Section Code: EDDX9043
The debate between the use of phonics vs. whole language to teach reading continues. This course guides you through the process of exploring the many Internet resources that can enhance your use of phonics. Research techniques are not limited to web sites. The course will lead you through a variety of Internet research resources including newsgroups, chat rooms, mailing lists, blogs, and instant messaging. The newer social networking and community learning systems like MySpace and Facebook are introduced as emerging learning systems. Learn how to use TeacherTube videos, develop a simple web page, use the Internet to dig out plagiarism, and more. The course project is a lesson plan/project that will bring these resources together in a product you can use with your students.
Section Code: EDDX9002
This course provides a series of basic resources that teacher can use to explore current learning theories, methods of instruction, instructional strategies and design, and other techniques that can be added to the teachers “toolbox” of resources to improve instruction and learning. Explore concepts like “constructivism,” “mindmapping,” and “cognitive learning styles” as part of selecting the best methodology for your students. Visit with others interested in teaching, leaning and instructional design through newsgroups and other forms of “chatting” mechanisms. Let the Internet open the doors to a massive amount of information on how to select the best methodology for your students.
Section Code: EDDX9003
One of the major challenges to teachers is determining if students really learned what we want them to learn. Evaluation has been a long-standing, hotly debated topic. What should be measured, what can’t be measured, objective vs. subjective evaluation, learning styles and classroom size all influence the final outcome. This course will provide the student with the tools and techniques to research and judge the wide variety of evaluation techniques available today – and keep abreast of new ones as the evolve. A variety of techniques will be researched including objective testing, observation, relevancy, evaluating critical thinking skills, decision-making ability, problem solving, and a wide range or other evaluation tools. The project for the course will combine this knowledge into a lesson plan with an evaluation process that clearly measures what the lesson plan states are objectives, validates the evaluation technique(s) selected as most appropriate, includes other measurable benefits a student might gain that are not part of the objectives.
Section Code: EDDX9004
Understanding the basic history, learning theories, concepts, processes and terminology of curriculum development and instructional design have become more important as states and school districts develop overall standards. Combine that with the programming from the entertainment industry and you have a tough job developing curriculum that will engage the student’s mind and challenge their thought processes in such a way that the student’s mind becomes the “entertainment medium.” This course will assist teachers find and use more resources than ever for developing challenging “learning programs.” It guides the student through the research process of finding resources available on process and applications. The student then synthesizes these resources and develops a lesson plan to demonstrate critical thinking skills and comprehension.
Section Code: EDDX9005
Reading has always been a foundation to any educational program and has gained more and more attention as schools are criticized, not always correctly, for their student’s reading skills. The Internet is an extensive resource of information about reading, the issues surrounding how to teach reading, and an impressive collection of activities that students can participate in, on the Internet, for skill development. This course will provide you with a valuable set of Internet resources to draw upon and show you how to develop Internet research techniques that will assist you with finding solutions to your particular challenge. By using the web sites, newsgroups, listserves and other research tools available on the Internet, you will be able to develop a lesson plan, as part of the course, which you can implement in your teaching situation.
Section Code: EDDX9010
The task of school administrator becomes more and more challenging as pressures from within the school system and from outside it makes every issue more complex. Laws, parents, student’s rights, unions, finance, violence are just part of the challenge. School administrators now, more than ever, must become leaders who have vision, recognize opportunity, can motivate and coach their staff to meet and creatively resolve problems while providing a greater quality of educational experience for the students. This course will take you to Internet resources that will begin to provide insight on what it is to be a leader, how to identify leadership skills, and how to begin to develop a leadership management style. Learn to use newsgroups and listserves to communicate with others on these issues and finally develop a project that will implement a new leadership effort in your job.
Section Code: EDDX9011
This course provides school administrators, and anyone interested in how school financing works, with a wide range of sample resources about school finance. Each state, and often school district, has different policies, financial systems and budgeting. You will be given samples of the type or resources you can access on the Internet from accounting guides for new administrators, to charts of accounts systems, to legislative activity, status of lawsuits dealing with finance, and current controversial issues related school finance. You can compare your district with districts across the United Sates and districts with similar demographics. Use these resources to better understand the policies, processes, and issues surrounding school finance. Look at some “creative” or alternative ways of supplementing your financial resources. Use newsgroups and listserves to exchange information and ideas with other educators around the World. Your project could be an in-service training session for your staff, a community information package or even a plan for alternative financing.
Section Code: EDDX9012
Working with people and supervising staff can be the most rewarding and, at times frustrating, experiences a manager/administrator has. The legal implications of doing it wrong can be tremendous. Learning to deal with conflict resolution, laws, policies, procedures, forms and all the rest can keep an administrator coming and going. This course will provide examples of the resources that are available on the Internet to help with effective human resource management. The information can help the department head, principal, district administrators and any others who deal with the human resource process. Look at the legislative, legal, individual state codes and existing policies or procedures for other districts. Spend time on newsgroups where you can ask questions and compare information. Investigate mailing lists and listserves that can keep you up to date with current issues. The final course project is the development of something you can use in your dealings with employees.
Section Code: EDDX9014
The number of laws and regulations affecting education continue to expand. Simply implementing “policy” is no longer enough for educators. The complexities, breadth, and associated liabilities of not adhering to the laws affecting education are tremendous – and ever increasing. Administrators and teachers must be able to recognize a potential problem and take effective steps to correct it. Finding the answers to specific questions and keeping up with the evolving legal implications for education can be a full-time job. Knowing where to look and how to locate current resources can make that much easier. This is not a law course, it provides educators with tools to research the vast resources of the Internet to find answers to specific questions and to keep current with the latest trends. The course lesson plan/project could take the form of an in-service training program on legal issues, an action plan to resolve a specific problem at the school, or other practical and applicable task.
Section Code: EDDX9015
Reading has become the “hot topic” in education and educators are receiving more and more pressure to build strong reading programs. This course will guide you to many of the excellent resources available on the Internet. They can help you compare your program with others and look at the theoretical and practical elements of a strong program. Investigate learning theory related to reading plus national standards. Look at current research on what works and what doesn’t. Working with newsgroups and listservs will provide you with opportunities to ask questions and share ideas with others interested in developing strong reading programs. The course project could be a lesson plan for your classroom or a program improvement plan for your school. Make it practical.
Section Code: EDDX9016
The pendulum for reading has swung from phonics to whole word and back to phonics. Teachers struggle with a variety of conflicting issues ranging from state or district law and policy to personal preference to “what’s best for this individual child.” Learning theory, research, and current trends are moving the process towards what is call “Balanced Reading.” The term is somewhat self-explanatory, yet there are many unanswered questions and interpretations. This course provides information, research, practical techniques, and exercises that address the various elements of a “balanced reading” program. Newsgroups and listservs also add new dimensions to getting information from experts and colleagues around the world. As a final course project, you will develop a lesson plan or a project for your classroom or school that incorporates these concepts.
Section Code: EDDX9017
Issues surrounding the most effective way to teach reading continue to keep putting pressure on educators, parents, and students to do the best job possible. Now the federal and state governments have added to the pressure. Improving your school’s reading program usually starts with research. The Internet is full of great research resources on reading for the last 50 years and more. Web sites provide models, evaluations of techniques, paradigm shifts, and operational insights to the keys to good reading programs. Others interested in reading can be found on newsgroups where you can ask questions and exchange ideas with people around the World. Use listservs and mailing lists to keep in touch with the debate. Complete the course with either a lesson plan for use with your students or a project that might include a comparative analysis of your school’s reading to the research.
Section Code: EDDX9018
The Internet is full of fun and exciting resources for teachers to use that will help teach reading. Many of the have fun sounds, phonetic training built into the exercises, complete books for children and adults of all ages, and lessons that incorporate comprehension. They are fun, motivating, colorful, and whimsical – especially important to young readers. Learn how to research the Internet to find these kinds of resources and use them in the development of your curriculum to meet your student’s needs. Discover how to contact and communicate other people around the World who are also interested in effective reading education by using newsgroups, listservs, and mailing lists. You can exchange ideas, seek answers to questions, or learn about new resources for these people. Put all this together into a lesson plan or project that you can use in your classroom or school.
Section Code: EDDX9019
Sometimes teachers have to use every tool in their “teaching toolkit” to keep readers motivated about reading. One effective technique is “Literature Circles.” These come in the form of classroom groups, adult groups, and online groups. Discover how others have successfully used this technique to get their student enthusiastic about reading. Visit and research web site formed by teachers who are using successfully incorporating this technique into their reading programs. Also, look at research and learning theory related to the technique. Discuss topics related to literature circles and other reading issues by investigating in newsgroups, listservs, and mailing lists. Complete the course with a lesson plan or project that ties this concept into your classroom for something you can use.
Section Code: EDDX9024
Critical thinking has been a buzzword throughout education for many years. And yet a large percentage of educators aren’t really sure what it means and even more aren’t sure how to apply it in their classrooms. Colleges have courses on the topic, but most teachers can’t teach a course on critical thinking, they need to incorporate it into their current curriculum. This course can help. It will start with a collection of definitions and work through theory, example, lesson plans, and exercises that will stimulate your incorporation of critical thinking in all your curriculum development. You will work with newsgroups, chat rooms, mailing lists, and “blogs” that all provide an opportunity for two-way communication with people around the World who also have an interest in this. The final assignment is to develop a lesson plan you can use in your classroom that incorporates critical thinking or some project that will provide a target audience with insights on the topic.
Section Code: EDDX9025
The controversy over how safe youthful drivers are continues to rage. In the middle of that controversy is the educator who is given the critical responsibility to get through to these young drivers in hopes that they will begin to develop safe driving habits from the beginning. Success in this task can save lives. This course will introduce the driver safety education to the extensive resources they can draw upon from the Internet to help with this important responsibility. The skills gained from the first investigations will provide the base for more in-depth research on topics related to the course project. By using newsgroups, chat rooms, and mailing lists, learn to communicate with other educators around the World who deal with the same problems. The course project can be a lesson plan or other practical use of the information such as parent education on how to help their teens be safer drivers.
Section Code: EDDX9900
Incorporate personal field experiences with Internet research to develop classroom curriculum. Develop a lesson plan or project that focuses on some aspect of education and builds on a combination of Internet research and personal field-study experience. With prior instructor approval, select a location to visit; use the Internet to research the destination prior to the visit; during the visit maintain a log and take photographs; after the visit complete additional Internet research; use newsgroups and listserves to support the research; and develop a lesson plan/project with a mediated component to be used with your students.
Section Code: PSYX9003
Counselors, teachers and administrators face a widening scope of emotional and behavioral disorders that when combined with a reduced ability to deal with them can have a tremendous impact on your classroom or school. A way of coping with these disorders is to recognize them early, understand them and how others have dealt with them, and be aware of the resources and treatments available to the students and their parents. This course opens the door to some of this information and resources by taking you to Internet resources that will provide information and support about the growing issue in your classroom, school, and community. You will be guided to newsgroups where you and others interested in these problems can exchange ideas and information about specific or general situation. Finally, you will be able to develop a course project that could be a lesson plan for your students, in-service training for your peers or an informational packet for the parents of your students.
Section Code: PSYX9004
Breaking the bullying cycle is one of the new challenges for educators. Virtually everyone has experienced a bully of one kind or another – in school, at work, in sports and in business. These people, for whatever personal reason, prey on those that are not as physically, emotionally, or mentally as strong as they are. One of the first opportunities for us to begin to do something about it is in school. By educating both the bully and the bullied we may be able to break this cycle. But where do we begin? How do learn how to do “the right thing” when we tackle this problem. Many answers, options, and considerations are on the Internet. This course will open new resources for you and provide the basic research skills to use the Internet to keep up-to-date with the latest research and information on this phenomenon.
Section Code: PSYX9005
Understanding and appreciating others becomes more and more important as the World get smaller and interactions between peoples becomes more common. Even in the U.S., the great “melting pot” of nationalities and religions, there remains a great amount of ignorance about other people. In this course you will explore a variety of web sites that both bring up issues of tolerance for race, color, nationality, religion, physical condition and other areas as well as providing teaching ideas, tools, and lesson plans. Use these resources to generate new approaches that will help your students understand the value of “tolerance” in their daily lives. Develop a lesson plan for your students to guide them through a critical thinking growth experience.
Section Code: SCLX963
The Internet is a key to opening the door to countless resources that can be helpful in addressing problems of potential violence in your school. Learn how to use the Internet to research specific Web sites around the world that specialize in various aspects of school violence. Communicate with other people who share similar concerns, and learn how to prepare yourself, your students, fellow teachers, and your community to recognize the signs of violence as well as how to deal with the actual event should one happen.
Section Code: SCLX964
The role of schools has broadened far beyond the job of teaching the “3-Rs'.” Schools must also promote and provide a safe environment for students and staff. A safe learning environment begins with awareness and preparation for the many facets of violence. Learn how violence affects everyone: students, teachers, everyone in the community, law enforcement, and even the news media. Then use this powerful research tool to help you locate important sources on current and critical information about signs and sources of, plus assistance with, potential school violence.
Section Code: SCLX965
English is fast becoming the primary language in the world today. Important information on TEFL and TESL can be discovered on the web. The Internet is full of countless resources addressing different challenges for the ESL student including vocabulary, grammar, writing and speaking. Search web sites that will help to increase your knowledge of communication techniques. Learn why the culture and language are such an important issue and could lead to different approaches to teaching. Use this course to stimulate your awareness of the language skills and find new approaches to old ideas.
Section Code: SCLX966
Special education covers a broad range of student learning needs from learning disabilities to severe mental retardation. In today's world, at least 10% of school children require some type of specialized education in order to succeed in schools. Learn to use the Internet as a research tool to broaden your knowledge, narrow your search to a specific area of interest in special education and stay abreast of the latest developments in the field. The Internet will provide a wealth of research resources into this extensive area of education.
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