Prime Time; Technology in the Classroom

[Children singing] Guess what, what makes me happy inside, what what makes... [Ed Sardella] Hello, I'm Ed Sardella, host for Prime Time, a weekly program about educational activities in the Denver Public Schools. Our program this week is Technology in the Classroom. Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Joseph Brzeinski, comments on the impact of the electronic era on education, and we'll attend a computer fair and a workshop to develop computer awareness. At Byers School, we'll

observe the Kurzweil Optical Character Reader that's opening the door to reading for the blind and visually handicapped. Then on to Lincoln High School where, an airplane simulator is teaching students to fly. And we'll visit the auto mechanics class and word processing center at Emily Griffith Opportunity School. For a demonstration in how technology is improving the ability of students to learn foreign languages, we'll join the Spanish and German classes at Montbello. And in the final segments, we'll illustrate the use of television at Godsman and Baker Jr. High and review KRMA's instructional television programs. [Brzeinski, Joseph] We are in a new era, a technological age that is affecting how we live, how we work, and how we learn. The robot is taking over the assembly lines, Shattering the patterns of work. We view the planets and we marvel as our space age travelers return to Earth with precision accuracy. In the hospital, machines breathe for us, the blinking lights of

our telephone, and in the kitchen, where the microwave prepares dinner, we are surrounded by the automation of the electronic revolution. The technological progress gives benefits in terms of speed, access, convenience, and a range of choices in life that are unprecedented. It also has relevance to our modern schooling techniques. In the past, textbooks in the printed word formed the basis for educational instruction. But in the second half of the 20th century, the electronic age changed the library into an audio visual or Resource Center. Movie projectors, tape recorders, learning laboratories, and educational television have become important teaching tools, supplementing and enriching our classroom activities. Now it is the computer that is having and will have a profound impact on the curriculum and teaching methods. The Denver Public Schools instituted its first computer program at George Washington High School in 1960, and it's been an outstanding one even since that time. Now all 10 high schools,

most of our junior highs, and many elementary schools have at least one computer and are using them for instructional purposes. In February 1981, the Office of Educational Data Systems and Research was established. The purpose of this office was to develop and coordinate a microcomputer curriculum, to train teachers, and in the future, to set up a resource center to collect and disseminate information. Today we live in a computer society, we are teaching about computers, we are teaching with computers. The future is uncharted and unlimited as we have access and imagination to our home computers and computer-based information continues to spread. But now, more than ever, all students need to be prepared for tomorrow's sophisticated technological age. The students we're going to be graduating need to be as familiar with the computer and computer techniques as with the typewriter today. What do T.I., IBM, Commodore, Atari,

NEC, VIC, and Apple have in common? They're only a few of the various types of personal computers for business and pleasure. They may cost a few hundred dollars or thousands of dollars. All are designed to retrieve information, solve financial problems, or educate your children. At Smiley Jr. High, computer representatives held a fair to show parents, students and teachers a variety of microcomputers and educational programs. [Teacher] Press that key right there, the one that says paint, see what it does? It changes the color of the whole screen? OK? [Student] Yeah, much of it. [Teacher] Right. OK, let go of the color button, and then you can draw a triangle. [Ostrom, Nat] At the computer fair that the President of our PTSA initiated, with my help, our

objective, basically, is to try and make students, parents, and teachers aware of computers and their usefulness in the classroom or at home, you know, anywhere, type of thing, basically, just an awareness of microcomputers today. A lot of our kids are aware and have used microcomputers, so I think it's to our advantage to get in on the thing, and let's use it as an educational tool. [Shiels, Rosemary, Radio Shack Computer Center] Four times two is eight and one is nine. If I make a mistake, like with a seven, there's some Messages that says break up, be more careful, multiply again, Do something different. If I continue to put down a wrong answer, the machine will say, OK, I'll tell you the answer, I'll get you past this step. So we tried very, very hard not to frustrate the child. [Hull, Paul, Borg-Warner Educational Systems] On most computers now, most microcomputers, you have the ability in the programs

to do the recordkeeping for the teacher and the lessons for the student in the same disk. It's individualized, completely individualized. For example, one student may be the only one in the class to make a certain mistake. Well, the computer knows that, and it will respond to that student only in a certain method, according to what mistakes he makes. So it's completely individualized, which is virtually impossible with a teacher. [Computer] One, four, six, eight, picture. Press two, four, six, eight, word. Finish the sentence. Press one, four, two. [Hull] Most of the students that I've seen work the programs have enjoyed it, but I also have to say that some of that may be the novelty. That's something we're going to learn in a few months, or a few years.

[Sardella] The primary users of the first computers were engineers and scientists with well-trained data processors to program and operate the bulky equipment. But in recent years, rapid technological changes have led to the microcomputer. Small enough to sat on a desk and requiring only basic skills to program. Many of the schools have computers, and in some instances, the parent teacher student associations have purchased equipment for their schools. Dennis Cole, Denver Public Schools Educational Data Systems Officer, conducts workshops in computer literacy, instructing parents and teachers in the educational use of the computer and how it functions. [Cole, Dennis] This is the computer, OK. The green board and the black chip, this is the computer right here. Now in particular, when you look in here, that's the head chip, OK? In computer terminology, that's the central processing unit. That's the chip that makes this thing a computer, OK? That's the spot where the

arithmetic is taken care of and the decisions are made about whether one number is larger than another, or whether something should go to memory here, or should I go over to the disk and look for a program there, those decisions are made here in this chip. [Sardella] Dennis Cole also demonstrates how to operate the equipment so the parents can learn to run existing programs and develop their own. This instruction enables them to become knowledgeable in computer technology and acquire information about buying the right computer and software to meet specific needs. [Interviewer] I wanted to find out why you're taking instruction in computers. [Parent 1] I want to know where to begin, everyone's taking courses and talking about getting them for their home. I didn't know anything about it. [Interviewer] Are you interested in for home, for school, what use? [Parent 1] Not for home yet; for school, yes. [Interviewer] What kinds of programs are you working with? [Parent 2] Well, there's one that involves math, which you can pick the level, if you want addition, subtraction,

multiplication, or division. And then it gives you problems, and then if you get them correctly, you get it correct, then you get a happy face, and if you miss it, you get a sad face. It's surprising, It's a sad face(laughs). It's people like you do. [Sardella] The Kurzweil Reading Machine is the most significant advancement since the development of Braille in assisting the blind and visually handicapped to read. The Reading Machine, located at Byers School, serves the junior high age students. It was acquired by the Denver Public Schools in December, through a federal demonstration grant project at a cost of $30,000. John Zaffore, teacher at Byers for the visually handicapped describes the machine and demonstrates its use. [Zaffore, John] The Kurzweil Reading Machine is a computer that reads printed material, and it can read any kind of printed material, no matter the style or size. Once it's put in on the uh screen and

scanned and gone to the computer, and then goes to the speech synthesizer. And the advantage of that is that a student can read something that hasn't been Brailled or hasn't been put into uh, a tape on a cassette tape, audio tape that they could listen to. The reason it's really special is because the computer is actually looking at spaces between words and figuring out phonetically what that word is by applying rules that are programmed into it and then being able to pronounce that in this synthetic speech. And I think that's the unusual part about it. It opens up printed words to the blind person that otherwise would, they'd have to wait for or they wouldn't be able to read at all. OK, what the Kurzweil Reading Machine is, it starts out here with

A scanner that moves across the page and reads the print And sends that information to the computer here That interprets that print and then sends that to a speech synthesizer that you control with this control panel and uh, it reads what the printed page is, and the speaker is in the control panel. The scanner reads the uh, book across the top of the page, and so it will start here with, "Mrs. Bertha Flowers, 203," and then start reading the text. OK, Eileen? Let it read awhile and then stop and pause it, OK? [Computer] Flowers 203, ? ? in my memory. She thought that she ? ? through ? ? [Zaffore] OK, stop it there. Go back to the word memory, find the word memory. What she's doing now is going back

line or backward go I. Go back line a line instead of backward because it's quite a ways back around. [Computer] ?1,000? ? ? ? ? in my memory. [Zaffore] OK. Memory is in that line, let's find the word memory. [Computer] In. My. Memory. [Zaffore] OK, now spell the word memory, and there's a special word key that she can push. Go ahead and spell the whole word. [Computer] Right. [Zaffore] Or she can spell it letter at a time. Go ahead and letter at a time, slowly. [Computer] M-E-M [Zaffore] OK, speed up. [Computer] O-R-Y comma [Zaffore] That's the punctuation after it. OK, continue reading. [Computer] She stops at the store to buy ? ? [Zaffore] A person, say, in a technical field that has books that are of a technical nature and they're not put into Braille and somebody reading them probably wouldn't understand it or they'd have to go back and go forward in it. A person could do that on this

reading machine. So...[Computer inaudible sounds] [Zaffore] Stop. What kind of dress was it? [Student] School dress. [Zaffore] OK, go back and find that long word that started with a F, did you know what it was? OK, let's find it. [Computer] Flowers. [Zaffore] Go back and say lines. [Computer] Next. That you ? ? It was formal without suggesting ? ?, Miss. [Zaffore] It was what kind of dress? [Students] Formal. OK. Find the word formal. [Computer] ? ? it was formal Say yes. [Computer] that you Hope. You could spell that word letter at a time. Couldn't you.

OK. Right now it's the latest in technology. And the exciting thing about it is, is this is the first. And in another, I'd say, five years, not even 10 or more and you know, maybe even less than five years. We'll probably have a machine that a student can use to read printed material that isn't so cumbersome, isn't so large. I'm really excited about the fact that it's just available now and this is just the beginning of it. [Sardella] Computers are moving into vocational technical education to speed up the instructional program and to assist students in determining career choices and acquiring the marketable skills. At Lincoln High School, learning to fly by using an airplane simulator is one of the many computer-related classes available in the Denver high schools. Training and retraining for the job opportunities of the 80s takes place at Emily Griffith Opportunity School. In the auto mechanics class

is the Sunray machine for electronic diagnostic testing on automobiles. In the business occupations division, students are learning computerized data entry in the Word Processing Center. [Teacher, Lincoln High School] We might today show you a little bit about what this computer can do. And this is called a flight simulator. To fly the airplane, you have to keep your fingers on the keyboard, and to see what you're doing, you have to look at the screen. All right. So if you turn it one way or the other, you turn left or right. Now, you don't make a flat turn, obviously; you sort of bank turn, all right, you tilt over and go off, roll off to the right or the left. The top half of this screen that you can see right here is looking out the window of the airplane. It's just like looking out that window right there. The bottom half is the set of instruments, this one being the altimeter, the one marked in the middle in your picture there. The one on the left, labeled G, is the

airspeed, and you have to get up to at least 50 miles an hour to be able to take off and fly. [Music] Now, what I'd like to do is let somebody come over here and try it. [Music] ...his airplane, whoa!, we're about to meet disaster. [Music] OK, we need another victim, I mean volunteer. [Teacher, auto mechanics class, Emily Griffith Opportunity School] This is the new computer 2 machine. We're going to run through a sequence of tests with

this machine to determine the diagnostic procedure on the vehicle prior to doing any repair work. We'll go through a full series as outlined by the machine, step-by-step procedures to diagnose any problems. Not only will this machine tell us a little bit as far as the compression is concerned, it will tell us the RPM change of each cylinder, but it will also tell us the amount of fuel that went through that cylinder over here as a final check. So it gives us a broad spectrum of the general mechanical condition, the RPM change, and the amount of work that each cylinder is doing, and the amount of fuel that was left over during that killing process. So it gives us a good readout of carburetion, RPM change, and compression, all in one check. It does that all automatically. [Teacher, Emily Griffith Opportunity School, word processing class] OK, Carolyn, now this equipment that we have here is going to allow us to key information and to store it, so that if you have to make any corrections or

changes, you won't have to start all over again like you do on the typewriter. This is a word processor. We have the CRT, stands for cathode ray tube. We have our keyboard here. And all of this is hooked up by cables to a computer in another room. Two features of the word processor, Carolyn, are that you can easily correct any errors that you've made when you keyed in the words. So, move the cursor over here; we've got "daily" misspelled. And move your cursor and put in the A and then the I. OK, now we've recently changed that. Now let's add in the word "new" in front of equipment. So you place your cursor in front of the E where you have it and press the line insert key to give us some more room. [Carolyn] The align key? [Teacher] Line insert. OK? Now type in the word "new." Bring your cursor down and change that E to a small E, since that's not the first word. Bring the cursor back up, but

leave one space. OK, now press the align key. And our paragraph has been rearranged, fitting in the word "new" and putting all the other words in their order. [Spanish Audio recording] [Sardella] Language labs have been in use for 30 years, but now they're more compact, and they have the capability of playing back the student's voice and that of the taped speaker or teacher. [someone speaking spanish] This has resulted in the students acquiring greater fluency and correct pronunciation by imitating the proper rate, pitch, rhythm, and tone of the foreign linguists speaking in their native tongues. The ability of students to master a foreign language varies, but the lab allows for individual instruction and additional learning time after school. In a Montbello Spanish class, students repeat sentences and respond to questions from

teacher Ana Garcia. [Ana Garcia, Montbello Spanish Teacher speaking in Spanish to students] [Spanish audio recording of sentences and words] [Students repeat sentences and words] [Garcia repeats Spanish recording] [ Music] [German video recording] [German video continues] [Music] [German video continues] [Music] [German] [Jackson, Bryce, German teacher] Michael a question in German] [Michael, student responds in German. . . . . continued response in German] [coughing] [Jackson] [responding to student in German [German] [Jackson] OK, this is a new program that the Denver Public Schools are subscribing to from the German Educational Television Network in New York. It's a series of ah, news casts that they have brought

together from the West German television stations. And what we're going do today is play the video cassette, and I will interrupt it and ask questions to students for comprehension. [Music] [German video recording] [video stopped] [Jackson] [asking students question in German] Linda? [Sardella] Jet travel has drawn the world closer together with a greater need for understanding the languages and cultures of other countries. Bryce Jackson, German teacher at Montbello, believes that in his classes videotapes make instruction more stimulating and authentic by visualizing the German culture and [German video re-started] helping students to realize the practical application of the German language. What is the role of television in education? Teachers are utilizing television cameras and recorders to produce their own media productions and to introduce

students to a technology that could lead to future careers in telecommunications. At Godsman Elementary, students are discovering the skills required to be members of a television crew, and at Baker Jr. High, a video taping of a rehearsal of the jazz choir illustrates how a student production is being used to monitor and improve the quality of the choir's performance. [Dorothy Marlatt, Godsman Elementary teacher] This is our first year with the TV work so consequently these kids are learning about set design, directing, producing, writing, camera work, and working as a team to put everything together. Right now we're in the process of learning how to operate our camera. And we'll tie that in with our written script in a few more weeks. Let's go back and review. Director. Have you decided your shots? [Director] Yes. [Marlatt] Hey, camera person, did you check for each and

everything? Tilt? [Camera Person] Uh-huh [Marlatt] Zoom? [Camera Person] Uh-huh [Marlatt] Pan? [Camera Person] Uh-huh [Marlatt] Long shot? OK, VTR, Are you ready? OK, I guess we're ready to go with Director, then. [Director] Bend your knees a little. Yeah. OK. OK, you don't have to fade out. [whispers] OK, ready? Five, four, three, two, go. [Marlatt] What we hope to accomplish with them is for them to share their expertise with other children in the building. They'll be not only learning how to use the video tape, but hopefully teaching it to other children as well. [Students speaking to each other] [Director] Yeah. [Students talking, music, noises] [Teacher, Baker Jr. High] OK, John, you're taping now. We're live. [Students talking, noises, and music] OK, wide angle shot and then zoom in for faces.

[Music] See 'em lookin' all around? That's what we're after. It's all those people who aren't playin' to their audience. [Music and students singing] [Music ends] OK, let's stop the deck and change camera operators. [Sardella] Teachers use a variety of audio-visual materials to enhance the learning process. Films, overhead projectors, slides, record players, and tape recorders are integrated into program objectives that meet the concerns and needs of students. Instructional television is another convenient learning resource. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Television in Education for KRMA, the Denver Public Schools, and the students of Colorado. Every weekday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the school year, KRMA broadcasts instructional programs for grades K through 12. ITV brings new

resources into the classroom with specialists in math, art, science, and music. It provides different approaches for presenting information through animation, rhymes, and song and reinforces classroom lessons by motivating interest in subjects and extending the range of experience available to students. Instructional television continues to meet the changing curriculum needs and provides a variety of programs. Here's a sampling of what's currently available for teachers and students. [Computer] It's very simple. By saying the three words in sequence, my voicebox begins to activate. My name is Theta, and I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. [Chris Anderson] I. . .I'm Chris Anderson. ? Arnold ? said you had a message from my uncle? [Theta, the Computer] Yes. Otto and I are two of your uncle's inventions. [Music] [Announcer 1] Look at the environment of these fish, the water in the tank, of course, the oxygen in the

water, and the water temperature, the plants, and the other fish. But the fish aren't even aware of some of the most important parts of their environment. [Exotic bird noises] [Announcer 2] Of the millions of organisms, despite different shapes, colors, and sizes, each living thing is [trilling noises] bound to similar processes. Each [trilling and music] will go through a living cycle that life, as we know it, shares. [Announcer 3] Twenty years ago, I remember programming on a computer a kind of toy and people reacted, that's crazy! Why use a million- dollar computer to act like a toy? [Computer beeping] And here we see a beginning, a computer inside a little toy. [Announcer 4] As the world outside our classroom keeps shrinking, we're especially proud of a new series of multicultural programs we're introducing this year. Our students will meet and grow to understand people who are [Singing] very different and very similar to themselves. [Chiming sounds] [Sardella] Television, computers, and transistorized [Music] electronics are the seeds of the future

already mixed in the soil of the present. We're now seeing the benefits of modern technology helping children to learn. [Music ends] But what does the future hold? In 1946, the first all- electronic computer went into operation, marking a new industrial revolution. During a brief span of 40 years, the computer has grown in importance, influencing and touching every aspect of our lives. New technologies are delivering the world's knowledge directly to our schools, homes, offices and community centers. Will our schools become obsolete, or will there still be the need for socialization, the ability of children to learn how to live and work in a free society? Will the rote drills and memorization of dates and events become unnecessary because electronic equipment can instantaneously give us that information? Although many technical advances will occur, we move ahead with the assurance that educational technology will continue to enlighten

and offer infinite educational opportunities. I am Ed Zardella.