Curriculum Guide

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• Preface
• Introduction
• Aim
• Rationale
• Goals
• Audience
• Prerequisites
• Subject-Matter
• Detailed Objectives
• Instructional Plan
• Materials and Facilities
• Assessment and Evaluation

Preface

This document outlines the curriculum for the Web Institute for Teachers, to be held at the University of Chicago during the summer of 2003. This guide includes links to detailed lesson plans for the individual homeroom modules to be offered during the Institute.

The success of the Web Institute should be evaluated in terms of how well the intentions spelled out below are achieved.  Indeed, this document is based upon the assumption that all educational endeavors should be based upon clearly-defined learning outcomes, or objectives, and that all instruction and student activities should be designed to reach these objectives.  Only by (a) paying special attention to objectives, (b) reflecting throughout the curriculum development process on the likelihood of meeting those objectives, and (c) refining objectives, methods, and evaluation techniques during the process of development and testing of curriculum, will meaningful school improvement become a reality in CUIP schools and elsewhere.

Introduction

What is the Web Institute for Teachers?

The new Web Institute for Teachers ("WIT," or "Web Institute") is an intensive four-week, five- day-a-week seminar whose aim is to help progressive K-12 teachers integrate the use of the Web into the curriculum of their classroom and to prepare them to act as computer mentors in their schools.

The Web Institute for Teachers will provide a variety of learning experiences designed to help teachers and instructional leaders integrate the World Wide Web into classroom instruction. Teachers will be trained to become computer mentors in their schools.  Covering both the technical issues involved in web-based instruction and the basic principles of curriculum design, the Institute will include intensive group instruction by experienced primary and secondary teachers and hands-on collaborative projects facilitated by trained mentor teachers.

Intended for teachers or administrators with a moderate level of prior computer experience (including e-mail, Internet browsers, and some use of computers in education), the Institute will give participants the skills and knowledge necessary to create web pages and web sites, to participate with their students in on-line educational opportunities, to create curricular modules, to help others create modules, and (perhaps most importantly)  to inspire others with a vision of what is possible when the World Wide Web is integrated into instruction.  All participants in the class must have a home computer and an Internet connection with functional e-mail, to enable participants to work on assignments outside of class time.

Upon completion of the Institute, participants will be ready to facilitate the further integration of information technologies into their schools. It is hoped that all participants will conduct in-service workshops in their home schools to further disseminate the knowledge and skills they gain.

History of the Web Institute for Teachers

For many years, the Graham School of General Studies (formerly the Office of Continuing Education) at the University of Chicago has offered a series of "Summer Seminars" for teachers.  These seminars traditionally involved professors at the University introducing teachers to high-level academic material and activities related to various school subject areas.  Among the more popular offerings have been "Shakespeare," "Foundations of Science," and "Calculus."

In 1997, as part of its efforts to increase opportunities for training for CUIP teachers, CUIP decided to offer a summer seminar for K-12 teachers on the use of the World Wide Web.  Robin Burke, a Research Scientist at the Department of Computer Science at the University, was to teach the seminar.  During the Spring of 1997, at a meeting of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, Burke gave a presentation on the work of CUIP.  Attending that presentation was Craig Cunningham, assistant professor at Northeastern Illinois University, who was interested in the curricular opportunities afforded by the Web.  Burke and Cunningham talked after the presentation about the need to offer teachers not just technical training but also training in how to use the web to enhance teaching and learning.  It was decided eventually that Burke and Cunningham would co-teach the summer seminar, to be entitled World Wide Web for Teachers: Tools and Techniques. This seminar was offered free-of-charge to 22 selected applicants, with the financial support of the Chicago Public Schools.

The seminar proved to be very popular and successful, and so it was offered again in 1998 to 20 teachers, supported in part by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institution.  Also offered was a more advanced version of the course, called the Advanced Practicum in Web-based Instruction, which included 7 participants, 4 of whom had participated in the prior year's seminar.

In the Fall of 1998, Burke moved to Southern California, and planning commenced for a third offering of the summer seminar.  Rather than repeat the format of the previous summers, it was decided to expand the seminar into an "institute," which would offer the possibility of multiple learning options, thus addressing the problem that participants in the seminars come in with a variety of skill and experience levels.  An institute would also allow for many more participants, in keeping with CUIP's goal of offering "intermediate" web training (the level of training provided by the WWW for Teachers seminar) to at least half of the 1100 CUIP teachers by 2002.  The Institute could accommodate as many as 120 teachers, and would be taught by as many as twelve "mentor teachers" who would have previously completed training at a similar level.  In order to ensure the success of the first Institute, a "spring training" component was added in which mentors would work together to design the lesson plans for the Institute.  Funding was secured from Hughes to pay mentors an "honorarium" for their participation in the training.

The decision was also made to charge tuition for the Institute.  The Graham School figured the cost per participant at approximately $1000, and so tuition was set at that level. However, funding was secured, from Hughes and other sources, to provide for tuition remission for some participants (those from CUIP schools).

Also during the Spring of 1999, the decision was made to combine the Digital Library summer training with the Web Institute.  The Digital Library project was an effort of the University of Chicago Libraries, in collaboration with the Chicago Public Schools and Dominican University, to create high-quality digital materials to support teaching and learning in CUIP schools.  During the summer of 1998, a summer seminar was offered to 20 librarians and teachers in how to search for digital materials to support instruction.  Monsanto provided funding to continue this summer training into the summers of 1999 and 2000.  Because the goals of the Digital Library project and the Web Institute were mutually reinforcing, it seemed to make sense to combine these training efforts.

For the summer of 2001, the Web Institute was modified to include teachers with a lower level of prior computer experience by splitting the istitute into two main strands: WIT Basic (now called Using the Web in the Classroom) and WIT Advanced (now called Creating a Curriculum Web). WIT Basic is intended to give teachers the preparation they need to use the Web as a teaching tool, and to prepare them to participate in WIT Advanced in the future. The WIT Advanced curriculum is mostly the same as was taught in previous years.

For 2003, we hope to add a more advanced strand on using Flash in web design.

Aim

The aim of the Web Institute for Teachers is to provide teachers with the training and experiences necessary for them to be able to design, create, and use web-enhanced curriculum modules with their students.

Rationale

The Internet and the World Wide Web represent tremendous potential resources to support teaching and learning.  Enormous amounts of information resources can be found, including information specifically intended and designed for students of various ages.  Many opportunities exist on the Internet for communication between learners and various people with opinions, perspectives, or expertise relevant to educational topics. These resources and communication can support a wide variety of activities conducive to learning, including activities that are more realistic, problem-based, data-driven, or engaging than traditional school activities.

However, connecting schools to the Internet and World Wide Web (along with other uses of computers in schools) does not, in and of itself, improve teaching or learning. Indeed, some people say that the time and money going into wiring schools distracts from more essential projects related to school improvement.  The only way that new technologies will actually improve schools is if they directly affect the learning achieved by students.  Only to the extent that teachers can utilize the Internet to enhance teaching and learning will the "investment" in these new technologies pay off.

While mere access to the Internet in schools may affect student learning in positive ways (through piquing student interest or allowing individual students or teachers to explore topics on their own), systematic improvement in learning will only come about if teachers and other school personnel use the new technologies to affect curriculum (what is taught) and instruction(how it's taught). Only if goals, content, and methods of teaching and learning are directly affected by the Internet will schools reap real benefits from the technology.

Some American teachers are already prepared to utilize new technologies to improve their teaching and their students' learning.  Some teachers have experience in using computers both to conduct research and to increase communication.  Younger teachers, because they were more likely to have been exposed to computers during their own schooling, are generally better acquainted with computer use.  Recent training programs have introduced many additional teachers to computers.  In wealthy schools (suburban and private), most teachers have been given access to computers as part of the general expectation that teachers will utilize the best tools available to administer and plan their instruction.  Even some schools in districts without tremendous resources have provided a high level of computer training to all of their teachers, and have encouraged the use of computers by increasing their numbers and distributing them in classrooms, teacher resource rooms, media centers, and computer labs.

However, many urban schools (including in Chicago) have not yet made the commitment to providing general access to computers.  Fewer than one in four Chicago Public Schools are currently linked directly to the Internet (although most schools have limited access through modems and phone lines). In many schools, computers are still a novelty, used as an everyday part of instruction by few teachers.  The teachers in these schools need to be given the time and opportunity to learn how to use computers, to feel comfortable with them, and to see the possibilities for enhancing teaching and learning that computer provide.

One of the goals of the CUIP project is to provide basic-level computer training and access to all teachers in the CUIP schools.  Through CPS's TRNs, CUIP's Technology Resource Advisors, and the MIST intern program, CUIP teachers now have access to a wide variety of training opportunities before and after school.  The CUIP computer lending program is giving many teachers the opportunity to have a computer in their home or classroom, so as to allow the opportunity for practice in the new skills that they are learning.

However, even if every teacher in the CUIP schools is trained in basic computer skills, there will still be very little impact on teaching and learning.  Computer training may improve teachers' efficiency (in producing worksheets or exams or keeping track of student grades), but unless computers and networked resources begin to change curriculum and instruction, it will not be likely to improve learning.  Training in how to incorporate the computer and the Internet into instructional planning and execution is the sine qua non of the success of CUIP and other school improvement efforts.

The Web Institute for Teachers represents one potentially valuable approach to integrating technological resources into teaching and learning.  This approach has been proven to provide teachers with the time, knowledge, skills, and support necessary to begin to change curriculum and instruction and thereby to improve learning.  Participants are able to put aside the daily concerns of teaching and concentrate on learning new skills and concepts in a friendly, comfortable, and inspiring environment conducive to risk-taking and increasing self-efficacy.  The intensive nature of the Institute (five days a week, four hours a day for four weeks); multiple curricular options ranging from basic computer training through high-level workshops on topics such as graphics compression, interactivity, and Javascript programming; the availability of multiple levels of support (cooperative learning teams, project mentors, technological support, and the availability of many levels of expertise among the participants, mentors, and the director); a well-articulated structured approach to curriculum development and to web design; and the high expectations for the projects to be completed by participants; these features of the Institute ensure that the experience of participating will have a dramatic and lasting impact upon the professional lives of many teachers.

Goals

Given the overall aim of the Institute, a number of general goals can be articulated.

• All WIT participants will learn how to search the web for existing educational materials and how to evaluate the utility of these materials for supporting specific learning objectives.
• All WIT participants will be exposed to a number of different educational software products that can be purchased for use in schools, as well as a number of available web-based learning experiences, some of which cost schools nothing.
• All WIT participants will learn about various alternative ways that computers can be deployed within schools and classrooms, and the educational possibilities of different computer placements.
• All WIT participants will make new friends and contacts among Chicago-area teachers and librarians.
• All WIT participants will learn about the process of curriculum development and understand the interrelationship of various curriculum components in successful curriculum designs.
• All WIT participants will be exposed to a large number of existing Internet-resources related to the educational use of computers and the Internet.
• WIT-Advanced participants experience the pride of authorship as they work in teams to develop extremely high quality curriculum modules.
• All WIT participants will come out of the Institute with greater enthusiasm for using computers and the Internet in their work in schools.
• All WIT participants will return to their schools ready to assist and inspire others to utilize computers and the Internet.
• Some WIT-Advanced participants will develop a high level of facility at web site design and maintenance.
• Some WIT-Advanced participants will learn the basics of HTML (web) page creation, file transfer routines, and file maintenance and improvement.
• WIT-Advanced participants will learn basic concepts of web page design, including the simple use of graphics, tables, colors, and navigation among multiple web pages.
• Some WIT participants will think about the relationship between learning theory, learning styles, and web-based curriculum design, and will articulate a personal philosophy/psychology of learning with the web.
• Some WIT-Advanced participants will learn how to use high-level graphics editors and tools to create original high-quality graphics and animations.

Audience

The Web Institute for Teachers is intended for K-12 public and private school teachers (and educators in other settings such as museums) with an interest in computer and the Internet.  WIT_Basic particpants will have some--but not extensive--computer experience and some prior use of e-mail. WIT-Advanced participants must have a computer available to them at home, and must be able to use e-mail prior to the Institute. It is expected that all WIT participants will have had some prior training in teaching and instruction, although no specific expertise about subject-matter or pedagogy is presumed.

Prerequisites

Prior to participation in the Web Institute, we will expect the following.

All WIT participants will:

• have degrees in education or library science or otherwise be certified to teach or work in a school library
• have prior experience in precollegiate instruction, whether as teacher or as library media specialist
• be committed to improving their own skills and experiences so that they become more effective in supporting student learning
• have strong personal and professional motivation to learn more about using the Internet and World Wide Web for improving teaching and learning
• have the support of their school principal in applying new skills and experiences in their schools following their participation in WIT
• have an e-mail account through their home or school
• have access to a computer at home or school that can be used for word processing and other activities

• Utilize a personal computer for word processing
• Utilize a mouse to control a personal computer
• Manipulate files in an operating system (DOS, Windows, Mac OS), including finding, moving, and copying files, creating directories or folders
• Describe a vision for education which utilizes the Internet or Web
• Connect to the Internet from a previously set up home or school computer
• Access, send, and archive e-mail using an e-mail client (Eudora, Netscape Messenger, Pine, Pegasus, etc.)
• Browse the World Wide Web using a web browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer, AOL)
• Describe their own personal philosophy of education, including the relative value they place upon individualization, standardization, discipline, and creativity in the learning process
• Write lesson plans based upon self-generated or previously established learning outcomes
• Write an exam or other assessment tool to determine if various learning objectives have been met
• Develop a "scope and sequence" chart for a particular class or subject area in the precollegiate curriculum

This section of the Curriculum Guide outlines in general terms the subject-matter, skills, and experiences that will be taught/learned during the Web Institute.  For more detailed descriptions of these topics, it is necessary to turn to the specific homeroom modules developed during the Spring Training (links provided below). Each module contains a complete curriculum guide.

This outline is organized more-or-less in a chronological way, with earlier topics required to be learned before later topics.  However, not all of the subject-matter is likely to be acquired in a strictly linear fashion.  Most likely, curriculum development, computer techniques, and web design principles will all be learned together, as participants experience the ebbs and flows of uncertainty,  problem-solving, and mastery that accompany serious, real-world inquiry.

The modules for Using the Web in the Classroom are available here.

The modules for Creating a Curriculum Web are available here.

Detailed Objectives

Detailed objectives for each of the modules listed above can be found in the teaching guide for each individual module.

Instructional Plan

This section of the Curriculum Guide provides a general description of the means by which the intentions outlined above will be achieved.  It deals with the organization of the Web Institute, and makes recommendations regarding scope and sequence, scheduling, grouping, and other instructional topics. 

The 2003 version of the Web Institute for Teachers is scheduled to take place from July 7 to August 1.

During these four weeks, participants will spend four hours a day, four days a week at the Institute. Both morning and afternoon sessions will be offered.

A "plenary" session of the Institute will be held each week on Friday.  This plenary session will provide an opportunity for the entire group of mentors and participants to meet with the director to talk about issues of general interest.  In addition, a group of outside speakers will be recruited to provide a sense of "vision" for the work of the Institute. 

Assuming 120 participants and 12 mentors, the Institute will be divided into six "homerooms" of 20 participants each.  Four of these homerooms will be for WIT-Basic participants.  The other two sections will be made up of WIT-Advanced participants. There is no intention to divide the participants into sections based on subject-area or grade level of teaching. Participants will be placed into sections based first on prior computer experience (Basic vs. Advanced), then by time and location preferences.

If the Institute attracts fewer than 120 participants (or funding is secured for more than 120), the number of homerooms will be changed and these categorizations will need to be redesigned.

Twelve or more mentors will be recruited for the Web Institute and trained during the Spring Mentor Training.  All of these mentors will have used computers to enhance instruction; preference will be given to those who have used the Internet and World Wide Web in schools.  Two mentors will be assigned to each homeroom. Their job as homeroom advisors will be to:

• oversee the basic organization of each day's work,
• provide introductory training and overviews of more advanced topics,
• answer the specific questions of individual participants and teams of participants (or to refer these questions to other mentors or to the director),
• establish and maintain standards for the quality of work,
• assist with setup and maintenance of the Institute's server file structure,
• administer pre- and post-tests and evaluations (of modules or "shelves"), and
• organize and administer the process by which Institute participants choose special topics workshops to be offered during the Institute

Special-topics workshops will be available for participants to go through on their own or in small groups.

  The notes for each workshop are available on the Institute web site.

 

Materials and Facilities

The primary facilities necessary for the conduct of the Web Institute are:

• a web server with at least 100 megabytes of disk storage (together with easily accessible person serving as system administrator--most likely Mitchell Marks, technical coordinator of CUIP)
• four to six "smart classrooms" containing instructor workstations (with presentation capabilities) and workstations for at least 20 participants (participants can be "paired" for most activities if necessary)
• Workstations must be connected to the Internet via LAN, include Macintosh system 7 or above and/or Windows 95 or above, Netscape Communicator 4.0 or above, ftp software, graphic editor, telnet application, and word processing.
• a large lecture hall or classroom capable of handling at least 135 people (with instructor workstation and presentation capabilities)
• a luncheon facility for weekly Institute lunches

  Some workshops will also provide participants with a printout of detailed instructions for using a specific software tool or completing a specific step in the curriculum/web design process. (NOTE: all handouts will be three-hole punched to be inserted into binder.)
  
  

  Assessment and Evaluation
  
  Pre- and post-testing of Institute Participants

  All participants will complete a "pretest" needs assessment prior to the beginning of the Institute (these will be mailed to all "accepted" participants during May and will be returned to the Director by the middle of June).  The pretests will be used to "group" the participants for the purposes of homerooms, and will also serve as baseline data to be compared to a post-test to be completed on the last day of the Institute.  (Application materials will also be helpful in determining the needs of individual applicants.) 

  Here are some questions for the pre- and post-test:

  • Have you ever created a web page?
  • If yes, have you used a web page that you created to enhance instruction (by having students access the web page)?
  • Have you designed curriculum utilizing the World Wide Web as a teacher resource?
  • Have you helped other teachers to design curriculum using the World Wide Web?
  • Have you ever given a presentation to other teachers on using the Internet for instruction?
  • Do you participate in any listserves?  Which ones?
  • What search engines on the Web are most useful to you?
  • What features of the World Wide Web can be helpful in making education more student centered?
  • What are the most important steps in curriculum development?
  • If you are using a browser, and you get an error which says "Netscape is unable to locate the server: www.blah.com. The server does not have a DNS entry" what is the most likely cause?
  • If you are using a browser, and you get an error which says "There was no response; the server could be down or not responding" what is the most likely cause?
  • Who in your school should know the system administrator password?
  • What is the main reason that some web pages load slowly?
  • What are the major advantages of an open system (such as the Internet) over a proprietary one?)
  • List several principles of web-page design.
  • What are the two major graphics formats for web pages and what are some differences between them?
  Regular mentor meetings

  Communication among mentors and with the director is a key strategy for ensuring the success of the Institute. The Director and mentors will meet once a week during the Institute (plus an extra meeting after the first two days) to discuss how things are going and to identify any problems before they become serious.  In addition, mentors will be encouraged to provide ongoing feedback to the Director and to the other mentors (utilizing the WIT-L listserve).

  Feedback/comments form

  An online form allows participants to send feedback to the Director (and thence to specific mentors) at any time during or after the workshop.  The Director will keep a file of all feedback comments and will include an analysis of these comments in a Final Report on the Institute (to be submitted to the CUIP director and Director of Educational Programs at the Graham School by the end of August).

  Workshop evaluation form

  Following each workshop, participants will fill out an on-line form to provide feedback to mentors and to the Director on issues such as the quality of on-line materials, the conduct of the workshop itself, and suggestions for supplementing or improving the workshop.  Copies of these evaluations will be forwarded to the mentors.  The Director will keep a file of these evaluations and will analyze them in his Final Report.