Teacher Orientation Guide

American Bar AssociationAmerican Bar AssociationDivision for Public EducationDivision for Public Education

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Welcome to the 2009 Teacher Orientation

2009 National Online Youth Summit Teacher Orientation (January 7 – 30, 2009)

• This online orientation session will guide you through the most used commands on FuseTalk, the online discussion board.

• We have developed 5 sequential activities for the orientation that will help you:1. Become familiar with and practice using FuseTalk2. Understand the structure of summit work3. Engage in discussion with other teachers4. Set up online discussion activities for your students

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FuseTalk Trainings

• To help you become familiar with FuseTalk, the web conferencing software:– New teachers are required (and returning

teachers are encouraged) to participate in one (1) hour-long live FuseTalk training.

– We highly recommend teachers work through the FuseTalk orientation activities provided in this PowerPoint independently. • The length of the tutorial used

independently is estimated at one (1) hour.

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Orientation Activity Schedule

Activity 1: Discussion Forum AccessAvailable January 7

Activity 2: FuseTalk TutorialOrientation Dates:

January 8, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. ESTJanuary 13, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. ESTJanuary 22, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. EST

Activity 3: Registering Student Users to FuseTalk Due January 15

Activity 4: Setting Up Classroom Conference for Student Activities Two, Three, and Five

Activity 5: Teacher Pre-Survey & Assignment of School ClustersDue January 28

Activity 1: Discussion Forum Access

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Discussion Boards

• The online forum can be accessed on the ABA NOYS website at http://www.abanet.org/publiced/noys/09/home.shtml. Click in the ‘Registered Users Login” section. Login information will be emailed separately by January 5.

1. Enter your login name (in the “Username” field) and the password (in the “Password” field) that were assigned to you by the ABA, and click “Login.”

2. Check the access of the discussion board from computers that students will use.3. If you experience difficulty accessing the site from any of the computers that will

be used during the summit, please consult your school’s technology professional.

Activity 2: FuseTalk Tutorial

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Overview

• The tutorials and exercises that follow will help you become familiar with four basic FuseTalk functions used repeatedly throughout the Summit: – Replying – Posting– Editing – Attachments

• Tips for navigating FuseTalk are also provided.

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Getting the Most Out of NOYS

• The tutorial takes approximately one hour to complete.

• Be sure to complete all of the exercises.

• We promise you will not regret the time investment up front!

• Complete all steps in the order they are given.

Let’s Begin!

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Three Levels of Organization in FuseTalk

• Categories: – Categories are folders of collected topics relating to a

specific aspect of that discussion board. Categories are at the highest level of the folder structure and can only be created by a discussion board administrator.

• Topics:– Topics are threads/discussions created within a category.

Multiple topics can exist within one category. Topics can be created by anyone logged onto the discussion board.

• Messages:– A message or many messages are found within a topic

and are related to one subject matter. Anyone that has logged onto the discussion board can post or reply to a message.

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Categories

• Figure 1 displays the basic layout of the Discussion Board screen. Categories are located on the left side of the discussion board as depicted in this screen shot from 2007 NOYS.

• The screen shows a category for Jefferson High School, Washington High School, Teachers Only, Feedback, and Software Questions. The Icons to the left of the category show whether the category contains messages, whether it is locked, etc.

Figure 1: You can return to this page at any time by clicking on “Discussion Board Home” in the menu at the top of the page (indicated by the red arrow).

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Topics

• The screen shot at the right shows the topic “Welcome Summit Applicants” (yellow arrow), which is within the category “2007 NOYS Software test” (green arrow).

• A topic message begins a new thread of discussion within a Category.

• Click on the topic to read all messages on that topic. All messages within the topic will be listed in chronological order. You can reply to the Topic, or to any of the messages within the Topic. Your reply will be posted under the message to which you replied.

Activity 2A: Replying to a Topic

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Replying to a Topic

There are two ways to reply to a Topic.

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Using the “Reply” Key

Method One: Use the Reply key• Click on “Reply” at the lower right-hand

corner (green arrow).• Type your reply in the window that appears.• Sign your message. Remember to sign using

your first name, first initial of your last name, and your school name (e.g., Mark K. George (T) Washington High).

• Click “Reply to Topic.” (see Figure 3, next slide).

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Figure 3: “Reply to Topic” button indicated by the red arrow

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Using the “Quote” Key

Method Two: Use the Quote key• Click on “Quote” at the lower right-hand

corner (yellow arrow).• Type your message and sign it.• Click on “Reply to Topic.” • If you use the “quote” key, the original

message will appear in a box below your reply (see Figure 4).

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Figure 4: This screen shot shows what happens if you reply to a message using the “Quote” button.

The original message appears at the top, followed by the reply to the original message, which includes a boxed “quote” of the original message.

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Hands-on Exercise

• Log into the Teachers Only Discussion Board using your login name and password.

• After you log in, you will see a list of categories, including two schools, an Updates & Information category, an Evaluation category, and a Software category.

• Complete the following exercises: – Click on school category Jefferson High.– Find the post by Joe D. – Post a reply to Joe D.

Activity 2B: Posting & Editing Topics

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Posting New Topics

• Posting New Topics:– First, select a category in which you would like to create a new

topic. – Next, click on the category selected. – You will notice that a new menu option, “New Topic," appears in

the main menu. Select “New Topic” and a new window will appear giving you the ability to add a new topic.

Figure 5: The “New Topic” button is in the menu and the right-hand corner.

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Posting New & Editing Topics

• After you click on “New Topic,” the screen below will appear. – Enter the topic name in the “message title” field. Keep the name

short.– Type in your message or question. – Sign your message (as previously demonstrated). When you have

completed your message, click “Post Message.”– Your Topic will post immediately.

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Editing A Posted Topic

• Edit Topics by opening the topic message and clicking “Edit” at the bottom right-hand corner. You can only edit topics you create unless you are a board administrator.

• You can edit the topic title and summary, as well as the content of the Topic.

• After you edit a Topic, a message will appear with the Topic to indicate it has been edited, the name of the person who edited it, and the time and date.

• Please Note: Editing messages is performed in exactly the same way. As with topics you can only edit messages you originated (unless you are a board administrator).

• Posting Tip: Messages can be previewed prior to posting.

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Hands-on Exercise

Part 1

1. Click on school category “Washington High.”

2. Make a new topic with the title “Mr. Gatling’s Terrible Marvel Reading Assignment.” Use the following text for your message: Read the following pages as homework: pages 22-31 & 182-189. Answer the questions provided and be prepared to post your thoughts.

3. Post your message.

4. Edit your message, changing page 189 to page 187.

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Hands-on Exercise

Part II

1. Visit the Updates & Information conference.

2. Find the message entitled “Welcome and congratulations!” from Wendy Holtman.

3. Reply to her message by posting any text you want, which will indicate that you have been successful in navigating the board.

4. Post a new topic message. Title it with your first name. Include the following information in the text of your message:

1. Your name; 2. Your town/city, and state; 3. If applicable, the number of summits you have participated in; 4. The subject of the class that will participate in the summit; 5. The grade (s) of your participating students;6. The number of students in your class.7. Sign your message with your name and your school name.

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Threading & Linear Views

• You can view messages in two ways:1. “Threading” view - provides a list of all posts, showing the

name of the person who posted, the date and time of the posting, and the thread of messages (i.e. arranged in order of message and replies. Using this view, all replies to a message will appear directly under the original message. We strongly recommend that you use the “Threading” view so that messages and replies are grouped together.

2. “Linear” view - shows all messages in chronological order. Using this view, replies to messages will not necessarily appear below the original message—everything will appear in the chronological order in which it was posted.

• To change conference view:1. Click on “Profile.”2. Click on “Personal Options.”3. Change the setting from a “linear” view to a “threading”

view.

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Threading View

Figure 6: “Threading” view of all postswithin the topic “WelcomeSummit Applicants.”

Note: To quickly change conference view while viewing a topic Click on “Linear” or “Threading” (indicated by the red arrows above) to show linear or threaded view.

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Linear View

Figure 7: “Linear” view within the topic “Welcome Summit Applicants.”

Note: To quickly change conference view while viewing a topic Click on “Linear” or “Threading” (indicated by the red arrows above) to show linear or threaded view.

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Searching for Messages

• To search for messages, you can either:– Click on “Search Discussion Board” in the main menu, or– Click on “advanced search” in the left hand navigation

window.

Figure 8: Arrows indicate location of “Search Discussion Board” and “advanced search.”

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Searching for Messages

• A search window will appear (Figure 9). Select one or more categories to search from the “Forum Categories” window on the right side of the screen (red arrow in Figure 9).

• You can search:– By word or phrase,– By author,– For messages you have posted,– For messages within a date

range, or– For messages posted by you.

• Tip: Keep Hard Copies of Students’ Messages. – The search function is not

foolproof. Our primary recommendation is to instruct students to print out all of the messages they write from Microsoft Word, and keep a portfolio to turn in to teachers. Figure 9

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Printing Messages

• Printing a single message:– Select the print icon shown in the top right

hand corner to print the message displayed in the same frame.

• Printing a topic and all messages within the topic:– Click on the topic you want to print.– Click on the “topic tools” drop down box.

Select “print this topic.”– A pop-up window will appear. Select “print this

topic.”

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Attachments

• Attaching a file:– Only Board Administrators can attach files on FuseTalk. All

teachers will be Board Administrators of the Student Discussion Board. (Which will also allow you to edit student topics and messages, if necessary).

– Students are not permitted to post attachments on FuseTalk. Please keep your login information confidential.

– Files can be attached when creating a new topic or replying to an existing topic.

• To attach a file follow these steps:– Click “New Topic,” “Reply,” or “Quote.”– Click “Attach File” located at the bottom of the screen that

appears.– Click “Browse” to locate file, and double click on the selected

file.– Click “Upload File.” File will now appear in File Listing box.– Double-click file to attach to message.

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Logging Off FuseTalk

• To log off of FuseTalk, click “Logout” on the menu bar.

• You will be automatically logged off if you:– Go to another site on the Web, or – Close your browser window.

• A different user will then be able to log on to the same computer using his or her own login name and password.

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Glossary of FuseTalk Icons

Icon Description

Represents a category with no associated topics.

Represents a category with one or more topics associated under it.

Represents a locked category. For access contact the board administrator

Represents a new topic

Represents a previously viewed topic

Represents the print message function

Represents the trash can.

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Feedback

• Visit the “Software” category and let us know what you think by replying to the topic message entitled “Hello, Teachers! Please Read Me!”

• You may wish to answer the following questions when giving your feedback:– What aspects of FuseTalk did you find easy?

– Could you access the categories easily?

– Could you reply, post, edit, and attach messages without difficulty?

– What aspects of FuseTalk were difficult?

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Reporting Error Messages

• Hopefully you will not have encountered any or very few error messages, but if you have, please share them by starting a new topic message in the “Software” category.

– Title your topic message “Errors from (your name).”

– Be sure to provide as much information as you can so that your colleagues can perhaps share their expertise on your problems. Such as - “I went to post a new topic, entered all of the information in all of the fields, hit “reply to topic” and (the problem happened/the error message I got was “…”).

– Include the browser and browser version information so teachers with similar browsers can assess whether their solutions might help you.

Activity 3: Registering Student Users to FuseTalk

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• Teachers are responsible for setting up student FuseTalk accounts. In this activity, teachers will register each student in their class for access to the summit’s Student Discussion Board.

• An excel spreadsheet has been created to assist you. Teachers will create student login names and passwords, and submit the excel spreadsheet to the ABA.

• After completing the spreadsheet, log onto the Student Discussion Board to add student users to FuseTalk.

• The template, directions for completing the template, and directions for adding student users can be found on the Teachers Only Discussion Board, category Updates & Information, topic “Student FuseTalk Accounts.”

• By January 15, all student users must be registered and the excel spreadsheet must be returned via email to wendy.holtman@gmail.com.

Student FuseTalk Accounts

Activity 4: Setting Up Classroom Conference for Student Activities Two, Three, and Five

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School Categories

• Each teacher participating in the summit will have a Category on the Student Discussion Board. This category will serve as the primary area for online communication among your students. Your school category is where you will post some assignments and direct discussion activities for your students.

• You will find your class category under Categories once you enter the online forum.

• The name of your class category will correspond to the name of your school.

• If more than one teacher from a school participates, we differentiate the names of a teacher’s forum or category by including the teacher’s last name in the category name.

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Student Activity 2: What is Online Civil Discussion?

• In the second half of Student Activity 2, students are provided the opportunity to practice critical thinking and the process for participation in the summit.

• Discussion Starter Statements are used to focus student attention.

• Discussion Starter Statements are to be created from student responses to opinion-based questions on the pre-test.

• This activity will take place in your class category and should be posted on your class’s discussion board prior to the activity.

• The results of the pre-test will be provided on February 6. Go to the Teacher Discussion Board, Updates & Information.

• See Curriculum Guide, Activity 2, for Discussion Starter Statement Samples and posting directions.

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Student Activity 3: Timeline of Key Events

• This activity provides students with an overview of gun-related events in U.S. history.

• In Part II of this activity students will post work to the discussion board. This work will be posted outside of their normal class category.

• Students will post work in their “Cluster School” category. Cluster schools will be named “Cluster School 1”, “Cluster School 2”, and so on. (Cluster school partnerships will be provided in Teacher Orientation Activity 5.)

• The ABA will post Cluster School categories to the Student Discussion Board by February 13.

• See Curriculum Guide, Activity 3, for student posting directions.

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Student Activity 5: Use of Guns Today

• In this activity students will explore gun culture influences and be responsible for completing a mini-research project.

• In this activity students will again work outside their normal class category.

• Students will post work in their “Cluster School” category. Cluster schools will be named “Cluster School 1”, “Cluster School 2”, and so on. (Cluster school partnerships will be provided in Teacher Orientation Activity 5).

• The ABA will post Cluster School categories for this activity to the Student Discussion Board by March 1.

• See Curriculum Guide, Activity 5, for student posting directions.

Activity 5: Teacher Pre-Survey & Assignment of School Clusters

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Evaluation Category

• A teacher pre-survey has been designed to capture information about student knowledge from the teacher’s perspective.

• The link to the pre-survey will be sent to teachers via e-mail on January 7 and will also be available on the Teacher Discussion Board in the Evaluation Category under the topic “Pre-Survey.” – Surveys will be administered via Survey Monkey,

and the results will be sent directly to ABA staff.

• Complete the pre-survey by January 28.

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School Cluster Groups

• Cluster Group 1 Schools: Southeast Nebraska Consolidated School (Stella,

NE); Casa Richard Academy (Detroit, MI); Corrigan-Camden High School (Corrigan, TX); Belleville High School (Belleville, NJ)

• Cluster Group 2Schools: EBC/ENY High School for Public Safety and Law (Brooklyn, NY); Capitol Hill High School (Oklahoma City, OK); Denison High School (Denison, IA); Springfield High School (Springfield, PA)

• Cluster Group 3Schools: Yoncalla High School (Yoncalla, OR); Oroville High School (Oroville, WA); The Fulmore Humanities and Law Magnet for International Studies (Austin, TX); Ainsworth High School (Ainsworth,NE)

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School Cluster Groups Cont’d

• Cluster Group 4Schools: Hampden Academy (Hampden, ME); Jackson High School (Jackson, MI); Lincoln High School (Jersey City, NJ); Alcoa High School (Alcoa, TN)

• Cluster Group 5Schools: New Kent High School (New Kent, VA); Patchogue-Medford High School (Medford, NY); Madison Central High School (Madison, MS); Shaw H.S. Leadership Academy: School for Law, Public Safety (East Cleveland, OH)

• Cluster Group 6Schools: Blue Ridge High School (Hallstead, PA); Groveton High School (Groveton, NH); Bishop Ireton High School (Alexandria, VA); High School for Public Service (Brooklyn, NY)

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Conclusion

• This concludes the 2009 NOYS Teacher Orientation.

• Student activities are scheduled to begin the week of February 2, 2009. Please take a moment now to review the Student Activity Timeline in the Curriculum Guide for important dates and information.

• Please post any questions and concerns you may have to the “Teachers to ABA” category on the Teacher Discussion Board.

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Contact Information

Wendy Holtman – primary contactSummit Coordinator

E-mail: wendy.holtman@gmail.comPhone: 516/818.8026

Rina ShahABA Division for Public Education

Program ManagerE-mail: shahr@staff.abanet.org

Phone: 312/988-5720

American Bar AssociationDivision for Public Education321 N. Clark Street, MS 20.2

Chicago, IL 60654Phone: 312/988-5735