For 2004-2005 school year, the DTI course is being offered in collaboration with regional centers. If you'd like to enroll in one of the courses, please contact us at dti@terc.edu.

Additional sessions of Designing for Technology Integration are planned for the 2004-2005 school year. CLICK HERE if you want to receive an email advising you when the dates for these sessions have been finalized.

Many districts have acquired the computers, printers, district networks, and fast Internet connections. As they get the technology installed and teachers are trained to use it, they still face the hardest question: Now what? How can technology make a difference for teaching and learning in our schools?

DESIGNING FOR TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION (DTI) is a course for district leaders who are looking for ways to integrate technology into their district’s professional development program and for teachers who want to infuse technology into their classrooms and school curriculum. It is built on the concepts of backward design of curriculum (Wiggins and McTighe) and research-based practices.

The DTI course will give you the opportunity to learn how technology can be used as a tool to support student and teacher inquiry, problem solving, and higher order thinking skills and to extend creative thinking processes. Using the design principles and strategies called Good Models of Teaching with Technology (GMOTT), this course will guide you through the design of a unit of practice that can be used in your classroom, school, or district. Creating this unit (a professional development workshop or a curriculum unit) will strengthen your understanding of how to design, use, and promote effective models of technology integration in your school or district.

This course is an innovative combination of online learning coupled with a two-day face-to-face institute. The course builds on highly successful two-day institutes that were presented to hundreds of educators during the past four years. The DTI course has been developed by TERC, a national leader in helping schools and districts link technology to improved student learning. The course will be led by experts in the field of educational technology – all experienced in the implementation issues facing teachers, schools, and districts using technology. They will assist school and district leaders in understanding and recognizing effective ways of linking technology to curriculum at the classroom, school, and district levels. DTI will run for seven weeks; the two-day face-to-face institute will take place during the third week. The course will be offered twice during the 2003-04 school year.

Who should attend:

1. school-based staff including principals, assistant principals, technology integration specialists, technology coordinators, library-media specialists, and teacher-leaders (e.g., teachers serving on a curriculum or technology committee) and teachers who plan to integrate technology in their instruction.
2. central office staff with curriculum responsibilities, including directors of curriculum, technology directors, curriculum coordinators, professional development coordinators, and those responsible for program evaluation;
3. state department of education staff with responsibilities for curriculum, professional development, technology, and/or program evaluation; and
4. staff of intermediate units with responsibilities for curriculum, professional development, technology, and/or program evaluation.

Approximately 35 participants will be selected for each session. We encourage teams of leaders from a single school (maximum 2) and/or teams from a single district (maximum 4) to plan to attend together.

Expenses:
There is a registration fee that covers all course materials and food during the face-to-face institutes.

Credit:
Three graduate credits are available for participation in the online course, the face-to-face institute, and completion of a unit of practice. The cost of the graduate credit component is in addition to the registration fee. All participants will receive a certificate stating the number of hours that they participated. For specific costs, please contact us at dti@terc.edu.

Commitment:
As a participant, you must be committed to participate online each week, to attend the two-day institute, and to complete a unit of practice.

You should expect to spend 3-4 hours/week working on the course content during the on-line weeks. This work, including the unit of practice, is designed to integrate with your ongoing responsibilities, so it will not be an added burden.

What you will learn (course goals):

1. Design, develop and implement materials/units and approaches for professional development or classroom use
2. Learn assessment strategies to evaluate your technology-infused curriculum unit
3. Experience and reflect upon good models of teaching with technology
4. Participate in an active learning community (2-day face-to-face institute and 6 weeks online) and share your technology integration experiences with professionals doing similar work

Each week, the work will be online, except Week #3, which is the face-to-face institute. Participants will develop an in-depth unit of practice that will enrich their own professional work. Each week, the focus of the online course will be on a different design principle from GMOTT and the Instructional Design model.

Course topics:

Introduction and Identifying Instructional Goals: The introductory week will focus on the use of the online environment, the role of the community of learners, and an introduction to the principles of good models of teaching with technology (GMOTT).

GMOTT (face-to-face component): The two-day institute will focus on GMOTT principles. Participants will learn how technology can be used as a tool to support student and teacher inquiry, problem solving, and higher order thinking skills and to extend creative thinking processes. The face-to-face component of the online course will give participants an opportunity to experience firsthand good models of teaching with technology, to reflect on these experiences, and to begin to design a professional development or curriculum unit to be used in their own school or district.

Instructional Design Process: Using the components of the "backward design" model, participants will work on the stages of instructional design. Each week will focus on a different element of this process, as participants work toward a completed unit design by the end of the course.

Learner Analysis: Participants will look at learners' needs. Principles of Universal Design will be introduced. Technology-based accessibility tools will be discussed.

Assessment: Models of authentic asssessment and examples of online learning formats and assessment tools will be introduced and incorporated into the unit design.

School-based Support: The implementation phase of the instructional design process will be discussed. As part of this planning process, we will present models of school-based support for the integration of technology into the curriculum.

Peer Feedback and Reflective Learning: Working as a member of the "community of learners," participants will engage in an active critique process, evaluating and refining their own instructional unit and giving similar feedback to one or two others. Participants will reflect on their own learning during the course and on the instructional design process.