It Is ... Inspired Teaching Inspiring Students

Using Technology to Support Research and Presentation
(All)

Overview

In this course, participants will explore technology tools and resources that can support research and presentations across all subject areas at the middle and high school levels. Participants will learn about electronic tools to support brainstorming and concept mapping, locating relevant information resources, organizing and analyzing information, and preparing presentations and reports. By the end of the course, participants will have completed a plan that guides students through the research process and includes strategies for integrating technology into each phase of the research process, as well as a rubric for evaluating student presentations.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to

1. Learn about a research process that helps engage students in inquiry and analysis.
2. Learn about a variety of tools that support students in each step of the research process.
3. Develop strategies for evaluating Internet sources.
4. Learn the correct ways to cite digital sources and prevent copyright violations.
5. Assess student research presentations created with multimedia tools.
6. Develop preliminary plans for a research project, using a topic that participants select for their own classrooms.

Format and Requirements

This course is divided into six one-week sessions which each include readings, an activity and an online discussion among course participants. The time for completing each session is estimated to be two to four hours.

The outline for the course is as follows:

In the first session, participants will investigate a research process that engages students in the inquiry process and provides a rich context for integrating technology.

In Session Two participants will explore the power of generating specific questions on a selected topic to drive student inquiry and research. Participants will learn how to use Inspiration software to facilitate the brainstorming process and enable students to organize their ideas.

During Session Three participants will consider the importance of facilitating information literacy in their classrooms and practice techniques for locating and assessing information found on the Internet.

Session Four will allow participants to explore the use of word processors, software programs, and web-based resources that can function as electronic "notecards" to help students gather, organize, and analyze information.

In Session Five participants will investigate the opportunities and challenges of students producing multimedia reports of their research and explore . several student multimedia presentations.

During Session Six participants will read about how to create valuable rubrics to fairly assess student multimedia reports and they will customize a rubric for their own students' research projects.

At the conclusion of the course, participants will have a detailed template describing how they will implement a research project that takes advantage of available technologies in their own classrooms.

Prerequisites

This is an introductory course for teachers, technology specialists, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers, and proficiency with e-mail and current web browsers. .

Content and Technology Standards

This course, Using Technology to Support Research and Presentation, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers, especially Standards II, III, V and VI.

In addition the course will help participants meet the NCTE English language arts standards, especially Standards 7 and 8.

Reproduced with permission from Education Development Center, Inc.,
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