Introduction Assignment

Objectives: You will be able to:

1. Understand the concept of curriculum specific learning.
2. Understand how to use the textbook Web site.
3. Write a brief narrative introducing yourself and e-mail it to the class.

Welcome!

Welcome to Teachers Discovering Computers! We are happy you can join us for this exciting adventure. We are glad you are here! This is an exciting course that will provide you with many excellent resources and ideas that can be used immediately in your classroom or administrative area. This course uses a very innovative and extensively Web-enhanced textbook. Understanding the design of the course and how to use the textbook Web site will greatly enhance your experience.

Curriculum Specific Learning

The heart and soul of the Teachers Discovering Computers course is curriculum specific learning or discipline specific learning which is when you learn how to apply teaching principles, knowledge, and ideas to authentic and practical classroom lessons and projects that can benefit your students. Chapter 1 of the textbook describes curriculum-specific learning in greater depth on pages 1.02 and 1.03. Be sure to review this carefully. Understanding this concept will help you immediately apply what you are learning to your specific situation thereby making your learning more meaningful.

Using the Textbook Web Site

The Teachers Discovering Computers textbook Web site has many multimedia enhancements that make the site fun and interactive. There are nine end-of-chapter sections and all of the end-of-chapter materials are stored as Web pages on the World Wide Web to enhance your learning experience by providing you with extensive and in-depth curriculum-specific information and integration ideas. To access the textbook Web site, launch your browser and enter the following Web address, www.scsite.com/tdc2. To display an end-of-chapter section, click the desired chapter number at the top of the page and then click any of the end-of-chapter sections displayed on the left sidebar. The online end-of-chapter sections provide you with numerous World Wide Web resources as well as interactive quizzes, games, and labs. Some of the sites are high-end and will take a little time to load. First and most importantly, if one site is taking too long to load, use the Back button on your browser's toolbar and select a different site. If you are using a dial-up connection and modem you may experience some wait time. The busier the Web, the longer some sites may take to load. To minimize waiting, try accessing the textbook Web site earlier in the morning or later in the evening. Pages 1.25 through 1.27 in Chapter 1 discuss the different end-of-chapter sections and explain how to get the most out of the textbook Web site. You will be using the site extensively throughout this course. Be sure to read Chapter 1 to learn more about how to best utilize this incredible resource.

Getting to Know You 

Although Web based courses often lack face to face time, it is still possible to get to know your classmates. We want you to have the opportunity to interact with each other. For this initial assignment, you will compose an introduction of yourself using the guidelines below, and send your introduction to the class via email.

We want to get to know you! Therefore, please write a paragraph about yourself. It is very important to include all of the information outlined below in your paragraph so your instructor can tailor their responses to your specific situation. In your paragraph, describe the following:

• Your Name
• What you hope to teach (including grade level)
• How you spend your time when you are not working, taking courses, going to meetings, working on things for school, etc.
• Describe two attributes of a good teacher
• Anything else you would like for us to know about you

Submission Instructions

Click on the word “Mail” found on the left hand navigation bar, or under the icon “Communication Tools.”

Click on “Compose Mail Message”

Adjacent to the “Send To” box you will see the “Browse” button, click on it

Click on the first name appearing in the “pop-up” window, now hold the shift key down and use your down arrow to highlight all the names that appear (these are all of your classmates and instructors), and click “done”

In the “Subject” line type “Introduction”

In the “Message” area compose your paragraph making sure you include all the information above.

When you are ready to send the email click on “Send” in the bottom left hand corner and this will send your message to each participant in the course. It will be a pleasure getting to know each of you.

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