Dr. Alice Christie's EDT 547:
Using Technology in Language Arts and
Social Studies Education

Week 2: Setting the Stage with Constructivism and Case Studies

• Constructivism and Technology
• Building Knowledge: One teacher's experience combining technology and constructivism.
• School Reform: What Role can Technology Play in a Constructivist Setting? An old, but still relevant article.
  
  
• Teaching Materials Using Case Studies Read the first four sections!
• Learning with Cases Follow all the links!
• How to Write a Case Study PDF

Week 3: Theoretical Background, Technology Integration, Blogging, and Wikis

• A summary of the new learning paradigms
  
  
• The Technology-Rich Classroom
• A Multimedia Odyssey: One teacher's journey into technology integration
  
  
• The Art of Blogging - Part 1
• The Art of Blogging - Part 2
  
  
• How Wikis Work (Read the first five sections)

Week 4: Curriculum Mapping

• School Wide Curriculum Mapping: Improving Student Learning K-12 by Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs
• Roadmap to Success: A Curriculum Mapping Primer
• Sample Curriculum Maps by Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs

Week 5: Classroom Strategies: WebQuests, Problem-Based Learning, and Virtual Field Trips

• What is a WebQuest? (For those students who have not taken EDT 545!)
• WebQuest vs. Kleenex
• Making WebQuests More Exciting
• QuestGarden Overview
  
  
• Project, Problem, and Inquiry-based Learning Explore the examples!
• Learner-Centered Classrooms, Problem-Based Learning, and the Construction of Understanding and Meaning by Students
  
  
• Field Trips Go Virtual
• Visiting Virtual Museums

Week 6: Technology in Language Arts and Social Studies

• How technology can enrich reading and writing instruction
• Integrating Technology into the Curriculum: Technology in English/Language Arts Instruction
• Integrating Technology into the Language Arts Classroom
  
  
• Alaska Department of Education & Early Development: Technology: The Social Studies Enter the 21st Century
• Integrating Technology into the Curriculum: Technology in Social Studies
• Integrating Technology in a Social Studies Lesson

Week 7: Understanding by Design and Electronic Portfolios

• Understanding by Design Introductory PowerPoint Presentation (PDF)
• Understanding by Design (UbD) is a framework for designing curriculum units, performance assessments, and instruction that lead your students to deep understanding of the content you teach.
• Understanding by Design and Backwards Design
  
  
• ePortfolios: Constructing Meaning Across Time, Space and Curriculum: An article submission for Handbook on Research for ePortfolio, Jafari and Kaufman, eds. by Coleen Carmean and Alice Christie PDF
• It’s Elementary! Using Electronic Portfolios with Young Students
  John Moritz, M.Ed., and Alice Christie, Ph.D. PDF
• Can Digital Teaching Portfolios Become Tools for Technology Integration?
  Rick Baker, M.Ed., and Alice Christie, Ph.D. PDF

Week 8: Learning with Technology

• Learning With Confidence: Encouraging Risk and Failure in Learning
• Laptop Lessons
• Integrating Technology into Instruction by Bill Robertson

Week 9: Information Literacy

• Authenticating Online Information
• Fishing the Net: Teach kids what to keep and what to throw back
• Literacy for the 21st Century: The Hope and the Promise
• We Have the Information You Want, But Getting It Will Cost You: Being Held Hostage by Information Overload

Week 10: Assessment

• Some Important Media Education Assessment Terms
• Authentic Assessment Overview
• The Case for Authentic Assessment by Grant Wiggins
• Designing Scoring Rubrics for Your Classroom by Craig A. Mertler
• Authentic Assessment Toolbox (Browse for ideas)

Week 11: One Computer Classrooms

• One Computer Classroom - Article 1
• One Computer Classroom - Article 2
• Strategies and Implications for the One-Computer Classroom
• The One Computer Classroom - Strategies
• The One Computer Classroom - More Strategies

Week 12: Technology and Student Performance

• Beyond Technology: Making a difference in student performance by Jamie McKenzie

  Even as school leaders across North America and the rest of the world are rushing to wire classrooms and schools, some early-adopting districts are waking up to an unwelcome surprise. After spending millions of dollars to connect their schools and their students to the Internet, many districts are asking why so many of their newly installed computers are sitting unused.

Week 13: Technology Integration Success Stories: Browse each

• What Did You Do in the War, Grandma?
• Student Projects
• High Tech High
• Spanish Family History Project
• Martin Luther King Jr. Timeline Page

Week 14: Catch Up

Optional Readings and Resources

• Learning from Learners, Internet Style
• 2005: A Virtual Classroom Odyssey
  Dazzling new technology too often leads us to imagine a utopian education future. In reality, it will create as many problems as it solves.
• Will Books Become the Dumb Medium?
• Of Chickens and Projects
• Susan Silverman's WebFolio Incredible use of efolios with primary students!
• Tammy Worcester's Electronic Portfolios Page
• The Writing Process in a Multimedia Environment