Teacher as Collaborator:
Using the Power of Technology to Improve Teaching

Roger B. Blumberg
Scholarly Technology Group
Brown University

Prepared for the 1997 Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference
Nashua, New Hampshire -- December 4, 1997
http://www.stg.brown.edu/pub/slides/roger/McAuliffe.html

• What Collaboration Is
• How Networks Facilitate Collaboration in Education
• Does it Work: How Teachers can Evaluate Their Use of Technology

What Collaboration Is

Let's distinguish some basic forms of collaboration:

Cooperation

Contemporary high-energy physics papers are often interesting examples of this "weak" form of collaboration. There is a division of labor, some sort of agreement about questions to be answered and/or tasks to be carried out, and a willingness to behave as in a contractual relationship.

Teamwork

Sometimes described as cooperation with a common goal, we think of teamwork as involving regular and sustained communication between the "players" in addition to the qualities of cooperation. The Dalton School's Archeotype project shows how classroom teamwork can be motivated naturally, but it is important to remember that teamwork is difficult in an environment of individual rewards.

Wholes greater than the sum of their parts

It is interesting that as we move into the realm of the most creative collaborations, or those ideal but ultimately uncommon instances of collaboration, we increasingly rely on aphorism and metaphor. We also notice the need for sustained interaction, reflection and dialogue in "higher" or "deeper" forms of collaboration.

"We Always Solo and We Never Solo"

This quotation, by the musician Joe Zawinul (playfully describing the approach of the jazz group Weather Report), reminds us that the combination of individual and collective excellence is a critical feature of the most profound forms of collaboration.

How Networks Facilitate (Deep) Collaboration in Education

Distributed curriculum

The Web, as a system of distributed hypermedia, makes possible collaborative curricula as well as collaborative (hyper)texts, and these can themselves include advanced tools, interactive presentations and primary texts.

Project-based learning

While projects do not require networked technologies, the connections to authentic data and authentic tasks, as well as authentic community, make for project-based learning that spontaneously promotes autonomy, motivation and of course collaboration.

Building the profession

Even when there are no computers in the classroom, technology allows teachers to communicate as professionals, and have local access to educational materials as never before. These networks of colleagues can help teachers solve problems of course, but they can also stimulate professional development and innovation.

Building the culture

While the idea of linking schools with communities is an old one, the ease of network publishing has demonstrated the tremendous power of community collaborations to create materials of great cultural value.

Does it Work?: How Teachers Can Evaluate Their Use of Technology

Recent reports on the "impact" of technology in K-12, whatever their conclusions, may suffer from a species of disengagement characteristic of social sciences with natural science envy. They ignore, for example:

1. Historical and persuasive findings that best practices are teacher-created and teacher-inspired, and not created by "top-down" or clever replication methods.
2. Statistical performance indicators do not allow teachers to infer best practices in any detail (because schools are so different one from another).
3. Statistical performance indicators are arbitrary in the same way an "average" can refer to something of no particular interest.

Can we figure out whether the technology is having an impact? Here are some preliminary questions for teachers to ask themselves after teaching with technology:

Curriculum

1. Has the technology allowed you to introduce more authentic or advanced material in your course?

2. Has the technology changed the curriculum by expanding the boundaries of the content or narratives available to students?

3. Has the technology caused you to reorganize your course material?

The Teaching/Learning Space

1. Has the technology improved student performance?

2. Has the technology improved your ability to diagnose your students' difficulties and problems?

3. Has the technology expanded the range of learning styles that can flourish in your classroom?

Professional Life

1. Has the technology made you feel more a part of the profession of teachers in your content area or area of expertise?

2. Has the technology expanded the range of materials you draw on in your classroom?

3. Has the technology made you more productive as a teacher or a writer?

In order to take full advantage of the sites referred to in this talk, you'll need the following (free) Web plug-ins:

• The Real Audio Player 3.0 or later (from Progressive Networks).
• Live Math (from MathView Online)
• The Hyperstudio Plug-in (from www.hyperstudio.com).

© 1997 Roger Blumberg and the Scholarly Technology Group, Brown University
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