A Workshop presented by theUniversity of Maryland Eastern Shore's Department of Education Under the sponsorship of a
" Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology" (PT3) Grant

This web site provides a summary of the workshop objectives, resources and results. Of particular interest to viewers will be the "Student Web" Page which serves as a gateway to all e-Portfolios developed. Photograph enlargements may be displayed by clicking on the picture or viewed on the "Photo Album" Page. Detailed information about the workshop may be obtained from the PT3 Coordinator, Dr. Sally Bing

The primary objective of this workshop was for each student teacher to produce an "e(lectronic)-Portfolio." This portfolio consisted of a Home Page and three "support" pages. One support page was devoted to the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Principles with links to select demonstrative artifact/reflection pages. The web site was designed to provide a platform for expansion and future revision as the students' progressed through their studies, acquired additional professional experience, became more familiar with information technology.

Two secondary objectives were incorporated into the curriculum. First, the students were exposed to a client-side web creation software application package, i.e., Microsoft's "FrontPage 2002," and a file transfer program (FTP). The free "WS_FTP Limited Edition (5.0)" package was used for the latter. Second, they were to develop an increased appreciation of the Internet and its potential as a teaching/learning resource.

These objectives were designed to produce a heighten awareness of the potential to integrate Internet technology into lesson plans and classroom strategies. This outcome, in turn, would hopefully translate into a richer learning experience for the participants' future students.

The workshop was not intended to provide a comprehensive coverage of all FrontPage functions. Rather, select foundational operations were identified to produce a specific product, an e-Portfolio. A uniform web structure and format was employed in the interests of time, foster a focus, and to encourage mutual assistance. Content reflected each student's unique experience, education, and composition style. Latitude was provided and encouraged where possible both during the workshop and as a follow-up exercise to use variety in format and design, e.g., text colors, fonts, themes.

The workshop was conducted over fourteen 1 hour and 15 minute sessions spanning eight weeks. A cohort of eleven Junior Class students majoring in Special Education was selected to participate

Hardware consisted of wireless enabled laptop computers placed in a conventional non-computer classroom. A wireless mobile cart placed in the classroom which housed the computers for security and recharging during non-use in a faculty member's office, contained a hub physically connected to the UMES backbone. Thus no cabling was attached to the students' systems during the workshop sessions. An overhead viewer was connected to the instructor's system for demonstration purposes.

All e-Portfolios were hosted on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) server. At the conclusion of the workshop, all e-portfolio files were transferred to a floppy disk for the students future use on other computers. Additionally, students were briefed on the alternative of "reversing" the FTP transfer process, i.e., downloading the files from the server using WS_FTP.

Initially, a four-page "skills assessment" questionnaire was completed by each student. The results determined the "technical literacy" level of the participants. This, in turn, permitted the instructor to frame the presentations in the most effective and efficient manner.

A three-ring binder was provided to each student consisting of five sections, a plastic diskette holder, and diskettes. Material was distributed as the workshop progressed and relevant topics addressed:

While technical proficiency received overriding attention during the workshop, the students were constantly reminded that design, format and content considerations required equal weight in a web site's creation process. To emphasize this balanced approach to "web work," the instructor frequently critiqued the web sites as they were being developed within that context. Students were made aware that technology is not an end in itself but a means to an end, and that being to facilitate the learning process.

Ten students successfully completed the workshop with each publishing a basic web site. At the last session, five students made a presentation of their web site to the class and invited faculty. Each focused on a specific page, e.g., Home, About me, etc., with supplementary contributions from the remaining students.

You are invited to explore the associated pages to this web site. Any questions, reflections, suggestions and comments may be directed to the PT3 Grant Coordinator