Students will use their knowledge of hardware and software applications to facilitate classroom teacher use of school technologies for instruction.

Students will demonstrate their ability to:

•     Assess technical problems and apply strategies to find solutions for successful use of classroom technologies
•     Communicate clearly with peers and teachers in order to teach skills, ask for help and provide assistance
•     Identify and ask significant questions that clarify and lead to a productive group discussion and learning
•     Monitor their own understanding and learning needs through reflection and reassessment of their own skills through written reflection and goal monitoring
•     Work appropriately and productively with others in group, partner and online formats
•     Demonstrate initiative to advance their skill levels by setting goals and a final vision of their personal “resume”
•     Be aware of a variety of processes that they can use and also have the ability to invent new strategies when they encounter unexpected situations
•     Apply multimedia tools to create a product to be shared with students, teachers and the community as a resource for addressing technical issues common to a classroom setting

   

Targeted Content Standards and Benchmarks

NETS*S National Technology Standards

1. Creativity and Innovation

Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes

using technology. Students:

b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression (assessment: how-to video/presentation rubric & checklist)

2. Communication and Collaboration

Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:

a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media (assessment: wiki entries, reflections in work order)

d. contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems (how-to video & group discussions)

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make

informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:

a. identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.

b. plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.

5. Digital Citizenship

Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:

b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.

d. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.

6. Technology Operations and Concepts

Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:

a. understand and use technology systems.

c. troubleshoot systems and applications.

d. transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.

Student Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Students will use their knowledge of hardware and software applications to facilitate classroom teacher use of school technologies for instruction.

Students will demonstrate their ability to:

•    Assess technical problems and apply strategies to find solutions for successful use of classroom technologies

•    Communicate clearly with peers and teachers in order to teach skills and provide assistance

•    Identify and ask significant questions that clarify and lead to a productive group discussion and learning

•    Monitor their own understanding and learning needs through reflection and reassessment of their own skills through written reflection and goal monitoring

•    Work appropriately and productively with others in group, partner and online formats

•    Demonstrate initiative to advance their skill levels by setting goals and a final vision of their personal “resume”

•    Be aware of a variety of processes that they can use and also have the ability to invent new strategies when they encounter unexpected situations

•    Apply multimedia tools to create a product to be shared with students, teachers and the community as a resource for addressing technical issues common to a classroom setting

Curriculum-Framing Questions

    Essential Question      

We are all in this together, how can we best help each other?

    Unit Questions     

How can students assist with a teacher’s technology use?

How do we communicate effectively?

How do we troubleshoot?

How do we share what we know?

    Content Questions     

How do you troubleshoot wireless connections?

How do you display a computer screen through a projector?

How do you use a document camera?

How do you save to the server?

How do teachers request assistance?

Who do we call for extra tech help?

How do I document and reflect on my learning?

Procedures and Program Development

Standard Activities during Meetings

• Begin by reviewing the group work order and discussing what we have learned and identify any trends or needs.
• We then look at the KWHL chart and close the meeting by making adjustments to it.  Students review and update their personal chart in their notebook.
• Show & Tell discussion and demonstration of the new skills or things we figured out or discovered since the last meeting.
• Students take notes on the numbered steps of each process and one note-taker is assigned to put their notes on a wiki page.

During the week and between Sessions

• Students are required to share their learning with two others and/including their teacher.
• Students will review another’s work

Initial Training Meetings (1 hour each after or before school or over 2 lunch hours each week for the first 5 weeks)

1.    We look at the checklist of expectations during their involvement.  Students use the KWHL as a group to decide group goals and to decide training emphasis.  Students learn basics of hooking a projector to a computer, changing mirroring and display resolution and the terms associated with the equipment. They are introduced to the wiki and practice entering information into the work order form.  They then have to go teach the skill to their teacher and one other student (under teacher supervision) during the week and record it on their work order form.

2.    We review work order form entries, what each category means and how we fill it out effectively.  We learn about changing and standardizing the appearance of the desktop, how to use System Preferences and energy saving modes.  Each student creates “problems” on a laptop and another student has to come fix it and log it in the work order

3.    We look at Ethernet connections, drop boxes, how to set up a wireless router with the laptop cart and to troubleshoot connectivity.  We make “problems” and record them in the work order format.  We look at the resume format and example resume and begin to brainstorm how to write our own resume (on paper).

4.    We practice setting up the laptop cart in a classroom and make a checklist of what needs to be done for setup and how everything should be shut down, including returning desktops to standard appearance.  We create our own page on the wiki to begin our resume.

5.    We learn about saving and document extensions and changing printer connections.  We discuss what programs open up automatically with different extensions and problems students have when they don’t double check.  We then learn about Jing and divide into groups to storyboard & script the steps of changing the display, dock, desktop appearance.

6.    We discuss the elements of a useful and clear instructional video and make a rubric for evaluating ones we see.  Students make Jing videos about their topic and we learn to save and upload them to the wiki.

7.    This begins the independent study of the group.  During the week, students interview teachers and students about their questions and troubles with computers.  Students search for online tutorials to address these problems and save links to the wiki.  Students evaluate at least one with the class-designed rubric.  They breakdown the steps to fix the problem or teach the formatting or whatever, storyboard it out, and make a Jing or video for it.  Each meeting from this time on will have a brief teaching and reflection time, the rest is partner, individual and group work.

8.    Students practice using a video camera and downloading it to a computer. 

9.    Students use iMovie to edit clips by splitting, rearranging, affecting volume and inserting sound.

10.    Students learn about transitions and titles and use them in their video.

11.    Students learn about saving formats and how to export video of different sizes for different uses (Internet posting, DVD burning, emailing, etc.)

12.    Students learn to import iMovies into iDVD to make title menus and other effects.

13.    Students learn how to connect and use a scanner and the formats for saving the image.

14.    Students attach a document camera to a projector.