Planning When teachers request my help, I meet with them to discuss their class project and how technology can best support deeper learning. I may suggest different software tools, point to technology that they had not considered, and in some cases suggest that technology might not be the right tool for their particular project. I suggest this especially if the technology integration is too ambitious for a grade level or the teacher's skills, or if the technology takes away from a real-life experience. Viewing animals on Web sites is not the same as visiting a farm, a zoo, or a humane society. However, the teacher makes the decision.
Failure is also part of the learning.
Sometimes teachers really don't know what they want to do, only that they want to become more involved in using technology and need some advice on what might work for their students. I like to move students to the lab where they can work in pairs or individually for the first part of the computer lesson. The labs also have a computer projection system and, because all the school computers are connected to the LAN, teachers and students can save work to the server and retrieve it later in their classrooms. Each classroom has from two to six networked computers that can support the students' continuation of the lab introduction. After the teacher introduces the unit or project, I serve as the primary presenter on the technology tools being used for this first session together.