Reprinted from the August 1998 edition of T.H.E. Journal (Technology Horizons in Education)
http://thejournal.com/journal/98/current/news.htm#3

Merrie Fischer, Wendy Eisenhauer, Marilyn Schaarsmith and Beth Smith

In May 1996, all the fifth grade teachers in Long Island's Lynbrook District received computer literacy training as part of the district's push to incorporate technology into the elementary schools. At Marion Street, one of Lynbrook's three elementary schools, we wanted to integrate computers into the social studies and reading curricula as an additional resource tool, using software programs such as Encarta World Atlas, Encarta Encyclopedia and Compton's Encyclopedia as well as the Internet.

Our school has been extremely successful not only in incorporating technology into social studies and reading, but also into math, writing and just about every other subject we teach. We have been able to use the computers very effectively in our lesson plans, and every child has used the classroom computers to achieve technology skills never before attained in our fifth grade classes.

Examples of how we have integrated technology into the fifth grade curriculum are:

• Using Encarta World Atlas to research latitude and longitude and locate land masses, bodies of water, mountain ranges, climate zones and more;
• Learning new languages using the Travlang Web site;
• Using virtual tours to visit museums and historical sites (specifically for a field trip to Philadelphia);
• Using graphic programs, encyclopedias and the Internet to enhance documents by importing artwork;
• Using databases to compare and contrast information about provinces, states and countries, and converting this information to graphic representations;
• Presenting projects and reports using PowerPoint;
• Communicating with students locally and abroad using e-mail;
• Researching background information on authors related to our literature lessons; and
• Sharing computer skills with first grade buddies.
  
  

While we have enjoyed much success, it has not always been easy. Below are "lessons learned" as a result of implementing the Lynbrook technology plan.

Teachers must receive proper training to become computer literate. A critical element in integrating technology into the classroom is first mastering the technology yourself. District Superintendent William Metkiff selected Futurekids, a technology consulting firm headquartered in Los Angeles, to provide us with their 45-hour Teacher Technology Training program. Futurekids provided us with a structured approach to learning by using a computer literacy curriculum geared toward adult learners. The curriculum focused on 10 different areas of technology, including word processing, the Internet, spreadsheets, databases and programming. Additionally, once we mastered fundamental computer skills, they showed us how to integrate the technology into the curriculum we teach.

Manage your time well. If you have a formal staff development program like we did, you must set time aside each week to practice what you learn. If you don't practice and follow up on the lessons, training will be a waste. We practiced on our own as well as with our fifth graders, who provided plenty of help and feedback. You must balance training, practice and lesson planning to be an effective technology integrator.

Know what your goals are. Our job is to teach, and we didn't want to forsake the curriculum for the technology. When we began integrating the computer into lesson plans, we made a list of specific instructional goals and objectives we wanted to achieve to prepare children for real-life computer experiences. The goals were to help the fifth graders:

• Become proficient in word processing and desktop publishing technologies;
• Refine their research skills using interactive encyclopedias, atlases and the Internet;
• Learn to use software programs simultaneously;
• Produce multimedia presentations;
• Gain familiarity with cultures and customs of other peoples around the world through e-mail;
• Compare and contrast common ideas and interests;
• Develop a strong sense of cooperation and understanding in class, locally and abroad;
• Enhance their reading, writing and critical thinking skills; and
• Join worldwide research projects (in particular, a global survey initiated by one school on the TV viewing habits of elementary school children that involved spreadsheets, geography, etc.).
  
  

Model tasks for your students first. When providing technology skills training to students, first show them what you want them to do, then have them do it themselves. It helps to have a TV monitor hooked up to the main computer so everyone can see the lesson. At the end of a series of lessons, have the students tie everything together with a final research project that encompasses word processing, graphic design, spreadsheets, the Internet and more.

Make sure you have strong technical support. Your district must have at least one full-time technical support person because there will be problems with the equipment. Programs will crash, your printers will go down, or your Internet connection will fail and you will not know how to fix them. All fifth grade classrooms in the Lynbrook District are equipped with five PCs, three printers, CD-ROMs and Internet access. We are fortunate to have the director of computers, Bernie Buchweitz, at our disposal all day long. We can e-mail him a problem and he responds within a few hours. If it's something he can't help us with through e-mail, he usually shows up to fix the problem by day's end. At Marion Street, we are also fortunate to have two computer whiz kids who are almost as good as Bernie. They're usually our first line of defense.

Be sure you have the support of your school administration. The administration must be 100 percent behind the push to integrate technology into the classrooms. They need to listen to the needs and requests of teachers as they come up. Mr. Metkiff has been very responsive to us. He is the one who implemented the Futurekids staff development and set our technology plan in motion, and he was very anxious to see results. When we started our Futurekids training, we realized that we needed time outside of the classes to discuss what we were learning. We asked Mr. Metkiff if we could start a user group to provide us with an open forum in which to share ideas. He was very accommodating and allowed us to switch every week between the Futurekids classes and the user groups.

Teachers need to brainstorm and share ideas with each other. The Lynbrook District user groups are the ideal environment for this. Through them, we have been able to implement a communication system district-wide across all grade levels. If someone is planning a history lesson, he or she can ask the group if they know a good Web site or CD that will support the teaching. The education provided to children throughout the Lynbrook District has been improved immensely through everyone's sharing of ideas and resources.

Be flexible. Be willing to change your goals as you learn new technologies. And don't panic if an idea doesn't work. Technology is constantly evolving and you need to be able to evolve with it.

Know where to find resources to support your technology integration efforts. Books, CDs, magazines, classes, the Internet, colleagues &emdash; these are all excellent ways to learn about the best technology resources. Our district receives dozens of trial CDs and software packages every month from vendors who want us to use their products. Bernie is good at sorting through them and finding the best ones. Futurekids is an excellent resource for us because it is their business to know what works well in the classroom and what doesn't. They provide us with hardware and software recommendations as well as tips on how to integrate technology into our lessons. Also, we use the "Dummy" book series to answer questions or solve simple problems.

As teachers, we have helped revamp the way Lynbrook teaches the fifth grade curriculum. We are using the same curriculum Lynbrook has always used, but we now are using technology every day to teach it. We are constantly being challenged to come up with new ways to use the computers in the classrooms.
Technology has made teaching more exciting and it keeps us very involved with the students. And good teaching takes place when the teachers are involved. Technology and computers are engaging and motivating tools that have become an integral part of everyday life in Lynbrook District classrooms.

Merrie Fischer, Wendy Eisenhauer, Marilyn Schaarsmith and Beth Smith all teach fifth grade at Marion Street Elementary School in Long Island, New York.