"Think Tech!"

A WebQuest on Teachers Using Technology

A WebQuest for Educators

Developed by Neva Odom

neva.odom@usm.edu

 Introduction

We as educators want to be able to provide the best possible opportunities for our students to receive a quality education. We need to make the best use of the tools and resources that are available to us to get that job done. Technology today can help provide those opportunities in a motivating and more interactive way. It is with that in mind that this WebQuest begins.

We are on a quest to learn what is involved in implementing technology into our curriculum. What part does Professional Development play in getting this done? Does the attitude of the teacher concerning the use of technology make a difference? How do we get around the resistance of using technology?

As a educator, future educator, or an administrator in the field of Education, it is important that we consider the use of technology to educate our youth. Equally important is making sure we train and support our teachers in the use of this technology as well as developing an understanding of how it can be implemented into our lessons and daily teaching practices. When teachers understand how technology can be used to encourage students and to help them learn, we can then work on equalizing this opportunity for all students across the digital divide.

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 The Task

As an educator (or future educator), you are on a quest to find out how we can bring technology into the classroom to help all students learn. You may be a teacher that is trying to help his/her school catch up with other districts that now utilize technology with rising results. You will investigate what progress is being made in the area of "bridging the digital divide" and find ways to that we as educators and administrators can help teachers to:

• Understand the impact technology can have in the teaching/learning environment.
• To learn how we can learn to use the technology itself while learning how to use it to help students to learn.
• How this can all of this be accomplished?(school-led staff development, teachers or students learning from each other, etc.)

Try to find ways to get teachers involved in using technology in the classroom. Think about what will it take to get a teacher interested in learning to use technology? Will it effect the way they view teaching? Can they learn to use technology as a teaching method or tool as an part of their teaching style? Can we help teachers to feel at ease with technology use and begin to change the way they plan and use technology to create a learning environment.

Your task is to get an understanding of the how technology is being used and can be integrated into the curriculum to help students learn. Come up with methods or activities that can be used in staff development or throughout the school year to help teachers develop evolve into educators of the "digital age of technology".

After you have accomplished all your tasks, you should use some sort of technology to present your results. Be creative. Put your report in a PowerPoint presentation, HyperStudio, or even an HTML document using the authoring tool of your preference (Dreamweaver, Netscape Composer, ect.) If you would like you can even use Word or PDF format (You can use the hyperlink features to exhibit your Web site examples). You must have Windows 2000 or higher to utilize any programs that use Office 2003 or Dreamweaver MX).

Questions to think about

You need to consider what can be done to help integrate technology into our classrooms and districts. How can we get teachers to use technology in the classroom? How important is it to help teachers understand how pedagogy, teaching beliefs and their style of teaching determine how technology is used in the classroom as a learning/teaching tool? How can we use professional development to create activities that will help a teacher learn to "Think Tech"?

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The Process

 You can do this quest on an individual basis or as a small group. If you are working in a group of 3 or more, the tasks will be divided among you by the team leader. The team leader will be responsible for making sure each team member completes his/her task and for supervising the combination of everyone's results for the presentation. You may allow each team member to do their own search on each task and combine the results after you analyze the results. You will be responsible for doing your share of the work.

Task 1: Do a search and find at least 2 different ways that teachers are using some form of technology for their classroom. This could be a class web page, using a software to create materials, or some form digital technology such as a PDA, digital camera, or ipod.

Task 2: Find at least 2 ways that a school district is successfully getting teachers to learn how to use technology. What type of staff development activities such as workshops, training sessions or other methods are being used to get teachers interested in learning how to use and integrate technology into teaching and learning activities. Describe the skill being taught and how it is to be used in the classroom) (For example, a workshop on using a digital camera that will be used to create a student's About Me portfolio). Name the school or district and include the URL where you found it.

Task 3: Look at the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District in Alaska. http://www2.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/tech/plan/plan.cont.html

After reading their technology plan:

• List as many things you see they are doing to help teachers to learn technology (a)for their own use and (b)to help students to learn with technology.
• Can you find some ways this district is trying to help teachers change the way they think about technology and its use in their teaching strategies/ planning. Will this influence a change in their teaching styles?

http://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/students_parents/default.htm (Check out Related Links to see what is offered as far as technology goes)

Task 4: Look for companies, organizations or programs that are offering a good staff development program or activities to help teachers learn to integrate technology into their classrooms or school districts.

• Find a program that offers a good staff development plan that will help teachers to integrate technology in a fun and interactive way.
• Describe the program or staff development plan. List the company that features this program(if it applies), the URL where it can be found and a summary of the plan. Describe how it helps to bridge the digital divide and put learning on a more equal basis for all students. The links under Resources are divided into workshops/activities, companies/programs, and articles that will be useful.

Task 5: After reviewing the resources under Digital Divide Issues:

• Summarize how you think the examples in these videos and articles show how teachers and students using technology can bridge the digital divide.
• Pick at least one example (or more if you really like it), describe what it was about. Does it help to bridge the digital divide? Does it help teachers to become technology users? How?

Task 6: Look up the term Constructivism and student-centered learning. Describe how this pedagogy (learning theory) would help teachers realize how their teaching beliefs and styles will change they way they use technology to teach. Write this up in a summary paragraph and include in your results. It can be put into a Word document.

Task 7: Make up your own Staff Development plan of 4-5 activities for at a one or 2 day staff development time slot. You want to give time for the activity to go through an instructional phase, and an interactive"hands-on' phase. Make it like a schedule of the events for teachers to go to as in the following example. List at least one activity or method that can be utilized all year around as a technique to help teachers become more proficient at using and integrating technology (into the classroom or their teaching style... Be sure to put a * by this activity at the bottom of the schedule and list it as a daily, weekly, monthly activity).

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Resources

Digital Divide Issues:

• Professional Development Through Learning Communities
• Closing the Digital Divide: Assimilating Technology into the Curriculum through Professional Development
• Digital Divide: Next Steps (read this page for info) The Video Library contains videos from the George Lucus Foundation that created Edutopia.org
• You can get information from any other links or articles that you may find, but be sure to view the ones that are indicated.
  • Video Library
  • Look at the videos under Digital Divide and Ongoing Professional Development
  • Be sure to watch these videos:
  • A Remarkable Transformation ( Abstract:It took time, teacher buy-in, and technology, but this urban school district in New Jersey has gone from dismal to dazzling. 1/24/2003)
  • Turning the Tables-Students Teach Teachers (Abstract:Elementary, middle, and high school students help veteran and prospective teachers include technology in their lessons to enhance student)
  • Laptops on Expedition (Abstract:A Maine middle school provides top-of-the-line education for all students. 1/19/2004)
  • Students Find Their Voices Through Multimedia (Abstract:The San Fernando Education Technology Team helps Latino students deliver powerful messages through video and the Web. 7/1/2002
  • A Seemless Integration of Technology (Abstract:At Sherman Oaks Community Charter School, interactive technologies support the curriculum and facilitate communication among the staff.)
  • The Changing Role of the Teacher (Abstract:How project-based learning creates a new role for the teacher: mentor and guide. 5/1/200)
  • Reagan Goes to Work By participating in a school-to-career program, high-school student Reagan applies scientific knowledge in a real-world setting and clarifies career goals. 5/1/2000
    
    (Some of the videos may require Quicktime to be viewed, if so it will give you the chance to download it. You can select your connection speed and format that will fit your computer's specifications.

Other Resources:

Workshops or activities:

http://www.holton.k12.ks.us/educate/

Teachers Use Tech : http://www.ourladyofvictories.ecsd.net/maas/usetech/

KPBSD Technology Training Model: http://www2.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/tech/plan/training/train.model.html

Staff Development Ideas- http://www.4teachers.org/profd/techcoor.shtml

Company/organization that offers Staff Development:

http://www.certiport.com/Portal/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=229&roleid=102

http://piperline.hamline.edu/pls/prod/hamwebsite.P_SiteBody?site=CGEE

http://www.eschoolonline.com/index.html and http://corporate.classroom.com/

http://eduscapes.com/tap/

http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Professional_Development/Academies/SW_Leadership_Academy/Workshop_Details/Workshop_Details.htm

http://www.teachersnetwork.org/tnpi/research/growth/mcgill.htm

Articles:

Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te1000.htm

Teaching the Teachers: Staff Development that works

You can also use your own Internet resources, just be sure to list the URL for the resource you used.

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Evaluation

If you get a minimum score on each category, you did not do enough work, you will receive a 70 or below and may need to work on the quest again to gain your points for an improved grade.

 Written by Neva Odom. Last updated 02/23/2006

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Conclusion

With technology growing in interest and as a acknowledgeable force in the educational setting that can be used in a variety of ways from helping the teacher better manage classroom paperwork to creating a learning environment for students, we have to ask ourselves what is the key to getting technology into use in our classrooms. Teachers are the key to making technology work as a support tool and way of teaching our students in an interactive and motivating way in order to increase their skills to compete in the world of higher education and the workforce of the future.

You should have learned from this quest, an awareness of what is currently being done to advance the use of technology in our schools. You should also learn the importance of how teacher belief and their teaching style affects how technology will be used by that teacher in the classroom and how this belief will affect their willingness to learn about and incorporate the use of technology into their teaching style. You should get a glimpse of the many ways that are currently being used, including staff development efforts, to integrate technology into classroom, show teachers and students ways to use this technology to learn, and ways that are only the beginning of bridging the digital divide for all students. Hopefully teachers can see the impact that technology can have in education and will begin to "THINK TECH!"

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Created by Neva Odom

©All Rights Reserved

Last Updated: February 23, 2006

To use this WebQuest or portions thereof, please contact me.

Questions or Comments e-mail me at:

neva.odom@usm.edu

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