The WebQuest task requires
committee members to learn about how a smallpox epidemic can impact
the health, education, transportation, and the economy as shown in figure
3. The participants are asked to develop a plan to manage the outbreak
Figure 3.
Committee members research
the issues using the links provided in the WebQuest. After each committee
has arrived at a plan of action, it selects a liaison officer to represent
the group at level-two.
In the level-two rooms,
liaison officers from each of the four committees submit their group
plan and receive plans from the other three committees. They also post
requests for clarification about the other committees' plans and respond
to questions about their own committee plan. Liaison officers return
to their level-one committee room with the four separate plans. Then
they post the four separate plans on the EBB in their committee room
and ask their members to review the alternative plans. Each committee
consolidates the separate plans into a master plan, which the liaison
officer shares with the other liaison officers at level-two, as show
in Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Clarification and revision
of each committee’s master plans also occur in the level-two room.
The four liaison officers fuse the four committees’ master plans
into a single plan and send the consolidated plan back to the committee
for review and approval. Meanwhile, level-one committee members further
research the issues and create graphical representations of their master
plans, which can be posted as attachments to bulletin board messages.
Liaison officers post their committee’s graphics at level-two
to facilitate communications between the committees. The co-constructed
master plan incorporates the ideas from each of the committees. It is
submitted to the cabinet at level-three. Committees submit their finalized
graphic representations at level-two, where liaison officers review,
clarify, and then forward the graphics to the cabinet at level-three.
At the cabinet level, the
master plan and the graphics are coordinated and sent back to the liaison
officers and committees for final approval. Cabinet members post the
links to the location of the final multimedia product on the EBB in
the governor’s office. This multimedia presentation may be a combination
of WebPages, a PowerPoint presentation, videos, and graphics. Products
can be modified to meet the needs and technology available at the schools.
The Training Commences
During EBB staff development,
teachers register and create passwords on the EBB server, where the
trainers have posted nested activities. As the educators advance through
the training scenario, they participate in the types of interactions
that their students will experience. Following the session, they participate
in a debriefing.
We project the bulletin board
logon screen onto a wall and model how teachers will log into the bulletin
board, register, and set up passwords. Each teacher establishes an email
account and obtains bulletin board access. Having done so, teachers
respond to the posting in their respective committee rooms. They write
a letter of introduction, post it to the EBB, and then proceed with
the structured activities as detailed on the WebQuest.
From Training to Implementation
By using a constructivist
model to blend the talents of technology mentors with teachers, we can
reduce the training to implementation time. Roblyer (2000) asserts that
the successful training session involves hands-on activities, continuous
training, modeling and mentoring, and the availability of follow-up
training. Furthermore, teachers benefit from coaching by experts as
well as discussions and demonstrations by their peers (Sparks, 2001).
Teachers wishing to implement the EBB model in their classroom will
need to set up an electronic bulletin board on a server. We help them
determine how they might use their district's technology center, university
labs, or regional development labs to assist in accomplishing this.
Teachers have a propensity for tinkering with professional development
models in order to customize the information to meet their classroom
needs. We encourage this and offer the EEB model as a format for discussion,
customization, and implementation. We believe that co-construction of
shared projects strengthens the model and facilitates implementation.
After the initial EBB training,
teachers need further assistance in customizing, designing and implementing
electronic bulletin boards in the constructivist classroom. During the
planning stage, the mentor helps the teacher establish a timeline and
resources required, including access to and registration for an electronic
bulletin board. The mentor may help the teacher to develop a WebQuest
or problem based learning scenario and install it on the electronic
bulletin board. Additionally, the mentor helps the teacher to set up
rooms or folders on the bulletin board. These rooms or folders reserve
discussion areas for small groups of students, link students to experts,
and provide places to post their final projects. Throughout the implementation
process, the technology mentor provides support and ongoing assistance,
while subject area teachers operate from their areas of strength in
pedagogy and content. Among the advantages to accrue from technology-based
training using the Internet and electronic bulletin boards are a) efficient
organized delivery, b) cost-effective training, c) global accessibility,
d) entrée to communication tools, and e) access to a plethora
of materials (Driscoll, 1997). We propose an expanded use of sheltered,
electronic bulletin board, which combine the talents of technology mentors,
the content and pedagogical knowledge of teachers, and the expertise
of businesspersons, scientists, artists, musicians and others.
