TWTW Teaching with the Web

 

 

The Instructional Technology Journal of

Greenwood School District 50

 

http://www2.gwd50.org

 

Volume 2, Number 7

October 1, 2006

 

eProficiency/ePortfolio

10/1/2006 The June 1, 2006 issue provided readers with information about the Proficiency Management System, ePortfolio, adopted by the State.  Gwd50 now has access to the system; the initial survey and training will begin soon.  Briefly, all certified personnel take an online survey (based on the state-adopted ISTE Technology Standards for Teachers), and a level of proficiency is determined.  Next, a personalized plan is developed.  This plan incorporates local professional development resources, as well as State-offered technology resources (which also count towards recertification credit!).  The proficiencies are documented through teacher-created artifacts uploaded to his/her ePortfolio.  To read how ePortfolio was successfully piloted in Florence, read “South Carolina: Tech-Savvy Teachers” in the July 2006 issue of T.H.E. Journal: http://www.thejournal.com/articles/18838.

TestView

Be sure to access TestView to access diagnostic data about the students you teach.  If you have questions about accessing TestView, please contact Cathy Chalmers (5412).

 

Important Teacher Notes

·   Please be sure to secure your laptops when you are away from your desk and when you take those home.  During a recent break-in at one school, two laptops were taken from teacher desks.

·   In middle and high schools, all students now have individual user names and passwords for accessing the Internet.  The generic users “student” and “patron” will stop working after October 1.  In order for a student to access the network or the Internet, he or she must login with the unique ID and password.  Please be sure not to allow students to access the network or the Internet under your user ID and password.  Doing so is a violation of FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) because your login gives potential access to student records and private information.

·   As district staff visit schools, they will be looking at the ways you are using your laptop and projector for instruction.  Please be sure that your lessons include relevant web-based resources that support and enhance learning standards.

·   If you are not registered to vote, please click the following link and print the Voter Registration Form:  http://www.state.sc.us/scsec/vr/VR_Blank_Form.pdf.  Fill it out and send it to your county voter registration office (click this link for a list: http://www.state.sc.us/cgi-bin/scsec/cntyboard?county=all.

Teacher Web Pages

The May 15, 2006 issue included directions for creating a web page using Word.  Before creating, there are important considerations.  The first is content.  Who will be the audience?  Is the purpose promotion, outreach, homework, information, student sharing, or parental involvement?  How often will it be updated?  What will motivate visitors to return?  Additionally, the content should be interesting and informative.  Will including contact and background information, policies, procedures, class schedules, accomplishments, news, and announcements, draw visitors back to the site?  If including homework, lesson plans, and test schedules, be realistic about when the page will be updated.  Out-of-date information serves no useful purpose. 

Next, consider appearance.  What constitutes good web design?  What is the role of navigation?  What factors may affect readability?  What types of materials are appropriate?  Viewing other teacher-web pages can be helpful. 

After the above considerations, it is time for a storyboard.  A storyboard is an excellent planning tool.  It is a flowchart that diagrams the flow of pages within a web site. Each box describes a specific web page with a summary of its content, layout, graphics, and objectives, giving each page a specific function.  With a storyboard, the structure of the site can be changed on paper without having to start over.  It can be sketched by hand or created using Word’s Organizational Chart.

Now, open Word, choose Table…

Site Survey:

Websites that Educate, Enlighten, Entertain, and Engage

·   Busy Teachers’ Website
http://www.ceismc.gatech.edu/BusyT/
Busy Teachers’ provides links to direct source materials, lesson plans, and classroom activities with a minimum of site-to-site linking.

·   Gamequarium
http://www.gamequarium.com/
This site is a portal to online, educational, interactive learning activities.  These interactive activities work well with SmartBoards. 

·   Internet Activities for Foreign Language Classes
http://clta.net/lessons/toplinks.html
480 links to geography, newspapers, food, sports, music, literature, museums, artists, leisure, history, holidays/ celebrations, weather, search engines, and comics (sorted by language.)  Also included on this site are sample internet-based lessons created by teachers for foreign language classes.  These lessons are grouped by language and level:  http://clta.net/lessons/

·   Giggle Poetry
http://www.gigglepoetry.com/
Humorous poetry for kids to read, write, rate, and “meet” the author; plus, pages for fiction and poetry teachers.

 

The Laptop-and-Projector Project Website

Tech Project:  http://www2.gwd50.org/TechPlans/TechPlan2006.htm

Instr. Resources:  http://www2.gwd50.org/TechPlans/StaffDevResources.htm

Previous TWTW Issues: http://www2.gwd50.org/techplans/TWTW-Index.htm