Teachers need to find a link to their students. In 2002 a school district in New York, the Brewster Central School District, wanted to improve the computer literacy of its teachers. A survey was taken to assess the districts teachers level of computer competency.
A district wide assessment was provided to see what everyone thought about technology in the classroom. There was an overwhelming desire to implement technology, although there were many signs that current school computers weren't even being used because the teachers lacked the required computer knowledge. Brewster Central School District decided that teachers would be taught on a web based platform to create their own web pages.
This plan was going to take some steps. First a host server was needed. It was decided to go outside the district. Second, the web page creation needed to be easy to use without a prior knowledge of HTML. The program selected was oc4e. This program included predefined sections for basic teacher related applications and it also had the ability to expand upon the basic template to create a web page custom to the needs of the teacher.
A schedule was determined and updating was to be done once a month.
Initially there was those that opposed the new technology mandates, although as time went on more and more teachers came on board. One of the aspects critical to the program was linking, through demonstration, the instructional relevance of using teacher web pages. Only two months after the beginning of the project teachers were again provided the same initial assessment on technology. Across the board there were improvements on abilities and attitudes towards technology.
Wow. It's great to see a district take the bull by the horns and brave new waters. Web sites have been around for a long time now and it is about time that all schools require their teachers to have one. I for one am very happy with the classes that I take where the information for the class, whether it be just a syllabus or a whole class by class breakdown, is provided online. We need to move past the time where everything was paper based. Miss a day in class? Wondering what you missed? Class web pages allow a student to always stay up to date on what is going on or what will be expected in the future. I for one know that I WILL have a classroom web site for any class that I teach.
I believe this article truly implements the NETS for Students requirement for communication and collaboration. Creating a web site for a classroom provides a digital environment for the students to stay connected to what has been happening in class.
Reference:
Moskowitz, Steven. "Template-Based Teacher Web Pages." Learning & Leading with Technology. 39.9 (2004): 4. Print.
As a parent, I must confess that I rely heavily on teachers' websites to keep informed of what my children are doing in the classroom. In fact, the school district recently turned to the internet as their primary method of communication. Before they made the switch, newsletters were sent out and anyone not having access to a computer was able to fill out a form and request hard copies of all information posted online. I thought this was a great way to reduce costs, keep information up-to-date and individuals who do not have access to computers were not neglected. One aspect that teachers must be diligent about is making sure information is current and up-to-date. Without this important factor, teacher websites will quickly lose value.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interesting how much having a teacher web site seemed to inspire the teachers at Brewster Central to go beyond that and start learning other teachnologies that they could use in their classroom. That alone seems like a great reason to require all teachers have one. I wish my son's teacher took more advantage of hers. All she puts on it is a weekly letter to parents. It's a start, but she could be doing much more.
ReplyDelete