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Teaching 2.0

Teams keep teachers and students plugged into technology

By Learning Forward
October 2011
Vol. 32 No. 5
See if you recognize this scenario: A school receives a grant for equipment, maybe through the PTA or other school funds. The school purchases the equipment and places it in classrooms to increase student achievement. Someone from the technology department spends several hours (or with luck, a day) training teachers on which buttons to press to make the magic happen. But after a few months, the initial excitement wears off. Teachers are hesitant to use the equipment in class because they can’t quite remember what to do. Updates or technical issues require additional support or retraining.  Adding equipment often becomes a temporary distraction from the work of teaching and learning, rather than an opportunity to rethink instruction. And so, the equipment collects dust until the

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Authors

Michelle Bourgeois and Bud Hunt

Michelle Bourgeois (bourgeois_michelle@stvrain.k12.co.us) and Bud Hunt (hunt_bud@stvrain.k12.co.us) are instructional technology coordinators in the St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont, Colo. 

St. Vrain Valley School District

Longmont, Colo.

Number of schools: 51

Enrollment: 27,379

Staff: 1,780 teachers, 97 administrators

Racial/ethnic mix:

White: 66.7%

Black: 1.3%

Hispanic: 27.3%

Asian/Pacific Islander: 3.9%

Native American: 0.8%

Other: 0%

Limited English proficient: 18%

Languages spoken: English, Spanish, Chinese, others

Free/reduced lunch: 32.7%

Special education: 6.9%

Contact: Michelle Bourgeois, instructional technology coordinator

Email: bourgeois_michelle@svvsd.org

References

Cochran-Smith, M. & Lytle, S.L. (1993). Inside/outside: Teacher research and knowledge. New York: Teachers College Press.

Darling-Hammond, L. & McLaughlin, M.W. (1995, April). Policies that support professional development in an era of reform. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(8), 597-604.

Dunne, F., Nave, B., & Lewis, A. (2000). Critical friends groups: Teachers helping teachers to improve student learning. Phi Delta Kappa International Research Bulletin, 28, 9-12.


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