Web Institute for Teachers 2001

The University of Chicago, June 18 - July 20, 2001

Introduction

WIT Program and Structure

WIT Learning Objectives

WIT Curriculum Guide

WIT Schedule

Policies

Applying to WIT

WIT Staff

Introduction to WIT

The Web Institute for Teachers (WIT) is an intensive five-week summer seminar designed to help innovative K-12 teachers integrate the World Wide Web into the classroom curriculum. Two levels of the program are offered.

• WIT Basic focuses on finding and using existing Web-based materials.

• WIT Advanced focuses on designing and implementing new curricular materials that support learning activities involving Internet-based resources.

WIT was originally developed at the University of Chicago in 1997 and has trained more than 220 teachers to date. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has listed WIT in its National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers as an exemplary program at the highest level of professional development for teachers.

WIT program and structure

WIT provides a variety of learning experiences designed to help participants integrate the World Wide Web into their teaching and learning. Instruction takes place in "homerooms" of 20 participants, grouped according to prior experiences with the Internet and with the integration of Internet resources into the classroom. Each homeroom is conducted by two experienced teacher-mentors who are former participants in the WIT program and have been specially trained to serve as WIT mentors. Participants can also choose among several "special topics" modules designed to meet specific technological or pedagogical interests. A series of "plenary sessions" brings together the participants in all of the homerooms for lectures and demonstrations by leaders in the field of instructional technology. In addition, the entire WIT curriculum is available on-line, so participants can refer to it throughout the Institute and afterwards.

WIT supplies each participant with an Internet account on its server, allowing space for web pages and other materials to be stored, as well as facilitating online communication with mentors and with other participants. These server accounts are maintained for at least a year following the Institute, to support ongoing practice and classroom use of materials created during the Institute.

The Web Institute for Teachers 2001 meets four days a week, four hours a day, from Monday, June 18 to Friday, July 20, 2001, except for June 25 and 26, when WIT breaks to allow mentors and participants to attend the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC 2001) in Chicago. See the WIT Schedule.

Sections run either in the morning (9 to 1) or the afternoon (1 to 5). Wednesdays are "flex days" to allow participants to get extra help from mentors, to work in teams or at home, or fulfill other responsibilities.

While participants in WIT Basic may choose to teach summer school during WIT, we recommend that WIT Advanced participants plan not to work regularly during the Institute, as they will need time outside of class to complete their projects.

Classes will be in Hyde Park on the University of Chicago campus or at Wadsworth School in Woodlawn (64th and University Ave., four blocks south of campus).

For more information, see the WIT Curriculum Guide.

Learning objectives

WIT includes two strands, called "Basic" and "Advanced." These differ primarily in whether their emphasis is on using existing web-based materials (Basic) or creating new web-based curriculum modules (Advanced).

Upon completion of the Basic Strand of WIT 2001, participants will be able to do the following:

• Efficiently find and evaluate suitable resources and instructional materials on the Internet
• Create bookmarks and convert them to online lists of links to support student learning
• Send and receive email, including attachments
  Be able to describe the process of building web-based lessons
• Design and create a simple home page using Netscape Composer to support teaching and learning
• Develop an original "Web Quest" for your students
• Manage files on a remote computer using an FTP client
• Participate in online chats and web-based discussion forums
• Plan how to use the Internet in your own school and classroom
• Select and purchase a suitable home computer system

More about WIT Basic

Upon completion of the Advanced Strand, participants will be able to:

• Choose the right Internet search engine for the task at hand, phrase a query for the right breadth, and refine a query based on initial results
• Evaluate Internet-based resources and instructional materials in terms of their likely effectiveness for specific purposes
• Create lists of bookmarks and online lists of links
• Maintain a directory tree of files on a web server, using FTP
• Apply advanced concepts in curriculum development and learning theory
• Use advanced software tools to plan, design, and implement a web site
• Build a web-based project that can support a sustained process of teaching and learning for your students
• Use advanced graphics editors to modify or create images
• Include simple sounds and video on a web page
• Teach others how to use the Web to support teaching and learning

More about WIT Advanced.

Standards

WIT addresses several pieces of the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T), issued by the International Society for Technology in Education in 2000.

These standards set forth what teachers should be able to do at three levels: before starting student teaching, after student teaching and internship, and at the end of the first year of teaching. It includes broad familiarity with technology and resources and how to use them with students.

The Standards note that there are three "foundations for effective use of technology" by teachers. These can be thought of as the prerequisites for teacher utilization of technology in schools. They are:

• Basic computer/technology operations and concepts (addressed in WIT by the Computer Basics and PC/Mac modules)
• Personal and professional use of technology (furthered by the intensive computer immersion that participants find in WIT)
• Applications of technology in instruction (the main topic of WIT, but limited primarily to the uses of the Web as opposed to other technologies).

Once a teacher has mastered these foundations, he or she is ready to teach (and learn) with the technologies in schools. According to NETS-T, good teachers

• "engage in planning of lesson sequences that effectively integrate technology resources and are consistent with current best practices," and
  
• "plan and implement technology learning activities that promote student engagement in analysis, synthesis, interpretation, and creation of original products"
  

The sequence of WIT Basic and WIT Advanced helps teachers to master these tasks.

Other WIT benefits

In addition to these instructional goals, participants will receive continuing education units (CEUs) suitable for use in Illinois teacher recertification plans (the exact amount will be determined prior to the Institute) or 3 units of Chicago Public School Lane Credit.

Also, upon successful completion of WIT, the Graham School of General Studies at the University of Chicago will grant you 16 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for Illinois recertification, or you may choose to receive 3 units of Lane Credit from the Chicago Public Schools.