Email to studyplans@yahoo.com.
February 19
"The best journeys are the ones that answer questions that at the outset
you never even thought to ask."
Rick Ridgeway
In the News
Augmented Reality: Another (Virtual) Brick in the Wall: http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/02/wo/wo_delio021505.asp
Georgia Tech University researchers are working to meld virtual and physical
reality together, which will enhance the ways people interact with and perceive
the world around them.
Beyond the Electronic Portfolio: A Lifetime Personal
Web Space: http://www.educause.edu/apps/eq/eqm04/eqm0441.asp?bhcp=1
"Rather than limit people to the e-portfolio model, why not develop a model
providing a personal Web space for everyone, for their lifetimes and beyond?"
In a Realistic Battle, Errors Are Costly: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/03/arts/03game.html?th&emc=th&oref=login
Intelligent Systems offers a generic role-playing game in "Fire Emblem";
Toys for Bob's "Madagascar" is an entertaining children's game that
is breezy and varied.
Innovate: Journal of Online Education: http://www.innovateonline.info/
Video games' upside
"This is why many of us [read: "parents"]
find modern video games baffling: we're not used to being in a situation where
we have to figure out what to do. We think we only have to learn how to press
the buttons faster." This from Malcolm Gladwell, author of the best-selling
"The Tipping Point" and now "Blink," in his review of "Everything
Bad is Good for You" in the New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/articles/050516crbo_books
(see also "TV makes us smarter?!": http://www.netfamilynews.org/nl050429.html#11).
Gladwell's referring to how we're more comfortable with games like Monopoly
or gin rummy, which "don't have a set of unambiguous rules that have to
be learned and then followed during the course of play." Video games, on
the other hand, aid the *other* kind of learning we need: "collateral"
as opposed to "explicit [textbook] learning," Gladwell explains.
"Players are required to manage a dizzying array
of information and options. The game presents the player with a series of puzzles,
and you can't succeed at the game simply by solving the puzzles one at a time.
You have to craft a longer-term strategy, in order to juggle and coordinate
competing interests. In denigrating the video game, Johnson argues, we have
confused it with other phenomena in teen-age life, like multitasking.... Playing
a video game is ... [is] about finding order and meaning in the world, and making
decisions that help create that order."
Gladwell goes on to show how we discount this collateral learning in favor of
the explicit learning with which we're more familiar.
Web Collaborator: http://webcollaborator.com/
"Web Collaborator coordinates collaborations automatically, keeping backups
of every revision ever made to the project, letting you see who made the changes,
and allowing you to focus on the work instead of managing the work. Better yet,
it is absolutely free for all uses."
WebQuests and Web Guides
I created a page about webquests at: http://www.studyplans.com/webquest.htm
This site tells you what needs to be included in a webquest and provides examples
of webquests made by teachers, students and companies.
Distance Education
Barriers to Distance Education: http://www.emoderators.com/barriers/index.shtml
Guide to Online High School Courses: http://www.nea.org/technology/images/02onlinecourses.pdf
Somewhere a place to learn: http://www.fastrak-consulting.co.uk/tactix/Features/aplacetolearn.htm
"The promise of e-learning to provide anytime, anyplace
learning leaves us with an awful lot of options. But trainers and learners alike
have to make a choice – what is the ideal environment in which to be an e-learner?
In this article, Clive Shepherd explores the advantages and disadvantages associated
with learning at the desktop, at home or in the learning centre, and comes to
see how all options can work given the right conditions."
Videoconferencing Introduction: http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/vidconf/intro.html
This site features instructional strategies, netiquette, and equipment for videoconferencing.
Videoconferencing in your Classroom: http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/videoconf/
WeatherBug: http://www.weatherbug.com/
You can get your local weather forecast, weather forecasts for other US cities,
pictures taken by subscribers from around the world in various catagories, and
more weather related information.
WeatherBug Achieve: http://www.weatherbugachieve.com/
AWS Convergence Technologies has a suite of web-based teaching tools that uses
live weather data to build students' math, science, technology, and geography
skills. AWS has 7,000 live sensors located in schools
and other facilities that generate data every second to supply the most precise
weather conditions nationwide. WeatherBug Achieve incorporates these live data
into its interactive, web-based science, math, and geography lesson plans, which
are tied to state standards. The program also features
online training for educators; an age-appropriate interface based on students'
grade level (K-12); a weather photo gallery; a flash-based map gallery; and
lessons designed for English as Second Language students. Pricing begins at
$1,500.
Webfolio
Digital Portfolios: http://www.richerpicture.com/dp_main.htm
Digital Portfolios: http://www.bobpearlman.org/BestPractices/dp.htm
Electronic Portfolios: http://www.essdack.org/port/index.html
Webfolio: http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/webfolio.html
This site has a basic description of webfolios and how to set them up in schools.
Integrated Multidisiplinary Units
Michele Dailey wrote on the teachers.net listserv about
project based learning: I teach in a school that is about 98% ELL. I believe
in project learning because it is authentic assessment. My students have a project
due every 2 1/2 weeks that goes with the guided reading book they are currently
using. My students have 14 tasks to complete in this period. Most of them are
really easy -- like ABC order, Working with Words, etc. They also have a webquest
to complete along with the project. They love it and so do my parents. I use
only informational text so my kiddos are constantly widening their knowledge
base.
Big Dog's ISD (Instructional System Design) Page: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/sat.html
Bullock, D. (2004). Moving From Theory to Practice: An Examination of the Factors That Preservice Teachers Encounter as the Attempt to Gain Experience Teaching with Technology During Field Placement Experiences. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education 12(2), 211-237.
eXpLOrE, LeArN, and gRoW @ rightinclass: http://www.rightinclass.com/
" This site is for educators seeking knowledge and tools to help plan for,
create, and integrate technology “right in class.” Includes webfolios, blogs,
etc.
Glazer, E. (2004). From a Caterpillar to a Butterfly: The Growth of a Teacher in Developing Technology-Enhanced Mathematical Investigations. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education 12(1), 115-138.
Global Virtual Classroom: http://www.virtualclassroom.org/
"The Global Virtual Classroom is a free online educational program to promote
communication, collaboration and understanding among students around the world."
Half-Baked Software: http://www.halfbakedsoftware.com/index.php
"The Hot Potatoes suite includes six applications, enabling you to create
interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering
and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web. Hot Potatoes is not freeware,
but it is free of charge for those working for publicly-funded non-profit-making
educational institutions, who make their pages available on the web. Other users
must pay for a licence.
IDEAS: http://ideas.wisconsin.edu/
"IDEAS provides Wisconsin educators access to high-quality, highly usable,
teacher-reviewed web-based resources for curricula, content, lesson plans, professional
development and other selected resources. These resources help Wisconsin educators
use technology to meet the Wisconsin Model Academic Standards and create the
foundation for a statewide knowledge management system."
Jacobsen, D., & Lock, J. (2004). Technology And Teacher Education For A Knowledge Era: Mentoring For Student Futures, Not Our Past. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education 12(1), 75-100.
The Learning Page...especially for teachers: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/index.html
Learning Systems Architecture Lab: http://www.lsal.cmu.edu/
This site is from Carnegie Mellon's Learning Systems Architecture Lab, which
conducts research focused on the design and creation of Internet-based technologies
for education and training. The Lab specializes in system design, prototype
development and developing best practices, with an emphasis on emerging technologies
and standards for e-learning for all users. Visit the site to download free
SCORM and content-development resources, white papers and more.
Maine Learning Technology Initiative: http://www.mainelearns.org/
Every 7th and 8th grader and all staff have Apple iBooks in the state of Maine.
This newsletter is published as a resource for them.
MacKinnon, G. (2004). Computer-Mediated Communication and Science Teacher Training: Two Constructivist Examples. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education 12(1), 101-114.
Sherry, L., & Chiero, R. (2004). Project TALENT: Infusing Technology in K-12 Field Placements Through a Learning Community Model. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education 12(2), 265-297.
SmithsonianEducation.org: http://www.smithsonianeducation.org
The site is divided into three sections: Educators, Students,
and Families. The Educators section contains lesson plans in four categories
(lesson plans are for a variety of grade groups covering grade K-12), and a
search engine to find lesson plans, field trips, publications and productions,
and professional development resources. You can narrow your search by grade
level (preK-3 to General Audience) and subject (from African American Art to
World History.)
The Students section is geared for kids. Here you'll find links to information
about amazing collections, walking on the moon, and a bibliography (called "Read
All About It.") There is Smithsonian kid's content to explore, divided
into categories Everything Art, Science and Nature, History & Culture, and
People & Places.
Finally, the Families section includes several features about the SI, including
information about visiting, child-friendly exhibits, and family visits to the
Smithsonian Instution.
Stephens, A., & Hartmann, C. (2004). A Successful Professional Development Project’s Failure to Promote Online Discussion about Teaching Mathematics with Technology. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education 12(1), 57-73.
Technology Lesson: http://www.lessonplanspage.com/CIHardwareSoftwareInternetWorksheetAndCenterActivities912.htm
This lesson includes several activities and worksheets on computer hardware,
software, and Internet. It even includes a presidential cyber scavenger hunt.
This lesson was written for grades 9-12.
Tools for the TEKS: Integrating Technology in the
Classroom: http://www.wtvi.com/teks/
Wesley Fryer offers a variety of articles and ideas for jumpstarting instructional
planning.
Web Teacher: http://www.webteacher.org/windows.html
These Web tutorials by Tech Corp cover Web Basics, Communicating, Multimedia,
Homepage Construction, Peripherals and Utilities, and The Web in Your Classroom.
The Writing Process: A Web Tutorial with Conn McQuinn
& Mona Roach, Ph.D: http://www.psesd.org/technology/writeprocess/default.html
The Puget Sound Educational Service District has come up with a quick tutorial
for teachers on how to teach the five stages of writing: prewrite, draft, revise,
edit, and publish. Tell your students it's like making a pizza, where you first
gather the ingredients for your story and then assemble it. Be sure to click
on the video player to watch the stages being taught in an actual classroom.
Virtual Fieldtrip
Mars Dead or Alive and Welcome to Mars: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mars/
In an interactive video experience at "Welcome to Mars," the latest
educational resource from the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Steve Squyres,
principal scientific investigator of the Mars rover mission, narrates a "once-in-a-lifetime"
visual tour of the rovers' most revealing discoveries.
Volcanoes: The Earth at Work: http://www.efieldtrips.org/volcanoes/
Teachers and students around the world can visit Hawai'i Volcanoes National
Park for free on an "electronic field trip."
Webcams: http://www.studyplans.com/webcams.htm
Webcams allow students to visit distance places. I created this site listing
some webcams that can be used in the classroom.
Discussion
From the WWWEDU listserver:
Question: Hi,This is my first year teaching and I am responsible to use
our schools computer on wheels system (cows) at least four times a month. Does
anyone have any webstites or suggestions?
Response: What's the rationale for a program that makes teachers "responsible
to use our schools computer on wheels system (cows) at least four times a month"?
Here's some advice. Go play with Google a bit and find
resources that talk about backwards curriculum design.
1) What do you want students to know and be able to do?
This is defined by local or state standards.
2) How will you know when they get there? How will you know when they don't?
3) How will you get them there? (This is where we begin talking about unit/lesson
design.) If, and only if, technology leads to a better learning situation for
students, then use it.
All too often I see teachers forced (by policy, tradition,
or guilt) into using technology. Teachers often approach me ashamed that they
aren't doing something using computers. If you have students struggling with
reading and math, I'd be seriously questioning
"cows" 4 times each month.
Ok. So maybe you have a classroom of accelerated kids.
Hopefully there will be a few sites mentioned that will point at some resources
that you (and others) will be able to incorporate into meaningful learning activities.
After all, they are just resources.
Maybe I'm too sensitive...but when I catch what sounds
like an expectation that teachers to use a mobile computer solution, I get a
bit fussy.
This site began in March 1998 and was created
by Janet Luch. This page was last updated
on
January 19, 2007
.
Email to studyplans@yahoo.com.