Lab | Software | Integration Ideas | Resources | Research | Projects | CreatingWebsites | Editors | Design | Safety | Testing | Assignments
Lab | Software | Integration Ideas | Resources | Research | Projects | CreatingWebsites | Editors | Design | Safety | Testing | Assignments
| Integrating technology successfully usually
requires a change of mind set in the teacher. Technology integration won't
work even with all of the right software and hardware if a teacher is unwilling
to learn new teaching styles. Read this article on questioning to get an
idea of what a mind change can mean.
Framing Essential Questions (From Now On) http://www.fromnowon.org/sept96/questions.html
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How can you integrate in a classroom with one computer?
The Tom Snyder company put out a book in the mid 1990's called The One Computer Classroom. Among the many great suggestions in that book are these jewels:
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Teacher Productivity
Often we forget how helpful technology is for a teacher. We focus so much on getting technology to the kids that we miss the fact that it can make the teacher's job more effective and efficient. This truly has an impact on student learning as well. Teachers can increase productivity by using a grading program, word processing letters and newsletters to parents, and communicating with e-mail. Having access to the Internet can open a teachers mind to what is being done with technology in other parts of the world. There are also articles and list serves that can truly help a teacher in his/her own professional development. |
| Whole Class
This is especially easy if you have the ability to connect your computer to a large TV monitor or some sort of projection device. If not kids can still be gathered around to see the monitor. Taking a tour of the Whitehouse or visiting some other state or country can be especially interesting. There are times when gathering the whole class to see a certain program before using it in a rotation can help students complete the task more successfully. One teacher I know often took her whole class through what they would be doing in the computer lab before going. She said it saved time and wear and tear from questions. |
| Small Group Rotation
One computer in a classroom can be one "center" in a small group rotation that happens at a certain time of the day. The activity at that station can be related to whatever the subject matter is. Some students can be writing in a journal. Others can be making brainstorming lists quietly in a corner. Others can be editing their papers with partners and the help of the teacher and the computer station can be a place for word processing your favorite story or making a paintbrush picture that goes along with the story. |
| Simulation
This is another Tom Snyder specialty, but anyone can do it. The computer can be one part of a simulation experience. It can be an information central where groups of students can go to look up certain things they need. A class can be divided up into groups and each group given different tasks related to the simulation. One group at a time would have a chance to use the computer for information. You may want to take a look at Tom Snyder products to get some ideas of what can be done.
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| Task Computing
Task Computing is described in Learning and Leading with Technology (Oct. 1997, v25, n2, p.6-11). One of the difficult things about rotation is the feeling of having no clue what students are accomplishing while on the computer. No doubt, there are students who use the time well, but for others it is a waste of time. With Task Computing students are given clear tasks that need to be done on the computer. This method can be done with one computer, but more is always better! They do not all have to be the same kind. You can have an area with an Apple IIe, an old 386 PC, and an Internet capable up to date computer. The teacher plans curriculum centered activities for the computers. It could be keyboarding, doing Magic School Bus in the Human Body, doing a website scavenger hunt or working on multiplication skills on the Apple IIe. Each task has some sort of paper that needs to be turned in. It could be a keyboarding score with name and date, questions about the body that they answered from the program, or a story printed from word processing. A bulliten board or part of one is dedicated to this. Every student name is listed with magnetic pieces noting the different activities placed next to their names. It is possible then to match up the multiplication activity with the student who needs it rather than telling everyone that they have to do it. Students rotate to the computer stations taking a predesignated amount of time each (30min?) or working until they finish a particular activity. A student is appointed as an expert for each of the computers (this can rotate) and students are not to interrupt the teacher except in extreme emergencies. You can prepare a "dead mouse" from a dysfunctional computer mouse for each computer. The person who is at the computer has the mouse at their desk. When they are done they can quietly move the mouse to the next person's desk. Ideally the computer will be getting good use and students will not just be missing class time, but doing some important learning. The teacher will have some sort of feedback turned in to them from each activity!
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How can you integrate if you only have a lab?
Integration of a lab is different. There is no flexibility. You probably have an assigned time, or a time you signed up for. What can you do to make that time useful?
Here are some suggestions:
-Begin with your curriculum. Never start by asking "What can I do with the computer?". Ask "What are my curricular goals?". From there you can move to match what is available in terms of software and hardware in you own situation.
-Give yourself time. It is possible that you have no idea of what software is in the lab. That is OK. Maybe you can allow the kids to have some free time and learn from them what is there (they always seem to know more!)
-Be flexible. Just when you are prepared the network will go down. One time there will be 5 different kids with computer problems that you don't know how to solve. Always come with a Plan B. If the network is down, the whole class needs something to do, probably back in the classroom. If a few computers are acting up and you don't know how to fix them have something ready that those kids can do, or be ready to partner them with someone else.
-Get on a list serve on technology or spend some time regularly looking on the web to see what other teachers are doing.
Technology is not only the Internet. There is also great educational software. There is so much software that it is hard to figure out what to purchase. The article in your packet gives you some guidelines and an instrument for evaluating software.
It is always good to remember that you can integrate technology into your curriculum even using the basic programs that came on your computer. Paintbrush on Windows can be used to teach symmetry, arrays and other math lessons. It can be used for colors, alphabet and numbers with younger students. Word processing can fit into a number of different curriclar topics. A simple spreadsheet can be used to teach graphing, estimation, and other math skills. Even the calculator on your computer can be used to teach a lesson on which numbers make the same addend.
There are programs that can do all of these things in a more colorful and maybe easier way, but if the funds are not there for purchasing software this can help.
One way to get software for free is to send home the Scholastic Software Club fliers. Parents have a chance to order good software for very decent prices and the school can earn bonus points that can be used to build up a software library.
USING THE WEB WITHOUT SEARCHING
No matter what you do searching takes time. You can avoid having your students take time searching by preparing sites that need to be used ahead of time.
TrackStar
One way to do that is to use TrackStar
http://trackstar.4teachers.org/trackstar/ts/startSearchByKeyword.do
With this tool you can set up certain web sites that the students should go to and tasks that need to be done along with them.
Scavenger Hunts
A paper based scavenger hunt that guides students to certain sites and has them looking for information can focus a lesson and it holds kids attention.
WebQuests
Another way to focus web learning is with Web Quests.
This is a method of creating a web page that guides your students through material that you want them to learn. There are many webquests already avalable. Take time this week to look at the explanation of how to do them and preview a few samples.
Go to this site. Read the background information and try out a few web quests. Take notes if you want. It will be part of our discussion.
The Teacher's Internet Use Guide
One more way of integrating the Internet into whatever curriculum you are teaching is using the Teacher's Internet Use Guide.
http://www.rmcdenver.com/useguide/
The ideas here are not as rich as a WebQuest, but can get teachers thinking about how to use the internet to meet state standards.
ACTIVITY STRUCTURES
Judi Harris at the University of Illinois, College of Education several years ago came up with this way of organizing and thinking about Internet use. This page lists actual projects that fit into these different curriculum based Internet Activities. This list is a rich resource of ideas for anyone wanting to use technology well.
Go to this site. Browse through the different activity structures. Choose one that you would like to look at more deeply. Select an activity. Prepare a review of this activity that can be shared on our discussion forum.
There are loads of web sites dedicated to helping teachers successfully integrate technology. Many State Universities have sites and there are some from individuals. Take a look at some of these (try at least 3) and bookmark the ones that you think will be helpful in the future.
Internet Classroom Guide
http://gostats.com/resources/classroom-guide.html
Global School House
I love to do research using the web, but many people I know say that they never find anything they need. Others spend hours surfing from this to that interesting little tidbit, never getting deeper.
The keys to a good research strategies on the internet are discipline and good searching strategies. Certain subjects are well covered online. Others are harder to find and books are a much more appropriate source. Teaching students to be aware of these things is an important skill for their futures.
Some good search strategies:
The + sign means the word you are asking for MUST be on the page. Put it in front of every term that you use. It goes right next to the term, no spaces.
Quotation marks "" before and after a phrase will hold it together as one thing to search for.
A - minus sign excludes a term. It will help you if you are looking for python and want a snake, not Monty Python. (+python -monty)It also goes right next to the term, no spaces.
In Alta Vista if you want a certain image you can just type image:_____ in the keyword search box filling in the blank with what picture you are looking for! Try image:whale.
Look at the first few sites on the list and if they are not what you want reword your search. Don't spend time looking through the first 100 sites.
There are some search engines specifically for kids. Each site listed is checked and found to be appropriate.
Ask Jeeves is also very good:
Many kid's search engines gathered in one place:
http://www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm
Yahooligans was a favorite of mine, but now I think there is too much advertising. I don't think that kids should be a "market".
PROJECTS
Global projects can make traditional curriculum come alive. It is possible to join one and participate or create one yourself. Here are just a few that I have experienced:
100's Day Project (search and you will find many pages on this)
Many primary students count the days as a way to learn their numbers. This project run by a teacher at Loogootee Elementary school helps match classes all over the world. If you join your class sends greetings to 100 other classes (you have a choice of where they are). You receive greetings from 100 classes also. Kids learn counting, geography, reading, writing, culture, and many other things from this fun project.
Journey North
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/index.html
This is a huge project and there are many levels of involvement. It can be done by any age of class. The main idea is that students observe the migration of animals in their area and are connected with other classes who are also collecting data. The project follows many different species and the data is actually helpful to scientists. A second grade class in my school did this project. They studied the monarch butterfly. As their part of the project they made paper butterflies that they mailed to Mexico where the actual butterflies migrate. In spring when the butterflies returned Mexican children sent them butterflies that they made.
Travel Buddies
http://rite.ed.qut.edu.au/oz-teachernet/projects/travel-buddies/travel-buddies.html
Your class can send a travel buddy (through the snail mail) on a trip to other schools. He can take a disposable camera and a notebook and collect information from each place he goes. In spring (or whenever) your travel buddie returns and brings what he/she collected. At each location you can be in e-mail contact with the host students. You can also create a web page that traces his/her travels.
Signing up for a project list serve is a good way of seeing what other teachers are doing and maybe joining in.
Intercultural Email Classroom Connections
http://www.friends-partners.org/CCSI/penpals/iecc.htm
NickNacks
http://nschubert.home.mchsi.com/
ThinkQuest-Integrate with your students and win money!
KEYPALS
Intercultural Email Classroom Connections
http://www.friends-partners.org/CCSI/penpals/iecc.htm
iEARN- Membership in this organization is a minimal
cost, but it is a great place to meet a truly international group of
teachers.
PUBLISH STUDENT WORK
Midlink Magazine
http://longwood.cs.ucf.edu/~MidLink/
Cyberkids
Kid-Created Resources
http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/hotlists/kids.html
Making a web page is one thing, but making a good one is another. There are many things that go into great web page design. We will talk about some of them in this lesson.
WHY?
The best web sites have a clear purpose. A school web site might have one or more of these purposes:
http://www.coled.umn.edu/web66
Go to this site now and look at three different schools. Can you tell what the purpose of the page is?
To learn some of the skills that can really help in evaluating a site try out Internet Detective.
http://sosig.ac.uk/desire/internet-detective.html
It is a fun interactive lesson on web site evaluation.
WHO?
There are two "whos" to consider. Who will create the page? and Who is the audience? Having a clear purpose will probably answer these questions for you.
Some private schools make sure an adult webmaster is creating their page because it is intended to bring in new students. Other schools want to give students the chance to be in charge of the school web page. When you do your assignment this week you will be able to determine which are adult created and which are done by students.
WHAT?
The article in your readings called "Outlining, Diagramming and Storyboarding..." gives a process for deciding the "what" of your web page. Some questions you will need to answer are:
http://www.killersites.com/2-sites/index.html
Here is another site worth looking at. The creator has thought about the visual impact a web site can have.
This is one of the most difficult parts for those of us who are very successful with our left brains. The article you have to read this week says:
"Organizing the written word is what teachers have best learned to do during their education. Assembling and organizing text with graphics, audio, and video in a cohesive and holistic fashion, however, is a higher level skill that few people have been trained to do, thought about or experienced." (from "Outlining, Diagramming, and Storyboarding..." p.11)
Creating multimedia may be foreign to many of us, but it is a skill that can be learned. Most of our students have been raised in a visual culture. They are used to getting information from graphics, sound, and video. Creating web pages can help them to be better at evaluating these resources.
Photographs of real children should never be posted on the web without parental permission. One school I know of decided to never put a child's photograph up with their name. Schoolwork could be posted with children's names, but never associated with their photo. A step further would be to use only first names for students.
Your school could create a form that needs to be signed whenever a students picture or name is planned to go up on the web site. This allows parents to communicate their wishes. Many parents don't want their child's picture up even if the name is not near it.
HOW?
There are some technical things that you can do to make your website easily accessible to those you are writing it for.
-Consider downloading time: You can do this by not including too many photos on one page, keeping file sizes down, using a simple background or not using one at all, and avoiding one long scrolling page.
-Use Simple and Clear Design: The same buttons in the same position on each page. Make the organization logical so that a user could guess the page location.
-Use Tables or blank gif images to force things to line up where you want them to be on the page. Spaces in HTML text mean nothing to the final page and photos often overlap.
-Keep your text at 10-14 words per line This will make the page readable.
-Text looks best on a white background, pictures work on a black background. It is difficult to read white text on a black background because our eyes are not used to it.
-Any animated graphics should be meaningful. They look cool, but meaningless moving graphics can be very irritating and distracting to any other purpose.
-All images should have an 'alt' tag that describes what the picture is of. This is especially important for blind web surfers who depend upon text (that is mechanically read to them) to know what is on a page.
McKenzie, Jamie. (1994). "Raising a Generation of Free Range Students" http://www.fromnowon.com. Accessed 10/15/98.
Hoffman, Joseph and Lyons, David. "Evaluating Instructional Software". Learning and Leading with Technology. Vol. 25, No. 2., 52-56.
Barron, Ann and Ivers, Karen S. (Oct. 1998). "Who's Doing what on The Internet?" Learning and Leading with Technology. Vol. 26, No2, 38-42.
Harris, Judy. (Feb.1997). "Content and Intent Shape Function". Learning and Leading with Technology. Vol. 24, No 5, 17-20.
Bailey, Gerald and Blythe, Marie. (May 1998) "Outlining, Diagramming, And Storyboarding or How to Create Great Educational Web Sites". Learning and Leading with Technology. Vol. 25, No. 8, 7-11.
NOTE
The article Raising a Generation of Free Range Students has been updated. The author changed it because of 5 years of experience. One of the main changes is that it describes the value of library resources.You can find it at:
http://fromnowon.org/text/grazing.html
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