July 2008 — Features
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High Schools : An Equation That Works
In a recent Department of Commerce report, education ranked 55th out of 55 industries in use of technology.
Wayne Hartschuh is project director of e-Learning Delaware in addition to being the executive director of the Delaware Center for Educational Technology. A former high school math teacher, he says that the online secondary math courses not only address content, but more importantly teach instructional strategies and the use of technology to deliver content.
"The Virtual Manipulatives course is an excellent example of combining pedagogy, content, and technology that culminates in a total instructional package for the teachers to take directly into their classrooms," Hartschuh says.
Shari Galgano, a course facilitator in the Secondary Math cluster and the technology resource teacher for the Caesar Rodney School District in Kent County, DE, says that the collaborative nature of the online professional development experience has benefited her own teaching.
"As a facilitator, I'm able to learn more about what is going on in the classrooms across the state," she says. "I learn from the teachers' discussions and sharing. I've also realized that districts across the state struggle with similar issues that we face in our district."
A Long Way to Go
The work done in Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, and Delaware offers great examples of how STEM education can be transformed in high schools through technology integration and accompanying professional development, but we have a long way to go before this is the norm in all school districts. In a recent Department of Commerce report, education ranked 55th out of 55 industries in use of technology. The education community needs to invest in technology and embrace its uses just as the business community has done in modernizing its practices over the past 20 years.
It can't be said enough: The use of technology in education will only be maximized when it is applied toward practical solutions such as individualizing instruction, engaging students, and providing access to rigorous and dynamic academic content. We cannot afford to miss the opportunity technology provides to do all those things.
Many kids, as was the case with me as a child, have not been shown what science, engineering, and math can mean for their futures. By engaging them in these areas, we can ultimately improve our students' STEM skills so that they are prepared for the educational and occupational demands of the 21st century.
Mary Ann Wolf is the executive director of SETDA.
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