1. Structured vs Unstructured Use of EduWeb

• Structured use means teachers decide what each topic/project will be and guide students
   
• Projects are all assessed
   
• The intranet is backed up regularly!
   
• All students move forward
   
• Unstructured use means students are shown their webspace and left to their own devices
   
• Some will excel, others will avoid
   
• If you start off unstructured, don’t expect to take control without wiping & starting again

2. Project-Based Multimedia Learning

• Project-based learning is an old and respected educational method
• Students acquire new knowledge and skills in the course of designing, planning and producing a product or performance
• Multimedia is a dynamic new form of communication
• It’s the integration of text, images, video, animation and sound to convey information
• When you produce a multimedia product, it engages students who normally tune out
• The work they do tends to be more complex
• Sharing their final product with their peers, parents and others instills pride
• The presentations will include evidence that students have mastered key concepts and processes that teachers need to teach:
• Core curriculum, real-world connection, extended time-frame, student decision-making, collaboration, assessment and technology

3. What teachers promote and develop when they apply Project-based Multimedia Learning:

• Planning and organisational skills
• Research and technical skills
• Synthesis & analysis of complex content & data
• How to present information in compelling ways
• An understanding of how academic subject matter applies to the real world
• And because the students will be motivated, teachers have the freedom to support individual students

4. Making Real-World Connections

• A multimedia project with a real-world connection can hardly go wrong
• Multimedia only makes sense when it’s part of a context
• We don’t just combine random media elements, we make multimedia to communicate something
• Real-World connections make students see a reason for doing a project and technology makes it easier than ever before – for example:
• Involve some expression of students’ lives and identities
• Connect through authentic interactions with people and institutions within and outside school
• Connect through a task that helps them imagine or achieve a future goal

5. Examples of Real-World Connections

• Student Interests: How is maths involved in their favourite hobby or sport?
• Adult Work & Life Skills: Research a car to buy – features, pricing, financing, insurance
• Relating to clients: Develop EduWeb templates for younger students
• Significant Issues: Racism, poverty, drug abuse, immigration
• Improving the Real World: Make a presentation for the local council about combating graffiti, litter, violence etc.
• Student Experiences: Develop resources for the school library to highlight different cultures from their own backgrounds
• Building a Portfolio: As students create their body of work, they realise how they can use it

6. What About High Schools?

• The challenge has been set:
• How do we provide continuity for students leaving year 6 with multimedia skills?
• When will be the next time these students will produce their work using multimedia at school?
• The divisions between faculties have been the reason that change is difficult to introduce in high schools.  How can the intranet be used across faculties?
• Storing student work on a HS intranet requires secure access – that means individual login accounts
• Have you thought about creating separate EduWebs for each faculty?
• Unstructured use of EduWeb in a High School equates to  Unsuccessful use of EduWeb in a High School

7. What About Reluctant Teachers?

• Good question.

• Reluctant teachers are a problem in more areas than just applying technology

• The more teachers that take on project-based multimedia learning to start with, the quicker osmosis takes over

• Planning is essential.  EduWeb introduces a completely new way of using technology in the school.  School executive has to be deeply involved and supportive

• If only one teacher starts off, it’s likely to end with that teacher

• Don’t work alone.

• If you solve this one, call me and tell me how you did it

8. What About Apple Macintosh?

• While efforts have been made to improve the situation, 12 months of EduWeb on both Windows and Mac has shown:

• Apple is currently (2002) trailing Windows in Intranet browsing and editing

• Student intranet work on Windows systems is richer as it integrates more varied technologies

• Internet Explorer and FrontPage for Windows integrate PowerPoint, Excel, Word, videos and sound more effectively than Netscape 4 on Macs

• Microsoft FrontPage for the Mac is horrible and Netscape 4 Composer is restrictive and limited

• However, Netscape 7 is a huge improvement.  Apple schools should strongly consider using Netscape 7 on OS9.1 or OSX

• Specific Mac utilities for EduWeb are under development