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Project-Based Student
Technology Competencies
Expanding
the Need
for Staff Development
By Catherine Collier
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Start with a solid five-year technology plan. Add funding,
teacher
leaders, and the goal of systemwide technology integration
based
on student technology competencies. What do you have? The
Shirley
School System has an effective model for integrating
technology
into all of their schools.
Sample
WebQuests
In
the course of preparing to integrate technology into the
curriculum,
the Shirley School System teacher leaders decided that
WebQuests
would be a great nonintimidating way to get teachers to
use the
technology to meet curriculum objectives. Each of the
WebQuests
uses selected Internet resources, requires higher-order
thinking,
and involves students in writing, which is a hallmark of
the Shirley
School System’s curriculum.
- SuperSleuth: Students sharpen their problem-solving abilities, logic skills,
and writing skills by solving a variety of online mysteries and writing mysteries
to challenge their peers. View Student Sleuths WebQuest.
- Dinosaur
Hunt: Students investigate a fossilized footprint of a
dinosaur
in their backyard, identify the species using online
resources,
and speculate (with creative writing) about the
presence of
the creature in their neighborhood centuries
ago.
- Inventor
Investigation: Based on the African-American
Inventors
WebQuest (Haney, 1998), students prepare a biography
of a chosen
inventor and explain to the class why his or her
invention was
important. The investigation becomes one in a series
of TV reports.
- Mything Links: Students explore the concept of the afterlife across several
mythological traditions and communicate the concept using a variety of formats:
art, story, report, drama, or slideshow. View Mything Links WebQuest.
- Guess
Who Once Lived at MCI Shirley? Students develop their
knowledge
of local history by studying the Shakers who once
lived on the
land now occupied by a correctional
institute.
- Make My Day—Guns in the United States: Students prepare a formal debate
on the issue of gun control, developing their arguments after reading carefully
screened resources available online. View Make My Day WebQuest.
Matrix
of Student Technology Competencies
See
the Shirley School District’s complete list of
Student Technology
Competencies at http://myschoolonline.com/page/0,1871,0-22209-2-2386,00.html
Reference
Haney, M. (1998, March). African-American inventors
[Online document]. Memphis, TN: Memphis City Schools. Available: www.memphis-schools.k12.tn.us/admin/tlapages/africa.htm.
Catherine Collier (catherine.collier@gte.net)
is an assistant professor of education at Lesley College. She received
her EdD
from University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Dr. Collier can be reached
at Lesley
College, School of Education, 29 Everett Street, White Hall,
Cambridge, MA 02138;
617.868.9600.
Copyright © 1999, ISTE (International Society for Technology
in Education).
All rights reserved.
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