This unit takes full advantage of new technologies, and in fact, relies on them to enhance both teaching and learning for understanding. Because of the new technologies used, i.e. Macintosh lab fully equipped with printing and publishing hardware and software, students were able to showcase their work in the form of products. Moreover, these products were intended for the community and thus were designed with a real-life purpose in mind. When students knew that what they were doing in class each day had a real purpose, they became far more motivated to learn the preliminary small steps in programs. Before they were designing products for a real audience, students had little concern for the process of learning applications - they just wanted to jump right to the final step.

The new technologies made it easier to keep understanding goals up front because the goals were reinforced on a weekly, if not daily basis as we stressed the importance of mastering individual applications as they related to the central goal of producing meaningful self-reflective products, i.e. the Community Holdiay Cards.

The technology itself made it very easy to support examination and revision of student work. Because we used an LCD panel and Apple Presentation System set up for the first part of each period, we were able to demonstrate the tasks and skills for the day as well as bring up student work from the previous day for group comment and revision. This method worked so well that by the middle of the unit, the students began to take over the presentation system and run their own peer-editing sessions. The kids were very engaged when the demonstration was controlled by one of them instead of by a teacher. One day when we were frantically trying to get the letter edited and the templates in place, we were working with several students at the same time and having a hard time meeting each student's needs. Kirsten had started to place the class letter on the monitor for display and to ask the students for editing comments, while Susan was across the room helping another student with his layout. Some of the kids noticed that we teachers were getting pulled in several different directions. One student simply came to the front of the room and took Kirsten's place at the monitor. It was the most exciting time of the semester when she took over because she got the entire class engaged in a rousing discussion over what words to include in the message to the mayor! The student did much better than either of us could have done because she had the respect and attention of all of her peers. The students really worked together that day to create their own letter to the mayor. During this exercise it was obvious that the kids felt the cards were real and were important.

The students were incredibly drawn to the tools - anything we did with the computers, they wanted to do as well. The technology in this case also allows students to take much more individual control over their learning. Each student had his or her own computer, which created a situation where they all felt vested in their "learning stations" and in their products.

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• What Students Have to Say!