Carolynn+Mortensen

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Innovation: Classroom Websites as Instructional Tools

My project will focus on the use of classroom websites as instructional tools. Many educators do not understand the power of the classroom website to improve student academic performance and as an organization and time-saving tool for educators. There is already some acceptance of this innovation as an important tool in education but many teachers and administrators do not have the proper training to implement the class website in a way so that it is more than just a communication tool to host a teacher phone number, schedule, or email link. However, there is enough interest and early implementation to predict that this tool could be adopted into the industry globally. Implemented properly, the classroom website used as an instructional tool could positively impact teaching and learning. Student will benefit from extended accessibility to classroom content and differentiated resources and instructors benefit from improved organization and planning. A major benefit for instructors is the ability to save time as they find that they are doing less management tasks and more facilitating. I’ve selected this innovation because it is a personal passion for me. When I taught middle school math and algebra I, I found that the classroom website significantly impacted student success and my own efficiency. This personal experience serves as a catalyst to motivate me to share what I discovered first hand with others in the profession. In addition, I learned that there were approaches to the implementation of the classroom website that furthered the opportunity for significant student gains. While I appreciate the organizational benefits for me, it was ultimately the student success of my students that drives me to share this innovation with others. Moodle and the use of iPad in education are very important options; both require some specialized software or equipment for implementation and Moodle requires significant time investment. On the other hand, the classroom website could be implemented with zero cost and be effective immediately. For my innovation, I will focus on the research by Koeber (2005). In his study, he found that student perception towards courses that included a course website was significantly improved. In the K-12 environment, students often do better academically if they feel positively towards the classroom method. This study indicates that this innovation may impact learning positively for a variety of reasons. This enhances the importance of this innovation in the field of education.

References Koeber, C. (2005). Introducing multimedia presentations and a course website to an introductory sociology course: How technology affects student perceptions of teaching effectiveness. //Teaching Sociology//, //33//(3), 285