About Classroom Contributions

Details

Published on Friday, 08 November 2013 09:58

How to submit a Classroom Contribution

1. Click Classroom Contributions in the Top Menu, select the appropriate class in the drop-down menu and then click the new document icon

2. In the Editor screen, fill in the Title field with a title that describes what your CC is about. Do not type anything in the Alias field below that - it will be filled in automatically.

3. Enter the content of your CC the textbox. You can type it in directly but it is better to write it first on a word processor and then copy and paste it because it is easier to use a regular word processor and you can save a copy of it on your computer. There are several rows of icons above the textbox for inserting text effects such as bold, italic, different colors etc. You can also include bullets, hyperlinks and and images. You can also add an attachment by clickng the Add Attachment button below the textbox.

4. Do not change any settings or add anything in the Publishing and Language boxes below the textbox.

5. In the Meta Data box leave the Meta Description field empty but in the Keywords field, type words that relate to your CC - it will make searches more effective.

6. Click the Save button right above the textbox, and that's it.

7. If you see a blue Edit Article icon , the article isn't published yet. Just click the icon to go back to the article, change the Status from Unpublished to Published in the Publishing box and click Save.

For additional help in submitting articles and using the Editor, view the User's Manual.

What are Classroom Contributions?

To understand what Classroom Contributions are and why and how they were developed, new teachers may want to read the information below from the 2006 memo that introduced Classroom Contributions.

Background
INTERLINK teachers used to submit Course Reports at the end of each term. These reports were intended to a) encourage teachers to reflect on what worked and what didn’t work during the term in order to improver future classes; and b) to communicate class information to the Center Director. Despite their usefulness, the reports had two serious limitations: 1) although they were usually accessible to the entire faculty, in practice they ended up being a kind of private, one-way communication from teacher to director; and 2) they often had a template-like quality with slightly different information plugged in each term. With the introduction of Core Tasks, the Course Report requirement was transformed into a more useful and dynamic mechanism for sharing classroom ideas and practices. Core Task Reports, posted on the Internet, allowed teachers to contribute to a pool of resources that could be used by other INTERLINK teachers at any time. Because some teachers now feel that the Cyberarchive contains sufficient information and that additional contributions to it are not needed, a further modification is being introduced.
 
What is a Classroom Contribution?
The Classroom Contribution is a mechanism that broadens the scope of how each teacher can communicate and share ideas and tools for improving instruction. Basically, the Classroom Contribution is something each teacher shares with other teachers each term. The contribution may be: 

• A Core Project Report - Teachers may submit a Core Project Report (Core Tasks have been renamed Core Projects) for the contribution requirement
• A How-To Guide – A description and set of detailed instructions for an activity that works well for a specific INTERLINK class
• Student Materials - Tangible, re-usable products such as a skills-development exercise that can be placed in the ESL Resource Center (examples: a reading exercise, pronunciation practice, spelling quiz, or grammar drill). It may be material such as a listening or reading selection created or modified for a specific level.

What Qualifies as a Classroom Contribution?
A contribution is a permanent, accessible teaching aid intended either for students or other teachers. Cleaning the staff room, taking students on a trip, or cataloging resource materials are activities helpful to your center, but are not Classroom Contributions. Team efforts may be acceptable, but all contributions should be approved in advance by the Center Director. The intention of sharing ideas and resources with other teachers, creating new materials consonant with our program’s pedagogical principles, and enhancing the INTERLINK community, should always be kept in mind.

When, Where and How to Submit and Access Classroom Contribution
The Classroom Contribution can be submitted any time from the beginning of the term until the first day of the following term.

All Classroom Contributions submitted after July 1, 2013 can be accessed by clicking the Classroom Contributions tab on the top menu on this site. Reports submitted between 2000-2008 can be accessed by clicking the Special Features Tab in the top menu, then Archives, then Classroom Contributions. Reports submitted from 2008-June 2013 can still be accessed on the Forum.