Overview

This course will help middle school teachers learn approaches to teaching functions using visual models. Participants in this workshop will become familiar with strategies to help students develop a strong conceptual understand of functions and with tasks that allow students to explore situations of both linear and non-linear functions. Participants will also engage in creating classroom tasks to help students make connections between multiple representations of functions. Participants will evaluate a variety of applets throughout this course, and they will conduct an interview with a small group of students about their experiences using an applet. In the final project for this course, participants will design a lesson plan using an applet to explore the concept of function.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Learn approaches to teaching functions using visual models
• Become familiar with strategies to help students develop a strong conceptual understanding of function
• Become familiar with tasks that allow middle school students to explore situations of both linear and non-linear functions
• Create classroom tasks that allow students to make connections between multiple representations of functions (patterns, tables, graphs and equations)
• Develop strategies for generalizing a pattern or situation
• Explore the use of technology in supporting student learning about functions

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:

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

The standards addressed in this course are:

Algebra Strand:

Understand patterns, relations and functions

- Represent, analyze and generalize a variety of patterns with tables, graphs, words and, when possible, symbolic rules

- Relate and compare different forms of representation for a relationship

- Identify functions as linear or nonlinear and contrast their properties from tables, graphs, or equations

Use mathematical models to represent and understand quantitative relationships

- Model and solve contextualized problems using various representations, such as graphs, tables and equations

Analyze change in various context

- Use graphs to analyze the nature of changes in quantities in linear relationships

Problem-Solving Standard

- Solve problems that arise in mathematics and other contexts

- Apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems

Connections Standard

- Recognize and use connections among mathematical ideas

Representation Standard

- Select, apply and translate among mathematical representations to solve problems

Technology Principle

- Technology is essential in teaching and learning mathematics; it influences the mathematics that is taught and enhances student’s learning

Overview

This course provides teachers of grades 3 through 5 with an opportunity to explore how activities that foster algebraic thinking can be integrated into the elementary classroom. Algebraic thinking consists of more than just learning how to solve for the variables x and y; it helps students think about mathematics at an abstract level, and provides them with a way to reason about real-life problems. In this course, participants will explore three components of algebraic thinking: making generalizations, thinking about the equals sign, and being able to reason about unknown quantities. As participants stretch their own algebraic reasoning skills, they will also spend considerable time thinking about how to integrate algebraic tasks into their own classroom instruction. This course uses readings, video, online discussion boards, a final project, and engaging mathematics problems to promote the idea that the incorporation of algebraic thinking tasks in elementary school mathematics is critical to students’ future success.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to

• learn how children in grades 3-5 can think about basic algebraic concepts;
• appreciate the importance of algebraic thinking in the upper elementary curriculum;
• read and discuss relevant research on the importance of algebraic thinking in elementary school instruction;
• explore a variety of problems that can be used with students to develop their algebraic thinking;
• understand student misconceptions about the sign “=” and why this is such a pivotal concept in elementary mathematics;
• identify generalization as a strategy for solving some, but not all, algebraic problems;
• appreciate the role of “unknown quantity” problems in the development of algebraic reasoning;
• learn how to design and “algebrafy”** activities that encourage algebraic thinking;
• create a collection of activities which promote algebraic thinking that can be integrated into classroom practice;
• promote a “learning-by-doing” methodology, which is applicable to students at all ages.

Format and Requirements

This course is divided into six one-week sessions that include readings, an activity, and an online discussion among course participants. Each session is designed to take approximately two to four hours to complete. The outline for the course is as follows:

• Session One: What is Algebraic Reasoning?
• Session Two: Understanding Algebraic Representations and Patterns
• Session Three: The Meaning of Equality
• Session Four: Using Algebra to Think About Unknown Quantities
• Session Five: ‘Algebrafying’ Elementary Math Instruction
• Session Six: What is the Value of Algebra in Elementary School?

Course participants are expected to complete weekly assignments along with actively participating in the online discussion board. In addition, participants will develop and share their ideas to incorporate tools and strategies presented in the course into their own curricula.

Prerequisites

This course is for teachers, technology specialists, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists, or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course, Algebraic Thinking in Elementary School, will help teachers to enable their students to meet the following Content Standards as identified by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM):

• describe, extend, and make generalizations about geometric and numeric patterns;
• represent and analyze patterns and functions, using words, tables, and graphs;
• represent the idea of a variable as an unknown quantity using a letter or a symbol;
• express mathematical relationships using equations;
• model problem situations with objects and use representations such as graphs, tables, and equations to draw conclusions. investigate how a change in one variable relates to a change in a second variable.

Overview

In this course, teachers will explore the role of assessment in instruction. Participants will learn about the formative and summative assessment, the purposes and methods of assessment, assessment instruments and how to develop an assessment plan and timeline for a unit of study. Support will be provided to participants, through facilitation and the discussion forums, as they redefine the role of assessment in their classrooms.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to:

• Identify the characteristics of a 21st century classroom
• Understand the role of formative and summative assessment
• Identify the purposes of assessment and select appropriate methods and instruments to meet those purposes
• Learn to incorporate assessment, including self- and peer assessment, into regular classroom activities
• Plan assessments around standards and 21st century skills
• Create an assessment plan, assessment timeline, and assessment instruments for a unit or project
• Learn methods to schedule, perform, and record assessment
• Practice using assessment data to adjust classroom instruction

Format and Requirements

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.

Overview

In this course, participants will examine best practices for direct vocabulary instruction in order to build the breadth and depth of students’ vocabulary for both comprehension and written expression in grades three through five. Participants will learn the importance of creating a word-conscious learning environment that encourages motivation and interest in learning new words. Participants will learn how to model and encourage independent word-learning strategies that students can apply while engaging in wide and varied reading. They will also explore the value of instructing students to infer the meaning of words from context and word parts. For their final project, participants will incorporate components of a balanced vocabulary program by designing a vocabulary lesson based on a classroom text—either fiction or non-fiction.

Goals and Products

In this course, participants will explore best practices for engaging and motivating students in grades three through five to build vocabulary. Participants will examine teaching strategies for building both the breadth and depth of students’ vocabulary for comprehension.

This course will enable participants to:

• Create a learning environment that encourages motivation and interest in learning new words—word-consciousness
• Encourage independent word-learning strategies while engaging in wide and varied reading
• Design explicit instruction in the definitional and contextual meanings of words
• Evaluate text and select words to study that are critical to comprehension and frequently appear in a wide variety of texts
• Design vocabulary instruction to teach concepts central to content area studies
• Implement instruction that addresses how to infer meaning through structural analysis, including inferring meaning from common Greek and Latin roots
• Informally assess students’ vocabulary knowledge to inform further classroom instruction
• Incorporate a balanced vocabulary program into their language arts and content area curriculum

Format and Requirements

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

The outline for the course is as follows:

For the final project, participants will design a lesson based on a fiction or non-fiction classroom curriculum text. Participants will select words by using the criteria presented in the course and plan for explicit instruction in both the definitional and contextual meaning of the words.

Prerequisites

This is an introductory course for teachers, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists, or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course will help participants to support their students in meeting the following NCTE standards:

Standard 5. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meanings and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context and graphics).

Standard 8. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.

Standard 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

In addition, this course will help participants meet the following href="http://edtechleaders.org/documents/NETSAdminTeachers.pdf"
target="_blank">ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers(http://edtechleaders.org/documents/NETSAdminTeachers.pdf)

• II. PLANNING AND DESIGNING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND EXPERIENCES.
  - Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology.
• - Identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability.

• V. PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE.
  - Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice.
• - Use technology resources to engage in ongoing professional development and lifelong learning.

Reproduced with permission from Education Development Center, Inc.,
Copyright (c), 2000-2006, all rights reserved (http://www.edtechleaders.org).

Overview

This course will expand participants’ understanding of vocabulary development and instructional techniques that are effective in helping students in grades six through eight expand their vocabularies. Participants will learn how to assess students’ vocabulary knowledge and select words from a text that are most useful for instruction, including those with high-frequency Greek and Latin word parts. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to explore online resources for vocabulary development and assess their own current vocabulary teaching strategies. This course is designed to help teachers and other educators learn new ways to extend the vocabularies of middle school students.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Deepen their understanding of vocabulary development
• Deepen their understanding of levels of vocabulary knowledge
• Assess students’ levels of vocabulary knowledge
• Select appropriate words from text for instruction purposes
• Plan and implement strategies for direct instruction of vocabulary words
• Evaluate websites designed for vocabulary building
• Analyze the ways in which technology can be used to foster students’ vocabulary development

Format and Requirements

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

The outline for the course is as follows:

 As a final product, participants will have the option of either teaching a lesson they developed in an earlier session of the course and reflecting on the experience or creating an action plan for improving vocabulary instruction in their own classrooms.

Participants are encouraged to work with a student in grades 6-8 in Sessions 1 and 4 of this course. If any participants are not currently assigned students, they should locate a suitable student with whom to work for these assignments. Additionally, participants choosing Option A for the final project will need to teach the lesson they develop to either a small group or full class of students.

Participants will be expected to post their completed Final Project, which can be either a lesson plan or an action plan depending on the option a participant chooses, on the discussion board during the last session for feedback from the facilitator and other participants.

course participants are expected to complete weekly assignments, including active participation in the online discussion board. In addition, participants will develop and share their ideas to incorporate tools and strategies presented in the course into their own curricula.

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. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course will help participants meet the following NCTE standards:

Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Standard 4: Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

Standard 6: Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.

Standard 11: Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

Standard 12: Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

In addition, this course will help participants meet the following ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers:

• II. PLANNING AND DESIGNING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND EXPERIENCES.
  • Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology.
  • Identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability.
• V. PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE.
  • Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice.
  • Use technology resources to engage in ongoing professional development and lifelong learning.

Reproduced with permission from Education Development Center, Inc.,
Copyright (c), 2000-2006, all rights reserved (http://www.edtechleaders.org)

Overview

This course is an introduction to Google Earth and the geospatial technologies of GPS (global positioning systems) and GIS (geographical information systems). Participants will gain an understanding of how these technologies work and will practice using a GPS system and Google Earth. They will consider how these tools might be used to develop authentic, problem-based experiences that engage students in critical thinking, decision-making and data analysis. Upon completion of this course, participants will have experienced a group project involving both GPS and Google Earth; designed a Google Earth file which exhibits features such as formatting place marker descriptions, adding images and route paths; and developed a classroom lesson that utilizes Google Earth, GPS, and/or geocaching. Participants will also learn to navigate using a GPS device and consider the use of geocaching in their classrooms. GIS will be introduced. An in-depth look at GIS is not within the scope of this six week course.

*Note: A GPS device capable of displaying longitude and latitude coordinates is required.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to:

• Define geospatial technologies including Google Earth, GPS and GIS, describe how they work, and identify real-world applications of these technologies
• Utilize a GPS device to gather data in the community where they live
• Post geographical data to Google Earth
• Develop a sample Google Earth KMZ file and use the data to draw conclusions
• Discuss classroom applications of Google Earth
• Analyze geocaching lessons to determine which lessons effectively utilize the technology and require higher-level thinking of students
• Design effective classroom applications utilizing GPS and Google Earth
• Design a classroom lesson which exhibits effective uses of geospatial technologies and engages students in higher-level thinking skills

Format and Requirements

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.

Overview

This course will allow educators to see how interactive, even transformative writing can be when one participates in the blogosphere. Educators will read current discussion going on in the blogosphere through the use of an RSS reader. In addition to reading other blogs, participants will learn how to comment and hyperlink to the best of this writing, and publish their own blog so as to fully participate in their personal learning network (PLN).Participants will learn how to grow and nurture their PLN’s through blogging and RSS. Participants will need to have access to blogging sites, Twitter or Edmodo, and an RSS reader, preferably Google Reader.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to:

• Create and maintain a professional and/or classroom blog
• Participate in a Personal Learning Network (PLN) through microblogging, social-networking, and blogging
• Set up and utilize RSS feeds for professional development and in order to participate in an online community of educators

Format and Requirements

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.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to understand

• How WebQuests may be used as teaching tools
• The elements of a WebQuest
• How WebQuests can be used to meet standards and GLE/CLEs
• How to assess student work as they complete a WebQuest
• How to design a WebQuest and the scaffolding for organization of information collected by students
• How to create a WebQuest online and evaluate it using a rubric

As a final product, participants will create a multimedia presentation to share procedures and information with students and/or parents at the beginning of school.

Format and Requirements

Prerequisites

none

What do good classroom managers do? Harry and Rosemary Wong will share the reasons for routines and how to establish them. What does a school-wide behavior management system look like and how will it enhance your classroom management? How do you develop your own comprehensive behavior management plan? How can use of cooperative learning enhance your ability to manage and academically reach your students? Learning how to develop a management plan and develop routines for students will allow you to be proactive in both your classroom management and in improving student achievement.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to understand

• Create a strategy to use during the first days of school to address students’ needs.
• Develop a syllabus & classroom expectations for participant’s curriculum
• Plan team and class-building activities
• Develop an intervention plan to deal with negative behaviors in the classroom.
• Develop a system to encourage positive social interaction and self regulation for each student.
• Develop a proactive approach by teaching behavior procedures throughout the year.
• As a final product, participants will create a multimedia presentation to share procedures and information with students and/or parents at the beginning of school

Format and Requirements

Prerequisites

This is an introductory course for administrators however other participants are welcome as well.

Overview

One of the most important tasks for children in the first five years of life is the development of language. Children enter early care settings with vast differences in vocabulary and oral language development, and early educators can meet this challenge by providing language-rich learning environments. This workshop will provide early childhood educators with an understanding of young children's oral language development and appropriate approaches for promoting language and emergent literacy in their classrooms. This workshop will focus on effective methods for developing children’s vocabulary knowledge through book reading and discussions, and advancing children’s language through extended conversations. Additionally, participants will learn to create opportunities for rich discourse and build children’s background knowledge. Workshops assignments will invite participants to apply relevant content and plan meaningful, language-rich curricular activities.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Understand oral language development of young children, ages 3 through age 5
• Develop an understanding of the connection between language and literacy development
• Learn strategies for facilitating conversations that support language development such as eliciting personal narratives
• Learn about ways to support vocabulary development through book reading
• Learn how to facilitate interactive activities that support children’s phonological awareness
• Plan for integrated and meaningful curriculum that supports children’s language and literacy development

As a final project for this workshop, participants will create a curriculum unit for classroom use that incorporates a topic covered in each session of this workshop.

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:

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 workshop meets the standards for Content, Instructional Design, and Technology as defined in the National Standards of Quality for Online Courses, published by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL).

This workshop provides teachers with an opportunity to meet the Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership standard as defined in the National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers, published by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

Alignment with the Standards for English Language Arts from the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) and International Reading Association (IRA):

3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

9. Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.

11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Overview

This course provides teachers a structured framework and strategies from which to teach a diverse group of learners in a single classroom. Implementing Differentiated Instruction transforms a teacher into a facilitator of learning – guiding students as they explore and master the curriculum using their unique learning styles and strengths individually and collaboratively. This course will engage teachers in developing lessons that will embed flexibility for learning styles, involve students at their instructional level, use interest and choice as motivational tools, and utilize ongoing assessment. Participants will learn how to differentiate the content (what to teach), the process (how to teach it), and the product (demonstrating what the learner knows, understands, and is able to do) to meet individual learning styles. And, of course, how to manage this differentiated classroom will be addressed. While this course does not address specific content standards, participants' final lesson project will reference their own content area standards.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to

• Identify benefits and discuss reasons for pursuing differentiated instruction.
• Compare and contrast differentiated instruction with their current teaching style.
• Discuss and select content, process and products that address interests, readiness and learning style/multiple intelligences of a diverse student population.
• Identify and select appropriate instructional strategies that support learner diversity.
• Develop learning units using differentiated instruction including differentiating content, process and product.

Course Expectations

Prerequisites

This is an introductory course for teachers, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using e-mail, browsing the Internet and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers, especially Standards II, III and IV.

For more information about Technology Integration visit: http://www.iste.org

Overview

Digital storytelling is a way to share a story told by using a combination of video, images, voice, and/or music or other sounds. In this course you will learn how to tell a digital story using these elements. You will learn how to identify the software most appropriate for your project and hardware. Scripting and storyboarding will be the process tools you will use to plan your digital story. Additional skills to be learned include setting the timing and transitions for your story and selecting or creating sounds, images, and music.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to understand

• how digital stories may be used as teaching tools and learning products
• how to plan a digital story using scripting and storyboarding techniques
• how to recognize and apply copyright regulations when using images and video resources
• locate, select and obtain digital images and /or video clips for use in digital storytelling
• create a digital story
• evaluate a digital story

As a final product, participants will create a multimedia presentation to share procedures and information with students and/or parents at the beginning of school

Format and Requirements

Prerequisites

This workshop is for teachers, technology specialists, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists, or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating computer files.

Overview

Book reading in the early childhood classroom is not only one of the most important practices for building later reading success, but it is probably one of the more enjoyable experiences for both teachers and children. In this workshop early childhood educators will explore quality children’s literature and best book reading practices. Participants will learn ways to share various genres of books in the classroom. They will learn the importance of multiple re-readings and strategies to foster children’s vocabulary knowledge, print concepts, phonological awareness, and reading comprehension during large and small group readings. Workshop assignments will invite participants to research quality children’s literature and develop book reading planners with specific goals for children’s learning.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Understand how book reading impacts children’s language and literacy development
• Learn effective strategies for utilizing different book genres in the classroom
• Understand how multiple readings of the same book can enhance children’s cognitive and literacy skills
• Learn how to implement interactive book reading sessions that deepen children’s comprehension
• Learn ways to support vocabulary development through book reading
• Learn ways to integrate books and book reading into classroom curriculum activities

As a final project for this workshop, participants will create a curriculum unit for classroom use that incorporates a topic covered in each session of this workshop.

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:

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

Alignment with the Standards for English Language Arts from the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) and International Reading Association (IRA)

1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.

3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Overview

This course prepares teachers to facilitate virtual school courses for K-12 students. The teacher/facilitator plays a critical role in assisting students to achieve academic goals and expectations. This 7-week online course allows the virtual school teacher to have valuable, hands-on experience as a learner in the online environment as well as develop skills specific for facilitating an online course. The course sessions include an introduction to the virtual course environment, an overview to the diverse learning needs of the online student, and specific training in the skills and techniques needed to effectively support students participating in online courses.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Develop strategies and techniques for building an online learning community
• Understand appropriate netiquette used for communications online
• Understand confidentiality issues unique to online courses
• Build an awareness of effective communication techniques used in sharing information with both students and parents
• Learn strategies for communicating effectively with students online
• Examine ways to effectively communicate with parents
• Develop strategies and activities for use on the discussion board
• Learn how to write higher order thinking questions to engage students in synthesis, problem solving, and evaluation of concepts on the discussion board
• Explore the scope of tools available for differentiating instruction in the virtual classroom
• Understand how to use group activities effectively in the virtual classroom while using higher order thinking skills
• Identify various methods for assessing students in the online environment
• Identify which methods would be formative and which would be summative

Format and Requirements

Prerequisites

Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course meets the standards for Content, Instructional Design, and Technology as defined in the National Standards of Quality for Online Courses, published by the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL). This workshop provides teachers with an opportunity to meet the Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership standard as defined in the National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers, published by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

Overview

The World Wide Web provides rich resources for educators, but they are useful only if educators know what resources are there and how to find them. Participants in this course will explore the range of educational material available on the Internet and learn time-saving skills to search the Web more effectively for useful curricular resources. Participants will become familiar with popular search engines and subject directories and will learn techniques to use each one appropriately and efficiently. The course will also examine the importance of critical evaluation of web resources and consider how to develop evaluation skills in the classroom. Participants will leave the course with a collection of web resources appropriate for their own classroom use.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to:

• Learn effective techniques for using popular search engines and directories to find useful educational resources
• Critically assess the content and quality of web-based resources
• Teach students how to evaluate content on the Web
• Develop a collection of appropriate web-based resources for curricular use

As a final product, participants will develop a collection of web-based resources to accompany a lesson plan. These resources will be saved on the Internet in Trackstar, an online lesson-building tool.

Format and Requirements

This workshop is divided into six one-week sessions that include readings, an activity, and an online discussion among workshop participants. Each session is designed to take approximately two to four hours to complete.
The outline for the workshop is as follows:

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 workshop, Finding the Best Educational Resources on the Web, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers (http://edtechleaders.org/documents/NETSAdminTeachers.pdf), especially Standards I and II. In addition, this workshop will help teachers to enable their students to meet the following Information Literacy Standards (http://cnets.iste.org/currstands/cstands-il.html), especially Standards I, II, and III. For more information about Technology Integration visit: http://www.iste.org.

Overview

In this workshop, participants will become familiar with relevant research in teaching geometric measure and learn how to analyze student work to inform their instruction. They will complete classroom tasks designed to help them learn approaches to teaching geometric measurement to help students develop stronger conceptual understanding and procedural knowledge, especially in linear measurement, area, surface area and perimeter. They will also explore relationships between perimeter and area and between area and surface area. In addition, they will become familiar with virtual manipulatives designed to promote both conceptual and procedural knowledge around geometric measurement. For the final project, participants will complete a lesson plan, based on their analysis of student work on geometric measurement tasks, for use in their own classrooms.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Become familiar with relevant research in teaching geometric measurement in the middle grades
• Learn how to analyze student work to inform instruction
• Learn approaches to teaching geometric measurement that emphasize both conceptual and procedural knowledge, particularly in linear measurement, area, surface area, and perimeter
• Explore the relationships between perimeter and area and between area and surface area
• Explore visualization, spatial reasoning, and geometric modeling as vehicles to build mathematical skills
• Become familiar with virtual manipulatives and hands on activities designed to promote both conceptual and procedural knowledge around geometric measurement

As a final project for this workshop, participants will develop an effective, research-based lesson plan that can be used in their classrooms to respond to students’ ideas as students complete math tasks. The Looking at Student Work Template (LSWT) is a centerpiece of this final project that uses a completed LSWT to plan a lesson to address student misconceptions or lack of procedural or conceptual knowledge. Completion of this task provides participants a model for their classroom practices related to task analysis, examination of student work and evaluation of student understanding.

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:

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 workshop will help teachers to enable their students to meet the following Content Standards as identified by National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) (http://standards.nctm.org/document/chapter6/index.htm).

Geometry Standard
- Analyze characteristics and properties of two- and three-dimensional geometric shapes and develop mathematical arguments about geometric relationships
- Use visualization, spatial reasoning, and geometric modeling to solve problems
- Understand measurable attributes of objects and the units, systems and processes of measurement
- Apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine measurements

Problem-Solving Standard
- Solve problems that arise in mathematics and other contexts
- Apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems

This workshop will also help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers.

Overview

There is substantial evidence to suggest that a solid foundation in algebra provides a gateway to the higher levels of mathematics necessary for success in higher education, technological or scientific occupations, and business applications. Given this reality, as well as the increased focus on accountability and high academic standards, many schools and districts have instituted policies that require all students to complete algebra as a requirement for high school graduation.

In response to the accountability measures outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) worked with a panel of teachers and experts from the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to develop 17 Algebra I readiness indicators, including the 5 “process” indicators and the 12 “content and skills” indicators. This course is structured around the 12 content and skills readiness indicators and will introduce a collection of virtual manipulatives that will help curriculum planners and classroom teachers meet the demand to prepare students for Algebra I.

Participants can download and use all of the activity sheets in this course with students at their school. As a final product, participants will develop a technology-enhanced lesson that is aligned with the SREB algebra readiness indicators.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Identify the essential content and process readiness indicators for student success in Algebra I
• Identify virtual manipulatives and interactive applets that target the essential skills and knowledge aligned with each of the content readiness indicators
• Analyze virtual manipulatives and interactive applets according to given criteria including: alignment with mathematics learning goals, instructional strengths and limitations, ease of use, and availability of support materials
• Use virtual manipulatives and interactive applets in activities that target the essential skills and knowledge required to meet the essential algebra readiness indicators
• Develop activities that use virtual manipulatives and interactive applets to target the essential skills and knowledge required to meet the essential algebra readiness indicators

As a final product, participants will create a lesson plan that incorporates a virtual manipulative or online tool into the curriculum.

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 be introduced to the SREB Getting Students Ready for Algebra I report and will start working with virtual manipulatives and interactive applets. In Sessions Two through Five, participants will deepen their understandings of content-specific readiness indicators through the use of interactive tools, within the context of mathematics instruction that targets these specific content indicators. Finally, in Session Six, participants will critique and plan appropriate uses of technology in supporting the algebra readiness indicators as part of their final projects.

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 online course addresses the mathematics skills and knowledge that are necessary for students to be successful in algebra as described in the SREB report, Getting Students Ready for Algebra I, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ (NCTM’s) Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM 2000).

This course, Getting Ready for Algebra by Using Virtual Manipulatives, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers, especially Standards I, II and III.

Through this course, the new LMS will explore the many, varied facets of school librarianship. Participants will learn about the role he or she should play in information literacy, technology support, and the everyday administration of the school library media center. Participants will also learn about the various opportunities for support that exist throughout the state.

Goals and Products

This workshop will enable participants to:

• Become knowledgeable about the foundations of librarianship
• Understand the basic roles and responsibilities of a school library media specialist
• Become familiar with the basics for administering the library media program
• Become knowledgeable about the current trends in education as they relate to library services in schools

Format and Requirements

Prerequisites

none

Overview

It is important for teachers to utilize free tools on the internet to enhance the way they teach to meet the needs of 21st century learners. This course focuses on the implementation of Google Tools to support learning and teaching in the classroom. Many of the Google Tools will be useful in the implementation of 21st Century Skills such as collaboration, communication, critical thinking and problem solving. Teachers who have access to technology with their students will benefit from learning about how Google Tools can enhance teaching and learning in the classroom.

During the six weeks of this course, you will learn about a selection of Google Tools as you blog, edit photos, create websites, and use Google Earth. You will concentrate on the use of a different tool during each week of the course. Each tool will be investigated for what it does and how it works. You will share ideas for classroom use and how these tools might be embedded into lessons. You will also examine how the tools will support learning and enhance teaching practices. The culminating project for the course will be to design a lesson that incorporates the use of two of these tools.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to:

• Use Google Docs to enhance student communication and collaboration
• Create a blog to use with students using Blogger and discover blogs that can be utilized for professional growth
• Learn how to use Picasa to edit photos and Sketch-up to create models, then determine how they each might support a lesson
• Create a website using Google Sites
• Use Google Earth to extend learning beyond the classroom walls by taking virtual field trips to destinations worldwide and discovering classroom applications
• Plan a lesson or unit that incorporates at least two Google Tools

Format and Requirements

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.

Overview

In our information-rich world, it is not only students who must wade through and filter massive amounts of content but teachers, too. A Google search with the keywords “circulatory system lesson plan” will yield more than 150,000 hits. Teachers have more information and great ideas at their fingertips than ever before, but there are a lot of poor materials out there as well. As a teacher, how can you process all of this information and create lessons that are both engaging and challenging for students?

This course—centered around the topic of the circulatory system—features some quality teaching materials developed by a group at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. Participants of this course will be introduced to a variety of strategies to incorporate these materials and other resources into lessons that are interesting, push students to higher-level thinking and promote the tenets of good science instruction. They will apply strategies for analyzing student misconceptions, and tapping prior knowledge using analogies. They will examine designed-based instruction, project-based learning, and inquiry-based learning, with the focus of taking a student-centered approach to their lesson development.

Participants should leave the course with an original project-based unit well under way. Course materials will be permanently available for participant use in their own classrooms. Middle school science and high school biology, as well as PE and health teachers, will really enjoy this course; however, any science teacher from upper elementary to high school can apply the strategies to their instruction by substituting a science topic of their choice for the circulatory system as they progress through the course.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to

• Identify student misconceptions for a science topic and discuss how these might be assessed.
• Explore uses of analogies in science instruction.
• Create a design task for classroom use.
• Design components of an effective project-based science lesson including the scenario, curriculum-framing questions, assessment map, and plan for student-centered instruction.
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of student-centered learning and lecture for learning science content.

As a final project participants will develop a project-based unit plan of science instruction.

Format and Requirements

This course is divided into an orientation and eight one-week sessions that include readings, an activity, and an online discussion among course participants. Each session is designed to take approximately two to four hours to complete. The outline for the course is as follows:

• Session One: Life is Full of Misconceptions
• Session Two: Analogies: Building Mental Bridges
• Session Three: Design-based Science
• Session Four: Where's the Inquiry?
• Session Five: Project-based Learning
• Session Six: Student-centered Learning: How to be the "Guide on the Side"
• Session Seven: Assessing Project-based Learning
• Session Eight: Concept to Practice

Prerequisites

This is an introductory course for middle school and high school science, physical education and health teachers. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

This course focuses specifically on supporting the academic development of students who are competent decoders but who struggle to understand the meaning of what they read. We will explore the different types of comprehension difficulties students may face and will introduce a number of research-based strategies to improve comprehension skills. Instructional strategies will focus on building vocabulary skills, using teacher modeling, having students work collaboratively, and building comprehension monitoring skills. As a final project, participants will design and implement a lesson plan focused on improving students' reading comprehension.

Goals and Products

This workshop will enable participants to:

• Identify the different kinds of comprehension difficulties students may experience
• Understand and apply techniques for improving student comprehension through teacher modeling, peer-to-peer work and independent reading
• Explore strategies for helping struggling readers to become more engaged with text, more independent as readers and more proficient at finding ways to monitor their reading
• As a final product, participants will create a lesson plan for struggling readers using the knowledge they have gained from the session

Format and Requirements

Prerequisites

Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

In order to be successful in content area classes such as social studies, science, and mathematics, students must be able to read a variety of informational texts and produce written documents. This course will give teachers the tools they need to integrate literacy strategies into content learning to help raise student achievement. Participants will use the Literacy Matters web site as an anchor throughout this course for exploring instructional strategies. By the end of the course, participants will be able to locate web-based tools, strategies, and lessons that foster literacy skills in all content areas. They will also have developed a preliminary lesson plan incorporating these tools and strategies.

Goals and Products

This workshop will enable participants to:

• Understand the benefits and challenges of teaching literacy skills in the content areas
• Learn and apply specific strategies for teaching reading and writing in the content areas
• Develop an understanding of different types of text structures and how to teach students to recognize them
• Gain experience in developing literacy activities to support curricular goals in different content areas
• As a final product, participants will create a lesson plan that incorporates literacy strategies in their content area curricula

Format and Requirements

Prerequisites

Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

These standards will replace the former Information Literacy strand in Communication Arts and will apply to all content areas. Our students live in an environment of rapid technological change and proliferating information resources. The standards are intended to assist schools as they prepare Missouri students for life in the 21st century. Because ICTL is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education, it has been proposed that this document become a separate content area, rather than remain a part of the Communication Arts content. This change emphasizes the important relationship of Information Literacy to all instructional content. Furthermore, the change reinforces the fact that developing competence in Information, Communications Technology and Literacy is the responsibility of teachers in all subject areas.

Goals and Products

The overall goal for this course is to provide Missouri educators with an opportunity to become familiar with the new ICT Literacy GLEs and CLEs. Through this eLearning course you will have that opportunity, along with the opportunity to discuss the standards with other educators. You will also scrutinize your classroom, grade level, building, or school district curriculum with regards to the ICT Literacy Standards.

Format and REquirements

Prerequisites

none.

Overview

In this course, participants will explore the use of online data sources to enhance inquiry-based teaching and learning in the science curriculum. The National Weather Service and NASA are just two of the organizations now providing K-12 educators with both historical and real-time data from around the world. By using the Internet as a link to the data, students can participate in building meaningful models that will assist them in gaining a better grasp of both local and worldwide science issues. In many cases, students become part of a worldwide network of investigators by adding their local findings to a larger database.

The National Science Education Standards emphasize the use of these types of technologies in Content Standard A, which reads, "Scientists rely on technology to enhance the gathering and manipulation of data. New techniques and tools provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather data, thereby contributing to the advance of science. The accuracy and precision of the data, and therefore the quality of the exploration, depends on the technology used."

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Learn about classroom activities that have been enriched by the use of Internet-based data
• Learn about sources of project ideas that are available on the Web to support inquiry in the science classroom
• Develop a personal collection of web-based resources for curricular use
• Develop insight into the consequences to public health, and other social costs, when water and wastewater infrastructure fails
• Learn how to assess inquiry-based projects
• Develop preliminary plans for a lesson plan that includes an activity that uses an Internet-based data source

As a final project, participants will develop plans for a lesson plan that uses an Internet-based data source.

Format and Requirements

This course is divided into six one-week sessions that include readings, an activity, and an online discussion among course participants. Each session is designed to take approximately two to four hours to complete.

The outline for the course is as follows:

In the first two sessions, participants will learn how technology and Internet-based data is being used to teach science and will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of projects that use technology and Internet-based data to teach science. In Session Three, participants will learn about sources of Internet-based sensing data, and how Internet-based sensing data can be used to promote inquiry in the science classroom. In Sessions Four and Five, participants will learn about an online collaborative activity that uses student-collected data to foster inquiry in the science classroom and develop plans for a classroom project that uses Internet data. Finally, in Session Six, participants will learn about strategies to assess student learning in inquiry projects and complete a lesson plan for classroom use.

Prerequisites

This course is for teachers, technology specialists, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists, or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course, Inquiry in the Science Classroom Using Internet-based Data Sources, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers, especially Standards II, III and IV.

Overview

This course is designed to help teachers learn how to apply ELP (English Language Proficiency) Standards to their classroom instruction and how to implement new approaches for teaching students whose native language is not English. Teachers will build their knowledge of second language acquisition and learn strategies to effectively work with English Language Learners in their classrooms. This course will also highlight the many ways that teachers can take advantage of available technologies to more effectively reach all students.
Note: This course is not part of a state-approved TESOL endorsement and/or degree program.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Address the primary learning needs of their ELL students
• Create an atmosphere of acceptance for all students
• Increase their understanding about second language acquisition
• Improve access to curriculum in all content areas for students with Limited English
• Use available technologies to help meet the needs of ELL students
• Make accommodations to improve access to learning for ELL Students
• Fairly assess English Language Learners in the classroom
• Plan a lesson focused on the needs of ELL students

As a final product, participants will complete a Lesson Modification Template that will help them to modify a lesson or unit in a way that enables students with Limited English Proficiency to have equal access to the curriculum.

Format and Requirements

Prerequisites

Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course meets the standards for Content, Instructional Design, and Technology as defined in the National Standards of Quality for Online Courses, published by the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL). This workshop provides teachers with an opportunity to meet the Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership standard as defined in the National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers, published by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

Overview

Participants in this course will learn about the structures and behaviors of organisms that enable them to live successfully in their environments and how this scientific content can be enhanced through literacy integration. A focus of the workshop is to help participants learn to integrate literacy and science by using literacy strategies such as science notebooks/journals, concept maps, and literature to enhance their lessons. A notebook strand in several sessions provides more information and ideas about teaching with science notebooks. In addition, participants will hone their content knowledge about the basic needs of living things, habitats, interactive relationships, food webs and adaptations. As part of the work in this course, participants will learn to keep their own science notebook and complete a Final Project, which includes a reflection on the investigations in the notebook.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Learn about national, state, and local standards associated with teaching about living organisms and habitats
• Learn science content needed to teach students about living organisms and habitats
• Engage in the “doing” of science through keeping a science notebook and observing a local habitat
• Incorporate reading and writing tasks in the science classroom in order to improve student achievement
• Gain strategies and tools for incorporating literacy activities in the teaching of science content
• Build their own library of resources, including readings, videos and websites to enhance their teaching about living organisms and habitats
• Learn to use hands-on science and literacy activities in their teaching about living organisms and habitats

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:

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

National Science Standards

In grades K-4, all students should:
- Develop an understanding that organisms have basic needs. For example, animals need air, water, and food; plants require air, water, nutrients, and light. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their needs can be met. The world has many different environments, and distinct environments support the life of different types of organisms.

- Develop an understanding that each plant or animal has different structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction. For example, humans have distinct body structures for walking, holding, seeing, and talking.

- Develop an understanding that an organism's patterns of behavior are related to the nature of that organism's environment, including the kinds and numbers of other organisms present, the availability of food and resources, and the physical characteristics of the environment. When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce, and others die or move to new locations.

- Develop an understanding that all organisms cause changes in the environment where they live. Some of these changes are detrimental to the organism or other organisms, whereas others are beneficial.

In grades 5-8, all students should:
- Develop an understanding that populations of organisms can be categorized by the function they serve in an ecosystem. Plants and some micro-organisms are producers--they make their own food. All animals, including humans, are consumers, which obtain food by eating other organisms. Decomposers, primarily bacteria and fungi, are consumers that use waste materials and dead organisms for food. Food webs identify the relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem.

- Develop an understanding that for ecosystems, the major source of energy is sunlight. Energy entering ecosystems as sunlight is transferred by producers into chemical energy through photosynthesis. That energy then passes from organism to organism in food webs.

- Develop an understanding that the number of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and abiotic factors, such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition. Given adequate biotic and abiotic resources and no disease or predators, populations (including humans) increase at rapid rates. Lack of resources and other factors, such as predation and climate, limit the growth of populations in specific niches in the ecosystem.

- Develop an understanding that biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations. Species acquire many of their unique characteristics through biological adaptation, which involves the selection of naturally occurring variations in populations. Biological adaptations include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular environment.

Overview

In this course, participants will explore specific strategies for creating a safe environment for students when they access the Internet. They will learn essential information about the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), including compliance requirements for schools and districts. Participants will also become familiar with the ways that Web 2.0 technologies, which allow for more collaboration and social networking than was previously possible through the Internet, are changing the way that students and teachers interact online. Special attention will be paid to the safety and health issues that these technologies present, such as cyberbullying. Finally, participants will learn how to make sure that school and district Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) address these challenges while teaching students how to act as responsible “digital citizens,” helping them to explore Web 2.0 tools safely for educational purposes.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to:

• Refine their understanding of specific options, technological or otherwise, for protecting children when they access the Internet over a school-based or statewide educational network
• Understand current federal policy regarding how schools protect their students when they go online
• Consider approaches for advancing digital citizenship of teachers and students and promoting the practice of online safety
• Address instances of cyber-bullying in the classroom and online
• Make sure that current AUPs are up to date and address collaborative and social networking tools

Format and Requirements

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 workshop meets the standards for Content, Instructional Design, and Technology as defined in the National Standards of Quality for Online Courses, published by the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL).

This workshop provides teachers with an opportunity to meet the Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership standard as defined in the National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers, published by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

Overview

The Internet as we know it has been constantly changing and improving over the past several years and these changes have been so numerous and so dramatic as to inspire people to refer to this "new" internet as Web 2.0 or the Read/Write Web. The content of the Read/Write Web, as we will call it, is characterized by open communication, freedom to share and re-use content, and dynamic interactivity among users of varying technical abilities around the globe. A multitude of web-based tools now are available that can allow people to organize their favorite bookmarks, write online documents, and share information with others through social software like blogs and wikis. These tools can positively impact teaching and learning and the implications are significant. Students can be empowered to see how their ideas can be shared easily with the world and students around the globe can easily collaborate and communicate with each other to build knowledge communities that are not dependent on time and space. A few dedicated educators are sharing their ideas and blogging about these new tools so that they can be used effectively in classrooms. In this course, participants will be exposed to many of the tools of the Read/Write Web and will get the chance to experiment with new tools each week. The final session will focus on how educators can help students to use these new tools safely. Discussions will help participants focus on how these tools can be integrated into the classroom to make the most of their potential to enhance student learning.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to:

• Understand the fundamental changes that the Read/Write Web is bringing about in all areas including business, politics and journalism
• Learn about some of the tools of the Read/Write web such as RSS feeds, Social Bookmarking, Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts
• Create their own Blogs and Wikis for personal and/or professional use
• Locate resources for downloading and creating educational Podcasts and Streaming Videos
• Create accounts for storing, organizing, and retrieving web-based information using RSS feeds and Social Bookmarking tools
• Explore tools and strategies for keeping students safe on the Read/Write Web

Format and Requirements

This workshop is divided into six one-week sessions that include readings, an activity, and an online discussion among workshop participants. Each session is designed to take approximately two to four hours to complete.

The outline for the workshop is as follows:

Workshop participants are expected to complete weekly assignments along with actively participating in the online discussion board. In addition, participants will develop and share their ideas to incorporate tools and strategies presented in the workshop into their own curricula.

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 workshop, Learning and Teaching with the Read/Write Web, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers (http://cnets.iste.org/teachers/t_stands.html), especially Standards I and II. In addition, this workshop will help teachers to enable their students to meet the following Information Literacy Standards (http://cnets.iste.org/currstands/cstands-il.html), especially Standards I, II, and III.

Overview

This 7-week Personal Finance Course was developed for Missouri teachers of the required high school personal finance course. There are a plethora of teaching resources available and crafting the right plan for your classroom can be a challenge. This course will provide opportunities to explore online resources, develop and critique personal finance lessons using the backward design model, and network with personal finance teachers across the state.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to

• Understand and implement the four units from the Missouri Personal Finance curriculum; Income, Money Management, Spending and Credit, and Saving and Investing
• Locate and use the most current and effective resources pertaining to the personal finance curriculum
• Design a semester plan for teaching Personal Finance
• Review, critique, and tailor existing personal finance lessons for use in their own classroom

Format and Requirements

Prerequisites

This is an introductory course for teachers, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using e-mail, browsing the Internet and navigating to computer files.

Overview

Through this course, teachers will explore the principles of project-based learning. Participants will learn how projects can transform teaching and learning in the classroom. Support will be provided to participants, through facilitation and the discussion forums, as they redefine the role of assessment in their classrooms.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to

• Identify the benefits offered by a project-based approach as compared with conventional classroom teaching.
• Explore the characteristics of successful projects.
• Follow the steps for project design while maintaining a focus on learning goals.
• Plan for assessment of content knowledge, and process skills with-in the context of project-based learning.
• Plan student-centered learning activities and appropriate supports for the project.
• Guide student learning during a project through appropriate use of questioning, collaboration, information literacy, and reflection.

Course Expectations

Prerequisites

This is an introductory course for teachers, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using e-mail, browsing the Internet and navigating to computer files.

Overview

Research on reading comprehension has demonstrated that readers differ in how they approach reading and the meaning they construct from text. Researchers have found that good readers use specific strategies to comprehend text, and those instructional programs that explicitly teach these strategies have been successful in improving students’ comprehension. In this course, participants will examine teaching practices that help students in grades three through five develop concrete strategies for constructing meaning from both narrative and expository text. The goal for strategy instruction is to prepare students to become active and purposeful readers who think about their text before, during and after reading. Participants will also explore instructional procedures that help students learn how to coordinate key comprehension strategies.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to

• Identify comprehension strategies that are important to teach
• Explore how to explicitly teach comprehension strategies and guide students’ practice in applying them
• Help students build story schema (background knowledge about stories) by showing how narrative text has recurring elements (story grammar): characters, settings, conflicts, major events, resolutions, and themes
• Help students draw on their story schema to make predictions about events, and consequences
• Help students distinguish common text structures in informational text in order to better understand and recall the main ideas of the text
• Help students understand how analyzing question-answer relationships (QAR) can be a useful strategy for approaching comprehension questions

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:

Throughout the course, participants will complete activities that they will add to a portfolio of their ideas from this course. Participants will leave the course with a toolkit of strategies and ideas to use in their own classrooms. As a final product, participants will evaluate their own comprehension instruction program and develop an action plan for making changes to better support reading comprehension in the classroom.

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. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course, Promoting Reading Comprehension in the Elementary Classroom, will help participants support their students in meeting the following NCTE standards:

Standard 1: Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

Standard 2: Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.

Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Standard 12:  Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

In addition, this course will help participants meet the following title="http://cnets.iste.org/teachers/t_stands.html"
href="http://cnets.iste.org/teachers/t_stands.html" target="_blank">ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers:

Standard V. Productivity and Professional Practice
Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice

Reproduced with permission from Education Development Center, Inc.,
Copyright (c), 2000-2006, all rights reserved (http://www.edtechleaders.org)

Overview

This course will help middle school teachers learn about comprehension strategies that students need to apply in order to comprehend a variety of text types. Participants will explore the challenges students commonly experience with different types of text, strategies employed by successful readers, and instructional approaches to support students in developing reading comprehension strategies. Throughout the course, participants will gather ideas about designing a lesson plan that focuses on developing students’ use of comprehension strategies. Participants will leave this course with many new strategies and resources for fostering the reading comprehension of their students.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to

• Deepen their understanding of the middle school students’ reading development and effective literacy instruction in grades 6-8
• Deepen their understanding of strategies students use to comprehend text
• Identify students’ use of specific comprehension strategies
• Identify effective methods for teaching students comprehension strategies
• Deepen their understanding of the demands of diverse genres
• Develop lesson plans for teaching strategies for strategies-based instruction and for comprehending expository text
• Deepen their understanding of the demands of online text
• Analyze the ways in which technology can be used to foster students’ reading comprehension

Format and Requirements

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

The outline for the course is as follows:

As a final project, participants will consider the many concepts and strategies covered in this course—direct instruction of strategies, teaching with diverse text types, and using technology to support instruction—and develop a lesson plan that will best address their students’ reading comprehension needs.

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. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course will help participants meet the following NCTE standards:

Standard 1: Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

Standard 2: Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.

Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Standard 11: Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

Standard 12: Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

In addition, this course will help participants meet the following title="http://cnets.iste.org/teachers/t_stands.html"
href="http://cnets.iste.org/teachers/t_stands.html">ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers:

• II. PLANNING AND DESIGNING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND EXPERIENCES.
  - Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology.
• - Identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability.

• V. PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE.
  - Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice.
• - Use technology resources to engage in ongoing professional development and lifelong learning.

Reproduced with permission from Education Development Center, Inc.,
Copyright (c), 2000-2006, all rights reserved (http://www.edtechleaders.org)

Overview

In this course, participants will learn about different components and levels of proportional reasoning. They will complete classroom tasks that illustrate ways to develop stronger conceptual understanding and target different components of proportional reasoning. They will use video and written examples of student work. They will also conduct a student interview in order to reflect on students’ approaches to proportions problems and to identify evidence of proportional reasoning at various levels. For the final project, participants will create a lesson that targets a component of proportional reasoning and that incorporates questioning techniques learned in the course. They will provide a rationale for the lesson that relates to the material learned in the course and reflect on their own learning.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Understand and identify different components and levels of proportional reasoning
• Broaden their repertoire of classroom tasks to use to develop students' conceptual understanding of proportionality
• Develop skills and tools for analyzing students' thinking about proportionality
• Apply those skills and tools to a lesson on proportional reasoning that is appropriate for middle school students

As a final product, participants will create a lesson plan related to proportional reasoning promoting both conceptual and procedural understanding that can be used in the classroom. The Final Project Description outlines the specific elements that should be included in the lesson. It provides a table that summarizes the components of the final project and benchmark dates to help you in planning your project. The lesson plan should be designed around particular learning goal(s) connected to an area of proportional reasoning. There are two key companion elements to the Lesson Design: The Student Interview and The Personal Reflection. The Student Interview is described in Session 4 and is to be conducted in Session 5. The Personal Reflection consists of a series of questions that you will answer throughout the course and complete during Session 6.

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:

The first session introduces the concepts that will be used throughout the course. Session 2 focuses on determining when a situation is proportional. Sessions 3 and 4 investigate three additional components of proportional reasoning: understanding the invariance of ratio, seeing ratios as composite units or “units of units,” and using proportional reasoning to focus on the relationships rather than specific values. Session 5 connects math with pedagogy by exploring student questioning techniques. The final session guides participants to reflect on their learning in the course and complete their final projects.

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 will help teachers to enable their students to meet the following Content Standards as identified by National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) (http://standards.nctm.org/document/chapter6/index.htm) .

Number Strand: Understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers, and number systems
- Understand and use ratios and proportions to represent quantitative relationships

Number Strand: Compute fluently and make reasonable estimates
- Develop, analyze and explain methods for solving problems involving proportions, such as scaling and finding equivalent ratios.

Algebra Strand: Analyze change in various contexts
- Use graphs to analyze the nature of changes in quantities in linear relationships

Problem-Solving Standard
- Solve problems that arise in mathematics and other contexts
- Apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems

Connections Standard
- Recognize and use connections among mathematical ideas
- Understand how mathematical ideas interconnect and build on one another to produce a coherent whole

This course will also help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers.

By examining the desired results first (goals), then determining acceptable evidence (informal and formal assessment), and finally planning appropriate learning experiences and instruction to meet those goals,teachers can effectively plan and deliver instruction. In this online course teachers will use the Backward Design process to plan an instructional unit, and then share it on the SuccessLink website.

SuccessLink’s Great Teaching Ideas Program offers teachers the opportunity to share their developed units with other educators. The SuccessLink database contains units written by Missouri teachers for Missouri teachers.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to

• Reflect on perspectives about backward design
• Consider a rationale for using backward design
• Use deconstructed GLEs/standards
• Identify and create essential questions
• Create a unit using backward design

Format and requirements

Prerequisites

This is an introductory course for teachers, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using e-mail, browsing the Internet and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers, especially Standards II, III and IV.

For more information about Technology Integration visit: http://www.iste.org

Overview

This course, co-developed by EDC and CAST (Center for Applied Special Technologies), provides an introduction to the concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and strategies for implementing a UDL approach in instructional settings. Universal Design for Learning is an approach to teaching and learning and the development of curriculum and assessment that draws on current brain research and new media technologies to respond to individual differences. UDL curricula, teaching practices, and policies are inherently flexible and therefore may reduce the demand on educators to develop and implement modifications and accommodations to meet individual differences within general education learning environments. The basic premise of UDL is that a curriculum should include alternatives to make it accessible and applicable to students, teachers, and parents with different backgrounds, learning styles, abilities, and disabilities in widely varied learning contexts.

This course is designed to acquaint participants with UDL principles, and provide practical, hands-on experience using software tools and digital media for learning support. Participants will explore how these tools can be incorporated into their classroom practice, and begin preliminary steps to design a curriculum unit that utilizes these tools.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Understand the basic principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
• Learn strategies for addressing diverse learning needs using digital media
• Learn about the educational potential of digital text and how to locate these resources on the Web
• Explore a variety of software tools to extend learning opportunities for all students
• Prepare preliminary plans for a classroom curriculum project that incorporates some of the UDL software tools explored in the course
• Identify building and district-level resources necessary to support full implementation of UDL in classroom practice

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 two sessions, participants will learn the basic principles of UDL, and explore examples of software that utilize these principles. In Session Three, participants will explore the value of digital text in helping make reading materials more accessible to students with varied learning needs. Sessions Four and Five will explore several technology supports for utilizing digital text. Finally, in Session Six, participants will prepare preliminary plans for a curriculum unit that utilizes digital text and technology tools, and consider what kinds of systematic support are needed to incorporate UDL principles into the curriculum.

Prerequisites

Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

As mentioned above, this course requires participants to download demo versions of several types of software. Participants will have guidance from their course facilitators in completing these activities, but should be prepared to address unique issues that arise with their technology as they go through the download process.

Content and Technology Standards

This course, Special Students in Regular Classrooms: Technology, Teaching and Universal Design, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers, especially Standards II, III, IV, V and VI.

Overview

Technology tools and web-based materials support teachers in meeting NCTE and ISTE standards for students in each stage of the writing process. These standards emphasize the appropriate use of writing strategies and technological resources to communicate with different audiences and with a variety of purposes. This course, designed to support middle and high school teachers of writing, will explore a range of web-based resources and exemplary projects which utilize technology to support these goals. Participants will learn about and experiment with technologies that can be used to facilitate each phase of the writing process (prewriting, writing, revising, editing, publishing, and assessment). Participants will complete the course with a collection of resources and a plan for a classroom writing project that attends to both technology and content standards.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to:

• Learn how NCTE English Language Arts and ISTE Standards can be addressed with technology that supports the writing process
• Learn how online technologies can enhance each phase of the writing process - from brainstorming to publishing
• Develop a personal collection of web-based resources for curricular and instructional use
• Develop plans for a technology-enhanced writing lesson that addresses curriculum and technology standards

Format and Requirements

This workshop is divided into six one-week sessions that include readings, an activity, and an online discussion among workshop participants. Each session is designed to take approximately two to four hours to complete.

The outline for the workshop is as follows:

In the first session, participants will learn how NCTE English Language Arts and ISTE Standards can be met with technology that supports the writing process. In sessions two through six, participants will become familiar with specific online resources to support students through every phase of the writing process. Throughout the course, participants will work on a Writing Lesson Template (http://edtechleaders.org/documents/writing/lesson_plan_template.doc) for their students based on ISTE standards and NCTE or their own state standards for English/language arts. course participants are expected to complete weekly assignments, including active participation in the online discussion board. In addition, participants will develop and share their ideas to incorporate tools and strategies presented in the course into their own curricula.

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, Strategies and Tools for Teaching the Writing Process, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers, especially Standards II, III, IV and V.

This course will also help participants meet the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Standards for the English Language Arts, especially Standards IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and XII.

Overview

In this course, participants will explore how technology can support emerging literacy development in kindergarten through second grade. Participants will investigate tools that can help build phonemic awareness and word recognition. Participants will also explore strategies for integrating reading and writing with meaningful project-based activities, and learn about software tools for publishing student work and creating class books. Participants will develop ideas for a technology-enhanced lesson plan, and collect a number of resources for immediate classroom use.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Develop a technology-enhanced lesson plan that addresses national and local curriculum standards
• Learn how technology can support emergent, beginning, and transition readers
• Learn how technology can support the writing process
• Develop a personal collection of web-based resources for curricular use
• Develop strategies for the ongoing assessment of students' literacy development

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:

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. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course, Supporting Literacy Development in Lower Elementary Classrooms, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers, especially Standards II, III, V and VI.

In addition, this course will help teachers to enable their students to meet the following English Language Arts Standards as defined by the NCTE, The National Council of Teachers of English, especially Standards 8, 11 and 12.

Reproduced with permission from Education Development Center, Inc.,
Copyright (c), 2000-2006, all rights reserved (http://www.edtechleaders.org)

In this course, participants will learn about technologies that can be used to strengthen teaching and learning in many aspects of literacy development in upper elementary classrooms. The content covered includes many ways to use technology to support a variety of approaches to developing students' literacy, including developing vocabulary, framing ideas for writing, promoting critical research skills, facilitating revision processes and teacher and peer editing, and publishing final products. During this course, participants will develop a technology-enhanced lesson that addresses national and local literacy standards. To support this lesson development process, participants will examine a sample lesson plan that incorporates several ways technology can support reading and writing across the curriculum. Participants will also discuss strategies for the ongoing assessment of students' literacy development.

Goals and Products

This workshop will enable participants to:

• Develop a technology-enhanced lesson plan that addresses national and local curriculum and technology standards
• Learn how technology can enhance each phase of the writing process, from brainstorming to publishing student work
• Develop a personal collection of web-based resources for curricular use
• Learn approaches for using technology to accommodate students' individual needs
• Develop strategies for the ongoing assessment of students' literacy development

Format and Requirements

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. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Overview

In this course, participants will gain a better understanding of electricity and circuits, including conducting and insulating materials, open and closed circuits, and series and parallel circuits. Participants will learn numerous inquiry-based teaching strategies throughout the course. They will consider inquiry-based methods to introduce the content to students, and they will enhance their questioning techniques to help students make predictions about the content. Participants will also learn strategies for managing inquiry-based lessons in the classroom and tools for assessing students’ understanding of the content. Through completion of a final project, participants will demonstrate much of what they learned about the content and teaching methods described above.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to create an engaging classroom that encourages students to learn the fundamentals of electricity through inquiry
• Develop a greater understanding of inquiry-based teaching strategies and how they differ from standard hands-on activities
• Learn classroom management and safety strategies associated with teaching electricity to elementary students
• Become acquainted with assessment strategies and tools for evaluating students’ gains in inquiry-based lessons

Format and Requirements

This course is divided into six one-week sessions that include readings, an activity, and an online discussion among course participants. Each session is designed to take approximately two to four hours to complete.

The outline for the course is as follows:

Prerequisites

This course is for teachers, technology specialists, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists, or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

In grades K-4 all students should:

• Develop an understanding that electricity in circuits can produce light, heat, sound, and magnetic effects
• Develop an understanding that electrical circuits require a complete loop through which an electrical current can pass
• Develop abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry

In grades 5-8 all students should:

• Develop an understanding that energy is a property of many substances and is associated with heat, light, electricity, mechanical motion, sound, nuclei, and the nature of a chemical
• Develop an understanding that electrical circuits provide a means for transferring electrical energy when heat, light, sound, and chemical changes are produced

Overview

All students have the capacity to be good writers and writers learn to write by writing. These are basic tenets of this course during which participants will learn instructional strategies to teach students in the upper elementary grades how to write narrative and informational text. Participants will explore how to teach their students about the traits of good writing through mini-lessons and writing conferences and how to use established criteria to evaluate writing. They will recognize that writing is a process and consider how to organize instruction to guide students through the stages. Participants will go through the instructional cycle from writing prompt to revision as they create their final projects.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to

• Teach students about the traits of good writing
• Use consistent criteria to evaluate student’s writing and provide feedback
• Learn teaching strategies to help students write narrative and informational text
• Understand stages of the writing process and organize instruction to guide students through the stages
• Confer with students and guide the revision of their writing
• Write prompts relevant to their students for narrative or informational writing

As a final project, participants will plan a mini-lesson for pre-writing and a student conference around revision. They will use Six +1 Traits® of good writing for instruction and criteria for evaluation.

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:

Session One: What Is Good Writing?
Session Two: Telling a Story with Narrative Writing
Session Three: Informing or Explaining with Informational Writing
Session Four: Writing is a Process
Session Five: Evaluating Writing
Session Six: Conferring with Students about Writing and Revision

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, Teaching Writing in the Elementary Classroom , will help participants to support their students in meeting the following NCTE standards:

• Standard 5: Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• Standard 6: Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.
• Standard 7: Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
• Standard 12: Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

This course will also help participants meet the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Standards for the English Language Arts, especially Standards IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and XII.

In addition, this course will help participants meet the following ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers:

Standard V. PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE.
Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice.

Reproduced with permission from Education Development Center, Inc.,
Copyright (c), 2000-2006, all rights reserved (http://www.edtechleaders.org)

Overview

In today’s middle school writing classroom, the pressures to achieve state and national standards are overwhelming for students and teachers alike. Many classrooms focus so completely on writing the perfect essay that the fun of writing wanes. In this workshop, participants will examine two common essay types—informative and persuasive—as they are approached in several non-traditional ways. To complement these alternative ways of teaching these two essay types, this workshop will also re-examine the writing process, writing motivation for teachers and students, and formative evaluation methods for writing progress. The end result of this work is a final lesson plan for an informative or persuasive essay that utilizes a creative approach in its instruction. It is the overall goal of this workshop to rekindle motivation and creativity in middle school writing instruction to help teachers and students have some fun on their journey toward the perfect essay.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to:

• Understand the classroom implications of several NCTE standards pertinent for middle school writing
• Explore new ways to motivate students and teachers to write
• Familiarize themselves with two common middle school essay styles--informative and persuasive--and learn new ways of teaching them
• Revisit the writing workshop, including pre-, during-, and post-writing, through the lens of motivational strategies
• Utilize technology writing resources when appropriate
• Discover evaluation techniques that will promote writing as a continual process

As a final product, participants will create an innovative lesson plan that incorporates the writing and motivational strategies learned in this workshop to help students write an informative or persuasive essay.

Format and Requirements

This workshop is divided into six one-week sessions that include readings, an activity, and an online discussion among workshop participants. Each session is designed to take approximately two to four hours to complete.

The outline for the workshop is as follows:

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

In this workshop, Words for Understanding will help participants to support their students in meeting the following NCTE standards:

Standard 5 Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

Standard 6 Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.

Standard 8 Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

Standard 11 Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities. In addition, this workshop will help participants meet the following ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers: Standards: (http://edtechleaders.org/documents/NETSAdmin)

This workshop will help participants meet the following NCTE standards:

Standard 3 Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Standard 4 Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

Standard 6 Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.

Standard 11 Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

Standard 12 Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

In addition, this workshop will help participants meet the following ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers:

• II. PLANNING AND DESIGNING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AND EXPERIENCES.
• Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology.
• Identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability.

Overview

This workshop provides an introduction to the concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and strategies for implementing a UDL approach in instructional settings. Universal Design for Learning is an approach to teaching and learning and the development of curriculum and assessment that draws on current brain research and new media technologies to respond to individual differences. This workshop is designed to acquaint participants with UDL principles and provide practical, hands-on experience using software tools and digital media for learning support. Participants will explore how these tools can be incorporated into their classroom practice and plan a lesson that uses these tools.

Goals and Products

This online course will enable participants to

• Understand the basic principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
• Address diverse learning needs in the 21st century
• Extend learning opportunities for all students through digital technologies and explore a variety of these tools
• Develop strategies to universally design classroom assessments
• Understand how differentiated instruction relates to UDL
• Analyze curriculum barriers and develop a plan to address these barriers using UDL principles

Format and Requirements

This workshop is divided into seven one-week sessions: an Orientation session and six content-based sessions. Each content session includes readings, activities, and an online discussion among participants. The time for completing each content session is estimated to be between four and five hours.

The outline for the course is as follows:

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. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Overview

In this course, participants will gain an understanding of common misconceptions students have about measurement and will provide teachers some tools and strategies to help students improve their conceptual understanding of this topic. Participants in this workshop will explore why it is important to study measurement in the upper elementary grades as well as why teachers need to pay particular attention to the ideas of unitization and iteration. In the final project for this course, participants will design activities for their students that promote a conceptual understanding of measurement and which are immediately useful in the classroom.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Become familiar with tasks that encourage students to understand what measurement is and why it is necessary
• Gain a better understanding of how elementary students think about linear measurement, area, and capacity
• Study critical ideas in mathematics education, such as the importance of unitization and iteration when measuring
• Learn how to create lessons which use mathematical tools appropriately
• Learn how to conduct a student interview
• Promote a “learning-by-doing” methodology, which is applicable to students at all ages

As a final product, participants will create engaging, standards-based activities that promote student inquiry into critical issues of measurement.

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:

The first session orients participants to the course by giving an overview of the importance of studying measurement in upper elementary school and investigating some common student misconceptions on measurement. Sessions 2 and 3 introduce two dimensional measurement with linear measurement and area. Participants consider the importance of iteration and unitization in both of these sessions. Session 4 focuses on three dimensional measurement by looking at student understanding of capacity. Sessions 5 and 6 pull together lessons from the previous sessions and applies them to more complex topics. Session 5 asks participants to consider measuring non-standard objects and how to help students conceptualize this work. Session 6 gives participants a chance to reflect on what they have learned, and how to integrate it into their 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

Primary Standards

• Understand such attributes as length, area, weight, volume, and size of angle and select the appropriate type of unit for measuring each attribute
• Understand the need for measuring with standard units and become familiar with standard units in the customary and metric systems
• Understand that measurements are approximations and how differences in units affect precision
• Develop strategies for estimating the perimeters, areas, and volumes of irregular shapes
• Select and use benchmarks to estimate measurements

Secondary Standards

• Carry out simple unit conversions, such as from centimeters to meters, within a system of measurement
• Develop, understand, and use formulas to find the area of rectangles and related triangles and parallelograms
• Develop strategies to determine the surface areas and volumes of rectangular solids

I. Technology Operations and Concepts

Teachers demonstrate a sound understanding of technology operations and concepts. Teachers:

B. Demonstrate continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and emerging technologies.

II. Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experiences

Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology. Teachers:

B. Apply current research on teaching and learning with technology when planning learning environments and experiences.

V. Productivity and Professional Practice

Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice. Teachers:

A. Use technology resources to engage in ongoing professional development and lifelong learning.

B. Continually evaluate and reflect on professional practice to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of student learning.

Overview

This course is designed to familiarize participants with the principles of Project-Based Learning (PBL) and strategies for implementing PBL projects in their classrooms. Throughout this six-week course, exemplary projects will be analyzed, critiqued, and evaluated for applicability to participants’ classroom needs. Participants will gain hands-on experience developing collaborative, inquiry-based projects that support their curricular goals. Participants will learn to blend PBL and standards-based design strategies to create curriculum units that enhance student learning. Each participant will leave the online course with a detailed plan for a PBL project.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Develop a collection of web-based PBL resources to support curricular planning
• Learn how to develop PBL activities to support curricular goals
• Learn to use technology in the planning, implementation, and assessment of Project-Based Learning
• Develop techniques to help students effectively participate in Project-Based Learning
• Plan a standards-based, technology-enhanced PBL project for classroom use
• Participate in an online collegial network

Format and Requirements

Prerequisites

Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This workshop, Transforming the Classroom with Project-Based Learning, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers (http://edtechleaders.org/documents/NETSAdminTeachers.pdf), especially Standards II, III and V. For more information about Technology Integration visit: http://www.iste.org.

Overview

This course provides an opportunity for teachers of grades 3 through 5 to explore how mathematical models can be used to promote a deep understanding of fractions and fractional relationships. All too often, students are taught mechanical ways to make sense out of fractions, whether in the form of an addition algorithm or a procedure that produces equivalent fractions. This course offers alternative ideas for fraction instruction and is premised on the belief that students can come to understand fractions in a number of different ways. Completion of a student interview and a final project are integral parts of this course. A variety of readings, applets, and videos form the content of this course, and participants are expected to share ideas with their online colleagues in the discussion forums.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Develop a broader understanding of what fractions are and the mathematics underlying the algorithms
• Identify ways that mathematical models can be incorporated into classroom instruction, for the purpose of increasing student understanding about fractional relationships and fraction operations
• Deepen understanding of student difficulties with fractions through examining student work and conducting a student interview
• Explore specific mathematical models, specifically linear and area models, which can be applied to their teaching practice to foster better understanding of fractions
• Engage in a “learning-by-doing” methodology, which is applicable to students at all ages

In the Final Project, you will plan a fractions lesson that brings together a number of different ideas from this course. As a final course project, participants will design a lesson that teaches students about a fractional concept or operation that uses either an area model or linear measurement model and that targets at least one student misconception about fractions. The lesson will teach students about a fractional concept or operation, will utilize one of the fraction models introduced in this course, and will target specific student misconceptions about fractions. In order to learn what misconceptions students have about fractions, you will be required to conduct a student interview. This interview forms a significant part of your Final Project. (More information about the student interview is provided in Session 3.)

Opportunities for you to work on your Final Project, including the student interview, have been included throughout this course. Your completed Final Project will be due by the end of Session 6.

Suggested Timeline for Final Project:
Session 1: Review requirements for Final Project.
Session 3: Review requirements for student interview, and identify a student that you will interview.
Session 4: Begin planning and writing your lesson plan; conduct your student interview.
Session 5: Complete the Student Interview Write-Up, and incorporate lessons learned from the interview into your lesson plan.
Session 6: Finish writing your lesson plan, and submit the finished Final Project

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:

This course begins with an exploration of different ways to think about fraction problems, and also a review of how fractions are taught in elementary school. In Sessions 2 and 3, participants will depart from using traditional algorithms and investigate how linear measurement models can be used to promote a deeper understanding of fractional relationships. The use of area models, specifically pattern blocks, is examined in Sessions 4 and 5. Throughout this course participants will have many opportunities to apply linear and area models to actual fraction problems, use virtual manipulatives, look at student work that sheds light on how young students think about fractions, and discuss their experiences and ideas with their colleagues. Participants are expected to complete a Final Project and a Student Interview by the end of Session 6.

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. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course will help teachers to enable their students to meet the following Content Standards as identified by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).

• Develop understanding of fractions as parts of unit wholes, as parts of a collection, as locations on number lines, and as divisions of whole numbers
• Use models, benchmarks, and equivalent forms to judge the size of fractions
• Recognize and generate equivalent forms of commonly used fractions, decimals, and percents
• Develop and use strategies to estimate the results of whole-number computations and to judge the reasonableness of such results
• Develop and use strategies to estimate computations involving fractions and decimals in situations relevant to students' experience
• Use visual models, benchmarks, and equivalent forms to add and subtract commonly used fractions and decimals

In addition, this course, Using Models to Understand Fractions, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers.

I. Technology Operations and Concepts
Teachers demonstrate a sound understanding of technology operations and concepts. Teachers:
B. Demonstrate continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and
emerging technologies.

II. Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experiences
Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology.
Teachers:
B. Apply current research on teaching and learning with technology when planning learning
environments and experiences.
C. Identify and locate technology resources and evaluate them for accuracy and suitability.

V. Productivity and Professional Practice
Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice. Teachers:
A. Use technology resources to engage in ongoing professional development and lifelong learning.
B. Continually evaluate and reflect on professional practice to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of student learning.

Reproduced with permission from Education Development Center, Inc.,
Copyright (c), 2000-2006, all rights reserved (http://www.edtechleaders.org).

Overview

In this course, participants will learn to use scientific inquiry to foster exploration—and ultimately understanding—about the movements of the Earth, moon, and sun, phenomena that have fascinated mankind for thousands of years. Since state and national science standards call for teaching elementary students about day/night cycles, seasons, and the phases of the moon, this workshop helps teachers learn to employ strategies to make this content meaningful and accessible for young students. This course is written from an inquiry standpoint; therefore, participants will work to construct their own knowledge about natural phenomena (through the use of shadow trackers and moon journals) as they learn how to integrate inquiry strategies into classroom instruction. Specific content knowledge, such as learning the reason for day/night cycles, phases of the moon, and the reasons for seasons are integrated into this course. Additionally, participants will learn how to facilitate inquiry-based learning in their classroom, from thinking about why inquiry is important to posing questions that promote discovery. Content-rich articles, video clips, and online resources will form the background of the course; and asynchronous discussion boards will promote participant interaction, communication, and learning. Participants will be expected to complete and submit a Final Product by the end of the course.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Become familiar with their state standards for teaching about day/night cycles, the moon, and observable phenomena
• Identify pedagogical tools (pictures, Know-Learning-Evidence-Wonder [KLEW] Charts) they can use in the classroom to promote inquiry-based learning
• Consider how young students make sense of the world around them and how the inquiry process can help develop new scientific understandings
• Learn what scientific inquiry is, how it is different from pure exploration, and why it is important to build an inquiry-based science classroom
• Use shadow data to understand changes in the apparent path of the sun and learn how changes in shadows throughout the day can reveal information about the location and path of the sun
• Consider the importance of questioning in inquiry-based science and learn to design questions that focus on specific learning goals
• Consider the importance of using precise language during scientific inquiry
• Understand how the rotation of the Earth on its axis affects shadows
• Learn to create moon journals, to use journal entries to identify patterns in the moon’s shape, appearance, and position, and to use science journals in their classrooms
• Understand and make predictions about Earth, moon and sun phenomena, including movement and shapes of shadows, rotation and tilt of Earth and moon on their axes, apparent path of the sun, reasons for eclipses and seasons
• Learn strategies to manage an inquiry-based unit
• Use physical models to explore the moon’s revolution around the Earth and the moon’s rotation on its axis
• Gain strategies for using assessment in inquiry-based classrooms
• Use data and models to explore the reasons for seasons, specifically as it relates to the tilt of the Earth’s axis relative to its orbital plane
• Explore strategies to develop an inquiry-based approach to explore any observable phenomena (including moon phases, day/night cycles, or the reasons for seasons) and to incorporate its use in their teaching

Format and Requirements

This course is divided into six one-week sessions that include readings, an activity, and an online discussion among course participants. Each session is designed to take approximately two to four hours to complete.

The outline for the course is as follows:

Prerequisites

This course is for teachers, technology specialists, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists, or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

National Science Education Standards:

Science as Inquiry

CONTENT STANDARD A:

As a result of activities in grades K-4 and grades 5-8, all students should develop:

• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understanding about scientific inquiry

UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY [for K-4]

• Scientific investigations involve asking and answering a question and comparing the answer with what scientists already know about the world. [See Content Standard G (grades K-4)]
• Scientists use different kinds of investigations depending on the questions they are trying to answer. Types of investigations include describing objects, events, and organisms; classifying them; and doing a fair test (experimenting).
• Simple instruments, such as magnifiers, thermometers, and rulers, provide more information than scientists obtain using only their senses. [See Program Standard C]
• Scientists develop explanations using observations (evidence) and what they already know about the world (scientific knowledge). Good explanations are based on evidence from investigations.
• Scientists make the results of their investigations public; they describe the investigations in ways that enable others to repeat the investigations.

UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY [for 5-8]

• Different kinds of questions suggest different kinds of scientific investigations. Some investigations involve observing and describing objects, organisms, or events; some involve collecting specimens; some involve experiments; some involve seeking more information; some involve discovery of new objects and phenomena; and some involve making models.
• Current scientific knowledge and understanding guide scientific investigations. Different scientific domains employ different methods, core theories, and standards to advance scientific knowledge and understanding.
• Mathematics is important in all aspects of scientific inquiry.
• Technology used to gather data enhances accuracy and allows scientists to analyze and quantify results of investigations.
• Scientific explanations emphasize evidence, have logically consistent arguments, and use scientific principles, models, and theories. The scientific community accepts and uses such explanations until displaced by better scientific ones. When such displacement occurs, science advances.
• Science advances through legitimate skepticism. Asking questions and querying other scientists' explanations is part of scientific inquiry. Scientists evaluate the explanations proposed by other scientists by examining evidence, comparing evidence, identifying faulty reasoning, pointing out statements that go beyond the evidence, and suggesting alternative explanations for the same observations.
• Scientific investigations sometimes result in new ideas and phenomena for study, generate new methods or procedures for an investigation, or develop new technologies to improve the collection of data. All of these results can lead to new investigations.

Earth and Space Science

CONTENT STANDARD D:

As a result of their activities in grades K-4, all students should develop an understanding of:

• Objects in the sky
• Changes in Earth and sky

As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop an understanding of:

• Earth in the solar system

OBJECTS IN THE SKY [K-4]

• The sun, moon, stars, clouds, birds, and airplanes all have properties, locations, and movements that can be observed and described.

CHANGES IN THE EARTH AND SKY [K-4]

• Objects in the sky have patterns of movement. The sun, for example, appears to move across the sky in the same way every day, but its path changes slowly over the seasons. The moon moves across the sky on a daily basis much like the sun. The observable shape of the moon changes from day to day in a cycle that lasts about a month.

EARTH IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM [5-8]

• Most objects in the solar system are in regular and predictable motion. Those motions explain such phenomena as the day, the year, phases of the moon, and eclipses.
• The sun is the major source of energy for phenomena on the Earth's surface, such as growth of plants, winds, ocean currents, and the water cycle. Seasons result from variations in the amount of the sun's energy hitting the surface, due to the tilt of the Earth's rotation on its axis and the length of the day.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to

• Pose questions that encourage the development of algebraic thinking
• Develop an understanding of mathematical and algebraic thinking
• Recognize and build on opportunities for algebraic thinking in a variety of mathematics contexts
• Analyze students' algebraic thinking

As a final product, participants will develop a lesson plan that incorporates the key concepts of the course.

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 two sessions, participants will explore the nature of algebraic thinking and consider their own thinking process when solving patterns problems. Sessions Three through Five focus on methods for uncovering and analyzing students' algebraic thinking, through the examination of student work, questioning techniques and student interviews. In the final session, participants will review the key concepts of the course and develop a lesson plan that incorporates those concepts.

Please note: In Session Five, participants will be asked to interview two middle school students, and should plan ahead to arrange for the interviews. Participants who are not currently teaching may choose to interview middle school children they know, a family member or even a colleague.

Prerequisites

Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course, Using Patterns to Develop Algebraic Thinking, will help participants meet the National Council of Mathematics (NCTM) Algebra Standards for Grades 6-8, especially Standards I,II, III, IV, V and VI.

Reproduced with permission from Education Development Center, Inc.,
Copyright (c), 2000-2006, all rights reserved (http://www.edtechleaders.org)

Overview

Real-world data are a glimpse into a complex story that involves much more detail than the numbers would suggest. We want students to look "behind the scenes" by organizing, representing and analyzing these data. Technology is central to this task, both as a source of data and as a tool for data analysis. Technology tools and web-based materials provide important ways for math educators to meet key NCTM and ISTE standards that emphasize problem solving and making connections between mathematics, other disciplines and the real world. These standards include a significant emphasis on representing and analyzing data, including a focus on being able to evaluate the sources of data and the effectiveness of different representations that students will encounter both inside and out of school.

This course will explore a range of web-based resources and exemplary projects which utilize technology to support these goals. Participants will learn how to find sources of real data on the Web and explore how technology tools such as spreadsheets can help students analyze, visualize and make sense of these data. Participants will complete the course with a collection of resources and beginning project ideas that serve their curricular goals.

"Technology is essential in teaching and learning mathematics; it influences the mathematics that is taught and enhances students' learning." - NCTM Standards, 2000

"Books, newspapers, the World Wide Web, and other media are full of displays of data. .As students deal with larger or more complex data sets, they can reorder data and represent data in graphs quickly, using technology so that they can focus on analyzing the data and understanding what they mean." - NCTM Standards, 2000

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Learn how NCTM Math and ISTE standards can be met with real world data, supported by appropriate technology
• Learn how to find mathematical data on the Web and download it into a spreadsheet
• Learn how to find and evaluate projects that include analysis of real data
• Learn to evaluate the appropriateness of varied data sets for specific pedagogical goals
• Learn about a variety of data analysis tools appropriate for classroom use
• Develop a personal collection of web-based resources for curricular use
• Develop preliminary plans for a technology-enhanced classroom activity that uses real data

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 two sessions, participants will learn how technology can support the use of real world data in the math classroom to teach important mathematical content and will consider how technology can help students understand real-life data and make predictions. In Session 3, participants will learn about the challenges and opportunities of implementing technology-enhanced data analysis activities in the classroom. Sessions 4 and 5 participants will learn about classroom success stories where this kind of math project has been implemented and consider how technology-enhanced data analysis in the math classroom can help us meet ISTE technology standards. Finally, in Session 6, participants will make preliminary classroom plans for a technology-enhanced lesson that uses real data.

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 Real Data in the Math Classroom, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers, especially Standards II, III and IV.

Overview

In this course, participants will explore new technologies that can be used in elementary math instruction in kindergarten through sixth grade. Participants will review NCTM and state standards and examine the ways in which tools like virtual manipulatives, calculators, spreadsheet programs, online data sources, and applets can support these goals. In particular, the course will address ways in which technology can support elementary algebra, geometry, number and operation, and data analysis standards. Participants will leave the course with a lesson plan that integrates new technologies into instruction in their own classrooms.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Understand which technologies are appropriate for teaching math in the elementary classroom
• Learn how to use a variety of online tools to enhance math instruction
• Identify the NCTM standards that are met through online activities
• Locate valuable math resources on the Internet

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 examine several resources available on the web to support math instruction in the elementary classroom. In Session Two, participants will learn how to use virtual manipulatives to teach mathematical concepts appropriate for elementary students. In Session Three, participants will explore ways in which they can use technology to find and analyze real world data. They will also begin to plan their technology-enhanced lesson. Session Four highlights the ways in which calculators can enhance math instruction and Session Five teaches participants how they can use spreadsheets to help students analyze mathematical data. Finally, in Session Six, participants will apply their knowledge of math technologies and finalize their lesson plans that incorporates one or more of the tools in the course.

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 in the Elementary Math Classroom, will help participants meet the following ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers, especially Standards I, II and III.

In addition, this will help the teachers to enable their students to meet the following NCTM standards:
Grades K-2
Number and Operations Standard: Reasoning and Proof Standards
http://standards.nctm.org/document/chapter4/reas.htm http://standards.nctm.org/document/chapter4/numb.htm
Data Analysis and Probability Standard
Communication Standard

Grades 3-5
Number and Operations Standards
Data Analysis and Probability Standard
Reasoning and Proof Standard
Communication Standard

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:

• Learn about a research process that helps engage students in inquiry and analysis
• Develop strategies for evaluating Internet sources
• Learn the correct ways to cite digital sources and prevent copyright violations
• Assess student research presentations created with multimedia tools
• Develop preliminary plans for a research project, using a topic that participants select for their own classrooms

Format and Requirements

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.

Overview

This course explores the challenges communities are facing in maintaining water and wastewater infrastructure. Participants will develop an insight into these challenges and potential consequences to public health and other social costs if and when these infrastructures fail. In many communities immediate attention and spending needs to be dedicated to these challenges so water will flow from the faucet and waste water will go down the drain. Participants will be involved in defining the problems and determining solutions within their own communities and then encouraged to share these challenges with their students in inquiry based units.

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to

• Gain knowledge of the development of water and wastewater infrastructures from an historical perspective.
• Develop an understanding of the water and wastewater infrastructures in the metropolitan St. Louis area and surrounding region.
• Develop insight into why water and wastewater infrastructure fails.
• Develop insight into the consequences to public health, and other social costs, when water and wastewater infrastructure fails
• Develop awareness of careers available in the water and wastewater sector.
• Develop an appreciation of where water and wastewater services should fit into a community’s or individual’s spending priorities

As a final project participants will develop an end of unit culminating task using a Learning Cycle (5 E’s) lesson plan and an outline of the preceding unit of instruction for the water and wastewater infrastructure in the students’ school community.

Format and Requirements

This course is divided into six one-week sessions that include readings, an activity, and an online discussion among course participants. Each session is designed to take approximately two to four hours to complete. The outline for the course is as follows:

• Session One: The Importance of Clean Drinking Water
• Session Two: The Water Emergency
• Session Three: The Cost of Failure
• Session Four: Careers in Water and Wastewarer Management
• Session Five: Develop a Plan for Your Community
• Session Six: Final Project

Prerequisites

This course is for teachers, technology specialists, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists, or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Reproduced with permission from Education Development Center, Inc.,
Copyright (c), 2000-2006, all rights reserved (http://www.edtechleaders.org)