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Mid-Atlantic Regional Technology in Education Consortium
1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave.
Ritter Annex 9th Floor
Temple University - CRHDE
Philadelphia, PA 19122
800-892-5550
215-204-5130 (fax)
General Inquires:
Laurence Peters
Judith Stull
Technical Assistance:
Barry Mansfield
Professional Development:
Joan Pasternak
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Temple University Center for Research
in Human Development and Education |
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ReflectionConnection: Computer-Mediated Communication Tool
143
by
Joan Pasternak
Temple University
Of the Internet’s three main functions—storage, transportation, and communication—it is the capacity for online contact and dialogue between teachers that has provoked the most enthusiasm among educators (Selwyn, 2000). Over the past two decades, computer-mediated communication (CMC) has increasingly found its way into the field of education, with teacher educators showing a growing interest in incorporating computer conferencing and online collaboration into their coursework. In particular, teachers are looking to online teacher forums such as discussion groups, e-mails, or bulletin boards to find common themes and shared interests across school, district, and state boundaries. Yet, these forms often lack specific outcomes (Selwyn, 2000). In an effort to provide more intentional computer-mediated communication among educators, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Technology in Education Consortium (MAR*TEC) developed a virtual collaborative tool, ReflectionConnection (RC), which
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provides a structured protocol for discussion and allows teachers to focus on job-embedded problems and student work for the purpose of improving teaching strategies, knowledge, and understanding. RC provides a forum in which both inservice and preservice teachers can engage in reflective, democratic discourse for the purposes of critically analyzing practice, constructing knowledge, and providing mutual support. A cycle of uploaded student work and teaching materials accompanied by reflective postings and feedback provides a protocol for collective problem solving. Such collaborative work helps educators analyze the effect of their teaching practices on student learning with the intended outcome of improving their teaching and, ultimately, increasing their students’ achievement.
This Techno-Brief will discuss MAR*TEC’s experience using RC in both inservice and preservice venues and provide suggestions on how to successfully implement computer-mediated professional development.
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