District Administration - June 2007 - (Page 66)

CURRICULUM Authors whom students study on unitedstreaming.com: Mark Twain, Dr. Seuss and Harper Lee. Crucible, teachers can bring their students to the computer lab to send them on a “WebQuest” online investigation to learn about the Salem, Mass., witch trials in 1692. After they have some background information, they can enter an online chat room for a virtual teacher-guided discussion about their ﬁndings. Although it may be tempting to engage in a traditional whole-class discussion in the lab, the chat room has its perks: not only do teachers have a record of the conversation, which can be used to assess student participation or provide absent students with information that they missed, but teachers often ﬁnd that their reluctant and shy students are more willing to share their views during online discussions. Teachers can return to those same chat rooms to lead their classes through a guided virtual visit with the author that they’re studying, or they can opt to project a video conference. Such options cost schools around $200 instead of $1,000 or more for the on-site equivalent. Just as with an on-site author visit, teachers and students must prepare in advance to get the most out of their time with the author, such as by reading and discussing the book as a class, researching the available information about the author and the work, and working together to create a list of questions to guide the discussion. The visits provide “a context with the author,” says young adult novelist Chris Crutcher. “It makes a connection to the story that the kids wouldn’t have without it. Both kids and teachers say it’s cool to have the person who wrote the book available there so you can ask questions about it and ﬁnd out where did the author get this idea. It adds some viability to the story that they’re reading, and it makes it more immediate.” One caveat: as with all technologybased lessons, teachers should perform a few test runs to make themselves familiar with the program and ensure that the school’s ﬁrewall or the computer’s processor speed won’t cause a technical glitch. They should also have a backup plan in case the equipment fails during the scheduled chat. For instance, a telephone with a speakerphone option would allow the class to still “meet” the author if the Web camera were to malfunction. Stay Focused Just as some students once spent much class time sharpening their pencils to avoid the hard work of writing an essay that analyzed the literature they had just read, students and teachers alike run the risk of becoming so caught up with ﬁnding the latest and greatest technology Integrating Multimedia: A Cross-Curricular Concept Library of Congress’s National Book Festival www.loc.gov/bookfest View Webcasts of authors speaking at the annual event at this site National Public Radio (NPR) www.npr.org This site offers links to audio clips and podcasts of author interviews and other segments of NPR’s programming. PBS Teachers www.pbs.org/teachers This has thousands of standards-based resources for multiple disciplines, such as lesson plans and on-demand video, as well as professional development for educators. Poets www.poets.org This site includes biographical information about poets as well as audio clips of poets reading their work, complete with the full text. Promethean Planet www.prometheanplanet.com The Curriculum Corner includes more than 1,500 educator-created Activstudio and Activprimary lessons, and the ﬂipcharts can be searched by state standards. San Francisco Symphony Kids www.sfskids.org This site allows kids to check out musical instruments online, listen to classical music or explore musical concepts such as tempo and pitch in the music lab. Scholastic’s Authors & Books www.teacher.scholastic.com/authors andbooks/authorstudies This publishing company hosts free moderated online chats with authors throughout the year on its site and provides links to transcripts of previous virtual visits. Scribbling Women www.scribblingwomen.org A project of the Public Media Foundation, this site provides links to the radio plays of American women writers as well as lesson plans. Sounds of the World’s Animals www.georgetown.edu/faculty/ballc/animals Though animals sound the same around the world, the sounds they make are written differently in other languages. This site offers 66 June 2007 District Administration http://www.unitedstreaming.com http://www.loc.gov/bookfest http://www.poets.org http://www.teacher.scholastic.com/authorsandbooks/authorstudies http://www.npr.org http://www.prometheanplanet.com http://www.scribblingwomen.org http://www.pbs.org/teachers http://www.sfskids.org http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/ballc/animals

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - June 2007

Contents
Editor's Letter
Letters
News Update
Security Update
Technology Update
Curriculum Update
Inside the Law
Admistrator Profile
District Profile
Refreshing the ISTE Technology Standards
Action Teams
RE-Construction
Professional Development for the New Century
Multimedia LIT
New Products
Leadership Books
Problem/Solution
Online Edge
Speaking Out
Supervisor's Opinion
Professional Opinion
Research Corner
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration - June 2007