1.What are the supports needed to access and incorporate technology effectively? 

There needs to be extensive support from the district office and the administration.   They need to provide instruction for teachers on how to use technology effectively.  Technology can be interwoven into a curriculum that includes many other "traditional" activities.  Teachers need to see how this can be done as well as learn how to use the technology themselves.  I can visualize the NYC Writing Project giving courses maybe in conjunction with our UFT Teacher Center which has the computer capabilities in our school for teachers. 

A second support has to be the upkeep of the computers. The person in charge of the labs has to keep the computers and the Internet working. This should be a priority. 

A third support is in the computer lab when the teachers are beginners or even more experienced with using the lab with their students. There needs to be available a person experienced with technology to help do trouble-shooting that always happens at the start when a new class first enters the lab. 
 
 

2.What is the best way to use (utilize) technology with students?

Technology is just one tool to help students learn. The major point is that using technology can enhance the learning of students if used intelligently by a teacher with vision and ability. 

Computer software should not be taught by itself without subject area content.    "Spending semesters teaching computing simply subtracts time from other subjects," Clifford Stoll  in "Why Computers don't Belong in the Classroom."Students can do a project or inquiry in a subject class while at the same time learning the technology. 

 I think in a high school setting, which is what I know best, technology can be incorporated using the project model Wilhelm talks about and which we are doing ourselves in this "Inquiry with Technology.  Students in their subject classes would be presented with a question.  They then create their web site including all the parts of their inquiry concerning the answer to the question.  This web site is an example.    But then there are other ways of using technology  such as a PowerPoint presentation from each student or a group. 

Other ways to use technology are publishing a newspaper made based on a work of literature read by the class. All of these can also be included in the major Inquiry or project. Are there others ways of using technology? Yes.  The simple basic way to start is using the computer just to do drafts of writing. I would like to see if there are other models though right now I am quite satisfied with model of using technology by making a web page to answer a question posed by the leader or teacher.
 
 

3. How has technology changed or is how is it changing our ideas of literacy?

This a debate I have been having recently with myself. I feel that computer literacy is necessary for our students to be literate, although I feel there may be some people who will flourish without computer literacy.  But those people will be rare. For example, Eddie Murphy never went to college. Most of us need college to be successful with literacy, but he appears to be a highly talented literate person without higher education. 
 
 

4. How do we guide students to a critical use of the "bells and whistles" that computers allow them to add to their work? 

Assessing the design of the student project, the web site, involves learning what design is and whether a particular design has helped convey the message the students intended to the selected audience. I think students should participate in the design of the rubric. Wilhelm discusses this in his article at great length.