1st Edition
Learning from Cyber-Savvy Students How Internet-Age Kids Impact Classroom Teaching
As the Internet has become a common household utility, more and more students are coming to school with Internet experience.How do students' and teachers' roles, and schools as institutions, change when these Internet-Age kids enter classrooms that are fully equipped with networked computers?This book offers a unique analysis of the issues and challenges teachers face as their classrooms become fully connected to the Internet.Anne Hird spent six months observing a class in a school with fully connected classrooms. She presents a vivid and insightful account–often reported through the students' own words--of how young teens use computers in and out of school; how they perceive the world shaped by the Internet; and how these factors shape their expectations for classroom learning.She observes and reflects on the paradox which confronts teachers in this environment. They are expected to guide students in learning with a cognitive tool that was not part of the teachers' experience as students, while students' familiarity with the Internet calls into question the authority of the teacher on which the traditional teacher-student relationship is based. She offers a strategy for professional development which recognizes and builds on this inevitable shift in the teacher-student relationship. This is an absorbing, thought-provoking and practical book for all educators--individual teachers and administrators alike–concerned about the integration of computer technology into elementary and secondary school classrooms.
I. INTRODUCTION: CHILDREN, ADULTS, AND THE THINKING MACHINE 2. NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR LEARNING: THE PROMISE OF THE INTERNET 3. PATTERNS OF RESPONSE TO INNOVATION: SCHOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY 4. ONLINE AND OFFLINE: IT'S ALL REAL 5.FUN, BUT NOT ALL GAMES: LIVING AND LEARNING ONLINE 6. INFORMATION AND MISINFORMATION: STUDENTS' ONLINE RESEARCH 7. MEETING THE REAL PERSON FIRST: STUDENTS' ONLINE RELATIONSHIPS 8. BUT IS IT SAFE? STUDENTS' ONLINE CONDUCT 9. THE INTERNET GENERATION IN SCHOOL: USING TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 10. CATCHING UP TO KIDS: WHAT SCHOOLS CAN DO APPENDIX A: CITYVIEW SCHOOL ACCEPTABLE INTERNET USE POLICY APPENDIX B: DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Biography
Anne Hird describes herself as living with one foot on the ground and one foot in cyberspace. She has worked with computer technology in schools and libraries since 1982. Her experience ranges from teaching in the Providence Public Schools to directing a $1.1 million grant across 27 elementary and middle schools. She holds degrees from Brown University, Simmons College, and the University of Rhode Island-Rhode Island College.
"For six months [the author] interviewed [eighth-grade] students and teachers regarding their Internet use at school and at home. The school was highly progressive in providing the most current technologies to its teachers and students. She was surprised to discover the students' feelings about their teachers knowledge of the Internet. The students did not believe their teachers were qualified to provide the knowledge and guidance they needed. Hird makes a compelling argument for serious changes in teachers professional development. She writes that until teachers become fluent online learners alongside their students, schools run the risk of becoming increasingly irrelevant to students growing up in the Internet age."
American School Board Journal
"...Hird's practical recommendations will help to alleviate the apprehension of many teachers and administrators. An extensive bibliography and an appendix articulating a thoughtful Internet use policy round out the text. Highly recommended."
Library Journal
"Impressive, scholarly, informative, ground breaking, thoughtful, and challenging. (This book) is very highly recommended reading regarding the real-world realities of integrating computer technology and the Internet into elementary and secondary school classrooms and curriculums."
Wisconsin Bookwatch
"For the first time in our history, cyber-savvy youth are an authority on an issue central to society: the Internet. Many teachers feel intimidated by this digitally astute Net-generation, instead of seizing the opportunity it affords to develop a profoundly more effective pedagogical model. This book crisply and engagingly explores how we can exploit rather than squander the Internet's extraordinary educational potential."
Don Tapscott, Chair,Digital 4Sight, formerly Alliance for Converging Technologies, and author of "Growing Up Digital"
"Describes in detail what happens when children, who already know about the Web and all its features, begin school in a Web-wired environment. The book offers helpful hints to teachers while at the same time alerting them to pitfalls they may encounter."
District Adminstration
"Anne Hird has done a beautiful job of learning about cyber-savvy students by being on the ground with them--and she's translated what she's learned into actionable ideas for teachers. This book will help teachers use what they already know about kids to make best use of the Internet in the service of education."
Brenda Laurel, interaction designer, researcher, and writer; and editor of "The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design"
