How Do You Teach Technology?

I was an educator for 15 years in a school system that invested millions in technology.  Day after day, I witnessed exactly the same uses of technology: drill and practice for state tests.

In my grades 3-6 gifted and talented classroom, I chose to utilize the power of technology for more.  Differentiating based on student's individual interests, I allowed my students to research independently to become resident experts on any topic of their interest and develop innovative ways to share their expertise.  My job as facilitator was to teach the students how to research on the Internet (finding reliable sources and correctly cite the sources) and to introduce them to innovative presentation technology such as documentary movie making and animation programs like MIT's Scratch.

The creative and informative work they produced with topics ranging from "The History of Dragons" to "The White Rose- Opposition to Hitler within Germany" could not have been possible without the freedom of student choice.   I certainly wouldn't have assigned the latter topic to a fifth grader, but she chose to assign it to herself. (To be honest, I had never heard of The White Rose Society before my student's presentation and learned much that day- a perfect example of the power of the Internet for education.)

My book, Teaching Technology Through Interest Projects, was written to share that power with other educators- public or private school teachers and home school parents.