This summer, a half-dozen ACSA leaders participated in a unique learning experience at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.
The annual ACSA/PARC internship was held July 16-20, offering participants an insider’s look into the classrooms of the future. Interns interacted with researchers and participated in discussions and activities focusing on educational technology, technology trends and innovation cultures. They also shared their own expertise to inspire innovation.
The following is a list of the 2007 PARC interns and a summary of their experiences:
Ernesto Centeno, instructional technology specialist
Norwalk-La Mirada USD
Centeno said the most impressive element of PARC was how well pure research and application was blended.
“They have institutionalized sharing and collaboration in their culture,” he said. “This allows researchers in different disciplines the luxury of being extremely focused, yet the scheduled sharing meetings allow all in PARC to benefit.”
Centeno said he believes knowledge bases in all areas are growing rapidly, and to keep up, continuous learning must be the norm.
“We need to truly be training ‘lifelong learners’ by creating learning environments that rely more heavily on process and project based learning, than in mastery of knowledge itself,” he said.
One experience that was especially poignant for Centeno was a statement made by a member of the PARC team: “Innovation occurs at the edges of disciplines.”
“I am reading more broadly and seeing this in action,” he said. “An example is how Epson, the experts at making inkjet printers, have announced that they are partnering in making medical dispensing patches. Using their micro-nozzle technology, they are creating patches that can dispense vaccinations. If we want to innovate education, we need to see what technologies and information we can repurpose to the needs and benefit of our kids.”
Centeno said the experience was extremely valuable, and he would recommend it to all of his colleagues.
“It’s important for all professionals to have many experiences that help them grow and give them new handles on what they have to accomplish,” he said. “The PARC experience will give you the opportunity to see education through a different lens.”
Tim Landeck, technology director
Pajaro Valley USD
Landeck said the PARC experience was beneficial to him in many ways. Learning about PARC’s history gave him a broader understanding on the importance of the research, both in the past and present, and he appreciated the enthusiasm and passion of the researchers.
“I really enjoyed learning about new and emerging technologies and looking at ways that they will impact education,” Landeck said. “Having time to talk with researchers, ask questions and basically be in close contact with each was a real treat.”
Landeck said education tends to be six to eight years behind in adopting new technologies. For example, calculators and computers were not always the norm. One day, students may even be required to bring cell phones to school to help with their studies.
“The ACSA/PARC experience helps educators to see the potential of emerging technologies in education and help to map out the way these technologies can enhance education,” he said.
Landeck said PARC was not only fascinating but also a great professional development opportunity. Focusing on educational technology on a daily basis, he benefits greatly from exposure to new ideas and techniques to integrate technology into the classroom curriculum.
“PARC opened my eyes to many new technologies that will certainly benefit education in the near future,” he said.
Landeck said the PARC internship was a great opportunity to further his professional growth in a way he could not have accomplished via other means, and he would recommend any educational leader to follow in his footsteps.
“PARC offered me an inside look into the (not too distant) future of technologies in education and the world in general,” he said. “It has helped me to keep my eye on the horizon, and enjoy every minute of it! It is a great opportunity for any educator who has an interest in technology and helping to share the challenge of shaping the future of ed tech in the K-12 classroom.”
Maria Elena Rico, principal
Los Angeles USD
Rico said for her, the most exciting thing she learned during the PARC internship was Web 2.0 – the concept of social computing.
“It is imperative that we use all of the tools and skills that students bring into the classroom, and that includes their interactions with virtual social networks outside of the traditional school setting,” she said. “Rather than shut out the technology students bring to school, we need to learn to harness its potential and use it as an additional learning tool.”
Rico said Web 2.0 and social computing brings to the forefront necessary life and career skills such as flexibility and adaptability, initiative and self-direction, social and cross-cultural skills, productivity and accountability and leadership and responsibility.
“It is imperative that we go beyond core content standards and address the skills that business tells us students will need to succeed in a meaningful manner,” she said.
Rico said PARC reinforced her belief that constructivism and experiential learning are the foundation to lifelong learning, and they build the skills that students need for 21st century careers. Additionally, she gained a deeper understanding of social computing, which helped clarify her understanding of an open learning environment where the problem at hand defines the role of the expert learner and novice learners.
Rico said the PARC experience is something all educational leaders should partake in.
“Watching how the different experts from a variety of fields (from technical to social) collaborate to research and develop a product is truly eye opening,” she said. “Additionally, being able to glimpse at what type of world we are preparing our students for helped me gain a razor-like focus on what we truly need to emphasize.”
Adin “Trippi” Rudd, principal
Covina-Valley USD
Rudd said in addition to the technologies themselves, he was most impressed by the PARC researchers’ multidisciplinary skills and how they operated in a true professional learning community.
“There was a very free give-and-take between the scientist with the goal of getting the best result possible,” he said.
One of the most important things Rudd took away from the PARC experience was the ability to learn based on new knowledge. “It reinforced the notion that the most important things our kids need to learn is how to learn and relearn,” he said.
Rudd said he plans to use what he learned at PARC to strengthen the bonds and communication in his school community with technology; technology is a tool with applications for the real world.
“I think I changed by seeing strong virtual communities have many of the same needs as real communities,” he said.
Working in a middle-class school with some pockets of poverty, Rudd said the use of technology is growing. Just a few years ago, fewer than half of students had a computer or Internet access. By the beginning of this school year, about 95 percent do. This means educators should take advantage of the possibilities technology has for student learning.
“Technology is becoming ubiquitous. Since it is everywhere it is becoming imperative for a quality education to include learning to use technology effectively. We should be teaching kids how to use search tools to find what they need quickly, how to program different devices so these devices can serve us better, and trouble shooting technology at the user level,” he said. “We need to make sure that schools don’t become the only place they don’t have access to the life tools of technology. If school is life itself, we must have technological advances available to students.”
Tara Saraye, principal
Orange USD
Saraye said the idea of ubiquitous computing – the invisible use of technology around us – was a constant theme during the internship. With this comes the need for responsibility.
“Computers are now able to sense the world around them and recognize and reason human activity,” Saraye said. “The implications for security, personal privacy, economics, medical practices and education need exploration in ethical implications and responsibilities for leaders in collecting and sharing information.”
Saraye said she believes technology is the tool to level the playing field between the haves and have-nots. The social interactions that are now available help students with special needs, and through simulations of social experiences, students can learn and practice social skills.
“Virtual worlds can produce leadership skills where participants of any age can take on roles and lead groups to accomplish specific tasks,” Saraye said. “Students can learn the language and culture through sharing communications, music, beliefs and customs through social computing. All these skills and the levels of engagement are needed as 21st century skills in a global economy.”
Saraye agreed that education and educational practices lag behind what the native technology users know and are able to do. Current brain research shows that today’s students learn much differently than previous generations, and all students are held at the same high level of expectations because of the anonymous factor technology brings, Saraye said.
“In order to meet the needs of diverse learners, we need to rethink how we create an educational system to meet their needs in a world that is changing faster than ever,” she said.
James Scoolis, principal
San Luis Coastal USD
Scoolis said he too was most impressed by the Web 2.0 applications. Prior to the PARC internship, he was unaware of the real-time, worldwide collaborations that are occurring everyday and the exponential expansion of the use of those Internet sites.
“This is clearly a wave of the present and immediate future; our schools are lagging behind in this area,” he said. I think we need to take a look at how we structure student projects and reports and to move away from individual item knowledge-based assignments to collaborative problem solving.”
Unfortunately, state standards do not tend to emphasize learning processes or collaboration and team project work, unlike PARC. Education must refocus to follow this model.
“In the real world, learning is a process and people work together to solve problems,” Scoolis said. “State standards are more focused on discreet item knowledge, and that is a disconnect. Every day of the week there are people from all over the world who never meet, yet are collaborating and sharing information on all kinds of projects.”
Scoolis said the PARC experience rekindled his passion and understanding of “constructivist learning.”
“I believe that people learn best when they are engaged in the interaction between thinking and doing,” he said. “My experiences at PARC helped me to get re-acquainted with those concepts firsthand.”
Scoolis said any educational leaders would benefit from spending five days at PARC, as it is a fantastic professional and personal development opportunity.
“The environment at PARC is also eye-opening,” he said. The rich history of PARC, the collaborative and creative work environment is exciting; the facility itself is top notch, and all those Ph.D.s walking around combines to create a fairly unique experience.”
To learn more about this year’s PARC experience, join the interns during a special presentation at the 2007 Leadership Summit, Friday, Nov. 9, from 1:45-2:45 p.m. in the Central Room at the Hyatt Regency. For information on next year’s internship, contact ACSA’s Educational Services Department at (800) 608-ACSA or (650) 692-4300.