John Ashby, Phoebe Tollefson, Eric Whalen, Jesse Zager

EFFECTIVE COMPUTER EDUCATION STRATEGIES

THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY EMPOWERMENT PROJECT

technologypower.org

Who has taught computer skills in their classes before?

Who has used computers to help teach another skill?

How do you plan to use technology in your classes?

What does it mean to be “digitally literate?”

SOME QUESTIONS

Goal: To create a manual that will help new computer skills teachers prepare to

teach.

Purpose: To be used by

future CTEP members and organizations that have volunteer-led computer classes.

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT

Discussions of popular teaching theories

A list of teaching tips

Curriculum building

Classroom and teaching

Example lesson plans

Example curriculum outline

Considerations for starting a computer class

Resources for curriculum development

WHAT’S INSIDE THE MANUAL

Some of the questions we asked were:

- Do you use group work in your computer class?

- What resources do you use in your class and how (a projector, paper handouts, online tools)?

- What is one class that has been especially successful in your class? What made it successful?

- Classroom logistics?

TEACHER INTERVIEWS

TEACHING THEORIES

BACKWARDS DESIGN

Start with a learning goal and work backwards using relevant

sub-topics and skills.

Students learn best when their teachers make clear for them

exactly what they are learning, why it matters and how to do it.

*The ‘I-We-You framework’

TEACHING THEORIES

EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION

Discovery-based learning. Students construct their own meaning of class content. Requires guided questioning and student input.

TEACHING THEORIES

CONSTRUCTIVISM

TEACHING THEORIES

ADULT LEARNING THEORY

Class content must be relevant to students’ needs.

Use the “I do, we do, you do" structure for lesson planning. (Explicit Instruction)

Try to achieve a “discovery moment” through open-ended activities. (Constructivism)

Do not assume any prior knowledge. Find out what students know through questions and critical thinking exercises.

For beginning classes, focus each class on one primary objective with the support of other, secondary skills.

SELECTION OF CURRICULUM BUILDING AND LESSON PLANNING

TIPS

Focus on vocabulary and do not dumb it down for new users.

Use repetition with new skills and vocabulary.

Ask a leading question instead of giving an answer.

Don’t take over the computer when problems arise.

Be explicit about why the lesson is relevant.

Encourage group and partner work.

SELECTION OF CLASSROOM AND TEACHING TIPS

Pro: A list of step-by-step instructions on how to complete a task allows students to work independently and repeat those steps later

Con: Is this helping students be independent computer users? Do you use a computer based on a list of steps?

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTION

Lessons developed and used by current teachers

Exhibit common concepts and themes from interviews and theories activating prior knowledge (without assuming it) focusing on tangible, relevant tasks have few objectives though require support skills follow a similar structure

Comments that reference tips and theories to support examples

EXAMPLE ACTIVITY AND LESSON PLANS

Introduce Concepts discussion questions and vocabulary review exploratory time "can you find how to...?“

Teacher exhibits an example "I do“

Class works together to recreate a task "We do“

An activity that allows independent or group learning "You do"

GENERAL STRUCTURE OF THE LESSON

Look at the example lesson plan on the second page of your handout.

What do you think will work well with this lesson?

What problems might arise during this lesson?

EXAMPLE LESSON PLAN

Part One: Make a Goal

Think of one computer skill or task you want to teach your students.

What other computer skills might they need to know to be able to meet that goal?

Be Detailed!

YOUR TURN

Example:

Computer Skill: Enter a URL into an Internet browser

Other Skills Necessary:- Know how to use an Internet browser- Open an application- Use important keys on the keyboard (punctuation and

Enter)- Highlight words (to delete current website)- Be able to find the address window (as opposed to

the search window)- Be accurate in typing

YOUR TURN

Part Two: How will you teach this skill?

- Will you lead any discussion before explicitly teaching the skill?

- Will you provide any materials to supplement the teaching of this skill?

- How will you make this skill relevant to your students?

- How could you make this lesson still interesting for students who have already used an Internet browser?

YOUR TURN

Example: Teaching how to enter a URL

Discussion: What is the Internet? How does a browser help us use the Internet? What are some Internet browsers?

Making it relevant: Bring in newspapers and magazines and have students find all the websites they see.

For more advanced students: What is http://? What is the www? What is the .com? Are these always the same? Are they always necessary?

YOUR TURN

Part Three: Student Activity

How will you help students practice this skill by giving them a real life situation, and without walking them through the steps of the process?

Can you think of an exploratory exercise that will help students learn to do this skill independently?

YOUR TURN

Example: Entering a URL

Create an “Internet Mad Libs”:

One day _____ (1) went to the movies in _______ (2). The movie was about __________ (3). (And so on…)

1. Go to www.cnn.com and type the name of the fi rst person you see.

2. Go to travel.nytimes.com and type the name of the fi rst place you see.

3. Go to en.wikipedia.org and click on “Random Article.” Write down the name of the article you find.

YOUR TURN

Share your lesson plan with a group near you. Discuss any problems you might see with your lesson.

YOUR TURN

Time, Space, and Consistency

Advertising

Curriculum

Teachers and Volunteers

Opportunities for Independent Learning

CONSIDERATIONS FOR COMPUTER EDUCATION PROGRAMMING

RESOURCES

Technology Literacy Collaborate

Visit their website: http://tlc-mn.org/digital-inclusion/curriculum

Northstar Digital Literacy Assessments

www.digitalliteracyassessment.org

RESOURCES

Saint Paul Community Literacy Consortium

http://spclc.org/curricula/computer

RESOURCES

Goodwill Community Foundation

www.gcflearnfree.org

RESOURCES

Wikispaces (example: ieccomputerlab.wikispaces.com)

Open Source Software:

Gimp (Photo Editing)Scratch (Animation)Seashore (Photo Editing)Scribus (Desktop Publishing)Audacity (Audio Recording and Editing)

CLASSROOM TOOLS

To get a copy of the manual, visit:

ecesmanual.wordpress.com

DOWNLOAD