1.B.+Understandings

Students will understand that...


 * What are the Big Ideas?
 * What specific understandings about them are desired?
 * What misunderstandings are predictable?

Big Ideas (and related understandings) relevant to this project include:


 * The medium used in collaboration affects the collaboration. As Marshall McLuhan punned, "The medium is the massage." Our target audience (other technology teachers) should understand this Big Idea -- that all communication technologies shape the quality of the collaboration. [We could go on about this, but do we need to?]
 * Related to this concept is that the collaboration technology should be //appropriate//. The idea of "appropriate technology", or that teachers "should" use technology that is appropriate to the goals and task at hand is an important understanding for the target audience. "Appropriate" has multiple levels of meaning -- e.g., appropriate to the task, appropriate to the goals, appropriate to the resources at hand.

One predictable misunderstanding is that any particular medium of collaboration or communication does //not// shape or affect the collaboration. A related misunderstanding is that "appropriate technology" is restricted to issues of cost and/or availability.