Four reviews by Lena Rossi

#1.  "Connected Classrooms."  The Journal, Oct98, Vol. 26 Issue 3.

    This article discusses the new technology that allows teachers to connect their
computers to student's computers.  DDES Corp's classrooms -- Network Teaching Tools
can be used for all grade levels.  This new technology allows the teacher to connect to
the student's computer to view his/her screen without the student's knowledge,  to
control the student's computer, monitor the student's internet access, launch a program,
or any of many other exciting options.  This program will give the teacher greater
flexibility in allowing the students to use the computer - the teacher will be able to
privately monitor the student's computer use without disrupting the child's creativity or
hard work.
 

#2. Drumm, John E. and Frank  M. Groom.  "Teaching Information Skills to Disadvantaged
    Children."  Computers in Libraries, Apr99, vol. 19 issue 4.

    This article discusses the ever-growing importance of the Internet and how
disadvantaged children can be taught to use it.  Teachers can learn from the Muncie
Public Library's (Indiana) program for teaching the Internet and adapt it to fit his/her
classroom and student group.  This program is designed for use with children from first
to eighth grade and teaches children how to access informative sites.  The Library's
course was 6 weeks long with 2 sessions per week.  In the first week children learned
what was expected of them,  how the Internet is structured, and how the WWW works.
By week two students were learning about how to create web pages and what HTML is
and by week six students were actually creating their own web pages, scanning
materials, and writing reports from their research.
    The objectives of this program are to familiarize the student with the keyboard,
computer, and Internet; to teach the student how to use the Internet appropriately; and
to teach the students how to organize their research into a report.  It is suggested that
when teaching such a program to students that the sessions be short - since many
children have short attentions spans.

#3.   Finegan-Stoll, Colleen.  "Keypals for Young Children." Social Studies & The Young
        Learner, September/October 1998.

    This article discusses how penpals can again become a viable and exciting experience
for young students through the use of the internet.  In the past having pen pals in an
elementary classroom could be very difficult due to the time spent in mailing letters
and waiting for the response.  Now with the use of the internet students can send letters
to their pen pals and receive a response almost immediately.  This article gives
examples of many different forms classroom pen pals can take such as group letters,
individual letters, and joint classroom projects.  Pen pals could be fun for children who
want to discuss their hobbies or lifestyles and also educational as children learn about
geography, climate, and culture from each other.  This article also lists many web sites
that will be useful to the classroom teacher when trying to find national and/or
international "keypals" for his/her students.

#4.   "Let the kids be our teachers." NEA Today, Apr98, Vol. 16 Issue 8.

The point of this article is that computers and internet access are fast becoming a
necessity for teachers and students alike.  Unfortunately not all students have access to
these types of resources at home - and school resources are limited as well.  Beverly
Johnson, a pre-K teacher in Florida suggests setting up "cooperative technology groups"
at the school to benefit those students without personal access to computers.  These
groups mix together children with computer experience and those without.  Many
students are very adept at using the computers - and using them as tools to educate
other students can be very beneficial for students and teachers.  Students learn to work
together and to utilize the research tools at hand - encyclopedias, the internet, etc.  She
wants to remind teachers that their students can be a valuable teaching resource -
especially when it comes to computers and new pieces of software!
 

Four articles reviewed by Tina Hallback

ARTICLE: “WHAT DO CHILDREN LEARN FROM USING COMPUTERS IN AN INFORMAL,
COLLABORATIVE SETTING?”
AUTHOR: RICHARD E. MAYER, MIRIAM SCHUSTACK, AND WILLIAM E. BLANTON
SOURCE: EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLGY VOL. 39 NUM. 2  MARCH-APRIL 1999

 THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT A STUDY THAT WAS DONE TO DETERMINE THE “COGNITIVE
CONSEQUENCES” OF LEARNING HOW TO USE COMPUTERS AND EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
IN AN INFORMAL ENVIRONMENT.   BASICALLY, STUDENTS FROM LOW INCOME
FAMILIES HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN HOW TO USE COMPUTERS AFTER
SCHOOL.  RESEARCHERS WATCHED THE PROGRESS OF THESE STUDENTS AND FOUND
THAT MANY WERE COMPUTER LITERATE AND STAYED THAT WAY, EVEN THOUGH THEY
HAD NO WAY TO PRACTICE AT HOME.
 
 

ARTICLE: “INTERNET BASICS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS”
AUTHOR: JACQUIE OSBORNE
SOURCE:DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD OL.26, NO. 1  WINTER 1998

 THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT SHOWING EDUCATORS OF YOUNG CHILDREN THE BENEFITS
OF USING THE INTERNET.  THE ARTICLE INFORMS EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS OF
THREE MOST VALUABLE PIECES OF THE INTERNET: E-MAIL, LIST SERVERS, AND
THE WORLD WIDE WEB.  WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH THE INTERNET? AS AN ECE YOU
CAN COMMUNICATE WITH BUSY PARENTS, EXCHANGE IDEAS WITH OTHER EDUCATORS,
AND FIND RESOURCES FOR YOUR CLASSROOM, SOMETIMES EVEN THE FREE ONES.
 

ARTICLE: “NO HIDING TECHNOLOGY’S COST”
AUTHOR: DEL STOVER
SOURCE: THE EDUCATION DIGEST, VOL.64, NO.9  MAY 1999

 THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT THE INCREASING COSTS OF TECHNOLOGY IN SCHOOL
SYSTEMS.  MOST SCHOOLS WHEN SETTING UP THEIR BUDGETS DID NOT COUNT ON
THE COST OF EDUCATING TEACHERS AND UPGRADING EQUIPMENT.  ALSO, SCHOOLS
WHO ARE INREASING THE NUMBER OF COMPUTERS THAT THEY HAVE MUST CONSIDER
REWIRING THEIR BUILDINGS, ESPECIALLY THE OLDER ONES.  ONE EDUCATOR
STATES: “TECHNOLOGY CAN NOT BE AN ADD ON, IT MUST BE AN INTEGRAL PART OF
THE BUDGET”.
 

ARTICLE: “TECHNOLOGY EXPERTS STRESS NEED FOR TEACHER TRAINING”
AUTHOR: ANDREW TROTTER
SOURCE: EDUCATION WEEK, VOL. 18, NO. 36  May 19, 1999

 AS IMPORTANT AS TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM IS, TRAINING THE TEACHERS
WHO HAVE COMPUTERS IN THEIR CLASSROOMS IS JUST AS IMPORTANT.  THE
EXPERTS THE AUTHOR OF THIS ARTICLE TALKS ABOUT FEEL THAT THE GOVERNMENT
NEEDS TO PUT MORE FUNDING INTO THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS (FOR
COMPUTERS).  EVEN THE PRESENT PRESIDENT OF THE AACTE SAYS THAT TEACHER
EDUCATION PROGRAMS ARE ALREADY VERY FULL AND TO KEEP ADDING REQUIREMENTS
IS VERY DIFFICULT.  WEST VIRGINIA HAS A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM IN THEIR
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND IS TRYING TO USE THAT SAME SOLUTION IN THEIR
UPPER LEVELS.
 

Web Articles reviewed by Janet Franzo

     1."Education and the Internet" by Gareth Edwards   Suite 101 .com     Published in the
     Vancouver Sun on May 30, 1998.

     This article was very informative to me, a pre-beginner, in the computer age. The
     author informed me, though he might have saved his breath for, to my dismay, I had
     already discovered this fact, that there are literally thousands of websites online, most
     of which have some kind of educational merit. So where does a beginner like me start?
     Mr. Edwards was nice enough to point out a few that he had browsed and liked.
     THANK YOU, MR.EDWARDS!! After finding some of the sites, like TEACHNET
     and STUDYWEB, I feel a little more secure in my travels through the net.

     2. "An Investigation into How Students Learn to Create Web Pages" by Dr. Patricia
     Backer out of San Jose University. Published in the cssjournal.com

           This article reviews how students create web pages to be used in their
          own portfolios. Her approach was different than most studies because it
          focused on how the student created the page not final product. It was
          refreshing to read that at least one professor stuck to her guns and didn't
          get caught up in the "final product" syndrome.

     3."The State of the 'Net' in Secondary Classrooms: Rhetoric and Reality" by Drs.
     Lawrence Baines, R. Edward Deluzain and Yolanda Hegngi. Published in the
     cssjournal.com.

            This article was eyeopening to me. The stats declare "96% of teachers profess
             to using technology in the classroom, when only 4% actually have integrated technology
             in their instruction." The reason says the authors is technophobia (which I can well
             understand) and lack of technology in the classroom. Even though I am practically
             illiterate on computers, I thought their use in most schools was widespread!
             Very interesting article.

Grazing the Net: Raising a Generation of Free Range Students by: Janice McKenzie

Published in the "Phi Delta Kappan"-September, 1998

Reviewed by Janet Franzo

This article was a wakeup call for all present and new educators. Ms. McKenzie calls for new
learning programs  that teach students how to interpret information not just spit back info found on
the net, in the library, on T .V. or by reading one article. She asks us to heighten our expectations for
our students by asking open, "essential" questions not closed, "look it up in an encyclopedia" type
questions. She makes the comment that most students, nowadays, are "regurgitators" not thinkers. I
tend to agree with her. She gave an example of what was the "old" way to ask a question, "Where
would you like to live?" This type of question will send students scurrying to an encyclopedia, at
best. She would rephrase the question to "If your parent's were relocated, where would be the
optimal place for you and them?" Much more open and forces the child to think! Such an idea!!

Reviews developed by Sarah Henninger

O’Malley, Chris, “A New Spin,” Time, August 24 1998, pg. 60-61.
 This article explains that a new wave of technology is starting to appear.  If you have wanted to record a CD onto a CD, well your wish is granted.  This article explains the whats, whens, and hows of doing it.  It will also be available in computers allowing more than just music CD to be recorded.

Streisand, Betsy and Thomas Toch, “Many millions of kids, and too few teachers,” U.S. News & World Report, September 14, 1998, pg. 24+26.
 There is a shortage of teachers every where.  Many states are forced to hire people who are not certified in education.  For many states, are you need is a bachelor degree and/or some education classes to become a teacher.
 Many students who graduate college who have the requirements for teaching are not due to low pay and the failing scores on licensing exams.  Some will enter the field, but drop out before five years.  With a wave of retirement moving our way, the teaching field will be struggling to fill all teaching spots.

Caryl, Christian, “Big Brother covets all the E-mail,” U.S. News & World Report, September 14, 1998, pg. 46.
 In Russia, higher authorities are finding ways to tamper with almost anyone’s e-mail account.  Soon there will be no more privacy.  The State Security Service is planning an all-encompassing surveillance of Internet communications.

“Hot Jobs,” P.O.V., 2nd Annual College Career Guide, pg. 29.
There use to be an over abundance of teachers but now that is in reverse.  The workload is too much and the pay is lower than other jobs awaiting college graduates.  The school systems are franticly looking for new teachers to replace the ones that will soon retire.  This career is not looking too great right now.