Stakeholder Stakeholder InterviewInterview

Interview with Laura O.

8th Grader in Cobb County School District

Click on the images to learn more about Laura’s views

on technology in education.

Meet Laura O.Meet Laura O.• Laura is an 8th grader at a Cobb County

middle school.

• She is academically successful and takes Advanced Content classes for all content areas.

• She is very involved in manyextracurricular activities and loves dancing.

• She is an avid technology-user. Click here to go back.

How do you use technology at How do you use technology at home?home?

• Laura says that she spends most of her time at home using different forms of technology, including:– Video games– Emailing friends– Looking at facebook– Texting friends or talking to them

on her cell phone– Listening to her iPod– Playing with apps on her iPod

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How does the way you use How does the way you use technology at home compare to the technology at home compare to the way you use technology at school?way you use technology at school?

• “I like to play around with technology at home. I just get on my computer and do whatever seems fun right then. At school, everything has a plan. We never just play around. Teachers tell us we have to hurry to have time to finish.”

• “We really only use computers at school. At home I play with lots of other things, too. It’s like cell phones. They are not allowed at school, but I do lots of things on my cell phone at home.”

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If you were in charge of designing a If you were in charge of designing a modern classroom, what would it look modern classroom, what would it look

like?like?• Laura envisions that every student would

have his/her own laptop and iTouch that would go from class to class.

• She describes modern desks that include power sources and more space to accommodate students’ materials.

• Laura’s ideal modern classroom would include stations with video cameras, educational video games, and computers.

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Do you feel that your teachers use technology Do you feel that your teachers use technology in a way that helps you to learn?in a way that helps you to learn?

• “We don’t use computers a whole lot at school, so when we do everyone is excited and really into it. That makes them learn more probably.”

• “Sometimes we use the Internet to research things, and I like that because I get to read interesting things.”

• “I like when we make movies and podcasts. It’s fun to make them and I think I remember more of the stuff when we do things like that.”

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Describe a memorable lesson that Describe a memorable lesson that used technology.used technology.

• Laura described a project she had completed when she was in my class as a 5th grader.

• Small groups of students used digital cameras to take pictures of themselves and/or props. The photos represented elements of the 1920s.

• Students used the photos and their research to create silent movies of the 1920s.

• The class hosted a red carpet movie premiere for families and other visitors.

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Why does it matter if teachers Why does it matter if teachers use technology with students?use technology with students?

• “I think kids need to know how to use technology because when they grow up they’ll need it for their jobs. My dad has to use a computer a lot for work, and he uses it a lot at home, too.”

• “Kids like technology. They play with computers and things at home, so they want to use it at school, too.”

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