This fall, the Tenth e-train Conference was held September 29th in Bowling Green, KY. The conference was cosponsored by the President’s office at WKU and The Green River Regional Educational Consortium.
9:00 – 9:45 |
Computer Background of Online and Face-to-Face Freshmen
George Kontos, WKU Community College |
A tool that measures the computer background of students is described. The instrument consists of a short survey that collects data, an easy method to analyze the data, and hints on how to interpret the results. Suggestions on how to use the survey with face to face students and with online students are given. The students surveyed are freshmen in an introductory computer class. Limitations of the study are discussed. Adapting the tool in other than the intro to computers classes is one of the implications of the study that are discussed here. The presentation concludes with suggestions for future research. |
French Page of Interactive Activities at WKU
Nathan Love, WKU |
Professors Cuisinier, Egloff and Love are creating Web based interactive modules to be placed on a French Web page, hosted by E-train Express, at WKU. We will show our progress to date on the Web page that will provide access to our students during any given semester as well as to others who wish to visit the activities outside the context of coursework. |
9:45 – 10:30 |
Video Self-Modeling (VSM): A Motivating Instructional Tool
Nedra Atwell, Marty Boman, Paula Borland – WKU, Linda Fishback, Jennifer Green, Lisa Roberson, Connie Miller, Connie Peterie, & Lou Ann Sanford |
Watching yourself perform a task at a higher level than you have in thepast can be motivating! This instructional tool may be effective forstudents who would benefit from increased self-efficacy as a result ofseeing themselves perform accurately.P-12 educators and university faculty have collaborated to conductresearch on the use of VSM with students with disabilities. This teamwill showcase how to identify target skills and prepare videos to teachdesired behavior, academic, and transition skills needed to access thegeneral education content. |
Clicker use in the classroom
Jean Snavely, WKU |
Students are often reluctant to participate in or to raise questions during classroom discussions. Instructors often fail to identify areas of confusion prior to comprehensive assessment. Earlier identification of problem areas for both student and teacher can lead to more efficient and effective use of class time and better learning outcomes.Clickers offer a tool for early assessment of problem areas in a way that is non-threatening to students. This presentation will be an interactive demonstration of clicker applications in the classroom. Part of the presentation will also include a summary of the variety of reports available with the clicker software.
(Download: Presentation | Sample Turning Point Reports) |
10:45 – 11:30 |
The use of video games to help stroke victims recover at a faster rate
Andrew Battles, WKU |
The increase in video gaming technology has allowed what used to be a time consuming toy and entertainment to become a tool to help the stroke victim recover from many of their disabilities at a faster than normal recovery rate.This presentation will look at the uses of Wii and Playstation as means to help the stroke patient in their rehab process.Case study will be provided and alternative ways of using everyday common household items in lieu of daily trips to gym.
(Download: Presentation | Session information) |
Successful Online Teaching: Tips Based on Research
George Kontos, WKU Community College |
The seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education that were developed by Arthur Chickering and Zelda Gamson are reviewed. The use of technology, especially web-based online technology, to apply these principles in teaching and learning is examined. An example of such an implementation in an introduction to computers class, taught online at a community college in south-central Kentucky is discussed. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future implementations are also discussed. |
11:30 – 12:15 |
The Web 2.0 Teacher Toolkit
Terry Elliott |
The movement toward the browser and the web as the center of the user universe is in full swing and the plethora of tools available to teachers on the Web is so overwhelming that a short course in the best ones is essential for time-starved teachers trying to keep up. Using equipment purchased with a Spring 2007 Etrain grant I will demonstrate web-based vodcasting tools for use in courses, web 2.0 podcasting tools, screen-casting and slidecasting tools, and browser-centered tools (Firefox extensions and Greasemonkey scripts). I will demonstrate tools within a school context so that presentation viewers will be able to take away at least one classroom-tested, immediately useful Web 2.0 application for their toolkit. |
Goectsville - Goectsstadt - La Ciudad de Goects
Eddy Cuisinier, Tim Straubel, & Gustavo Obeso WKU |
Our “town” is an international city that will have the ability to increase the vocabulary of the user without using cues in English. We will show how a little computer artwork, photographs and sound files can be placed together to make an engaging and fun language learning exercise. This town has the ability to grow larger and include any cultural or language group. The pictures use sound and text files to introduce and refresh a student’s vocabulary within a given context. Vocabulary will also be placed into a proper context, so its active use can also be displayed. Cultural notes are also included (albeit in English) in various parts so that a beginning language learner is not at a disadvantage for this culturally specific information. |
1:30 – 2:15 |
The Talk of the Town: Video-Mediated Virtual Communication in Distance Education
Judith Szerdahelyi |
The integration of audio and video technology into distance education courses is now becoming the new educational standard. As previous studies indicated, instructor-produced videos enhance students’ learning experience in a variety of ways: They give the course a human face, provide access to students with different learning styles, help create a relationship between student and teacher, improve retention of course material, and keep learners motivated and entertained. Despite their popularity with students, instructor-produced videos remain one-directional and asynchronous, leaving no possibility for two-way communication. New technological developments, however, have overcome this problem and made the two-way, synchronous, video-mediated interaction between course participants a reality. This presentation will provide a brief demonstration of several video-mediated communication possibilities (such as Skype) that open the door for effective virtual interaction and collaboration. |
Documenting Developmentally Appropriate use of Technology in Early Childhood Classrooms
Libby Jones, Sylvia Dietrich, & Vicki Stayton – WKU |
This presentation will share the collaboration between four public school teachers and three university faculty members to document developmentally appropriate uses of various technologies during teacher initiated activities with young children. One project goal was to develop short video segments for use in preservice teacher education. Video collected from preschool and primary settings documents and illustrates the use of a variety of technologies and strategies in teacher directed activities. A presentation of sample video segments and a discussion of the issues and challenges in collecting and editing the videos will be shared along with tips for implementing similar projects. |
E-train is a Federally funded Western Kentucky University (WKU) project designed to help current and future teachers make better use of technology in their instruction. Participants in the project, called e-train advocates, come from every department on Western’s campus and from many P-12 schools. Advocates work in teams to learn about and develop ways to use technology in instruction. Advocates have presented the results of these efforts in many venues, including international, national, state, and local conferences; television and radio shows; and publications. E-train sponsored conferences have been one method for sharing ways to use technology in instruction.
