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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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The pilot continued in the fall and spring of the 2004–2005 academic year with the Seminar I, II, and III classes. While the initial goal was to investigate the use of the e-portfolio to measure students’ achievement of the NJPS, the e-portfolio also provided the opportunity for students to develop essential skills for integrating technology appropriately to support effective instructional practices across the curriculum. It also helped students to develop lifelong learning practices. An offshoot of the initial project was that students were beginning to view technology not as an isolated discipline—as some of them experienced in their education—but rather as a tool that could drive the curriculum. As a result, the focus of the fall pilot was expanded from specific instruction for web authoring to the application of technology to support curriculum initiatives.
During the second segment of the pilot, students accepted the need to do a portfolio, but not all students liked the idea of creating an electronic portfolio and readily voiced their displeasure. To help sell the idea, a student from the spring semester was invited to give testimony and instruction for |
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becoming a web author. This approach appeared to work, as students proudly shared their accomplishments; several indicated that their achievements exceeded their expectations. Moreover, they all enthusiastically shared that they were just beginning to explore the possibilities of technology for their classrooms through the design of their WebQuests.
For the second pilot group, the WebQuest became what the initial web authoring was for the first group. It provided a project-based model approach to instruction while providing students with the opportunity to explore the attributes, design, and implementation of such a model in the creation of an interdisciplinary unit. Conversations began to focus on active, engaged, purposeful student learning; the development of higher level thinking skills; and ways to foster collaborative learning. The implementation of a student-centered class began to have meaning as students developed their own WebQuests, which required them to produce a product based on the exploration of resources and the establishment of relationships within a group. The idea of introducing skills on a need-to-know basis also became an accepted and understandable reality. One of the students offered to design a teacher-directed lesson as a review for creating webpages, and the students delighted in the instructor’s use of a WebQuest about WebQuests. Suddenly, the discussion of block scheduling as a reform effort took on new significance as students realized that their seminar classes ended too soon. They began to understand that longer blocks of time allow for more diversity in instructional techniques and can enhance the integration of technology in the classroom by providing necessary time for hands-on active learning strategies. Further, they saw the necessity for negotiating timelines in terms of collaborative projects. They also began to recognize the value in restructuring a classroom to provide time for inquiry and investigation. In addition, they enjoyed sharing and publishing their findings.
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