CAETI Project Abstract
Title: Shepherd
Performer(s):
Karen Harbison
Gail Haddock
University of Texas
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Cluster: SNAIR
Contact Information:
Phone: 817-273-2345
Fax: 817-273-3322
email: harbison@onramp.net
haddock@onramp.net
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1. Instructional Focus: N/A
2. Target Population: Initially targeted for teachers, but will ultimately extend to parents and students at all grade levels.
3. Summary Description: Shepherd is an Internet resource tool and database of categorized resources. It helps users control a variety of diverse network navigation tools. Shepherd provides a central storehouse for data collection and classification and allows directed search through large information spaces.
4. Training and Staff Development:
- Teacher prerequisite skills/knowledge needed: Some experience with computers and current technology.
- Student prerequisite skills needed: N/A
- Training needed/provided: One week teacher training in the use and applicability of the tool.
- Technical Support needed/provided: Additional in-depth modeling of educational users.
5. Technological/Resources Needed: Computer with Internet capabilities.
6. Intended Outcomes:
Students: Ultimately, students will spend time more efficiently and productively when searching for information. Rather than having access to unlimited yet unmanageable materials, students will have ready access to appropriate resource materials.
Teachers: Teachers will be able to increase the number of Internet resources to support instruction, thereby increasing the number of opportunities for students. A customized repository of educational resources will be produced by teachers to support their content areas. This will facilitate the electronic sharing of information among teachers. Valuable time will be saved when searching for Internet resources through large information spaces by applying directed search strategies. In addition, teachers will be able to categorize Internet resources by educational topic.
7. Instructional Time Required: The amount of instructional time involved will depend on individual teachers and the needs of their students. Various elements of the project will be produced at six, twelve, and eighteen months with final completion of the project anticipated within 24 months.
8. Role of the Pilot Teacher(s): Pilot teachers will provide feedback to developers in order to fully refine Shepherd.
9. Example(s) of Use of This Product (Scenario): A teacher may log into Shepherd in search of literature (textual) information. He/She specifies that Shepherd search the URLs in the local repository which have previously been downloaded (over time) by other teachers. Browsing the search results, the teacher saves several textual pages to diskette (or prints them.) Next, the teacher repeats the search looking for movie (Quicktime) clips. After reviewing the results of the search the teacher saves the POINTERS for later retrieval in class since the actual clip will not fit on a disk.
In class, the teacher uses the textual materials and animations as part of his/her teaching material, displaying it on a computer or an overhead. Students' questions requiring research beyond what is found in the local library can be answered utilizing Internet Access Engine (part of Shepherd) to search for current material outside the repository. This can then be downloaded for future use into the repository, where students and other teachers can easily get to it.