Level 4b: Integration (Routine)

Is designing and managing student-based learning experiences using the available computers the most rewarding part of your workday?

Description:
Technology-based tools are integrated in a routine manner that provides rich context for students' understanding of the pertinent concepts, themes, and processes. At this level, teachers can readily design and implement learning experiences (e.g., units of instruction) that empower students to identify and solve authentic problems relating to an overall theme/concept using the available technology (e.g., multimedia applications, internet, databases, spreadsheets, word processing) with little or no outside assistance. Emphasis is again placed on student action and on issues resolution that require higher levels of student cognitive processing and in-depth examination of the content.

Classroom Observations:

• Based on the rise in student violence on campus, students prepared a multimedia presentation highlighting their recommended mediation strategies using data synthesized from school-wide surveys and from the internet.
• Students created a web site devoted to exploring solutions to the steady increase in solid wastes entering the local landfill.
• Students prepared a multimedia presentation highlighting the misconceptions and omissions in history textbooks concerning the contributions of their specific ethic group. Presentation was later burned onto a CD for submission to the various textbook publishers for consideration.
• Students investigated options for salvaging the local "fish ponds" as a way of preserving their native Hawaiian culture. Students prepared a community campaign including the creation of a web page to persuade the voters not to approve a local housing tract proposal that would jeopardize the integrity of these ancient fish ponds.

Teacher Comments:

• "Our student mediation unit was prompted by the recent rise in fights on campus. Many students expressed concern for their personal safety and the safety of others at school."
• "I first converted several digital images into a Power Point presentation to get my students thinking about the waste disposal issue and asking questions."
• "I presented students with an assignment to read different accounts of a historical event which later lead to a lively discussion on how history is presented in various textbooks."
• "We took the students on a field trip to a local fish pond to investigate the potential impact of the proposed housing development on the preservation of this ancient site."