As you may or may not remember (if you were here), last spring Tom Hassan named me the Bates-Russell Professor. The deed of gift for this position stipulates that the Bates-Russel Professor will keep the faculty apprised of what he is doing. So, here goes…
For my entire 35-year teaching career, the first 15 years in public schools in Washington State, I have been interested in, and have promoted, the use of technology in teaching mathematics. Early on, this consisted of Apple II software programs like Green Globs (You can Google it. Little did I know that it is still being produced, most likely a software lifetime-award winner.), and various other function-graphing programs that gave teachers new strategies for presenting and students new strategies for understanding functions. Then, in the middle to late 80’s, the graphing calculator appeared on the scene. Gradually these technologies – computers, software, graphing calculators – have merged more and more so that they are almost indistinguishable…smart phones capable of running Wolfram Alpha (an incredibly powerful mathematics program), the iPod Touch, tablet PCs, and the iPad.
Obviously my interest is focused on mathematics teaching but I am a proponent of using technology in all academic areas. Thus, I have chosen to spend the five years of my term as the BRP seeking out school programs that show effective use of technology in all academic areas. Moreover, I will continue to travel to mathematics conferences to give talks on how computers and calculators can be used to teach and enhance the learning of mathematics and promoting our own, unique mathematics curriculum. To that end, this fall I spoke at the Northwest Mathematics Conference in Spokane, WA in October, and the California Mathematics Council Southern Division Meeting in Palm Springs, CA in November.
In terms of the general use of technology in education, in July I attended a conference on laptop programs (sometime referred to as 1:1 programs) at The Urban School in San Francisco. The Urban School has been a 1:1 school since 2002. This means that everyone, teachers, administrators, and students, have a laptop computer. Computers are available to all, whenever and wherever they are needed. In fact, the Urban School has 425 computers for 400 users – students use the MacBook and faculty use the MacBook Pro. The remaining 25 computers are spares; no computer labs are necessary. The guiding principles of The Urban School program are mission-based in an effort to ignite a passion for learning. They believe that a 1:1 program allows them to extend the learning process beyond the classroom. Ever had one of those Harkness discussions that you wish would never end just as the end of the period arrives? A 1:1 program would allow for that discussion to continue – The Urban School uses a program called First Class. The folks at The Urban School fully believe that computers add value to the learning process.
Various members of The Urban School’s academic departments spoke about how 1:1 computing has impacted their classrooms: a French teacher talked about digital tools in French and how they use United Nations Radio; a science teacher talked about visualizing the abstract; an English teacher talked about thinking and learning in a 1:1 environment, how the computer helps students with organization; a music teacher spoke about applications to music and drama; and a history teacher spoke about how computers allowed students to be productive contributors to a world-wide community. Students at the Urban School are participating in two different Oral History Projects, one in which they interview Holocaust survivors in the San Francisco area and another where they interview people who experienced the struggle for civil rights in the south in the 1950’s and 1960’s, via Skype.
I plan on visiting The Urban School again, this spring, when students are in class so that I can see the 1:1 program in action. If any of you have any specific things you would like me observe or ask about, please contact me. If you would like to read about The Urban School technology program and specifically the 1:1 program, click here.
As I mentioned earlier, I also plan on visiting other schools using technology in, hopefully, successful and meaningful ways. In addition to being interested in 1:1 computing, I am very interested in how tablet PCs and iPads (I personally have become addicted to this technology and think it will have a huge impact on education) are being used in teaching. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or suggestions.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for your interest,
Sincerely,
Tom Seidenberg
Mathematics Department
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