Abstract:
"Standards of Practice" is a 10-hour,
asynchronous web-based workshop designed for a broad range of
educators. The workshop provides an overview of national and
state curriculum standards and educational technology
standards, and practice with choosing and integrating
effective technology into standards-based teaching. Topics
include effective searching, how to evaluate web sites, and
how to do research on the web. The workshop was developed by
university education faculty under a professional development
schools grant to meet specific needs of area schools.
"Standards of Practice" was offered free of charge
to any teacher in the university's professional development
schools, and teachers earned a stipend during the grant
period upon completion of the workshop. After completing the
workshop, teachers received an automatically generated
certificate that they submitted for school district inservice
credit toward renewing their teaching certificates. The
workshop was delivered using WebCT, and is composed of six
one to two hour modules: Introduction to Technology
Standards, Sunshine State Standards, Searching the Web,
Evaluating Web Resources, Research using the Web, Best
Practices in Integrating Technology into Standards-Based
Instruction. Each module includes instructional information
on the topic, links to web materials, self-paced practice
activities, and suggestions for finding further information
on the topic.
Standards of Practice: online educator in-service
workshop on curriculum standards and technology applications
Teachers in a cluster of Florida Professional Development
Schools (PDS) recently identified their needs for continuing
education. The main themes that emerged were understanding of
curriculum and educational technology standards, improving
technology skills, and learning best practices for teaching
standards with technology. The state university's college of
education working with this group of PDS teachers used grant
funds to develop a package of professional development
experiences addressing the needs of the teachers. The
experiences included university graduate courses, hands-on
technology skills and integration workshops in an area
instructional technology center, and an online workshop. The
menu of options enabled teachers to choose topics, schedules
and learning styles that best suited them.
The teachers were familiar with courses and workshops, but
most were new to online learning. The attractive features of
an asynchronous web-based workshop included flexibility in
location and time of learning, and self-paced and independent
learning. The intimidating aspects of an online workshop
involved the lack of face-to-face interaction and immediate
instructor support, and the requirement of basic computer
skills and web access. The online workshop format was
well-suited to teachers who possessed the prerequisite
technology skills and access, those who enjoy independent
learning, and those who had limited time to travel or meet in
a structured classroom. The online workshop also opened the
opportunity for teachers who participated in face-to-face
workshops to continue and extend their education
independently.
University faculty working with the PDS teachers developed
the online "Standards of Practice" workshop. The
workshop was designed to be appropriate for the broad range
of educators working at K-12 in all content areas. The
workshop provides an overview of national and state
curriculum standards relating to technology and educational
technology standards, and practice with choosing and
integrating effective technology into standards-based
teaching. An evaluation of the technology components within
the state standards across the curriculum areas revealed
common themes and skills. Those themes and skills led to the
development of the workshop topics. Topics include effective
searching, how to evaluate web sites, and how to do research
on the web. The workshop was created to be delivered using
the online course environment WebCT, because WebCT was
available at the university and accessible to the teachers.
The workshop is structured as six one to two hour modules.
The module topics are: Introduction to Technology Standards,
Information Literacy and State Standards, Searching the Web,
Evaluating Web Resources, Research using the Web, Best
Practices in Integrating Technology into Standards-Based
Instruction.
Before beginning the workshop modules, users are
instructed to print the study guide page, which serves as an
advance organizer for workshop activities. Each module
includes instructional information on the topic, online
references, self-paced practice activities, and suggestions
for finding further information on the topic. Upon entering a
workshop module, the teacher/learner will read an
introduction to the topic and its importance. Next, important
concepts related to the topic are described, and web pages
with pertinent information are recommended. Readers are
invited to choose and explore recommended web pages to the
extent that such exploration is valuable to that reader.
Readers have the freedom to leave and revisit modules at any
time. Modules conclude with an interactive activity, such as
evaluation of web resources, self-assessment instrument or
practice with skills and knowledge. After completing each
module, a five-question limited response quiz is given. Users
must achieve a satisfactory score on the quiz before
proceeding to the next module. The purpose of the quiz is for
documenting successful participation in the workshop so
participants may receive continuing education credit from
their school district.
"Standards of Practice" was offered free of
charge to any teacher in the university's professional
development schools, and teachers earned a stipend during the
grant period upon completion of the workshop. After
completing the workshop, teachers received an automatically
generated certificate stating that they satisfactorily
competed requirements of the workshop. Teachers submitted the
personalized certificates for school district credit toward
renewing their teaching certificates.
The workshop met the needs of the target audience by
providing them with experience and knowledge within the
curriculum standards, skills using the technology as a
teacher and learner, and information about best practices for
integrating technology into curriculum. The online format was
very convenient for teachers who had limitations in attending
face-to-face training. This format also allowed the teachers
to become more comfortable with the technologies as they
worked at their own pace.
Module Outline:
Module One, Introduction to Technology Standards:
Discussion of the need for educational technology
and curriculum standards, review of US Department of
Education and International Society for Technology and
Education (ISTE) standards for teachers and students,
exploration of Milken Foundation Dimensions for Gauging
Progress, review of state and American Library Association
technology literacy standards, an online self-assessment
instrument with teachers receive a rating of their likely
location on the continuum from Learner to Leader in
educational technology, and a list of web sites for further
reference on the topic.
Module Two, Sunshine State Standards:
Overview of information literacy, discussion of the
state's goals for improving education with technology, list
by grade and content area of the state curriculum standards
relating to technology, a drag-and-drop activity matching
information literacy skills and examples of classroom
application, and a list of web sites for further reference on
the topic.
Module Three, Effective Web Searching:
Overview of the value of web searching skills,
discussion of the tools for seeking and assessing information
on the web and their relationship to the standards,
comparison of web searching tools and guidance for choosing
appropriate tools, searching strategies and operators,
information about critically assessing information located on
the web for an education task, a list of web sites for
further reference on the topic, and activities in which users
compare the results and capabilities of a group of common web
search tools.
Module Four, Evaluating Web Sites:
Discussion of the need for web users to critically
evaluate web content, questions and criteria to use when
evaluating a web page for educational use, a sample web
resource evaluation checklist, a list of web sites for
further reference on the topic, and a practice web page
evaluation activity involving the judgment of sample web
pages for specific educational situations.
Module Five, Researching on the Web:
Discussion of the value of using the web for
educational research, flowchart of an online research process
for students, skills for managing information located online,
procedure for citing electronic references, Fair Use
guidelines for using electronic information in an education
context, a list of web sites for further reference on the
topic, a multiple choice activity in selecting the correct
citation format for online references.
Module Six, Best Practices in Classroom Computing:
Discussion of classroom structures recommended for
effective use of computers for learning, an information
literacy approach, teaching and management strategies for
classroom technology, findings related to the physical
setting for classroom technology, a list of lesson plans and
further resources related to the topic, a likert-scale
activity for rating the effectiveness of classroom technology
scenarios.
Terence
W. Cavanaugh Ph. D. 
