Connected Classrooms and the Information Age

Lauren Cifuentes

DISTANCE LEARNING

Your activities/assignments: Computer Conferencing Online Mentoring Cultural Connections Activity Web Workstation

DISTANCE LEARNINGBe able to: define provide examples of classroom

applications discuss issues

A Definition:

Distance learning is composed of three criteria--

participants separated by geographic distance

at least two-way interactive communication

technology facilitating the process

Varieties of Delivery Systems

•print or video through mail

•one-way audio and video

• instructional TV

•2-way audio and video conferencing (DVC or lg. group)

•networking with computers

Critical questions to ask when designing instruction--

Will distance learning tools enable students to do something they couldn’t do otherwise? or

Will distance learning tools enable students to do something much better?

Activity Structures

By Judy Harris, UT, Austin

1. Interpersonal Exchange

2. Information Collection

3. Problem Solving

1. Interpersonal Exchange• Keypals• Global Classrooms• Electronic Appearances• Telemonitoring• Question and answer activities• Impersonations

2. Information Collection

• Information exchanges• Database creation• Electronic publishing• Telefieldtrips• Pooled data analysis

3. Problem Solving• Information searches• Peer feedback activities• Parallel problem solving• Sequential creations• Telepresent problem solving• Simulations• Social action projects

URL of examples of each activity structure

http://virtual-architecture.wm.edu//

PBS Mathline is just one example of year long curriculum in the content areas

Exemplifies integrated distance learning--–teachers connected on-line

–mailed videos model teaching excellence

–video conference for national discussion

Networking with Computers

Access to information Access to world-wide activities Access to knowledgeable

people Access to each other

Subscribe to mailing lists:

Online discussion groups “listservs”--100,000+

Two types:–moderated: an administrator reads all incoming posts and sends only “good” ones to subcribers

–unmoderated: computer program sends all incoming posts out to the subscribers automatically

How to subscribe to a list:

1. Create a new e-mail message.

2. Address it to a mailing list.

3. Type subscribe in the body, or subcribe <listname> <your name> i.e. subscribe EDNET Jane L.Doe

To sign off a list, do the same except type unsubscribe instead of subscribe.

ERIC Search

WWW to:

http://ericir.syr.edu/Eric/

keyword, author, title, journal searches

Check out the lesson plans

TrackStar

URL= Http://hprtec.org

Locate TrackStar as an easy tool for Web Activity development.

Locate lessons already developed in TrackStar

Benefits of Integrating Distance Technologies into Your Classroom

Immediacy Increased critical thinking Improved dialogue for multiple

perspectives Individualized activity Active learning Connection to the world

Provocative Questions to Discuss at Parties:

How might teachers and students’ roles change now that students have easy access to information unknown to the teacher?

How can we control plagiarism in

this age of easy access?

What will textbooks look like?

What things now are crucial in an

optimum teacher/student relationship

that must not be lost?

How will telecommunications

technologies help a

teacher be more productive?