c c c c

Title of Communicating through M
e Adult Learners (Staff

Unit the use of Digital-Media Level Development)
and Technology
Cu iculum Digital-Media/Technology Time This unit will be covered in 1 staff
A e
F
me development session (1.5 hours)

St
e 1 ± Desi e Results

Content St
n
s:
The focus of this unit will be on the National Education Technology Standards.

St
n
 3 Moel Diit
l-Ae Wo 
n Le
nin

Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative
professional in a global and digital society. Teachers:
c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers
using a variety of digital-age media and formats

Une st
nins
Stuents will une st
n th
t:
6c Technology is ever-present in our daily lives.
6c Technology is constantly changing.
6c New technology opens new doors to the future.
6c ºrior knowledge can aid in understanding and using new technology.
Rel
te Misconceptions:
6c Technology specifically means using a computer.
6c Ñou cannot possibly learn to use new technology if you don¶t understand the ³old´ technology.
6c New technology causes nothing but problems.

ssenti
l Questions
Ove
chin Questions:
6c [ow does technology directly relate to
communicating relevant information?
6c 0hy do we need to learn to use
technology?
6c [ow do we determine what source is
best for the information we want to
relate?
6c 0hy is technology easy for some
people and difficult for others?
Topic
l Questions:
6c 0hy should we use technology/digital-
age media in our classrooms?
6c 0hy are some teachers apprehensive
about using technology?
6c [ow can the use of technology
benefit/hinder teachers, parents, students,
and peers?
c c c c

‰nowlee
n Sills

‰nowlee
Stuents will now:
1.c Different types of technology/digital
media and their uses.
2.c 0hat types of technology/digital-media
are available to them in their school.
3.c Key terms used in technology/digital-
media (ex: e-mail, LCD projector, etc)
Sills
Stuents will be
ble to:
1.c Vtilize a laptop and LCD projector or Smart
Board to present the ºower ºoint lesson to
their colleagues in small groups.
2.c Vtilize on-line resources that will help build
and present information on a website to
parents, students, and peers.
3.c Vtilize an on-line textbook resource that will
help present information in lessons to
students and that are accessible through
teachers website.

St
e 2 ±Assessment vience

Pe fo m
nce T
ss
1.)c C e
te
cl
ss oom website to be
ccesse outsie of cl
ss.
Mo
l: 2: Ñour goal is to enhance communication and student learning through an online, class
website to be accessible outside of the classroom.

Role: Ñour role is to create a classroom website and share it with an assigned small group.

Auience: Ñour target audience is your students and their parents.

Situ
tion: Communication is critical between teachers/students/parents during the school year.

Often times, we all misplace or forget important information. It would make things so much
easier on us if all of that information could be found and accessed in one place!

P ouct Pe fo m
nce
n Pu pose: Ñour task is to design a classroom website that can be
accessed outside of the classroom by your students and their parents. Ñou want them to be able
to find important information and to be able to navigate the site easily. At a minimum, you need
to include the following: a link to your email address, the number at the school where you can be
reached, a link to assignments and lessons, and ³important information.´

St
n
s
n C ite i
fo Success: Ñour work will be graded using the rubric on the nextpage.
c c c c

Othe vience
P e-Assessment:
6c Students will complete a survey about technology and digital-age media.
6c Students will write their strengths/weaknesses on ³sticky-notes´ and place them on our
³Technology ºarking-lot´ anonymously. As a class we will address these issues in an
open discussion and hopefully calm some of the ³fears´ of using technology.

*nst uction
l Activities:

6c Students will engage in a lesson on basic computer use to include but not limited to: CºV,
mouse, ³click/double-click,´ website navigation, navigation bars, word processing/editing,
inserting pictures, tables, etc.
6c Students will access school email account to practice and become familiar with email
protocol, etiquette, and the many functions available via email such as calendars, among
many others.
6c Students will access online ³textbooks´ such as [arcourt or McMillan, with a partner, and
navigate the website to familiarize themselves with what they can use in class and link on
their future class websites for out of school use.

Questionin: -uestions will be posed periodically to students to check for understanding as we

move through the unit. Some will be class discussions, some small group discussions, and some
will be short-answer, paper/pencil.
1.c Explain the terms ³technology´ and ³digital-age media´ in your own words. (1
Explanation)
2.c [ow does technology affect people differently? ( ºerspective)
3.c [ow does it feel to learn and use new technology? (5 Empathy)
.c 0hat does the use of technology and its demand in our society say for our future? (2
Interpretation)
5.c Explain how technology can hinder and benefit you, your students, and their parents. (1
Explanation,  ºerspective)

Fo m
l Assessment:
Students will choose one of two questions to answer in the form of written essay at the end of the
unit.

Stuent Self-Assessment
n Reflection

1.c Students will self-assess their website creation using the rubric attached. (
Self-
Knowledge)
2.c Students will self-assess their learning from the unit using the questions at the end of the
essay test. (
Self-Knowledge)
c c c c

Six F
cet Rub ic

Assinment: Cl
ss oom Website C e
tion = 36 Tot
l Points (counts ouble)
c  c c
c  c

 
c
 
c
 
 
 c 

cc  cc 
 c  cc 
 c
cc c  
 c  c
c  c
cc c
cc
 


c cc cc c
c
c  c
c c
c c
c
c c c c
cc c cc c c
 
c cc  
c cc c
c
 c c  c c 
c c

c 
c  
c cc
 c c

c


   c  c  c c

  c 
  c 
  c
c c c
 
c c 
ccc  
cc  
cc c
 !
 c  ccc  cc c
c
c
 
cc   cc
c
c
 
cc
c
c

 c c
ccc
c 
 
c 
 
cc

 
cc c  
cc 
cc

 c  
c  cc c
c

c  cc
 
c ccc

c
c
 "c cc
 c cc  c cc  c cc
c c cc cc
 
c  
c  
c
c

c c

c c

c
 
cc  
c  
c

Sco e R
tin
27 o less me in
28-33 P oficient
34-36 xempl


À
 

c
c  cc
cc c ccc
c
 
c"ccc
c cc c
cc 
cc c
c c"c
c
 c  c cc 
c c
c 
#cc c 
#c
c  c cccc#cc #c
c  ccc
c#c
c c c c

Fo m
l Assessment: ss
 Test

Choose one of the following and complete your answer in essay form.

1.c In a brief essay, discuss both the benefits and hindrances of using technology in the
classroom. In your opinion, do you feel technology is more of a benefit or hindrance to
the students in class? 0hy?

2.c Technology is always present in our daily lives and is always changing. In a brief essay,
describe why technology is easily accepted and used by some, yet causes apprehension
and lack of use by others. 0hat are some ways to help calm the fears and apprehensions
and get more teachers to involve technology in classrooms?

Rubric for Scoring Essays (counts ouble):

c c c c
c
c  
$c

c  
$cc
c c  
$ccc
c c c c

$c
 c c 
 cc
c 
   cc
c c
$c c c
  c c
c c

c
cc c c 
  c

  $cccc 
c
cc  c

c c c
c 
  $cccc  c
cc    c
cc
 c

c c  c c  c 

c c c
c c
cc  c

c c cc
cc  c c
 c  c
cc   cc
 $cccc c
  ccc  c 

c

Self-Reflection:
1.c [ow does what you¶ve learned change you thinking about technology?
2.c [ow does what you¶ve learned connect to other learning?
3.c 0hat follow-up work is needed?
c c c c

St
e 3

0 0here are we headed and why?

0hat are the requirements?

The teacher will introduce the staff development by explaining the big ideas to the students. 0e
will learn how technology relates to communicating relevant information to
students/parents/peers both in and out of the classroom. 0e will learn how technology affects
everyone differently. 0e will learn how technology can both benefit/hinder teachers, student
learning, parents, and peers.

0hat is required of them?

The teacher will state that in order to fully acquire the goals in this staff development lesson, the
student will learn the basics of the computer and what can be used to benefit them the most in
accomplishing the activities. Students will create a classroom website and maintain it throughout
the school year.
6c Students will complete a survey about technology and digital-age media.

6c Students will write their strengths/weaknesses on ³sticky-notes´ and place them on our
³Technology ºarking-lot´ anonymously. As a class we will address these issues in an
open discussion and hopefully calm some of the ³fears´ of using technology. As the unit
progresses, students will have access to the ³parking lot´ and be able to add
issues/concerns as we go along. All issues/concerns will be addressed accordingly.

³[ook and hold´

[
At the beginning of the staff development, the students will be asked to work in groups of to
come up with answers to the question how does technology directly relate to communicating
relevant information? After a few minutes, the teacher will pull the students back to whole-group
and create a chart of answers through class discussion. Students will then view a 2 minute video
clip on technology as communication through the following website:
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/tile/login/mod2h.htm (N

tion
l nt  Point)

Following the video, students will go back to the chart and add any new information and clear up
any misconceptions listed.

Students will then be able to browse through more websites for ideas and tutorials about using
technology to communicate both in and out of the classroom with parents/students/peers.
c c c c

www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/


http://www.wix.com/create/website

http://www.buddyproject.org/jfy/teachers/default.asp

http://www.eharcourtschool.com

https://www.mheonline.com/segment/view/1/

Enable and equip (Instruction, activities, etc.)

E
6c Students will engage in a lesson on basic computer use to include but not limited to: CºV,
mouse, ³click/double-click,´ website navigation, navigation bars, word processing/editing,
inserting pictures, tables, etc. (Foun
tion
l nt Point)

6c Students will access online tutorials through the website listed above to learn how and
what they can add to their future class website.

6c Students will access school email account to practice and become familiar with email
protocol, etiquette, and the many functions available via email such as calendars, among
many others.

6c Students will access online ³textbooks´ such as [arcourt or Macmillan/McGraw-[ill,

with a partner, and navigate the website to familiarize themselves with what they can use
in class and link on their future class websites for out of school reading and assignments.

Reflect, rethink, and revise

R
1.)c C e
te
cl
ss oom website to be
ccesse outsie of cl
ss. (Modifications: This assignment
lends itself to variety/creativity thus not limiting students¶ different learning styles. This assignment allows
students to adapt their project to feel confident in what they are doing.) (xpe ienti
l nt  Point)

Mo
l: 2: Ñour goal is to enhance communication and student learning through an online, class
website to be accessible outside of the classroom.

Role: Ñour role is to create a classroom website and share it with an assigned small group.

Auience: Ñour target audience is your students and their parents.

Situ
tion: Communications is critical between teachers/students/parents during the school year.

c c c c

Often times, we all misplace or forget important information. It would make things so much
easier on us if all of that information could be found and accessed in one place!

P ouct Pe fo m
nce
n Pu pose: Ñour task is to design a classroom website that can be
accessed outside of the classroom by your students and their parents. Ñou want them to be able
to find important information and to be able to navigate the site easily. At a minimum, you need
to include the following: a link to your email address, the number at the school where you can be
reached, a link to assignments and lessons, and ³important information.´

St
n
s
n C ite i
fo Success: Ñour work will be graded using the rubric on the next
page.

2.) Stuents will choose one of two questions to
nswe in the fo m of w itten ess

t
the en of the unit.(Modifications: The essay questions will be presented in two formats to suit different
learning styles: paper/pencil (visual/tactile); computerized with option to hear questions read aloud
(visual/auditory/kinesthetic)

Evaluate (self-assessments, self-evaluations)

E
3.c Students will self-assess their website creation using the rubric attached.

.c Students will self-assess their learning from the unit using questions at the end of the
essay test.

T Tailor work and personalize it

Le
nin Stles c
n be ientifie usin the followin e:

Linuistic *ntellience: L
Music
l *ntellience: M*
Loic
l-M
them
tic
l *ntellience: LM
Sp
ti
l *ntellience: S
Boil-‰inesthetic *ntellience: B‰
*nte pe son
l *ntellience: *R
*nt
pe son
l *ntellience: *RA

1.)c C e
te
cl
ss oom website to be
ccesse outsie of cl
ss. (Modifications: This assignment
lends itself to variety/creativity thus not limiting students¶ different learning styles. This assignment allows
students to adapt their project to feel confident in what they are doing.) L, LM, S, B‰, *R, *RA

2.)c Stuents will choose one of two questions to
nswe in the fo m of w itten ess

t
the en of the unit.(Modifications: The essay questions will be presented in two formats to suit
different learning styles: paper/pencil (visual/tactile); computerized with option to hear questions read aloud
c c c c

(visual/auditory/kinesthetic) L, B‰, *R

Organize (sequence) learning

O
ºre-Assessments:
6c Students will complete a survey about technology and digital-age media.
6c Students will write their strengths/weaknesses on ³sticky-notes´ and place them on our
³Technology ºarking-lot´ anonymously. As a class we will address these issues in an
open discussion and hopefully calm some of the ³fears´ of using technology. As the unit
progresses, students will have access to the ³parking lot´ and be able to add
issues/concerns as we go along. All issues/concerns will be addressed accordingly.

[ook:
6c Students will participate in small-group discussion about communicating with technology.
6c Students/teacher will create a chart of answers to communicating with technology
question.
6c Students will watch a two minute video clip
6c Students will participate in a whole-group discussion
6c Students will browse through websites that will be used to create final products in
activities.

Explanation, Interpretation, and Application:

1.)c Demonstrate understanding of basic computer skills
2.)c Demonstrate understanding of benefits and hindrances of using technology with
students/parents/peers.
3.)c Demonstrate understanding of how technology directly relates to communicating relevant
information.

ºerspective, Empathy, Self-Knowledge:

1.)c Students will learn information about communication and technology by:
6c Staff development lectures
6c >iewing a brief video
6c Browsing given websites
2.)c Students will determine how technology affects people differently.
Conclusion: after completing the self-assessment using the attached rubric, the students will
complete an essay formatted assessment and reflect on the questions at the end of the assessment.
c c c c

Recou se: **Students will be given a handout of the information along with the direct link to
the website to go view at a later date.

Creating a Classroom 0ebsite²Tutorial and 0ebsite Creator

http://www.wix.com/create/website

[arcourt ºublishers 0ebsite²Tutorial and Assignment Creator

http://www.eharcourtschool.com

Macmillan/McGraw-[ill ºublishers 0ebsite²Tutorial and Assignment Creator

https://www.mheonline.com/segment/view/1/

Technology to Communicate with ºarents

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/tile/login/mod2h.htm

**Vsing Classroom 0ebpages to Communicate with ºarents

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/


**0eb Links for Teachers

http://www.buddyproject.org/jfy/teachers/default.asp
c c c c

Rubric for Self-Assessment of Activity:

Assinment: Cl
ss oom Website C e
tion = 18 Tot
l Points
c  c c
c  c

 
c
 
c
 
 
 c Difficult to Easy to navigate; Easy to navigate;
cc c navigate; 2-3 1-2 links don¶t all links work
links don¶t work work properly properly
 


c
properly
c 1-2 required 3- required All required
elements elements elements and
embedded; not all embedded; most more are
material relates to material relates to embedded in
class and class and website; all
assignments assignments material relates to
class and
assignments


   c ù2 1-2 0
spelling/grammar spelling/grammar spelling/grammar
errors error errors
 
c 0 graphics or too Graphics used Graphics used are
many²distracts relate to the related to and
from website information on enhance the
the website information on
the website

 c c No use of Some animation Animation not
animation; not used; appealing overwhelming to
visually or may be the website;
appealing overwhelming tastefully done
 
c >ery rushed; not Slightly hurried; Relaxed pace;
clear; hard to clear; easy to clear; easy to
follow; many follow; few follow; no
technical technical technical
problems within problems within problems within
presentation presentation presentation

Sco e R
tin
13 o less me in
14-16 P oficient
17-18 xempl


À
 

c
c  cc
cc c ccc
c
 
c"ccc
c cc
 ccc 
cc c
c c"c
c
 c  c cc 
c c
c 
#cc c 
#c
c  c cccc#cc #c
c  ccc
c#c
c c c c

Fo m
l Assessment: ss
 Test

Choose one of the following and complete your answer in essay form.

3.c In a brief essay, discuss both the benefits and hindrances of using technology in the
classroom. In your opinion, do you feel technology is more of a benefit or hindrance
to the students in class? 0hy?

.c Technology is always present in our daily lives and is always changing. In a brief
essay, describe why technology is easily accepted and used by some, yet causes
apprehension and lack of use by others. 0hat are some ways to help calm the fears
and apprehensions and get more teachers to involve technology in classrooms?

Rubric for Scoring Essays:

c c c c
c
c  
$c

c  
$cc
c  
$ccc
c c c c

$c
 c c c 
   cc
c c
$c c 
 cc
c c
c c

c
cc c c
  c 
  c

  $cccc 
c
cc c c
c 
  $cccc  c

c c    c
cc
 c c  c
cc 

c c c


c c  c

c c  c c
cc  c c
 c
cc  c
cc   ccc   cc
 c  $cccc c
  ccc  c 

c

Self-Reflection:
.c [ow does what you¶ve learned change you thinking about technology?
5.c [ow does what you¶ve learned connect to other learning?

.c 0hat follow-up work is needed?
c c c c

Survey of Technology and Digital-Media

Vsing a scale of 1-5, please rate the following statements.

1=Strongly Disagree
2=Disagree
3=Neutral
=Agree
5= Strongly Agree

1.)c I like to use technology in the classroom. _____

2.)c I know what technological/digital-media devices are available in this

school for me to use in the classroom. ______

3.)c I think it is difficult to create a technology infused lesson. (Example:

utilizing ºowerºoint) _____

.)c I think technology/digital-medial enhances student learning. ____

5.)c I know how to navigate and use the basic components of a computer.
(Example: CºV, mouse, dropdown bars, copy/cut/paste, email, etc.)
____

For the following questions, please place an X next to the answer that best
represents you.

.)c 0hat is your f
vo ite way to communicate with parents/students?

7.)c
___ Note ___ ºhone Call ___ Face-to-Face ___ Digital-media
(email, website, etc.)

.)c 0hat is your le
st f
vo ite way to communicate with

parents/students?
.)c
___ Note ___ ºhone Call ___ Face-to-Face ___ Digital-media
(email, website, etc.)

c c
c c c c

ºarticipant Evaluation

ºlease take a few moments to fill out the following evaluation and return it
to the instructor.

After reading each of the following questions, circle the number that best
answers the question on a scale of 1to 5 with 1 being the lowest and 5 being
the highest.

1.c 0as the information presented in today¶s staff development lesson

presented in a clear and logical order?

1 2 3 5

2.c 0ere you actively engaged during the lesson?

1 2 3 5

3.c Did the workshop material relate to the standard/objective presented?

1 2 3 5

.c Did you enjoy this workshop?

1 2 3 5
c c c c

ºlease use the space below to provide the instructor with information that
would be helpful in enhancing the staff development.

ºlease use the space below to provide any general comments.

Thank you for your time!

c c c c
c c c c

The following is my self-evaluation based upon my own thoughts and the

feedback from the assessments and participant evaluations.

Assessments:

0ebsite

All participants received a ºroficient or Exemplary score on their website

creations. Most students rated themselves a little lower than I felt they
should have. They had more incorporated into their website than they had
originally thought. The majority of the students remarked in their responses
to the questions that the most effective part of the training was the actual
hands-on part and being able to actually build a website to suit their needs.
They also enjoyed browsing through the websites and having the resource
list to refer back to at a later date.

Essay

All participants received a score of 3 on their essays. A lot of teachers who

started out the workshop having a fear of technology and preferred the ³old-
fashioned class newsletter,´ found a new appreciation for utilizing
technology as a means of communication when they saw how easy it was to
truly create a basic/simple website. Of course these are the veteran teachers
who are not totally opposed to using technology, but would rather stick to
³typical´ means of communication. I feel that one thing I could do to revise
my lesson would be to possibly take what I have and keep it for the more
³proficient´ technology user, and then revise it and break it down a little
more and allow more time for the ³intermediate´ technology user.

ºarticipant Evaluation

Based upon the feedback I received from the participants of the workshop, I
had an average rating of on my evaluation. The general comments suggest
that I did a good job of presenting the materials and everything related to the
standard/objective. One comment I noticed on a few of the evaluations was
that I tend to talk a little fast and some had a difficult time hearing me
c c c c

toward the back of the room. This is something that I need to work on for
my future presentations/workshops. I know when I get nervous, I talk fast
and quiet. I will definitely try to be more aware of that.

As for feedback that can help me revise my workshop, some participants

thought some of the information was covered rather quickly. They would
like more time to navigate some of the sites to see what else would be good
to put on their website. Even though they could work with a partner, some
were still apprehensive about using technology in this capacity. They
needed more of me, as the instructor, by their side, just like the students in
our classes. As I stated above, I think the next time I would present this
workshop, I need to present it with two different pacing methods. One at a
quicker pace for those that are familiar with and comfortable using a
computer/technology, and one at a slower pace, perhaps over two or three
afternoons, that would allow those that are a little µshy¶ of using technology
to feel more comfortable and less rushed.

Overall, the workshop training went very well. I was very nervous about
getting up and teaching other teachers how to create a website, but they were
very receptive, responsive, and engaged the majority of the workshop. I
know what I need to work on and what I could revise, and I will adapt for
the next workshop I have the opportunity to conduct.