Webwatchers at NSTA Institute

The continued growth of the Internet has made a dazzling array of information available to teachers and students. Whether you’re teaching Earth science or biology, the Internet can be a powerful and inexpensive way to augment your curriculum. But the vast amount of information available often raises as many questions as it does possibilities. What are the best resources on the Internet? How do I know what’s accurate? How can I use that in the classroom?

Professional Development

NSTA has developed a new program to address these questions. Funded by a National Science Foundation grant, Webwatcher Field Institutes teach science educators to effectively search for and critically evaluate curriculum content and use online content in a meaningful, productive manner.

This training prepares teachers to:

• Align Web content to the National Science Education Standards;
• Integrate online content in different technology-enabled classroom scenarios; and
• Synthesize targeted Web resources into an online framework for future classroom use, with aligned lesson plans, vignettes, and audio testimonials.

Technology Training

The Webwatcher program uses a blended professional development model to train a group of up to 25 teachers or specialists within a school district. An NSTA facilitator provides two days of face-to-face training in the Webwatcher program’s innovative, easy-to-use utilities. The utilities include:

•  A Web Guide content management system;
• Online rubric tutorial and practice scenarios to prepare the team for evaluating Web content;
• Webpage submission forms that facilitate Standards-alignment, rubrics, annotation pages, and database tools that identify common page characteristics; and
• A customized assessment tool where registered teachers can assign specific questions.

Continuing Support

After initial training, the Web-watchers hone their skills at a distance, spending five fully supported weeks researching, developing, and building online frameworks—Web Guides—to hold their targeted webpages for use by their district’s teachers.

NSTA provides all hosting services for the Web Guides. Teachers will have password-protected access to a development area where they can build and view their own Web Guides, and they will also be able to view Web Guides created by teachers in other districts throughout the country. The district may also opt to have their guides go through another level of expert peer review by NSTA for feedback at no extra cost.

If you are interested in learning more about how the Webwatcher Program can teach you to bring the best of the Internet to your school district, visit webwatchers.nsta.org, or contact Al Byers at (703) 312-9294; abyers@nsta.org.

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