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a. Topics
- The processes of education--how work gets done
- The limits of classroom-based education
- The Internet and the Web
- Contemporary uses of the Internet in education
- Internet tools for exchanging information
- Class projects to test the efficacy of Internet tools to solve problems of the traditional classroom
- Professional development in a virtual space
- The Web as a student authoring space
- The Web as a reference tool for computer users
b. Class Process and Homework
Classes will be a mix of laboratory experiences with Internet tools, lectures, class discussions, and student reports. Since the major course project is supporting the professional development of school teachers, we will try to model that process in class--using the Internet to support our working together as a class, becoming a community of learners both in the face-to-face situation of class and in the electonic meetings afforded between class by the Internet. Many assignments will require that students accomplish tasks in a collaborative fashion over the Internet: composing e-mail, creating and sending attachments, authoring web pages, and using various other tools to share work. There will be regular homework assignments including further development of competencies, reading and analysis of selected topics, and work on a class project. By the end of the course we will have together created an electronic web representing our experiences and learnings from the course.
c. Prerequisites
Students are expected to be familiar with computers in general and the Macintosh interface in particular. Basic facility with word processing and electronic mail are assumed. Students who do not have these skills at the beginning of the course may be required to attend ITD workshops to develop basic computer competencies.
Computer tools. For class you will be expected to learn and use regularly a wide variety of computer software. The generic tools (Microsoft Word, Netscape, and Internet e-mail tools) are available in every computer cluster on campus. Other more specialized tools are available during open hours for the MultiMedia Classroom (Room 2211 SOE). Many of the tools used in the course can be installed on personal computer, at least for the duration of the course. See Basic Tools described in Class 2 below.
d. Assignments, Projects and Tests
There are several distinct strands of learning in this course:
- Developing competencies with Internet Tools;
- Developing a broad appreciation for fundamental technical components of the infrastructure that is called the Internet;
- Conceptualizing the role of Internet communication in the broader field of human communication;
- Developing an understanding of the complex character of several educational problems, the solution for which the Internet holds some promise;
- Developing a critical appreciation of the ways in which the Internet is currently being used by educators, and evaluating their value for student learning;
The course activities provide a mix of laboratory experiences, designing educational interventions, and reflecting on the meaning of those experiences and interventions for dimensions of teaching and learning and for public education more broadly. The course begins with a heavy emphasis on building experience with Internet tools and analysis of educational problems, and shifts increasingly toward analysis of the earlier experiences.
e. Grading
Dimension |
Weight |
---|---|
1. Demonstrated mastery of basic and advanced Internet tools |
20% |
2. Homework assignments involving (1) use of tools outside of class time and (2) written assessment of the suitability of tools and resources for education |
20% |
3. Contributions to the ED603 Web Site on the Educational Uses of the Internet |
20% |
4. Term Project. (1) Design an Internet Solution to an Educational Problem or (2) Develop a Web-based report that reviews available resources/activities on the Web designed to enhance one curricular area or aspect of schooling. |
20% |
5. Exams will cover (1) basic concepts of the Internet and its tools; (2) evaluation of the Internet's potential for education. The exam itself will be conducted using the tools of the Internet. |
20% |
a. Evaluation Categories
- Salient features:
- user access--server/client;
- synch/asynch;
- threading of conversations;
- user inteface;
- speed of info. exchange;
- platform and system requirements;
- cross-platform robustness;
- security of files on a server;
- security of transmission;
- Source/cost
- Ref.s for more info.
Examining a server-based e-mail system: Pine. (All students were given an overview of the features of Pine and had an opportunity to receive and send mail using this system.)
Class 2 and all subsequent classes will be on Thursdays 4-7, Room 2211 SOE
In addition to critiquing a larger set of Internet tools, all students must master the use of the following tools. All will be introduced in class, but it is expected that you will spend ample time outside of class to master the tool. Some assignments need to be prepared with a word processor. The required tool is Microsoft Word for the Macintosh version 5.1 preferred. Speak to the instructor about exceptions to this.
Explore the September issues of CMC http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/current/toc.html
These were proposed by the class as Web Pages which will be constructed to keep track of "class knowledge" about the course topics. These will be maintained by various student groups. The page design will evolve as we learn what layouts are most useful. The one feature identified at this time by the class is that there be buttons at the bottom of each page with links to each other page. In addition to "ED603.html" which describes the course, the following pages were nominated. Volunteers to work on these pages are listed after the page.
In this strand of the course we are reviewing a variety of educational uses of the Internet and evaluating their contribution to education. The key questions/issues for us are summarized in the homework assignment for today's class.
a. Kids as Global Scientists (Nancy Songer)
KGS is an NSF project designed to test the value of the Internet for middle school science.
Dr. Nancy Songer presented the Kids As Global Scientists project by showing the actual links middle school science students use from around the world. Dr. Songer explained the project, giving some brief background information, and then electronically showed our class where the project currently stands. Dr. Songer commented that a substantial amount of orchestration and planning are required to produced high-quality educational experiences and sharing in an on-line environment. In reference to KGS, Dr. Songer feels the more kids are interacting with information, products, etc., instead of just printing and downloading information, the greater likelihood quality learning will take place. --Dan Behm
b. Middle Years Digital Library Project (David Lyons)
The MYDL Project is part of a large experimental project at the University of Michigan called the UM Digital Library Project (UMDL). It is a multi-year project funded by NSF involving the School of Information, the College of Engineering, and the School of Education.
Creating a class list web page with e-mail links
1. Using Netscape, visit these sites to find out how to do your homework and share it with the class, using ClarisWorks 4.0 or MS Word 5.1 or higher.
Here's what you can expect using different word processors. I copied the text that I wrote for the homework assignment for an earlier class and pasted it into 4 different documents to show how the Web deals with them. (1) Class 2 Asst.STxt.txt I pasted it into SimpleText (the rudimentary word processor that comes with every Macintosh). I saved it in the standard format--the only option in SimpleText. This makes an ASCII file with no styling of text. You can see that the text does not translate well to the Web because a long paragraph of text doesn't "wrap." (2) Class 2 Asst.MSWD.txt I opened up a new text document in MS Word, pasted in the text and then saved it as "text only with line breaks." This is one of the options when you select "save". This creates a so-called ASCII file with a paragraph marker at the end of every line. It shows up well in the browser with the long paragraph properly sized. I had some bold text in the original but the character styling disappears when you save the file as pure ASCII. (3) I opened up a new text document in ClarisWorks, pasted in the text, and then I simply saved the document, not as a normal ClarisWorks document, but as a "WWW [HTML]" document by selecting this option from the list and then giving it this name: Class 2 Asst.CW.html . (Note that I added ".html" to the end of the name.) Clarisworks inserted all of the appropriate HTML for it to become a real Web document. I also saved a normal version of the file so I could edit it later. (4) Finally, I opened up a new text document in ClarisWorks, but this time I chose a piece of "stationery" called "WWW [HTML] Document". This gave me a few more options. I could insert a horizontal line rule and I could create a link to another Web document. I also made a sentence bold by highlighting it and choosing bold. Again, I saved this document not as a normal ClarisWorks document, but as a "WWW [HTML]" document by selecting this option from the list and giving the document a name with ".html" at the end: Class 2 Asst.CW Stat+.html
1. Using the search capabilities of Netscape find five web sites that relate directly to K-12 education.
Type the following about each. Use ClarisWorks (available in every public site on campus) and save it to a Macintosh disk in two ways: (1) as an html document (see #2 above; remember to put ".html" at the end of the document name) and as a normal ClarisWorks document. If you feel like trying something new, use strategy #3 above. Also, print out your normal ClarisWorks document and bring 9 copies to class. If you are stumped and cannot get access to ClarisWorks, do the MS Word solution described above.
- Name of the site (This is what appears as the title of the site or what appears at the top of Netscape)
- URL
- Short description of what can be found at the site.
Make notes about these sites in the same way that you did the first assignment. Make this a separate file on your homework disk. Print out the results making 9 copies to bring to class.
Introduction to Fetch [ftp.ifs.umich.edu] [afs/umich.edu/user/j/e/~jere]
Move your homework assignment from your disk to your IFS file and also to the class IFS file space. We will then ask if this is a good way to share individual work among our class. Give your web address to the student building the class membership page.
Explore the October issue of CMC http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/current/toc.html Isn't this the same Web address as the September issue? How could you find the September issue?
Net search: When you click on "net search" in Netscape, you are taken to a variety of search engines. Are there any differences among them in how they work... in what you find? Find a web page with information about how to use Netscape.
Go to the class members page: ED603F96Members.html Follow the links to class members' home pages. Look at Gloria Martinez'--does the form at the end represent a way to collaborate? Where does information in the form "go"? Look at Soo-Young Lee's. Is her organization scheme one that we should use for the class?
Find 4 more Web Sites for K-12 Education: (1) A local school's web site that has both student and district products or information; (2) a resource site for K-12 teachers; (3) a K-12 curriculum site such as Songer's Kids as Global Scientists; (4) a resource site for educational researchers. Create a new word processing file with the information so you can add the contents to your web page at class. Our next challenge is to figure out how we can share our sites and observations on the sites.
Review your findings thus far about Internet tools and about K-12 Internet Education. The class teams will begin to generate the first content for their Web pages at the next class.
Update your HomePage document with the additional information you collected on K-12 sites for education. Then you will transmit the updated version of HomePage to your personal web site AND to your work group WebWeaver(s). How to set a Fetch bookmark
You will divide into two groups tonight: K-12 web sites and K-12 Internet Tools. I have made tentative assignments of those students in attendance last week. In your group you will (1) begin the design of a web page to consolidate information on the topic; (2) designate a group member to implement the page in HomePage; (3) make arrangements to get the page to the class webmaster, Darryl Wahlstrom.
Working Group
Tentative Membership
Task
ED603K12WebSites.html
Daniel Behm, Bill Mull, Susan Sutherland, Tsering Phuntsok, Norbu Tsering
Figure out a category scheme to organize the info. about K-12 Web Sites. Assign students to add reviews to the review.
ED603InternetTools.html
Gloria Martinez, Soo-Young Lee, Darryl Wahlstrom
Figure out a category scheme to organize the info. about Internet Tools. Start research on next tool:_____
Below is a list of the course web pages that we have identified so far.
All students
Download a trial version of HomePage from the Claris Home Page (www.claris.com)
Context assessment: Select a school setting with which you are familiar. If you were to work with that school to use the Internet to support teachers involved in a professional development project, what would be required to get a group of teachers "connected" to the Internet so they could use e-mail or the Web to support their efforts?
Review your skills at using the five basic Internet tools of the course: Telnet/Pine, Eudora, Netscape, HomePage, and Fetch. You will be tested in Class 9 on your ability to use each of these tools. Be prepared to ask questions at Class 8 about functions you do not understand.
K-12 Web Sites Group: complete research on K-12 web sites and compile using tools designated in your work group.
Internet Tools Group:
Review the evaluation categories for internet tools (Class 1, topic 2). Considering the teacher professional development problem that we are exploring (1) decide if the categories need revision and (2) prepare a design for the Internet Tools web page, and (3) complete your proposed page for Pine and Eudora. If possible, share your design with other group members by e-mail.
In addition: Darryl Wahlstrom: explore CGI for forms for Class 7. Soo-Young--explore Newsgroup topic for Class 8
Consolidate individual research and post to web site.
Darryl Wahlstrom on the use of CGI scripts to enable "web forms"
An overview of issues raised in "Professional Development of Science Teachers" by Ron Marx, John Freeman, Joseph Krajcik, and Phyllis Blumenfeld.
Guest speaker: Dr. Ron Marx
Our questions
What is required to support a group of practicing teachers who are trying to acquire a new set of skills in their area of professional practice?
What role did e-mail play in helping teachers achieve their goals in the Marx project? What factors account for e-mail's contribution?
Dr. Marx's talk:
[Summary to appear here]
Review the "Professional Development" paper. In what ways could Internet tools be used to support the vision of the professional development of teachers described in this paper?
Complete your work group assignments from this class. Be prepared at the next class to consolidate your information AND comment on the process of electronic collaboration
Obtain your copy of "The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog." A copy is being held at Barnes and Noble on Washtenaw Ave. Go to the checkout counter and ask for the book which is being held on the shelves behind the counter under my name, Jerome Johnston. The cost is $24.95. There is one copy in the IRIS library. Send a message to Dr. Johnston telling him if you are or are not buying the book so I can tell Barnes and Noble how many of the books to send back to the warehouse. You will be given reading assignments at the next class.
Review your skills at using Telnet/Pine, Eudora, Netscape, Fetch, and HomePage. You will be tested on your skills in two weeks, so know what questions you need answered at the next class.
Practice organizing and annotating a bookmark file and exporting it to others.
We will go over the tool compentencies you need for each of the five basic tools in preparation for the test next week.
- E-mail/Telnet-Pine. Connecting to the server using Telnet, starting Pine, retrieving a message, sending a message, adding a name to the address book, creating a new mailbox folder, moving a message from the In box to the new folder, deleting a message.
- E-mail/Eudora. Starting Eudora from a disk containing the necessary resources to provide you with a connection to your mailbox, retrieving a message, finding the e-mail address of a user on the UMICH mail system, composing and sending a message, adding a "nickname" to the address book, creating a new mailbox folder, moving a message from the In box to the new folder, deleting a message, setting the preferences to be able to connect to a mail server and indicating that messages should be left on the server.
- Web browsing/Netscape v.2/3. Accessing search engines to find sites on particular topics, loading a specific URL, using bookmarks (opening, adding, editing/annotating, importing). For help in using any feature of Netscape, go to this site: http://home.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/2.0/handbook/docs/learn.html
- Web page construction/HomePage. Document options (title vs. file name), Styling text using all of the basic built-in styles in the program, modifying text characteristics, aligning text, indenting text, inserting a table, modifying table characteristics, inserting a line rule, setting an anchor in the same file, linking to an anchor in the same file, setting up a link to an exernal URL, establishing a mail link, pasting text from a word processing file into HomePage and styling the results. "Edit HTML Source" and identify basic HTML tags.
- Moving web page files/Fetch. Moving a web page file from your local disk or hard drive to your IFS space in the UMICH environment. Saving a bookmark for your "site."
[Author] [Your Name]
A. Critique the ed603 Home Page
Go to the home page for ed603. Critique the design and send a message to Darryl from that page. You were sent an e-mail by Darryl a week ago and I am the only one to send Darryl a message. (Remember, the whole class gets a copy of the message so we all know who has and has not done this exercise!)
B. Collaborating at a Distance: Sharing Bookmarks
Netscape is itself a collaboration and sharing tool. For the mid term exam each of you created a set of bookmarks covering 3 categories. You annotated them by editing the entries and then you transmitted the file to me. After class I opened Netscape and selected "import bookmarks" repeatedly until I had imported each of your individual bookmarks files. All of these imports wound up in the master bookmarks file associated with my copy of Netscape. I then opened the Bookmarks window ("window" menu, select "Bookmarks"). With this window open, I went to the Item menu and created 3 new master folders covering the 3 categories. Then I proceded to drag each of your folders into the appropriate master folder. (For example, I dragged Susan Sutherland's folder "Teacher Resources (SS)" into the master folder for TEACHER RESOURCES.) I saved the results as a file ("MidTermBkmks.html"), transmitted it to the class IFS space (~ed603), and--without any additional work--it is now a web page of its own with annotated links. Visit the site.
Understanding what wound up where. When you edit a bookmark you see three fields. (1) Name; (2) Location (URL); (3) Description. When you are looking at your bookmarks in the bookmarks window, Netscape displays whatever is in the Name field. When you "Add a Bookmark" Netscape automatically loads the Name field with the web page's title and the Location field with the web page's URL. The Description field is left blank so you can fill it in. I often edit the name field immediately after adding a bookmark so that it is short enough to make sense to me.
Bookmarks as a web page. When you visit a bookmarks web site, or simply drag a bookmark file onto an open Netscape window, you see something slightly different. Look at our own entries for the mid term site by clicking on the "Visit the site" above. The Name field appears as a hot link to the site designated in the Location field. If the Name field is empty, the URL from the Location field is the name of the link. Whatever is in the Description field appears as commentary.
I am sure you will agree, this site needs some editing. Can we collaborate on this at a distance? Again, think of our class as a group of individual teachers working on a common project. In this case, we are trying to collaborate on finding the best web sites for educators and building a resource site on the Web to share our findings. This involves each of us (1) doing individual research (locating, studying, and then annotating various Web sites in our bookmarks; (2) transmitting our individual work (bookmarks file) to a group facilitator (Jere) who collates the group work and posts it in a common space; (3) individual group members critique the common space, editing their personal contributions and critiquing the contributions of others in the interest of shaping a unified product. Homework For Class 10 (11/7/96):
(1) Examine our common space and print out the page. How does your contribution looks compared to others? Make notes on the printout of changes you would propose. I will arbitrarily specify that every entry ought to have a descriptive name in the Name field. In the Description field ought to be 1-4 sentences describing the character and value of the site, and at the very end of this description, paste in the URL of the site so that viewers can know the precise URL if needed.
This site details this high school's application of the Internet in K-12 education. Even V.P. Gore stopped by this school to see how they used the Internet in the classroom. http://www.mvhs.edu/
(2) (If you do this exercise with your personal copy of Netscape and you have a set of bookmarks that you like, save a copy of the bookmarks so you can restore the original after this exercise.) In Netscape, select bookmarks from the window menu. Drag all of the bookmarks to the trash. Choose "import bookmarks" from the file menu and point to your own bookmarks file from the mid term. Edit the bookmarks as needed and "save bookmarks", giving it a name like this: "Bookmarks2.[your last name]". Under the window menu select "Netscape Mail". (See "Setups" below to configure Netscape mail properly.) Send your bookmark file to "jerej@umich.edu" as an attachment. If you can't do this easily, use Eudora to accomplish the same thing. If you need help, you will be able to get help at next week's class or during open lab time at MMC.
I will collate the various bookmarks files and post a new collated page for class on Thursday. This will be done with whatever bookmark files I have by Tuesday night.
B. Tune Up Your Home Work Site
You are expected to do computing homework for this class between classes. If you do all of this in a computing lab of the University, then you don't need to do the following. But if you do it from home, take time to organize your home computing resources.
If you haven't already done so, install the UM Internet Starter Kit which has Fetch, Telnet, Netscape, etc. It does not have Eudora or HomePage.
Set up Netscape so that you can use it for e-mail and news. Go to the Options menu, select "Mail and News Preferences" select the "Servers" tab and fill in the "Outgoing Mail" and "Incoming Mail" identically with your IMAP address (mine is "j.imap.itd.umich.edu"). For "POP User ID" insert your uniqname ("jerej" for me). Select either "remove from the server" or "left on the server", depending on your preference for what happens to the messages. For news server fill in "news.itd.umich.edu".
E-mail: Properly configure Eudora, and make sure your "Eudora on a disk" is properly set up. If you want the free version of Eudora at home(Eudora Light), go to the Eudora homepage (www.eudora.com) and download it. It is available for both Mac and PC.
Download the latest trial version of HomePage 1.0 (2.0 if it is available) from the Claris Home Page (www.claris.com)
Make sure your bookmark for Fetch works correctly so you can transmit a page from home to your web site.
C. Reading
Read The Whole Internet. Chapter 8: Network News in preparation for Soo-Young Lee's introduction to news groups.
4:10-5:30. I will not be in class tonight. Darryl Wahlstrom will coordinate class activities and arrange for lab access.
Using Netscape go to the latest version of the mid term bookmarks site. ("MidTermBkmks1.html" or "MidTermBkmks2.html") and print out a copy for each class member. Discuss the printout and suggest any changes to be made. Darryl will have a copy of the latest version of the bookmarks file and can make changes to it in class and transmit it to our class web site. (Note: we have now created at a distance and critiqued in a face-to-face situtation. For next week you will critique and make suggestions about the new page using e-mail to the whole class.)
In lab, insure that every class member knows how to do all of the steps involved in the homework from the last class. (Setting up Netscape; using Netscape to send mail and attachments, etc. Note that Netscape can send hot links of URLs that are interesting!!!)
In lab make sure that all of the links for our class web site are working.
5:45-7:00. Soo Young Lee will introduce the class to newsgroups as another tool to share and collaborate.
Critique and make suggestions to the whole class about the new page using Netscape e-mail (a version of Eudora Light) to send your comments to the whole class. This site will become the show and tell site for our end-of-semester presentation on educational web sites. Now it's time to beef up the content. Search the Web for the best web sites in our 3 categories and critique them.
Complete charts distributed at this class (and reproduced below).
December 5 class will be a show-and-tell with an audience (see Class 13). Whatever group you are working with, finalize your web site and practice how you would present to this audience. I expect to have in the audience administrators from AAPS who would be affected by the presentation on professional development--I want it to be compelling!
Adding video to the suite of Internet tools: CU See Me: Ronald Miller
In the final class we will do a demo of Internet tools that could assist with professional development. The activities below will help prepare for this session.
a. Matching Communication Needs With Tools
In the chart below, where would you put the following technologies? e-mail, e-mail with attachments, studio-originated broadcast video, video conferencing between two central sites, web pages produced by an expert, web pages produced by participants in a project, school-building originated analog video, NewsGroups, Chat rooms, Internet based video (CUSeeMe), Lotus Notes, printed handouts, electronic lesson plans, videotapes of classroom instruction.
In which cells are new technologies needed?
Activity
Current Tech
Emerging Tech
Transmission of Info.
N-Way Support of Info. Sharing and Work Group Collaboration
2. A Professional Development Example
Brain Compatible Learning Environments / Integrated Thematic Instruction (Susan Kovalik)
What Internet tools could extend the efficacy of this intervention being implemented in a local school district?
Phase
Activity
Traditional
Electronic
Awareness
(3-6 months)
Introductory Overview
1-day live presentation by Kovalik; follow-up readings
Study Groups
Monthly 1-2 hr. FtoF Meetings of Ts from different schools
Visitations
One 2-3 day visit to a model site
Skill Development
(8 months)
Multi-Day Training Session
3-Day FtoF Conference in the summer
Support Group for Problem Solving
Bi-weekly FtoF Meetings of Ts from different schools
Focused Visitations Within District
Participating teachers get sub & visit selected classrooms; reflect on own practice
Implementation
(8 months concurrent with "skill development")
Intensive Workshop for Bldg. Leaders (6)
Six-day FtoF Workshop for Principals
Leaders Support Staff
Regular classroom observations; every 3 weeks in-bldg meeting of partic.
Leaders Support One Another
Monthly meeting of six leaders with prof. dev. leader
1. Internet Tools to Support Teacher Professional Development.
- Professional Development: What is Required to Support Teachers' Efforts at Change?
- A Suite of Internet Tools to Support the Many Communication Needs of Professional Development
2. The Web for Education
- Resources for Teachers
- District Web Pages
- Resources for Educational Researchers