Powerful Tools for Teaching and Learning: Web 2.0 Tools
Details
About the Course
Are you overwhelmed by the tidal wave of new technology tools available for teachers and learners? Powerful Tools for Teaching and Learning: Web 2.0 Tools can help channel that flood into a manageable power source for student engagement and motivation in your classroom! This course is designed to provide teachers with strategies to effectively integrate Web 2.0 technologies into their instruction.
You will learn how to use these tools effectively in your classroom through unique problem-based scenarios that will help you understand how to choose the best Web 2.0 tool. Our approach focuses on the task rather than the tool in an effort to improve communication,
collaboration, presentation, creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking in your learners. You will take part in a robust exchange of practical ideas while participating in online discussion forums and sharing your experiences and learning from fellow
teachers about best practices with Web 2.0 tools in your content area.
The course is primarily for:
- Teachers working with children K-12 i.e., elementary, middle, and high school teachers.
- Instructors working with further education, community college or vocational students.
- Continuing education or in-service facilitators supporting teachers and faculty.
- Educators interested in educational technology and/or online instruction.
Please note that although this program is offered to participants from around the world, many of the examples and experiences shared will be based on the education structure and processes of the United States. Participants will be encouraged to discuss their own country-based experiences in the forums.
Free, publicly available articles and resources will be provided throughout the course. Learners will also be encouraged to explore various free, online technologies, tools, learning spaces, and resource repositories.
Outline
Our Web 2.0 explorations during Weeks One, Two and Three are based on ideas in the article, Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever by Arthur Chickering and Stephen C. Ehrmann.
Week One: Can you hear me now? Exploring Web 2.0 Tools for Communication.
In Week One, we will explore the first of the seven principles, "Good Practice Encourages Contacts Between Students and Faculty." Communicating effectively through words and writing in diverse environments using technology is one of the most important aspects of learning and growth in education. Every one of us has faced some type of communication problems in class and may have struggled sometimes to tackle them effectively in this digital age. Consider this question: What is a communicationissue in your teaching environment that could be resolved by using new technologies?Week Two: Do we have to do group work? Exploring Web 2.0 Tools for Collaboration
In Week Two, we will consider the second principle, "Good Practice Develops Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students." Working together in a group is always a challenge. To effectively collaborate with peers in a diverse team using technology is one of the most important aspects of learning and growth in education. Every one of us has faced some type of collaboration problems in class and may have struggled sometimes to tackle them effectively in this digital age. Consider this question: What is a collaboration issue in your teaching environment that could be resolved by using new technologies?
Week Three: Another PowerPoint? Exploring Web 2.0 Tools for Creativity
In Week Three, we will look at another principle, "Good Practice Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning." Being creative is not just about creating new ideas; it is also about techniques that will help to develop, nurture and evaluate worthwhile ideas. Encouraging and inculcating creative techniques in teaching is one of the most critical aspects of learning and growth in education especially in this digital age. Consider this question: What is a creativity issue in your teaching environment that could be resolved by using new technologies?
Week Four: Oh! So That’s How It Fits Together, Utilizing My Toolbox.
In Week Four, you will apply what you have learned in a mini action research project in your classroom. Using Web 2.0 tools is not about the technology but about improving student learning. In this module, we will highlight the connections between the things you have learned and the various instructional technology standards for 21st century learners and educators. Consider this question: What are the student outcomes in each of these tool categories? In other words, what skill set do we want our students to have as they use instructional technology in accomplishing their learning objectives?
Week Five: It does not end here! Lifelong Learning
In Week Five, we will wrap things up ways you can keep adding tools to your Web 2.0 toolbox. We will also share ideas on developing personal learning networks (PLNs) to support lifelong learning. Finally, you will finish the course with a great set of Web 2.0 tool resources to further explore and learn.
Speaker/s
Associate Professor
Curriculum and Instruction
University of Houston System
Sara McNeil is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of the Learning, Design and Technology graduate program at the University of Houston. She teaches courses in instructional design, the collaborative design and development of multimedia and the
visual representation of information. She has won numerous teaching awards, including three University of Houston awards for Distinguished Leadership in Teaching, Distance Education Teaching, and Teaching Excellence. She was also named the Outstanding Faculty
Member in a Distance Education program, a national teaching award from the University Continuing Education Association.
Associate Professor
Curriculum and Instruction
University of Houston System
Bernard Robin, Associate Professor of Learning, Design and Technology at the University of Houston, teaches traditional and online courses on the integration of technology into the curriculum, educational uses of multimedia and the design and development of community-based websites. Dr. Robin's courses focus on educational uses of a variety of multimedia tools including, digital storytelling, digital video, and digital photography and in 2010, he won the University of Houston Teaching Excellence Award for Innovation in Instructional Technology.
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