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Prior to the In service I needed to spend time to make sure
that the site I intended to use would work.
As I suspected...when I needed the site most it didn't
work. Often we have little control over what material will
pass through the Milwaukee Public School's computer
filter. I needed to rearrange what I was going to do in
a hurry to accommodate the needs of the staff.
I received advice from another computer person on how to
bypass the changes that were made to the internet
system. The first 10 minutes were spent teaching the participants
how to sign in and maneuver around the new system. Once
everyone was up and on I noticed that two of the
individuals involved were not as interested as I had hoped;
they were looking at off-line track betting sheets. Let
it be noted that the teachers did receive pay compensation
for being at the in-service. I continued the in-service.
My original plans were altered significantly. I decided to
explain what engaged learning is and what it meant
for myself as an educator. Since I had done an engaged
learning unit with my students, I had plenty of materials
to share as examples. I explained how to prepare the students
for the computer lab and how
to keep them on task in the lab.
From that point on what the participants wanted was to see
completed engaged learning lessons that they could access.
I gave them links to sites that I had found previously
and let them investigate their perspective areas of expertise.
Four out of the six participants were truly interested and
found material that they would like to try. I offered to
help them set up the class and troubleshoot for any unseen
problems. Participants were then offered a chance to see the
students in action. I decided that seeing is believing,
so I will use my own classes as an example of engaged learning
in action. |