+ Page 8 + --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ####### ######## ######## ########### ### ### ## ### ## # ### # Interpersonal Computing and ### ### ## ### ## ### Technology: ### ### ## ### ### An Electronic Journal for ### ######## ### ### the 21st Century ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ## ### ISSN: 1064-4326 ### ### ### ## ### January 1996 ####### ### ######## ### Volume 4, Number 1, pp. 8- 19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Published by the Department of Education University of Maryland Baltimore County Additional support provided Georgetown University This article is archived as CANNON IPCTV4N1 on LISTSERV@LISTSERV.GEORGETOWN.EDU ------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE INFUSION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND WORD PROCESSING EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRIMARY PRESERVICE TEACHERS' SCIENCE TEACHING METHODS COURSE: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT John R. Cannon, Ph.D University of Nevada, Reno The Problem Objects such as calculators and computers that may have been considered technologically 'far fetched' a few years ago are now often considered as contemporary standards in the science classroom. These standards, in turn, rapidly become out dated resulting in new norms, by that advancing the cycle of technology. One example worth noting is the development of what many people take for granted as nothing extraordinary -- hand calculators. In less than 50 years, a calculator, which previously filled an entire room, has evolved into a device that can easily be held in the palm of one's hand or are now inexpensively available within a wristwatch. Pocket watches, which not more than a century ago were the most valuable of items handed down from generation to generation, have emerged as a timepiece that is far more accurate than any of its predecessors and worn on one's wrist. Both items, the wristwatch and the calculator, now can be easily purchased at the check stand of many supermarkets. All of this technology for a + Page 9 + price that allows consumers the convenience of disposing of the device and replacing it with a new one as needed or required. The calculator and wristwatch are two prime examples of the technological explosion' that has taken place across the globe. Computer technologies are also changing at an almost instantaneous rate. The increasingly easy access to the Internet computer network and the World Wide Web allows one the opportunity to experience and interact firsthand with the technological eruptions. The impact of these explosions' can be felt in many facets of society, but none more importantly than the force is blitzing through many of the public school reform efforts currently underway worldwide. Many educators have been calling for increased technology to be included in school reform efforts and teacher education programs (Becker & Sterling, 1987; Collins, 1990; Morocco, C.C., 1991; National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983; Pellegrino, Hickey, Health, Rewey, & Vye, 1992). One of the leaders in science education reform is the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In their recent publication The Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy (AAAS, 1993) specific changes are included in the chapter, "The Nature of Technology" (AAAS, 1993, Chapter 3). It outlines what technology capacities school-aged children should possess by the end of their primary schooling. The technology benchmarks encompass a variety of diverse skills such as: * Grade K-2 (Benchmark 1 of 2) Page 44; Tools are used to do things better or more easily and to do some things that could not otherwise be done at all. In technology, tools are used to observe, measure, and make things. * Grade 3-5 (Benchmark 2 of 4) Page 45; Technology enables scientists and others to observe things that are too small or too far away to be seen without them and to study the motion of objects that are moving very rapidly or are hardly moving at all. * Grade 3-5 (Benchmark 4 of 4) Page 45; Technology extends the ability of people to change the world: to cut, shape, or put together materials; to move things from one place to another; and to reach farther with their hands, voices, senses, and minds. The changes may be for survival needs such as food, shelter, and defense, for communication and transportation, or to gain knowledge and express ideas. * Grade 3-5 (Benchmark 3 of 6) Page 54; Transportation, communications, nutrition, sanitation, health care, entertainment, and other technologies give large numbers of people today the goods and services that once were luxuries enjoyed only by the wealthy. These benefits are not equally available to everyone. * Grade 3-5 (Benchmark 4 of 4) Page 198; Communication technologies make it possible to send and receive information more and more reliably, quickly, and cheaply over long distances. (AAAS, Chapter 3, 1993). + Page 10 + It is evident, from the _Benchmarks_ and other calls for innovative technological changes, that any discussion of primary school reform efforts must include conversation regarding how schools can best infuse technology into the existing school context. If not, primary schools may become prey to the words of creative thinking consultant Peter Lloyd who has commented on technological change as "think right or be left behind" (Miller, 1993). What is taking place Telecommunications and word processing technologies are appearing in more school classrooms across the nation. Chris Whittle, founder of Whittle Communications and _Channel One_, a daily video program that gives schools free telecommunications hardware for classrooms in exchange for a twelve minute daily news program, which includes three minutes of advertising, has embarked on yet another effort to reform public education -- _The Edison Project_. The main notion supporting the project is that technology can, and should, be used to transform how public schools function and teach children. Headed by former Yale U president Benno Schmidt, Edison Project Schools are extolled to become the most high-tech schools in America (McGriff, 1995; Brody, 1995; Gura, 1994; Doyle, 1992). Edison's promise is to improve test scores and the quality of education by equipping each student in an Edison school with a personal computer with e-mail access, at school and at home, and other high tech amenities such as CD Rom and laser disk players. Each teacher will have a laptop computer to use throughout the day and the school will offer a medley of courses, including dance, personal finance, Spanish, character development and ethics. The Edison curriculum flaunts five components: humanities and arts; mathematics and science; character and ethics; practical arts; and health and physical fitness (Open for Business: The Edison Project, 1995). While the virtues of the Edison Project appear almost to good to be true,' one point requires noting: no teacher training is included. Traditional classroom teachers are planned to be replaced with parent technology-facilitators whose job will be to help students with any hardware problems they may incur (McNichol, 1992). This hapless fact mirrors one of the ills characterized in the public schools: schools will raise the money for equipment but they won't hire support staff or train teachers. Unfortunately, as with many public school innovations, the appropriate pre- and inservice teacher training programs, which should accompany these changes, rarely exist or are inadequate. The innovation remains, but often is not applied. This absence of application is commonly traceable to a combination of impediments resulting from a lack of understanding about the capability upon and relevance to the public school classroom. + Page 11 + Along with the exciting gains created in technological fields, such as the ones promoted by Chris Whittle and _The Edison Project_, comes the sad fact that most of the public schools inherently lag far behind what many consider the 'industry standard.' The common litany of reasons rationalizing this gap between technological innovation, industry, and public education usually ends with the "lack of funds" sermon from the school district's pulpit. Regrettably, public school educators, too often, use this circumstance as an excuse for not using technology in the classroom rather than seizing the opportunity to assess what technology is available in the school setting and developing a plan of action for infusing it within the adopted curriculum. With charter schools such as _The Edison Project_ coming online with each passing school year, public schools must engage students in whatever technology is locally at hand and continue to forge ahead, working toward adding new educational technologies whenever possible. The lack of funds' scenario summarized above commonly is systematically validated by school administrators and teachers because they have never had an opportunity to examine how technology can be infused in a content area and used to work via the technology rather than merely using technology as a tool to complete a common task, such as typing a letter or adding a column of numbers. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to outline what steps I have taken to infuse two basic forms of educational technology in an elementary science teaching methods course. They are _telecommunications_ and _basic word processing_. These technologies are already in use in many public primary schools or gaining more acceptance in schools at a daily rate. Without such exposure, future teachers will not have the opportunity to experience educational technologies in practice. Telecommunications technology is defined as the ability to communicate with others via a personal computer, phone line, and a modem. Basic word processing is described as using a personal computer to create documents(i.e., messages, short papers, response papers, lesson plans) that in turn can be saved as an ASCII, or plain text, file to be later shared with other members of a class or with individuals worldwide via telecommunications. Rationale Technological innovations customarily need to be first imposed upon individuals before the value of the innovation can be easily recognized. Automobile seat belts, for example, were forced upon the U.S. population not by invitation, but by legislation. While many would argue that this imposition infringes on one's individual rights, others would contend that this interdiction has saved many needless deaths attributed to automobile accidents. Safety advocacy groups continually try to sell' the public on the invaluable benefits provided by an automobile seat beat through television commercials involving testimonials ranging from survivors of automobile accidents to bigger-than-life crash test dummies. All of this effort continues, though seat belts have been a required feature on automobiles for years. + Page 12 + The same analogy could be drawn from educational technology. For those who recognize its value within public education, teaching without such tools is inconceivable. Others may distinguish the use of educational technology as just another part of the curriculum required to be taught. Excitement and appreciation for technology is contagious and convincing. Ask anyone who has survived an automobile accident if they would ever consider not wearing a seat belt in a car again; the answer is obvious. Ask a science teacher who is creatively involved in using technology in their classroom if they could effectively teach without it and the answer is equally obvious. Action Research Plan Action research is becoming a respected and fast growing segment of educational and classroom-based research. Lewin (1946) coined the term action research' shortly after World War II. He described action research as a spiral of circles of research involving two fundamental processes: 1) describing what is happening in the field of action', and 2) following up with an action plan (Collins & Spiegel, 1995). Collins and Spiegel (1995) describe that: the movement from the field of action to the action plan requires discussion, negotiation, exploration of opportunities, assessment of possibilities, and examination of constraints. The action plan is followed by an action step which is continuously monitored. Learning, discussing, reflecting, understanding, rethinking, and replanning occur during the action and the monitoring. The final arc in the circle of research is an evaluation of the effect of the plan and action on the field of action. The evaluation in turn leads to a new action plan and the cycle of research begins anew. (p. 117). Rather than taking a reactive approach to educational technology in class (i.e., "if you ever get access to technology in the schools, do this . . . "), I wanted to promote a proactive approach by which students are _expected_ and _required_ to use telecommunications and word processing as an integral part of the course. This demeanor became the problem of my action research project: how might I best infuse basic educational technologies of telecommunications and word processing into my primary preservice science teachers' teaching methodology course? Plan of Action I--Word Processing Materials The next step was to make a plan of action. Many college professors create class packets to accompany course materials (i.e., textbooks, extra reading books, etc.). These packets might include assignments, work sheets, explanations of course requirements, and the course syllabus. Typically, the packets are purchased by the students and often discarded after + Page 13 + completion of the course. One habitual event each semester led me to rethink the construction of my class packets. The event was the mindless and time consuming task of printing the class packet on the computer printer merely to be collated and printed, yet again, by the university's printing center. My action research plan, therefore, was focused upon ridding myself, and my students, of the senseless practice of printing and purchasing' class packets for each semester and increasing the level of education technology usage in my course. As a result of my research plan, I no longer offer paper copies of the class packet. Instead, each student has access to an electronic version of the class packet on a floppy diskette available for checkout. It is the student's responsibility to use their word processing skills to locate the information required for the course. Plan of Action II--Telecommunications The second educational technology component of my course is using telecommunications. I wanted my students to experience the ease in which telecommunications technology allows for dialogue concerning questions one may have about effective science teaching. In keeping with my proactivity theme, I sought out mentors who are _practicing_ primary school teachers or professors of primary science teaching methods courses. Each student receives an e-mail account on the university mainframe computer. The major component of the telecommunications experience is to contact an electronic mentor', or telementor (Wighton, 1993), that I have arranged via the Internet. All of the telecommunication assignments are accompanied by help sheets outlining exactly what steps to follow to help the students get online. Each student contacts the telementor via e-mail throughout the semester. They make a brief introduction, and ask the mentor for comments about such things as safety concerns in the classroom, learning activities that they have used successfully in the past, where to find information for lesson planning, and about anything else related to teaching overall. The students report that they find value in discussing topics of interest with someone other than their professor about science teaching and the issues surrounding teaching contemporary, elementary science. In summary, the telecommunications component of my methods course requires students to take their first steps 'on to the Information Super Highway.' Evaluating the effect of the action Since action research is closely related to interpretive research, the tools of interpretive research must be employed. Collins and Spiegel (1995) note that, "a prime tool of interpretive research is triangulation. Triangulation requires that the situation in which the change is being made, is examined multiple times in multiple ways" (p. 119) + Page 14 + The data coding and analysis used in this study was a variation of Glaser and Strauss' (1967) _Constant Comparative Analysis Technique_. Each open ended student course evaluation question represented a guiding, or working hypothesis for data collection. A working hypothesis is a variety of hypotheses used in many interpretive research designs. It is unlike its experimental research counterpart in that a working hypothesis can be changed or reworded during the course of a research project (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). The working hypothesis of this research investigated whether students could be required to engage in technological experiences without reporting negative comments on course evaluation forms. The student course evaluations were chosen for analysis because of practicality in gathering interpretive data and the absolute anonymity the evaluations offer to the students while critiquing the course. Typically, nearly all students taking the course complete the course evaluations, therefore, the response rate is extremely high. The student course evaluations consisted of 12 Likert-scaled statements relating to the course followed by three open-ended questions. Only two out of three opened-ended questions were analyzed during this research for similar student response patterns pertaining to the technological experiences in the course. The open-ended questions and results of the analysis are: Open-ended response questions from student course evaluations (n=213) and number of students responding without adverse comments about the technological course requirements _______________________________________________________________ 1. What did you find most beneficial about the course? (n=204) 2. What would you change about the course? (n=211) _________________________________________________________________ A review of the university mandated student course evaluations (n=213) for my course, revealed that 204 out of 213 students (96%) did not report any negative comments about obtaining the course information, readings, and activities via the class diskette, a personal computer, and telecommunications. These results support the working hypothesis of this research: students can be required to engage in technological experiences without reporting negative comments on course evaluation forms. To triangulate the findings revealed in the course evaluation forms, unsolicited conversations with students were dated, summarized, coded, and analyzed. Out of 32 documented conversations, only 2 students disclosed having ill concerns involving about the technology experiences in the course. Students who claimed to be totally computer illiterate before taking the course reported, in both conversation and on the course evaluations, that the telecommunications assignments were fun and easy to follow. Many students go on to get personal e-mail accounts to use while finishing their degree. + Page 15 + Concluding Actions and Remarks One of the first principles that I learned about technology was technology should help one complete a task in less time with less effort.' This phrase, however, does not always hold true for this particular use of educational technology. In my taking action, I no longer offer a class packet for students. I do not spend valuable office hours recompiling the class packets before each semester for printing. Now, each student purchases a blank computer diskette and makes a personal copy of a master 'class diskette' to be used as a text or reference material during the semester. Any platform can be used, IBM compatible or Macintosh, and any diskette can be used; double- sided, single-sided, double density, or high density. It makes no difference as the student chooses what disk they need to work with whatever computer to which they have access. All files on the class diskette are saved as an ASCII, or plain text, file. ASCII files do not include any special codes for viewing or printing, and can be read and printed using virtually any word processor or text editor. Many text editors are also available as shareware for a moderate cost, such as QEDIT, available by down loading(sent to your home computer via a phone line and modem) from America Online (AOL), other electronic computer bulletin boards, or places where shareware software is sold. The class diskette includes the course syllabus, many course readings (gathered electronically via the Internet and Listservs such as the National Education Association's _NEA Online_ via AOL ), laboratory data sheets (to be printed and brought to class), and other activities used in class throughout the semester. I now also use an 'electronic textbook' that was included on the class diskette. The electronic text' (12 pages of text in total) is entitled State of the art: Transforming ideas for teaching and learning science by Mary Sivertsen (1993). I had previously considered ordering this booklet for my course. Unintentionally, I stumbled upon an electronic copy of the same booklet in the _NEA Online_ section of America Online (AOL). Since the report was produced using federal dollars, it is public domain information and can be used without copyright concerns. Many other science education documents can also be obtained electronically, especially with the expansion and refining of the World Wide Web and the use of home pages. The telecommunications skills of the students to date have kept the distribution of the class information confined to a floppy disk. With each passing semester, however, more students are reporting they surf the Web', and as a result, I plan to offer the course information and materials directly online via the Nevada School Network's home page located at the University of Nevada, Reno. In addition, with the explosion of new World Wide Web home pages virtually everyday, new assignments are planned to involve the students in locating and downloading required course information directly from the source's home page. + Page 16 + The students are encouraged to copy the class diskette files onto their home PC's hard drives or make a personal floppy disk copy. They have the choice of screen reading' the assigned class diskette files on their home PC, or in the university computer lab. The students may also choose to print out the readings in either location. Student laboratory fees assessed for the course go toward purchasing a few extra boxes of computer paper and printer ribbons for the university computer lab. My intention is not to exclude anyone from the technology experience, but rather to make the technology equally available to all students - those with home PC's and those without. No hard (paper) copies of class assignments are handed into me. The students hand in their class diskette with the assignment saved as an ASCII, or plain text, file. I, then, load it into my word processor, evaluate it, make comments right in the document, save it back to disk, and return it to the student. The original document is left untouched as I save a backup copy of the file with my comments to their disk. Using word processing macros (preprogramed computer commands) makes the students' assignments evaluation process much faster. Rather than tying in "nice job on this section" each time, one simply tells the computer to insert the macro called 'nice' and the phrase is inserted in the document where one wishes. Macros can be written for any evaluative comment. By failing to use computer technology, my students could not complete a large part of the required course readings and activities. Consequently, by infusing educational technology within typical class requirements, the students have less of a choice of opting out of the technological experiences, albeit brief, as they might do so if the technological activities were offered to the students as part of an extra credit option for the course. On the other hand, handing in hard copies of assignments for evaluation would be faster and easier for both the teacher and student. Listening to and modeling after only one teacher, or mentor, would be uncomplicated. Having the students purchase textbooks and course packets for reading assignments would be simple. All of the reasons for teaching as I have in the past could be considered rational and appropriate, but then, the students would not experience technology as I want them to -- for performing real-life, real-world tasks and communications. The extra time I exert in this process is well worth what the students report to gain from the experience. Departures for further research The action research results of this study are offered only as _naturalistic generalizations_ (Stake & Trumbull, 1982). Naturalistic generalizations are not inferentially, experimentally, or statistically based, but instead are offered as a alternative methods of practice based upon one's success in using such practices. The limitations and + Page 17 + delimitations this action research study are obvious. Yet, students on many campuses could easily take part in similar educational technology experiences. The potential for expanding the use of the basic educational technologies of word processing and telecommunications is only bound by one's imagination. In particular, professors of other academic areas, such as literacy, mathematics, or social science, could also infuse basic educational technologies into their courses giving the students more of an opportunity to practice word processing and telecommunication skills. Perhaps, one may even find the point of diminishing returns by that the students would glean more negative feelings than positive ones about technology from the course experiences. References American Association for the Advancement of Science (1993). Benchmarks for scientific literary. New York: Oxford Press. Becker, H.J. & Sterling, C.W. (1987). Equity in school computer use: National data and neglected considerations. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 3 (3), 289-311. Brody Saks, J. (1995). Scrutinizing Edison: What's it like to sign a contract with the Edison project? The American School Board Journal, 182(2), 15-35. Collins, A. (1990). The role of computer technology in restructuring schools, In K. Shingold & M.S. Tucker (Eds.), Restructuring for learning with technology. New York: Center for Technology in Education, Bank Street College of Education; and Rochester, NY: National Center on Education and the Economy. Collins, A., & Spiegel, S. A. (1995). So you want to do action research? In S. Spiegel, A. Collins, & J. Lappert (Eds) Action research: Perspectives from teachers' classrooms (U.S. Department of Education contract number R168R20001). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Doyle, D. (1994). The reform agenda. Current, (348), 12-23. Gura, M. (1994). Response: The Edison project: Candles but no light bulbs. Educational Leadership: Journal of the Department of Supervision and Curriculum Development, National Educational Association, 52(3), 3-89. + Page 18 + Lewin, K. (1946). Action research and minority problems. Journal of Social Issues, 2, 34-46. McGriff, D. M. (1995). Lighting the way for systemic reform: The Edison project launches its version of a public-private partnership. The School Administrator, 52(7), 3-17. McNichol, T. (1992, September). Chris Whittle's big test. USA Today Weekend. pp. 4-6. Miller, H. G. (1993). Peter Lloyd on being a concept artist. CompuServe Magazine, 12,(5), 31. Morocco, C.C. (1991, April). Integrating technology into interdisciplinary curricula in the middle school: What do teachers need to know? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago. National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform. Washington, DC: Decision Resources Corporation. Open for business: The Edison project (1995, August) [5 paragraphs, lines 200-264]. Daily Report Card [On-line serial], 5(23). Available e- mail: rptcrd@gwuvm.gwu.edu. Pellegrino, J.W., Hickey, D. Health, A., Rewey, K., & Vye, N.J. (1992). Assessing the outcomes of an innovative instructional program: The 1990 1991 implementation of the "Adventures of Jasper Woodbury." Nashville, TN, Learning Technology Center, Vanderbilt University. Sivertsen, M. L. (1993, September). State of the art: Transforming ideas for teaching and learning science--A guide for elementary science education. Office of the Educational Research and Improvement, Washington, D.C. Stake, R., & Trumbull, D. J. (1982). Naturalistic generalizations. In M. V. Belok and N. Haggerson (Eds) Review Journal of Philosophy & Social Science. (pp. 3-12). Meerut, India: Anu Prakashan. + Page 19 + Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Wighton, D. J. (1993, May). Telementoring: An examination of the potential for an educational network. Education Technology Centre of B. C. Electronic manuscript available through NEA Online, America Online, or by e-mailing jcannon@unr.edu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Interpersonal Computing and Technology: An Electronic Journal for the 21st Century Copyright 1996 University of Maryland Baltimore County. Copyright of individual articles in this publication is retained by the individual authors. Copyright of the compilation as a whole is held by the University of Maryland Baltimore County. It is asked that any republication of this article state that the article was first published in IPCT-J. Contributions to IPCT-J can be submitted by electronic mail in APA style to: Susan Barnes, Editor IPCT-J SBBARNES@PIPLELINE.COM