In order to effectively
achieve the above learning outcomes, Integrating Online Expeditions into
Curriculum will be centered on the practical use of online expedition resources
as they are relevant to today’s educators. An overview of the benefits of
online expeditions will be followed by examples of available resources and how
to apply the principles of instructional design to integrate the resources into
classrooms effectively.
1) Introduction to Online
Expeditions
a) What are online expeditions, and
why should they be used in the classroom?
i) Online expeditions track real
voyagers, opening communication between classrooms and people in other places
ii) Incorporating online expeditions
into the curriculum gets teachers and students using technology in new ways
iii) Online expeditions give exposure
to new places, cultures, and topics that are relevant to many classroom
subjects
b) Importance of technology in the
classroom
i) Technology is an important tool
for almost all aspects of contemporary education, including designing
instruction, presenting concepts, evaluating performance, and communicating
ideas.
· Students need technology skills to
effectively learn concepts and skills while in school, and to be competitive in
the economy upon graduation
· Teachers need technology skills to
present an ever-expanding body of information and to stay informed about best
practices in education
ii) Inequities between privileged and
underprivileged schools are apparent in technology equipment and training.
Programs that utilize existing resources in new ways can help schools at all
levels increase technology skills among students and teachers
iii) Online expeditions are an
effective way to incorporate several levels of technology use into classrooms
c) Importance of exposure to outside
ideas
i) A variety of information sources
can help students develop higher order skills such as critical thinking
· Content in schools mostly stems
from nonfiction texts which are often outdated and/or difficult to absorb
· Most schools lack the resources to
continuously update print sources
ii) Exposure to other places,
cultures, and ideas brings out similarities and differences from familiar local
environments, feeding natural curiosities
iii) By utilizing technology, online
expeditions can expose students to outside ideas and allow them to interact
with people in the other places
d) Expectations for the course
i) Students will participate in
classroom discussion and activities that will give them the tools to complete
the four main learning learning outcomes
· locate appropriate online
expeditions
· extract useable resources from
expedition websites
· design instruction that integrates
expedition resources into classroom subject(s)
· communicate with voyagers using
email or other internet-based technology
ii)
Three activities will be used to evaluate performance
· an online assignment
· a collaborative project
· a reflection paper
2) Accessing Online
Expeditions
a) Using the technology - optional
items will depend on students’ previous experience levels and collaborative
project topics
i) The following hardware will either
be necessary or enrich an online expedition experience: computer with internet
connection, digital camera or video (optional), printer (optional)
ii) The following software will
similarly enable teachers to lead classrooms to resources: internet browser [MS
Internet Explorer], email [MS Outlook or browser based email], presentation [MS
PowerPoint] (optional), word processor [MS Word] (optional), spreadsheet [MS
Excel] (optional)
b) Locating an online expedition
i) Online resource pages that provide
summaries and links to educational websites can be used as gateways to
appropriate websites
· http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/links.html
· http://www.internet4classrooms.com/social_geography.htm
· http://www.earthteam.net/links/for_teachers/index.html
ii) Educator forums where teachers
recommend websites and ask and answer questions can provide direction, personal
connections, and answers to questions
· http://www.theteacherscorner.net/forums/
· http://www.teach-nology.com/forum/
· http://teachers.net/chat/
iii) Search engines can bring up new
resources, especially with the effective use of keywords
· www.google.com
· www.searchedu.com
c) Choosing which expedition fits a
classroom
i) Selecting an expedition targeted
at the appropriate age level depends on two key factors:
· how well the reading level of the
content matches the learners
· how appropriate the topics covered
are for the age group
ii) When the mission or purpose of the
expedition matches the learning goals of the class, the resources are easier to
use
iii) A comparison of content on
different websites reveals differences in:
· quality of content
· ease of access and navigability
3) Using Online
Expedition Resources
a) Most online expeditions share in
common the following features, or similar ones:
· Regular updates about the expeditions
location and activities
· Content articles about specific
topics or areas
· Biographies of the voyagers
· Journals of the voyagers which
include content as well as personal thoughts and feelings about the expedition
· Pictures and/or video that go with
the content articles or journals
· A forum for students or teachers
to post questions to the expedition crew
· Teachers’ section that includes
FAQ, lesson plans, and a teacher forum
b) Matching website features with
classroom learning objectives
i) Ideally resources are incorporated
as part of the instructional design process into interdisciplinary units or
subject areas such as:
§ Social studies and geography
§ Science
§ Mathematics
§ Art and culture
§ Reading and writing
ii) Features of online expeditions can
also be incorporated into existing curriculum
c) Customizing resources
i) Communicating with voyagers allows
opportunities to pose questions and use communication technology
§ emails
§ web-based text chats
§ video connections
ii) Collaborative projects with either
the expedition crew or students in another place allow teachers and students to
use group work to look at multifaceted issues
iii) In-classroom or field trip
activities that relate to the online expedition add hands-on excitement to the
content topics
§ either teachers or expedition
staff can lead experiential learning activities
§ museum visits provide an
opportunity to substantiate and add depth to content
d) Evaluation of student performance
and resource efficacy
i) Student performance can be
measured through traditional testing methods or other means such as:
§ group projects that ask students
to demonstrate a learning objective, possibly involving communication with
distant people
§ graphic information organizers,
reports, or art that can be published online
ii) The effectiveness of the online
expeditions in classrooms can be improved by evaluating the content, how it is
delivered, and how it is utilized
§ provide feedback to the online
expeditions about the strengths and weaknesses of the content and its delivery
§ reflect on how the resources were
used in the classroom and what could be improved in the future
Where to get Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/
Where to get LAME encoder (to save *.wav files as *.mp3 files): http://www.dll-files.com/dllindex/dll-files.shtml?lame_enc
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