Re: Web Content and Change in Teacher Practice

Barry L. Chad (chadb@clpgh.org)
Sat, 29 Mar 1997 15:49:02 EST 

From:	MX%"content@info-ren.pitt.edu" 29-MAR-1997 14:16:11.27
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Subj:	Re: Web Content and Change in Teacher Practice

Message-ID: <l0302090eaf6306c8337d@[205.164.88.212]>
From: Suzanne Alejandre <salejan@e2.empirenet.com>

>>We want students to be inspired by this content and then be
>>>encouraged to go off and create their own musical instruments.
>
>I doubt it.....my students tend to be passive learners and in order to
>encourage them to go off and create something I have to supply some
>ideas and create an environment for them to do that. I just don't see
>that a Web page that they interact with (somewhat passively) will
>make them think of going off the Web and making their own instrument!
>
>***I disagree. A couple of weeks ago I was asked to speak to a 4th grade class
>about the Common Knowledge/Carnegie Library project.  These 4th graders who
>will be constructing their own WebSite were extraordinarily enthusiastic.
>When they saw the variety of animated gifs, they literally flipped out.  I
>think the majority of that class would have loved to create their own animated
>gif.
>How that blends in with the curriculum is the responsibility of the teacher.
>The kids also loved the soundclips that I linked underneath some of my
>transparent gifs.  There is real potential here for constructing a site
>about a
>class-related topic or a site about the class itself.

Well....let me try to explain more what I was thinking. I was going just
from that one armonica site - you can click on the picture and then the
sound comes up. I was visualizing my students (who have access to the Web)
sitting there interacting with the armonica.  I just don't see my students
suddenly coming up with the idea (themselves) that they are going to
make their own musical instruments. When I say they are passive -- often
they will sit there and interact with the "thing" .... but .... they don't
take it a step further without prompting.

Your example is different. I agree that animated gifs make kids flip out!
[Some of my html kids first period are figuring out how to make them using
Gif Builder because they found some animated gifs, saved them and put them
on some pages they are writing....so....when I told them they could only
use original gifs...they got busy figuring it out!]

So, now I am thinking....there is a difference between presenting a skill
like making animated gifs, making soundclips, etc. and having the kids (and
hopefully the teachers) learn these techniques....and just presenting those
products as a way for kids/teachers to view a thought.

I agree with you that presenting those skills and sharing those skills are
very valuable in using technology as a tool to present curriculum!

Suzanne

***I am not a teacher, but a librarian but also with very little time.
   When I see exotic and apparently stupid sites, like the online
   "Etch-A-Sketch" or a baseball site that replays games, I cannot
   help but think about how to apply such a thing to presenting our
   Department's local history and genealogical content.
   
   I don't know if this applies to K-12 or not, but I have come to feel
   that our automation department should be more than servicers or tenders
   of machines.  Libraries and schools should have on-staff programmers
   who can work with teachers and librarians to present content in interesting
   ways and ways that are tailored to particular audiences.  It's this kind of
   grass roots technology that, I think, means more than buying software from
   vendors and becoming dependent on vendors.  The Web has taught me that
   anyone can do this stuff.  
   
   From what I've been reading, it seems like the "Canyon" project has
   behind it the technical competency to do implement such a home-grown and
   original effort.
bchad
 



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Date: Sat, 29 Mar 1997 09:59:00 -0800
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From: Suzanne Alejandre <salejan@e2.empirenet.com>
Subject: Re: Web Content and Change in Teacher Practice
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