Computers in the Classroom: How Teachers and Students Are Using Technology to Transform Learning [Hardcover]

Andrea R. Gooden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0787902624 | ISBN-13: 978-0787902629 | Edition: 1

A Jossey-Bass and Apple Publication

Six remarkable stories about the introduction of computers to the classroom and the profound effect it had on students' lives. Informative and entertaining, this book will expand your vision of how technology can be used to enhance classroom.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Six success stories of computer-based curricula, funded in recent years by Apple Computer, Inc., are the focus of this lively, inspiring book for educators and parents. All projects involved minority students in economically deprived areas of the United States, and most were interdisciplinary projects taught by teams of teachers: for example, a greenhouse unit in a Philadelphia high school, a current events newsletter at a Newark, New Jersey, parochial school, and a folklife study at a rural Louisiana elementary school. The text is presented in magazine format and peppered with photographs of smiling students and teachers. Appendixes list written and online sources of information, and a useful glossary of computer terms is included. Educational reformer Herbert Kohl wrote the rather dry introduction. Proceeds from the book's sale will be given to ISTE, a nonprofit educator group. Large public libraries and school districts exploring new technologies will want to purchase.?Joyce W. Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The program manager for Apple Computer's Education Grants program zeroes in on six grant-winning schools in underfunded and underserved communities to see how computers are changing the face of education. Each project described is different: in one, tenth-grade boys in an inner-city school use the computer to investigate contemporary urban issues and publish a magazine that is sold in their community; in another, Louisiana elementary students collect and write stories that reflect the multicultural life of their community to enter in a CD-ROM encyclopedia for local residents. Photographs, comments from teachers and students, and original student writings enrich the accounts. Although there aren't enough basics to use the descriptions as actual models, there's plenty to convince teachers and administrators to take the computers out of the computer labs and put them in the classrooms. Stephanie Zvirin

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (October 7, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787902624
• ISBN-13: 978-0787902629
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,002,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational..., October 23, 2000

By 

M. Doke (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Computers in the Classroom: How Teachers and Students Are Using Technology to Transform Learning (Hardcover)

"Computers in the Classroom: How Teachers and Students Are Using Technology to Transform Learning" is written by Andrea R. Gooden, the former program manager for the Education Grants program at Apple Computers, Inc. Having known that, I expected this book to be informative and of course, filled with success stories. This book highlights six schools in impoverished communities, all whom received money from the Apple Computer's Educational Grants program. The stories include high schools in New York, Pennsylvania, California, and South Dakota. Elementary schools covered in this book represent Louisiana and New York. Each story discusses the ways in which technology was used to enhance, and sometimes enable education. Students used computers to experience education rather then simply learn. Technology was the key that unlocked the door to success for these students. This book included actual work from students and teacher comments. Although this book does not fully describe the programs used at these schools, it does provide information and resources. This book is not a teacher's lesson guide; it is a teacher's inspiration.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Ideas for Teachers, July 24, 2000

By 

Sarah Roth - See all my reviews

This review is from: Computers in the Classroom: How Teachers and Students Are Using Technology to Transform Learning (Hardcover)

In a time when integrating technology into our classrooms is not only desirable, but also necessary, useful resources are like gold. "Computers in the Classroom : How Teachers and Students Are Using..." is 10 carat. As the title indicates, the authors have compiled an assortment of examples of how teachers and students are using technology as a tool for learning and impacting their communities. For example, one section describes a project that was implemented in an inner-city school by three different departments. A required interdisciplinary course called "Newark Studies" involves students in producing and publishing a magazine about their community, with the help of technology donated by Apple Education Grant funds. Like this example, the book is filled with stories of children who are learning to use technology to accomplish goals, rather than simply playing games or drilling skills. The authors didn't really give specific instructions on how to implement programs, but provided a valuable resource for those in search of ideas. 1 3/4 thumbs up!

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Community and Technology working together, February 29, 2000

By 

Jeremiah Frink (NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Computers in the Classroom: How Teachers and Students Are Using Technology to Transform Learning (Hardcover)

Advocates for computers have been proclaiming for years the ways that technology can reshape not only the way teachers teach but also the way students learn. This book looks at 6 different winners of grants from Apple computers. How did these schools use the computers to change their learning cultures?

As you read the diverse situations, you will start to see some commonalities. The first piece that is similar between the different books is that the teachers who initiate the change all desire to see an improvement in the students' lives. This may seem simple, but without a shadow of a doubt, this is what makes the projects actually work. The next commonality is that all the projects involve connections with the community. Many people try to make learning relate to student's lives, but this book recognizes and lauds when a school connects student learning, the community and the students. The final commonality I am going to mention is that of the way the technology was used. The technology is seen as a catalyst for changing the very way the material is presented. The teachers in this book desire to reshape the lecture culture in their schools. They see that the technology can help them to make that change happen. Thus, the students use the technology as an integral part of what they are doing, without the technology becoming the focus. The technology is a tool, but more than that is a means by which the students can learn in ways that they could never learn before.

I find it fascinating that the motivation of the students and change in the culture was not due to the technology. The technology allowed the students and teachers to reach into their local community in ways that they were unable to do before. Actually, its not that they were unable to do it, its just that the computers made it a smoother and more logical connection. The primary lesson that I learned from this book was not that computers need to be in the classroom. It was that the classroom needs to have the tools necessary to connect with the larger community in which the students live. They need to see themselves a valuable and contributing part of this inclusive community.

In my view, our larger culture encourages us to separate ourselves from one another. We need to make sure that whether it is schools, organizations, businesses or individuals, there is always something tying us to the area in which we live.