”I learned something about myself. I had avoided online learning in the past. I love the energy of a classroom; being part of the learning. I learn from the questions of my classmates, and from the way the teacher responds, and from the ideas that transpire. I didn’t think it was possible to become engaged through a computer screen, but I did, and it was fun.” -Robin Mottershead, Teacher, Weymouth Township School
So you’re convinced that you need to shift your classroom practice to leverage Web 2.0 tools as a powerful learning strategy. But how do you actually do it? In the 21st Century-ize Your Curriculum eCourse, you’ll learn just that. Through this 5-week eCourse you will explore:
- The latest Web 2.0 tools – what are they and what do they do?
- How to use each tool – the nuts and bolts
- Using Web 2.0 tools in the context of your classroom – and how to align each technique with state curriculum standards
- The relationship between content, pedagogy, and technology and how that informs classroom practice
Our eCourse curriculum is based on TPACK, Understanding By Design, and other proven curriculum development models.
Why Should You Power Up?
Read PLP’s interview with Kevin Jarrett about this eCourse.
Graduate Credit Available
After the course begins, two graduate credits may be obtained through North Dakota State University for an additional fee of $125. Get complete details here.
”The flipped classroom concept was inspiring. Articles, ideas, examples, discussion – dig as deep or as little as you need to, or want to. Many, of the workshops I have attended in classrooms are “how-tos”. In this course, the “how-to” was not as significant as the “what” and “why”…so, although I was familiar with the tools, it turned out that I didn’t know as much as I thought I did.“ -Robin Mottershead, Teacher, Weymouth Township School
21st Century-ize Your Curriculum lasts five weeks. Each week features:
- A 90-minute, live, interactive webinar covering a Web 2.0 tool. The session is led by a seasoned expert in 21st Century teaching and learning.
- A Powerful Learning Practice facilitator to provide tech support and foster discussion and learning during the webinar
- Your participation in a virtual community will facilitate discussions, promote collaboration, and deepen understanding through practice
- Readings, tutorials, and practical examples that supplement the live discussion for the week
- A printable guide to creating lesson plans that incorporate the featured tool, including questions to ponder
- An archived recording of the session
This eCourse lasts five weeks. The next section being offered is:
Time and Day
Synchronous 1.5 hour Webinars – Wednesday evenings at 7-8:30pm EDT. On-going interaction throughout the five weeks in the virtual learning community
Week 1 – Blogs & Microblogging
- Why blog or tweet?
- Identifying your blogging/tweeting objectives
- Creating / managing your blog & twitter “brand”
- Integrating blogs & twitter with existing curriculum
- Advanced topics
Week 2 – Wikis
- Wikis: a working definition
- Practical advantages of Wikis vs. other online tools
- A wiki’s core components
- Fostering classroom collaboration with wikis
- Create your own wiki
- Advanced Topics
- Widgets & Customizations
Week 3 – Digital Video
- “Video is the new PowerPoint”
- Exemplary projects in K-12
- Leveraging video in the classroom as a user/consumer
- Teaching with DV
- Copyright/Fair Use
- Creating video: teachers/students as authors/producers
- Remixing existing content
- Choosing Hardware & Software
- Storyboarding
- Editing/Producing
- Publishing
- SchoolTube, TeacherTube
- Vimeo, Blip.TV
- Youtube
Week 4 – Google Apps
- Overview of the suite, features & benefits
- Live demo (https://docs.google.com/demo/)
- Identify classroom uses & applications
- Collaboratizing Administration
- To learn more about Google Apps for Education
Week 5 – Voicethread
- Collaborative presentations defined
- Exemplary projects in K-12
- Designing collaborative projects
- Setting up a Voicethread (individual teacher/classroom example)
- Lesson objectives & impact on structure
- Guiding conversations (comments)
- Publishing/exporting
- Create a Voicethread
Don’t see the tool that interests you? Let us know so we can incorporate it into a future eCourse.
”The wealth and variety of examples will serve to inspire me and, in turn, my students, for a long time, as will the wealth and variety of resources. But, the number one thing I learned through this course was to think about Web 2.0 tools in terms of the “why”. More than once the phrase, “how will it change the learning” was uttered, and it always gave me pause. As I establish my lessons for the new school year, I know that the learning will be greater because my lessons will be planned with the learning, not the technique, as the focus.“ -Robin Mottershead, Teacher, Weymouth Township School
The five-week 21st Century-ize Your Curriculum eCourse is $199 for PLPeeps (alumni who have been through the year-long community experience) and available to the public for $249.
Register for this eCourse
District pricing available. Contact us for details.
Kevin Jarrett
Kevin Jarrett became the K-4 Technology Facilitator at Northfield Community School in Northfield, NJ USA in 2003. In this role he is responsible for technology instruction in a lab setting for the entire elementary student body (520+ students). Rather than just “teaching computer class,” Kevin delivers engaging, informative, challenging and enjoyable lessons that integrate with content being taught by his classroom-teacher peers while leveraging state-of-the-art Web 2.0 tools and social media technologies.
In addition to his classroom instructional duties, Kevin partners with his fellow teachers on the integration of technology into their teaching practices and has designed & led technology professional development workshops in his district, across the state of New Jersey and around the country. A Google Certified Teacher, Kevin was named Northfield Elementary School’s Teacher of the Year in 2008-2009. He also received the International Society for Technology in Education’s “Making It Happen” Award in 2008 in recognition of his efforts supporting ISTE’s presence in Second Life. Kevin is a firm believer in the value of social networks for professional learning and is very active on Twitter. He is an active member of the New Jersey Education Association and has assisted that organization with a variety of educational technology initiatives, including taking a leadership role in planning and organizing the NJEA Convention’s “High Tech Hall” since its inception in 2009.
