Connected Classrooms and the Information Age

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Connected Classrooms and the Information Age

• Lauren Cifuentes

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DISTANCE LEARNING

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

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DISTANCE LEARNINGBe able to

• define
• provide examples of classroom
  applications
• discuss issues

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A Definition

• Distance learning is composed of three criteria--
• participants separated by geographic distance
• at least two-way interactive communication
• technology facilitating the process

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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

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Critical questions to ask when designing
instruction--

• Will distance learning tools enable students to
  do something they couldnt do otherwise? or
• Will distance learning tools enable students to
  do something much better?

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Activity Structures

• By Judy Harris, UT, Austin
• Interpersonal Exchange
• Information Collection
• Problem Solving

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1. Interpersonal Exchange

• Keypals
• Global Classrooms
• Electronic Appearances
• Telemonitoring
• Question and answer activities
• Impersonations

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2. Information Collection

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

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3. Problem Solving

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

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URL of examples of each activity structure

• http//virtual-architecture.wm.edu//

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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

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Networking with Computers

• Access to information
• Access to world-wide activities
• Access to knowledgeable people
• Access to each other

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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

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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 ltlistnamegt ltyour namegt i.e.
subscribe EDNET Jane L.Doe To sign off a list, do
the same except type unsubscribe instead of
subscribe.
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ERIC Search

• WWW to
• http//ericir.syr.edu/Eric/
• keyword, author, title, journal searches
• Check out the lesson plans

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TrackStar

• URL Http//hprtec.org
• Locate TrackStar as an easy tool for Web Activity
  development.
• Locate lessons already developed in TrackStar

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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

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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?

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• How can we control plagiarism in
• this age of easy access?

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• What will textbooks look like?

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• What things now are crucial in an
• optimum teacher/student relationship
• that must not be lost?

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• How will telecommunications
• technologies help a
• teacher be more productive?