PLC'S AND THE NET
Using Internet Tools to Take Some
Of the Pain out of PLC meetings
Course Design Document for
Professors Kopcha and Linman
Ken Callaway
Course Proposal
There has been a need expressed by the technology coordinator at Sweetwater High School to have a course developed to introduce teachers to the Web 2.0 and how it can be integrated into the classroom. The coordinator, Jackie Montierth, would like the course to incorporate hardware skills she feels are lacking on campus, such as the setting up and use of Proxima projectors, as well as give instructors the tools they need to search the Internet more effectively and use online tools to collaborate with both their peers and their students. This proposal is in response to this expressed need.
Analysis
Step 1: Audience Analysis
Step 3: Function Analysis
Concept Map for the Course
Problem: Create one course to give instructors the tools they need to collaborate with both peers and students, search the Internet more effectively, manage their files, and increase use of the Proxima projectors.
Objectives with Matching Assessment Items
Instructional Strategies
A. Terminal Objective #1: Open Gmail account.
Strategy #1: Video. Use short video to create interest in Google Docs. Video should show ease of use and advantages.
Strategy #2: Brainstorm. Discuss with group what different web browsers there are and what the advantages are of each. Be sure to bring up compatibility issues if none of the participants do.
Strategy #3: Direct Instruction. Tell teachers what browsers are included on their school computers, which they will be using during the class, and why.
Strategy #4: Exploration. Show teachers the Google interface then allow them to interact with it on their own for several minutes. After the exploration period, debrief as a group, sharing out what interesting or unusual features they found on the site.
Strategy #5: Demonstration/Emulation. Show the teachers how to create a Gmail account, navigate the account, and access Google Documents. As demonstration is performed, the teachers will open their own accounts and get their initial practice in accessing Google Docs.
B. Terminal Objective #2: Manage Files on the Internet.
Strategy #1: Sideshow. Show screen shots of some of the computer desktops located on campus. Show both good and bad examples of organization, leading to a discussion about why some organizational plan is necessary.
Strategy #2: Survey. Determine how many of group can create files and folders on their classroom computers. Depending on the results of the survey, proceed either to Strategy #3 or #4.
Strategy #3: Peer Demonstration. Have some of the participating instructors show how they create files and folders to show how they organized their work. If possible, have teachers from different disciplines exhibit their organizational strategies.
Strategy #4: Demonstration. Display Google Docs and show how similarly files and folders can be used to organized information on the Web.
C. Terminal Objective #3: Use Google Docs.
Strategy #1: Demonstration. Show how to create documents online, and how to share them. Also display how to upload existing documents.
Strategy #2: Group Collaboration. In groups of 3-4, teachers will open shared documents and practice working on creating common assessments or shared lesson plans.
Strategy #3: Sharing. Teachers will reflect on the process of using Google Docs. What are the advantages? What were the difficulties and frustrations?
D. Terminal Objective #4: Search the Web Effectively.
Strategy #1: Discussion. What are the different features and advantages between web browsers? What types of search engines are there? Why should you be familiar with the choices?
Strategy #2: Direct Instruction. Explain why Safari can’t always be used, what the advantages of Google are, and how to make searches more effective by changing search engines and/or rewording the search.
Strategy #3: Paired work. Plan and carry out a search for: a recent lesson concerning a subject the teacher currently teaches; a website that would be useful for students; and a topic of interest to both partners.
Strategy #4: Sharing. Discuss search tactics. What helped find the information? What difficulties were encountered?
E. Terminal Objective #5: Use Proxima in the Classroom.
Strategy #1:Walkthrough.Take teachers to the library and walk them through the steps of checking a Proxima out of the library.
Strategy #2: Peer Demonstration- Group Work. Use teachers with Proxima experience to show how to connect a Proxima up to a computer in small groups. (If not enough experience teachers, use Instructor Demonstration.) Demonstrators should then show how to work the Proxima: what the control buttons do, how the remote works, and how to change the size of the display.
Strategy #3: Group Practice. In small groups, teachers will take turns connecting Proximas to computers, then displaying information of their on the screens or walls of the room.
Course Summary
