The course will run over a five week period and be focused on vetted educational tech tools.
The over-arching “big idea” of this course is gaining 21st
century teaching skills that can be transferred back into the classroom and
used with students.
The project was inspired by the work of the California
School Library Association and their 23
Things blog (http://schoollibrarylearning2.csla.net/)
. The blog is a self-paced online course
to learn about new educational technology tools.
The 23 Things blog
was inspired by the work of Stephen Abrams who wrote an article for Information
Outlook titled, “43 Tech Things to Try This Year” (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FWE/is_2_10/ai_n16133338/). He set up a website where you could register
and try out the 43 things he listed over the course of the year.
This online course was also inspired by the PowerSearch MOOC
(Massive Open Online Course) offered by Google this summer. PowerSearch is a self-paced program of 6
classes on Google Search Tips. You
complete activities and final assessments to earn your certificate at the
end.
What all of these programs do is allow teachers to learn at
their own pace in an online environment and guide them through a succinct list
of solid educational tools that they test out in the “sandbox” of the course
and then can transfer what they did back into their own classroom. That is what we are hoping you will gain through this
course.
UNDERSTANDINGS WE HOPE YOU GAIN BY THE END OF THE COURSE:
- · These web tools are a part of 21st century teaching
- · That online coursework can enhance the face-to-face classroom experience
- · Using technology in the classroom requires risk taking and experimentation and collaboration
