Important Ed Tech Book Reviews
Just in Time Technology
From Now On
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Vol 11|No 6|March|2002 | |
Discerning Use The workshop activities were designed to help a school team to develop a local commitment to the discerning use of new technologies. The team would engage 15 students, 15 teachers, 8 administrators and 20 parents in thinking about wise choices.
Workshop Hand-On ActivitiesChallenge One: Enjoying Digital Riches Challenge Two: What's in a Word? Team Discussion One: Team Discussion Two: Instructions for Group Facilitator 9:00 - 10:00 AM - Large Group Presentation on Literacy and Purpose "First Things First" at http://fno.org/nov00/f1.html 10:00 - 10:25 AM - First Learning Challenge: Enjoying Digital Riches In order to maximize the value of these hands-on sessions, swift movement to the small meeting rooms is essential. Groups will make use of different amounts of laptops for this activity. Within your group, there will be different types of laptop teams depending upon your group's size. Groups with eight participants. 1) A trio working in a team with each person using a personal laptop. 2) A trio sharing a single laptop. 3) A pair sharing a single laptop. Groups with seven participants. 1) A trio working in a team with each person using a personal laptop. 2) A four person team sharing two laptops. Groups with six participants. 1) A trio working in a team with each person using a personal laptop. 2) A trio sharing a single laptop. 10:25 - 10:35 AM - Debriefing the First Challenge Without moving from the room where you did the first challenge, lead the group in a discussion of the following questions and ask one member of the group to record comments on the flip chart. 1) How did the different concentrations of laptops influence the success of each team? Did anyone have too much equipment? Did anyone have too little equipment? In what ways? 2) What were the best aspects of this type of learning challenge? 3) What were some of the frustrations? 4) Did the learning task bring any surprises? 10:35 - 10:50 AM - Break 10:50 - 11:15 AM - Second Learning Challenge: What's in a Word? Your group will maintain the same types of groups as before, but members will swap places so that those who had their own laptops earlier can taste learning with shared laptops. 11:15 - 11:30 AM - Debriefing the Second Challenge Without moving from the room where you did the second challenge, lead the group in a discussion of the following questions and ask one member of the group to record comments on the flip chart. 1) How did the different concentrations of laptops influence the success of each team? Did anyone have too much equipment? Did anyone have too little equipment? In what ways? 2) How did the print dictionary compare with the online dictionaries? 3) Which source seemed most efficient and useful? 4) Did any groups elect to use paper to write the 3-4 sentences explaining why "haunches" was or was not a good word choice for this poem? Why or why not? 5) Did the learning task bring any surprises? 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM - Lunch 12:00 - 12:20 PM - Group Reports The facilitator of each group will share the 3 most important new insights that emerged from the morning. Please prepare a simple report consisting of no more than a three sentence list - 50 word maximum. Example . . . We learned that . . . 1) You can never have quite enough electricity to support long-winded explorations; 2) The length of essays is often influenced by the weight of the thought; 3) Imagination can flow even when electricity stops. 12:20 - 12:50 PM - Opportunity Costs, Strategic Deployment and Total Cost of Ownership 12:50 - 1:20 PM - Team Discussions Reactions to several design scenarios. Teams 1-4 will read these scenarios online. The facilitator will lead discussion of the tasks. One member of the group will record comments on the flip chart. Teams 5-8 will read the scenarios on paper. The facilitator will lead discussion of the tasks. One member of the group will record comments on the flip chart. 1:20 - 1:50 PM - Team Discussions Reactions to several more design scenarios. Teams 1-4 will read the scenarios on paper. The facilitator will lead the discussion of the tasks. One member of the group will record comments on the flip chart. Teams 5-8 will read these scenarios online. The facilitator will lead the discussion of the tasks. One member of the group will record comments on the flip chart. 1:50 - 2:10 PM - Next Steps, Further Learning What additional research does your group consider necessary now? List 5-6 important questions that deserve more thought and review. The facilitator will lead the discussion. One member of the group will record comments on the flip chart. 2:10 - 2:30 PM - Group Reports & Closing Remarks The facilitator of each group will share the 2 most important new insights that emerged from the afternoon along with two items calling for additional research. Please prepare a simple report consisting of no more than a 3-4 sentences - a 50 word maximum. |
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