Grade Level: Undergraduate Studies

Subject: English

Learner Outcomes:

  1. Learn how to use technology in teaching
  2. Experience teaching in a real-world environment
  3. Assess appropriate use of technology in teaching

Student Task: Students acted as mentors for 25 elementary school students.

Teacher Role: Students were learning facilitators. They helped the students complete research projects on famous inventors of the millennium according to the classroom teacherís curriculum objectives.

Grouping: Each mentor was a group leader of six elementary school students. They used technology to communicate with the students via discussion boards and virtual chat.

Hook: The class, Technology in Teaching English, is a requirement for all undergraduate English Education majors.

Student-Directed Learning: Students were directed to follow the curriculum of a classroom teacher. Students were able to suggest and develop appropriate uses of technology according to the project requirements.

Use of Technology: Mentors communicated with their students using discussion boards and virtual chats. Students also used the Internet for research on their respective inventors. Students set up guidelines for website format and published student projects on the university server.

Assessment: Students were evaluated based upon their active participation in the project, the quality of the work done by their team, and the quality of their individual webpages.