Page 15 - Lakeland Catholic Technology Plan

TEACHING
EXCELLENCE
“A CATHOLIC COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS OPENING HEARTS MINDS AND DOORS....”
APPLE’S CHALLENGED BASED LEARNING
A unique feature of challenge-based learning is that problems are tied to an idea of global importance (war, say, or the sustainability of water). Students are able to research the area of the challenge in terms of events taking place in the world around them, strengthen- ing the connection between what they learn in school and what they perceive outside it. They then work in teams of co-learners, fur- ther increasing their interest in the process and giving them valuable experience in team dynamics and collaborative work. Teachers act as coaches to the student-centered com- munities of practice, addressing individual questions and concerns and stepping in to help the students retain their focus if the prob lem seems too large. Because challenge- based learning takes its ideas from real-world issues that students then must translate into solutions of local applicability, a very wide range of curricular areas can be addressed. When integrated as a regular part of the cur- riculum, challenge-based learning practices naturally lead to discovery of relevant subject matter in many areas. Because problems do not need to be invented — the challenges are real — students connect what they are learn- ing with their own experiences.
- Research Report from New Media Con- sortium
GOAL ONE
STUDENT LEARNING
Student Learning
All students will have access to information and communication technology tools, at a minimum District standard, to provide tech- nology opportunities to meet Alberta Learning Prescribed Learning Outcomes and to enhance and improve student learning.
Introduction
Information technologies have become an important aspect of mod- ern life. As a result, these technologies need to be integrated into appropriate subject areas and used as tools to enhance and im- prove the education of each student. These new technologies: com- puters, computer software and electronic communications, will con- tribute to the education of each student along with the existing “tra- ditional” information technologies such as: print, video, television and emerging information technologies such as: virtual field trips, simulation software and groupware collaboration tools.
The skills needed by students to use the new technologies must be integrated into existing courses and not taught as a separate sub- ject. The type of skills required include the use of productivity, graphic, multimedia and publishing tools; telecommunication tools; research, information gathering and presentation tools and simula- tion tools.
According to the U.S. Department of Education in 1996,
“To participate and make informed decisions in today’s world, a global citizen requires technological and information literacy skills that include the ability to gather, process and manipulate data. These skills are now as essential as traditional numerary and liter- acy.”
To make technology a viable tool for learning, all students, includ- ing students with disabilities, must have easy and convenient ac- cess to computer, computer software and electronic communica- tion technologies. While computer labs can make effective use of equipment and be very valuable in the teaching of specific skills, computer labs should not be the only access to information tech- nologies for students. A variety of spaces and groupings; such as the library, classrooms and other learning areas; should be struc- tured so that information technology becomes a natural and inte- grated component of the learning process for all students.
Benchmarks, Practices, Targets and Standards
In this regard, Alberta Learning has mandated the standard for stu- dent information and communication technology outcomes. The implementation of the Alberta Learning Information and Communi- cation Technology Kindergarten to Grade 12, June 1998 (an interim Program of Studies) is scheduled for September 2000. To assist in the implementation of student Information and Communication Technology program outcomes, Alberta Learning has developed a number of resource publications, including:
Alberta Learning, Curriculum Standards Branch. September, 1998. Alberta Learning Illustrative Examples To Accompany Information and Communication
Technology, Grade 1 to Grade 6 (Interim Program of Studies).
Alberta Learning, Curriculum Standards Branch. September, 1998. Alberta Learning Illustrative Examples To Accompany Information and Communication Technology, Grade 7 to Grade 9 (Interim Pro- gram of Studies).
Alberta Learning, Curriculum Standards Branch. September, 1998. Alberta Learning Illustrative Examples To Accompany Information and Communication Technology, Grade 10 to Grade 12 (Interim Pro- gram of Studies).
Alberta Learning. Curriculum Standards Branch. January 1999, Learning Technology in Alberta’s Schools: Information For Parents.
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