New technologies are transforming education for the Information Age. This article explores progress in the application of new technologies to the education of gifted students. The topics discussed include constructivism, new learning environments, empowerment of students, and some promising applications of telecommunications, image processing, and expert systems. As appropriate uses of these modern productivity tools evolve, new roles are emerging for them in gifted education.
Key Words: constructivism, learning environments, empowerment of students, telecommunications, image processing.The new technologies that are the tools of the Information Age have changed the way information is managed, presented, stored, retrieved, transmitted, manipulated, taught, and learned. At several levels, new technologies are part of the transformation of education. At the most basic level, they are a factor underlying the need for change in education. At one time, a mimetic approach to education was satisfactory because students could learn a relatively fixed body of knowledge and apply that information later in their work. Now, because of the vast amount of information available and the ever increasing rate of change, a transformative approach to education is required (Moursund, 1992a). Students must become information managers, knowing how to access, organize, and present information. At other levels, new technologies teach relevant skills and knowledge, and their use already has become part of the curriculum.
The computer is an excellent example of new technologies, and the microcomputer is becoming commonplace in homes and schools. When first introduced into education, microcomputers were used as electronic textbooks or worksheets. Educational software delivered textual information or provided drill and practice. As comfort with the new medium increased, ideas about better uses of technology evolved. This article explores the evolution of these ideas and their application to the education of gifted students. First, a brief history of the role of microcomputers in gifted education is presented, and this is followed by a discussion of constructivism, a theory which describes how people learn using technology. Next, new technology-rich learning environments and the resulting empowerment of gifted students are described, and three specific technologies or applications important to gifted education are highlighted. These are telecommunications, image processing, and expert systems. In conclusion, the relationship between gifted education and new technologies is examined.
In 1980, Taylor described three roles for computers in education: the tutor, tool, or tutee. In the tutor role, the computer delivered instruction to the student from educational software which had been programmed by experts. This software promoted learning through drill and practice, tutorial, educational games, simulation, problem solving, and computer-managed instruction. The computer was also viewed as a production tool, primarily used for word processing. The tutee role, in which the student taught or programmed the computer to perform various tasks, was viewed as most advanced. Computer literacy was also taught in the early and mid 1980s. It involved learning to operate a computer in the tutor role and was viewed as an important goal for gifted students. It soon became a goal for most students and many adults.
In 1983, Dover addressed the role .of computers in the education of gifted students. She emphasized applications, such as simulations and programming, in which students had some degree of control as they engaged in creative problem solving and the construction of conceptual models. She saw the computer as a vehicle for individualization of instruction which was becoming particularly important for gifted students because of the trend toward larger class sizes.
In 1985, Beasley declared that most educational software was not using the capabilities of the hardware or the programming techniques of the time. He stated that good educational software should provide mental activity on various levels while emphasizing the higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy. Most importantly, the software should be integrated into the curriculum and contribute to valid educational goals. Beasley described computing with gifted students as different from computing with other students because of these students' specific needs. These learners required a broad range of subject matter as well as accelerated learning activities which involved complex thinking and the synthesis of information. Beasley stated that the computer held promise for managing information and as a design and production tool. He believed that learning to program a computer was not necessary for all computer users, and programming was most appropriately taught in business education departments and as enrichment for gifted students. The primary benefit of using computers with gifted students, according to Beasley, was that computers placed no ceiling on learning so that students could reach advanced levels of proficiency and knowledge.
In the context of education reform, Barr (1990) described the role of computers and related technologies. He stated five essential goals and described technologies that could be appropriately used for their attainment. The five goals were to make learning more independent, more individualized, more interactive, more interdisciplinary, and more intuitive.
Examples of technologies to make learning more independent were electronic databases (CD-ROM, on-line, or laserdisc) and various research technologies, such as probes and other automated data acquisition tools. To make learning more individualized, Barr suggested computer-aided instruction, hypertext, and hypermedia. To make learning more interactive, he described video projection systems, expert systems, interactive video, and telecommunication networks. Barr commented that making learning more interdisciplinary using technology was not difficult because most technologies focus on the learning process and are not inherently content-based. For interdisciplinary learning, Barr recommended generic computer data manipulation tools such as word processors, spreadsheets, and data bases. Other technologies that he described for this purpose were simulations and local networks. To make learning more intuitive, he discussed visualization technology, graphing, and model building. Barr did not directly address the relationship between gifted education and new technologies or the issue of differentiation for gifted students. He explained instead applications of various technologies based on his own experience in gifted education.
Since 1990, further changes have occurred. The decade began with CD-ROM (Compact Disks with Read Only Memory) databases in libraries. These databases stored vast amounts of information which could be accessed by computer. By 1991, entire encyclopedias, complete with pictures, video clips, and sound, became available for less than one thousand dollars in this medium. Software applications that were available in the 1980s had a new look in the 1990s. Applications became easier to use and more powerful. The word processor that permitted on-screen editing and the movement of blocks of text in the mid 1980s, gained a spelling checker, thesaurus, and dictionary. Other additions were the ability to make tables, wrap text around inserts, and import graphics or video clips. Spread-sheets of the 1990s added graphing and data exploration to their calculating capabilities, and special purpose databases became available.
The introduction and use of these new technologies in the classroom has changed current thinking about how people learn. One theory of learning, constructivism, is receiving new-found attention as theorists attempt to understand learning through the use of new technologies. Constructivism is based on the idea that knowledge is constructed by the learner, and learners develop their own theories about the environment and what is known. These personal theories are internal representations of knowledge derived from the ideas and experiences of the learner. This knowledge is developed in a social context. The learner negotiates with other people using hypotheses, observations, and data to construct consistent systems of belief (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1991). Constructivists believe that learning is a collaborative, active process occurring in realistic settings, and that evaluation is an integral part of the learning (Merrill, 1991).
Constructivism, which explains how students learn using new technologies, emphasizes the learning process rather than instruction or performance. Under constructivism, students assume much of the responsibility for determining what to learn and how to learn it. Task masters, in the form of teachers and technology, assist by coaching and providing access to the information and skills needed by the learner. The learning space is defined as the difference between what the student can do alone and what can be done with assistance (Polin, 1992). To learn, the student must venture from what is known and construct a new reality. Through this process, the student learns how to learn.
Constructivism, thus, has implied a new role for technology, that of teaching how to learn (Winn, 1991). To clarify this role, Winn focused on two tasks for the instructional designer. One is to present instruction in areas of basic knowledge and skills. This is needed so the learner will have some background and tools with which to begin exploring. The technologies or tools which teach content are said to be "full" of information to be transferred to the student. They are contrasted with "empty" shells into which students put information for exploration. Thus, the other task for the instructional designer is to develop the shells which allow students to construct meaning for themselves. Bull and Cochran (1991) explained that these shells should have a low threshold so that learning to use them is not difficult, and they should also have a high ceiling so that learning is not restricted. Five of these powerful instructional tools are currently available for classroom use (Polin (1992): Point of View, STELLA II, LogoWriter, The Geometric Supposer, and LEGO TC Logo.
The use of shells to promote exploration of information has potential for gifted education because it involves open-ended activities with a high ceiling for the learning. These same characteristic are also present in the constructivist learning environments themselves. For example, Jonassen (1991) identified three stages of knowledge acquisition under constructivism that become meaningful in the context of gifted education. They were initial (or introductory), advanced, and expert. In the initial or introductory stage, learners have little knowledge that can be transferred. It is in the second, or advanced, stage that constructivist learning environments become appropriate, and learners are able to construct, test, and revise their own theories. As these theories expand and incorporate information about the structure, schematic patterns, and interconnectedness of knowledge, learners move beyond the advanced stage to become expert. For gifted learners the acquisition of basic skills occurs quickly, and at the second and third stages, a constructivist learning environment permits these students to use their knowledge for the construction of more complex views of reality.
Technology-rich learning environments, such as those from which constructivist theory has evolved, have been studied since 1985 in Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT). These studies provide a preview of possible scenarios for education in the future and information about the process of change. For example, Dwyer, Ringstaff, and Sandholtz (1991) described five stages in the evolution of teachers' beliefs and practices in technology-rich classrooms. At the entry stage, classrooms were provided with conventional teaching materials, computers, and multimedia technology. During the next stage, described as adoption, teachers taught as they had before but used technology to support some objectives. In the adaptation stage, conventional teaching practices continued, and technology was integrated throughout the curriculum. Students received information through lecture, recitation, and seat work which was supported 30% to 40% of the time by word processing, the use of databases, and instructional software. During this phase, teachers talked about productivity as students produced more and faster, and the quality of classroom interaction changed as students became very involved in their own learning.
The next stage, called appropriation, was marked by mastery of the technology by teachers and students, and new instructional patterns emerged. Team teaching, individualized instruction, and interdisciplinary, project-based activities became more common as the tone of the classroom changed from competition to collaboration. Teachers noted that students showed tremendous curiosity about one anothers' work, taught each other, and sought advice from the teachers. Dwyer, Ringstaff, & Sandholtz stated that the most important change in this phase was the new role which emerged for teachers as they reexamined old teaching methods and patterns and reflected on the changes that were taking place in their students.
In the last stage, invention, teachers invented new instructional strategies and viewed learning from a different perspective than they had previously:
Today, the staff of ACOT's classrooms are more disposed to view learning as an active, creative, and socially interactive process than they were when they entered the program. Knowledge is now held more as something children must construct and less like something that can be transferred intact. (Dwyer, Ringstaff, & Sandholtz, 1991, p. 50)
Studies of education in technology-rich environments offer new perspectives on the nature of information and the learning process. Some new learning environments support multiple interpretations of reality and provide a wealth of experience-based activities. Three components of the new environments have particular promise for gifted students: individualized learning, collaborative learning, and adults learning with children.
Individualized Learning. Individualized learning becomes a reality when supported by new technologies which help plan, monitor, and evaluate the progress of many students simultaneously. New technologies also can provide a variety of learning experiences in which the content and pace are customized and the environment is safe for exploration and error. All learners will benefit from individualized learning and being allowed to make and correct errors. This includes gifted students who often expect themselves to produce error-free work and, thus, may limit their activities and inquiry to be certain of this outcome. The complexity introduced by new technologies frequently makes error-free work impossible, but most technologies facilitate the revision process. Thus, right or wrong becomes less important than whether it is "fixable" (Papert, 1980), and the learner becomes more comfortable with error.
Collaborative Learning. Constructivists include collaboration as an important feature of the new learning environments. Collaborative learning is an umbrella term denoting learning that is not competitive and does not occur in isolation (Chung, 1991). In collaborative learning, the distinction between teachers and students is blurred as they both actively participate in the learning process. Their collaboration produces a sense of sharing and community as they create knowledge together rather than transferring it from one individual to another (Whipple, 1987).
Collaboration is a broad term involving the interaction of teachers, mentors, and technologies with one another or with students. Groups are not required for collaboration. Indeed, individualized learning may be collaborative when only one student interacts with a teacher. Another example is a student working in one setting to produce a product, but sharing information by modem with a mentor or other students. With the rich offerings of new technologies, the possibilities for collaborative learning are numerous and easily applicable to the education of gifted students.
One type of collaboration is cooperative learning (Chung, 1991). Recently, cooperative learning and the grouping of students have been major sources of concern in gifted education. It is possible, however, these grouping practices and teaching strategies may represent only the explorations to date in the development of collaborative learning environments. In the future when cooperative learning is viewed simply as one type of collaborative strategy, perhaps the needs of all students, including the gifted, will be met.
Adults Learning With Children. The roles of teacher and learner are blurred in the new learning environments due to the information explosion; teachers and students often learn together and teach each other. CD-ROM encyclopedias were not even known when adults were in school, and teachers must continuously update their knowledge. At times, teachers may learn only hours or minutes before the students do, and there are times when they learn together. This frequently happens with gifted students who seek information beyond the teacher's scope. In some instances, the roles of teacher and student may be reversed. Koetke (1983), a teacher of mathematically gifted students, stated:
Some of my most enlightening experiences have occurred as my students attempt to teach me enough to understand their computer-related work. And when they do this with a patient smile, the experience is most enjoyable (p. 270).
This reversal of the roles of teacher and student is an example of the new experiences available for learners in technology-rich learning environments. These experiences empower students and occur in varied forms. Examples of this empowerment are given in the next section.
In technology-rich settings students are empowered in many ways. They gain access to real data and work on authentic problems (Williams & Brown, 1991). Information about demographic and economic trends, for example, can be used for calculations and projections. At a magnet high school in Virginia, students use two supercomputers for their projects (Trotter, 1991). The students won access to the supercomputers through team efforts in Superquest, a national student computing contest, and some of their findings have received attention from the scientific community.
Hypertext, or hypermedia, is another application of technology that empowers students. Hypertext is augmented text in which the computer provides access through windows, buttons, or links to supplemental information that the user might want or need. The supplemental information may be additional text, audio and video input, graphics, animated sequences, or combinations of these. As a user of hypermedia or hypertext, the student chooses what to do next. As the creator of these productions, the student decides what information to make available to the audience.
Using computers for more practical applications, such as word processing, also gives students a powerful, successful feeling. Through word processing applications, students learn to focus their thoughts, collaborate, revise and produce quality work. When students achieve this success, they are more apt to take risks (Soloman, 1992). This is especially important for gifted learners who later enter occupations that involve decision making with incomplete information or in ambiguous settings. New technologies offer a safe environment with sufficient complexity that students can practice the skills that they will need in the future.
In addition, technologies are important for gifted education because dents can access information and participate in activities that would have been beyond their reach in the past (Beasley, 1985). Since computers are relatively new to education, grade level objectives and expectations are incomplete. Producing these objectives is itself a difficult task because as quickly as educators form an understanding of what may be expected, modifications in hardware or software change what is possible. Also, outside of the classroom, students may have acquired an extraordinary proficiency in some complex technological task. In their use of new technologies, students frequently form their own objectives and are empowered not only by the new media but also by the lack of limitations placed on them by adults.
Empowered students may look to computers and other technologies for challenge and recreation that reaches beyond video games. Because of the nature of the media, students can sample broadly or focus their inquiries as they wish while gaining useful skills. An example of intellectual recreation that involved technologies was studied by Jian-jun (1991) He compared young "computer wizards" in China with their counterparts in the United States. These young people had taught themselves to program in several different computer languages. When asked why, the reasons given most frequently were to master a tool and to develop talents. Some students reported that they learned programming languages for enjoyment in their spare time.
Of the many new technologies and applications with potential for use in gifted education, three are described here: telecommunications, image processing, and expert systems. Telecommunications and expert systems have matured to the stage that they could be used more widely than they are now in the education setting, and image processing is a new field which may provide students with giftedness in the nonverbal realm opportunities to excel.
Telecommunications. Telecommunications is a broad field, rapidly becoming more complex as new modes of communication are developed and combined with existing ones. Interestingly, the public readily accepts developments in this field, ideas for applications abound, and the cost is often minimal. Knowing how to access and use the technology offer the main barriers to its adoption. Schools, which could be teaching about these technologies, have been slow to understand the possibilities that they offer. Two forms of telecommunication that have multiple uses in gifted education are telelearning and electronic mail (E.mail).
Telelearning, or distance learning, has many possible configurations. In its simpler forms, it may involve audio conferencing with speaker phones, video tape exchange networks, or computers with modems linked by phone lines; but it may also involve electronic blackboards, audio conferences, satellite downlinks, video teleconferencing, and more. Whatever form it takes, it links people who are geographically distant; and it is currently used to provide classes for students in remote or rural areas. Lewis (1989) described a distance learning system that transmitted advanced course work to academically talented high school students in rural areas of Louisiana. University of Alaska routinely uses interactive satellite systems, E.mail, electronic conferencing, FAX, and audio and video tapes to reach students in remote settlements. Telelearning can involve the gifted student directly, or it may bring staff development training or course work to teachers of gifted students (Clasen & Clasen, 1989). It removes the barrier of distance and offers one more tool for individualizing instruction.
Electronic mail or E.mail refers to communication between persons using computers to access phone lines with modems. E.mail is supported by worldwide telecommunication networks, which use a store-and-forward process to move information from node to node. E.mail messages can be sent between two users or from one user to an entire list of others who might have interest in the topic. Messages can also be posted on electronic bulletin boards for public access. Some of the most common uses for E.mail messaging are to request and transfer information, consult experts, and communicate with others. Clasen & Clasen described linking educators of gifted students in isolated school districts via E.mail. This was done in Wisconsin to create a statewide network for sharing information about gifted education. Students can also be linked to pen pals with E.mail and learn about other students around the world.
Another use of E.mail is to access information. This may be done directly from sources such as remote databases, library catalogs, and on-line encyclopedias; or access may be gained through an electronic bulletin board or some other information service. This method of retrieving information is not only convenient but permits the user to locate information that might not otherwise be available. Southern and Spicker (1989) described use of bulletin boards and electronic curriculum for distance learning with gifted students in rural Indiana.
Image Processing. Image processing is a new field now opening for exploration, and it has promise for students with nonverbal giftedness. Image processing can be as simple as enhancing images using application software, or it can be as complex as using mathematical transformations for enhancement, formulas from physics for prediction, and bio-medical knowledge for interpretation. It could involve the development of new information processing mechanisms for the storage, transmission, manipulation, retrieval, and classification of these data.
Massive amounts of image data are accumulating from such varied sources as medical imaging techniques and the space program with its fly-by photos. For example, over 20,000 planetary science images are available for exploration. The data are in digital form and must be manipulated by computer to enhance on-screen images. To do this, image processing is required. It involves manipulating the digital data, in a sense editing it, until satisfactory results are obtained. Also measurements involving scaled distances must be made. Images are stored in picture databases for information retrieval at a later time. Image processing has many similarities to word processing, and some other manipulations of verbal information have counterparts in the image form.
In gifted education, students with very high abilities in the abstract or non-verbal realm are routinely identified for special services, but their true talents have rarely been cultivated. Using technologies now available for image processing or other graphics applications, these students can explore and develop their exceptional talents while preparing for a future role in these new fields.
Expert Systems. Expert systems are single purpose computer programs that give customized information to the user, and because of this customization, these programs are useful in gifted education. They are programmed to question, reason, and advise as an expert would, and they may become valuable tools for individualizing instruction, augmenting existing information resources for gifted individuals (Wepner, 1988). Based on the child's interests and reading level, for example, a program might recommend books for a gifted child to read.
With some expert systems, the user can examine the reasoning trace, or how the computer arrived at its decision. This is instructive and leads to other uses of these programs. Tamashiro and Bechtelheimer (1991) described expert systems as having educational applications in the tutor, tool, and tutee roles. Suggesting an appropriate book for a student or an appropriate course of study would be an example of using an expert system in its tool role. In this role, if the decision-making process is available for the user to examine, the expert system becomes an aid in teaching about thought processes. In the tutor role, an expert system which organizes or classifies information is designed by the teacher for student use. Tamashiro and Bechtelheimer gave an example of such a system that was used by second graders to identify cloud types. In the tutee role, the expert system is a shell that students use to organize information. In this role, students design the expert system themselves while exploring classification and the logic of decision-making.
Although expert systems have been available in other fields, applications are relatively new in education. Because these programs teach about thinking processes and provide customized information, their uses in education of gifted students could be explored.
New technologies are used productively in gifted education and promise change for the future. Specific technologies are pushing back the limits on what can be done and impacting the allocation of resources. Technology-rich learning environments are changing ideas about learning as they reshape the roles of teacher and student. Moreover, technologies have changed our ideas about what people should know. In the early days of microcomputer use in the schools, these technologies were viewed as an appropriate component of gifted education because of their complexity and predictable importance in the future. Now computer skills are viewed as being necessary for most people, and some technologies have been found to be more useful than others for highly able learners.
In the past, learning with technology was introduced in gifted education and then allowed to trickle down to regular education. This occurred inadvertently when there was one computer per classroom, and the students who finished work first could use it. This also has happened when there was a computer available for student use in the gifted resource room, but few computers were available for use elsewhere. Now, however, computers are more widely used, and they are seen as important tools that can engage most learners.
Applications of some new technologies will be piloted in regular education. This is already being done in the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow and the Saturn School (Hopkins, 1991). At times, however, gifted education may be the setting for the debut. This is due to a number of factors such as the complexity of the technology, scarcity of equipment and resources, and lack of knowledge on the part of the teachers. In such instances, implementing new technologies with groups of gifted students quickly provides educators with information about best uses. Gifted students are helpful in this process because they grasp the complex ideas, ask difficult questions, and use their own creativity to invent new applications. At the same time, the gifted learners gain experience with modem productivity tools (Moursund, 1992b), and they may be thrust into a leadership role. This role could involve their future assistance with the technology or its introduction into the school setting. It is important not to overuse gifted students as teachers. However, the rate of change confronting education is becoming so rapid that it is important to accelerate the adoption process. By enlisting the help of gifted students in this way, innovations will used well and by those for whom they have promise as quickly as possible.
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By Christine Mann
Christine Mann teaches gifted students in Scottsdale Public Schools.
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