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As an information media specialist, you may have encountered teachers
who ask, "How am I going to teach this unit using technology?" or "How
can I use the Internet in order to keep my students interested and showing
up for class?" Teachers often search for new methods of instruction, new
skills to implement in the classroom to better meet the needs of their
students. They also have a commitment to life long learning, and constantly
strive to improve their abilities in subject matter, pedagogy and educational
technology. One teacher colleague with 15 years experience put it best;
"I was struggling as a teacher. Not with discipline or classroom management.
Not in personal interactions with the students or administration. Not
with the content of science. No one in fact, except those I told, knew
that I was searching for a better pedagogy; a better art or science of
teaching." In the area of integrating computer technology and the resources
of the Internet into the curriculum, the information media specialist
can be a valuable ally to the classroom teacher. The following framework
may be useful to help media specialists facilitate this process for integrating
computer technology and the Internet into classroom instruction and curriculum
design.
In working with teachers to develop curriculum for the World Wide Web,
I have organized my instructional approach into five basic phases; planning,
research, development, refinement and implementation. These five areas
work as organizational frameworks for instruction and learning, curriculum
development and implementation, student progress and presentation. It
also frames the use of computer technology tools with a specific purpose.
The goal is not solely to learn how to make a concept map with great pictures,
or to develop an attractive web site, but to imbed the use of the educational
technology within a task. In this way, the tools enhance and facilitate
the learning process. This gives the learner a reason to use the application,
and along the way, the learner understands how it works.
The stages of Web Site construction fall into five basic phases;
Planning, Research,
Development, Refinement
and Implementation
To effectively utilize this five-phased approach, the instructor must first
identify the final goal, whether it is a curriculum product, web site, oral
presentation or some other form of demonstration of learning. Also, the
basic concepts that are to be covered must be identified first and matched
to the lesson plan framework by aligning them from the simple to the most
complex. The identified phases are not a linear formula, but a set of guiding
principles that at any time may be revisited depending on the progress of
the teaching and learning.
Planning
Objective - to define the current knowledge base and to develop
the foundation for the organization of learning
Tools - Inspiration Concept Mapping Software
The planning stage is the first stage and often the most critical. As
one fellow instructor commented, "The most helpful part may be the backward
planning. I believe that developing what you want to be the everlasting
knowledge first is going to help me tremendously. Formalizing the steps
people go through in creating a project has already helped me and has
started me thinking on implementing this model in other classes. Actually
giving names to the steps will enable me to create evaluations for not
only the product but for the process also."
This is the point where the instructor has to provide a "hook" that
will create interest in the learner to continue with the process over
the months to come. The theme may be to develop a structure to colonize
Mars with inhabitants of Earth. Often, the instructor can do this by posing
an open-ended question that frames the context of the subject matter to
be studied. An example might be, "What would we need to do in order to
live and function on a distant planet, let's say Mars?"
The instructor can begin the lesson by brainstorming what students already
know about sustaining life and the needs within a community. These items
can be put onto a white board, chalkboard or butcher paper. Yet, this
is a moment where the technology can be integrated with great ease and
efficiency. Inspiration is a concept mapping software that permits the
user to define the relationships that exist in their knowledge structure.
It also allows the user the flexibility to shape, move, link, draw, connect,
arrange and rearrange the individual concepts and ideas. The library media
specialist can instruct educators using concept mapping strategies and
software, and in turn, the teachers can model this to the students. Students
are then set out on a task; such as to plan the elements they would need
to have in place in order to colonize Mars.
As learners complete a concept map, there will be terms that they know
and many that they don't know. Questions can now be formulated to frame
the research, and learners can use the tools of the Internet in order
to further their knowledge base and understanding of the topic. The instructor
can then gather the groups back together at a later date, pose the same
question that began the lesson, and then revise the concept map with ease
and flexibility. This modeling process will help frame the use of the
tool in a given context, and the very nature of being inquisitive will
drive the learner to use the tool as they are completing the task at hand.
As one previous teacher participant wrote, "I became better at all the
tools in general, but the most useful thing I learned was the importance,
difficulties, and techniques, of planning."
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Research
Objective - to allow the learner to explore the content area and
to deepen their knowledge base
Tools - Browsers for the Internet (Netscape, Internet Explorer), Email
My teacher friend commented on using the Internet in the classroom,
"When my principal would ask me about installing an Internet line into
my classroom, I would ask him how I was supposed to teach and be online
at the same time. Now I know that I can do both."
The research stage follows the planning stage so that learners can explore
their knowledge base and deepen it through independent or cooperative
research activities. This includes searching on the Internet for useful
sources of information, but also for sharing these resources in discussion
formats. The skills of the library media specialist are critical to this
phase, as strategies for information acquisition and evaluation are vital
to research. To follow the previous example, the ideas in the concept
maps and the questions that the learners generate can now be explored
in greater depth by looking at sources on the Internet. Research activities
give the students the ability to retain these facts by affording them
the opportunity to think critically, to work through problems logically,
and to make connections with the real world.
The primary tools of the Internet, Browsers (such as Netscape and Internet
Explorer) and Email can be very useful at this point for research. With
the Browsers, there are many features that can be shown and taught as
a precursor to each individual research session, such as making bookmarks,
clearing the cache, and setting the colors for fonts and links. The use
of email is vital in today's research, and is a nice complement to using
web sites for information, since it personalizes the exchange of information
gathering.
This may lead the learner back to the planning stage to deepen and broaden
the knowledge base, since the research will allow for greater content
to be added to the concept maps and research driving questions. Often
when learners have little practical understanding of a subject area, their
research will only drive them to understand how little they actually know
about the topic. It may also reinforce the fact that they know a lot about
the area of study. At this point, the instructor can facilitate sharing
using concept maps and information gathered from web sites and email.
The learners can share this information and drive to a deeper collective
understanding.
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Development
Objective - to provide the learner with the opportunity to construct
their knowledge following the curriculum materials and scope and sequence
of the instruction.
Tools - Inspiration, Word Processors
Now the learner is ready to drive toward putting their ideas into a
format that can lead to a demonstration of the learning. Remember the
original scenario was to develop a structure to colonize Mars with inhabitants
of Earth. How will the students go about doing this? What will they do
to make sense of the work they have done so far? How will this result
in a viable presentation? These are important questions that the students
need to discover and strive to answer. Again, they begin this phase by
revisiting the planning stage and identifying the areas they are to work
on to complete the task. This is coupled with reviewing the research phase
in order to discover ways to put their ideas into reality.
Inspiration will be a valuable tool to revisit in this stage, as learners
can map their ideas, rearrange them and create an outline from the concept
map that can be used to write up their plan. The Word Processing software
can be introduced at this time, yet this may be the one tool with which
learners have the most experience. Now, the tools are framed in another
context for learning, and can be integrated for the development phase.
Copying the Internet address (URLs) in the Browser and pasting into the
WP document is one example of this type of integration. Also, information
from the Internet can be synthesized into a document that can become the
research base for the final product. Of course, plagiarism should be discussed
and avoided, and requiring a unique task that will frame the research
project of the students best does this. In the example of the Mars project,
students should have a set of guidelines including references of sources,
yet the basic task should in no way be considered rote. To foster critical
thinking is to put forth unique situations for students to study and to
reinforce their ideas with citations of factual information found in research.
It should foster analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information, all
higher-order thinking skills.
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Refinement
Objective - to further the development and to lead the learner to
the implementation phase
Tools - Inspiration, Word Processors, WYSIYG Editors, HTML Instruction
At this time, the learner (or teams of learners) should proceed to refine
their work and make it ready for public dissemination. This is the place
where the Internet is most powerful, and that the motivation to do good
work becomes intrinsic and not driven by the pursuit of a grade. It is
one thing to do a project and turn it into a teacher in your school, it
is quite another to publish your work on the Internet for anyone with
access around the world to read and consult. At this point the need for
refinement becomes clear and the instruction can center on the tools of
web building, primarily the use of WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get)
editors and the use of HTML coding. This couples well with the use of
the WP software in the development phase where much of the crafted text
can now be pasted into web based documents. The research now may center
on finding images to enhance the presentation or the planning of links
within the web site.
Up to this point, all the website project development has been done
locally on a classroom system. All files (text and images) must be in
the folder also, and one should be able to move between all the pages
on a site within a given folder. Linking pages together in this way is
using "Relative Links" as opposed to "Internet Links" which are URLs that
reside outside the folder.
The planning aspect also finds itself here at the end. The design of the
final web site, its hierarchy and organization, must be well thought out
and put together. Students with multiple files may want to categorize
the elements of the web site and create multiple folders for different
types of files or information. All images must be in the folder, and one
approach is to have a separate folder called "images" if there are a lot
of pictures and icons. Extra folders are useful when building a complex
site, but remember that all the links will change if this decision is
made after the construction of the site has begun. This is where the planning
is important from the start, so that a site doesn't have to be redesigned
while it is being built. A colleague summed it up best; "I was dragged
into the computer age kicking and screaming (starting ten years ago).
Now I don't know how I could work without it. As a tool the computer is
very versatile in the classroom."
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Implementation
Objective - to demonstrate the learning taken place through the
phases
Tools - Inspiration, Word Processors, WYSIYG Editors, HTML Instruction,
FTP, Fetch
Now is the time to put it all together and see what learning has taken
place. This is the final exam, the implementation of an end product that
will be the focus for pulling all the material, ideas and applications
together. This should be done in a public forum to develop skills in communication
and presentation. The learners should have some presentation options,
and these choices should be given at the beginning of the assignment.
However, the development of a web site with specific criteria (number
of links, images, content sources, etc) can be a highly effective framework
for this program of study.
By defining the final product expectations from the beginning, the instructor
provides a context for students to utilize the computer technology and
Internet resources into a cohesive project. From an instructional sense,
the tools are overlapping and fluid. One new tool will be needed at this
time, and that is the file transfer protocol (FTP (PC) or Fetch (Mac)).
This allows the user to put their files (text, images, video, and sound)
into a folder on a web server for access by the outside world
For the instructor, this new knowledge can be added incrementally at
the beginning of each lesson within this phase. It is also a time to use
peer instruction and cooperative groupings as the knowledge of students
gained in applied software skills can be valuable to the progress and
learning in the classroom. Regular times to share and collaborate should
be woven into the classroom time, as well as extended periods to plan,
research, develop and refine the work. This is also the point where the
classroom appears most constructivist, in that learners are constantly
putting their new knowledge to use and building on their previous premises.
The classroom should be active, filled with discussion and group interaction,
far from your basic drill-and-kill approach.
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Closing
Utilizing this format is one way to build a curriculum, lesson plans,
instructional units or presentations that integrate the tools of computer
technology with classroom content. In this way, the tools are not the
focus of the instruction, but are imbedded in the facilitation of the
learning process. Although instruction will surely center at times on
a given application (such as making the links within a web site), the
learner is ready for the new information, has experience with the application,
and is learning it in a context that has meaning and purpose. The resources
of the media center along with the skills of the professional who staffs
this area provide the classroom teacher with the expertise needed in order
to integrate computer technology into instruction. For the educator, the
computer should be used within daily classroom activities. Lessons should
be made relevant to the student and designed to match their needs and
interests within the classroom activities. With the use of the Internet,
students can use the computer to research specific topics and prepare
presentations, while the instructor can implement specific assignments
requiring students to use the computer as a research and reporting tool.
These lessons should take students beyond mere assimilation of content
and superficial levels of understanding, to areas of synthesis, analysis
and evaluation.
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