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Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Have Silicon Valley Teachers Using Technology Daily Altered Their Classroom Practice? (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Have Silicon Valley Teachers Using Technology Daily Altered Their Classroom Practice? (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Have Silicon Valley Teachers Using Technology Daily Altered Their Classroom Practice? (Part 2)

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Of the 37 teachers who replied to my questions, 24 (65 percent) said yes.
Nine (24 percent) said “no.” I sorted  the “no” answers into two bins. Six teachers who said “no” explained that using digital tools had not changed their ways of teaching because they had been using high-tech devices since they entered the profession or labeled themselves as “digital natives” even before they began teaching. The other three teachers who said “no” gave different answers.
Lyuda Shemyakina, a biology teacher at Mountain View High School in the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District, has been a teacher for six years, two of which were in Chicago. Her response was:
Technology facilitates the gathering and disseminating of information in my classroom, but I wouldn’t say it has fundamentally changed how I teach. 
For example, designing, scaffolding, and handing out homework and classwork are integral parts of my teaching practice. Whereas in another country or another decade I might have made paper copies or made students write these down, many/most things now are electronic. Students can see all my presentations (directions for class); students can e-mail me with questions, and students have fewer excuses for not knowing the homework. I literally post it in five different places from with the white board in my room to a public on-line space. I also post links to helpful videos, worksheets, etc. to help both struggling and advanced students….[i]
Ultimately, though, a teacher is still an intellectual who must design or select instruction and instructional materials, including assessments. If I don’t have the skills to appropriately design and assess activities, no amount of technology can help me. For instance, during the class you saw, I chose to have students design and share analogies. These were very telling as a measure of their understanding of basic genetics. If I had asked the wrong question, like “do you get genetics?” it wouldn’t have mattered what technology I used.  
David Campbell, a teacher of Spanish and a National Board Certified Teacher. He has taught 16 years, the last eight at Mountain View High School.
Technology has changed how I teach a little, but not that much. Ultimately it is the personality of the class and their engagement that allows a teacher to do Have Silicon Valley Teachers Using Technology Daily Altered Their Classroom Practice? (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: