Implementing the Seven Principles:
Technology as Lever
by Chickering, Arthur
and Stephen C. Ehrmann

This article focuses on how technology can be used to implement certain teaching principles.

It focuses on how teachers can better interact with students, but I believe it left out parental involvement which can be sometimes very essential. Using newsletters, on-line grade books, teacher web pages, can keep parents more in touch, which has been proven to help students be more successful in the classroom. It talked mainly about, though, e-mail being a great communication tool in which students can respond quickly to students' homework, the speed of the response helping aid the learning process.

Technology can also help create a more active learning atmosphere. This article is dated, so it only stated one example: the word processor. However, in this day and age, there is so much more out there! These include SmartBoards, AlphaSmarts, Web quests, Reading Pens, Etc.

Technology can also be used to communicate high expectations of students and keep them more on tasks. An example in the article is the use of web publishing of student projects helps keep pupils "honest" since their work will be displayed for all to see on the World Wide Web. Other uses come to mind, like "spy ware," used by administrators, teachers, or librarians to monitor student activity on a computer.

Finally, technology helps us teach a diverse class, everyone with individualized needs. Technology has allowed more effective inclusion of special education students better than ever before. There are devices now so that all hearing- and/or visually-impaired students can participate in the classroom like everyone else.

Although this article is dated (1996) like the previous article posted, it has good points/principles that can be applied to teaching and technology available today.