Technology+Curriculum

//** Bright School Technology Curriculum Ultimately, technology may transform educational content and motivate students toward life-long learning. **// ** //Valdez et al. (1999).// **

When we use technology with our students, we are enriching the learning environment that we provide as well as enabling our students to acquire life-long literacy skills. Specifically, we integrate technology to: (Fulton, 1998) as cited in Johnson & Cooley (2001).
 * //Help students generate, test, and explore hypotheses;//
 * //Make abstract concepts more understandable;//
 * //Encourage students to learn independently as well as work collaboratively;//
 * //And, enhance creativity, design skills, and the ability to present information well and in multiple formats.//

The Bright School's instructional technology program presents technology as a resource to access, reinforce, and extend content-area lessons; as students use computers within language arts, math, science, social studies, etc., they also develop valuable technological skills. These skills permit students to think, research and present in an enriched and more powerful way; one that is similar to what they will encounter in the real world.

Our Learning Expectations combine the //[|National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS)]// created by the //International Society for Technology in Education// (ISTE) and //[|Tennessee Recommended PreK-12 Instructional Technology Standards]//. Both sets of standards cite the need for students to demonstrate proficiency in the use of computers and applications, responsible use of technology, and the ability to use technology for research, problem solving, and communication.

In primary grades, we introduce some students to computers for their very first time. Other students may have used computers previously at home, in libraries, or in preschool classes. We strive not only to teach all students to comfortably use the computer itself but more importantly to use applications such as //KidPix// to express their thoughts and ideas. Especially in these early years, technology supplements and enhances, rather than replaces, hands-on activiites, play, and concrete experiences. Students learn to express themselves through words and pictures and use teacher-selected Web sites and software to reinforce and to learn new skills. Children often work with a partner to support one another's learning.  In grades 2 and 3, students start to use the computer independently to complete tasks. They begin to learn the home row keys on the keyboard and to word-process and illustrate thoughts, ideas, and short stories. They continue to use computers to reinforce content and practice skills. Students create simple multimedia presentations to convey understanding of curricula and start to do research by using teacher-selected Web sites.

Keyboarding is a milestone skill for fourth graders; developmentally, children are now ready to learn to keyboard with some fluency. Students learn to use a word processor through most steps of the writing process; when they do, they are more likely to revise as well as write better quality and lengthier products //(Goldberg, Russell and Cook, 2003).// Students also start to do more independent tasks such as creating a simple spreadsheet to chart and analyze data.

Fifth grade students are becoming knowledgeable consumers of electronic media, thinking critically about research sources. They continue using the Internet for research by employing more open-ended Web search engines such as //netTrekker// in addition to pre-approved sites such as //KidsClick// and //Librarians’ Index to the Internet//. They are also taught to create multimedia presentations to illustrate understanding of key concepts. In addition, students learn to use technology responsibly and ethically for downloading files and communicating safely online. They are also able to choose tools appropriate to the task – word processors for drafting papers, spreadsheets and databases to collect and analyze data, and multimedia tools to communicate a message.