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Introduction
Internet for Teachers: Case Study of a Graduate Course
Isabel Borrás
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-7703
e-mail: iborras@mail.sdsu.edu
Research suggests that there is a dramatic need for inservice and pre-service professional development
opportunities for K-12 teachers in technology (Rice, 1995). Traditional approaches to integrating new curricula
into the classroom will not be successful when applied to technology. As Grandgenett and Mortenson
emphasize, "Merely supplying teachers with technology often does little good unless the teachers are also
carefully trained to use the technology through an appropriate inservice program." (1993, p. 56).
The study outlined here investigated the effectiveness of a graduate-level course for providing teachers with
extensive training in the educational uses of Internet technology.
Course Summary
Internet for Teachers was a three-credit, graduate-level course designed and taught by the author at
Bennington College. Participants in the course, eight K-12 teachers and three college students, developed
proficiency in using various Internet cognitive tools and created six on-line WWW basic projects for use in K-
12 education. While learning the cognitive tools, participants developed the outline of their projects and wrote
the projects’ storyboards. Participants moved then into the development stage: they learned the basics of
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML); they put their projects into HTML format, using a number of templates
developed by the author; and they field-tested their projects with K-12 students. Participants invested an
average of 10 weekly hours of computer work during 14 weeks. The course followed a traditional classroombased
format but was supported by a WWW package, RE 503 - Internet for Teachers, developed by the author
(Borrás, 1996).
Goals
The study sought to investigate the effectiveness of the course in terms of outcomes and processes. In terms of
outcomes, the study aimed at finding out if participants would be able to achieve the main objectives of the
course: 1) to learn the use of major Internet tools for communication, information research, and site evaluation;
and 2) to author basic educational Web projects for use in K-12 education. In terms of processes, the study
intended to investigate the causal relationship, if any, between matching features of the course learning
environment and webware materials and participants’ achievement of the course objectives.
Theoretical Framework
The study adhered to the tenets of constructivist theory (Bodner, 1986; Perkins, 1991; Jonassen, 1991).
According to Jonassen, constructivist learning environments are most appropriate for the second of the three
stages in knowledge building (introductory, advanced, and expert). “It is at the advanced knowledge
acquisition stage that learners acquire the knowledge required to solve complex, domain- or context-dependent
problems.” (p. 29). In light of Jonassen’s assertion, the adoption of a constructivist framework seemed all the
more appropriate since the participants in the study were adult learners. It was expected that, as a result of
their many years of experience, teachers in this course would be equipped with the prerequisites for advanced
knowlegde acquisition: problem solving skills, interest, autonomy, and cooperation.