Trails to Integrating Technology Effectively

Trails to Integrating Technology Effectively (TiTe)
Developed by Christopher Shively, Educational Computing Strategist

Trail I - The Instructional Platform (Link to the Trail)

Description: High Speed and Wireless connections have changed the way students use their computers. At one time using the computer meant using only the applications on the machine. In today's world, using the computer means connecting to the Internet. The web browser is the most important computer application on your machine. In this trail teachers will learn how to teach with the Firefox web browser. See how reading, writing, searching and collaborating can be more efficient by just switching web browsers.

Focusing Question: What is an instructional platform?

NCATE: TL-II.D. Plan for the management of technology resources within the context of learning activities. Candidates:

Identify and evaluate options for the management of technology resources within the context of learning activities.

Trail II - The Secure Teacher (Link to the Trail)

Description: Today's teachers are required to use student management systems, develop classroom web sites, and maintain digital grade books. Each electronic service requires a login user name and password. If teachers were given the opportunity to pick their own passwords, would they know how to create strong and secure passwords? The stakes are too high for them not to. In this trail, teachers will learn how to protect themselves from password hackers - which could be a student in their room.

Focusing Question: How can you protect yourself while using the computer for school purposes?

NCATE: TL-VI.A. Model and teach legal and ethical practice related to technology use. Candidates:
1. Establish and communicate clear rules, policies, and procedures to support legal and ethical use of technologies at the district/ region/state levels.

Trail III - The Classroom Web Site

Description: The classroom web site should be used for: Communication, Instruction, Evaluation and Publication. It can become the launching pad for lessons and units in a 1:1 computing environment. In this trail, teachers will setup a classroom web site using SchoolWorld's MyTeacherPages.

Essential Question: What kind of information would you put on a classroom web site?

NCATE: TL-V.D. Use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to nurture student learning. Candidates:

Design, modify, maintain, and facilitate the development of Web pages and sites that support communication and information access between the entire school district and local/state/national/ international communities

Trail IV - Collaboration with Students, Colleagues and Administrators

Description: My Mom and Dad told me that sharing was good for my soul. Blogs, wikis, message boards and online office suites are being built so that people can share knowledge through collaboration. In this trail, teachers will learn how to setup and post to a blog.

Essential Question: Can using blogs increase student participation?

NCATE: TL-III.A. Facilitate technology-enhanced experiences that address content standards and student technology standards. Candidates:

Design methods and model strategies for teaching concepts and skills that support use of web-based and non web-based authoring tools in a school environment.

Trail V - Copyright in the Classroom - the Dos and Don’ts

Description: The digital world has made music, movies, pictures and text extremely accessible to all. This accessibility has also given people the impression that they can take whatever they wish. This "taking" could get teachers and students in a lot of trouble. In this trail, teachers will learn what they can and can not do with electronic sources.

Essential Question: What do teachers need to know to protect themselves and what should they teach their students?

NCATE: TL-VI.A. Model and teach legal and ethical practice related to technology use. Candidates:

Implement a plan for documenting adherence to copyright laws

Trail VI - Organizing Resources on the web for your students, colleagues and parents

Description: One of the biggest mistakes teachers make is that they require students to find information the students need to learn. And teachers call this technology integration. Students waste so much time looking for web resources and the content learning is lost in the search. In this trail, teachers will learn how and WHY to organize web resources using a social bookmarking service called Del.icio.us.

Essential Question: How can you organize web resources for your students efficiently?

NCATE: TL-II.D. Plan for the management of technology resources within the context of learning activities. Candidates:
1. Identify and evaluate options for the management of technology resources within the context of learning activities.

Trail VII - Evaluating Resources on the Web

Description: When I visit high school or college libraries, I see students reading....web sites. Sometimes the students are assigned web sites and sometimes they just find them on their own. If you are a teacher who has assigned a web site for your students to use, whether they are in kindergarten or graduate school, are you choosing high-quality web resources? In this trail, teachers will learn how to evaluate web resources so that students have a more valuable learning experience.

Essential Question: What are the characteristics of a high-quality instructional web resource?

NCATE: TL-II.C. Identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability. Candidates:
1. Identify technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability based on the content standards.

Trail VIII - Prescribing Solutions to Literacy Challenges

Description: What if changing one simple way you deliver instruction changed the life of a child, would you do it? There are simple strategies and (free) computer software choices that can make a difference. In this trail teachers will:

Diagnose a literacy challenge from a case study and prescribe an educational learning/teaching plan
Be assigned one of these child-study-team roles (teacher, educational computing strategist or principal)
Learn about the Universal Design for Learning principles which provide:
- Multiple means of representation, to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge, and
- Multiple means of expression, to provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know, and
- Multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners' interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation.
Learn about literacy challenges from the Reading Rockets web site and borrow some teaching strategies
Locate free electronic solutions (software) and learn how they can help with the literacy challenge

Essential Question: How would you help someone with a literacy challenge?

NCATE: TL-II.A. Design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the diverse needs of learners. Candidates:

Stay abreast of current technology resources and strategies to support the diverse needs of learners including adaptive and assistive technologies and disseminate information to teachers.

Trail IX - Develop an Online Learning Center

Description: A Virtual Learning Center is a place where students can experience many different web resources. It is a place where resources are organized into curricular areas and skill levels. It is also a place where students can begin their learning experience, a "home base." In this trail, teachers will learn how to organize resources on their web site by curricular skill and content area.
Participants will:

use a template to organize their learning center
locate web resources that can be used to teach specific (teacher chosen) performance indicators

Essential Question: How can you organize your Del.icio.us bookmarks to create an online learning center?

NCATE: TL-III.D. Manage student learning activities in a technology-enhanced environment. Candidates:
1. Design methods and model classroom management strategies for teaching technology concepts and skills used in P-12 environments.

Trail X - Designing TILES (Technology Infused Learning Experiences)

Description: TILES can include: teaching "everyday" content and project/problem based learning experiences, which many people would categorize as research. In this trail, teachers will design a lesson using the web to teach "everyday" content. Teachers will use the Understanding by Design theory to develop the lesson.
Teachers will:

use data to identify where students are struggling
design a lesson to teach the performance indicators that match the students struggle

Essential Question: How can you use technology tools to teach a lesson?

NCATE: TL-III.A. Facilitate technology-enhanced experiences that address content standards and student technology standards. Candidates:

Design methods and strategies for teaching concepts and skills that support integration of technology productivity tools (refer to NETS for Students).
Design methods for teaching concepts and skills that support integration of communication tools (refer to NETS for Students).
Design methods and strategies for teaching concepts and skills that support integration of research tools (NETS refer to for Students).
Design methods and model strategies for teaching concepts and skills that support integration of problem solving/decision-making tools (refer to NETS for Students).
Design methods and model strategies for teaching concepts and skills that support use of media-based tools such as television, audio, print media, and graphics.
Design methods and model strategies for teaching concepts and skills that support use of web-based and non web-based authoring tools in a school environment.

(03/24/2006). Student Voices--National Education Technology Plan. Retrieved April 8, 2007, from National Education Technology Plan Web site: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/edlite-voices.html