Debbie's Weblog

A classroom response system (CRS) is a set of hardware and software that facilitates teaching different activities such as for example, a teacher poses a multiple-choice question on the overhead, each student submits their answer using a clicker that beams an infrared or radio-frequency signal to a receiver attached to the teacher?s computer, then the software on the teacher?s computer collects the student?s answers and produces a histogram showing how many students chose each of the answer choices.

The articles showed that some teachers use CRS to maintain students? attention, to promote active student engagement during a lecture, to promote discussion and collaboration among students during class with group exercises that require students to discuss and come to a consensus, to encourage participation from each and every student in a class, to create a safe space for shy and unsure students to participate in class, to check for student understanding during class, to teach in a way that adapts to the immediate learning needs of the students, to take attendance quickly and to add a little drama to class.

As a foreign language teacher, I am not sure if I am a ?fan? of CRS; however, I can see that when I ask a question and I call on the first student to raise his or her hand, can result in one student participating, thus a CRS activity can help to involve all of the students in the class.  Also, a CRS system can give shy students the chance to respond silently and privately, enabling the student who might not speak up in class to express their thoughts and opinions.  It can also enable students to respond anonymously to sensitive, ethical, legal and moral questions.

Some activities that I could incorporate in my classes using CRS would be a review game similar to ?Jeopardy,? peer instruction (I can pose a question and wait for responses, if not satisfy with answers, I can ask the students to collaborate with each other), quizzes (great way to save paper!), interactive demonstrations and data gathering (opinion polls, likes, dislikes).

However, technology brings a share of problems as well.  A teacher needs considerable amount of time to set-up and troubleshoot the CRS.  Also, non-CRS back-up activities need to be planned.  Also, writing effective multiple-choice questions can be challenging.  Common student mistakes and misconceptions can be useful in designing wrong answers to multiple-choice questions.  Another problem that I can see is if many students choose the wrong answer to a specific question may reveal that the students have misconceptions, although not necessarily bad, teachers may need to expend extra time to figure out why the students chose the wrong answer and clarify the problem.  Finally, if the students do not understand a particular concept, the teacher may need to change the plan quickly and this can be challenging for teachers who do not think on their feet.

Teleresearch is not an educational activity unto itself. It serves different purposes for students' learning, determined by the purposes for and ways in which information is located and used. Telecollaboration can take many forms.  For example, exploring a topic of inquiry or finding answers to a particular question, reviewing multiple perspectives upon a topic, collecting data remotely, assisting authentic problem-solving and publishing information syntheses or critiques for others to use, to name a few.

Summary of Activity Structures (from Dawson & Harris, 1999, p. 2)

When I read about Tellecolaboration in the Harris article, I couldn?t help but to think about Vygostky (my heroe!).  Vygotsky, a developmental theorist and researcher who worked in the 1920s and early '30s, has influenced some of the current research of collaboration among students and teachers and on the role of cultural learning and schooling. His principal premise is that human beings are products not only of biology, but also of their human cultures. Intellectual functioning is the product of our social history, and language is the key mode by which we learn our cultures and through which we organize our verbal thinking and regulate our actions. Children learn such higher functioning from interacting with the adults and other children around them.

The zone of proximal development, scaffolding, and dialogue are especially useful concepts or frameworks for school learning. Vygotsky observed that effective teachers plan and carry out learning activities within children's zones of proximal development, through dialogue and scaffolding.  Dialogue, scaffolding, and working in one's zone of proximal development can be accomplished in collaborative classrooms, and are being accomplished in many classrooms today.  Vygotsky also provides us with a framework for thinking about an important function of teaching and the multicultural perspective. His research suggests that school learning enables students to connect their "everyday concepts" to "scientific concepts." In other words, schools help students draw generalizations and construct meaning from their own experiences, knowledge, and strategies. Knowledge learned in the community and knowledge gained from school are both valuable. Neither can be ignored if students are to engage in meaningful learning.  Effective teachers help students make these connections by scaffolding and dialogue. In fact, these are the essence of mediating. Teachers plan learning activities at points where students are challenged. Teachers plan activities and experiments that build on the language of students' everyday lives through familiar examples and behaviors, analogies and metaphors, and the use of commonly found materials. Teachers demonstrate, do parts of the task students cannot do, work collaboratively with students where they need help, and release responsibility to students when they can perform the task independently.

Finally, Telecollaboration encourages cooperative learning. It has the potential to improve learning, more effective social skills, and higher self-esteem for most of their students. In addition, due to our changing world demands more and more cooperation among individuals, communities, and nations are needed, and as such we are indeed preparing our students for this world.

A webquest is an assignment, which asks students to use the Web to learn about a specific topic.  Webquests are among the most fascinating applications on the Internet for K-12 educators.  Not only, they challenge students to explore the web for information, but also, it is an excellent way to integrate the Internet into the classroom.  It is student centered and inquiry based.  Webquests have an introduction, a process, a task, a list of resources, a conclusion and an evaluation.

I find it the perfect model for teachers searching for ways to incorporate the Internet into the classroom on both short-term and long-term basis.  A webquest assignment can be given on the web itself by sending the students to a web page, which serves as the ?home base? for the student?s information search. 

A good webquest makes learning interesting for the students.  It puts the power of the Web behind your topic.  You can show students, or let them discover for themselves, not just tell them.  The links to the websites can take the students anywhere in the world.  They can, also, allow the student to work at their own pace, either individually or in groups.  Furthermore, it lets students explore selected areas in more depth, but within the limits that the teacher has selected thus avoiding the use of ?shaky? sources. 

Webquests can also increase the ?comfort level? of students using the Internet for learning activities.  While we know that our students are computer literate, a properly designed webquest can help students become creative researchers rather than simply ?surfing? from one site to another.

I happen to like webquests because they are highly visual.  The web is a visual medium and the presentation becomes stronger when it includes sites with lots of pictures, maps, animations or even sounds.  These are teaching tools that keep the students? interests.  They are also easy to use.  Students can move easily from one location to another without a lot of tedious mouse work.

Although I have not made a webquest by myself before, I had the pleasure to collaborate on a few with colleagues.  Some questions to consider before starting:

1. What do I want my students to learn as a result of this lesson?
2. Why is this information important?
3. Where does this information fit into the specific context of this unit?
4. How does this information fit into the broader curriculum?
5. How can this information help students make connections across subject areas?

Finally, there are some limitations to consider.  Are there enough computers?  Should students work in teams or individually?  If working it from home, would the student have support from the parents?