SPUDMIK Students Producing and Using Digital

Media to Increase Knowledge Connecting Curriculum

and Technology

Just as the launch of the Russian satellite Sputnik moved the world in the space age, the Cabot Middle Schools SPUDMIK will

launch the world of education into the digital age.

Copyright © 2000, ISTE and its licensors. Freely reproducible and modifiable for nonprofit, educational use. E-mail permissions@iste.org for other uses.

Ready or Not . . .The World is Different

• Kids are different …• Learning is different…...information, tools and work are different...

And Teaching must be

Different, too!

Our Educational System Must Produce Technology-Capable Kids

To live, learn, and work successfully in an increasingly complex and information-rich society, students must beable to use technologyeffectively.

Present Reality

Today’s students think and process information fundamentally different from their predecessors. They are immersed in constant media, whether it be video games, online videos, instant messaging, web browsing, TV, or iPods; yet they are taught using the same methods and materials their parents and grandparents were exposed to. Digital Natives are accustomed to receiving information really fast. They like to parallel process and multi-task. They prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite. They prefer random access (like hypertext). They function best when networked. They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards. They prefer games to “serious” work.

VisionCMSN/CMSS learners will have equitable access to learning environments that infuse technology into the teaching and learning process, ultimately producing life-long learners who will succeed socially and economically in a society increasingly dependent on technology and information.

Mission•ensure technology rich learning environments•empower faculty to use technology as a tool to enhance learning•equip learners to be technology literate•collaborate with community technology providers•endow school personnel with access to tools, data, and information needed to make decisions, educate, and to learn

Proposal: Cabot Middle Schools will launch a new approach to using technology, SPUDMIK, which will take students from being consumers of knowledge to producers of knowledge. How is this possible? Digital Learning Labs! Each week students will attend a fifty minute technology class where they will learn programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and Movie Maker. Students will also develop important technological skills such as typing, videography, importing, exporting, uploading, and pod casting. Students will then take the technological knowledge and skills they have learned back to the classroom to help enhance their understanding of classroom content. Cabot Middle Schools will work in collaboration with the district technology department in utilizing existing equipment. Grants will be submitted to various funding sources to secure additional funds. When funding is available each student will be provided a flash drive to be used to enhance their learning by creating digital products in each class and present it to a real audience…the world on the web.

• Digital Natives are used to receiving information really fast. They like to parallel process and multi-task. They prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite. They prefer random access (like hypertext). They function best when networked. They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards. They prefer games to “serious” work. (Does any of this sound familiar?)

• “Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach” (Marc Prensky, 2001).

* So unless we want to just forget about educating Digital Natives until they grow up and do it themselves, we had better confront this issue. And in so doing we need to reconsider both our methodology and our content.

Digital Natives Digital Immigrants ©2001 Marc Prensky

"Knowing content" is not sufficient in itself -- rather, students must apply knowledge to

• construct new understandings• solve problems•  make decisions• develop products and• communicate

Technology can facilitate this type of learning.

Essential Conditions for Successful Technology Use

There are fundamental requirements that must be met for technology to be used effectively.

•Visionary planning with support and proactive leadership from the education system•Educators skilled in facilitating the use of technology for teaching, learning, management, communications, and productivity

Essential Conditions for Successful Technology Use

There are fundamental requirements that must be met for technology to be used effectively.

• Assessment of effectiveness of technology for learning• Access to contemporary technologies, software, andtelecommunicationsnetworks

Essential Conditions for Successful Technology Use

There are fundamental requirements that must be met for technology to be used effectively.

• Technical assistance/mentors for using and maintaining technology resources (Launch Team)

Within an effective educational setting, technology can enable students to become:

• Capable information technology users• Information seekers, analyzers, and evaluators• Problem solvers and decision makers• Creative and effective users of productivity tools• Communicators, collaborators, publishers,

and producers• Informed, responsible, and

contributing citizens

Staff Development

Topic Target Audience Presenters

Tech 101 All Staff

WebQuest Content Area Staff

Navigating the Internet-Favorites

& more

Content Area Staff

iMac, iPods-Now what?

All Staff

Tech Recalibration –How can we help?

Staff sets the agenda as needed