Step One: Read
Read Chapter 3 (pp. 55-78) in Rethinking Technology in Schools. Pay particular attention to the Stages of Pedagogical Development, as they will help you think about and categorize the ways in which teachers use technologies in their teaching.
Step Two: Research
You need to do some research on current technologies that can support your specific content area. Remember, technology can be broadly defined. If you need some examples, check out Edutopia, a useful resource for locating technologies to support your specific content area curriculum as well as thinking out of the box. Each of you should try to locate at least 10 technologies that can support teaching and learning in your subject area. The more diverse your chosen technologies, the better. Go beyond your comfort zone. Try to find out what is cutting edge for your particular content area. One starting point is to simply Google “Technologies for teaching Math,” for example. It may lead you in all sorts of interesting directions. Keep track of URLs where you found those technology uses and/or curriculum ideas. There are also useful lists and blogs if you search "Top 10 Technologies in Education."
Step Three: Collaborate
Your content area group is responsible for collectively creating a single Google Spreadsheet that lists and organizes the technologies that each group member collected. You should create simple columns of technologies within your content area—with a title and also a header row that categorizes each column. You can upload an Excel spreadsheet or create a spreadsheet within Google Spreadsheets [Here's a good basic tutorial to orient you to Google Docs and Spreadsheets]. Name your document: Technology Inventory for <Your Subject Area>.
Pay close attention to how to “Share” the spreadsheet. The easiest way to do it is to have one person in the group create the initial spreadsheet and then "Share" the Spreadsheet with all of the group members (you'll need their email addresses that they used to sign up for Blogger).
Please also share your spreadsheet with me at the following addresses: philipsm@mail.montclair.edu. Do NOT make your spreadsheet "public" on the web, as this will prevent me from assigning individual grades for this group project. Each group member should sign in to Google before contributing to the inventory.
Guidelines:
- Since the sizes of your groups differ, some groups will have fewer individual contributions and that's okay. Larger groups will probably have members that bring the same technologies to the group and redundancy is expected in that case. However, your URLs to those technology resources might vary.
- Make sure to include a URL that links to information about the technology.
- Ultimately, your spreadsheet should have a title and be organized in some coherent fashion. One idea is to organize it according to the Stages of Pedagogical Development in Rethinking Technology Chapter 3. Or, you might organize them according to Research Tools, Authoring Tools, Simulation Tools, Communication Tools, etc. It is up to your group to decide how to best organize your spreadsheet. Whatever you decide, just make sure it is coherently organized.
- Note that Google Spreadsheets will allow me to "See Revision History" to know what changes were made and which user contributed which content. That is perhaps the most powerful aspect of Google Docs and Spreadsheets: Infusing accountability throughout the collaborative process.
- The collaborative piece of this will be your main challenge—and second, the ambiguity of your list since you are generating it from scratch. Every group's list will look different.
- What I'm looking for is to see that every member of your group added something to the list and that you've thoughtfully categorized your technologies. Your inventory should be content-area specific.
- You’ll find that online collaboration has its challenges. Do NOT wait until the last minute to begin this assignment, as you may find that your group has moved on without you and it will be difficult for you to contribute anything new or unique. Anticipate technical snafus with Google.
After your group has achieved consensus that the spreadsheet is "complete," then post a short (between 200-300 words) entry on your blog that reflects/comments on any of the following that resonates the strongest for you individually:
- The group process required by this interactivity. Was it authentic collaborative?
- What about the final inventory that emerged? Do you have any thoughts on these technologies as a collective for your particular content area?
- How might this technology inventory serve your purposes (if at all) in CURR 314 and READ 411 this semester?
You will be assigned an individual score based on the group spreadsheet and your blogpost. Scores will be calculated according to the following (click to enlarge):
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