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Welcome to Computer Problem Solving... Computer Problem Solving is a course that I have been teaching for over seven years. The course is offered during both the fall and the spring semesters. In addition, it is offered in the summer as an independent/online course. I have spent a great deal of time constructing and organizing materials for this course, and I am hopeful that you will find the course both purposeful and educationally sound. While this course is designed to be taken in a hands-on, behind-the-computer-screen environment, I believe strongly in classroom interaction and its value in the learning process. Thus, I have tried to create opportunities for learning that arise from a "social context" by a) recommending that you find a colleague or friend who will interact with you as you meet course expectations, b) offering you opportunity to work in collaborative pairs to achieve various course objectives, and c) providing a lab assistant who will establish additional gathering times when you may meet and interact, receive assistance with course assignments and skills, and ask questions, and discuss as you explore the use of computers in your own learning process. In addition, all students are required to participate in the PowerPoint and Webfolio Presentations and Technology Forums. Computer Problem Solving is designed to provide a constructive learning experience for teachers. It is not intended to be a course in which I, your instructor, give you click-by-click instructions on how to accomplish the assignments. Instead, I will offer you an "opportunity" to learn by trial and error...and some suffering. During the course, students are expected to build a website that achieves self-selected goals for a self-selected audience. Thus, here is the opportunity for the prospective fifth grade teacher to create an interactive class website where fifth graders can find assignments, gather suggestions for pleasure and/or assigned reading, discover information about the "student of the week", or locate websites related to a science unit on weather. Or, here's the chance for the prospective teacher who wants to support literacy by designing a website with opportunity for students to critique books, publish personal reviews, or contribute to a class journal. What about you? What are you interested in creating? The possibilities are endless. Take a look at some of the webfolios that students have created in the past. Notice that some websites reveal the passions, hobbies, or special interests of their authors. Yours can too...if you prefer...although students seeking a teacher certification are required to create a site designed to serve educational purposes. You may wish to construct a site for a future class of students, for a grade level, a department, a school, or parents. By building a site designed to serve educational purposes, you will have greater opportunity to construct an understanding of what it means to integrate technology into teaching and learning. Below you will find sample sites constructed by students in past classes. Some of the sample sites are older than others and thus may reflect different course objectives. Computer Problem Solving changes over time to reflect the continuing growth and development of the course instructor in integrating technology into the teaching and learning process. For those of you enrolled in both Educational Evaluation and Computer Problem Solving, here are some sample sites that integrate requirements from both courses. Again, some of the sites reflect older course objectives so they may not meet all of the current course requirements. For those of you enrolled in both Child Growth and Development and Computer Problem Solving, here are some sample sites that integrate requirements from both courses. Again, some of the sites reflect older course objectives so they may not meet all of the current course requirements. As you begin this course, I want you to feel that you are "in charge." Please don't stress if you feel that you will "never" be able to build anything like these examples. Students feel this way every semester, and they discover that building a website is not as daunting as it appears....as long as they build it little by little. So...remember that this is "your" course, designed to meet "your" needs. Yet, at the same time you are fulfilling your own goals, you will also be meeting educational technology standards as defined by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Just think...by the end of this course, you will be able to construct and present a PowerPoint presentation, average grades using Excel, grab graphics, sound clips, and videos from the Internet and insert them into webpages and PowerPoints to enhance key ideas. You will be able to take an online quiz, create an online quiz, search the Internet effectively, and hyperlink goals to evidence of achievement. Indeed, you will gain many skills during this course...but you will also build a learning environment where your target audience can find "intellectual partners" to use in constructing new knowledge and understanding -- and maybe even have a little "fun" in the process. Good luck to you all...
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