Online Application Support Providers for Teacher Education (Taskstream)
David Georgi and Pam Redmond

Problem:
- rigorous new standards
- required digital video component to assessment
- legally definisble assessment measures (if students legally challenged, needed a way for others to reach same conclusions, so video was the only viable solution)
- long term storage of documentation

Barrett said students need to become "digital packrats"
- put together digital library
- alignment of TE courses to generate student artifacts, also to meet TPAs
- need to demonstrate growth for review by students and faculty over time
- exit review of program
- document achievement of candidates towards standards

Digital advantages
- database architecture to structure development
- anytime, anywhere access regardless of University IT controls
- accessible via web to others for input
- supervisor, master teacher, candidate collaboration on lessons
- easily archived

wanted browser based system that Mac people could access just like windows people

Characteristics
- online aplicaton support provider (OASP)
- ePortfolio tool
- instructional design resource management tool
- online teacher productivity tools
- specialized educational interface
- learning management system

Benefits of Selected OASP
- privacy with controlled access
- cross platform
- 10 MB of storage with ability to purchase more (has been good because videos are elsewhere
- inexpensive
- no local server maintenance
- Big problem with having in-house portfolio system: you have to provide all your own support
- student can choose certain people to have access to it, or keep it closed
- transparent, cross-platform, haven't had any trouble with uploadin/downloading of files, etc
- pack-it-up feature (can burn to CD as html files)

$65 for 2 years for taskstream, they make this a textbook requirement in their first

Videos
- decided they wanted videos on local server, not on the taskstream server

can be a complete neophyte to use this system
- can use DW and copy/paste into taskstream, supports diversity of student needs

Looked at livetext and other solutions, taskstream was best

Features
- lesson builder
- unit builder
- standards wizard
- rubric wizard
- folio builder
- mybrary
- cybrary

Pam's group is doing 100% of students, David's is doing smaller pilot study

one participant in David's pilot felt it was a burden to have to learn new technologies, wanted to work in MS Word

Pam: "Task stream is not a panacea for teacher education"
- big reason they went with it: local ISD was going to use it also (same tool)

Did post-grad study asking students for graduates
- most did see the value of the portfolio, feedback was generally positive that this was a useful tool

Next steps
- will digitize electronic supervision forms (will avoid need for students to digitize those forms and simplify the paper process)
- master teachers will be online
- induction program will expand the portfolio
- begin in undergraduate program

Minnesota is doing kindergarten to pepertuity ePortfolios

http://www.csub.edu/~dgeorgi/index.html

http://teachinginterchange.org/astute/links.html
Great examples of what others in many places are doing with ePortfolios

 

 

<--Return to Wesley's eLearning 2003 Notes TOC

<-- Return to Wesley's Notes TOC

<-- Return to Wesley's homepage