Blog Post 8: CIted Toolkit

While I was looking through some of the sites to choose from for my toolkit, I was trying to find resources that would be helpful in accomplishing my technology plan from last week. For those of you who did not read it: http://www.thinkfinity.org/thread/20314

The process of searching through the sites was very frustrating. First, the search function on CITED was not very effective in finding things that I was looking for. Second, where CITED did attempt to break resources into who they would be helpful for, I felt like I kept getting the same results no matter what role I chose. Third, so many of the resources that sounded the most useful no longer existed. This entire experience provided me with even more motivation to make sure that whenever I put resources together to share that they are specific and targeted resources, instead of just throwing a ton of things at people and hoping that at least one sticks. I could not imagine how frustrating and discouraging this process would be for an educator who is not motivated to use technology or is unfamiliar with it.

That being said, on to the reason for each of the resources I chose. The "12 Tips for Launching a Wireless Laptop Program," ( http://www.schoolcio.com/ShowArticle/696 ) I chose to because it is my belief that my school is making some very serious mistakes in how they are running their wireless network, and this site gives some advice on the subject. I think it was important the toolkit in the exact way my technology plan suggested; by ensuring that technology is reliable and not a hindrance to the teaching and learning process.

Next, I chose the "EdTech Locator- Administrators," ( http://www.edtechlocator.org/ ) because I find that so often schools attempt to rush into making what are seemingly impulsive purchases for technology before really assessing the needs of their schools. This tool is designed to work as a reflective part of the planning and assessing process.

The other six sites are all tools that I would use as options for teachers to choose from for a series of workshops designed to help them incorporate technology in a way that they feel is not to intimidating and will be effective in their classrooms. I tried to choose a variety of different things, almost in order to differentiate the learning opportunities so that any teacher would be capable of becoming comfortable with at least on of them.

What is probably the simplest is the "Better Web Searching,"  ( http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/fournets.htm). As its name implies, it has advice and an activity on how to more effectively use search engines, which is one of the most basic and most important skills for an educator to have.

Next, "Rubistar," ( http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php ) offers a variety of options for teachers to both create and search for grading rubrics that are specifically designed for problem based learning or other projects.

"The George Lucas Education Foundation Teaching Modules," ( http://www.edutopia.org/professional-development-guides ) includes a variety of multi-media rich (videos, powerpoints, etc.) instructional guides that could be used as sample lessons, but also serve as inspiration on how teachers could design multi-media lessons on their own.

"Trackstar," ( http://trackstar.4teachers.org/trackstar/index.jsp ) is a website that helps teachers desing webquests or browse through ones that other teachers have made. You simply copy and paste the links and provide short descriptions, and then provide students with the home address and it takes them through the activity.

"Moodle," ( http://moodle.org/ ) is definitely intended for the most advanced teachers. Moodle is a powerful platform that can be used for class management, online assessments, file sharing, etc. and allows for a wide range of powerful editing options. I would not suggest this option for a beginner.

I did send the toolkit out to several colleagues, in hopes that at least two got back to me. Of course, this assignment coincided with the week that our entire district's network has shut down because of a possible virus or hacking attempt, so that did not make my co-workers any more likely to look through the resources. However, they did all at least read the description of my toolkit's goals:

"To very briefly summarize the plan, it includes two major parts. First, district leaders and technical staff need to ensure that the hardware and network infrastructure do not act as a hindrance to integrating technology in the classroom. Second, teachers need to be provided with a few options for specific ways where they can utilize technology in their classroom, and be continuously supported throughout the entire process."

With this occurring at the time where my colleagues were most frustrated with the technology problems, along with a rash of emails from our supervisor suggesting us to check out random websites that someone suggested to him (which of course were not accessible), they did agree that my approach may allow for a better experience.