Re: Article Sharing Due November 15 -- LM Tech Mentor Forum

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 16:59:37 11/18/01 Sun
Author: Patti Rooney
Subject: Re: Article Sharing Due November 15
In reply to: Bill Dolton 's message, "Article Sharing Due November 15" on 09:43:00 11/01/01 Thu

Elfrank-Dana, John. �Teacher Vision in the New Media.� Learning and Leading with Technology November 2001: 6-13.

This is an article that caught my attention with the opening sentence �New media has challenged many of us to rethink our practice as educators.� It rang clear to me as this is our goal as technology mentors. Elfrank-Dana, once in the private industry, entered teaching with a variety of computer skills, however a lack of knowledge in regards to implementing it fully and effectively into the curriculum.
Several barriers he mentions, some of which we can all relate to, include a fraction of the class did not have access to computers at home, therefore making it difficult to assign home internet work. Easily remedied with any independent internet assignments to be completed in a matter of days to fully take advantage of school resources. Standardized test preparation can interfere with the time allotted in the classroom, therefore, Elfrank enlisted the use of several web sites designed towards the testing standards and implemented them into the classroom.
He created a web site for parents, students, and community to access with information relating to his class. Course objectives, homework, student link, parent link, and comments to mention a few are available for all to view.
Elfrank-Dana makes a comparison of �traveling� the internet is much like a bus tour. One goes to a specified place and visits for a prescribed amount of time, completing a specific set of directions. He believes this is a fundamental and effective tool in the elementary (k-12) level, however, high school students should be expected to do more.
He initiated a web quest type program encouraging students to find and evaluate information for its usefulness and credibility. Working independently and in collaboration with other students instills skills necessary in the workplace. He provides an online work log where students log many aspects of their work. In conjunction, work is published on the web for school, family, and community evaluation.
Elfrank-Dana�s goals are similar to the mentor programs in that students are encouraged to become �agents of their own learning� and obtain life long skills. Yet another way districts are trying to �keep up� with the ever growing list of resources in technology. In reading this article it is evident that programs such as ours and Elfrank-Dana�s are occurring nationwide and we must continue to work towards excellence in our classrooms to prepare for a better tomorrow.

Note there is also another article in this issue titled �Preparing Teacher Leaders: A Partnership that Works, Part 2� that is a good article discussing ways to further prepare the teacher for the technological challenges within the classroom. There are many similarities in this article with the means of implementing and training teacher here in Welsh Valley, however, this one is done through a partnership. A good read!

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

Re: Article Sharing Due November 15 -- Pat Markey, 19:30:52 11/18/01 Sun

Re: Article Sharing Due November 15 -- Bill Dolton, 11:30:19 11/19/01 Mon