Re: Welcome to the Collaborations List!

Stevan Kalmon (kalmon@bvsd.k12.co.us)
Wed, 19 Mar 1997 11:02:22 -0700 (MST) 

I teach half-time at a non-traditional high school in Boulder, and I work 
half-time with the Center for LifeLong Learning and Design (L3D, in the 
Department of Computer Science and Institute for Cognitive Development at 
the University of Colorado/Boulder), as a research consultant.  (Just 
writing the titles wears me out.)  I don't teach computers, except in the 
context of work my students and I do (e.g., magazine publishing, 
statistical compilation and analysis, Web research, and [with much more 
to come] Web publishing).  At L3D I'm supposed to provide the perspective 
of a practicing teacher-as-lifelong-learner.  My focus has been on 
promoting collaborative processes through which teachers can learn to use 
computer tech in authentic ways in their classes.  

My main concern has been that the investment cost for teachers learning 
new tech (not to mention using it in a meaningful way [much less 
"transform" their classrooms]) substantially outweighs the dividends 
yielded by the investment -- at least in general.  Sustainable 
collaborations, in my view, need to do more than provide more resources; 
more resources don't do any good if the people they're supposed to serve 
can't really use them.  Collaborations need to provide the time and 
context for teachers and other learners to master the resources.  

At my school we're trying a process we call Working Shops.  Our staff 
will work in teams, along with teachers from the CU School of Education 
and L3D staff, to design and implement curricula that uses computer and 
other tech in authentic ways.  While designing and implementing, we'll 
also be learning how to use the tech.  The Working Shop teams will meet 
regularly (generally once every two or three weeks) throughout the school 
year, during the working day.

Through this collaboration we intend not only to grow our learning but to 
transform the learning processes and environments in which we are 
engaged.  Modest goals...  

I'm not sure exactly how this responds to other comments posted.  But I'm 
thinking that it does so in an oblique way.  

			Stevan

				as in,
				Stevan Kalmon
				New Vista High School
				(303) 447-5401

	"Things are more like they are now than they ever were before." 	
			--Dwight D. Eisenhower