Integrating the Internet into the Classroom
Facilitator: Michael Krauss

Introduction:

Welcome to this workshop. I am looking forward to getting to know you as we explore the Internet for content material to integrate into the classroom, and share techniques for enhancing our English language teaching. I am a former instructor and CALL coordinator at the Academic English Studies program (AES) at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR. In addition to my administrative and teaching responsibilities, I coordinated CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) training and support in our program. I taught at the AES for 22 years and have been in the field for almost 30 years. In addition to teaching EAP (English for Academic Purposes), I have experience teaching U.S. immigrants, have EFL experience in Mexico, and have trained English teachers in technology use in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

I am not a computer "techie" by trade or formal education. My undergraduate degree is in business and I practiced law for 3 years before deciding to enter a Master's program in TESOL at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont in 1981. My interest in CALL began in 1985 when I began working at Lewis & Clark, which had just received a number of Macintosh computers as the result of a partnership with Apple Computers. I loved the Mac, saw great potential in using computers as a tool to enhance my teaching, and have been hooked ever since. I have worked extensively with computer applications for classroom teaching, and have long been involved in teacher training and professional presentations in instructional technology. If you are interested in more information as to my professional credentials and experience, feel free to have a look at my resume.

When I am not teaching, you'll find me spending time with my wife, college-age son, and grandkids. Among other things, I like to bike (our golden retriever, Ranger, often goes with me), play golf, read, travel and meet new people. So, that is a little background about me. I look forward to getting to know you better over the next few weeks, and trust that this course will meet your expectations.

Assumptions:

• Participants must have the following:
  • a reliable connection to the Internet
  • a reliable e-mail account that is checked on a regular basis.
  • a dependable connection to the World Wide Web with access for approximately 2-3 hours or more per day.
  • NOTE: The above are minimum requirements. The faster your computer can load web pages, the faster you will be able to move through the materials. Work on the best computer/Internet connection which you can access. To take advantage of all of the resources in the course, check the Technical Requirements page and download any resources you may need.
    
    
• Participants know basic computer skills: (keyboarding, email, basic Web browsing)
  
  
• Participants will spend an average of 2 hours/day on the workshop readings and assignments. Some days will be more and some less. NOTE: This will also depend on your connection speed and, of course, individuals will vary in their pace of working with new materials. The 2 hour figure is for the required "tasks." If you delve into the optional "additional resources," your time spent will be longer. Please remember, however, that the course materials will remain available to you after the class ends; you can return and access them as you need them.
  

Course Objectives:

• Get to know one another: Who are we professionally? Who are our students? How do we use computers in our teaching? Why are we participating in this workshop? What are our expectations of this workshop?
  
  
• Promote an atmosphere which encourages participation and professional development among all workshop participants and allows for enough flexibility to meet the expressed needs of participants as the course progresses.
  
  
• Provide participants the opportunity to explore a wide range of on-line resources in a variety of content areas which can be integrated into classroom teaching.
  
  
• Examine techniques for designing classroom materials to take advantage of the unique resources that exist on the World Wide Web. These techniques differ in some ways from those used in a paper-based environment.
  
  
• Explore ways to find additional on-line resources for use in the classroom and to tailor those resources to fit the instructional needs of your students.
  
  
• Look at the issues of evaluating (and helping students learn to evaluate) on-line resources.
  
  
• In the process of exploring on-line content resources, try out different tools (applications) for delivering and discussing course content.
  
  
• Create materials and develop activities, specifically tailored to participants' individual teaching situations, for immediate use in the classroom
  
  
• Engage in ongoing discussion as we proceed through the workshop and develop a pool of resources and insights which can be shared among all participants.
  
  
• Develop professional relationships among the participants which will continue beyond the time frame of the workshop. This will be facilitated by the completion of group assignments.
  Welcome to the course. I look forward to working with each of you!

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Updated: 3/23/10