Harnessing Technology
Josh Eason is a man wearing many hats: biology teacher, football coach, and technology enthusiast, to name a few. At Lake Highlands Freshman Center (imagine, a student body of 900 freshmen!) in suburban Dallas, Josh has been teaching general and advanced biology classes for six years. His technology expertise rose out of personal interest, and Josh found ready application in his ninth grade classes. From smartboards to probeware, Josh uses the newest technologies as they become available.

Richardson Independent School District, which employs Josh, is dedicated to the advancement of technology in its schools. The Freshman Center has one computer for every two students, and a wireless mobile lab is on the way. Nine presentation centers, S-video in each classroom, and a research lab in the media center all enhance learning. Two building technology coordinators support staff and students, and the district provides teachers with twelve hours each of technology training, and applied curriculum support.

Technology Keeps Pace
When asked why he picked his cell biology curriculum to adapt during the Intel® Teach Program training, Josh explains: “I tried to beef up the curriculum that currently used the least technology and would benefit the most from adding it. The Intel training gave me a chance to focus on my cell biology curriculum. Cell biology is moving so fast that the Internet is the place to go for the most current information, there’s no way the textbooks can keep up. Also, kids see that there is a lot of opinion and debate out there, and that science isn’t as cut and dried as it first appears. Bioethics is getting to be a bigger topic all the time, and demands careful thought. Kids get exposed to new avenues of research and opinion, and their critical thinking gets a workout.” He addresses the information glut, too: “There’s so much out there, that students really need direction to get to useful material. I guide them with constrained searches and bookmarked sites. The media and lab specialists are really helpful with this.”

To demonstrate how fast the field is advancing, Josh notes that his genetics curriculum used to be a two-week unit, and it now takes eight weeks to teach. “Discoveries in genetics are happening really fast. With the human genome being wrapped up, gene therapies are advancing quickly, and these things are going to have an impact on students’ lives-- They’d better learn the basics.”

Project-Based Learning
Josh is pleased with the project-centered direction his lessons have taken since he’s started using technology tools. “I’ve found that project work really changes student interest. They move from rote learning to posing good questions of each other and really debating important concepts. The quality of learning has really improved.” Part of what makes project-centered instruction work is the element of choice. “With projects, kids need direction,” Josh says, “But I let them choose the method they use to demonstrate their learning. Projects that allow some choice give students more ownership of their learning”

Organization a Key
Projects are by nature untidy, and Josh does what he can to organize student effort for a coherent result. After introducing the syllabus, Josh makes calculated group assignments, making sure each student has a role, and that each group has at least one tech-savvy member. At appropriate junctures, Josh provides short instruction on the use of each technology tool, but beyond that, he relies on the talents of his students. Spreading the talent around frees him up so he can address content. “You have to think about what your goals are,” he says, “It’s important to remember the content outweighs the tools.” Josh helps students set objectives and plot their course. He has each team make a set of folders, which are saved to a server. “They have a folder for citations, another for pictures and graphics, and one more for their documents, notes, and products. Kids save it all to a server and I can check in on their progress any time and make suggestions. They need this level or organization to stay on track with big projects“

< Return to Cell-to-Cell