Review of 4teachers.org

Developed by The Advanced Learning Technologies project at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning (ALTEC), 4teachers.org is a site dedicated to assisting teachers integrate technology into their classroom. Faculty and students in ALTEC come from a diverse range of disciplines including the School of Education, the School of Fine Arts, the School of Engineering, and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. This assortment of talent enables ALTEC to empower learners of all types and ages by offering an extensive assortment of technology tools. What follows is a brief description of its offerings:

QuizStar: design, administer, and manage tests and quizzes online

RubiStar: create, edit, save, and access rubrics online

AcademicSkillBuilders: online educational games designed for learning basic math, language arts, vocabulary, and thinking skills

PersuadeStar: helps middle school and high school students write persuasive essays

ClassroomArchitect: design a classroom floor plan to maximize student learning

Equity: browse the following categories to locate resources and tools to help meed the needs of persons with disabilities, special needs, or various multicultural influences: Assessment, Assisted Technology, Disabilities, Gender, Grants, Legal Issues, Multicultural, and Special Needs.

TrackStar: create online lessons by selecting, annotating, and ordering a series of websites together to form an integrated online lesson

Assign-A-Dayz: create online calenders to manage classes and assignments

CasaNotes: templates for typical notes that are sent home to parents or given to the students (e.g. homework assignments, progress reports, field trip forms)

PBLChecklists: quickly create a project-based learning checklist that enables students to understand the exact grading criteria and assists teachers in assessing projects efficiently

TeacherTacklebox: instantly access WebQuest, TrackStar, and ThinkQuest links by specifying a subject, theme, and topic

WebPosterWizard: quickly create worksheets and posters available on-line to students in various classes

NoteStar: streamline research papers and projects through its many features that assist in the preparation of

ThinkTank: develop a research topic by generating a list of subtopics by choosing from a variety of suggestions and by using a random subtopic generator.

KidsVid: produce an instructional or educational video by learning about the processes of scripting, making, editing an actual video... then post it on the website so the whole world can see.

How is 4teachers.org important for the classroom?

4teachers.org empowers teachers by assisting them in their quest to become technologically proficient. Quality teachers produce better functioning students. This site is devoted to developing the full potential of teachers. I have already described many of the educational tools featured on this site. But there is more on this site than these important technology tools. This site also has an area named "Hot teacher topics" that inform educators about important educational issues including protecting kids from online predators, stopping school bullying, and the ramifications of growing up online. Another area on this site is named "4teachers features," and it provides additional support for teachers by providing links to professional development sites, educational video games, and instructional technology sites.

I have found this site to be of great potential value for any educator. I will make it a goal of mine to spend the necessary time and effort to learn more about these tools and resources and try to incorporate them into my teaching repertoire.


How might 4teachers.org impact student learning?

4teachers.org is devoted to helping teachers become better, stronger teachers through the use of digital technologies. Offering such a diverse and comprehensive set of tools (described previously) can do much to impact student learning. Student learning will be expanded as teachers incorporate each of these technology tools into their teaching repertoire. For instance, research suggests that the classroom environment and physical arrangement of classroom furniture can have a positive or negative affect on student learning. The Classroom Architect tool can provide a teacher with an opportunity for experimentation with the layout of a classroom that is best suited for a particular subject area or teaching methodology. KidsVid instructs both teachers and students on the fundamental principles of video production. Teachers can then design projects and assignments that require students to produce a video on various topics of interest. Each one of the aforementioned tools has the potential to have a profound impact on student learning. All that is required is a willingness for a teacher to take the time and effort to access these tools and start using them. The full capabilities and utility of these tools can only be truly understood and realized through persistent use.