About

It can be tricky to figure out how technology can be used to improve the in-class learning experience. As a technology coach and teacher, I’ve seen technology used in ways that are empowering, creative and immersive. I’ve also seen technology used in ways that replicate analog teaching, inhibit playfulness and flatten curiosity – and that’s no good.

Eight and a Half by Eleven is the name of my thesis work at Parsons The New School for Design, where I studied design + technology. It is named for the conditions we take for granted, and asks us to reconsider when the use of technology is an improvement on analog teaching and when it is not.

I’ve worked in New York City public schools since 2005, first as a seventh grade social studies teacher in a 1:1 laptop classroom and later as a tech coach in three middle schools across the city. I now teach film and design at the NYC iSchool. I am particularly interested in designing learning environments that support curiosity, critical thinking, and making things. My classroom is http://www.roomfourzerotwo.com.

- Christina Jenkins | August 2011
http://www.christinamjenkins.com