Professional Documents
Culture Documents
teaching technologies
© 2009
Alvaro H Galvis
250 Lake Dale CT
Clemmons, NC, 27012
978.467.5729
algalvis50@yahoo.es
Alvaro H Galvis
p, cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN
1. Educational technology. 2. Computer-assisted instruction. 3.
Teaching—Aids and devices. 4. Teaching—Computer network
resources. 5. Computer conferencing in education. 6. Instructional
systems—Design.
I. Galvis, Alvaro H [1950-
LB1028.3 G358 2009
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page ii
T able of Contents
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page iii
TOOLS FOR MULTIMEDIA DATA PROCESSING 10
Tools for Processing Video and Digital Sound 10
Tools for Sharing digital products on Internet 11
Tools for threading voice comments on digital objects 13
Tools for Building web pages 13
TOOLS FOR TIME AND ACTIVITY MANAGEMENT 14
L for Learning Environments 15
CONSTRUCTION OF CONCEPTUAL AND MIND MAPS 15
CONSTRUCTION OF CAUSE-EFFECT MAPS 17
MATHEMATIC MODELS: CONSTRUCTION AND EXPLORATION 17
SIMULATIONS AND GAMES: CONSTRUCTION AND EXPLORATION 18
LECTURE NOTES AND FLASH CARDS: BUILDING AND USE 18
CREATION OF DIGITAL PORTFOLIOS 19
CREATION AND USE OF RUBRICS 19
A for Access to cultural, and intellectual capital 21
SEARCH ENGINES AND DIGITAL TAGGING 22
ELECTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIAS 23
SUBSCRIPTION TO ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SERVICES 24
List Serves 24
RSS Channels 25
DICTIONARIES, TRANSLATORS AND THESAURUSES 25
EDUCATIONAL PORTALS 26
DIGITAL TOURS THROUGH MUSEUMS AND COLLECTIONS 28
C for Communication 31
TOOLS FOR INTERACTING ASYNCHRONOUSLY 31
Email (electronic mail) 32
Text messaging and chat rooms 33
Social messaging via Twitter 33
Social/virtual networking in education 34
Digital Diaries, also called, Blogs 35
The Wiki and collaborative knowledge building 36
Collaborative productivity tools 38
Network Forums 38
Video lecture capturing 39
TOOLS FOR SYNCHRONOUS INTERACTION 40
Chat rooms 41
Multimedia Instant Messaging Systems 41
Video Conferencing Systems 42
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page iv
TOOLS FOR HYBRID SYNCHRONOUS / ASYNCHRONOUS INTERACTION43
Course delivery systems 44
Community management systems 44
E for Exploration of learning objects 47
DIGITAL MANIPULATIVES THAT SUPPORT CONJECTURAL
EXPLORATION 48
Some Resources for Manipulating Scientific Digital Objects 48
Some Resources for Digitally Manipulating Mathematical Objects 50
LEARNING THROUGH EXPLORATION AND CONJECTURE 51
Web Explorations 51
Digital Exploration of Our Planet 52
Using ICTE to improve teaching 55
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH ICTE 55
Personal growth with ICTE 56
Career advancement with ICTE 58
COURSE ENHANCEMENT WITH ICTE 59
ICTEs embedded in course requirements 60
ICTEs to enhance teaching strategies 61
About the author 65
Acknowledgements 67
Glossary 69
Works Cited 73
Reference List for ICTE in footnotes 76
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page v
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page vi
ICTE –Information and Communication
Technologies for Education
Like all sectors of human activity, education has at its disposal multiple
technological opportunities to support the achievement of its mission.
Information and Communication Technologies for Education—ICTE—
have permeated the management of educational institutions.
Information systems—accounting, finance, library and student
registration—are increasingly more effective and provide better
administrative service to the recipients. In spite of the growing
investments made by ministries and secretaries of education and parental
associations to provide equipment to educational institutions at all levels
and in all sectors, ICTE have had a smaller impact on the activities
inherent to student development and the establishment and
consolidation of learning communities. At this juncture, the following
comment, from Seymour Papert (1996), resonates: It is easy to
understand how someone from this era might be in a classroom of our
time and appear to feel very comfortable since the teaching environment
has remained the same—centered on the professor and using the
blackboard. By contrast, if one were to face a different environment—for
example a hospital—one would not recognize it because technology has
radically changed the processes
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 2
PLACE: an acronym for understanding
Information & Communication
Technologies for Education
Even though children and youth of today are “digital natives,” that is,
were born and grew up in a digital culture, we cannot think that giving
them access to digital equipment in an educational institution will
necessarily imply that educational improvement will take place. While a
myriad of technological initiatives have been introduced to close the
digital divide in education, we cannot be deceived into thinking that the
tools themselves are sufficient. There are thousands of pieces of
equipment in educational institutions that have not made a difference
with regard to student learning or teaching innovation. Fortunately, there
is an increasing number of cases that also indicate improvements in
student retention and advancement, the development of positive
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 3
attitudes toward learning, and an increase in competence for competing
in the 21st century (Galvis, 1998a, 1998b).
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 4
P for Productivity
What has made ICTE famous in the dominions of human activity is their
capacity to simplify routine tasks, and at the same time, extend the
potential of those who carry them out. This is done with informational
productivity tools which act as computational systems that benefit many
areas of human activity. The following sections include a review of
distinctive productivity tools that have not been created for education,
but are potentially useful in educational activities.
One of the greatest necessities that educators and students have is being
able to properly express themselves in writing and make references to the
documentary sources that are required for footnotes and references.
This group of tools can support such functions.
Typing Tools
Typing systems merit special attention. Knowing how to use ten fingers
to type well without looking at the keyboard makes a big difference in
category P every time we try to correlate what we think with what we
type.
There are tools on the Internet that help to improve typing. For
example, LEARN 2 TYPE [3] is a free program designed for adult
users to simultaneously exercise while handling the keyboard and
the mouse. On the other hand, NAIL IT NOW [4] offers a free
solution for children.
1 http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/default.aspx
2 http://www.download-new.com/openoffice/1/
3 http://www.learn2type.com/
4 http://www.nailitnow.com.au/typingtutor/children.html
5 http://www.endnote.com
6 http://www.citeulike.org
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 6
The most current version of MS-WORD [2] includes features for
managing citations and references as part of the word processor
utilities.
Let’s think for a moment about what a teacher can do when using a
spreadsheet to calculate his students’ grades or to group and order other
information. This tool allows him to utilize various criteria and depict
graphic results in one way or another. The possibilities increase even
more with considerations of diverse views on assessment or varying the
weight of certain components, when student results are calculated.
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 7
Data-Base Management Tools
Tools like Microsoft Office’s ACCESS [1] and BASE [2] from Sun
Microsystem’s Open Office are user friendly and very powerful,
permitting competent users to manage, design, administer and to take
advantage of collections of organized digital information.
7 http://www.surveymonkey.com/Default.aspx
8 http://www.spss.com/
9 http://www.sas.com/technologies/analytics/statistics/index.html
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 8
make this type of analysis possible giving control of the types of
aggregations, cross-listings, statistical tests, etc. to whomever manages
the tool. They also resolve quantitative questions that guide research.
This function is not the only benefit of using graphic processing tools.
These technology tools make it possible to go beyond conventional
graphics design limits. Not only are artistic options increased, but the
opportunities to share and critique are made more available to the creator
of the work. This reality gives new possibilities to the artist.
10 http://www.fayette.k12.il.us/99/paint/paint.htm
11 http://www.adobe.com/products/
12 http://www.kidsdomain.com/down/mac/kidpix.html
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 9
Tools for Making Multimedia Presentations
We often have film registries of video and sound recordings of audio that
we want to use in our educational activity. This group of tools can
efficiently support this process.
Sound and video editing has stopped being the domain of audiovisual
specialists. Nowadays it is possible to become a fan of these arts and do
digital, audio and video processing including texts, special effects, sound
and visual credits, subtitles, multiple audio tracks (by language or with the
original sound and commentary).
13 http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/index.html
14 http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudio
15 http://www.apple.com/es/quicktime/download/
16 http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 10
more than one format. CAMSTUDIO OPEN SOURCE is a free
version of Camtasia Studio 6 [17].
JING [18] by TechSmith and GOVIEW [19] by Citrix Online are open
access software that allow users to screen capture and screen video
recording with audio. Both applications upload captured information
to the Web, FTP, computer or clipboard. A URL is automatically
created and can be shared with others to view or access the
uploaded file. There is no video or picture editing with JING or
GOVIEW. You can add titles with GOVIEW.
Your pictures and albums can be shared with PICASA [22] from
Google or FLICKR [23] from Yahoo. Images can be uploaded and
organized in groups. Their free services permit a limited number of
groups.
17 http://camstudio.org/
18 http://www.jingproject.com/
19 http://goview.com/goldwyn/spring/play?method=indexPage
20 http://screenr.com/
21 http://delicious.com/
22 http://picasa.google.com/
23 http://www.flickr.com/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 11
If you want to publish slides or digital documents in different type of
formats you can consider using SLIDESHARE [24]. It is a free
publishing service.
24 http://www.slideshare.net/
25 http://www.youtube.com/
26 http://www.schooltube.com/
27 http://www.apple.com/education/mobile-learning/
28 http://www.teachertube.com/
29 http://www.esnips.com/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 12
Tools for threading voice comments on digital objects
Many people have their own web sites that they use as information
servers. This particular use of the internet builds on web authoring
languages such as HTML—Hyper Text Markup Language. There are
hypertext authoring systems that let the creator express himself through
integration of texts, graphics, links, and videos. These systems also
permit you to generate the corresponding HTML codes.
30 http://voicethread.com/
31 http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/
32 http://www.microsoft.com/products/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 13
Tools for time and activity management
33 http://doodle.com/
34 http://www.project2manage.com/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 14
L for Learning Environments
WISE MAPPING [38] is the web mind mapping tool that leverages
the power of Mind Maps, mixing new technologies like vectorial
languages (SVG and VML) and the power of the whole Web 2.0
concept. No pluggins are required. A mind map is a diagram used to
represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged
radially around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate,
visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study,
organization, problem solving, and decision making. A mind map is
similar to a semantic network or cognitive map but there are no
formal restrictions on the kinds of links used.
35 http://cmap.ihmc.us/
36 http://cmap.ihmc.us/Support/help/
37 http://www.mind42.com/
38 http://www.wisemapping.com/c/home.htm
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 16
Construction of Cause-Effect Maps
39 http://www97.intel.com/en/ThinkingTools/SeeingReason/
40 http://phoenix.sce.fct.unl.pt/modellus/index.php
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 17
order to share experiences and to search for solutions to problems
that surface when using the system.
Students are not always good at taking notes, learning vocabulary and
concepts. As educators we can support this process with technology,
either by giving them access to existing resources, and/or creating the
means for collaborative creation.
Tool such as QUIZLET [42] allow students to create their own flash
cards, share them with classmates or with open groups, to practice
via different type of exercises, to get feedback based on
performance and answer speed. There is a huge collection of flash
cards available, organized by topics and number of flash cards.
Quizlet use is free.
41 http://www.agentsheets.com/
42 http://quizlet.com/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 18
A similar free tool is STUDYBLUE [43]. In addition to create and
share flash cards it allows the learner to collaboratively take notes
using wiki tools. StudyBlue automatically derives flash cards from
notes. There is also a large collection of resources organized by
topics and educational levels.
43 http://www.studyblue.com
44 http://www.efoliominnesota.com/
45 http://www.eportfolio.org/
46 http://www.zunal.com/portfolio.php
47 http://vpb.concord.org
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 19
There are many rubric development sites available. RUBRICS FOR
ASSESSMENT [48], RUBRICS FOR TEACHER [49] include collections
of rubrics in different domains that may help educators understand
the logic of building rubrics and select and use those that fit their
needs.
There are also free tools available, such as RUBISTAR [50], a tool to
help teachers create quality rubrics and IRUBRIC [51] from
RCampus, which supports creation of rubrics and hosts them online.
Rubrics created with iRubrics can be used as a stand- alone or as
part of RCampus interactive learning resources, where results from
applying the rubric are kept in a grading system.
48 http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/rubrics.shtml
49 http://www.rubrics4teachers.com/
50 http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
51 http://www.rcampus.com/indexrubric.cfm
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 20
A for Access to cultural, and intellectual
capital
Digital tools in this category allow the instructor to learn from life
experiences through available electronic resources that permit access to
the wealth of humanity. These resources can be global, organizational or
local.
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 21
Search Engines and Digital Tagging
The challenge of surfing the Internet goes beyond using a search engine
that works for you. It is intimately related to effectively finding the
information that you need. This requires, first of all, that you know what
you want to find and that you know the search engine that is convenient
for you to use. Beyond knowing when to use a particular search engine, it
is necessary to know how to define the search and refine results.
Refining a network search is a fundamental skill for educators and
students to have. It demands clarity about what is desired, the ability to
express multiple ways of finding it, and perseverance needed for
searching diverse sites and book marking those that appear to be
interesting. It also requires the individual to determine if what is found
adds value to what is known as opposed to diverting interest away from
the subject at hand.
General searches can be made with generic tools such as AOL search
[52], GOOGLE search [53], Microsoft’s LIFE SEARCH [54], YAHOO
search [55], or KARTOO [56], a next generation meta search engine
that displays results in a visual interface.
52 http://search.aol.com
53 http://www.google.com/
54 http://search.live.com
55 http://yahoo.com
56 http://www.kartoo.com
57 http://scholar.google.es/
58 http://images.google.es/
59 http://digg.com/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 22
Another way of looking for information on the web is by using tags
like the ones offered by DELICIOUS [20] or CITEULIKE [6]. These
tags may be global or formed by each one of the web sites that the
users create. Each tag shows the names that are used in a given
collection. Each tag cloud shows the bookmarks used in that
particular collection as well as frequencies, information which is
reflected in the size and color intensity of each tag. Navigating the
cloud (clicking on some of the tag elements) opens the possibility of
new relationships that underlie the elements that they have as
reference points.
Electronic Encyclopedias
60 http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030426.html
61 http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 23
MEDLINE [63] includes articles about illnesses, examinations,
symptoms, lesions and surgical procedures. It contains an extensive
collection of medical photographs and illustrations.
List Serves
62 http://www.enciclonet.com/portada
63 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/encyclopedia.html
64 http://encarta.msn.com/Default.aspx
65 http://www.webopedia.com/
66 http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 24
RSS Channels
BLOGLINES [67] is a free service that allows you to stay current with
your blogs and favorite news channels. FEEDREADER [68] is free
software under General Publication License (GPL) that allows you to
subscribe and to classify RSS channels. The advantage is that it is
not necessary to look for news, the RSS channel brings it. The
disadvantage is that the user can become saturated with information
when you have subscribed to channels that frequently update (for
example public news) or collect information from many sources (like
the services for open news).
67 http://www.bloglines.com/
68 http://www.feedreader.com/
69 http://babelfish.altavista.com
70 http://www.reverso.net
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 25
WORDREFERENCE.COM [71] offers free online dictionaries to
translate from English into Spanish, French or Portuguese, as well as
synonyms/antonyms.
Educational Portals
The ICTE within type A, also include corporate portals that address the
discipline of education. They are websites that support different
educational sectors by providing access to relevant information and tools
to each group served. Instructors can find valuable educational resources
to develop their teaching, and by using these portals, they enhance
student-centered learning. The nature of the organization that is being
supported determines the set up for each portal as the following
examples will illustrate.
71 http://wordreference.com
72 http://www.visualthesaurus.com
73 http://www.bibliotecasvirtuales.com
74 http://www.educ.ar/educar/index.jsp
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 26
EDUTEKA [75]. This is a free educational portal that offers hundreds
of personal resources and numerous links to other valuable sites for
elementary and middle school educators. The majority of the
content is based on the mission of Eduteka: theoretical and practical
resources that help to enrich education with the use of ICTE. In
order to facilitate the search for specific content and in addition to
the graphic design, Eduteka offers four mechanisms; 1) a directory
with more than 13 thematic categories and 150 subcategories; 2) an
internal search engine with Google technology that is included on all
of the pages directly under the heading of Eduteka; 3) a classified
historical archive, and 4) a Tour through Eduteka.
PCA. Portal Colombia Aprende [77]. This website was created by the
Colombian Ministry of National Education in order to support
directives, instructors, students, families and a community of
individuals from distinct educational sectors. Each user group has its
own electronic posting platform where relevant resources are
organized. Subscribers can also use communication tools (email,
forums, chat) and private virtual space (electronic hard drive) that
stores digital resources.
PEC Portal Educar Chile [78]. This is the website of the Chilean
System of Education. It is organized by writers according to the
type of user (instructor, manager, student, family, researcher); it
depends on a variety of resources organized by desks, categories or
search engines. Individuals who register to use the portal have
access to the hard disk and free personal email. They can create
web sites that will be hosted by the portal and participate en forums
and chats.
75 http://www.eduteka.org
76 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm
77 http://www.colombiaaprende.edu.co
78 http://www.educarchile.cl/home
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 27
portal icon or the start button. A map of the web site explains its
structure and navigates to distinct places. Internal search engines allow
you to find exactly what you are searching for.
Another interesting option that extend cultural heritage are the tours of
innumerable sites of the great museums, or the site of NASA which
allows the virtual exploration of space. In places like these one can have
a "scavenger hunt” in which the participant explores a series of virtual
sites where questions can be resolved and whose solution demand that
you pay attention to details in visited sites and to use important concepts.
Listed below are some of our favorite museums and collections.
79 http://www.banrep.gov.co/museo/eng/home.htm
80 http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en
81 http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 28
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC [82]. This site will take you to amazing
vistas of animals, environment, music, people maps, and so much
more. It utilizes videos, photos, reports and activities to expose you
to the exciting and varied themes. There is a special page for
children [83] that engages them in fun activities that encourage
learning.
82 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
83 http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
84 http://museoprado.mcu.es/index.php?id=50
85 http://www.si.edu/museums/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 29
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 30
C for Communication
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 31
Email (electronic mail)
Many Internet Service Providers (ISP) offer free email with abundant
storage capacity (about 6 gigabytes), virus protection, text or
hypertext messaging. For example, Google’s GMAIL [86], Yahoo’s
YAHOOMAIL [87], and Microsoft’s HOTMAIL [88].
86 http://gmail.com
87 http://yahoo.com
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 32
Text messaging and chat rooms
The idea of digital communication via text has been expanded to the
world of cell phones and chat rooms. While text messaging via cell
phones can be considered asynchronous communication—sender and
receiver do not need to interact at the same time—conversations using
text-based chat rooms are typically a synchronous process—participants
need to be in the same chat room at the same time.
There are those who are fully against the use of text messaging via cell
phones in educational environments because they believe that dialogues
are imminently social and that texting does not favor the use of good
language. However, these systems reach audiences in a very effective way.
This can be considered an alternative way to reach students who do not
read email, informing them about events, requirements and important
opportunities. At the same time, this type of use can be disturbing when
students do not follow rules of engagement for the use of these devices
in educational settings.
Text-based chat rooms are now used less frequently because multimedia-
based group instant messaging systems are easier to use. When
bandwidth is limited, this type of synchronous text messaging can be very
useful. It can also be utilized as a complement to voice or video-based
messaging systems since text chat rooms allow documenting important
ideas that emerge from oral conversation via voice-on-Internet.
88 http://hotmail.com
89 http://twitter.com/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 33
alerted when one of their ‘friends’ updates their account. The advantage
is that you don’t need to know the phone numbers of students to get
messages onto their device: they are the ones who authorize their mobile
phone from the website and they subscribe to your Twitter feed” (cited
in http://web20teach.blogspot.com/2007/08/twitter-tweets-for-higher-
education.html Available the 20th of June, 2009).
90 http://www.facebook.com/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 34
LINKEDIN [91] is a social networking website geared towards
companies and industry professionals looking to make new business
contacts or keep in touch with previous co-workers, affiliates, and
clients. (Definition available June 30, 2009, at
http://www.hudsonhorizons.com/Our-Company/Internet-
Glossary/LinkedIn.htm)
Physically, the closest thing to a blog (Binary Logs, also called Web
Logs) is a web page; that is, an Internet space where information is
published and shared using hypertext that allows the use of colors,
different sizes and types of fonts as well as links, graphics, sounds and
animations that may or may not be controlled by the user. The big
difference with a web page is that the blogs are time-sensitive organized
contributions. Another important difference concerning blogs is that
they allow for feedback which gives readers the opportunity to comment
in public (post). Many blogs have tagging systems that allow labels “to
follow” the contributions being posted. This is accomplished by surfing
the descriptors on the tags.
91 http://www.linkedin.com/
92 http://www.myspace.com/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 35
still the issue of intellectual property rights that support one’s sharing
ideas or feelings in public.
There are also those who think that the solution is having an educational
intranet that will have blog systems that can only be consulted by
authorized users, or having limited domains defined by a certain type of
user subject to restricted access based on their profile (blogs for students,
teachers, director, etc.).
The most known open access blog system is BLOGGER [93]. This is
a free service that is a part of the resources offered by Google to its
users. It allows the user to create a blog account in the language
that s/he prefers and to share authorship with friends.
WORDPRESS [94] is one of the best known tools for integrating blog
services, that is, placing contributions of distinct blogs together. It is
an open source content management system distributed under GPL
(General Public License); it uses a friendly WYSIWYG interface (What
you see is what you get).
At first glance, a wiki is very much like a blog which allows the individual
user to create, not just browse or read. Nevertheless, blogs and wikis are
very distinct interactive tools.
93 https://www.blogger.com/start
94 http://wordpress.org/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 36
product and the end user does not keep abreast of the ideas
presented by each contributor.
Wikis’ history preserves the contributions to each page making it
possible to find previous versions, using them as the actual page
if necessary. Blogs do not preserve previous versions of a page;
the author can edit them whenever he desires; however, when
they are saved, the page is changed forever.
Blogs publish pages in chronological order, while a wiki publishes
pages as they are being constructed, always presenting the current
version.
Because users can modify the content of a wiki (add to, edit,
delete materials), allowing such manipulation of the site’s
information carries some risks. Thus, wikis are often monitored
to ensure that inappropriate language, spam, and incorrect or
inappropriate content are not allowed. This can be both time-
consuming and personnel-intensive. As a result, many wikis
require authorization so only group members can modify
content.
In order to diminish the risk of using open access wiki tools for
collaborative knowledge construction, wiki spaces ought to have
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 37
membership and accepted rules. In this way, what is published is
supported by a known author, and vandalism (e.g., leaving undesired
footprints) is minimized.
The wiki philosophy has been implemented with productivity tools (see P
based ICTE), both for open access and commercial tools.
Network Forums
95 http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki
96 http://www.wikidot.com/
97 http://wikispaces.com
98 http://www.wetpaint.com/
99 http://docs.google
100 http://ask.officelive.com/workspace/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 38
forum has one or more discussion seeds, planted by the forum facilitator.
Participants can respond to single postings by replying to them, or can
thread ideas by using illation strategies that lead to creation of collective
knowledge.
The scope of the forums is bound to the communities that they serve;
this is to say, the forums are conducted among people who belong to a
certain group or virtual community, people who share certain interests or
objectives and who feel comfortable exchanging ideas with other
participants (Collison, Elbaum, Haavind, & Tinker, 2000).
Short video episodes capturing the presenter and materials that s/he is
using, can be prepared with Tools for processing video and digital sound and
shared on the internet using Tools for sharing digital products on Internet., both
discussed in this book, under the topic, Productivity However, when it is
convenient to upload a lecture longer than 10 minutes, the above
solution might not work because of the restricted size of videos that can
be uploaded to free servers. At this point, access to streaming video
101 http://es.groups.yahoo.com/
102 http://groups.google.es/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 39
servers (also called digital repositories) where large size videos can be
uploaded and accessed if needed.
Regardless of the lecture size, there may be a need to give students direct
access to content embedded in video lectures. This may be the case of
remedial course units where students need to review concepts as they use
them; that is, without having to review all the tapes; only those episodes
where each concept is mentioned. Students may also not have good
learning skills and may need to refine concepts by reviewing explanations
or segments of a video that deal with hard-to-learn topics. Video lecture
capturing systems help solve this problem.
Synchronous interactions on the web that permit live dialog (chat) using
text, voice or video through the Internet are becoming increasingly
important to individuals who must agree on a single digital space.
103 http://www.tegrity.com/
104 http://www.panopto.com/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 40
Chat rooms
Since chat rooms can remain open during long periods of time and their
content can be saved as long as needed, the scope of text-based chat
rooms is wide and asynchronous interaction may happen.
105 http://skype.com
106 http://www.msn.com/
107 http://dashboard.aim.com/aim
108 http://www.icq.com/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 41
lunch). They also allow for the blocking or enabling of individuals on
the contact list, the saving of textual conversations, knowing if your
partner is typing a message in the dialog window, and expressing
feelings and sensations through icons or animations. On the other
hand, it is possible to dialog with groups, each with its own identifier
(photo, drawing, font), and one or more parallel conversations using
digital cameras, microphones and speakers.
109 http://www.wimba.com/products/wimba_pronto/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 42
a high band width Internet service. Extensions of these systems—
like FESTOON [110]—allow the grouping of up to six users limited by
the communication channel that is available (the frequency of
images can limit and reduce the sound when there is narrow
bandwidth).
It is also possible to use ICTE that allow video and high quality
sound, that use sufficient bandwidth and that demand investment in
equipment and communication services at each communication
point. This is the case of videoconference rooms with POLYCOM
[116] equipment which makes dialogs possible among groups in
different places who can see and hear one another.
110 http://festoon.softonic.com/
111 http://www.ilinc.com/
112 http://Wimba.com
113 http://www.elluminate.com/
114 http://www.dimdim.com/
115 http://www.wiziq.com/home/
116 http://www.polycom.com/index2.html
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 43
Course delivery systems
Professional development does not always occur in terms of courses but through
voluntary participation in learning communities, in particular, communities of practice.
Social networking can be a solution particularly when it is driven by the participants;
that is, when they have the opportunity to co-lead the effort by having full control of
technologies in use.
117 http://moodle.org
118 http://sakaiproject.org/portal
119 http://blackboard.com/
120 http://www.webct.com/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 44
Open access solutions such as NING [121] can be useful. The
creator defines what resources s/he wants to encourage participants
to use (e.g., forums, blogs, pictures, videos), and invites initial
members. Each person can invite other people and the network
grows as the voice of its relevance is spread.
121 http://www.ning.com/
122 http://secondlife.com/showcase/education/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 45
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 46
E for Exploration of learning objects
Field work and scale models also replicate direct experiences which help
to obtain evidence that permits the construction of knowledge; but
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 47
everyone cannot go to places to explore the objects under study, nor can
scale models capture the functionality that they possess. Consequently, it
is not always viable to have a direct experience with real objects, at times
because of their size (micro or macro), the limited availability
(phenomena of very low regularity) or simply because of costs.
Reasons such as the ones cited above have justified the great efforts of
educational research groups in the fields of mathematics, science,
technology and engineering to make available to students and teachers
technological devices that expand abilities, capture information and
permit individuals to discriminate and analyze data.
The following list does not exhaust the possibilities that exist to obtain
digital manipulatives that support scientific learning centered on the
student through research, experimentation and collaboration.
Nonetheless, they are a good initial collection.
123 http://nsdl.org/
124 http://molo.concord.org
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 48
other things, MOLO has activities on macro-molecules,
intermolecular attractions, synthesis, the splitting of proteins. MOLO
has a database of activities for student and teacher use that can be
accessed by distinct concepts key words or numbers. Each activity
indicates what technology is required; some are editable and all
have student and teacher instructions. MOLO was produced by the
Concord Consortium. After registering, this public domain software
can be downloaded and the source code can be adapted under LGPL
license.
125 http://www.physics.org/index.asp
126 http://portal.teemss2.concord.org
127 http://www.xplora.org/ww/en/pub/xplora/index.htm
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 49
science instructors. It provides access to a data base of electronic
resources for science education. It also opens the door to projects
and innovative focuses for practical teaching. It allows registered
users to create and to participate in virtual communities.
128 http://www.mathsnet.net/asa2/2004/tech.html
129 http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
130 http://seeingmath.concord.org/sms_interactives.html
131 http://www.java.com
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 50
Learning Through Exploration and Conjecture
Web Explorations
Web explorations are like organized field trips with educational ends.
They place the learner in contact with first hand information that he can
use as he pleases. Let’s review two of the best known methodologies and
tools.
132 http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cyberguide.html
133 http://webquest.org/
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 51
A real WebQuest....
GOOGLE EARTH [134] and WORLD WIND [135] are two exploration
tools of physical sites from any place on the planet that allow visual
images to be taken from a satellite and come as close as possible.
Both use geographical information systems with maps that can be
seen from different heights with different levels of detail. Although
they may look alike, they are different products [136]. Both tools
offer free versions. Google Earth is basic, although it is possible to
get a more advanced version. Once installed, one learns how to use
the tools through direct experience (trial and error), guided
134 http://earth.google.com
135 http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/
136 http://www.worldwindcentral.com/65wiki/Google_Earth_comparison
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 52
experience (using online support), by demonstration (following the
tutorial) or being part of interest groups.
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 53
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 54
U sing ICTE to improve teaching
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 55
Personal growth with ICTE
The following illustration taken from Gray (2006) helps one to visualize
an evolutionary perspective from which we can realize how different
tools have helped human beings deal with each other and with our
environment. Today, interactions with others and the expansion of
personal potential are best manifested via technology. Many of our
students were born in this era and, according to Prensky (2001), “they
represent the first generation to grow up with this technology, they are
Digital Natives that think and process information fundamentally different
from their predecessors… Those of us who were not born into the
digital world, but have at certain points of our lives, become fascinated
by and adopted many or most aspects of new technology, are and will be
compared to them, Digital Immigrants.”
[Adult learners]:
Taking into consideration the above premises, ICT literacy for adults
should be constructed from their experiential field, identifying felt needs for
improving information and communication processes in which they are or want to
be involved. Felt needs are things that individuals consciously lack and
desire. Some people know what they would like to do better, more
effectively, and with less effort, and more creativity. If a desired need
can be satisfied with information or communication technologies, such
can be the starting point for a new personal development cycle
concerning ICT. The opposite approach also can be used, where one
would begin with a review of potential technology tools within PLACE
categories, and then decide about the usefulness and value to various
activities In this regard, the following three types of ICTE can be
particularly helpful: P-type digital resources, i.e., ICTE for improving
individual productivity, C-type digital resources, i.e., ICTE to support
individual or group communications, and A-type digital tools, i.e., ICTE
that foster access to cultural and intellectual wealth.. My suggestion is to
explore each of these groups of digital resources wondering what could
be improved or solved with it, and to give priority to those resources that
can add greater value to each potential user. Relevance should drive the
effort; in this way the experience will be self-rewarding and, as a
consequence, expandable and sustainable.
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 57
Career advancement with ICTE
Educational needs that can be satisfied with support of ICTEs and that
are in our zone of proximal development (ZPD) as educators, should
guide our exploration of opportunities to enhance what we do as
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 58
professionals and educators with ICTE . Applying Vygotsky’s ZPD
concept (1978), the idea would be to scaffold career advancement with
ICTE by engaging educators in relevant activities that by themselves they
cannot do, but that with guidance, or in interaction with others, can be
developed. Project-based and problem-based learning are good examples
of this strategy in action: people learn while they participate in relevant
projects or while they solve problems of interest.
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 59
ICTEs embedded in course requirements
There are also courses where technology use is an implied expectation for
course success. Examples of this may include graphic design courses
where the appropriate tools are a necessary condition to achieve the
required level of competence. Another example might be a statistical
analysis course which intrinsically requires using programs to support
statistical data processing or a computer programming course which
requires the use of appropriate computing languages or systems. These
P-type digital tools were not created for teaching but are a necessary
condition to learn problem solving. The challenge in each of these cases
is two folded: 1) making good tools available for students and 2) helping
students use the tools that support learning.
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 60
ICTEs to enhance teaching strategies
Selected ICTEs can help the teacher to address these six questions or
teaching tasks. I will expand on two of them.
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 62
Reflecting on types of resources to enhance teaching with ICTE
A-type digital resources (ICTE that give access to cultural, scientific, and
technological wealth of humanity) are typically expositive resources, as
long as they can be used to keep students in touch with relevant
knowledge sources, for instance via RSS feed, consulting digital libraries,
or engaging students in web excursions through pre-selected sites. This
type of activity can help moving knowledge acquisition from teacher-
centered (the teacher tells what to study and from where) to student-
centered (they determine why and what to learn, and selectively choose
sources); to make this possible learning activities should go beyond
memorization of facts and application of rules, they should foster critical
thinking by the part of the student when they are exposed to digital
learning objects,. What makes expositive a given medium is not only that
the author delivers knowledge and makes his/her mental model explicit,
but also the method s/he uses to present his/her ideas. A lecture can
typically be conceived as an expositive resource, but when the presenter
makes use of Socratic dialogues to engage the audience in reflection and
discussion about the topic, a lecture can become an interactive resource.
The above three types of PLACE digital resources can become active
media when used under a heuristic approach rather than under an
algorithmic approach for teaching. The creator of this way of
understanding approaches for teaching was Thomas Dwyer (1974) who
stressed an heuristic, exploratory approach based on principles
[heuristics] rather than a closed one based upon a formula of what to do
[algorithm] to promote learning. According to Taylor (1980) heuristic
approach places a heavy dependence upon the teacher as a supportive
human being, stresses that the teacher is crucial, and addresses teacher
education as a major concern of any attempt to use computing broadly
and creatively in the schools.
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 64
A bout the author
Álvaro Galvis is a researcher in Information and Communication
Technologies for Education (ICTE) at Winston-Salem State University
(WSSU) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is the creator and
director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)
at WSSU. Álvaro Galvis is the author of several books and numerous
articles on educational innovations supported by ICTE (see [137]).
137 http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=alvaro+h+galvis&hl=en&lr=&btnG=Search
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 65
curriculum materials by the Alberto Merani Foundation. Alvaro Galvis
was the founder and director of the Laboratory of Research and
Development on Educational Computing. One of his best known
projects is LUDOMÁTICA—acronym that stands for Playful,
Collaborative and Creative Learning Environments for Children. In
1999, this project was awarded the Global Bangeman Prize by the
mayor’s office in Stockholm, Sweden.
The current work, Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies, was written
as part of this process to help educators and educational leaders to
understand ICTE. The first version was named LA PIOLA and was
written in Spanish. It was prepared for the Colombian Ministry of
Education and published by the Colombian Association of Higher
Education Institutions (Galvis, 2008). WSSU has sponsored the
translation of La PIOLA into English, and the author has crafted a new
acronym –PLACE—and updated its content relevant to current
technologies.
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 66
A cknowledgements
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 67
Sponsored by WSSU, Michael Brookshaw translated the second Spanish
version into English. After I completed this revised English version,
Shira Hedgepeth, Joanne Chesley, and Ian Toppin from the Center for
Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Winston-Salem State University
helped to review and polish my work. Shira designed the cover, Ian
commented on the draft, Joanne proofread and copy edited the
document.
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 68
G lossary
There are many online glossaries but it is good to have handy definitions
of frequently used terms. The following is a subset of the Glossary of ICT
Terminology [138] prepared by Davies and Riley (2009).
Blog: Contraction of the term Weblog. A blog is essentially a website that contains
discrete pieces of information posted by different users. New items of information are
138 http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_glossary.htm
usually entered by contributors via a simple form, following the introduction of each
new theme by a person who initiates the blog, and then submitted to the site, where
they may be filtered by an administrator before being posted. A blog can contain news
items, short essays, annotated links, documents, graphics, and multimedia. These posts
are usually in reverse chronological order and often take the form of a journal or diary.
Browser: A software package installed on the hard disk of your computer that enables
you to access and to navigate the World Wide Web - to "surf the Web" in colloquial
terms.
CMS: Abbreviation for Content Management System, a software package that makes it
possible for non-technical users to publish content (text, images, etc) on a website.
Cyberspace: William Gibson coined this phrase in his novel Neuromancer, first
published in 1984 - some years before the World Wide Web was invented: "Cyberspace.
A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every
nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of
data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable
complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and
constellations of data. Like city lights, receding..." Today the word cyberspace is used to
refer to the world of the Internet, more specifically the World Wide Web.
Discussion List: An electronic discussion list is a way of sharing emails with the
members of a group of people with a common interest. Members of a discussion list
usually have to subscribe to the list by sending a message by email to the list server (the
computer which manages the list), and thereafter they receive copies of all other
messages sent to the list by other subscribers. The list administrator has control over list
membership and, if necessary, the content of messages. The archives of discussion lists,
i.e. previously posted messages, are usually made available at a website.
Distance Learning: A form of learning that takes place where the teachers and the
students are in physically separate locations. Distance learning can be either Asynchronous
or Synchronous. Traditional distance learning includes the mailing of printed materials,
correspondence between teachers and students in writing, contact by telephone, and
radio and television broadcasts. More recently, distance learning has included E-learning
and/or Online Learning.
Email: Contraction of Electronic Mail. A system for creating, sending and receiving
messages via the Internet.
Internet: The Internet, or simply "the Net", is a computer network connecting millions
of computers all over the world.
Online Learning: The use of the Internet to follow a course that usually results in the
award of a diploma or certificate.
Open Source: Used to describe Open Access Software, along with the original Source
Code used to create it so that anyone modify it to improve it and work in ways that
reflect their own preferences.
Podcast: A podcast is a broadcast digital audio recording, usually in MP3 format, made
available via the Web in a way that allows the recording to be downloaded automatically
for listening at the user's convenience.
Portal: A Web page, website or service that acts as link or entrance to other websites on
the Internet. Typically, a portal includes an annotated catalogue of websites and may
also include a Search Engine, Email facilities, a Forum and other services.
Search Engine: A search facility provided at a number of sites on the World Wide Web.
Search engines enable the user to search the whole of the Web for key words and
phrases and to locate related websites. This is a useful facility for locating information.
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 71
Streaming: Playing audio or video in real time from a website. In order to play
streaming multimedia files you need a specific Plug-in program that links in with your
Browser and plays the file as it is transmitted rather than downloading it to your
computer first.
Synchronous: "At the same time". Often used to refer to communication in a Chat
Room or via Videoconferencing, where the participants have to be present at their
computers at the same time
Tag: Tagging has become more common in recent years as a result of the widespread use
of Social Media for sharing images, audio recordings, video recordings, website
references, etc. Tags are labels that briefly describe the what the media or references are
all about and help other people find them quickly.
URL: Abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator. Also known as a Web Address. A
URL contains the location of a resource on the Internet.
Wiki: A website or similar online resource which allows anyone to set up a resource in
which content can be created collectively. It allows anyone who views the wiki to add to
or edit the existing content as if they were adding to or editing, for example, someone
else's Word document. Wiki also refers to the software used to create such a website.
Wiki derives from the Hawaiian "wiki-wiki", meaning "quick".
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 72
W orks Cited
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 75
R eference List for ICTE in footnotes
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 76
ICTE page ICTE page
iTunes U 12 Reverso 25
iRubric 20 Rubistar 20
Java 50 Rubrics for Assessment 20
Jing 11 Rubrics for Teacher 20
Kartoo 22 SAS 8
Kidpix 9 Sakai 44
Las Vegas Movie Studio 10 SchoolTube 12
Learn2type 6 ScreenR 11
Linkedin 35 Second Life 45
Louvre Museum 28 Seeing Math Interactives 50
Mathsnet 50 Seeing Reason 17
Mediahawk 38 Skype 41
Medline 24 SlideShare 12
Merlot 27 Smithsonian Museums 29
Mind42 16 SPSS 8
Modellus 17 StudyBlue 19
Molo 48 SurveyMoney 8
Moodle 44 TeacherTube 12
MSN Encarta 24 Tegrity Campus 2.0 40
MSN Hotmail 33 Teems 49
MSN Life Search 22 Twitter 33
MSN Messenger 41 VPB3 19
MySpace 35 Visual Thesaurus 26
Nail it now 6 VoiceThread 13
Nasa 28 WebCT 44
National Geographic 29 Webopedia 24
Ning 45 WebQuest 51
NLVM 50 Wetpaint 38
NSDL 48 Wimba 43
Office 6 Wikidot 38
Office Life 38 Wikipedia 24
Open Office 6 WikiSpaces 38
Paint 10 WiseMapping 16
Panopto 40 WizIQ 43
Physics.org 49 WorldWind 52
Picasa 11 WordPress 36
Polycom 43 WordReference 26
Portal Colombia Aprende 27 Xplora 49
Portal Educar Chile 27 Yahoo Groups 39
Prado Museum 29 Yahoo Mail 32
Pronto 42 Yahoo Search 22
Project2Manage 14 YouTube 12
Quicktime 10 zPortfolio 19
QuizLet 18
Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page 77