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Teacher | |
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* "One of the most exciting things that I've seen is that children seem to write more and their writing has more purpose. We took a look at portfolios here in our building and we've seen a difference there with students who used CSILE, or Knowledge Forum, and those that didn't. We've seen an improvement with quality, on content, especially when we were writing on topics about science and social studies. It was amazing." View Case 1
* "It is a great program for processing tons of information and turning it into meaningful knowledge for the individual." View Case 2 |
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Student | |
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* "For a new student I would probably have to explain to them that Knowledge Forum makes learning in a way a lot more fun because you get to do it on your own or with a partner. Instead of having a teacher talk to you, you get to do it yourself. Then you get to learn from other people's notes. It’s just a way of learning that is really interesting and it adds a new spice to the subject that you’re researching. So it’s just really fun." View Case 1
* "My name is Jesse. I think that one of the greatest things about the Knowledge Forum program is it helps you to improve where your weaknesses are. When you have weaknesses in your research other people come and say 'hey, you need a little help in this area' and you're able to work on that area, and I think this is one of the greatest things about this program." View Case 2 * "My name is Adam; I’m a junior. I like using Knowledge Forum because it expands the abilities of a student to perform at his highest ability. Because it keeps him organized and I'm an unorganized student, and so I mean it organizes me perfectly and it keeps me, and tells me what I need to do, sub-questions, everything I need to do is there. It lets me talk to other people because all the time I can find stuff in a book and if I can't find it well here's someone over here that can find it and give me information and I got it. It's that easy. It's just easy, it's fun, and it helps me learn." View Case 3 |
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Parent | |
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* "Our children see technology as something that is a tool that is embedded in their knowledge work here at the school. So it's a question of them exploring ideas and sharing ideas. I think one of the really interesting ways that we use technology here is with Knowledge Forum. Because it takes it to a new level, it’s built a platform for our children to work in which their work is public. Not just public within their own classroom, but public throughout the building. So that lots of folks can visit their sites, and lots of folks can comment and help them build their work from whatever perspective the other people are coming from. I think that really is an important piece that that part of technology is offered to us because that certainly where we're all going in the future. Where we're not necessary looking at where we work as a place, but that where we work is our work. And that it can be anywhere, and certainly it can be in a virtual place and as long as its public and open to teamwork or ideas from wherever those ideas are coming from, it can continue to build. So that's been a real exciting new development in technology here over the last couple of years." View Case 1
* "I think that one of the things Knowledge Forum does for us that other programs, or other pieces of software, or other anything, doesn't bring to the table, is that it is an easy to operate tool that helps children integrate knowledge from lots of different sources. Many of the pieces of programs or tools, or other resources that schools have coming to them, the teacher has to find a way to bring all those pieces together so it makes sense for the child. What's wonderful about Knowledge Forum is that it does that already." View Case 2 |
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Administrator | |
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* "It is the first time that I have ever experienced the program with adults. I know at the University of Toronto, they use it with the staff there, but it was my first experience using the product with adults. At the end of the course, one of the things I asked the folks to evaluate was, what do you think about using Knowledge Forum as the way for you to: number one, keep your notes, number two, to communicate when your not physically in touch with each other, and number three, it was where you did your final research. It had to appear in Knowledge Forum that’s how I graded it. Your final research, your final exam, all of it. What I got back was that it made a heck of a lot more sense to do it this way. Because number one, it was immediate, we always knew where it was, we didn't have to go hunting for the notes, and number three, that it was a very powerful medium because the discourse that occurred never got lost. The great idea that you had that one night that you gave to somebody else, it was still there." View Case 1
* "The question we get sometime is how does Knowledge Forum work with implementing the Kentucky Standards, or our performance standards, content standards, it's a great match, it's a great match. In fact you use Knowledge Forum to deliver the pieces of those standards. There are six main standards in the Kentucky educational format. I don't have them all committed to memory, but one of them is working well together, improving writing is another one of those standards. Kids write a lot as they write their thoughts and notes, edit their thoughts and notes, revisit their thoughts and notes right there in the database, so it does support the standards. One of the things that is hardest for us to get people to see is that you have a curriculum, you still have a curriculum, whatever curriculum you had before, with content or standards or whatever, you still have it, it is just delivered differently. Perhaps delivered isn't the right word but I don't have a better word for it. It's approached differently, the way kids interface with it is different with Knowledge Forum but you still have a solid curriculum." View Case 2 |