Type I and Type II Usage of Technology

Type I technology usage means that you have technology but that you are not using in a way that you can get the most out of it; the technology is present but it is either not being used or it is being used but just as a device for the teacher to do less work.

Examples:

1) I knew somebody who went to a school where they had some laptops but there weren't enough for all of the students, so most teachers (instead of letting them take turns or figuring out a good system) just did not use them at all.
2) Somebody else I knew was at a school that just got a set of mac laptops but some of the teachers were unfamiliar with the programs so instead of learning how to use them they just ignored the new technology all together.
3) I had a couple teachers who never used laptops, the television, tape recorders, or did any kind of project with computers; everything was manual except for when you had to type up your papers to hand in, needless to say it was a boring class.

Type II technology usage means you use the technologies that you have and put it to use in a manner that helps you teach and the students learn.

Examples:

1) My high school had a foreign language lab with 50 or so cubicles each equiped with headset and tape recorder. You could all either watch an informational movie on the television, listen to the instructor through the headphones, practice conversation with a partner through the headphones, and record yourself on the tape recorder for you and the instructor to listen to later.
2) We (like the person from my Type I example 3) got some mac laptops. A couple of the computer lab instructors and ed. techs taught the majority of the teachers who did not know how to use them about the programs and technology. They were then used for research, powerpoints, group projects, etc.
3) At my high school we had a multimedia room. From that room studetns could check out vide recorders, cameras, and other devices for either photography class, video projects, interviews for research, and other things. This is also where our televised morning announcements were broadcasted from.