School Type: Public	School Setting: Rural
Level: K-9	School Design: Traditional
Content Presented By:
NEIRTEC, Northeast & Islands Regional Technology in Education Consortium
The Education Alliance at Brown University

Summary

The practice: Multiple Learning Strategies
Technology-enhanced lessons and activities should represent a variety of learning strategies that include active learning strategies, constructive learning strategies, authentic learning strategies, cooperative learning strategies, and intentional/reflective learning strategies.

Each group of participating schools begins the program in January by receiving funding from the Department of Education and information to determine what kind of computer lab, either mobile or stationary, would work better in each school. While each school buys and installs its lab, a lead teacher is selected by CENIT staff. Lead teachers work with other participating teachers in the school to get them up to speed on using the new computers and software programs. In June teachers attend a five-day Authentic Task Academy to get more acquainted with the CENIT program and gather ideas for how to integrate technology and real-world problems into the classroom. When schools open in August, teachers participating in the program begin to introduce their students to the new technology, giving them the opportunity to learn how to use it by taking part in technology-rich lessons in a variety of subjects. Teachers meet throughout the semester, get further training, and in December give presentations outlining their experiences during their participation in CENIT.

One school currently participating in the CENIT program is the S.U. Bartolomé Javier Petrovitch School of Cabo Rojo, where Eulalia Texidor Ortiz, a sixth, seventh, and eighth grade English language arts teacher, is the CENIT III Lead Teacher. As the lead teacher, Texidor Ortiz models authentic and reflective learning strategies for the other participating teachers. She works closely with the students in her class to choose projects relevant to their personal interests and community concerns and to decide which technologies best support their goals for a given project. Her students are encouraged to use the computers provided to search for information on the Internet, and to use digital and video cameras and a myriad of software programs that enhance the learning experience.

• Making Connections to Students' Lives  
• Reading and Writing  
• Creating a Student-Centered Classroom  
• Supporting the English classroom through literacy development   

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This resource is developed and maintained by The Education Alliance at Brown University. Seed funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Send comments to: loom@alliance.brown.edu