If you are going to be supporting the educational program at a school (or district), it is important for you to know what you believe to be important in "creating an environment that facilitates learning." This means that you need to spend a little time sitting back and reflecting on what sort of learning environment you would like to help create. Obviously, you are just one voice in many, but the whole process of designing ways to support curriculum through technology will require a reexamination of the whole learning process.

If you don't know what's important to you in creating educational environments, then you won't be able to make decisions or guide others into creating a beneficial learning environment.

Sit back, get a cup of coffee, put your feet up on the stool and dream of what sort of learning environment you would like to create if you were the MASTER of your school for a year. Using this dream model of education, answer the following prompts:

• What is the process of learning?
• What roles do the student and teacher play in the educational process?
• How should success be defined in education?
• What does teaching mean to you?

 

In your optimal learning environment:

• What resources would be available?
• How would learners access them?
• How would learners use them?
• What role would teachers and administrators play in their educational process?
• How could technology support such a learning environment?
• How close is your present learning environment (or one with which you are familiar) to what you would like to see?

You are also going to be responsible to read all of the responses and reply to two of them.

	pts		pts		pts		pts
Ideas about learning and teaching.			2	Ideas about learning and teaching are well defined.	1	Ideas about learning and teaching are well defined.	0	Ideas are not posted
Optimal learning environment, role of technology, and the comparison to the real world.	4	The optimal learning environment is well defined. The role of technology in such an environment is defined. A comparison with the real world is well described.	3	The optimal learning environment is adequately defined. The role of technology in such an environment is mentioned. A comparison with the real world is mentioned.	2	The optimal learning environment is vague. The role of technology in such an environment is not mentioned. A comparison with the real world is vague.	0	Optimal environment is not posted.
Replied to at least 2 other postings	4	2 replies are posted and well-developed.	2	1 reply is posted and well-developed.	1	Replies are not well-developed.	0	Replies are not posted.