In Katherine Romano's article she introduces the concept of "webcentricity" and defines it as "using the Internet and technology to support a school's teaching and learning environment." Celebrations school, founded in 1996, in Florida actually uses this educational technology philosophy as the basis of their curriculum design. .
The schools staff includes an Instructional Technology Specialist and a seven-person technology team, which includes an in-house, live Help Desk that kids can call when they"re having technical problems. Scott Muri, the Instructional Technology Specialist says, "I want kids to see technology like they see a pencil; it's something that you pick up and use for a purpose and put it down and move on. It's a tool that you use to make something happen; it makes your life a little easier and allows you to accomplish a goal (44)." The school has three Instructional Technological Assistants who go around from classroom to classroom and work with students and teachers to help them successfully integrate the technology tools. .
The school's principal, John Bushey, states that, "As a school, we are doing some truly unique things in education. Schools need to be encouraged to bring people aboard in the technology area who understand the connection between technology and education and who can help bridge the gap between the technical and the curriculum (45)." .
As far as "bridging the gap between the technical and the curriculum", I couldn't agree more. In this day and age it is extremely important for children to be literate in computer use as well as other technological tools. My only concern with this philosophy is how much technology is used compared to the amount of much traditional learning methods? It is extremely important for children to learn how to use a pencil and color using crayons because it helps develop their hand muscles as well as their motor skills.
