Advanced-Level CTE Classroom Websites Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

Introduction Developing a Classroom Website – Supports pedagogical approaches including active learning, social learning, and foster interaction. Why Develop an Advanced-Level Classroom Website? – Focus on enhanced student learning and interactive curriculum – Provide a dynamic knowledge repository – Collaboration among teachers, students, parents, and other teachers – Position students for post-secondary success

Introduce yourself to your fellow students What School Are You From? What Do You Teach? How Long Have You Been Teaching? HELLO My Name Is

Purpose At the end of this workshop, you will be able to – Identify the ways to leverage classroom websites to enhance student learning – Explain the higher order learning components teachers are using in their websites – Identify the ways to implement and develop your classroom websites – Apply the concepts learned in this course to your classroom

Agenda Components to Use in District-Provided Teacher Websites Introduction, Purpose, Agenda, Code of Conduct, Expectations, and Roles and Responsibilities Group Activities 9:05 am 9:15 am 10:20 am 9:20 am 10:00 am 9:00 am Different Levels of Websites, Explanation of Advanced- Level Websites Other Platforms to Link to District-Provided Teacher Websites, Explanation and Examples of Each Platform Summary

Code of Conduct What can we do to make this a positive learning experience for everyone? – Practice active listening – Silence cell phones – Respect and encourage everyone’s input – Other suggestions?

Expectations Participants’ Expectations What are your expectations from this workshop? Managing Your Professional Development Your professional development is – Guided by your facilitator, – Cultivated through dialogue and interaction between you and your colleagues, and – Accomplished through individual and collaborative exploration and discovery. You are responsible for your professional development.

Roles and Responsibilities What is the role of the facilitator? – Foster an environment that is conducive to learning – Guide focused discussions on relevant topics – Keep the course moving and on track What is your role as a participant/learner? – Be open and willing/motivated to learn – Ask questions – Stay focused on relevant topics

Different Levels of Classroom Websites There are different levels of websites depending on your intended purpose: * – Level 1: Static – Level 2: Semistatic – Level 3: Supplemental Resource – Level 4: Integral Curricular – Level 5: Pedagogical Memory * Dunn, L. (2011). Making the most of your class website, Educational Leadership, 68(5),

Advanced Level Classroom Websites The focus of this course will be on the advanced levels: – Level 4: Integral Curricular – Level 5: Pedagogical Memory Dunn, L. (2011). Making the most of your class website, Educational Leadership, 68(5),

Advanced Level Classroom Websites Level 4 – Integral Curricular – Focus on curriculum and student learning – Monitor frequently – May include Level 1, 2, and 3 information Higher-order curriculum-related question every week or so – Requires student response – Students may post their own questions – Q&A allows for deeper discussions than classroom time allows Utilizes – Blogs, Wikis, Discussion Boards – Videos/Photos – Student use is expected and required – Communication is two-way, which gives site its value

Advanced Level Classroom Websites Level 5 – Pedagogical Memory – Dynamic knowledge repository – Teacher must invest time each day – Teacher is facilitator of student-directed learning – May include Content similar to Level 4 with increased student involvement Homework submissions Student collaboration Utilizes – Blogs, Wikis, Discussion Boards, Social file-sharing – Videos/Photos – Student use is expected and required Encourages critical thinking and problem-solving Often password-protected and available only to students in those classes (and their parents) – Communication is two-way

District-Provided Website Today, many school districts provide their teachers with a specific website page, but often do not provide training or suggestions as to its development. The following are suggestions for developing your advanced-level CTE classroom website utilizing both your district-provided website in conjunction with other platforms.

District-Provided Website Using your district-provided website to provide basic components of information, you can then springboard to links to other content that is maintained solely by you in conjunction with other platforms. – Items to include on your district-provided website address Course/class information Office hours/schedule Classroom rules Curriculum and standards Contact/telephone number Link to district/school calendar Parent conference information Password protected student attendance, grades, and parent contact information

Links to Other Platforms Create and include links on your district- provided website to the following advanced-level components: Wiki Blog Social File Sharing Social Collaboration Social Creativity Sharing

Wikis What I Know Is (Wiki) – Refers to collaborative websites that allow users to interact by adding, removing, or editing its content. – The most well-known wiki implementations is Wikipedia Allows users to modify the encyclopedia entries by creating a reviewer and editing structure. In one study, researchers found that 30% of Internet users visit Wikipedia to search for terms and meanings. – Wikis are useful in educational settings Support individualized learning Allow for more socially defined search structures Promote collaboration through group editing and peer review

Wikis (cont.) Ideas and Items to Include in your Wiki – Curriculum and standards – Vocabulary words, spelling lists, numbers, etc. – Field trip information – Tips for parents – Student work examples – Student feedback and tips for future students

Blogging Weblogs or Blog – Online user journal entries or “logs” In the form of text, images, and links to web content – Have variety of formats May include user expressing opinion about a topic or documenting activities – Are interactive, allowing for comment by readers – Educational applications include Researching, tracking, interpreting, and evaluating blogs for – Political commentary – Cultural events – Business – Examining changes over time

Blogging (cont.) Several platforms for hosting a blog – Blogger: – Tumblr: – Typepad: – Wordpress: – Xanga:

Blogging (cont.) Ideas and items to include in your blog – Lecture notes/ studying tips related to that specific content – Homework help pages – Weekly discussion posts with student comments and responses to encourage continued discussions of course content outside the classroom – Guest posts from other educators, leaders, former students, business executives, civic leaders, etc.

Social File Sharing Social file sharing tools are a new way of sharing information about a specific topic with students, teachers, classmates, and others. – Teachers or students can create shared folders Then, they share files for purposes of collaboration Online file sharing allows for access to the documents from any web browser and any computer, whether PC or Mac, iPhone or smart phone – Groups within the sharing environment can retrieve and edit documents – Documents are in one location – Latest, up-to-date version always available – Some teachers use file sharing to allow students to work on cooperative learning assignments

Social File Sharing (cont.) A few examples of social file sharing tools are – DropBox: – Google Documents: – Keep and Share: – Moodle: – Wikis: (an example)

Social Collaboration Social collaboration is the process where multiple people – Share information – Meet – Discuss – Analyze – Work in one, centralized location – Work in real-time (oftentimes) A few examples of social file sharing tools are – Google+: – Oovoo: – Skype: – Twiddla:

Social Creativity Sharing Social creativity sharing is using platforms in Web 2.0 to leverage creativity sharing of – Videos – Photos – Personal Publications A few examples of social creativity sharing are – Video sharing YouTube: Metacafe: – Photo Sharing Flickr: Photobucket: Snapfish: – Publishing Scribd: Pixton: Writeboard:

Examples of Resource Websites The following are a few websites that may provide resources for you in developing your own classroom website. Ask a Tech Teacher – Blog: Free Tech 4 Teachers Website: Wikispaces for Teachers Website:

Group Activity: Collaboration In this workshop, discuss the following topics – Identify one or two advanced-level components you are interested in using in your classroom website – Collaborate together to explain the way you could use these various types of social media components to enhance your district-provided website – Apply the concepts you develop and create a short list of the advanced-level components you would like to use in development of your classroom website

Workshop Summary In this workshop, we discussed the following topics. – Identifying the ways to leverage classroom websites to enhance student learning – Explaining the higher order learning components teachers are using in their websites – Identifying the ways to implement and develop your classroom website – Applying the concepts learned in this course to your classroom