Brian Bailey: Student motivation and the politics of power on the Internet

“At first I was very much a bells-and-whistles person," Brian Bailey says, describing his early experiences as a science teacher in the West Irondequoit Central School District. "I thought anything that got kids interested in education was good for them." While he quickly moved beyond that phase, he remained interested and involved in the many ways that computers can be used to affect student motivation. "I'm interested in making connections between student motivation and the autonomy students experience using the Internet in school," he says.

Bailey's technology interests carry him on land and "by sea." At Monroe #1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), for example, he was part of a development team and later the coordinator of the Bathysphere Underwater Biological Laboratory (BUBL). The BUBL, a simulation program for 7th- and 8th-graders, is housed at the Rochester Museum and Science Center. The lab can "explore" shipwrecks, test lake water for pollution, and use CAD/CAM systems to create mechanical parts to replace those damaged underwater. His vita also includes a bachelor's degree from Cornell University, a master's degree in computer education from Nazareth College of Rochester, and a stint at Monroe #1 BOCES, where he provided technology professional development and classroom support for teachers in 10 school districts served by that BOCES. Despite all his experiences, he is the first to admit that he's still learning.

As a Warner School PT3 doctoral technology specialist, Bailey helps to deliver programs that will allow teacher educators to better prepare teachers to use technology in their classrooms. While he feels that technology can often have a positive impact on the learning process, he also sees the Warner School's commitment to using theory to inform practice. "You don't have Warner School faculty just jumping on the bandwagon," Bailey says, "they question and investigate the role of technology in education." He considers such investigation essential and is especially curious about how critically students evaluate the information they access through the 'Net. While he believes there is a definite corporate orientation there, he thinks that it isn't evident to students unless they are taught to pay attention to it. He feels that educators are responsible for helping students learn to think critically about Internet issues and other unfiltered information they receive. While he initially came to the Warner School asking "Whose story is being told on the Internet?"--with the help of faculty members like Joanne Larson and David Hursh, he's expanded the question: now he wants to know as well "Whose story has been excluded?"