August 2005 — Exclusive
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A Second Look at the Nature of Technology in the Classroom
We met in the high school's recently opened technology wing-an eight-classroom complex with the latest in communications infrastructure. It features fiber and wireless networks, and equipment such as Apple Power Mac G5s in the school's graphics lab. Conroy cares for the 2,100 computers in the 4,000-student district.
Longstreet, who has a master's in instructional technology, will succeed Conroy as district technology coordinator when he retires at the end of this year. 'The transition will be easy,' Conroy tells me, after taking chairs in Longstreet's small office adjoining a technology classroom. 'Even though I am technically in charge of hardware and Longstreet handles curriculum, in fact, we both focus heavily on instruction. And we work closely with the district's curriculum director, who supports technology solutions to curriculum problems.'
Longstreet joins in, describing how the curriculum director asked them to see how technology could address the discrepancies in math scores among the elementary schools. 'We examined what the schools were using for math instruction. It was a very teacher-centered system,' Longstreet says. 'We wanted a system that would support the district's standards-based instructional program, one that would offer regular assessments and provide tools for targeted remediation and enrichment. We found it, almost by accident, but it was a happy accident.'
She g'es on to explain that the system, developed over 25 years at a major southern university, follows the principles of curriculum-based measurement. At Winterville, each student is tested weekly for 15 minutes on the skills and understanding of the school's standards-based math curriculum. The tests are taken in the school lab and the results are delivered to teachers either the same day or the next day.
After analyzing results, teachers assign students targeted remediation or enrichment activities that the system delivers, then scores and reports. This is usually done on classroom computers or on a computer from the school's wireless laptop cart.
'Teachers aren't intimidated,' Conroy tells me. 'In fact, we have teachers asking how they can drill down behind the first level of data to learn more about how a student performed. The data's there, it's easy to get to, and teachers go after it.'
None of this is magic. It is the result of planning, financial investment, and hard work. Conroy and Longstreet did the planning with support from the superintendent, the curriculum director, and technology facilitators at each school.
Conroy and Longstreet did the initial hard work. They spent two long days with the publisher learning about the program. 'We wanted to deliver the training ourselves,' Longstreet tells me. 'We wanted to do it the Winterville way. We know our teachers; they know us. We had to build trust, and the training had to be personal-geared to the needs and personality of the district.'
Conroy and Longstreet go on to explain that the initial training took place over two days. The first day was a 'flyby'-an easy introduction to the philosophy and features of the program. This got teachers interested.
'We had to establish a reason to learn it and implement it,' Longstreet says. 'Teachers are skeptical. There are no busier people than teachers, and demands on them have grown heavier with proficiency testing. If a program has no value for teachers, they won't use it. They'll resent it; technology has to actually help in the classroom.'
