establishing a place for teaching technologies

Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies

ÁLVARO H. GALVIS, ED.D.

Winston-Salem, NC, August 2009

Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies Page ii


By Alvaro H Galvis, Ed.D.

© 2009

Alvaro H Galvis 250 Lake Dale CT Clemmons, NC, 27012 978.467.5729 [email protected]

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Cover Design by Shira Hedgepeth Translation from Spanish by Michael Brookshaw, Ph.D Copy edited by Joanne Chesley, Ed.D

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data


Alvaro H Galvis p, cm Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1. Educational technology. 2. Computer-assisted instruction. 3. Teaching—Aids and devices. 4. Teaching—Computer network resources. 5. Computer conferencing in education. 6. Instructional systems—Design. I. Galvis, Alvaro H [1950- LB1028.3 G358 2009

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents iii

ICTE –Information and Communication Technologies for Education 1

PLACE: an acronym for understanding Information & Communication Technologies for Education 3

P for Productivity 5 TOOLS SUPPORTING TEXT-BASED COMMUNICATION 5

Tools for Improving Written Communication 5 Typing Tools 6 Scheduling and Bibliographical Tools 6

TOOLS TO SUPPORT DATA PROCESSING 7 Online surveys and descriptive statistics 8 Statistical Data Analysis Tools 8

TOOLS THAT SUPPORT GRAPHIC EXPRESSION 9 Graphic Processing Tools 9 Tools for Making Multimedia Presentations 10

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TOOLS FOR MULTIMEDIA DATA PROCESSING 10 Tools for Processing Video and Digital Sound 10 Tools for Sharing digital products on Internet 11 Tools for threading voice comments on digital objects 13 Tools for Building web pages 13

TOOLS FOR TIME AND ACTIVITY MANAGEMENT 14

L for Learning Environments 15 CONSTRUCTION OF CONCEPTUAL AND MIND MAPS 15 CONSTRUCTION OF CAUSE-EFFECT MAPS 17 MATHEMATIC MODELS: CONSTRUCTION AND EXPLORATION 17 SIMULATIONS AND GAMES: CONSTRUCTION AND EXPLORATION 18 LECTURE NOTES AND FLASH CARDS: BUILDING AND USE 18 CREATION OF DIGITAL PORTFOLIOS 19 CREATION AND USE OF RUBRICS 19

A for Access to cultural, and intellectual capital 21 SEARCH ENGINES AND DIGITAL TAGGING 22 ELECTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIAS 23 SUBSCRIPTION TO ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SERVICES 24

List Serves 24 RSS Channels 25

DICTIONARIES, TRANSLATORS AND THESAURUSES 25 EDUCATIONAL PORTALS 26 DIGITAL TOURS THROUGH MUSEUMS AND COLLECTIONS 28

C for Communication 31 TOOLS FOR INTERACTING ASYNCHRONOUSLY 31

Email (electronic mail) 32 Text messaging and chat rooms 33 Social messaging via Twitter 33 Social/virtual networking in education 34 Digital Diaries, also called, Blogs 35 The Wiki and collaborative knowledge building 36 Collaborative productivity tools 38 Network Forums 38 Video lecture capturing 39

TOOLS FOR SYNCHRONOUS INTERACTION 40 Chat rooms 41 Multimedia Instant Messaging Systems 41 Video Conferencing Systems 42

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TOOLS FOR HYBRID SYNCHRONOUS / ASYNCHRONOUS INTERACTION43 Course delivery systems 44 Community management systems 44

E for Exploration of learning objects 47 DIGITAL MANIPULATIVES THAT SUPPORT CONJECTURAL

EXPLORATION 48 Some Resources for Manipulating Scientific Digital Objects 48 Some Resources for Digitally Manipulating Mathematical Objects 50

LEARNING THROUGH EXPLORATION AND CONJECTURE 51 Web Explorations 51 Digital Exploration of Our Planet 52

Using ICTE to improve teaching 55 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH ICTE 55

Personal growth with ICTE 56 Career advancement with ICTE 58

COURSE ENHANCEMENT WITH ICTE 59 ICTEs embedded in course requirements 60 ICTEs to enhance teaching strategies 61

About the author 65

Acknowledgements 67

Glossary 69

Works Cited 73

Reference List for ICTE in footnotes 76

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ICTE –Information and Communication

Technologies for Education

Information and communication technologies—ICT—have changed the way we relate to others and revolutionized many fields of human endeavor. Physical presence is no longer a prerequisite for being in contact with people or suppliers of information relevant to personal or professional activities. By using ICT the interaction that is required to perform individual and group initiatives can be achieved at reasonable prices and with increasing effectiveness. Moreover, businesses are not the same since computers and digital networks are now used to add value to products and services. Hence, information systems and technologies can create a difference in customer service and resource management of an organization (Galvis, 1997).

Like all sectors of human activity, education has at its disposal multiple technological opportunities to support the achievement of its mission. Information and Communication Technologies for Education—ICTE—have permeated the management of educational institutions. Information systems—accounting, finance, library and student registration—are increasingly more effective and provide better administrative service to the recipients. In spite of the growing investments made by ministries and secretaries of education and parental associations to provide equipment to educational institutions at all levels and in all sectors, ICTE have had a smaller impact on the activities

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inherent to student development and the establishment and consolidation of learning communities. At this juncture, the following comment, from Seymour Papert (1996), resonates: It is easy to understand how someone from this era might be in a classroom of our time and appear to feel very comfortable since the teaching environment has remained the same—centered on the professor and using the blackboard. By contrast, if one were to face a different environment—for example a hospital—one would not recognize it because technology has radically changed the processes

In education there are many opportunities to reengineer educational processes with technology support. Nevertheless, when we integrate ICTE just to mediate processes (e.g., use of LMS—Learning Management Systems—to distribute and collect course related digital information) we will most likely continue doing more of the same; there may be increases in efficiency but not necessarily in efficacy. When we rethink what we are doing and use ICTE to make viable some of our educational dreams (e.g., fostering active learning via interaction, exploration, collaboration) we will most likely add value to education at costs that merit the investment. With ICTE we can do business as usual with new tools, or we can choose to rethink what is to be done and how we will do it, given the array of digital resources available. (Galvis, 1998a, 1998b).

Just having computer equipment and communication networks in educational institutions will not make a difference in learning outcomes; it is what is done with them and how it is done that matters. The use of ICTE in fundamental processes adds value to the mission of each institution.


PLACE: an acronym for understanding Information & Communication Technologies for Education

There are many ways to benefit from Information and Communication Technologies for Education (ICTE). Of course equipment and communication are essential; without them, digital processing and technology-mediated interaction is not possible. Nevertheless, without qualified educators and directives that support innovation and foster the redesign of educational processes, it would be difficult to accomplish anything of educational value.

Even though children and youth of today are “digital natives,” that is, were born and grew up in a digital culture, we cannot think that giving them access to digital equipment in an educational institution will necessarily imply that educational improvement will take place. While a myriad of technological initiatives have been introduced to close the digital divide in education, we cannot be deceived into thinking that the tools themselves are sufficient. There are thousands of pieces of equipment in educational institutions that have not made a difference with regard to student learning or teaching innovation. Fortunately, there is an increasing number of cases that also indicate improvements in student retention and advancement, the development of positive


attitudes toward learning, and an increase in competence for competing in the 21st century (Galvis, 1998a, 1998b).

The acronym, PLACE is a way to understand the opportunities that ICTE can provide to educators and students. Information and communication technologies embrace all of those artifacts that are of value in processing, storing, or disseminating information in a digital format. They also include all those artifacts that allow human interaction by using digital devices. This book offers different paths and strategies that educators may use to reengineer educational processes when they integrate ICTE. Keeping this in mind, we wish to invite the reader to understand ICTE by analyzing the following five dimensions which we will mnemonically refer to as PLACE; with each letter illustrating a way of using ICTE.

P ICTE that improve individual Productivity, simplifying activities and increasing personal capacity.

L ICTE that support the creation of technology-enhanced Learning environments.

A ICTE that foster Access to cultural and intellectual wealth.

C ICTE that support individual or group Communications, synchronously or asynchronously.

E ICTE that aid the Exploration of learning objects which support knowledge construction.


P for Productivity

What has made ICTE famous in the dominions of human activity is their capacity to simplify routine tasks, and at the same time, extend the potential of those who carry them out. This is done with informational productivity tools which act as computational systems that benefit many areas of human activity. The following sections include a review of distinctive productivity tools that have not been created for education, but are potentially useful in educational activities.

Tools Supporting Text-based Communication

One of the greatest necessities that educators and students have is being able to properly express themselves in writing and make references to the documentary sources that are required for footnotes and references. This group of tools can support such functions.

Tools for Improving Written Communication

One of the basic activities in a large number of domains is written communication. Word processors and other tools like spell checkers, and reference and bibliography organizers allow writers to concentrate on what they want to say.


Writers can concentrate on the quality of the message when word processing tools are used such as WORD from Microsoft Office [1] or WRITER from the free Open Office [2] from Sun Microsystems.

Typing Tools

Typing systems merit special attention. Knowing how to use ten fingers to type well without looking at the keyboard makes a big difference in category P every time we try to correlate what we think with what we type.

There are tools on the Internet that help to improve typing. For example, LEARN 2 TYPE [3] is a free program designed for adult users to simultaneously exercise while handling the keyboard and the mouse. On the other hand, NAIL IT NOW [4] offers a free solution for children.

Scheduling and Bibliographical Tools

The development of footnotes and references is a time-consuming task that can be largely eliminated when a data base of sources has been created. This type of system allows the presentation of footnotes and bibliographic references in the format that is required (e.g. APA, ACM). Moreover, bibliographic data bases are generated which may be converted into shareable resources among members of the educational community.

Bibliographic reference management software like ENDNOTE [5] becomes a wonderful ally that permits researchers and authors to capture, to publish and to find references and include them in documents in the appropriate format.

Your scholarly references and articles can be organized and shared with CiteULike [6], a free service from Springer.

1 http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/default.aspx 2 http://www.download-new.com/openoffice/1/ 3 http://www.learn2type.com/ 4 http://www.nailitnow.com.au/typingtutor/children.html 5 http://www.endnote.com 6 http://www.citeulike.org


The most current version of MS-WORD [2] includes features for managing citations and references as part of the word processor utilities.

Tools to Support Data Processing

Knowing how to organize, store, recover and process numerical data using a statistical analysis package is another challenge for educators. This group of tools designed to alleviate these problems is best categorized as follows:

Calculation and Analysis tools

The calculation and analysis of numerical data is another common activity in many fields.

Thanks to spreadsheets, the processing of numerical data is focused on organizing the data and defining the operations that the spreadsheet should do. Once the data is captured, the program makes processing, grouping, ordering and visual representation possible in many different ways. The great gain here is linked to the possibility of supporting the analysis of data matched with variables. It is like asking “What happens if…?” while visually and numerically analyzing the data.

Let’s think for a moment about what a teacher can do when using a spreadsheet to calculate his students’ grades or to group and order other information. This tool allows him to utilize various criteria and depict graphic results in one way or another. The possibilities increase even more with considerations of diverse views on assessment or varying the weight of certain components, when student results are calculated.

We should consider as well, what students can do when they are analyzing the results that they obtain following a certain course of study without limiting themselves to mere tabulation, but acquiring knowledge derived from digital data. Consequently, the calculation process is simplified and knowledge is increased.

Applications like Microsoft’s EXCEL [1] or CALC from Sun Microsystem’s Open Office [2] simplify the calculation and analysis of numerical data


Data-Base Management Tools Data processing available in organized digital repositories (databases) makes it possible to generate aggregate information with distinct “views” (content and level of detail) defined according to the needs of the user. The functions of these tools allow data to be accessed via comprehensive searches of available registries or just segments of the database. It does not simply store, organize and search for information in an efficient manner, but these tools also permit the generation of new knowledge (cross listing and aggregate views) that without technology would be very difficult to obtain.

Tools like Microsoft Office’s ACCESS [1] and BASE [2] from Sun Microsystem’s Open Office are user friendly and very powerful, permitting competent users to manage, design, administer and to take advantage of collections of organized digital information.

Online surveys and descriptive statistics

Collecting data and feedback from customers is an important task for educators and researchers. Many LMS (Learning Management Systems) include their own survey creation and management tools, but in many cases this function needs to be accomplished independently.

SURVEYMONKEY [7] is self-defined as the simple way to create, apply, and get results from surveys. It has a single purpose: to enable anyone to create professional online surveys quickly and easily. The free version allows 100 answers per survey.

Statistical Data Analysis Tools

Usually databases contain very valuable information. Nevertheless, beyond the data, at times, it is necessary to find commonalities, or to test hypotheses about cause and effect issues allotting for diverse criteria.

Statistical data processing packages, for example SPSS [8] Statistical Package for the Social Sciences or SAS [9] Statistical Analysis System,

7 http://www.surveymonkey.com/Default.aspx 8 http://www.spss.com/ 9 http://www.sas.com/technologies/analytics/statistics/index.html


make this type of analysis possible giving control of the types of aggregations, cross-listings, statistical tests, etc. to whomever manages the tool. They also resolve quantitative questions that guide research.

Tools that Support Graphic Expression

Oral and written communication is largely supported by the visualization of what we mean. This group of tools can improve our productivity in creating and editing images as well as presentations that utilize a variety of techniques.

Graphic Processing Tools

Graphic expression is another activity where productivity software tools can add a lot of value to various fields. The creation, capture and editing of images can help to express what we say and feel. This task is relatively easy when one knows how to use the appropriate graphic software.

It is said that an image is worth a thousand words. Those who have chosen to use graphics to support their work surely feel compelled to work on “rough drafts” whenever they process an image, then publish it to give it “the touch” that it merits without major effort.

This function is not the only benefit of using graphic processing tools. These technology tools make it possible to go beyond conventional graphics design limits. Not only are artistic options increased, but the opportunities to share and critique are made more available to the creator of the work. This reality gives new possibilities to the artist.

Applications like Microsoft’s PAINT [10] as well as FIREWORKS [11] developed by Macromedia, now owned by Adobe are praised for their ability to enhance their users’ graphic expression as well as offering the possibility of doing the graphic processing of digital images. As far as tools for children, it is possible to emphasize KIDPIX [12] an intuitive and powerful application developed by Broderbund Software and sold by The Learning Company.

10 http://www.fayette.k12.il.us/99/paint/paint.htm 11 http://www.adobe.com/products/ 12 http://www.kidsdomain.com/down/mac/kidpix.html


Tools for Making Multimedia Presentations

The creation of multimedia presentations is also enhanced by the use of productivity tools that allow easy manufacture and presentation of digital materials. The new presentation softwares when used optimally, render a finished product that is effective in conveying both content and appeal.

Tools like Microsoft Office’s PowerPoint [1] and Sun Microsystem’s Open Office IMPRESS [2] have made multimedia presentations very simple.

Tools for Multimedia Data processing

We often have film registries of video and sound recordings of audio that we want to use in our educational activity. This group of tools can efficiently support this process.

Tools for Processing Video and Digital Sound

Sound and video editing has stopped being the domain of audiovisual specialists. Nowadays it is possible to become a fan of these arts and do digital, audio and video processing including texts, special effects, sound and visual credits, subtitles, multiple audio tracks (by language or with the original sound and commentary).

Digital audio editing is doable with AUDACITY [13], an open access multiplatform tool that allows basic to professional treatment of digital sound; it imports and produces files in a variety of audio wave forms.

Tools like LAS VEGAS MOVIE STUDIO [14] by Sony or QUICKTIME PROFESSIONAL [15] by Apple make it possible for educators and students to edit digital audio and video.

CAMTASIA STUDIO [16] by TechSmith allows the creation of screen videos from the computer and the editing of videos you have already created. All of these tools make it possible to create archives in

13 http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/index.html 14 http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudio 15 http://www.apple.com/es/quicktime/download/ 16 http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp


more than one format. CAMSTUDIO OPEN SOURCE is a free version of Camtasia Studio 6 [17].

JING [18] by TechSmith and GOVIEW [19] by Citrix Online are open access software that allow users to screen capture and screen video recording with audio. Both applications upload captured information to the Web, FTP, computer or clipboard. A URL is automatically created and can be shared with others to view or access the uploaded file. There is no video or picture editing with JING or GOVIEW. You can add titles with GOVIEW.

ScreenR [20] allows instant screencasting for Twitter and it is free. This web-based tool works both in Mac or PC. It generates MP4 files that can be played everywhere on the web.

Tools for Sharing digital products on Internet

The Internet is a good way to share what we create as educators and to benefit from what others have published. Depending on what you want to share, there are very interesting tools and web services at your disposition. The following is not an exhaustive list.

Your favorite URLs (Internet addresses) with the corresponding tags can be organized and shared with DELICIOUS [21], a free service from Yahoo.

Your pictures and albums can be shared with PICASA [22] from Google or FLICKR [23] from Yahoo. Images can be uploaded and organized in groups. Their free services permit a limited number of groups.

17 http://camstudio.org/ 18 http://www.jingproject.com/ 19 http://goview.com/goldwyn/spring/play?method=indexPage 20 http://screenr.com/ 21 http://delicious.com/ 22 http://picasa.google.com/ 23 http://www.flickr.com/


If you want to publish slides or digital documents in different type of formats you can consider using SLIDESHARE [24]. It is a free publishing service.

If you have created digital video and want to make it available in video episodes no longer that 10 minutes each, YOUTUBE [25] from Google is appropriate; it is one of the best known digital video free publishing services. If you want your digital video to be part of an educational collection, then SCHOOLTUBE [26] may be of interest to you. It is an online community of educators that want to share videos produced by students or educators, all of them approved by a certified educator and organized in categories.

If you want your digital video or audio to be watched or listened to on mobile devices as well as Internet browsers, then ITUNES U [27] is a good partner. This is a free service from Apple; it allows sharing content produced by universities, museums, or world leaders and thinkers. Each one of the pieces becomes a track that can be played with iTunes.

Using TEACHERTUBE [28] or eSNIPS [29] you can share video, audio, documents, or pictures, organized by channels or topics of interest. While TeacherTube is a community of educators, eSnips is an open community.

All of the aforementioned services include tagging, which allows members to surf through each collection of digital objects by using tags created by non experts, instead of classifications that follow well defined rules. According to Wikipedia this practice of collaboratively tagging, social classification or social indexing, is called “folksonomy”. Some web sites include tag clouds as a way to visualize tags in a folksonomy.

24 http://www.slideshare.net/ 25 http://www.youtube.com/ 26 http://www.schooltube.com/ 27 http://www.apple.com/education/mobile-learning/ 28 http://www.teachertube.com/ 29 http://www.esnips.com/


Tools for threading voice comments on digital objects

Digital objects (images, videos, documents, presentations) especially those which are more complex, often require feedback that goes beyond the written comment. Imagine being able to comment on your students’ proposals using voice-based remarks. Imagine online collaboration around media where you and your colleagues can asynchronously share ideas on digital objects by using voice, text, and hand written drawings, all on one page.

VOICETHREAD [30] is a tool for having group oral interactions around images, documents, videos or presentations or a combination of them. A VoiceThread can securely capture and hold an entirely group discussion on one simple page. `

Tools for Building web pages

Many people have their own web sites that they use as information servers. This particular use of the internet builds on web authoring languages such as HTML—Hyper Text Markup Language. There are hypertext authoring systems that let the creator express himself through integration of texts, graphics, links, and videos. These systems also permit you to generate the corresponding HTML codes.

Hypertext authoring systems such as Macromedia-Adobe’s DREAM-WEAVER [31] or Microsoft’s FRONTPAGE [32] minimize the effort to create hypertexts.

Many Learning Management Systems—LMS—and Content Management Systems—CMS—provide online course creators the opportunity to use a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) human-computer interface that generates editable HTML code. This type of WYSIWYG interface is also behind many of the so-called “Social networking” tools that include blogs, wikis, and community-building systems. We will comment on them under the C type ICTE.

30 http://voicethread.com/ 31 http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/ 32 http://www.microsoft.com/products/


Tools for time and activity management

Effective collaboration with others is not an easy task as long as it requires a lot of coordination and time management. Beyond this, project management, which involves coordinating goals, activities, resources, and reporting, is even more challenging. Fortunately there are open access tools that can alleviate these processes. Some are referenced below.

DOODLE [33] is a free on-the-web event scheduler and poll manager. It allows users to create, edit, apply, and analyze poll results.

PROJECT2MANAGE [34] is a free hosted project management solution. It assigns multiple levels of permission to different clients & users, manages projects from anywhere, posts messages to keep everyone up to date, manage tasks with to-do lists, creates milestones to stay on task.

33 http://doodle.com/ 34 http://www.project2manage.com/


L for Learning Environments

Instructors willing to give their students the opportunity to actively participate in knowledge building may decide to use digital tools that allow creation or manipulation of learning environments. When these goods have been created by the students it is possible they may have internalized the rules that underlie the product; when they have been created by the teachers, the goods become learning objects. Tools that allow teachers or students create learning environments, and that were created with an educational purpose, are included under L-Type category.

Construction of Conceptual and Mind Maps

Conceptual and mind maps are a way of visually expressing relationships that underlie a study object. They are especially useful when the student creates the map as long as he appropriates a method for expressing his understanding of what has been studied. Concept and mind maps can also be used by the teacher to create visual navigation systems through concepts and their relationships which can be used as support for the learning process.


CMAP TOOLS [35] are free tools that allow the construction, navigation, sharing, and critiquing of learning models expressed as conceptual maps. They can be used by teachers and students at any level and content area, by themselves or as members of a community that constructs knowledge collaboratively. Once the tool is installed, the user can embark on discovering its functionality through trial and error, or can go through the tutorial [36] to resolve doubts about distinct functions and possibilities offered by the system. This tutorial is controlled by a contextual menu that guides the user step by step in resolving any questions and showing specific images that illustrate the references. The aforementioned tool allows for local creation and the global sharing of concept maps. It enhances the ability to exceed the mental expression modes of each author. Also, it allows the creation of learning communities supported by concept maps. These communities share information, discuss distinct perspectives concerning the study object and integrate knowledge.

MIND42 [37]—Mind for two—is a collaborative browser-based online mind mapping tool. It allows you to manage all your ideas, whether alone, as a twosome or working with the whole world. As Mind42 runs inside the browser, installing mind mapping tools is no longer needed for a hassle-free mindmapping experience. Just open the browser and launch the application when needed. It behaves like a classical desktop application! Mind42 is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) mind map editor supporting keyboard shortcuts, drag and drop, zooming and much more. No forms and lists which are generally used in web applications are needed.

WISE MAPPING [38] is the web mind mapping tool that leverages the power of Mind Maps, mixing new technologies like vectorial languages (SVG and VML) and the power of the whole Web 2.0 concept. No pluggins are required. A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, and decision making. A mind map is similar to a semantic network or cognitive map but there are no formal restrictions on the kinds of links used.

35 http://cmap.ihmc.us/ 36 http://cmap.ihmc.us/Support/help/ 37 http://www.mind42.com/ 38 http://www.wisemapping.com/c/home.htm


Construction of Cause-Effect Maps

Cause and effect maps help students to understand information that is combined to solve a problem. Factors associated with a problem can be organized and understood as they interact in a cause and effect relationship. This software supports cycles of investigation that give order to what students know; the knowledge is organized in a map.

A review by Eduteka (2002) related to visual tools that support learning says that SEEING REASON [39], a program developed by Intel and distributed for free, is designed to create cause and effect maps. SEEING REASON generates a work area in the Internet browser that can be utilized by the student for investigating and understanding complex systems. It is not necessary to download any software or install anything in the computer. In the area “Teacher Workspace” the instructor registers, creates a folder for each project and creates one or more groups of students to whom he assigns a key. Each group registers in the “Student Login” area and gives the names of the project and the group. A white work area appears where the groups can create project components such as cause and effect relationships that exist.

Mathematic Models: Construction and Exploration

Physical phenomenon can be expressed in multiple forms like equations, tables, graphics and animations that respond to underlying logic. With this idea in mind, applications have been constructed that allow students and secondary and university teachers to utilize mathematics to create or to explore interactive models.

MODELLUS [40] is a tool that allows making multiple representations (tables, equations, graphics, animations) of studied phenomenon, with manipulation of variables in concrete or abstract forms. It is distributed almost for free (it costs $5 to receive the book and CD in the mail). It is supported in several languages through which examples can be analyzed and information can be gathered concerning the function of the system. Modellus can be learned experientially and through inquiry; online help is also available. One can join the community of virtual Modellus users in Yahoo Groups in

39 http://www97.intel.com/en/ThinkingTools/SeeingReason/ 40 http://phoenix.sce.fct.unl.pt/modellus/index.php


order to share experiences and to search for solutions to problems that surface when using the system.

Simulations and Games: Construction and Exploration

Games and simulators can be powerful environments for exploration. Their construction, however, can become a challenge that demands a very good understanding of the environments that are being modeled, the rules that govern their function, the intervening variables and the results. Creating games and simulators from scratch can be overwhelming, but with the right tools it is an enjoyable activity for those with such an interest.

AGENTSHEETS [41] is a multiplatform authoring tool for computational models that simulate the diverse natural systems (physics, social, etc.). Agentsheets uses visual object behavioral programming (agents) which simplifies the work of modeling, testing, adjusting and utilizing existing simulators. It has been tested successfully in the construction of social and natural science simulations at all educational levels. It is possible to install a test version for ten days and educate yourself in its use by utilizing any of the online help systems from the web site (manuals, video tutorials, frequently asked questions, simulation books).

Lecture notes and flash cards: Building and Use

Students are not always good at taking notes, learning vocabulary and concepts. As educators we can support this process with technology, either by giving them access to existing resources, and/or creating the means for collaborative creation.

Tool such as QUIZLET [42] allow students to create their own flash cards, share them with classmates or with open groups, to practice via different type of exercises, to get feedback based on performance and answer speed. There is a huge collection of flash cards available, organized by topics and number of flash cards. Quizlet use is free.

41 http://www.agentsheets.com/ 42 http://quizlet.com/


A similar free tool is STUDYBLUE [43]. In addition to create and share flash cards it allows the learner to collaboratively take notes using wiki tools. StudyBlue automatically derives flash cards from notes. There is also a large collection of resources organized by topics and educational levels.

Creation of Digital Portfolios

The development of digital portfolios allows the documentation of processes and associated outcomes as evidence of personal or professional growth. The following set of resources effectively supports the construction of multimedia-based digital portfolios.

Open access applications such as EFOLIO [44], EPORTFOLIO [45] or ZPORTFOLIO [46] make it possible for students and teachers to digitally record and present evidence in an integrated form of the processes and products that comprise their work in learning and teaching.

Sometimes is worth creating multimedia documents that include reflections and textual annotations about video episodes. This can be done with free tools such as VIDEO PAPER BUILDER 3 [47]. This software has a dual format in PC and OS; it is a valuable aid to those who desire to make videocases (cases that focus on the analysis of video episodes) or videopapers (writings that reflect on video episodes).

Creation and use of rubrics

Open ended assignments (e.g., projects) as well as authentic (performance-based) assessments (Wiggins, 1990) need well defined criteria for the student to be able to self-assess processes and products and for faculty to be able to give feedback with the same lenses to all students. Rubrics serve this purpose.

43 http://www.studyblue.com 44 http://www.efoliominnesota.com/ 45 http://www.eportfolio.org/ 46 http://www.zunal.com/portfolio.php 47 http://vpb.concord.org


There are many rubric development sites available. RUBRICS FOR ASSESSMENT [48], RUBRICS FOR TEACHER [49] include collections of rubrics in different domains that may help educators understand the logic of building rubrics and select and use those that fit their needs.

There are also free tools available, such as RUBISTAR [50], a tool to help teachers create quality rubrics and IRUBRIC [51] from RCampus, which supports creation of rubrics and hosts them online. Rubrics created with iRubrics can be used as a stand- alone or as part of RCampus interactive learning resources, where results from applying the rubric are kept in a grading system.

48 http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/rubrics.shtml 49 http://www.rubrics4teachers.com/ 50 http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php 51 http://www.rcampus.com/indexrubric.cfm


A for Access to cultural, and intellectual

capital

Digital tools in this category allow the instructor to learn from life experiences through available electronic resources that permit access to the wealth of humanity. These resources can be global, organizational or local.

People generally think of the Internet as a great collection of multimedia information distributed worldwide in different repositories with different degrees of privacy. The Internet is also associated with web searches of different sites where there is electronic information and the opportunity to share network materials. The same situation exists with Intranets (internal or closed network for private information and communication; available only to authorized users) and with local networks (groups of interconnected computers tied to an electronic resource server). Within these three categories, global, organizational and local, it is possible to share and to enhance cultural, scientific and technological value by using ICTE.


Search Engines and Digital Tagging

The challenge of surfing the Internet goes beyond using a search engine that works for you. It is intimately related to effectively finding the information that you need. This requires, first of all, that you know what you want to find and that you know the search engine that is convenient for you to use. Beyond knowing when to use a particular search engine, it is necessary to know how to define the search and refine results. Refining a network search is a fundamental skill for educators and students to have. It demands clarity about what is desired, the ability to express multiple ways of finding it, and perseverance needed for searching diverse sites and book marking those that appear to be interesting. It also requires the individual to determine if what is found adds value to what is known as opposed to diverting interest away from the subject at hand.

General searches can be made with generic tools such as AOL search [52], GOOGLE search [53], Microsoft’s LIFE SEARCH [54], YAHOO search [55], or KARTOO [56], a next generation meta search engine that displays results in a visual interface.

When you need to explore certain collections, it is better to utilize specialized search tools such as GOOGLE SCHOLAR [57] which searches documents or sites that have academic value usually produced by research or educational professionals. If what you are looking for are photographs or images, it is preferable to use FLICKR [22] a system provided by YAHOO, or GOOGLE’s IMAGES [58] which investigates descriptive graphic information. If digital presentations are desired, SLIDESHARE [23] can be utilized. DIGG [59] is another valuable source; it is announced as a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. Additionally, newspaper archives can be used as another key source of information, but there may be limited access available in this category.

52 http://search.aol.com 53 http://www.google.com/ 54 http://search.live.com 55 http://yahoo.com 56 http://www.kartoo.com 57 http://scholar.google.es/ 58 http://images.google.es/ 59 http://digg.com/


Another way of looking for information on the web is by using tags like the ones offered by DELICIOUS [20] or CITEULIKE [6]. These tags may be global or formed by each one of the web sites that the users create. Each tag shows the names that are used in a given collection. Each tag cloud shows the bookmarks used in that particular collection as well as frequencies, information which is reflected in the size and color intensity of each tag. Navigating the cloud (clicking on some of the tag elements) opens the possibility of new relationships that underlie the elements that they have as reference points.

Electronic Encyclopedias

Electronic encyclopedias are perhaps the most consulted type of application by students and teachers when they are trying to investigate a theme of interest or trying to ascertain a quick answer to a question of historic, scientific, or social value. Encyclopedias provide access to an organized body of information by means of key words, descriptors, sort keys, and expressions. The man-machine interface of encyclopedias is usually intuitive. The results can utilize manifold registries with textual, graphic, sound, multimedia information as well as connections to documents, web sites and other programs. The following list illustrates the type of digital repositories and encyclopedias that could help students or faculty keep abreast of topics of interest.

APOD—Astronomy Picture of the Day—[60] is a free site that daily presents a distinct image of the universe with explanatory comments and links to other sites where further information can be found about what is being observed. It includes links to all daily photographs from June 16, 1995. There are websites that reproduce this collection in distinct languages.

EET - The Encyclopedia of Educational Technology [61] includes a multimedia collection of short articles on instructional design, education and entertainment. It is free.

ENCICLONET [62] provides free access to articles about distinct branches of knowledge. It requires registration.

60 http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030426.html 61 http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/


MEDLINE [63] includes articles about illnesses, examinations, symptoms, lesions and surgical procedures. It contains an extensive collection of medical photographs and illustrations.

MSN ENCARTA [64] has information articles, atlases and games. It requires a paid subscription.

WEBOPEDIA [65] is a dictionary and search engine specializing in concepts related to computers and the Internet. It is free.

WIKIPEDIA [66] is a free encyclopedia that is constructed collaboratively and allows content editing by any user with a web browser.

It is interesting to note that some encyclopedias receive contributions (biographies, research summaries, other) which means that they are more than repositories and providers of reference information—they are also receivers.

Subscription to Electronic Information Services

Another way to stay abreast of certain subjects is to subscribe to electronic information services that provide content on demand.

List Serves

Many web sites have periodic bulletins to which individuals may subscribe using their email addresses so that when there is news the subscriber will receive emails containing a link to the website where the information is located. The subscriber can respond to the list serve to register an opinion. This is a good way to remain current on events, publications or news of interest. The disadvantage of subscribing to a list serve is that your electronic mailbox can overflow with more information than you desire.

62 http://www.enciclonet.com/portada 63 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/encyclopedia.html 64 http://encarta.msn.com/Default.aspx 65 http://www.webopedia.com/ 66 http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia


RSS Channels

Another possibility is the subscription to active systems of information (channels) that use the RSS format (in English Really Simple Syndication), a format based on the XML language for distributing content. RSS channels can be accessed by making use of system feeds (readers of RSS sources) that allow the reader to receive news without having to surf the web or receiving list serve notifications.

BLOGLINES [67] is a free service that allows you to stay current with your blogs and favorite news channels. FEEDREADER [68] is free software under General Publication License (GPL) that allows you to subscribe and to classify RSS channels. The advantage is that it is not necessary to look for news, the RSS channel brings it. The disadvantage is that the user can become saturated with information when you have subscribed to channels that frequently update (for example public news) or collect information from many sources (like the services for open news).

Dictionaries, Translators and Thesauruses

Dictionaries, translators and thesauruses comprise another group of ICTE in this type A category. These resources have significant import for educators and students who benefit from the specialized groups who open their knowledge databases to the public. The following websites are a small sampling.

BABEL FISH TRANSLATION [69] is a free service from Altavista that allows the translation of web pages from many languages. The translation is very literal but can be used in an emergency. Likewise, REVERSO [70] can be used. It offers the same online translation services.

67 http://www.bloglines.com/ 68 http://www.feedreader.com/ 69 http://babelfish.altavista.com 70 http://www.reverso.net


WORDREFERENCE.COM [71] offers free online dictionaries to translate from English into Spanish, French or Portuguese, as well as synonyms/antonyms.

VISUAL THESAURUS [72] is a different concept of online help for those who need to visualize specific meanings of terms in English or other languages. It has a demo and you can buy individual or group licenses for local or web use.

Educational Portals

The ICTE within type A, also include corporate portals that address the discipline of education. They are websites that support different educational sectors by providing access to relevant information and tools to each group served. Instructors can find valuable educational resources to develop their teaching, and by using these portals, they enhance student-centered learning. The nature of the organization that is being supported determines the set up for each portal as the following examples will illustrate.

BIBLIOTECAS VIRTUALES [73]. This is part of the CIVILA network portals. It is free and offers a reading room, a selection of full-text novels, short stories, drama, biographies, essays, articles, fables, poetry legends and literary texts especially from Iberic America. It also has a room for interaction where virtual communities of writers and readers can meet.

EDUC.AR [74]. This is the Argentinean educational portal. It is organized by five desks: institutional, educational resources, teaching innovation, electronic literacy and services. The educational resources are structured by content area and level and include links to electronic resources for instructors and students. Information services disseminate opportunities in distinct domains for subscribers, individuals who need to navigate the site, subscribers to newsletters or RSS feeds. It also includes tools for email, chat and blogs. Innovation spaces hosts forums for interest groups for debating relevant topics for educators and are moderated by topic facilitators.

71 http://wordreference.com 72 http://www.visualthesaurus.com 73 http://www.bibliotecasvirtuales.com 74 http://www.educ.ar/educar/index.jsp


EDUTEKA [75]. This is a free educational portal that offers hundreds of personal resources and numerous links to other valuable sites for elementary and middle school educators. The majority of the content is based on the mission of Eduteka: theoretical and practical resources that help to enrich education with the use of ICTE. In order to facilitate the search for specific content and in addition to the graphic design, Eduteka offers four mechanisms; 1) a directory with more than 13 thematic categories and 150 subcategories; 2) an internal search engine with Google technology that is included on all of the pages directly under the heading of Eduteka; 3) a classified historical archive, and 4) a Tour through Eduteka.

MERLOT [76] Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching is an American portal where educators can find online teaching and learning materials that have been evaluated by colleagues. It includes collections for the teaching of art, business, education, humanities, mathematics, statistics, science, technology and social sciences.

PCA. Portal Colombia Aprende [77]. This website was created by the Colombian Ministry of National Education in order to support directives, instructors, students, families and a community of individuals from distinct educational sectors. Each user group has its own electronic posting platform where relevant resources are organized. Subscribers can also use communication tools (email, forums, chat) and private virtual space (electronic hard drive) that stores digital resources.

PEC Portal Educar Chile [78]. This is the website of the Chilean System of Education. It is organized by writers according to the type of user (instructor, manager, student, family, researcher); it depends on a variety of resources organized by desks, categories or search engines. Individuals who register to use the portal have access to the hard disk and free personal email. They can create web sites that will be hosted by the portal and participate en forums and chats.

The majority of portals mentioned provide navigation assistance. It is generally possible to return to the beginning page with a click on the

75 http://www.eduteka.org 76 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm 77 http://www.colombiaaprende.edu.co 78 http://www.educarchile.cl/home


portal icon or the start button. A map of the web site explains its structure and navigates to distinct places. Internal search engines allow you to find exactly what you are searching for.

Digital Tours through Museums and Collections

Another interesting option that extend cultural heritage are the tours of innumerable sites of the great museums, or the site of NASA which allows the virtual exploration of space. In places like these one can have a "scavenger hunt” in which the participant explores a series of virtual sites where questions can be resolved and whose solution demand that you pay attention to details in visited sites and to use important concepts. Listed below are some of our favorite museums and collections.

GOLD MUSEUM, Bogota [79]. The richness of its masterpieces and their organization into the different salons and regions of Colombia as well as the international expositions show the beauty and richness of Colombian heritage as well as the physical and historical context where these gold pieces originated.

LOUVRE MUSEUM, Paris [80]. One of the most spectacular museums in the world, with a unique web site. It is worthwhile to visit more than once in order to explore the distinct collections.

NASA [81]. A portal with multiple possibilities for exploring and knowing about our galaxy, the tools for conquering it, science and technology that support the space missions and related studies. It includes a section with access to multiple resources that can motivate future scientists and engineers to participate in cyber-excursions and diverse research about advanced technologies and mysterious phenomena.

79 http://www.banrep.gov.co/museo/eng/home.htm 80 http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en 81 http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html


NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC [82]. This site will take you to amazing vistas of animals, environment, music, people maps, and so much more. It utilizes videos, photos, reports and activities to expose you to the exciting and varied themes. There is a special page for children [83] that engages them in fun activities that encourage learning.

PRADO MUSEUM, Madrid [84]. This museum is known for its masterpiece exhibits and the stunning narratives that accompany them. Here, children are invited to paint, assemble puzzles, and practice cognitive skills. The site also alerts the viewer to educational and research activities sponsored by the museum.

SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS, Washington [85]. This is the largest complex of museums and research centers in the world. It is composed of 19 museums and nine research centers and the National Zoo. Visiting them on the web and exploring the collections of each one aids in understanding why this series of museums represents for many the opportunity of knowing the treasures of our past, the vibrant art of the present and the scientific promise of the future.

82 http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ 83 http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/ 84 http://museoprado.mcu.es/index.php?id=50 85 http://www.si.edu/museums/


C for Communication

Type-C information and communication technologies almost do not require presentation here, since a great majority of people, young and older people are currently using these tools with proficiency on a daily basis. The common denominator is “people interaction mediated by digital systems.” The differences between the types of C tools have to do with whether (1) the interaction happens asynchronously (data streaming in one direction at a time) or synchronously(data streaming in both directions at the same time); (2) communication uses textual, oral or multiple media; (3) the dialogue is moderated or not.

Tools for Interacting Asynchronously

Asynchronous interactions have helped to overcome space and time communication barriers in order to achieve dynamic dialogues. There is a growing number of tools to support asynchronous interaction. In the following paragraphs we will discuss the educational uses for some of these.


Email (electronic mail)

Electronic mail systems allow receiving, sending and storing digital messages in electronic mailboxes. Digital messages can include different types of content via texts, images, photos, sounds, videos, or website links. A digital mailbox also associates an identifier to be shared with others and a password that only the proprietor knows.

In addition to email for private communication with others, email also makes possible deferred electronic interaction between members of an educational community. Nevertheless, it can be very wasteful and ineffective when it is used to support the educational processes of groups. Interacting in this individual way with many people requires hours of reading and answering messages. Imagine receiving 40 messages from students and trying to correspond with each one of them. In this case, other approaches would be more effective (for example forums or list serves) that address common shared interests leaving personal issues to be discussed in private chat rooms or by email.

In order to take advantage of email it is necessary to develop:

The habit of downloading and reading the mail periodically The capacity to process legible written messages. The ability to identify legitimate messages (many are junk mail) and

create user lists (to simplify interactions). The criteria for opening or discarding attached files (many viruses

arrive this way). The strategy for organizing information that has been sent or received

(otherwise email would be unmanageable). The ability to respond to one or several users (streamlining the effort).

Many Internet Service Providers (ISP) offer free email with abundant storage capacity (about 6 gigabytes), virus protection, text or hypertext messaging. For example, Google’s GMAIL [86], Yahoo’s YAHOOMAIL [87], and Microsoft’s HOTMAIL [88].

86 http://gmail.com 87 http://yahoo.com


Text messaging and chat rooms

The idea of digital communication via text has been expanded to the world of cell phones and chat rooms. While text messaging via cell phones can be considered asynchronous communication—sender and receiver do not need to interact at the same time—conversations using text-based chat rooms are typically a synchronous process—participants need to be in the same chat room at the same time.

There are those who are fully against the use of text messaging via cell phones in educational environments because they believe that dialogues are imminently social and that texting does not favor the use of good language. However, these systems reach audiences in a very effective way. This can be considered an alternative way to reach students who do not read email, informing them about events, requirements and important opportunities. At the same time, this type of use can be disturbing when students do not follow rules of engagement for the use of these devices in educational settings.

Text-based chat rooms are now used less frequently because multimedia-based group instant messaging systems are easier to use. When bandwidth is limited, this type of synchronous text messaging can be very useful. It can also be utilized as a complement to voice or video-based messaging systems since text chat rooms allow documenting important ideas that emerge from oral conversation via voice-on-Internet.

Social messaging via Twitter

Twitter [89] is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real time through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?. Twitter limits you to 140 characters and spaces per post (or per "tweet"). You can follow others Twitter uses on your home page.

Doug Belshaw's teaching.mrbelshaw.co.uk blog says “I think Twitter could be ideal for reminding students about homework, trips and such things, especially as they can enter their mobile phone number to be

88 http://hotmail.com 89 http://twitter.com/


alerted when one of their ‘friends’ updates their account. The advantage is that you don’t need to know the phone numbers of students to get messages onto their device: they are the ones who authorize their mobile phone from the website and they subscribe to your Twitter feed” (cited in http://web20teach.blogspot.com/2007/08/twitter-tweets-for-higher-education.html Available the 20th of June, 2009).

Social/virtual networking in education

There is no doubt that social networking is a powerful way to get and keep in touch with friends, colleagues, and people who share a common cause or interest. Many of us have re-initiated relationships with friends by using social/viral networking tools such as Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn. All of them have the ability to put together people who have an affinity (family, hobbies, work, school, etc.) and who decide to get in touch as virtual friends. This role lets you share, from your profile, information resources such as messages, pictures, videos, and other virtual components. Your contacts (virtual friends) share their contacts, which fortifies the network.

However it is not so clear how social networking can be used in support of academic initiatives. An Inside Higher Ed blog available Jun 30th, 2009 at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/08/19/facebook mentions that “As colleges have worked over the years to solidify their Web 2.0 presence and reach out to students where they're most likely to congregate online, there's often a glaring omission from their overall Internet strategies: social networks. That's not so much an oversight as a hesitation, with many institutions still debating whether to adopt social networking capabilities of their own or grit their teeth and take the plunge into Facebook, with all the messiness and potential privacy concerns that would imply”.

FACEBOOK [90] is a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and coworkers. (Facebook Corporate page, available at http://campus-firewatch.com/reprints/web2glossary.html on June 30, 2009).

90 http://www.facebook.com/


LINKEDIN [91] is a social networking website geared towards companies and industry professionals looking to make new business contacts or keep in touch with previous co-workers, affiliates, and clients. (Definition available June 30, 2009, at http://www.hudsonhorizons.com/Our-Company/Internet-Glossary/LinkedIn.htm)

MYSPACE [92] is an online community that allows friends to keep in touch and meet new people as well. Anyone who is at least 14 years old can sign up for a MySpace account at no cost. Once you sign up, you can customize your profile by adding information about yourself, listing your interests, hobbies, and educational background, and uploading photos of yourself and your friends. You can also create your own blog for others to read. (Definition available June 30, 2009, at http://www.techterms.com/definition/myspace).

Digital Diaries, also called, Blogs

Physically, the closest thing to a blog (Binary Logs, also called Web Logs) is a web page; that is, an Internet space where information is published and shared using hypertext that allows the use of colors, different sizes and types of fonts as well as links, graphics, sounds and animations that may or may not be controlled by the user. The big difference with a web page is that the blogs are time-sensitive organized contributions. Another important difference concerning blogs is that they allow for feedback which gives readers the opportunity to comment in public (post). Many blogs have tagging systems that allow labels “to follow” the contributions being posted. This is accomplished by surfing the descriptors on the tags.

Some contentions exist, regarding truth, privacy and security vs respect for the first amendment. Every time a blog is used the creators and those who are making the commentary can say what they want without the scrutiny of editors or those responsible for the website. Students are exposed to many points of view, or commentary, which are not always desirable for a formative scholarly process. So while there are temporary solutions such as requiring students not to use complete names, or not to include photos in public blogs in order to protect their identity, there is

91 http://www.linkedin.com/ 92 http://www.myspace.com/


still the issue of intellectual property rights that support one’s sharing ideas or feelings in public.

There are also those who think that the solution is having an educational intranet that will have blog systems that can only be consulted by authorized users, or having limited domains defined by a certain type of user subject to restricted access based on their profile (blogs for students, teachers, director, etc.).

The most known open access blog system is BLOGGER [93]. This is a free service that is a part of the resources offered by Google to its users. It allows the user to create a blog account in the language that s/he prefers and to share authorship with friends.

WORDPRESS [94] is one of the best known tools for integrating blog services, that is, placing contributions of distinct blogs together. It is an open source content management system distributed under GPL (General Public License); it uses a friendly WYSIWYG interface (What you see is what you get).

The Wiki and collaborative knowledge building

Wikipedia (2007) says a wiki is a collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone with access to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. Wikis are used in business to provide intranet and knowledge management systems.

At first glance, a wiki is very much like a blog which allows the individual user to create, not just browse or read. Nevertheless, blogs and wikis are very distinct interactive tools.

A big difference is that every page of a blog is individually authored, while each wiki page is collectively authored. In a blog it is easy to identify who wrote what and when because each contribution has author identification, date and time of the last modification. In a wiki, the history keeps record of who contributed what and when, but the final version is a collective

93 https://www.blogger.com/start 94 http://wordpress.org/


product and the end user does not keep abreast of the ideas presented by each contributor.

Wikis’ history preserves the contributions to each page making it possible to find previous versions, using them as the actual page if necessary. Blogs do not preserve previous versions of a page; the author can edit them whenever he desires; however, when they are saved, the page is changed forever.

Blogs publish pages in chronological order, while a wiki publishes pages as they are being constructed, always presenting the current version.

According to Pearce (2005) the wiki is gaining traction in education, as an ideal tool for the increasing amount of collaborative work done by both students and teachers. Students might use a wiki to collaborate on a group report, compile data or share the results of their research, while faculty might use the wiki to collaboratively author the structure and curriculum of a course, and the wiki can then serve as part of each person's course web site.

A report on Wikis from Educause Learning Initiative (2005) highlights pros and cons about wikis in education:

Wikis allow faculty and students to engage in collaborative activities that might not be possible in a classroom. Their flexibility will encourage broader adoption [of wikis]—by both students and faculty. A wiki’s versioning capability can show the evolution of thought processes as students interact with the site and its content and allows for teachers to assess an ongoing project in ways not previously possible.

Because users can modify the content of a wiki (add to, edit, delete materials), allowing such manipulation of the site’s information carries some risks. Thus, wikis are often monitored to ensure that inappropriate language, spam, and incorrect or inappropriate content are not allowed. This can be both time-consuming and personnel-intensive. As a result, many wikis require authorization so only group members can modify content.

In order to diminish the risk of using open access wiki tools for collaborative knowledge construction, wiki spaces ought to have


membership and accepted rules. In this way, what is published is supported by a known author, and vandalism (e.g., leaving undesired footprints) is minimized.

Some of the most famous wiki engines are found at MEDIAHAWK [95], WIKIDOT [96], WIKISPACES [97], WETPAINT [98], all of them open access wiki systems that control who contributes through membership. It is possible to create web pages for each one of the tasks to be done, or for each group of collaborators.

Collaborative productivity tools

The wiki philosophy has been implemented with productivity tools (see P based ICTE), both for open access and commercial tools.

GOOGLE DOCS [99] is an open access application that supports the wiki philosophy in regard to word processing, spreadsheet or presentations building. It allows the collaborative work of creating, editing, and publishing text documents and/or doing digital spreadsheets on the web. The final work can be exported to different formats.

People who want to collaboratively create and professionally edit documents may consider using OFFICE LIFE workspace [100] from Microsoft, provided that all collaborators make use of Microsoft’s Office. It is announced [ibid] that in a few steps you can organize, manage and share documents, notes, spreadsheets, presentations, contacts, to-do lists, and more. You can add one or more documents including Microsoft Office Excel worksheets, Office Word documents, and Office PowerPoint presentations.

Network Forums

Network forums are systems which allow discussions in virtual spaces. Topics are debated using digital tools that allow one to take an active part in the collective analysis and construction of knowledge. A network

95 http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki 96 http://www.wikidot.com/ 97 http://wikispaces.com 98 http://www.wetpaint.com/ 99 http://docs.google 100 http://ask.officelive.com/workspace/


forum has one or more discussion seeds, planted by the forum facilitator. Participants can respond to single postings by replying to them, or can thread ideas by using illation strategies that lead to creation of collective knowledge.

The scope of the forums is bound to the communities that they serve; this is to say, the forums are conducted among people who belong to a certain group or virtual community, people who share certain interests or objectives and who feel comfortable exchanging ideas with other participants (Collison, Elbaum, Haavind, & Tinker, 2000).

Management Systems for Group of Interests like those offered by YAHOO GROUPS [101] or GOOGLE GROUPS [102] have made it possible for many educators and students to participate in web communities united by common interests. In order to belong to a group it is necessary to enroll by invitation or by application (some communities are restricted, others have free enrollment; some have one moderator or several moderators who control the information and others do not have any). In order to participate, it is necessary to register using a key and to follow web etiquette. To track the activity of the group or virtual community, email can be used to update any developments and report frequency of use and other issues. Systems for administering interest groups not only offer the possibility of doing forums, but allow information to be shared directly (organized files in folders) or by links to web sites where the information is available.

Video lecture capturing

There are different occasions in which faculty need to present content using digital video. Depending on the need, various tools are available.

Short video episodes capturing the presenter and materials that s/he is using, can be prepared with Tools for processing video and digital sound and shared on the internet using Tools for sharing digital products on Internet., both discussed in this book, under the topic, Productivity However, when it is convenient to upload a lecture longer than 10 minutes, the above solution might not work because of the restricted size of videos that can be uploaded to free servers. At this point, access to streaming video

101 http://es.groups.yahoo.com/ 102 http://groups.google.es/


servers (also called digital repositories) where large size videos can be uploaded and accessed if needed.

Regardless of the lecture size, there may be a need to give students direct access to content embedded in video lectures. This may be the case of remedial course units where students need to review concepts as they use them; that is, without having to review all the tapes; only those episodes where each concept is mentioned. Students may also not have good learning skills and may need to refine concepts by reviewing explanations or segments of a video that deal with hard-to-learn topics. Video lecture capturing systems help solve this problem.

Commercial systems such as TEGRITY CAMPUS 2.0 [103] and open access systems such as PANOPTO [104] allow faculty to record their presentations and to share them online via streaming video. In addition, they allow viewers to search for keywords through metadata embedded in power point presentations, and to surf through the thumbnails of the slides. These features have positioned these products as resources that can help students selectively review explanations about topics hard to understand without listening to the whole tape. Faculty can create collections of video recordings that are available to complement classroom sessions and that they can link from online course shells at the learning management system in use. Also, faculty can follow students’ activity online and do research on learning and teaching supported with multiple media.

Tools for Synchronous Interaction

Synchronous interactions on the web that permit live dialog (chat) using text, voice or video through the Internet are becoming increasingly important to individuals who must agree on a single digital space.

103 http://www.tegrity.com/ 104 http://www.panopto.com/


Chat rooms

Chat rooms were mentioned before as allowing synchronous text conferencing between people that agree to meet at a given time in a given virtual space to talk about something of shared interest. Their great virtue is that there is practically no limit to the number of participants who can simultaneously follow or actively participate in the conversation; this may be, at the same time, their major weakness, since depending on the number of postings per minute, the complexity and speed of the interaction can become an issue.

Another issue in these rooms is the type of conversations that can emerge. There is social dialogue and then there is pragmatic dialogue. Moderators typically promote social dialogue in private text interactions among participants, while pragmatic dialogue is fostered via interventions that either help focus or deepen the dialogue.

Since chat rooms can remain open during long periods of time and their content can be saved as long as needed, the scope of text-based chat rooms is wide and asynchronous interaction may happen.

Multimedia Instant Messaging Systems

Multimedia instant messaging systems are well known synchronous interaction devices. They permit sending and receiving messages between users who have previously agreed to establish communication using voice or video on the Internet, with the possibility of chatting via text and of sharing digital files as needed. These systems are deployed in a virtual space that the instant messaging system creates for each group.

Multimedia Instant Messaging Systems such as SKYPE [105], MSN Messenger [106], AIM [107] and ICQ [108] are very popular not just for being free but also for allowing effective multimedia online interaction with others; they are easily available, expansive and very powerful. These systems allow a user to know which of his contacts are online and their level of readiness (available, busy, out -to-

105 http://skype.com 106 http://www.msn.com/ 107 http://dashboard.aim.com/aim 108 http://www.icq.com/


lunch). They also allow for the blocking or enabling of individuals on the contact list, the saving of textual conversations, knowing if your partner is typing a message in the dialog window, and expressing feelings and sensations through icons or animations. On the other hand, it is possible to dialog with groups, each with its own identifier (photo, drawing, font), and one or more parallel conversations using digital cameras, microphones and speakers.

A variant of these systems is Internet Telephony. This feature is available in SKYPE and other voice-on-internet providers, where in addition to providing a system of voice and text interaction on Internet, it is possible to rent phone lines that are handled by the network at a reduced price.

Educationally, multimedia instant messaging has garnered a lot of strength among the members of learning communities. Free tools like PRONTO [109] that run on multiple LMS platforms make it possible for members of each virtual classroom to interact by voice or text so that the members of the educational community may be active. Personal experiences using this system in faculty development and graduate courses show that it is an effective way to contact students (who often do not read their email) when you make the tool available to them. It also builds community with and among them by holding voice dialogs and text chatting.

Video Conferencing Systems

Video Conferencing (VC) is becoming an increasingly important way to engage in educational or organizational activities that require direct multimedia interaction among participants who are physically distributed. Each of them needs to have access to an internet connection with high bandwidth, use of a headset to be able to listen and talk without echo, and install those tools required by the VC System that make multimedia interaction viable. The number of participants, the need to record the interaction or not, and the security policies and licenses available all impact the selection of best VC systems to use.

Some instant messaging systems—such as SKYPE and MSN—offer users the possibility of videoconferencing between two people; each member should have a web cam and headset, and be connected to

109 http://www.wimba.com/products/wimba_pronto/


a high band width Internet service. Extensions of these systems—like FESTOON [110]—allow the grouping of up to six users limited by the communication channel that is available (the frequency of images can limit and reduce the sound when there is narrow bandwidth).

Integrated platforms for videoconferencing also exist for large numbers of users such as iLINC [111], WIMBA [112] and ELLUMINATE [113], from the commercial side. DIM DIM [114] and WizIQ [115] have won good reputation as reliable and expandable open access systems. In these platforms there are virtual classrooms in which the instructors have privileges and can deploy electronic presentations, present websites, share resources with participants, like managing oral dialog with icons that ask for the floor, applaud, ask a question, etc. The participants must have headsets and microphones, but when the quality of the Internet communication is unknown the telephone may also be used. It is always possible to use text and voice chat. For those who do not attend the session, it can be taped and posted on the Internet as a streaming video.

It is also possible to use ICTE that allow video and high quality sound, that use sufficient bandwidth and that demand investment in equipment and communication services at each communication point. This is the case of videoconference rooms with POLYCOM [116] equipment which makes dialogs possible among groups in different places who can see and hear one another.

Tools for hybrid synchronous / asynchronous interaction

Learning communities such as courses and study groups usually need to combine different types of resources and interaction spaces. In support of this there are course/learning management systems and community management systems that let faculty and students benefit from a variety of opportunities.

110 http://festoon.softonic.com/ 111 http://www.ilinc.com/ 112 http://Wimba.com 113 http://www.elluminate.com/ 114 http://www.dimdim.com/ 115 http://www.wiziq.com/home/ 116 http://www.polycom.com/index2.html


Course delivery systems

Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Content Management Systems (CMS) are used to support course activities (e.g., instruction delivery, students’ interaction, knowledge building, testing) and to simplify administrative tasks such as grade management.

Each of these systems include forum management utilities. Discussions are conducted in global forums (involving all community members) or group forums (involving only select members from the community of learners). Some of these forums are moderated (a facilitator helps to maintain the focus and deepen the discussion) and others are open, un-moderated (e.g., social or technical ) forums. Most of LMS and CMS also allow blogs and wikis to be included to support reflection on learning objects with blogs and/or collaborative creation of knowledge with wikis.

MOODLE [117], acronym for “Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment”, is an open source solution that has garnered wide popularity within the community of users who utilize, maintain and improve it. The same situation exists with SAKAI [118], an open source environment used to foster collaboration and learning in education.

Commercial LMS, such as BLACKBOARD [119] and WEBCT [120] are strongly supported due to their high quality applications and support services. Recently, these two companies merged in order to make their LMS capabilities even stronger.

Community management systems

Professional development does not always occur in terms of courses but through voluntary participation in learning communities, in particular, communities of practice. Social networking can be a solution particularly when it is driven by the participants; that is, when they have the opportunity to co-lead the effort by having full control of technologies in use.

117 http://moodle.org 118 http://sakaiproject.org/portal 119 http://blackboard.com/ 120 http://www.webct.com/


Open access solutions such as NING [121] can be useful. The creator defines what resources s/he wants to encourage participants to use (e.g., forums, blogs, pictures, videos), and invites initial members. Each person can invite other people and the network grows as the voice of its relevance is spread.

SECOND LIFE [122] is a free online virtual world imagined and created by its Residents. It is Internet’s largest user-created, 3D virtual world community. From the moment you enter Second Life, you'll discover a fast-growing digital world filled with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity.

121 http://www.ning.com/ 122 http://secondlife.com/showcase/education/


E for Exploration of learning objects

Students must acquire large amounts of cultural, scientific and technological knowledge in an effort to master the prescribed curriculum. In many cases though, they do not have the opportunity to experience the kinds of phenomena which can enrich their knowledge. Good explanations and complete textual and audiovisual documentation are often useful in presenting a mental model ---at least from the eyes of the facilitator (the teacher). However, this type of expository activity may not be sufficient for achieving full conceptual understanding.

Science laboratories equipped with state of the art equipment help to carry out direct practice with a distinct degree of realism and precision. The apprentices can then formulate their own theses and conclusions as a basis for discussions with others and to build knowledge. These resources, however, are expensive and therefore are often not available to students.

Field work and scale models also replicate direct experiences which help to obtain evidence that permits the construction of knowledge; but


everyone cannot go to places to explore the objects under study, nor can scale models capture the functionality that they possess. Consequently, it is not always viable to have a direct experience with real objects, at times because of their size (micro or macro), the limited availability (phenomena of very low regularity) or simply because of costs.

Reasons such as the ones cited above have justified the great efforts of educational research groups in the fields of mathematics, science, technology and engineering to make available to students and teachers technological devices that expand abilities, capture information and permit individuals to discriminate and analyze data.

Digital Manipulatives that Support Conjectural Exploration

The following group of objects can be digitally manipulated and controlled by the user. This control means that the user can alter the status of the variables that affect the behavior of the object under study and this may act organically; that is to say, like a live organism which responds to the manipulation of said variables.

Some Resources for Manipulating Scientific Digital Objects

The following list does not exhaust the possibilities that exist to obtain digital manipulatives that support scientific learning centered on the student through research, experimentation and collaboration. Nonetheless, they are a good initial collection.

NSDL—National Science Digital Library [123] is a US electronic library created to support education and research in sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics. It offers free access to electronic materials for elementary education instructors, university professors, biotechnologists, the scientific community and newcomers to the discipline.

MOLO, Molecular Logic Project [124] is a project that searches for students who want to understand fundamental biological phenomenon in terms of atom and molecule interaction. Among

123 http://nsdl.org/ 124 http://molo.concord.org


other things, MOLO has activities on macro-molecules, intermolecular attractions, synthesis, the splitting of proteins. MOLO has a database of activities for student and teacher use that can be accessed by distinct concepts key words or numbers. Each activity indicates what technology is required; some are editable and all have student and teacher instructions. MOLO was produced by the Concord Consortium. After registering, this public domain software can be downloaded and the source code can be adapted under LGPL license.

PHYSICS.ORG [125] is a site created by the London Institute of Physics of the United Kingdom in order to support students, families and interested educators in learning physics by means of exploration and reflection. It has an online consultation system that pairs questions with web sites where the answers may be found. Also, relevant web sites are included that are pre-classified by age and previous user knowledge. Moreover, Physics.org offers a collection of study sites which have been used in the teaching and learning of physics concepts; it reviews a web site monthly. This site has interactive resources that explore in a playful way the concepts of physics used in daily life and the history of the discipline. It also favors the understanding and exploration of natural phenomenon through technology.

TEEMS [126], Technology Enhanced Elementary Math and Science, is a project of the Concord Consortium of Massachusetts with financing by the National Science Foundation. It produces learning units that use computers, sensors and interactive models for learning mathematics and science. The digital resources can be run on multiple desktop and handheld computer platforms utilizing any commercially provided sensors that exemplify the nine US standards for teaching the sciences in grades 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8. The resources have user guides for students and teachers and are free after registering on the project web site. The software code is open and its utilization requires the user to accept a lesser general public license (LGLP).

XPLORA [127]. This is a European portal that supports science education. It is free and is presented in three languages: English, French and German. It offers news and pedagogical ideas for

125 http://www.physics.org/index.asp 126 http://portal.teemss2.concord.org 127 http://www.xplora.org/ww/en/pub/xplora/index.htm


science instructors. It provides access to a data base of electronic resources for science education. It also opens the door to projects and innovative focuses for practical teaching. It allows registered users to create and to participate in virtual communities.

Some Resources for Digitally Manipulating Mathematical Objects

The following web sites include resources that help to enliven experiences using mathematical concepts.

MATHSNET [128] gives access to a collection of web produced resources or those suggested by the Interactive Tools for Science and Math program for student and teacher use. The great majority of the applications offered by this service are in Java, are free and support the learning of mathematics or science at the secondary level.

NLVM—National Library of Virtual Manipulatives— [129] was created to support the interactive learning of mathematics and includes a collection of applications in Java (Java applets) that are utilized by Internet users; it was created by the State University of Utah. It includes manipulatives for distinct ages and different groups of standards for teaching mathematics. Each manipulative comes with instructions, with help for parents and lesson plans for educators, and with an explanation of the mathematics standards that support its use. It is possible to get copies of the CD or to use it on the web.

SEEING MATH INTERACTIVES [130] offers a collection of digital manipulatives (digital objects that can be manipulated and respond organically to stimuli that they receive) for playing with secondary algebra concepts that are difficult to understand. Each digital manipulative allows for multiple representations of mathematical knowledge (symbolic, numeric, graphic). In order to use them one must have Java [131] in the same version or higher than 1.3.1. These interactives, produced by the Concord Consortium of Massachusetts, can be installed and used freely in educational institutions or by educators who register on the web site. Also they can be adjusted for whoever downloads the code for the LGLP open license.

128 http://www.mathsnet.net/asa2/2004/tech.html 129 http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html 130 http://seeingmath.concord.org/sms_interactives.html 131 http://www.java.com


Learning Through Exploration and Conjecture

There are many ways of learning conjecturally and by discovery beyond the use of digital manipulatives. Let’s review below the methods and tools that have been shown to be effective in this process.

Web Explorations

Web explorations are like organized field trips with educational ends. They place the learner in contact with first hand information that he can use as he pleases. Let’s review two of the best known methodologies and tools.

CYBERGUIDES [132] are web resources that support the creation of learning units focused on analyzing universal works of literature. The Cyberguides are instructional units about literature used as supplementary material the responds to the language standards of the State of California. Each Cyberguide contains student and teacher versions specifying the standards that are being addressed, the activities and processes that are being carried out, the sites selected and a rubric for orientation and evaluation.

WEBQUEST [133] is a methodology and a tool for constructing exploration activities using the web. It was developed in San Diego State University. It offers teachers the opportunity to examine and to select learning activities based on the web and to structure them as a lesson.

Bernie Dodge, the creator of WebQuest at San Diego State University explains (2007) that technologically, creating a WebQuest can be very simple. As long as you can create a document with hyperlinks, you can create a WebQuest. That means that a WebQuest can be created in Word, Powerpoint, and even Excel! If you're going to call it a WebQuest, though, be sure that it has all the critical attributes.

132 http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cyberguide.html 133 http://webquest.org/


A real WebQuest....

is wrapped around a doable and interesting task that is ideally a scaled down version of things that adults do as citizens or workers.

requires higher level thinking, not simply summarizing. This includes synthesis, analysis, problem-solving, creativity and judgment.

makes good use of the web. A WebQuest that isn't based on real resources from the web is probably just a traditional lesson in disguise. (Of course, books and other media can be used within a WebQuest, but if the web isn't at the heart of the lesson, it's not a WebQuest.)

isn't a research report or a step-by-step science or math procedure. Having learners simply distilling web sites and making a presentation about them isn't enough.

isn't just a series of web-based experiences. Having learners go look at this page, then go play this game, then go here and turn your name into hieroglyphs doesn't require higher level thinking skills and so, by definition, isn't a WebQuest.

Digital Exploration of Our Planet

The teaching of social sciences has a large number of applications which support the exploration of our planet from different heights with different levels of details.

GOOGLE EARTH [134] and WORLD WIND [135] are two exploration tools of physical sites from any place on the planet that allow visual images to be taken from a satellite and come as close as possible. Both use geographical information systems with maps that can be seen from different heights with different levels of detail. Although they may look alike, they are different products [136]. Both tools offer free versions. Google Earth is basic, although it is possible to get a more advanced version. Once installed, one learns how to use the tools through direct experience (trial and error), guided

134 http://earth.google.com 135 http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/ 136 http://www.worldwindcentral.com/65wiki/Google_Earth_comparison


experience (using online support), by demonstration (following the tutorial) or being part of interest groups.

When these tools are used collaboratively by students to research and construct knowledge, they can be combined with other tools to create a publishable document or object. It is becoming popular to use Google Earth to make cyber –excursions through countries where another language is spoken with the purpose of expanding students´ linguistic, literary, cultural, geophysical and geopolitical knowledge by consulting multimedia geo-referenced resources that are associated with the places of the cyber-excursions. From these findings students can share electronic reflections and participate in discussion forums, or blogs, about the multiple perspectives obtained.


Using ICTE to improve teaching

As mentioned at the outset, the purpose of this text is to show different paths and strategies that educators may use to reengineer educational processes when they integrate ICTE. In this section I will explore two complementary approaches: (1) professional development initiatives that are focused on helping faculty grow professionally while using Information and Communication Technologies, and (2) course enhancement initiatives that are focused on improving course effectiveness by adding value with ICTE.

Professional development with ICTE

It is accepted that Professional Development (PD) refers to skills and knowledge attained for both personal development and career advancement (Wikipedia). In this framework the reader can be wondering how ICTE can contribute to PD. I consider that P-type, C-type and A-type resources are opportunities from which any professional can benefit at the personal level, and that L-type and E-type resources become opportunities especially useful for the professoriate. In the next paragraphs I will expand on this.


Personal growth with ICTE

The following illustration taken from Gray (2006) helps one to visualize an evolutionary perspective from which we can realize how different tools have helped human beings deal with each other and with our environment. Today, interactions with others and the expansion of personal potential are best manifested via technology. Many of our students were born in this era and, according to Prensky (2001), “they represent the first generation to grow up with this technology, they are Digital Natives that think and process information fundamentally different from their predecessors… Those of us who were not born into the digital world, but have at certain points of our lives, become fascinated by and adopted many or most aspects of new technology, are and will be compared to them, Digital Immigrants.”

In the above context it is evident that a challenge to many teachers and faculty is to become “Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) literate”. Definitely “ICT literacy” goes beyond “computer literacy”, an expression that deals with being able to use computers and related information processing with basic understanding. It also includes ‘information literacy’, which the Glossary of Library and Internet Terms (USD) defines as “the skills necessary to locate, access, and use information in today’s society Given that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is an umbrella term that covers all advanced technologies in manipulating and communicating information (Wikipedia), “ICT Literacy” should also include ‘digital literacy’, a term that the DigEuLit project (2006) defines as “an ability to 'identify… integrate, evaluate, analyze and synthesize digital resources, construct new knowledge, create media expressions, and communicate with others, in the context of specific life situations, in order to enable constructive social action; and to reflect upon this process”.


The point now is how to define and implement a good strategy for helping digital immigrants become ICT literate. My proposal is to build on their condition of adult learners, a state that requires taking into consideration the following assumptions formulated by Malcolm Knowles (1984).

[Adult learners]:

tend to become more self-directed as they mature;

have had rich life experiences;

want to learn and are internally motivate to do so;

want learning to be purposeful, practical, relevant, and immediately applicable; and

are more problem-centered than content-centered.

Taking into consideration the above premises, ICT literacy for adults should be constructed from their experiential field, identifying felt needs for improving information and communication processes in which they are or want to be involved. Felt needs are things that individuals consciously lack and desire. Some people know what they would like to do better, more effectively, and with less effort, and more creativity. If a desired need can be satisfied with information or communication technologies, such can be the starting point for a new personal development cycle concerning ICT. The opposite approach also can be used, where one would begin with a review of potential technology tools within PLACE categories, and then decide about the usefulness and value to various activities In this regard, the following three types of ICTE can be particularly helpful: P-type digital resources, i.e., ICTE for improving individual productivity, C-type digital resources, i.e., ICTE to support individual or group communications, and A-type digital tools, i.e., ICTE that foster access to cultural and intellectual wealth.. My suggestion is to explore each of these groups of digital resources wondering what could be improved or solved with it, and to give priority to those resources that can add greater value to each potential user. Relevance should drive the effort; in this way the experience will be self-rewarding and, as a consequence, expandable and sustainable.


Career advancement with ICTE

In great manner our success as educators depends on the effective contribution we can provide to our students’ growth, in regard to required competences, knowledge, attitudes, or motor skills relevant at their educational level and/or field of study. However, teaching is not only what educators do. We also create and administer learning environments, develop or adjust curricula materials and/or assessment instruments, participate in learning communities and in communities of practice, among other things. With this in mind, as a complement to those ICTE that can help us grow personally, it may be good exploring two types of ICTE that by their own educational nature may add value to us as educators: L-Type digital resources, those that help us build and dispose digital learning environments for our students, and E-type digital resources, those that help our students conjecturally explore learning objects that support the inquiry, construction, and expression of knowledge.

How to do it? As in the former case, I also suggest establishing educational needs to guide the process, consulting a wider range of sources (beyond felt needs), needs that may impact your career as a professional in a discipline and/or as an educator. Taking into consideration needs assessment categories cited by McGriff (2005), I would explore: (1) Normative needs, which can be derived from standards, some of which require using technologies in a discipline; (2) Comparative needs, which can be determined from benchmarks that consider exemplary practices in our discipline, practices that can illuminate how ICTEs can be integrated in the educational process; (3) Expressed needs can be established from focus groups that reflect on current practices and how to improve them, considering diverse type of technologies and their use to enhance processes; (4) Future needs can be determined from context analysis by looking at opportunities and threads, needs which may lead to rethink curricula, curriculum materials and media; and (5) Critical incident derived needs, which can be determined from analysis of beliefs, values, attitudes or behavior that impact us or our teaching, with the corresponding openness (or closeness) to certain types of technologies.

Educational needs that can be satisfied with support of ICTEs and that are in our zone of proximal development (ZPD) as educators, should guide our exploration of opportunities to enhance what we do as


professionals and educators with ICTE . Applying Vygotsky’s ZPD concept (1978), the idea would be to scaffold career advancement with ICTE by engaging educators in relevant activities that by themselves they cannot do, but that with guidance, or in interaction with others, can be developed. Project-based and problem-based learning are good examples of this strategy in action: people learn while they participate in relevant projects or while they solve problems of interest.

Course enhancement with ICTE

Course enhancement is something that educators are supposed to do on a periodic basis, since contents are continuously refreshed. New standards and derived curricular requirements may imply adjustments, and course results based on student feedback, may indicate a need for improvement. Additionally, there may be a growing trend to integrate ICTE into teaching. In some cases the comfort and competence needed to teach electronically is not there, since many educators were not prepared this way. If we got a solid preparation in a discipline and became teachers in that field, it is very likely that we teach the way we were taught, using media with which we are comfortable. The point is to find out how to move forward from the point we are in course development to a point where students can benefit from multiple, complementary learning opportunities supported with ICTE and other resources.

A good frame of reference for enhancing a course with ICTE is the course syllabus. Usually it has a clear definition of the course purpose and role in the program of study, teaching objectives, learning objectives, course structure, grading system, course schedule, as well as basic principles to follow in order to be successful. It usually includes definition of learning resources, including technology.


ICTEs embedded in course requirements

There are courses that by definition involve technologies. For instance, many institutions require that all courses make use of Content management systems—CMS, or Learning management systems—LMS, as a way of simplifying administrative learning tasks (such as course lists, course documents, grades) and as a means of improving learning tasks (web-based learning activities, assignments, quizzes, exams, projects, etc). These C-type digital resource subcategories can simplify a lot the interaction among students, faculty, and content. It is important to find out how to make the best possible use of the CMS or LMS available.

At its basic level a CMS can be used to deliver and to collect information to and from students, as well as to support assessment and evaluation tasks. Course syllabi and course materials can be available online, and students can deliver assignments, submit projects or papers, present exams, online.

It is also possible not only to manage course information, but to also support learning processes. This is the idea with LMS systems that allow students to interact with teachers and others students, both synchronously (video conferences, multimedia chats) and asynchronously (text or verbal forums, multimedia blogs, multimedia wikis); LMS also allow for the use of digital learning objects that behave as organisms (simulators, games) and that reside in the LMS or in the Internet, and to participate in different type of learning networks relevant to the course.

There are also courses where technology use is an implied expectation for course success. Examples of this may include graphic design courses where the appropriate tools are a necessary condition to achieve the required level of competence. Another example might be a statistical analysis course which intrinsically requires using programs to support statistical data processing or a computer programming course which requires the use of appropriate computing languages or systems. These P-type digital tools were not created for teaching but are a necessary condition to learn problem solving. The challenge in each of these cases is two folded: 1) making good tools available for students and 2) helping students use the tools that support learning.


ICTEs to enhance teaching strategies

Teaching strategies are “purposively selected learning experiences used to promote learning” (Chesley, 2008, p.5). Learning is best promoted when the lesson design is effective. This is just as important for virtual classes as it is for face to face classes. Chesley (2008) says that in any lesson there are six questions that guide effective teaching. The six questions are:

1. What do I need to teach and what do students need to know in that regard?

2. Why am I going to teach this lesson? 3. What resources do I need in order to accomplish the objective(s)? 4. How am I going to teach this lesson? 5. How will I know when the students have ‘gotten it’…. and what

do I do if they have not? 6. What will I do with the information I gathered from assessing my

students’ learning?

Selected ICTEs can help the teacher to address these six questions or teaching tasks. I will expand on two of them.

Reflecting on objectives to select types of ICTE

The specific objectives to be achieved in a given course should determine decisions concerning teaching strategies and related ICTEs to support achievement of the objective. Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning objectives (Bloom &Krathwohl, 1956) and Gagne’s (1985) Taxonomy of Learning outcomes can help educators more accurately pinpoint the types of objectives—cognitive, affective, psycho-motor—and the level of performance within each domain that students should achieve in the course. This categorization helps to define instructional activities and their resources, as illustrated in the following ideas adapted from Gagné’s (1985) conditions for learning in the cognitive domain.

At the lower level of the cognitive domain—knowledge—Gagné suggests: 1) to provide relevant contexts as a way to link new with existing knowledge, and 2) to provide practice opportunities by recalling new information with immediate feedback. These learning events help in storing and recovering information from the learner’s long term memory. A-type digital resources can help


in providing relevant context to understanding concepts, in particular when multimedia materials are available to illustrate and explain topics. Some L-type digital resources can be very instrumental, for instance in the creation and use of digital flash-cards to collaboratively study content where memorization is important.

Hierarchical organization of knowledge is a critical instructional event according to Gagne´s (1985) findings on how to promote learning of intermediate level—knowledge application—and high level mental skills such as problem solving , analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. This means that knowledge to be learned should be structured from simple to complex, from elements to the whole, from antecedent to consequent. CMS and LMS systems discussed earlier can be very instrumental in giving structure and organization to learning activities.

Intermediate and high mental skills also require a variety of contexts to practice what is learned, providing differential and immediate feedback that helps in understanding concepts rather than simply memorizing the answer. P-type, L-type and E-type digital resources can be very instrumental in this regard, as long as it is possible for them to model the behavior of systems relevant to study and as long as they let students play with the intervening variables. Students can use trial and error to generate and test hypotheses. They can learn from their own experiences by reflecting on the different events occurring through the life of the system, and can get hints or be prompted by the system. In some cases they have the ability to collaborate with other users. In this regard, C-type digital resources can play a significant role, since with their support it is possible to create and nurture learning communities that discuss and share knowledge derived or related to the exploration of different types of digital learning objects.

Another way to approach course enhancement with ICTE support takes into consideration the intrinsic characteristics of different types of educational resources. The following section addresses this issue.


Reflecting on types of resources to enhance teaching with ICTE

The following categorization of educational resources proposed by the Ariadne project (Forté, Wentland, & Duval, 1997) is very useful as a framework to select ICTE for education:

Expositive resources: They are typically viewed by the user without entailing any degree of involvement, other than navigation. Text or video documents are the most relevant in this category.

Active resources: These involve the learner by prompting conceptually rich input. Multiple-choice questionnaires, simulations, and building tools are resources of this kind.

Interactive resources: They support human-to-human communication. Such interaction can be face-to-face or remote. It can also be asynchronous or synchronous.

A-type digital resources (ICTE that give access to cultural, scientific, and technological wealth of humanity) are typically expositive resources, as long as they can be used to keep students in touch with relevant knowledge sources, for instance via RSS feed, consulting digital libraries, or engaging students in web excursions through pre-selected sites. This type of activity can help moving knowledge acquisition from teacher-centered (the teacher tells what to study and from where) to student-centered (they determine why and what to learn, and selectively choose sources); to make this possible learning activities should go beyond memorization of facts and application of rules, they should foster critical thinking by the part of the student when they are exposed to digital learning objects,. What makes expositive a given medium is not only that the author delivers knowledge and makes his/her mental model explicit, but also the method s/he uses to present his/her ideas. A lecture can typically be conceived as an expositive resource, but when the presenter makes use of Socratic dialogues to engage the audience in reflection and discussion about the topic, a lecture can become an interactive resource.

A course using active media, designed to provide first hand experiences, is very likely to benefit from E-type digital resources, since these support inquiry, construction and expression of knowledge. This is seen in digital learning objects that behave as organisms (e.g., simulators or games) or that respond to stimuli by using programmed intelligence (e.g.,


drill and practice systems, expert systems); in both cases the learner can explore and build knowledge from the selected E-type digital resource. In addition, P-type digital resources (ICTE that improve individual productivity) and L-type digital resources (ICTE that support the creation of learning environments) can also be useful as active media, when they are utilized by the students to express their ideas or to build their creations.

The above three types of PLACE digital resources can become active media when used under a heuristic approach rather than under an algorithmic approach for teaching. The creator of this way of understanding approaches for teaching was Thomas Dwyer (1974) who stressed an heuristic, exploratory approach based on principles [heuristics] rather than a closed one based upon a formula of what to do [algorithm] to promote learning. According to Taylor (1980) heuristic approach places a heavy dependence upon the teacher as a supportive human being, stresses that the teacher is crucial, and addresses teacher education as a major concern of any attempt to use computing broadly and creatively in the schools.

Courses where there is interaction among participants are crucial to an excellent education. Such courses include case-based or inquiry-based activities, where discussions are a critical element, and courses where social learning (making meaning in collaboration) (Wenger, 2003) is important. These experiences are best supported by C-type digital resources, given their relationship to individual or group digital communications, whether synchronously or asynchronously. CMS or LMS become highly useful as integrated platforms to support group-based learning strategies which combine different types of interaction tools (email, chat, forum, blog, wiki) under the same digital environment. Depending on needs, a myriad of free Web 2.0 tools are available to support different types of networking. Group-centered learning requires more than the integration of technologies, while they are, of course, a necessary condition. The development of effective learning communities and the focused facilitation from the side become key issues. The goal is to achieve full participation which depends on 1) the level of trust among participants, 2) collaborative construction of knowledge, and 3) facilitators who become co-learners rather than sources of knowledge (Collison, Elbaum, Haavind, & Tinker, 2000).


About the author

Álvaro Galvis is a researcher in Information and Communication Technologies for Education (ICTE) at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is the creator and director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at WSSU. Álvaro Galvis is the author of several books and numerous articles on educational innovations supported by ICTE (see [137]).

Álvaro Galvis graduated (1973) as a Systems and Computing Engineer at University of Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. For nearly a decade he was a consultant on ICTE for universities, international organizations and governments in Costa Rica, Panama, and Venezuela. In 1983 and 1984 he was awarded the Master’s and Doctorate in Education degrees, with emphasis on Adult Education, from Pennsylvania State University.

After his return to Colombia in 1985, he was appointed as a faculty member by Los Andes University’s Department of Systems and Computing Engineering. He became full professor on the Faculty of Engineering in 1992. One of his books, Ingeniería de Software Educativo was awarded the 1992 Colombian National Pedagogy Prize for innovative

137 http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=alvaro+h+galvis&hl=en&lr=&btnG=Search


curriculum materials by the Alberto Merani Foundation. Alvaro Galvis was the founder and director of the Laboratory of Research and Development on Educational Computing. One of his best known projects is LUDOMÁTICA—acronym that stands for Playful, Collaborative and Creative Learning Environments for Children. In 1999, this project was awarded the Global Bangeman Prize by the mayor’s office in Stockholm, Sweden.

In 2001 Dr. Galvis moved to the United States as an invited senior researcher to the Concord Consortium (CC) in Concord, Massachusetts. During his six years at the CC, he led the research component of the “Seeing Math Telecommunications Project”, an innovative effort to prepare math teachers using interactive video case studies. While at the CC, he created and implemented a method for helping elementary teachers improve their professional practice by means of participating in video-based learning communities (Galvis, 2003). This teacher professional development strategy was successfully implemented both in Peru (Galvis, 2005) and Colombia (Galvis, 2007).

The current work, Establishing a PLACE for teaching technologies, was written as part of this process to help educators and educational leaders to understand ICTE. The first version was named LA PIOLA and was written in Spanish. It was prepared for the Colombian Ministry of Education and published by the Colombian Association of Higher Education Institutions (Galvis, 2008). WSSU has sponsored the translation of La PIOLA into English, and the author has crafted a new acronym –PLACE—and updated its content relevant to current technologies.


Acknowledgements

This document reflects the results of exploration and testing of ICTE as well as dialogs with many of my colleagues and friends with whom I have shared some, and in many cases, many of the ICTE outlined.

Special mention should be given to my wife, Maria Teresa Rojas de Galvis, whose continuously loving support made possible the use of valuable family time. Diego Ernesto Leal Fonseca and Cristina Salazar Perdomo from Metacursos helped tremendously with the first draft. Diego and I discussed ICTE and explored various technologies; Cristina gave me feedback on the different sections of this writing. In the first version, done for the Colombian Ministry of Education—MoE—with basic education teachers in mind, dialog was very important with the Information Technologies group from the MoE; comments and suggestions from Claudia María Zea Restrepo and Fernando Díaz del Castillo were very enriching. In the second version, with K-20 educators in mind, comments by Martha Isabel Tobón Lindo, from the Technology University of Pereira, and by Mauricio Duque from University of Los Andes in Bogotá, were very instrumental.


Sponsored by WSSU, Michael Brookshaw translated the second Spanish version into English. After I completed this revised English version, Shira Hedgepeth, Joanne Chesley, and Ian Toppin from the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Winston-Salem State University helped to review and polish my work. Shira designed the cover, Ian commented on the draft, Joanne proofread and copy edited the document.

Feedback received from Nancy White, a colleague in the art of building online communities and leader of Full Circle Associates, was very useful. She highlighted elements that I should expand and proposed adjustments that are included in the final version.

To all mentioned here I express my gratitude for making this document available to many educators.

Alvaro H. Galvis, Ed.D.

Clemmons, NC, September 2009

Glossary

There are many online glossaries but it is good to have handy definitions of frequently used terms. The following is a subset of the Glossary of ICT Terminology [138] prepared by Davies and Riley (2009).

Asynchronous: "Not at the same time". Often used to refer to communication by Email or via a Discussion List, where the recipients of the email or the participants in the discussion do not have to be present at the same time and can respond at their own convenience. A feature of asynchronous learning is that the teachers and learners do not have to be present at their computers at the same time.

Audioconferencing or Audio Conferencing: A computer-based communications system that allows a group of computer users at different locations to conduct a "virtual conference" in which the participants can hear one another as if they were in the same room participating in a real conference.

Blended Learning: This term normally refers to combining Internet-based distance learning with face-to-face tuition but it may also be used to describe combining offline ICT-based materials with more traditional materials, such as books, audiocassettes and videocassettes.

Blog: Contraction of the term Weblog. A blog is essentially a website that contains discrete pieces of information posted by different users. New items of information are

138 http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_glossary.htm


usually entered by contributors via a simple form, following the introduction of each new theme by a person who initiates the blog, and then submitted to the site, where they may be filtered by an administrator before being posted. A blog can contain news items, short essays, annotated links, documents, graphics, and multimedia. These posts are usually in reverse chronological order and often take the form of a journal or diary.

Browser: A software package installed on the hard disk of your computer that enables you to access and to navigate the World Wide Web - to "surf the Web" in colloquial terms.

Chat Room: A synchronous, mainly text-based communication facility, offering a Web-based environment where people either drop into or arrange to meet and chat at specific times. You type in your text online, it is seen almost immediately by others online at the same time who respond online in real time.

CMS: Abbreviation for Content Management System, a software package that makes it possible for non-technical users to publish content (text, images, etc) on a website.

Cyberspace: William Gibson coined this phrase in his novel Neuromancer, first published in 1984 - some years before the World Wide Web was invented: "Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding..." Today the word cyberspace is used to refer to the world of the Internet, more specifically the World Wide Web.

Discussion List: An electronic discussion list is a way of sharing emails with the members of a group of people with a common interest. Members of a discussion list usually have to subscribe to the list by sending a message by email to the list server (the computer which manages the list), and thereafter they receive copies of all other messages sent to the list by other subscribers. The list administrator has control over list membership and, if necessary, the content of messages. The archives of discussion lists, i.e. previously posted messages, are usually made available at a website.

Distance Learning: A form of learning that takes place where the teachers and the students are in physically separate locations. Distance learning can be either Asynchronous or Synchronous. Traditional distance learning includes the mailing of printed materials, correspondence between teachers and students in writing, contact by telephone, and radio and television broadcasts. More recently, distance learning has included E-learning and/or Online Learning.

Email: Contraction of Electronic Mail. A system for creating, sending and receiving messages via the Internet.

Forum: An electronic forum on the Internet or an intranet enables users to post messages by email or via the Web for other users to read and respond to.


HTML: Abbreviation for Hypertext Markup Language. The coding system used for creating pages on the World Wide Web.

ICT: Abbreviation for Information and Communications Technology.

Internet: The Internet, or simply "the Net", is a computer network connecting millions of computers all over the world.

Intranet: A private network inside a company or educational organisation and used over its LAN (Local Area Network). A sort of local Internet.

Learning Management System (LMS): See Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

Learning Object: A self-contained piece of learning material with an associated learning objective.

Online: Connected to a computer or network of computers, especially the World Wide Web. Often used in the sense of working with software stored at a remote location.

Online Learning: The use of the Internet to follow a course that usually results in the award of a diploma or certificate.

Open access: Used to describe a software that is provided free of charge.

Open Source: Used to describe Open Access Software, along with the original Source Code used to create it so that anyone modify it to improve it and work in ways that reflect their own preferences.

Podcast: A podcast is a broadcast digital audio recording, usually in MP3 format, made available via the Web in a way that allows the recording to be downloaded automatically for listening at the user's convenience.

Portal: A Web page, website or service that acts as link or entrance to other websites on the Internet. Typically, a portal includes an annotated catalogue of websites and may also include a Search Engine, Email facilities, a Forum and other services.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication): RSS is a development in Internet technology that enables users to subscribe to websites that change or add content regularly, for example news sites (such as the BBC), and sites containing blogs and podcasts

Search Engine: A search facility provided at a number of sites on the World Wide Web. Search engines enable the user to search the whole of the Web for key words and phrases and to locate related websites. This is a useful facility for locating information.


Streaming: Playing audio or video in real time from a website. In order to play streaming multimedia files you need a specific Plug-in program that links in with your Browser and plays the file as it is transmitted rather than downloading it to your computer first.

Synchronous: "At the same time". Often used to refer to communication in a Chat Room or via Videoconferencing, where the participants have to be present at their computers at the same time

Tag: Tagging has become more common in recent years as a result of the widespread use of Social Media for sharing images, audio recordings, video recordings, website references, etc. Tags are labels that briefly describe the what the media or references are all about and help other people find them quickly.

URL: Abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator. Also known as a Web Address. A URL contains the location of a resource on the Internet.

Videoconferencing or Video Conferencing: A computer-based communications system that allows a group of computer users at different locations to conduct a "virtual conference" in which the participants can see and hear one another as if they were in the same room participating in a real conference

Virtual Learning Environment (VLE): A VLE is a Web-based package designed to help teachers create online courses, together with facilities for teacher-learner communication and peer-to-peer communication.

Vodcast: A contraction of Video Podcast. A type of Podcast that incoporates video as well as audio.

Webquest: A webquest is a task-oriented activity in which the learner draws on material from different websites - but other sources may also be consulted - in order to achieve a specific goal, e.g. researching a topic and (i) answering a series of questions posed by the teacher, (ii) creating a presentation or (iii) writing an essay, etc. The skills that are required in a webquest mainly involve reading and listening, but there may also be communicative speaking exercises.

Wiki: A website or similar online resource which allows anyone to set up a resource in which content can be created collectively. It allows anyone who views the wiki to add to or edit the existing content as if they were adding to or editing, for example, someone else's Word document. Wiki also refers to the software used to create such a website. Wiki derives from the Hawaiian "wiki-wiki", meaning "quick".


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Reference List for ICTE in footnotes

ICTE page Agentsheets 18 AIM 41 AOL Search 22 APOD 23 Audacity 10 Babel Fish Translation 25 Bibliotecas Virtuales 26 Blackboard 44 Blogger 36 Bloglines 25 Camstudio Open Source 11 Camtasia Studio 11 CiteUlike 6 Cmap Tools 16 CyberGuides 51 Delicious 11 Digg 22 Dim Dim 43 Doodle 14 Dream Weaver 13 Educ.Ar 26 Eduteka 27 Enciclonet 24

ICTE page Endnote 6 EET 23 eFolio 19 Elluminate 43 ePortfolio 19 eSnips 12 Facebook 34 Feedreader 25 Festoon 43 Fireworks 9 Flickr 11 Front Page 13 Gold Museum 28 Google Docs 38 Google Earth 52 Google Gmail 32 Google Groups 39 Google Images 22 Google Search 22 Google Scholar 22 Goview 11 ICQ 41 iLinc 43


ICTE page iTunes U 12 iRubric 20 Java 50 Jing 11 Kartoo 22 Kidpix 9 Las Vegas Movie Studio 10 Learn2type 6 Linkedin 35 Louvre Museum 28 Mathsnet 50 Mediahawk 38 Medline 24 Merlot 27 Mind42 16 Modellus 17 Molo 48 Moodle 44 MSN Encarta 24 MSN Hotmail 33 MSN Life Search 22 MSN Messenger 41 MySpace 35 Nail it now 6 Nasa 28 National Geographic 29 Ning 45 NLVM 50 NSDL 48 Office 6 Office Life 38 Open Office 6 Paint 10 Panopto 40 Physics.org 49 Picasa 11 Polycom 43 Portal Colombia Aprende 27 Portal Educar Chile 27 Prado Museum 29 Pronto 42 Project2Manage 14 Quicktime 10 QuizLet 18

ICTE page Reverso 25 Rubistar 20 Rubrics for Assessment 20 Rubrics for Teacher 20 SAS 8 Sakai 44 SchoolTube 12 ScreenR 11 Second Life 45 Seeing Math Interactives 50 Seeing Reason 17 Skype 41 SlideShare 12 Smithsonian Museums 29 SPSS 8 StudyBlue 19 SurveyMoney 8 TeacherTube 12 Tegrity Campus 2.0 40 Teems 49 Twitter 33 VPB3 19 Visual Thesaurus 26 VoiceThread 13 WebCT 44 Webopedia 24 WebQuest 51 Wetpaint 38 Wimba 43 Wikidot 38 Wikipedia 24 WikiSpaces 38 WiseMapping 16 WizIQ 43 WorldWind 52 WordPress 36 WordReference 26 Xplora 49 Yahoo Groups 39 Yahoo Mail 32 Yahoo Search 22 YouTube 12 zPortfolio 19