TEEC
Course Outline for College Credit
Course Title: Technology
in the Early Elementary Classroom
Credit: 3 graduate
credit hours
Dates and Times:
6-8 hours a week for 8 weeks; 45 content contact
hours, 20 outside lab hours (see website for current dates)
Location: Online
Facilities: N/A
Organization: ATA
Technology Academy
Audience: K-3 Teachers
Instructors: Janine
Lim and Marilyn Western
Course Description:
This online course focuses
on the integration of technology in the early elementary classroom. The course
will include reading assignments from current journal articles, integration
ideas for the core curriculum areas, hands-on practice with various technologies,
and discussion with peers in the class.
Course Objectives:
Participants will
- Understand the educational
research that supports integration technology in the core curriculum areas.
- Understand the need for
balance and careful thought in using technology with young children.
- Share current best practices
of technology integration from their classroom practice.
- Create classroom activities
for their curriculum that incorporate various technologies.
- Understand how other
teachers use technology in the early elementary classroom.
- Be able to use management
strategies for using technology in their classroom.
- Evaluate software packages
for use in the core curriculum areas.
- Evaluate web sites for
professional use and student learning.
Modes of instruction:
Teachers in this course will participate in online collaborative groups, do
hands-on activities in learning and practicing the software, access web sites,
and read and discuss required reading covering current research and instructional
theory.
Detailed Agenda:
This course will be instructor-led
and paced throughout an eight week period. Three hours of contact time and three
to five hours of estimated homework time will be included per week. . Each
week will include the following components within the suggested schedule:
- Sunday - Monday
Read It
(approx. 60 min.) Complete the reading assignments. Feel free to print the
articles and read offline.
- Tuesday-Friday
Talk It
(login in daily for half an hour, 2 hour total) This is the area for reflection
and discussion on reading, experiences, and learning.
- Tuesday
See It
(approx. 45 min.) Explore the integration ideas.
- Wednesday-Thursday
Do It
(approx. 1 hour) Complete the activity or experience. Do It projects will
be posted in the Groups, Project Gallery for feedback and review. Give feedback
to group members.
- Thursday Manage
It (approx.
15 min) View (and print if you'd like) the management tips for this week.
- Friday
Software
Feature (approx.
30 min.) Read about the featured software for this week's topic.
- Friday Web
Share (approx.
30 min.) Explore the two exemplary web sites for this week’s topic.
- Weekend
Catch up on work if necessary.
Each week will include
a different topic to focus on. Following are the topics for each week:
- Intro / Why Technology?
- Reading
- Writing
- Social Studies
- Science
- Math
- Assessment
- Present Project/Wrap
Up
Presenters:
- Janine Lim, Instructional
Technology Consultant, BCISD.
Coordinates video conference network, teaches courses on technology curriculum
integration (such as Internet and content specific software), and trains teachers
on-site. ATA Technology Academy instructor.
- Marilyn Western, 5th/6th
Grade Computer Lab Teacher, former K, 1st/ 2nd grade
teacher, Mt. Pleasant Public Schools
1998-99 MDE Educator on
Loan, ATA Technology Academy instructor, teaches technology integration classes
through Gratiot Isabella RESD and CMU
Course Requirements:
- Complete reading assignments
and reading response questions.
- Actively participate
in online discussion.
- Complete the Do It learning
exercises assigned successfully.
- Complete the final lesson
plan project.
- Other assignments as
given.
Active Participation
Expectations
Active Participation in this class includes:
- Talk It
- Each week there will
be 1-3 Talk
It questions
based on the reading and your experience. Since much of your learning
will take place as a result of the level of dialogue we engender, the
following should act as guidelines to your "posts": a) include accounts
of your own experience, b) ask expansive questions - ones with no right
or wrong answer - ones to stimulate thinking and lead to deeper understandings,
c) build on previous "posts" by agreeing, disagreeing, giving examples,
asking questions, defining issues/terms, d) suggest metaphors. It is expected
that you will spend 2-3 hours per week on the web interacting with others.
We highly recommend that you login at least half an hour daily to keep
up with the discussion.
- Do It
- Each week you will
create a small project example and post it in your small group Project
Gallery. You are expected to give feedback to your colleagues. Suggested
starter words for your feedback:
- I particularly
liked . . .
- You might
want to look at these resources . . .
- Did you think
about . . .
- I wondered
about . . .
- I’ve been
successful with similar activities when . . .
Method(s) of Evaluation/Grading:
100‑90% A
89‑80% B
79‑70% C
69-60% D
Course Grade
30% Attendance & Participation
in Online Discussion (Responses to classmates and feedback for Do It Projects)
20% Initial Response
to Reading (2.5%/week)
20% Do It Projects
(2.5%/week)
30% Best Practice
Lesson Plan/Unit or approved project