SERVIT Abstracts   Abstracts of papers and presentations made by SERVIT group members

The Preparation of Alternative Licensure Teachers: Bringing Technology Into the Classroom Through Distance Education

Abstract:
As K-12 schools continue to add initial technology purchases and upgrades to their yearly budgets, the need for professional development increases as well. With a diverse and often distant population, web-based instruction allows participants to log on and interact with course materials at a time and a place that is convenient to their schedules. This study looks at the use of the web as a way to provide technology instruction to alternative licensure middle and high school teachers. The course, EMS
594I: Technology Tools for Teachers, offered as a graduate level course at North Carolina State University, provides web instruction in a number of technology-related areas. Data was collected in various ways to determine if teachers experienced a
gain in technological expertise in the fourteen-week period. When the data was evaluated, it was apparent that all the participants had experienced a knowledge gain and that the overall student impression of the course was exceptional.

The Effects of Preservice Science Teachers Engaging In An Electronic
Community

Abstract:
Many studies characterize teaching as a culture of isolation. Electronic communities for teachers have the potential to break down these teacher isolation barriers and provide a support network for teachers in the classroom. In order to examine the potential benefits of an electronic professional community for science teachers on the World Wide Web, we have constructed a web-forum for science teachers. This web-forum is a place where science teachers can share ideas, reflections and conversations on teaching and implementation of technology in the classroom and other instructional pedagogy, while also providing support for each other as members of an electronic professional community. This paper explores how our preservice teachers used the web-forum during their student teaching semester and describes the benefits of having preservice science teachers interact with an electronic professional community.

Using a Web-Forum as a Support Network for Preservice Science Teachers

Abstract:
Many studies characterize teaching as a culture of isolation. A practicing teacher
does not usually have access to ongoing development and support in their
classroom setting which promotes idea sharing or support from peers. Electronic
communities for teachers have the potential to break down these teacher isolation
barriers and provide a support network for teachers in the classroom. Teachers
now have the opportunities to join on-line discussion groups on the World Wide
Web, post questions to electronic bulletin boards, communicate thoughts and ideas
using an e-mail listserv, and obtain text files electronically. Many studies describe
how teachers learn about about telecommunications technology, the kind of support required for teachers to implement such tools effectively, and the obstacles that
teachers must overcome in order to successfully incorporate them into their daily
practice.

In order to examine the potential benefits of an electronic professional community
for science teachers on the World Wide Web, we have constructed a web-forum
for science teachers. The web-forum is a place where science teachers can share
ideas, reflections and conversations on teaching and implementation of technology
in the classroom, while also providing support for each other as members of an
electronic professional community. Our web-forum is placed in the context of a
larger web site on the World Wide Web called IMSEnet. IMSEnet is a "Network of Instructional Materials for Science Educators" which was created originally as a
support network for the IMSE (Instructional Materials in Science Education)
CD-ROM.

As part of the course work for North Carolina State University's preservice science
education program in Fall 1997, all students are required to use the IMSEnet
web-forum. I will report on the results of the following questions: 1) How do our
preservice teachers use the IMSEnet web-forum during their student teaching
semester? 2) Does the web-forum serve as an effective means of support for a
cohort group of preservice science teachers? and 3) What are the benefits of having preservice science teachers interact with an electronic professional community?

Abstract:
In order to examine the potential benefits and existing barriers of
preservice science teachers engaging in an electronic professional community on
the World Wide Web, we have constructed a "Web Forum" called the SciTeach
forum. A survey was given to each of our 22 preservice science teachers at the end of their student teaching semester to identify the barriers they encounter when
using a "Web-based forum" on the Internet during their student teaching
experience. A purpose of this pilot study was to address the following questions:
1) Does the SciTeach forum serve as an effective means of support for a cohort
group of preservice science teachers?
2) What were our preservice science teachers' perception of their experience
interacting within an electronic professional community?
3) What barriers preservice science teachers encounter when using a web-based
forum on the Internet?

Teaching Instructional Materials for Science Educators with a CD-ROM and a World Wide Web Support Network

Abstract:
New science reform platforms, such as the National Science Education Standards,
recommend including educational technology, especially telecommunications, in our K-12 classrooms. Using a telecommunications network in science education can
serve to provide a support system for inservice and preservice teachers, and
provide a collaborative network of teachers who share resources, ideas, support,
and interactions. Many studies have identified problems with science teachers
incorporating a telecommunications network and using telecommunications
technology in secondary educational settings. These include lack of access to
telecommunications in their school, including hardware and software; problems
with connecting into an online network; lack of training to learn how to use the
Internet with their classroom curricula as well as the time to use it; and lack
of support within a teacher's school. To meet the problems that science teachers
have with incorporating a telecommunications network and using telecommunications technology in secondary educational settings, we have compiled an instructional materials for science educators (IMSE) CD-ROM and have created a support network for science teachers on the World Wide Web. The IMSE CD-ROM is used in conjunction with the on-line support network to train preservice and inservice science teachers at North Carolina State University to incorporate a variety of existing instructional technologies into their curricula. The IMSE CD-ROM is used as a primary resource in our preservice science teacher materials course offered by the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Fall, 1997; a series of workshops offered at the Science House in Summer, 1997; and at training sessions for MEGA (Middle School Educators Global Activities) participants. The IMSE CD-ROM contains a variety of instructional science resources including science content web sites, Internet tutorials, science software, video clips, and CBL and MBL laboratories. The IMSE CD-ROM serves to facilitate our preservice and inservice science teachers at all levels to develop basic technological competency skills and incorporate new and existing technology into their teaching by providing templates that show teachers how to use instructional technology resources into their classroom curricula. Preservice and inservice teachers learn to enhance their present science curriculum by using the IMSE CD-ROM to connect them to information that is only accessible on the World Wide Web. These include current data on geophysical events, current weather conditions, and interactive computer simulations using the scientific
method to explore science on a global scale. As an overview of science on the
WWW, the resource CD-ROM contains lesson templates and lists of science web
resources that will enable an easier integration of on-line materials into
science teaching. Preservice and inservice teachers are instructed to use the
IMSE CD-ROM as a tool to use a variety of freeware and shareware applications to incorporate science activities into the classroom; configure a common World Wide Web browser, such as Netscape, to add helper applications needed for viewing movies, spreadsheets, pict or jpg files, audio files, pdf files, and other useful files; explore Web sites rich in data in the science content areas of interest to
them; use a WWW browser to search for, locate, download, and use desired
information; use and critique instructional materials on science content web
sites for teaching middle and high school students; and communicate
electronically using a web-forum. The web-forum is a place where science
teachers can share ideas, reflections and conversations on teaching and
implementation of technology in the classroom, while also providing support for
each other as members of an electronic professional community

Training Science Teachers with a CD-ROM and a WWW Support Network

Abstract:
To address the problems that science teachers have with incorporating
technology competency skills in secondary educational settings, we have
compiled an Instructional Materials for Science Educators (IMSE) CD-ROM and
have created IMSEnet, a support network for science teachers on the World Wide Web. The IMSE CD-ROM is used in conjunction with IMSEnet to
provide training for preservice and inservice science teachers at North Carolina State University to incorporate a variety of existing instructional technologies
into their curricula. The IMSE CD-ROM was used as a primary resource in our
preservice science teacher materials course offered by the Department of
Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Fall, 1997; a series of
workshops offered at NCSU's Science House; and at other professional development sessions for science educators. The IMSE CD-ROM contains a variety of instructional science resources including science content web sites, Internet tutorials, science software, video clips, and CBL and MBL laboratories. The IMSE CD-ROM and IMSEnet serve as resource tools to facilitate the development of technology competency skills for our preservice and inservice science teachers. In addition, the incorporation of new and existing technology into teaching is modeled by providing templates that show the use of instructional technology resources in the classroom. Preservice and inservice teachers learn to enhance their present science curriculum by using the IMSE CD-ROM as a gateway to connect them to information that is only accessible on the World Wide Web. As an overview of science on the WWW, the IMSE CD-ROM contains lesson templates and lists of science web resources that enable an
easier integration of on-line materials into science teaching.

IMSEnet also contains the SciTeach web-forum. This forum is a
place where science teachers can share ideas, reflections and conversations
on teaching and implementation of technology in the classroom, while also
providing support for each other as members of an electronic professional
community.

IMSEnet: Teaching Instructional Materials to Science Educators with a
CD-ROM and an World Wide Web Support Network

Abstract:
To meet the problems that science teachers have with incorporating a
telecommunications network and using telecommunications technology in
secondary educational settings, we have compiled an Instructional Materials for
Science Educators (IMSE) CD-ROM and have created a support network for
science teachers on the World Wide Web. The IMSE CD-ROM is used in
conjunction with IMSEnet, an on-line support network, to train preservice and
inservice science teachers at North Carolina State University to incorporate a
variety of existing instructional technologies into their curricula. The IMSE
CD-ROM, IMSEnet network, and SciTeach web forum are used as primary
resources in our preservice science teacher materials course offered by the
Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in Fall, 1997;
workshops offered at NCSU's Science House; and at other science teacher training
institutes. This project presentation will show how preservice and inservice teachers are instructed to use the IMSE CD-ROM and its online support network as tools to
incorporate instructional technology into their classroom science activities.