"Morphing from Teacher to Cybrarian," by Ted Nellen

1. Having just read the entire article, I will say that Nellen is not only an immensely skillful technologist and teacher by the sound of his own assessment, but a fantastic writer.  Some of my thoughts:
2. Re: "...computers were installed in 1992 and every one is still working. They are 486 PCs. They are networked and attached to two servers: an intranet and the Internet. In its day, it was high tech; today it is a museum."
   Makes we think about the lure of the newest machine that's always available, but could we fix and continue to use our own version of Ted's 486's as a major "green" component of our schools instead? I could use some of my own advice at home--adding RAM, making use of certified techs for fixing instead of lusting after the new Macbook.
   
3. Re: "We have built a core of student interns who are assigned to any one of our computer classrooms to help the teacher, who may be experienced or not, in assisting with the technology aspect of any given class."
   Brilliant. We have one such kid at our school, but could have more. It's a great source of confidence and positive interaction between student and teacher.
   
4. Re: "By the beginning of the second year this teacher is beginning to morph and is ready to mentor a new recruit."
   It's remarkable to read Ted's very practical, structured, and totally do-able method for achieving a technologically advanced teaching environment in his school. Very different from the "let's all make using technology a goal" approach which leaves most of us disoriented and lacking truly useful tools and techniques.
   
5. "...they were in control."  Students in control = empowered learners. This is surely what we're trying to achieve as we create virtual learning centers.
   
6. A student is "...always responsible for his/her work agenda..."  This is a real pedagogical change. Technology might introduce different tools while allowing the same approach to teaching, but Nellen is making a sea change by orienting the technology in such a way as to allow students to proceed through tasks at their own pace and in the order they choose to do them.
7. "After my first class posted their first assignments on the Web, I proudly announced their existence on a few listservs. "  Again, practical, easy-to-use advice on making technology a value-added investment; that is, without web publishing and listservs, the particular experience he describes would not have been possible.
8. 
   "The sage on the stage in the first scenario has become the guide by the side in the second scenario."  Man oh man!  I'm going to use those terms to convince our forward-thinking but technologically suspicious Head of school that we need to begin bringing teachers 'round to student-centered, technology-enhanced global learning.