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web 2 gether. :::supporting special educator professional development::: :::building communities of practice:::. Rogério dePaula & Anja Kintsch Camille Dodson, Dan Mayer & Mike Chavez Center for LifeLong Learning and Design University of Colorado Boulder. How it began.
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web2gether :::supporting special educator professional development::: :::building communities of practice::: Rogério dePaula & Anja KintschCamille Dodson, Dan Mayer & Mike ChavezCenter for LifeLong Learning and DesignUniversity of Colorado Boulder
How it began • Need for inexpensive educational software for uniquely different students. • Potential adaptations of shareware and freeware. Rogerio DePaula Presentation
A CDROM was created 127 inexpensive programs Rogerio DePaula Presentation
New Problems • Time consuming • Explore • Find • Integrate • Lack of support • Technical • Professional Rogerio DePaula Presentation
Our Approach • observing and talking with teachers to learn about the complexity of the issues • workshops that allowed teachers to learn about web2gether and collaborate in its development • Creating and strengthening the relationship Rogerio DePaula Presentation
on the use of assistive technology • challenges • few research studies on the use of technology by special educator to facilitate learning activities • “gift-wrapping” approach to the use of technology • there has been great technological progress, but little impact in the actual special education (Edyburn et al., 1999) Rogerio DePaula Presentation
on the use of assistive technology • challenge: • lack of appropriate support inhibits the use of assistive technologies • approach: • support for teacher professional development • adult education (pre-services & in-services) • communities of practice Rogerio DePaula Presentation
support for communities of practice • challenge: • long-term and self-sustaining communities of practice (C of P) • this research approach: • design of a collaborative and evolving technology, web2gether, to foster the creation and development of C of P informed by field-study research Rogerio DePaula Presentation
web2gether • help caregivers • find and share software applications and lesson plans • exchange stories and life-experiences • create and development groups of like interests, problems, etc. • identify other with similar experiences and problems • focus on creating a sustainable community of practice Rogerio DePaula Presentation
web2gether • demo • http://web2gether.cs.colorado.edu:7001/ Rogerio DePaula Presentation
next steps • new interface • social network interface • deployment at schools in the next school-year • field-study of the use and adoption of web2gether at schools • future: parents… Rogerio DePaula Presentation
web2gether – questions? • acknowledgments: • CLever project group • Coleman Initiative • students: Camille, Dan and Mike Rogerio DePaula Presentation