Using Wikis and Google Documents to Fulfill the

Required Online Component for Student Graduation

Jennifer S. Gorsline

Mathematics Teacher

Dearborn Center for Math, Science, & Technology

Instructional Technology Masters Candidate

Wayne State University

     This website is designed to help high school teachers within Dearborn Public Schools fulfill the Technology Integration Plan that has been approved by the Dearborn School Board.  Within this plan, the district's Technology Advisory Committee has advised that every high school teacher that teaches math, science, language arts, and/or social studies include a project that requires at least 2 hours of online time for students every semester.  The reason behind this suggestion is the fact that the new State of Michigan's requirements for High School graduation require that students receive 20 hours of meaningful online experience before they can graduate high school.  To understand what makes an online experience meaningful, please follow the link below to the state's Online Experience Guideline Companion Document.

Companion Document

     Within this website, I have included rubrics for projects that do not include an online experience from all four core subject areas.  I have then taken those rubrics and revamped them so that they do include a meaningful online experience, and I have done it in a way that requires minimal extra work on the teacher's part.  I also have done this using only two different online tools: a Wiki (via PB Works) and Google documents.

     Through the use of this website, I hope to show you all that it is not difficult to change the projects that you currently use in your classroom so that they can include a meaningful online experience for your students, and that you only need to learn one or two new technologies to do so.  I have also included a training webpage within this site so that you can learn how to use both PB Works and Google Documents.

     To get started, use the Sidebar to choose your subject area.  Look through the original rubric, then see how I have revamped it to include a meaningful online experience.  Also feel free to look through the rubrics in the other subject areas as well.  You will also notice that I have created mock-ups of sample projects that the students could create using the new rubrics.

     If you want to learn how to use PB Works and/or Google Documents, click on the Training link in the Sidebar.