11076

11076

General Session - Conference Presentation Only (no formal paper)

Free and Easy
Selia Karsten, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, drkarsten@astralsite.com

Since 1997 I have been engaged in the design and delivery of courses geared to helping teachers at all levels with the integration of technology to enhance their curriculum. As the years have gone by, the complexities and upgraded versions of computer systems, learning management systems, software and Web2.0 tools have given academia more tools than adequate time in which to learn what tools to use, how to use them and what might be time and cost effective.

I will share examples for an activity found to be effective in helping teachers to enhance their technical skills in a thoughtful and expedient manner. Since 2002, teachers in masters or doctoral programs have been participating in my online course at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (Holistic Approaches to Information Technology). The course is collaborative, constructivist and student-centred. Using simple tools, students engage in synchronous and asynchronous communication from all parts of the globe. Most often, the 12 week course is accomplished in a six-week session.

A core project is each team’s creation of a web-based educational resource. I will show a variety of resource websites developed by the students. The tools that support this demonstration are free. The communication tool used for project planning by the team, like the web editing tools is very user-friendly. For a small fee, the websites designed could be displayed without advertisements.

All Audiences free, easy Internet Tools, web-based projects, collaboration, synchronous and asynchronous communication