Classroom Technology Integration FAQ Last updated 9-27-2000 Q1: Plagiarism from digital sources is so easy, and it is difficult to catch students with so many different sources on the internet to choose from. How can we prevent students from copying and pasting large sections of their writing assignments? Q2: How can students effectively validate information they find on the internet and know if it can be trusted as reliable? Q3: Where can I find information about technology competencies for teachers? I need resources to learn what I need to learn! Q4: ...I would like to obtain a list of Language Arts sites to access for use in my classroom. I teach at Whiteside Elementary, and we are not yet on-line, so my classroom resources are limited. I do, however, have access to the internet at home and use it quite often for school purposes. Q5: I teach a course, Writing technology. I have just added a unit on introduction to researching on the Internet. I have gone through my curriculum one time, but am not happy with it. I am looking for some basic lessons that teach students to research using the Internet. Q6: How can I create a word processing form that people can use over and over again, which includes blanks for them to fill in but doesn't let them erase other parts of the document? Q7: What are your favorite sources for skill based training in Powerpoint? Q8: Where can I find virtual dissection resources? Q1: Plagiarism from digital sources is so easy, and it is difficult to catch students with so many different sources on the internet to choose from. How can we prevent students from copying and pasting large sections of their writing assignments? A: There are several steps educators can take to address digital plagiarism: Educate teachers on your campus on how easy it is for students to copy and paste sentences, paragraphs, or entire reports into their own documents. This should get their attention and impress them with what an important issue plagiarism is. Supervise students carefully when they are working on their assignment at school. Teach them about proper documentation procedures (see "Bibliographic Citations for the Digital Age" - www.hcc.hawaii.edu/hspls/bibcite.html) Encourage teachers to structure writing assignments so students must sythesize new material to answer questions correctly. Instead of asking students to just write a report about the country of Morocco, the teacher could ask the student to compare and contrast the religious practices of Morocco with those in Ireland. It will be more difficult for the student to locate an online resource which directly answers this writing prompt. The student will therefore be forced (hopefully) to gather information from different sources and put together an original answer (sythesize the information.) Reserve adequate time in the school computer lab to finish a project and require that students complete all their work on the project/paper during class time. Save student work on the school network and discourage them from working at home. This is an extreme measure, but if adequate time can be reserved in the computer lab for students to work and finish a project, it can be a very effective way to prevent plagiarism. Q2: How can students effectively validate information they find on the internet and know if it can be trusted as reliable? A: This is a critical issue that must be addressed. Here are some resources that can help: Teach students to use tools like the "Quality Informaton Checklist" (http://www.quick.org.uk/menu.htm) to assess webpage content validity. Refer to the article the article "Validating Information and Resolving Information Conflicts" for additional ideas on validating digital content. Q3: Where can I find information about technology competencies for teachers? I need resources to learn what I need to learn! A: I have posted a listing of different sources relating to teacher technology competencies on http://www.wtvi.com/teks/exchange/competencies.htm. Q4: ...I would like to obtain a list of Language Arts sites to access for use in my classroom. I teach at Whiteside Elementary, and we are not yet on-line, so my classroom resources are limited. I do, however, have access to the internet at home and use it quite often for school purposes. A: Try this site: http://www.capecod.net/schrockguide/arts/artlit.htm Q5: I teach a course, Writing technology. I have just added a unit on introduction to researching on the Internet. I have gone through my curriculum one time, but am not happy with it. I am looking for some basic lessons that teach students to research using the Internet. A: Try these sites: Internet Search Tools - http://www.esc20.net/techserv/workshops/search/ Internet Training Sites - http://www.brevard.cc.fl.us/lrc/inetrain.htm The "Quality Informaton Checklist" (http://www.quick.org.uk/menu.htm) is an excellent tool to assess webpage content validity. Some books on the subject: Researching on the Internet - http://www.io.com/~kinnaman/research.html Searching and Researching on the Internet and the World Wide Web - http://www.webliminal.com/search/index.html This website also offers excellent resources: - http://www.tcet.unt.edu/START/ Q6: How can I create a word processing form that people can use over and over again, which includes blanks for them to fill in but doesn't let them erase other parts of the document? MS Word allows you to create a document like this. Try this resource page for step by step instructions: http://www.va.gov/forms/dotcreation/index.htm Q7: What are your favorite sources for skill based training in Powerpoint?  A: My favorite is: http://www.esc20.net/techserv/workshops/msoffice/ppt/default.html Some others are: http://www.commerce.ubc.ca/MBAcore/tutorials/powerpoint/pptintro.html http://www.orst.edu/instruction/ed596/ppoint/pphome.htm http://www.uwf.edu/coe/tutorials/technolo/powerpnt/powerpnt.htm?ti2Xdw=www.uwf.edu/~coe/tutorials/technolo/powerpnt/powerpnt.htm http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/tvp/ars/documentation/PP/PP.shtml Q8: Where can I find virtual dissection resources? Several options are listed here. Tools for the TEKS home | Article Archive | Technology Workshops Mailing List | Feedback | Tools and Techniques | Technology Idea Exchange Contact me using this webform. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.