more technology at their disposal than ever before, these resources are not being put to service in the ways they were intended (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). Our readings advocate several suggestions for bringing the use of technology in the classroom to a level that can positively impact student academic performance. For teachers to effectively implement technology into their instruction, they must be adequately prepared. The main goal of professional development activities should be the improvement of student achievement. Support and funding are very important to the process as are professional development sessions that are relevant to current needs. Solomon and Schrum (2007) promote “just in time” training as a means of preparing teachers to use tools authentically to increase teacher understanding of Web 2.0 as well as teacher comfort with using the technology in their classrooms. One suggestion they mention is for teachers with like needs to form professional learning communities of members who work jointly on activities and who share common interests and professional goals. Four characteristics of the learning community should be: “a diversity of expertise among its members, a shared objective of continually advancing the collective knowledge and skills, an emphasis on learning how to learn, and mechanisms for sharing what is learned” (Solomon & Schrum 2007). The assumption is that the professional learning community members will use their varied levels of knowledge and skills to work together to solve problems with which they are presented.

Teachers who are learning to use technology, who are becoming comfortable with technology in the classroom need administrative support of their efforts. They need to know that their administrators expect them to apply the knowledge gained from professional development activities. Professional learning communities are just one example of a method for teachers to gain comfort with and competency for using instructional technology. Blogs are another method “to promote teachers’ comfort with and understanding of Web 2.9 tools” (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). Professional development sessions are also being offered through podcasts. Many podcasts for educators are free and this method of deliver offers flexibility and convenience for participants. Wikis are another Web 2.0 tool for professional development delivery. Teachers use this tool to collaborate, plan, set goals, share ideas, and ask questions. An added benefit to using Web 2.0 tools for professional development is that they give the user opportunities to practice using the technology authentically and meaningfully.

References Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works.// Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 139-154.

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). //Web 2.0: New tools, New schools.// Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, 99 – 116.