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| Note taker: Doran Smestad types notes during a history class in Newport, Maine. As a 'tech sherpa,' he will post these notes
online. Mary Knox Merrill - staff   Voices from Nokomis High School |
In US classrooms, 'tech sherpas' assist teachers with computers
In a role reversal, students provide the tech support, creating a 'culture of respect' between teachers and teens.
from the November 29, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
"Some teachers don't want to do it – they want to stick to the old-school way," Jayson says. "In the future it's going to be kind of forced upon them.... Right now, we're gently pushing them towards it."
The sherpa instructor
What makes the help provided by students like Jayson reliable is partly the structure and skills layered into the tech-sherpa venture by Kern Kelley, a fast-talking former fifth-grade teacher who is now the district's technology integrator.
"Just because a student can create a MySpace page doesn't mean they know all the ins and outs of technology," Mr. Kelley says.
These students do tend to spend hours of free time teaching themselves the latest programs, but many of them also take the intro and advanced broadcasting communication classes that Mr. Kelley coteaches in a temporary trailer classroom just outside the high school's main building.
The sherpas are often on hand to help teachers spontaneously in class – either to troubleshoot or to operate digital equipment. They work with academic departments to build custom websites. When they have free time, they respond to requests teachers have sent in to Kelley that he knows can be handled by a student rather than a member of the small IT staff. He recently started asking tech sherpas to log the work they do with teachers so they can earn credit.
This fall the group also launched a weekly live Web-stream show called "The Tech Curve," in which students field questions about various Internet teaching tools and the new Mac laptops that the state is issuing to high school teachers (see www.nokomiswarriorbroadcasting.com).
Kelley says the most valuable assignments he can give are "authentic" tasks – of real use to the school or the community.
Project-based and student-driven learning have been an emphasis in this district for about 15 years, adds Ms. Gee, so teachers here are generally open to the creative options offered by new technology.
Other benefits realized
There's some evidence that having students teach teachers in this way is linked to improved academic performance. A study of the Generation Yes model, for instance, found that over the course of three years, students in the program had higher increases in math and language-arts test scores than their peers.
Maine recently joined the state leadership initiative of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, which encourages school systems to incorporate technology, critical thinking, teamwork, and other key talents that will be required in the future workforce. In a national poll of 800 registered voters, the Partnership found that 87 percent thought computer and technology skills are important, but only 48 percent thought they are being taught well in schools.
At Nokomis High, social studies teacher Dan Viles has embraced digital technology to the fullest. Students who are used to blithely reading through textbooks face a new challenge, he says, because he asks them to collaborate on documents and discussions online.
"At first they tend to think this is going to be great, and then they realize it's going to be more thinking and sometimes more work, and they kind of reflex against that. But after the dust settles, they tend to stick with it and enjoy it," he says.
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