When teachers lack experience using the Web, the opportunity to grow in Web experience will add to the value of the workshop. The workshop can become a model of effective teaching practice by teaching technology skills within the context of the workshop content. The goals of the training should be teacher development in subject knowledge, skill application, and technology integration. The United States Software and Information Industry Association recently released its annual report on Effectiveness of Technology in Schools , in which it stated that teacher training plays an essential role in the effectiveness of technology for student learning. Educators with ten or more hours of technology training were able to use technology in classrooms more effectively and for higher level cognitive learning than those who had five or fewer hours of training.
Workshops enhanced with Web pages combine teaching training with technology training.
This session focuses on Web-supported training for which Web pages add a valuable layer of richness. The Web pages serve a multitude of purposes before, during and after the workshop. Before the workshop group meets formally, participants can read the Web page to become oriented to the topic of the workshop. The Web pages may prescribe activities to be accomplished prior to the first group session, or list materials to prepare for the workshop. Group members can begin their ice-breaker communication online via a Web forum, and initiate dialog to build on at the workshop.