Dave Stone, University Laboratory High School, Urbana, IL.

Activity 4b, C&I 335, Summer, 1998.

Reflection Regarding C&I 355 - "Computer-Assisted Instruction"

The final assignment of C&I 335 is to reflect on what we have learned during this course, and where we believe there to be potential for further growth. These reflections will be used, in part, to assist in the development of several future courses as we progress through the CTER program. I've structured my writing by using tables, as well as text, for easier reading by those who have not participated in the course. My comments focus on the following five areas: 1) skills developed, 2) communication, 3) multimedia, 4) legalities, special needs and issues and 5) evaluation.

1. Skills Developed

The first component of the assignment is to address the statements listed below. For ease in understanding the organization of the course and times during which we were introduced to various tools, I've listed the events and activities in chronological order.

Activity or Event	Technology Tools I Can Use To Access, Manipulate and Generate Data	Comfortable Applying These Tools in the Classroom?	Comfortable Applying These Tools For Personal Use?	Additional Features or Technology Tools I Would Like to Learn
Orientation Weekend	FETCH 3.0	Yes	Yes	None
	Adobe PageMill 2.0	Yes	Yes	Tables features
	Flatbed Scanner	Not yet	Not yet	Need experience
	Digital Camera	Not yet	Not yet	Need experience
	Eudora Pro	Yes	Yes	None
	MS Office 98 - Word	Yes	Yes	Advanced Features - All of them
	MS Office 98 - Powerpoint	Not yet	Not yet	Need experience
	WebBoard	NA	Yes	None
Activity 2B	Bobby 2.0	Yes	Yes	None

The list of technologies above, doesn't fully express the skills I've developed over the past month. Through the use of FETCH, I've become familiar with many aspects servers in general, and two servers in particular, University Laboratory High School's "mork" and the College of Education's "lrs". Adobe PageMill, software for production of WWW pages, has problems with saving certain sequences of commands. As a result, I've had to go in occasionally and correct HTML code errors which should have been changed, and saved, by the program. So, once again I've learned more HTML than I had anticipated, and leave with the knowledge that with a good reference book and a little practice, I can make documents physically gain some semblance of how I envision them when I first begin their construction. Finally, WebBoard has made clear to me how a communications technology can be used to facilitate interaction in distance education, how effectively people can communicate at a distance and, most importantly, has made clear how a course can be successfully individualized and focused, yet retain its full integrity in terms of skill acquisition and student product outcomes.

2. Communication

The second component of the assignment is to address the statements listed below. I've again listed the events and activities in chronological order. I expanded beyond software applications to include the two most essential communication tools we deal with as teachers, Acceptable Use Policy contracts and technology plans.

Activity or Event	Communication Tools I Can Use To Access, Manipulate and Generate Data	Comfortable Applying These Tools in the Classroom?	Comfortable Applying These Tools For Personal Use?	Additional Features of Communication Tools I Would Like to Learn
Orientation Weekend	Netscape 4.x	Yes	Yes	Newsgroup function
	FETCH 3.0	Yes	Yes	None
	Adobe PageMill 2.0	Yes	Yes	Tables features
	e-Portfolio	Yes	Yes	None
	Eudora Pro	Yes	Yes	None
	MS Office 98 - Word	Yes	Yes	Advanced Features - All of them
	MS Office 98 - Powerpoint	Not yet	Not yet	Need experience
	Web Board	NA	Yes	None
Activity 2E	Acceptable Use Policy	Yes	Yes	None
Activity 2F	Technology Plan	Yes	Yes	None
Activity 3A	List-servs	Yes	Yes	None
	Newsgroups	Yes	Yes	See Netscape 4.x
Activity 3B	Java Applets	Somewhat	Yes	Uncertain
	VRML	No	Yes	Uncertain
	RealAudio/RealVideo	No	No	Uncertain

Again, the table is valuable in showing which communications tools we used during the past month, but it doesn't convey the true impact that they've made. Netscape allows us to expand out teaching to a level at which students have direct access to the most current scientific information, and use the same tools that practicing scientist use in their work. Though I've been to a number of presentations dealing with portfolios and their role in assessing progress and attainment of specific objectives, this is my first opportunity to produce one for myself. In that way, the e-portfolio has been particularly valuable. List-servs and newsgroups have contributed to many aspects of my own professional development for years, though exposure to Edtech has been valuable and I will be using it, as well as recommending it, in the future. Exposure to the emerging technologies was useful, and I'm certain that I will be embedding several of the better Java applets in online assignments in the future. Perhaps most valuable to me though, was the opportunity to examine technology plans for another district (Champaign, IL) and for several schools (Champaign Central and Champaign Centennial). As a member of our school's first technology committee in 1993, I assisted in development of an outline for our first technology plan. Unfortunately, our plan has not moved significantly from that point. In contrast, the district and high school plans made clear to me how essential these plans are in terms of 1) documenting history of technology within that particular school and/or district, 2) clear statement of current status of technology and technology-related issues, 3) assessment of needs (with accompanying rationale), 4) documentation of funding activity (both tax- and grant-based) and 5) vision of technology integration during the next several years.

3. Multimedia

The third component of the assignment is to address the statements listed below. I've again listed the events and activities in chronological order.

Activity or Event	Multimedia Tools I Can Use To Access, Manipulate and Generate Data	Comfortable Applying These Tools in the Classroom?	Comfortable Applying These Tools For Personal Use?	Additional Features or Multimedia Tools I Would Like to Learn
Orientation Weekend	Adobe PageMill 2.0	Not the multimedia features	Not the multimedia features	Multimedia features
	Flatbed Scanner	Not yet	Not yet	Need experience
	Digital Camera	Not yet	Not yet	Need experience
	MS Office 98 - Word	Not the multimedia features	Not the multimedia features	Advanced Features - All of them
	MS Office 98 - Powerpoint	Not yet	Not yet	Need experience

Multimedia tools were not a major focus of the class - our exposure being limited to the majority of items listed above, during the Orientation weekend. I would like to gain further experience with each of the software packages and peripherals listed above and would like to gain exposure to a number of other multimedia software packages and peripherals. At this point, I consider myself lacking in the areas of computer-based video production, image editing and computer animation. I would like to gain experience with, and learn more about, various types of printers, scanners, digital cameras, video/multimedia boards and be able to speak with others intelligently about the differences between, and relative virtues of, various types RAM (e.g. VRAM) and cache cards, which seem to be essential in the production of higher-end, full screen video. I would also like to gain exposure to a number of applications which play a role in the production of high quality video (e.g. Adobe Photoshop, Macromedia Fireworks or Macromedia Flash and RayDream Studio 5).

4. Legalities, Special Needs, and Issues

The area of special needs was a real "eye-opener" for me in a number of ways. I have heard of the Americans with Disabilities Act, though it hasn't had a strong bearing on how I do things in the classroom or how I teach. In the past, I've had students with very poor vision and dyslexia, but I dealt with those students on a case by case basis, working with them outside of class to determine the best way to modify activities and presentation in ways which were maximally beneficial. I found examining the web pages I produced with Bobby 2.0, to be interesting and was surprised to see how easily my pages could be modified to significantly increase accessibility. I enjoyed learning about the varied technologies and software which increase access on both PC and Macintosh platforms.

In terms of issues teachers face when using the WWW, the activities of this course have increased my ability to be conversant in the areas of copyright, software piracy and web fraud. I will refer back to the Copyright Website and regularly share it with my students. The examination of issues regarding sexual predators was probably more useful to me as a parent than a high school teacher. Through this activity, WebBoard and the Edtech list-serv, I was made aware of a number of issues at the grade school level and now know much more about different means of Internet filtration and kid-friendly search engines (e.g. Yahooligans).

Finally, our status as a laboratory school allows us a number of exemptions, which act to our benefit at times, and to our detriment at others. Like other public schools, we have a school Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) that I played a role in developing in 1993. Our AUP has come in handy numerous times thus far, and I'm certain it will continue to do so in the future. Unlike other public high schools, we lack a current technology plan. Therefore, I took the initiative to examine technology plans from another district (Champaign, IL) and from several schools (Champaign Central and Champaign Centennial). As stated above, the district and high school plans made clear to me how essential these plans are in terms of 1) documenting history of technology within that particular school and/or district, 2) clear statement of current status of technology and technology-related issues, 3) assessment of needs (with accompanying rationale), 4) documentation of funding activity (both tax- and grant-based) and 5) vision of technology integration during the next several years. Lacking a document of this type is specifically to our school's disadvantage in terms of record of past collaborative relationships, grant activities and changing institutional view regarding the implementation and place of technology in the school. It is clear to me that technology plans are particularly important in nontenured teaching situations where the turnover of technology teachers and Technology Directors is high. Institutional memory of inventories, collaborative relationships and technology-based initiatives are often short, necessitating a well-kept archive of regularly updated plans.

5. Evaluation

Evaluation of technology-supplemented learning is an area in which I lack formal training. Based on my conversations with several Uni High teachers and administrators, I have become interested in learning more about portfolio development and assessment, as well as educational research design. I have heard numerous references to qualitative vs. quantitative data collection techniques, but lack any background in this area. I would find it particularly interesting to learn through actual case studies of other teachers who used a number of different teaching strategies and evaluation methods, and were then able to actually demonstrate differences in student motivation and achievement. Many questions occur in discussion of evaluation. What is the full continuum of evaluation options open to me? How do I best go about teaching and evaluating students with different learning styles? As a science teacher, what can I do to best impact both the boys and girls in my classroom? What role do various teaching and evaluation methods play in sex-specific learning patterns? These are the type of questions I would like to see addressed, as we initiate discussion of the evaluation component of the CTER program

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Last updated on June 25, 1998.