California Educator, California
Sept 20 2004

Tech-savvy schools struggle to keep their edge
Stories by Sherry Posnick-Goodwin
Photos by Scott Buschman

Michelle Harwood and Kenny Palanca try to keep their robot from
dropping the ball.
The year was 1995 and Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Angeles
was about to go “online.” Students and teachers crowded around the
sole computer about to make the leap into cyberspace – by modem. It
took a lot of work back then, much more than just pointing and
clicking. Everyone was wide-eyed and filled with excitement.

That magic moment for Bruce Lee’s students reminded him of the first
time he saw color television or a man on the moon. “Suddenly, my
students could see that they were not bound by the limits of the
school building or books. They could see themselves having open
access to all kinds of knowledge.”

The next morning, and thereafter, students were lined up at the
computer lab an hour before school started. People who had been
thought of as “geeks” were suddenly cool, because they knew how to
navigate the Web.

“While some schools may be stalled on the Information Superhighway,
King Middle School in Los Angeles is in the fast lane, setting an
example for how technology can and should be used in the classroom,”
noted the California Educator in 1996.

Steven Dworetzky uses robotics to show the relevancy of core subjects
at King Middle School in Los Angeles.
Today, King is still on the cutting edge compared to most schools.
But it’s a constant battle to stay there in the face of declining
revenue and shifting priorities.

“Computers are very commonplace here now, which is a good thing,”
says Lee, the technology coordinator for the school and a member of
United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). “Everything is starting to be
technology-based, including medicine, the music industry and just
about any job you can think of, so it’s important that students have
access to technology. I am proud to say that we have made great
strides here.”

Inside Room 208 at King Middle School, a robot constructed of
brightly colored plastic pieces has a dangerous mission: It must
grasp a radioactive isotope and place it inside a lead shield. If it
fails, everyone in the room will die.

This is the problem that eighth-grade students Michelle Harwood and
Kenney Palanca must solve. The students – who built, programmed and
control the robot holding the classroom’s fate in its claws – stay
calm, even when the robot drops the isotope in the wrong spot.

Fortunately it’s only pretend. The isotope is really a plastic ball
and the lead shield is a paper cup. However, the robot has four real
motors and one real sensor, and its actions will determine the real
grade of Harwood and Palanca, who say they are close to completing
their mission.

Thirty-eight other students are engaged in similar projects
throughout Steven Dworetzky’s third-period robotics class. Some are
programming robots to push a piece of wood up an incline. Others are
creating robotic roller coasters or an 18-hole mini-golf course with
robotic hazard bridges and windmills. Some are designing virtual
playgrounds on computers.

“There’s a lot going on here,” says Dworetzky. “It may seem chaotic,
but it really does make sense. I’m trying to introduce these kids to
all the things that computers are capable of doing.”

Robotics serves as a springboard for students to learn relevant
applications of core subjects, says Dworetzky. “Students are using
principles of math and science, studying the concepts of friction,
inertia, momentum and gravity. They understand what angles mean in
geometry and use algebraic formulas. When they read and write about
their projects, they improve their literacy and language-arts skills.
At most schools, students study things like algebra and science in a
vacuum. Here, with project-based learning, they can see the
relevancy.”

Dworetzky has 40 students in his class and works 51 weeks a year
because he doesn’t want to turn any student away.

King Middle School technology coordinator Bruce Lee worries about
finding the money to properly maintain the 600 computers under his
care.
King Middle School’s efforts to go high-tech and its struggle to
remain there are, in many ways, a microcosm of what’s happening with
technology in public schools throughout California. “We are clinging
to the cutting edge or the bleeding edge, but it feels like someone
is always trying to pull us back,” says Lee.

When the school rebooted its curriculum to join the technology
revolution nearly a decade ago, it formed a “school within a school”
called the Highly Gifted Technology and Arts Magnet program,
consisting of 12 classrooms. The goal was that students in regular
classes would have access to curriculum infused with technology. This
was in what might be considered the good old days, when schools had
money, the dot-com industry was booming and critical thinking was
valued more than test scores.

King Middle School today is your typical inner-city Southern
California campus – overcrowded and on a year-round schedule, with
permanent portables and nonfunctioning water fountains. But looks can
be deceiving. Students in many classrooms use state-of-the art
technology the way students in other schools use paper and pencils.
While technology is everywhere, UTLA members at King are proud to say
that they don’t teach technology – they use technology to teach.

While some argue that technology has replaced critical thinking,
students in Connie Martin’s eighth-grade English class combine both
of them with aplomb. Divided into groups for a “Webquest,” students
use laptop computers to research the ethics of animal research in
preparation for assuming the roles of research scientist, animal
rights activist and medical doctor. Along with a written report, they
will deliver oral reports in front of the class, which will be
recorded by fellow students.

Sitting around a table, the students condense their information to
fit on index cards and practice their verbal presentations.

“I don’t really think animal research is a good idea,” says Sam Yale.
“You can do experiments on animals that are already dead. Maybe
things should be tested on people, because we are animals, too.”

“I think animal research should continue so we can find cures for
diseases,” says Christian Acuna.

Magnet teacher Martin says the kids love it. “Computers bring the
real world into the classroom. The challenge is to use the
information they get from computers productively.”

Almost a decade after “the revolution,” there is still a divide
between generations when it comes to computers, observes Bruce Lee.
Younger teachers who grew up with video games have taken to computers
naturally, while some of the older teachers at King are still in need
of training and reassurance.

“Out of 118 teachers here, there are still nine who won’t touch a
computer. I have invited them to come to a lab and have offered to
model lessons for them, but they say, ‘No, thank you.’ There is still
a phobia about computers. They are afraid they might break one. But
most older teachers – like me – do quite well and are self-taught.”

King Middle School opened the first Teacher Practitioner Center for
Technology in the district. It was a place where teachers could work
in “sheltered technology labs” and practice – with assistance – the
lessons their students would attempt. The center closed more than two
years ago for lack of funding. While the 12 magnet teachers still
receive quality technology training, the rest of the school’s
teachers are “sadly lacking” in professional development
opportunities, says Lee.

Animation teacher Kirk Palayan helps Sofie Cohen create her own
cartoon character.
“At one time we devoted many hours and sessions to professional
development. But now we have one just one professional development
day with six different classes to choose from – and only two of those
classes are technology-based. I have seen the impact here. Sometimes
I’ve seen machines sit idle because teachers haven’t had the
opportunity for training.”

Teacher interns still come to King for technology training, but
district staff, not teachers, conduct the training. “Before, it was
almost a showcase for teachers to share what they know. Now, it has
become very top-down.”

On the walls of Room 209, there are posters of Harry Potter, Bart
Simpson, Shrek and other characters. A life-size mannequin of
Chewbacca, the furry character from Star Wars, stands atop a table,
as if supervising students who are busily designing their own cartoon
characters to the loud beat of techno music.

Students in Kirk Palayan’s animation class were given the job of
designing storylines and creating characters, settings and
backgrounds. Soon all the separate facets will be merged into actual
cartoons using Macromedia, Flash MX and Fireworks MX programs.

“I’m creating a new version of Peter Pan,” beams Nellfa Salazar, a
seventh-grader. “In my version, he knew his parents, who were killed
mysteriously, and finds the person who killed them.”

Students in the eight-week elective class study historical aspects of
filmmaking and animation. Palayan has connections with nearby studios
and has taken his students to film premieres.

“We live in Hollywood and the studios are striving to get more people
to work in the medium,” says Palayan. “I let my students know there
can be jobs – and a future – in this.”

A decade ago there was a sense of urgency to jump on the technology
bandwagon and prepare students for the job market, recalls Lee.
Today, there is a sense of urgency to improve test scores.

“We try to do project-based learning whenever possible, but we are
constrained by what the district requires,” says Lee. “Everything is
scripted learning, and that can take the creativity out of it. The
scripted programs take up so much time that it can be difficult to
also find a way to incorporate technology into the curriculum.”

Linda Sasser
Linda Sasser, a seventh-grade technology class teacher who formerly
taught in the magnet program, says technology is not a magic bullet
that will raise test scores. “Test scores are determined by how much
learning takes place. Technology is a tool. Scrapping technology
because test scores are not going up is like scrapping books or
pencils. But technology can increase student motivation – and
motivation can factor very high in achievement.”

Sasser’s ESL students may not be completely proficient in English,
but they know the language of computers. While searching for facts on
the Surtsey Volcano in Iceland, students navigate the Internet with
ease.

“I like using computers,” says Ani Arabyan, whose first language is
Armenian. “It’s fun. You can find lots of information and words.”

The school has large numbers of Hispanic and Armenian students. For
the volcano project, they are mixed together in groups and
communicating in English.

Sasser, who has mostly English language learners in her classes, says
computers help even the playing field for students. “They have a
chance to work at their own level and build upon knowledge they
already have. I try to gear projects for individual students so they
can fill in the gaps of what they need to know. I send them to
websites geared to their level of reading and writing.”

Computers, says Sasser, can give English language learners
confidence. “When they can include animation or do something like
scan in pictures of their family, it gives them a sense of self and
motivation.”

King Middle School has a ratio of two students to every computer in
its magnet classes along with eight computers in each regular class
and a laptop for each teacher. That translates into about 600
computers on the campus. Lee is responsible for basic
troubleshooting, networking and installing software for all the
machines – as well as professional development.

The Tasmanian Devil and other inspirational characters appear to
breathe down the necks of students like Martiros Zirakian and Samvel
Tozlian during the 8-week elective course at King Middle School.
“There isn’t enough money for technical support,” he says. “From the
moment I set foot on campus until I go home, I am working on the
computers. Before I even turn my ignition off, I’m approached in the
parking lot by teachers with computer problems. We’ve been in the
process of rewiring the lab and installing new eMacs. We had district
personnel who were capable of doing this, but the district has cut
back on technical support because they consider it expendable. I do
what I can, but we get backed up.”

Lee depends upon student assistants to fill the void. “It really
helps me,” he says. “It also helps them to learn about computers.
Many of my former students are now networking for a living. Sometimes
kids who are troublemakers really latch onto this.”

His principal has been generous with money for technology upgrades,
but in July the school was forced to return $105,000 to the district
in midyear cuts.

Because technology is so expensive and becomes obsolete so quickly,
Lee worries about finding money for technology down the road.

“If you embrace the beast, you have to feed it,” says Lee. “If you
don’t feed it, the beast will consume you. Like everything that is
not properly maintained, computers at this school are in danger of
becoming glorified doorstops and expensive paperweights.”