About WIT 2001

PLEASE SEE THE WIT 2002 Web site for current information!

The University of Chicago
June 18 - July 20, 2001

General Introduction

WIT Schedule

WIT Server

WIT Staff

Plenary Sessions

WIT Handouts

Policies regarding attendance, credit, stipends

General Introduction

The Web Institute for Teachers (WIT) is an intensive five-week summer seminar designed to help innovative K-12 teachers integrate the World Wide Web into the classroom curriculum. Two levels of the program are offered.

• WIT Basic focuses on finding and using existing Web-based materials.
• WIT Advanced focuses on designing and implementing new curricular materials that support learning activities involving Internet-based resources.

WIT was originally developed at the University of Chicago in 1997 and has trained more than 220 teachers to date. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has listed WIT in its National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers as an exemplary program at the highest level of professional development for teachers.

Upon successful completion of WIT, the Graham School of General Studies at the University of Chicago will grant you 16 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for Illinois recertification, or you may choose to receive 3 units of Lane Credit from the Chicago Public Schools.

NOTE: The application process is now CLOSED. Email Craig Cunningham for more information.

The Program

WIT provides a variety of learning experiences designed to help participants integrate the World Wide Web into their teaching and learning. Instruction takes place in "homerooms" of 20 participants, grouped according to prior experiences with the Internet and with the integration of Internet resources into the classroom. Each homeroom is conducted by two experienced teacher-mentors who are former participants in the WIT program and have been specially trained to serve as WIT mentors. Participants can also choose among several "special topics" modules designed to meet specific technological or pedagogical interests. A series of "plenary sessions" brings together the participants in all of the homerooms for lectures and demonstrations by leaders in the field of instructional technology. In addition, the entire WIT curriculum is available on-line, so participants can refer to it throughout the Institute and afterwards.

WIT supplies each participant with an Internet account on its server, allowing space for web pages and other materials to be stored, as well as facilitating online communication with mentors and with other participants. These server accounts are maintained for at least a year following the Institute, to support ongoing practice and classroom use of materials created during the Institute.

Who Should Attend

The Institute is intended for the following audiences:

• K-12 schoolteachers in all subject areas
• School librarians and media specialists
• Technology coordinators
• Curriculum specialists
• School and district administrators
• Web designers interested in educational applications
• Educators in non-school settings such as museums

WIT Advanced is designed for participants who have had some experience using computers to support their teaching or the learning of their students. This experience should include regular use of email, some familiarity with web searching, extensive use of word processing, and some use of graphics editors or drawing programs. WIT Advanced participants must have access to a computer at home during the summer, and must have an already-established account with an Internet Service Provider (such as Interaccess or AOL). Because the pace of WIT Advanced is somewhat accelerated, please do not sign up for WIT Advanced if you have trouble learning new computer software or if you have never used a computer to support teaching or learning.

WIT Basic is designed for participants who have some experience using computers for personal productivity, including word processing. Participants should be able to use a mouse and keyboard and know how to copy and move files from diskette to hard disk. Although prior email or web experience is not required for participants in WIT Basic, applicants should be aware that this is NOT a basic computer-training course, but rather focuses on the Internet and World Wide Web.

Program Format

The Web Institute for Teachers 2001 meets four days a week, four hours a day, from Monday, June 18 to Friday, July 20, 2001. Participants may choose morning (9 to 1) or afternoon (1 to 5) sessions. (You must indicate a preference on the application.) Wednesdays are "flex days" to allow participants to get extra help from mentors, to work in teams or at home, or fulfill other responsibilities.

While participants in WIT Basic may choose to teach summer school during WIT, we recommend that WIT Advanced participants plan not to work regularly during the Institute, as they will need time outside of class to complete their projects.

Participants who attend the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC 2001) in Chicago from June 25-27 will be excused from participation in WIT on those days.

Classes will be held either in Hyde Park on the University of Chicago campus or downtown at the University's Gleacher Center. Both locations are easily reached via Metra or CTA. (See maps.)

What You'll Learn

Upon completion of WIT 2001, participants will be able to do the following

Basic Strand

• Efficiently find and evaluate suitable resources and instructional materials on the Internet
• Create bookmarks and convert them to online lists of links to support student learning
• Send and receive email, including attachments
  Be able to describe the process of building web-based lessons
• Design and create a simple home page using Netscape Composer to support teaching and learning
• Develop an original "Web Quest" for your students
• Manage files on a remote computer using an FTP client
• Plan how to use the Internet in your own school and classroom

Advanced Strand

• Choose the right Internet search engine for the task at hand, phrase a query for the right breadth, and refine a query based on initial results
• Evaluate Internet-based resources and instructional materials in terms of their likely effectiveness for specific purposes
• Create lists of bookmarks and online lists of links
• Maintain a directory tree of files on a web server, using FTP
• Apply advanced concepts in curriculum development and learning theory
• Use advanced software tools to plan, design, and implement a web site
• Build a web-based project that can support a sustained process of teaching and learning for your students
• Include simple sounds and video on a web page
• Teach others how to use the Web to support teaching and learning

In addition to these instructional goals, participants will receive continuing education units (CEUs) suitable for use in Illinois teacher recertification plans (the exact amount will be determined prior to the Institute) or 3 units of Chicago Public School Lane Credit.

Here is a link to the WIT 2001 Brochure in PDF format.

Here's what some past WIT participants had to say about the program:

"This program challenged me to work hard and really learn to use the computer to compose and publish."

"The hands-on method in lab classes made us learn faster."

"I told some of my colleagues after class today that it is unusual to attend in-services, seminars, classes which are so well-planned, which meet the objectives set forth, and which you actually feel have been beneficial to you personally as well as professionally."

"A strength was knowledgeable mentors who are willing to share their knowledge and expertise."

"Part of the joy of participating in this Institute was being immersed and supported in a single quest - to learn to use the Web in our school."

"WIT has been one of the most useful classes I have taken in years. No student leaving a university with plans to teach should graduate without having an experience like this."

"[They] have been extraordinary mentors. Not only do they clearly explain and demonstrate procedures, but they also exemplify what outstanding teaching is. I, for one, was phobic about learning these technical skills. They both were encouraging, and patient and believed in me even when I didn't."

"Best of all was the chance to take a close look at my own philosophy of education."

"The mentors were excellent, and they did a great job teaching and building up everyone's confidence so that we could produce to our best ability."