FAQ
Online Learning | The Workshop in General | Workshop Specifics | Technical Concerns
About Online Learning
About the Workshop in General
About Workshop Specifics
About Technical Concerns
Q. How is this workshop different from other online workshops?
A. A CyberSmart! Online Professional Development workshop is characterized by certain features that are not part of most online workshops. For example, the workshop is structured so that all participant work is meaningful and practical. We facilitate collaboration among participants as well as thoughtful use of the Internet as a research tool. Our objective is to help the teaching and learning process integrate 21st Century practices in support of student achievement in a connected world.
Q. How do I know if online learning is for me?
A. If you have easy access to a computer with an Internet connection, and you can read, type, and access the Web, then you have sufficient technical knowledge to learn online. You will also need to commit about two hours a week for four continuous weeks. If you like the flexibility of choosing the day of the week and time of day or night to work on a professional development workshop, then online learning is for you.
Q. If I don’t particularly like working independently, will I have trouble with this workshop?
A. You shouldn’t have trouble because this workshop is not self-directed. There is a weekly schedule of activities, and your interaction with other learners is necessary given CyberSmart!’s focus on collaborative online learning.
Q. Is online learning and distance learning the same thing?
A. Yes. These are different terms describing the same thing—a classroom that is virtual and available online from anywhere that the learner has access to a computer with an Internet connection.
Q. What skills are important for success in this workshop?
A. All participants must be willing to actively “participate” in the workshop. Basic computer use, including Web access and word processing, is required.
Q. What will I get from this workshop that can’t be learned from reading a good book or two on these subjects?
A. While books are wonderful, there are now even more tools with which to express our literacy, as well as to teach and learn, and CyberSmart! Online Professional Development is one example. This is itself an experience in 21st Century learning. We teach the skills associated with the new literacies of ICT (Information and Communications Technologies), which move literacy beyond books. And the workshop itself requires every participant to learn in a collaborative, online context.
Q. Do I have to be a highly motivated learner to enjoy this workshop?
A. If you bore easily or need additional motivation to perform well during professional development, then CyberSmart! Online Professional Development will be especially appealing to you. Each workshop includes great videos and requires all participants to collaborate together in fun and interesting ways. It is personally facilitated by a CyberSmarty who stimulates learners and helps you stay on track. Furthermore, you will create and complete a significant project that has personal meaning and practical value to you.
Q. Does the workshop require a lot of writing, such as essays or papers?
A. The workshop does require writing, but not in the form of a traditional term paper or essay. Writing occurs in the form of thoughtful comments and carefully structured outlines. Most of the written content is shared among all workshop participants.
Q. How can this workshop really serve the needs of all K-12 educators? The work of a principal, for example, is very different from that of a nurse or classroom teacher.
A. Just as educators complement one another in school, they do the same thing online. For example, all educators will have an opinion concerning questions like “What makes a good question?” or “How should schools teach cyber ethics?” The background and experience of one learner complement those of another learner. The workshop is based on social constructivism, and a primary objective is for all participants to create substantial practical value for themselves, no matter what their current educational or professional background.
Q. Do you follow a particular model of problem solving, such as the “Big 6”, to build information seeking and analytical skills?
A. Our workshop sets forth an information- seeking and evaluation process that generally models the process of well-known models for information seeking, including the “Big 6”. The workshop also provides substantial content in addition to teaching the core information-seeking skills.
Q. Do you use the “Eleven Principles” or any other character education programs as a framework for discussing cyberethics?
A. We have integrated core elements of all major character education programs, including the Character Education Partnership’s “Eleven Principles,” and the Character Counts!’s “Six Pillars of Character”, among others. We map appropriate behavior in cyberspace directly to the core ethical values (e.g., fairness, honesty, respecting one’s self and others) that form what is considered “good character”.
Q. How do I get started?
A. Read and share the descriptive workshop materials available on this website. Please feel free to contact us for more information at . CyberSmart! Online Professional Development is sold to schools, school districts, and state education agencies and is not sold directly to individual educators at this time. Your group must enroll at least 25 participants, which can include a mix of teachers (all grades), administrators, and other staff members. All workshop participants can learn in collaboration with each other regardless of their specific job function in K-12 education.
Q. How and why are workshop participants grouped together?
A. Workshop participants are grouped in cohorts of 25 individuals. Because all participants are building their information fluency together, it makes the workshop most interesting when educators with different job functions share perspectives on workshop topics.
The group size is important because it allows participants to work most effectively with the CyberSmarty workshop facilitator.
Q. Can individual educators purchase this workshop?
A. The workshop is not offered to individual educators at this time. Please consider a purchase for a mixed group of learners, including teachers, administrators, and other staff members. Funding may be available from a variety of sources because this workshop supports all K-12 subjects and functions by building 21st Century literacy skills into the context of safe schools and ethical technology use.
Q. Are there prerequisites for this workshop?
A. There are no prerequisites for this workshop. Any K-12 professional who works for a school, district, or state can take this workshop and will benefit tremendously. Teachers, administrators, librarians, technology coordinators, social workers, nurses, psychologists, and other personnel are all encouraged to build their own “pathway to information fluency.”
Q. Does the workshop require books or other printed readings?
A. There are no required books. Everything you need will be provided through the Be CyberSmart! online learning environment. You will always have the choice to print out the materials if you prefer to read them offline.
Q. When should I work on this workshop—day, night, weekends?
A. You can do the work whenever you like. Just make sure you set aside at least 20-30 minutes per session so you have time to “switch gears” and engage in a meaningful learning experience.
Q. Do I need to be online at a certain time of day?
A. No. However, it is important to allocate your time so that you can work on the workshop each week. You may choose to allocate more time one week and less time the next. That’s fine.
Q. Can I drop out of this workshop and get a refund, or start again at a later date?
A. CyberSmart! will only issue a refund for a workshop participant who must drop out due to illness and who is also unable to resume the workshop again at a later date.
Q. Can someone join a class that has already started?
A. Yes. A new participant can join at any time during the first week after the workshop has started.
Q. How long is the workshop, and how often is it taught?
A. The workshop covers four consecutive weeks from start to finish. Workshop sections can begin at any time.
Q. Once the workshop begins, can I go back and review the work from prior weeks?
A. Yes. You can review all workshop content and revise all your work until the workshop ends.
Q. What happens if I have a question?
A. The workshop is facilitated by a CyberSmarty—a workshop graduate who has been specially trained to answer questions, stimulate collaboration, and otherwise enhance your ability to learn online.
Q. How can I become a CyberSmarty and facilitate a workshop?
A. We are always on the lookout for new CyberSmarties! Contact us after you complete the workshop, and we will send you an application form. CyberSmarties receive free training and may also be eligible to receive continuing education (CEU) credit.
Q. Do CyberSmarties get paid?
A. Yes. Cybersmarties are paid a per-workshop/section honorarium.
Q. Do you offer an on-site workshop? Is it possible to host one?
A. We do not offer a face-to-face workshop because we want educators to experience our professional development in the context of using 21 st Century tools, as well as teaching and learning in a 21 st Century context. We do periodically speak at conferences and other educational events.
Q. How is my privacy protected so that I won’t be contacted by anyone I don’t know or expect?
A. You should expect to be contacted by other workshop participants, your CyberSmarty, and the workshop management system itself (e.g., to convey announcements or forum postings.) The CyberSmart! Education Company will not reveal your identity to anyone without your permission. Your workshop administrator may require you to reveal your true identity to other workshop participants, or you may have a choice to be identified on a first-name-only basis.
Q. How do I get technical help?
A. Review the “How to Take This Workshop” presentation. If your question is not answered, contact CyberSmart! technical support from the workshop home page, ask your CyberSmarty, or post a question on the “Q & A Forum”.
Q. Must I always use the same computer for this online workshop?
A. No, you don’t have to use the same computer. All of your workshop work will be stored online, and you will be able to access the workshop from anywhere with an Internet connection of 56K or higher. However, you may choose to work on a workshop-related document offline on your computer that will eventually be posted online.
Q. What browser should I use to access the workshop website?
A. Cybersmart! developed and tested the workshop for compatibility with Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Netscape Navigator. However, you are also welcome to use other browsers.
Q. What is it like to take the workshop without high-speed Internet access?
A. Learners can participate in CyberSmart! Online Professional Development even if they must access the Internet via a dial-up modem. There may be a noticeable delay while content is accessed via the Internet and then displayed on your screen. Video and audio quality is acceptable, but image quality is somewhat grainy, and audio quality is noticeably diminished.
Q. Can my school or organization link to the CyberSmart! website or create our own CyberSmart!-themed events?
A. Yes. Schools, districts, states, and other organizations are welcome to link to the free CyberSmart! Curriculum and to our home page at www.cybersmart.org. You can also create and host your own CyberSmart! event. For example, the State of New York held a conference utilizing Cybersmart! workshop materials, including creating a “CyberSmart! in Cyberspace” play. A school in Texas held its own CyberSmart! week during which students created special posters to show what they learned.