Educational
Technology Research
with
the Dynamic Duo
1.
Introduction and welcome -Dawn
5 minutes
Twenty years from now you
will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did
do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch
the trade winds in your sails. Explore.
Dream. Discover.
Author
Unknown
2.
What’s Happening with Internet Use in Alberta Schools?
Dianne Oberg and Susan Gibson (Cathy)
Previous research
summarized in this article suggests that in terms of benefits to students
such technologies as the Internet are greatly dependent on the comfort level or skill of teachers using it
and are dependent on the teacher’s attitude to the Internet’s role in teaching
Other factors are:
availability of hardware/software
support
for teacher learning
adoption
of new models of teaching and learning
Before the class
please make a few notes on the following:
How many computers (approx.) are there in your school?
How many of these
computers are have internet access?
How many of these computers are available with internet for students? teachers? admin.?
How many of these computers are in your classroom?
Is there Internet access in your classroom?
What are the typical uses for Internet with your students? (ex. e-mail, chats, research, games) For teachers? For admin.?
Share your successes using technology and the Internet?
Break into groups and discuss the questions above.
10 minutes
Sharing and debrief.
10 minutes
The findings:
Most teachers and
administrators had positive opinions re: the Internet.
It was felt that
in-service needs to be hands on with time for practice and exploration
teachers need time to learn the ins and outs of the Internet but it must be guided specialists, allowing for sharing of integration strategies
administration
and district support for learning is essential as is access to appropriate
technology.
A quote from a principal
who took part in the survey, included at the end of the research report, sums it
up....
“We can have all the
technology in the world but unless we know how to use it and feel comfortable
and have someone who supports us and guides us and encourages us and excites us
to want to use it, its not going to be used.”
3.
An Expanding View of Literacy: Hypermedia
in the Middle School Pat
Clifford (Cathy)
Give your students wings and they will fly...
The Question:
Shortly after hypermedia
tools became readily available to educators, Marchionini (1998) predicted
that hypermedia authoring tools had the potential to alter teacher and student
roles and the transactions between them by allowing students to construct their
own interpretations of information as well as to share their interpretations
with their teachers and other learners in unique ways.
Marchionini points our attention in an important direction:
hypermedia authoring tools have the power to change, forever, the power
structures of the classroom.”
(page 107)
SET-BC
- Special
Education Technology, BC is a provincial resource program which assists BC
school districts in providing
technology to students with physical or visual impairments in order to
enhance their learning and level the playing field.
(The
origin of this article is below but the links to the students power point
presentations are no longer available but I did find dome other student power
points and the link is provided to demonstrate how a teacher has used the
hypermedia technology in her classroom.)
http://rockyview.ab.ca/bpeak/research/galileo/literacy.html
http://www.harrisonburg.k12.va.us/water/GThompson/webproject/pppresent.html
(10 minutes)
4. The digital new economy and the virtual educator H. Menzies (Dawn)
Article overview
Questions
Ø With the formation of virtual
schools and the term “virtual educator” becoming more popular, what are the
negative and positive aspects of our Country’s education system “going
digital?” What are some of the
considerations involved in promoting a constructivist approach in educational
technology?
5. Digital Technology: Transforming Schools and Improving Learning D. Moursund (Dawn)
Article overview
Questions
Ø Many educational technology
sources state that our society is beginning to put a greater emphasis on
“digital literacy?” What does
this term mean to you? What are
your thoughts on this trend with respect to skill monitoring?
For example, students may lose spelling skills while using Spell Check
features.
In
this section, both articles will be reviewed at once then we will break into two
groups (10 minutes in groups, 10 minutes sharing/debriefing)
6. Conclusions and resources - Dawn (10 minutes)
