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“Making Best Use of the Internet For K-12 Instruction” Overview
A
Workshop Outline By
Kelly VandenBerg kellylvandenberg@hotmail.com
Gustavus, Alaska
http://lone-eagles.com/kellysworkshop.htm
“Making Best Use of the Internet For K-12 Instruction” Overview
I. Course offered by Alaska Staff Development, Frank Odasz
II. Course Goals
A. Master Self-Directed Learning
B. Share to Help Others
C. Take Action with Knowledge
D. Learn to Earn for Self, Family, Community, and Cultural Sustainability
III. Self-Directed Learning
A. Search Engines
1. The Big Four
- Yahoo
- Bing
- Ask
2. Finding Information
- AND, OR, and NOT
- Capital sensitivity (China and not china dishes, china dolls)
- Phrase searching – quotations (“gun control” – eliminates docs with the words gun and control, not necessarily in that order and docs that have both words but nothing to do with gun control).
*For more go to: www.learnthenet.com
B. Web Authoring
1. Selected Sites
- www.bluemountain.com (cards)
- www.thinkquest.org (create websites)
- www.blogspot.com (blogs)
Example: www.gustavus345.blogspot.com
- www.wikispaces.com (interactive web pages)
- www.google.com (list serves – google groups) –
Example: http://groups.google.com/group/gustavus-school-athletics
Example: http://grousp.google.com/group/gustavus_girlscouts
2. Electronic Portfolios (showcase student work)
- http://electronicportfolios.com
- http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/assess.html#portfolios
IV. Sharing Knowledge/Project Based Learning
A. Websites for teachers
A site that helps integrate technology in the classroom, helps locate and create
Ready-to-use web lessons. Includes resources for planning, grants, technology, webinars and contests. A tab entitled “4 Teachers – Family of Tools” includes:
Quizstar, Rubistar, Assign-a-day.
Try this: go to www.4teachers.org, go to the box entitled “4 Teachers – Family of Tools”, click on Assign-a-day, type in Calendar # 255898. Scroll over the two assignments – notice the hyperlink.
Free worksheets - vocabulary, word scrambles, quizzes, word searches. A great resource for science, grammar, social studies, and math.
Try this: go to www.softschools.com, go to the sidebar and click on quizzes. Choose a topic and take the quiz. Spend a few minutes on this site exploring.
An amazing site! You can begin with the self-guided overview and then search for lesson plans, videos, etc. The site categorizes information into the following categories: lessons, interactive, primary sources, worksheets, reference materials, media, and assessment.
Try this (Jessie): go to www.thinkfinity.org, science 3-5, resource type – interactive, content – all, Insects and their Environment, watch movie and play game!
Try this (Ellie): go to the sidebar “Interactive Games,” click on “A Touch of Class” and play game!
Try this (Annie): go to history 9-12, resource – interactive, content – all, click on a topic of interest.
Try this (Eric): go to science 9-12, resource – interactive, content – all, click on
Artificial Anatomy: Body Parts, play interactive learning game.
Over 7000+ student created sites for students! An amazing resource. This site invites you to integrate projects into your classroom curriculum. Choose topic, assign students, invite teachers, and collaborate with members around the world. The site hosts an annual competition that allows students to use text, pictures, multimedia, votes, brainstorms, debates, messages and lots more! Students develop skills such as, creative thinking, teamwork, communication, self-direction, technology, and cross cultural understanding.
Try this: go to www.thinkquest.org, go to “Competition” tab, click on “2009 Winners.” Check out a few student created sites.
Sponsored by the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), this site promotes on-line literacy learning. It provides interactive student lessons and teacher lesson plans. A highlight is the “Parent and Afterschool Resources” tab.
Try this: www.readwritethink.org, go to the “Parent and Afterschool Resources” tab, click on your grade level, click the “Games and Tools” tab, click “See All Games and Tools.” Explore! Annie should try “Bio Cube!”
Site for lesson plans and information about art and culture, literature and language arts, foreign language, history and social studies. An amazing site!
One of the best tech sites out there on the web! Just check it out when you have time. Includes: tabs for blogs, contests, resources, webinars, hot topics, and forums. You can subscribe to the electronic magazine for free – highly recommended!
Uses the web to engage the learner. All “quests” have the same format and are self-directed.
Try this: go to www.questgarden.com, click on “Search for Examples”tab, go to “Curriculum x Grade Level Matrix,” fill in subject and grade and launch search. Explore!
Same as above – great site! Information is shared between these two sites.
10. http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/
Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is a categorized list of sites useful for enhancing curriculum and professional growth. It is updated often to include the best sites for teaching and learning. A MUST SEE!
11. AWESOME SCIENCE SITES
This site takes you to: TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, & Discovery Health!
Games, videos, quizzes, top 10 lists. This site rocks! Lots of info. – space, technology, geology, earth science, biology, etc.
b. http://school.discoveryeducation.com
Awesome! Contests, interactives, science fair, lesson plans, and lots more. Don’t miss this one!
c. www.nationalgeographic.com/education
Sponsor of the National Geography Bee! Maps, music, science and space, history, environment, travel and cultures. A must!
V. Building Learning Communities/Distance Learning
A. Internet Collaboration, Mentoring, and Teaching
This site connects students with mentors in their field of interest via telecommunication technology – email, chat, and telementoring. Check out the site for a list of potential mentors (worldwide) or sign up to BE a mentor!
Try this: go to http://emissary.wm.edu, go to “Teachers and Students,”
click on “Mentor Database, explore!
The largest global community of connected classrooms!
Try this: go to www.epals.com, click on “The Way We Are: An Introduction to
ePals. Enjoy!
3. VHS (Virtual High School)
B. Entrepreneurship
Youth Entrepreneurship. Includes articles, grants, education, and much more! Click on the “Education” tab and explore!
2. www.ja.org
JA Worldwide is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.
3. www.teachingkidsbusiness.com
Their motto is “Introducing, preparing, and launching kids into business!”
C. Grant Writing
Best free site for grants – corporate, private, and government.
VI. The Power of Citizenship (Community Networking, Electronic Democracy, Citizen Role’s)
E-Portfolios Defined
When defining e-portfolio, one discovers that different definitions exist. For example, Helen Barrett, a famous supporter of the e-portfolio method, says:
e-portfolios could be defined as “a purposeful collection of student (or teacher) work that illustrates efforts, progress, and achievement in one or more areas over time. An electronic portfolio uses digital technologies, allowing the portfolio developer to collect and organize portfolio artifacts in many media types (audio, video, graphics, text). A standards-based portfolio uses a database or hypertext links to clearly show the relationship between standards or goals, artifacts, and reflections. The learner's reflections are the rationale that specific artifacts are evidence of achieving the stated standards or goals. An electronic portfolio is a reflective tool that demonstrates growth over time." (Barrett, 2004)
There are different purposes for e-portfolio, e.g. presenting achievement, a tool for active learning, a tool for professional or career development planning (PDP or CDP) or as an assessment tool (see Barrett, H. & Carney, J. (2005). Conflicting Paradigms and Competing Purposes in Electronic Portfolio Development , 2006-12-12):
- Portfolios for Accountability: "Portfolios are considered products, and are evaluated summatively to hold teacher candidates accountable for demonstrating particular levels of achievement."
- Portfolios for Learning: "This type of portfolio is primarily a device for teacher and learner to assess skills, reflect upon one’s learning, and establish new learning plans. The emphasis is on process rather than product, and assessment is formative in nature."
- Portfolios for Marketing: "A portfolio assembled to showcase one’s best work for employment or other promotional purposes is primarily a marketing device."
Below you find an overview about different processes which Jeremy Hieberts extracts as important for portfolio work.
Several stages learners would need to go through if they were using an e-portfolio to help them. They would:
- identify what they need to learn
- review evidence that they have already stored
- identify the evidence that they need to demostrate their competence or learning
- think about when they might be able to collect the evidence that they need
- think about how, and what would be the most appropriate methods that they would need to use to capture and record the required evidence
- design an action plan that details what it is that they will need to do or organise that will provide them with the evidence generating opportunities that they need. The plan will also identify how and when they are going to capture the evidence.
- do whatever they need to do and make sure that the evidence is recorded
- link the new evidence into the e-portfolio in such a way that it can be to retrieved and presented efficiently
- reflect on their learning and achievements
