April 1998 — Features
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Infusing Technology and Literacy into the Undergraduate
Exploring the Big Ideas
Considering the large number of students involved in the activities, it was important to focus the literacy activities around the three specific goals, yet still provide room for creativity and individuality to flourish. The conceptual framework provided the scaffold for the bigger ideas that would arise through the activities, such as the role of teacher as an educational leader and the role of schools in society . Concurrently, technology served as a vehicle for expression and archiving of ideas through the development of the electronic work-sampling portfolio that would document information generated through the literacy-related activities.
The exploration of the big ideas began with the discussion of the dilemmas that were presented in Savage Inequalities. As students listened to a series of searching questions, their responses were being recorded in the electronic work-sampling portfolio in scrolling fields that would permit the entry of lengthy text. These responses promoted critical thinking and critical, responsive reading. The education students were asked to:
- identify the dilemma;
- identify "leaders" who emerged during the reading who addressed the dilemma;
- illustrate how these dilemmas are similar to real-world problems in our geographic region;
- develop a series of additional questions that will promote continued dialogue and increasingly complex patterns of thought; and
- problem-solve potential solutions to the dilemma(s).
In addition, students perused the Internet to search for up-to-date information about the six school districts. Students were delighted to find, for example, that one of the high schools, DuSable High School, had a homepage on the World Wide Web.
Components of the Portfolio
Actual entries into the electronic portfolio were made by the technology coordinator of each group, although each group member contributed ideas, suggestions for the portfolio design, and additional data to be included. The basic stack design, including the home card, was developed by the course. The technology coordinators attended a two-hour workshop where the procedures for developing the electronic portfolio were taught. The software used to construct the stacks was HyperStudio 3.1, with more clip art made available. Each member of the group received a copy of the portfolio on a disk and made changes as needed for personalization.
Each electronic portfolio contained the following information:
Group Profile. A profile of the group that included each member's name and major along with a digital photograph of the group.
Topic Notes. The pop-up text fields that included a brief summary of each chapter in the book as provided by the group members.
Reading Response Activities. This component contained the responses to the focused reading of the one chapter targeted at an in-depth level. This included the dilemma questions with responses, a reading response strategy that could be used to teach some idea presented in the chapter, the group observations and reflections of their work during the discussions and activities, and a graphic visualization of the content designed by the group.
