Web portals and faculty development

Accomplishing change in education starts where learning begins: with the classroom teacher. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (with support from the Lilly Endowment) is constructing a Web portal dedicated to improving middle school science, mathematics, and technology (SMT) instruction. Essentially, this gateway emulates emerging corporate practices of knowledge management and process re-invention through information technology (IT). The authors expand the notion of "professional development" to include not only training in computer competency (explicit knowledge) but also mentoring in the higher-order understanding (tacit knowledge) necessary for meaningful integration of instructional technologies into the classroom. Thier portal creates a "community of practice" for middle school teachers across Indiana to share experiences and to harvest the remarkable opportunities for improved SMT learning through Web-delivered simulations, visualization, modeling, access to live data, and to enable new collaborations, interactive learning, and alternative pedagogical approaches. Rose-Hulman faculty and digital media specialists serve as partners by providing ongoing advice, hosting special Web-conferences, aid helping to author classroom modules.