In February 2003, I went to the Texas Computer Education Association conference in Austin, and I saw technology for teaching that I had only read about as science fiction. 

"Miss Pumphrey talked about multiplication. Ender doodled on his desk, drawing contour maps of mountainous islands and then telling his desk to display them in three dimensions from every angle....In the corner of his desk a word appeared and began marching around the perimeter of the desk. It was upside down and backward at first, but Ender knew what it said long before it reached the bottom of the desk and turned right side up.

Ender smiled. He was the one who had figured out how to send messages and make them march -- even as his secret enemy called him names, the method of delivery praised him....The bell rang. Everyone signed off their desks or hurriedly typed in reminders to themselves. Some were dumping lessons or data into their computers at home. A few gathered at the printers while something they wanted to show was printed out"  (Card  4).

However, this was no longer just science fiction.  Educational Testing Services  has a software system called Discourse which is amazingly versatile .  From March through May 2003, my English II and III students and I piloted Discourse for Hastings High School.  One of my students said, "Miss, it's like we are really learning in the 21st century!"

My students said.....

"We liked the computers because it was fun, and it was nice having our own computer right in front of us..."

"We get the chance to experience new advanced technology.  We can "surf" the "web" and have more resources to learn about what we need to learn about.

"The Chat feature makes English more fun :)"

"I liked the fact that I would tell things to the teacher without everyone in my business.  The teacher could also tell me stuff without everyone listening.  I felt more comfortable expressing myself." 

"I liked seeing the pictures and the web travel."

"It allows us to express what is in our heads without the annoyance of having to raise our hands and have the infamous "teacher hog" talking all the time.  Also, there was no misbehavior as most students were fascinated with the tiny machines."

"It makes me look smart by using it as if I'm all technical.  It is really good for the teacher because it's hard for us to be off-task."

"I liked sharing with a partner and having time to explore."

"Typing makes writing go fast, and Discourse  is very easy to use. I loved that the computers were so small and compact.  It's a new high-tech way of communicating and learning in a class."

"I like the Ipacs. They are small and just too cute!"

"It's a lot better than writing.  Typing is much faster.  I don't have to worry about using pen or paper or carrying a  binder or  a heavy book or keeping up with handouts."

"People answered questions who normally don't talk."

"We don't waste paper.  We pay more attention because it is fun, and you get to see everyone's answers without going around the room calling on everyone to hear what everyone thinks.  The teacher  can see if we are off-task or not, and she can "talk" with us without "calling us out" and embarrassing us in class."

"Typing seems to open up our creative minds."

"It shows some of the answers of other students who don't talk a lot in class."

"I learned so many things in one day."

"I liked not having to say what we wrote; instead, everyone could just read it on their computers." 

"The answers didn't take so long to get out of my head." 

Romanticism

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 Last update: 03/27/2008