Alice:                 "Which way should I go?"
                    Cheshire Cat:     "That depends on where you are going."
                    Alice:                 "I don’t know where I am going."
                    Cheshire Cat:     "Then it doesn’t matter which way you go."

                    Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
 
 

PURPOSE

As educators we must know what direction our students need to go. The whole purpose of using educational technology must be to support learning described by your curriculum and standards, not as an end in itself. If learning that encompasses the whole spectrum of Bloom's Taxonomy and supports your curriculum and standards doesn't happen, what's the point? Dr. Ellen Langer,  a professor of psychology at Harvard University compares the ideas of "mindful learning" against "mindless learning" .  Dr. Jamie  McKenzie of the on-line journal From Now On   uses the phrases "Power Pointlessness" , "Edutainment", "Technotainment"  and the "disneyfication of information"  http://emifyes.iserver.net/fromnow/feb01/edudotbomb.html  to describe learning for misguided purposes.

Using a computer or the Internet does not by themselves insure learning. Good learning experiences challenge students to solve problems by doing quality research, analyzing information, synthesizing possibilities, making judgments and then creating interesting products in order to communicate their results. Technology can be used as tools in making these exciting learning experiences even deeper, richer and more motivating by allowing student to obtain information from sources they may not normally be able to access, to process the information in various ways and to produce meaningful products that demonstrate true learning and can share with others in relevant and dynamic fashions. 

 Using technology wisely, students can obtain, analyze and integrate knowledge, they can do authentic real world problems, they can use cooperative and collaborative teamwork and they can create products to satisfy the curriculum and standards. 

What will happen to test scores if students learn using technology wisely? Project Based Learning Research from the George Lucas Educational Foundation is a nice summary of the research answering this question.

Consider the factors which affect the success of projects involving technology: your learning goals, student conceptual readiness, student motivation, student technical skill level, student access to the technology, time available and the structure of the assignment. 

GOALS

Your learning goals can be expressed in terms of the Essential Questions. What are the important concepts for this lesson/unit based on your standards or curriculum?  Essential Questions are organizers and set the focus for your students; they point to the important concepts. Dr McKenzie has an interesting article on this entitled From Trivial Pursuit to Essential Questions and Sandards-Based Learning . 

Important points to Essential Questions are:

• Put the questions in terms students can understand.
• Put the questions in a logical order.
• Keep the questions in front of your students.
• Make sure the essential questions are not just getting facts. They must require that students spend time pondering the meaning and importance of information.

Another suggestion to increase focus is to have your students suggest criteria for the  rubrics (visual organizers which allows one to measure success)  on the content and perhaps on the oral and visual  presentation. Making up the rubrics as part of a student and teacher design means that there are no surprises and there are clear expectations for objective assessment. Students claim some ownership (you can always put your list of "nonnegotiables" in the rubric, such as state standards that your students much reach). Having a rubric in front of your students is an excellent way to continually guide instruction as they are working.

Another suggestion is to use a group self assessment sheet perhaps once a week with students to determine how well the team is working together.

A sample set of rubrics for a Space Colony WebQuest used by a teacher is located at Mrs. John's Space Colony Rubrics located at http://www.coollessons.org/spacerubrics.html

Group Self Assessment   http://www.coollessons.org/spacegroupeval.html by Lana Brozik, Kathleen Kaup, and Richard Levine

Other rubrics that may be helpful are:

Project Based Learning Checklist from www4teachers and the High Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium  (check out the great tools at their site) - This is a cool site where you can easily build a checklist for or with your kids before they write, do an oral or multimedia presentation or an experiment. They will know what to look for when they self-evaluate their work.  http://www.4teachers.org/projectbased/checklist.shtml

RUBISTAR is also from www4teachers and the High Plains Regional Technology in Education Consortium  (check out the great tools at their site). Using a similar format , teachers can easily build customizable rubrics for or with your students for a wide variety of project types.  http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

Assessment Rubrics from Kathy Schrock's web site.  http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/assess.html

Rubrics from the Staff Room for Ontario's Teachers maintained by Elaine Coxon http://www.odyssey.on.ca/~elaine.coxon/rubrics.htm

Web Page Evaluation Criteria by Al Rogers (adaptation by Clarence Bakken and Sara Armstrong) http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfmgb/web.htm

Project and Presentation Rubric  by Harry Grover Tuttle (adaptation by Richard Levine)  http://www.coollessons.org/RUBRICRFT.rtf  (This has been virus scanned)

PREPARATION
 

Consider the factors which affect the success of projects involving technology: your learning goals, student conceptual readiness, student motivation, student technical skill level, student access to the technology, time available and the structure of the assignment.

Conceptual and Language Readiness

Please don't forget to include the Learning Center Coordinator or Librarian in on your planning.

In preparation for web based units such as modules, WebQuests or Problem-Based units, the students can do some background research to improve student conceptual and language readiness. I have seen a big difference in learning if your students are not prepared conceptually for such unit. (If your middle school team has a Reading teacher team member, this would be a great place for him/her to participate in the unit. If not, you have to address the reading component.)

As examples of conceptual and language readiness techniques, 

• Students can do background research, perhaps using Hotlists or scavenger hunts using key words from the unit. (If students run into a link that does not work, try using the Wayback Machine http://www.archive.org from U.C. Berkeley to bring up the web page.)
• Students might rank order different planets/bodies on various criteria. 
• Students can use graphic organizers to compare and contrast the original colonies. 
• Students can make a timeline of events leading up to the period in which Anne Frank lived in the hidden rooms. 
• Students could brainstorm the key words needed to organize research on biotech foods. 

You could also assign a book, article,  fiction story, etc. dealing with the topic. For example, students could be assigned a science fiction story and they report on any misconceptions the story has about the planet/body they are studying. 

Concerning student technical skill level, do you know what percentage of your students use an Internet browser on a regular basis, either at home or school? Do your students understand the tools they need to do help them learn? 

Who teaches the following skills? 

• Using a web browser
• Searching (See the Internet Search Tutorial  )  
• Determining if the information is valid and reliable (See How Do I Know Stuff on the Internet is True? http://www.coollessons.org/ValidatingInternetInformation.htm or QUICK (Quality Information Checklist) http://www.quick.org.uk/menu.htm ) 
• Citing information from web sources (See Citing Internet Sources http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/resources/cite/index.html ) 
• Analyzing information using  a spreadsheet, or Inspiration
• Making products such as  a web page, or using PowerPoint, a word processing application, Hyperstudio, etc.
• Use a digital camera or a scanner 

When will they learn these skills? Perhaps mini-lessons on these applications, and perhaps more basic things such as computer parts, care, using the mouse, keyboard volume controls, cutting and pasting would be necessary for beginners. 

Before students actually begin this unit, preview the work with them using a projection device if possible to save time if you use a computer lab and to insure whole class understanding. The devices that project whatever is on your monitor onto your movie screen are great, but expensive ($1,500 or so). If your school can get one (perhaps a P.T.O. donation), then do so. There are other relatively inexpensive (about $100 or so) devices that make it easy to send the video signal from your computer's monitor connector into a input jack on a classroom TV. Three such devices are (I do not have any financial interests in these):

• Pocket Scan Converter   http://www.aitech.com/psc1106-details.htm
• TVator http://www.web-tronics.com/personal-computing-products-vga-to-tv-converter.html
• IAtech Converter found at Comp USA
• MyView (for Macs)  http://www.hauppauge.com.sg/mac/myview.htm
• TView http://www.focusinfo.com/products/b_tview_con.htm

Tips: Make sure you talk to your school's tech support person before you purchase such a device. Also, With any computer page you put onto a TV, make the font (printing) as big as possible so that it can be seen from a distance.

Structure of the Assignment

Make sure the directions are clear and the necessary structure is in place so students' learning doesn't "wander". For example, in preparation for the unit you might print out a student handout for each student with the directions, such as the roles and the questions to be addressed if doing a WebQuest. The handout can be used by students to take notes and list their sources as they move along. I think this is an important part of the learning process. The handout will also allow you to evaluate their progress by noting the quantity and quality of their notes.  If doing a Problem-Based unit, a print out of their notes would allow you to verify their progress. Darci J. Harland has good ideas in writing handouts to give to students in her web page How do I Make a Good Handout to Give to Students?
 

MANAGEMENT

 In many instances units such as WebQuests or Problem-Based take longer than you have scheduled.  Make sure that presentation / assessment time is scheduled for: for example, an additional five periods (two student groups per period) might be allowed in larger projects for presentation of students products. However, if other components mentioned in the Teaching Ideas Section are included, it will take longer. Don't be surprised if your students ask for more time, especially the students who tend to do the best work for you. The presentations will take a while, in fact a lot longer than you think.  That’s OK, but expects it.

TIME: Scheduling Options and Management Tips

 Considering student access to the technology, teachers in self contained classrooms with one or just a few computers might make these lessons or units a station to rotate students through. Some ideas on scheduling are: 

• Rotate with groups or pairs. Make the schedule self-rotating, so that when finished they can go to another station. Allow student to use the computers all day if possible, assuming that their other work is finished and except during direct instruction.
• Have a set pre-determined schedule. Everyone works on the computer a certain number of times each week.  Students can check off their names and times when finished. (Or use a clothes pin to move down the list of students.)
• Use a card file. Write a student's name on an indexed card. Place all the cards in a basket. Pick a name to use the computer station, and place the card into a different basket for the next round.
•  Use a sign up sheet (more effective for older students), including a line on the sheet for a purpose for their using the station.
•  Have some of your students be helpers (called "Experts", "Techies" or "Producers".  Different students can be helpers in different specialties, such as  graphics, scanning, software programs, etc. (Potential Energy is a program that trains students to provide technical support   http://www.potentialenergy.net  )
• Students can ask these "Experts" for assistance first. If the problem still exists, then you can be asked.
•  Use a kitchen timer to limit time on the computer (15-30 minutes per time, for example).
•  Get some way to have the student at the computer communicate with you in a nonverbal way. An example would be to obtain cheap plastic cups. Put them one inside the other on top of the monitor. A red cup on the outside means "Help, please!" A green cup on the outside means "Everything is O.K." A yellow cup means "I found or did something really cool!"
• Have colored folders at each station with simple descriptions of how to use the computer, or for each software title, or directions on how to do the lessons or units, etc. Students can even make them up.
•  Post rules, responsibilities and if necessary directions of the assignment near computers.
• Place the computers where you have an easy view of the monitor and where as many people as possible can view the monitors.
• If you can, have the technical people hook up one computer to a permanent large TV monitor in your room.
• It is not a matter of IF the Internet coming into your school will not be working, but WHEN. You can "save" some web pages on your computer or network to ensure that students have access to the information you want them to have as well as access appropriate web pages. There are programs that allow you to easily save whole web pages (WebWhacker  for example is about $40 ) or you can do it yourself. Talk to your school's tech support person on how to do this. Please remember to follow the copyright restrictions on the web pages and do not publish these pages on your server; only save them for your class' use only.

Learning Management

 The learning process is part of the product. If at all possible, it should be one in which students appropriate information, augment and change it. In this way your students can claim ownership of their learning.

Besides the suggestions made in the preparation section above, other suggestions for structure are provided by Dr. Bernie Dodge, co-developer of the WebQuesthttp://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html concept. Dr. Dodge uses the term "scaffolds" to describe the kind of structure students need and gives examples of this structure in Reception Scaffolds  http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/patterns2000/reception.html (help students gather information), Transformation Scaffolds http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/patterns2000/transformation.html (help them change knowledge and ideas into different forms) and Production Scaffolds  http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/patterns2000/production.html (help them produce something observable).

As previously mentioned, graphic organizers are powerful tool to produces more learning. Some examples are concept maps, word webs, Venn diagrams, fish bones, ladders (rank order), etc. in which students use such templates to brainstorm, compare & contrast, note taking etc. In my opinion, the software program Inspirationhttp://www.inspiration.com is a wonderful graphical organizers. The templates in Inspiration can give you many ideas on helping your students learn better.

It is very important that checkpoints be included in the process, where students have to report their progress to you. Check the handout at least once a week to verify progress. You may even include adding "Go see the Teacher Now!" at various points in the unit so that you can determine progress. You might want to have students keep a daily log of KNOW - NEED TO KNOW - LEARN so that you can check progress. Another progress check might be to have each member of the group turn in a list of the answers to the questions pertaining to his/her role each week so that you can initial their progress. The notes can then be counted as part of the overall grade. Ask your students to cite their sources for information. This is the only way you can tell if they got the information from a reliable source or just made it up.

Grouping

For longer projects I suggest cooperative groups of no more than three students. If you have a choice and depending on the unit, two students is better than four in my experience, especially if you expect the group of four  to use a single computer at once. In this case if the unit calls for four students, perhaps they can work at times in teams of two to do different components of the work. For example two students can do learning center research and two can  do Internet research - they can then exchange places after a time.

A project can be used for team building skills also. For bigger projects, make sure that your teams talk to each other during the research. Schedule some "Talk Time" away from books and computers for each team. Team members need to communicate with each other about what they know and need to know periodically. In fact, if they  use KWL charts for note taking, this is a good opportunity to review them in a group setting. If necessary, appoint a team leader for a period to make sure things are getting done right and small conflicts are dealt with.

 Projects such as WebQuests, Engaged Learning Modules or Problem Based Learning can allow for differentiation in a classroom with your brighter students learning up to their potential. In fact, I would suggest that you make one group out of your top students in each class and let them intellectually challenge each other; the results may astound you. If you allow this you may notice leadership traits emerge not ordinarily seen in students in the other groups.

 If Internet access is a part of the project, then another grouping recommendation is to put an equal number of students with Internet access at home in each group.

EVALUATION

The type of product students do affects the learning process they must go through. 

For example, if you ask them to produce a report on China, you are asking your students to do no more than cut and paste information without your students having to do much thinking. However you might ask your students to decide which country in Asia they would like to be an exchange student in and to give reasons with appropriate links. In this case, your students have to not only gather information, but also have to identify the important factors, to rank order information and evaluate the information based upon these factors. In order to make links to appropriate information, your students have to recognize and to order these relationships to make things clear to the reader, either you or another audience. Another example would be to have your students, instead of doing a report about bats, do a report in which they have to decide if they would rather have a bird house or a bat house in their yards and describe their reasons.

Brian Booth created a thoughtful analysis how the product determines the process. See his page  Alternative Assessment Using Technology (Slide Show) or Handouthttp://mrbooth.com/edu/wt/assesmnt/handout.html  .

When students give presentations, have a panel of students (use different students for different presentations) help you evaluate each team during their presentation. They may be more demanding on other students than you would be.

It is strongly recommended that a group grade be given for only those parts that everyone is responsible for, but then individual grades be given for everything else. Everyone must be responsible for his/her own role and part in making the products! That way, one person will not bring down a group's grade, nor will one person doing a wonderful job will not mean another person doing little or nothing will receive that credit.
 

Also, under the rubrics, there is a group self assessment sheet. I used it once a week with middle school students and found out who was not pulling their weight with the team. Group Self Assessment   by Lana Brozik, Kathleen Kaup, and Richard Levine
 
 

TECH TIPS

Plug-ins are new programs which are downloaded from the Internet. For example, you might need a plug-in such a Real Player to help you play a video clip. Some of these plug-in programs can add greatly to interactivity of web sites and to your students' learning.  However, these plug-ins then become installed on your computer, and there in lie the problems:

• Some plug-ins are not compatible with some computers, or with some programs you may have in your computer. Therefore, it may not work well, or something else that worked well now doesn't. Also, some things you download from the Internet may have a virus attached. It is a good idea that your students NEVER be allowed to download a plug in, and that you ask your school's tech support person to do the downloading for you.
• A second problem with plug-ins is that some of them are "trial" copies of a program which may be legally used for one or two months, but after that you are expected to purchase it. Having illegal copies of programs on your school's computers is legally and ethically wrong (we must set good examples) but also your school can be fined big bucks if the programs are found.

More Information

Most of the following links for using one computer in the classroom were found by Bigchalk.com (a very helpful educational web site).

 Instructional Strategies for the One Computer Classroom and Resources For The One Computer Classroom
 Kim Champagne.

The One Computer Classroom
Tammy Worcester (Kansas)

Single PC Integration Ideas
Janine Lim (Michigan)

One PC Strategies & Applications
Linda Burkhart (Maryland)

Internet Options in the Classroom
Lewis Johnson (California)

Bigchalk Web & Tech Integration Resources
 
 

POSTSCRIPT

Talking about the frustrations of using computers in his University of Virginia classes for the first time, a professor was surprised by the results.
"The computers were a constant headache, the lab riddled with incompatibilities and quite unstable. In the end, this turned out to be an old fashioned, labor- and imagination-intensive enterprise. It also yielded old-style, low-tech rewards: the ability to think, to write, and to work intensely with others on matters of genuine concern, things that have always seemed to me the central goals of a liberal education."
Alan B. Howard
Associate Professor
Director: American Studies Programs
AS@UVA: Virtual Space -- Actual Learning
http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7EAS@UVA/virtreal.html
(1997)
 

Last Updated 2/14/03

Copyright ©2001-3 Richard Levine, Cool Lessons, Educational Technology Consultant, http://www.coollessons.org     This paper is for non-profit, educational use only. If you have any comments, questions or resources you would like to see added to this page, contact Rich Levine,   comments@coollessons.org 
 
 

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Copyright ©  2001-2003 Richard Levine, Cool Lessons, Educational Technology Consultant

This site is for non-profit, educational use only. If you have any comments, questions or resources you would like to see added to this page, contact  Rich Levine, comments@coollessons.org