Using Technology Resourcesto Engage in Lifelong Learning and Ongoing Professional Development

October, 2002

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Scott Noon, vice president of technology and learning initiatives for Classroom Connect, says that all professional development takes place at the boundaries of four comfort zones with technology. He describes the four levels of attainment as follows: the non-user who doesn't use computers at home, or in school; the technician who uses computers and the Internet at home, but not at school; the traditionalist who uses computers as replacements for traditional tools (e.g., books and blackboards); and the techno-constructivist who empowers students to use technology to develop their own deep understandings of a subject area.

Techno-constructivism should be the ultimate goal of educational technology use. There are several essential issues that come with this observation, and these need to be addressed in our quest for enhancing the educational experiences of all learners.

First, the focus on techno-constructivism takes us well beyond the issue of teachers' technological fluency. Any educator who is uncomfortable with technology today should be viewed in the same light we would have viewed educators of the 1960's who were uncomfortable with books. Technological literacy is not nearly enough anymore - fluency is the order of the day.

Still, there are many educators who have thus far either been reluctant to use technology, or have steadfastly resisted learning even the fundamentals of these powerful tools for information and communication. As someone who spends the bulk of his time doing "mind work," I use Internet-connected computers with the same comfort and expectations I have for books. It is not that one form of information access is replacing another; it's the case that multiple methods of exploring information are equally comfortable to me. Sometimes the Web is a better resource than print; sometimes it's not.

Comfort with modern technology is important for all educators for several reasons. First, it is a powerful tool for any educator researching a topic to be taught. Technology also provides a powerful means of networking with peers throughout the world. In a classroom setting, computer-based presentations (designed by teachers and students alike) bring a richness to a topic that is hard to find through handwritten comments on a white board. But even beyond the clear utility of computer technology as a tool for research, communication, and presentation, it is essential for all educators to understand that Internet-access is available from home for almost 80 percent of all teens in the United States, and about 25 percent of these teens have broadband. This information allows educators to give assignments that make use of this technology outside of school, but it is an advantage lost to educators who are uncomfortable with technology.

Educators understandably complain about the lack of time available for researching new teaching methods, or for finding help with lessons on various topics. The Internet is a splendid tool for taking advantage of time carved from busy schedules. But until teachers gain experience with these tools, technology can be seen as a time drain, and not without reason. Until educators develop comfort with the tools, they will spend hours clicking down blind pathways and getting frustrated in the process. This is true whenever we are learning something new. But it is important to realize that once we gain fluency with these tools to support our own learning, we will understand how students can use them in the same way. It is almost impossible to see the merit in student use of technology if we don't see it for ourselves.

The shift to techno-constructivism, moves a burden from the teacher to the learner. I've had educators come up after one of my presentations and say: "I don't have time to create the kinds of multi-media support for my presentations that you use on a regular basis." There are two responses to this observation. First, it is a lot easier for me to have a computer-based presentation than it is to give a lecture in front of a blank blackboard, working off handwritten notes. The computer displays text and images in far higher quality than I can create with my own hands. Second, once my presentation is finished, it is ready for me to modify and give again at a later date.

Time becomes less of an issue if educators embrace techno-constructivism. The reason for this is that the heavy lifting is done by the learners, not by the educator. In the constructivist classroom, the educator becomes less of a presenter, and more of a coach and evaluator of student work. Of course the ability to evaluate student-created presentations is aided by knowing how to create them yourself.

The greatest challenge is not technological, however, it is the challenge of moving educational practice from the teaching-as-telling model we experience as learners toward a more open-ended model that is based on the student's ability to ask (and answer) compelling questions about a topic. This shift (which moves us into the domain of project-based learning) has many advantages. One of the major benefits is, for example, history students not only learn about history, they learn how to be historians. It is this transformation that lies at the heart of a fundamental shift in education that is needed to prepare our students for life in a rapidly changing world. It is this kind of transformation that can help turn some young people from seat warmers to highly-engaged learners who eagerly look forward to school. It is this kind of transformation that can re-energize some educators who may have forgotten what drew them into this wonderful profession in the first place.

Compared with mastering technology, the pedagogical shifts implied by this transformation are much more difficult to obtain. The difficulty doe not dilute the importance of the shift, however.

Wherever you are in the spectrum of educational technology use, I hope you will see the value of moving into the constructivist domain. Not only will this help your students learn more effectively, it will also bring more joy into your interactions with students when they see you as both a teacher and a co-learner.

Copyright, © 2002, Thornburg Center. All Rights Reserved.