eBistro -- Welcome

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Tutorial:

What is eBistro?

eBistro is a professional development tool for educators in North Carolina that will help teachers feel more comfortable integrating technology into the curriculum. Participants are able to create a login, complete individual learning modules, and save their work in their own digital portfolio. Other areas of eBistro provide resources for grant writing and other items deemed important for teachers.

How can I use eBistro?

eBistro can be used independently to promote your own learning. If you wish to receive CEU credits for any eBistro module, you must seek prior approval from your school district. Please visit our Making the Grade page for more information on seeking CEU credits. Each portfolio also has an area for storing additional resources you find during your learning. This can be a great place to store resources, such as Web sites and books, for future use!

How do I begin?

You can begin in two ways:

Review the Modules by clicking on the menu board on the eBistro main page. This will allow you the opportunity to review the modules currently available.
Click on the briefcase on the eBistro main page. Here you can create your login and begin the portfolio process (see tutorial).

Show me an example.

Each module follows the same general format and includes the sections listed below.

Preparation:
Think of PREPARATION as "setting the stage" for your module. This section activates background knowledge, piques curiosity, and prepares you for learning. This is a good time for you to clarify vocabulary, make predictions, and think about questions you might have about this topic, such as:

What would make this module personally relevant?
What question(s) would generate meaningful discussion and help me focus on key ideas?

Engagement:
This section is the "meat" of the module and takes you through the key ideas and concepts that you will learn in a series of steps. You will find explanations, demonstrations, links to animations, independent and guided activities.

Reflection:
In this section, you will be asked to reflect on the material encountered in the engagement section of this module. There is significant value in participating in activities like reflection in order for you to process new information. This will provide the opportunity to ask yourself some of the following kinds of questions:

How did the use of technology influence student achievement and increase motivation?
How many opportunities were offered for critical thinking and problem solving?
Was technology used to solve real-life problems?
Did it encourage the user to engage in meaningful, relevant conversation with peers?
Was there time to form opinions, debate, persuade, discover new concepts, and make decisions?
Were there opportunities to exercise choice at any point in the module?

Exploration:
In this section you will be asked to begin thinking about using this topic and information in your own classroom and daily work. You will be asked to submit specific lesson plans or design activities for your students.

Implementation:
Knowledge is useless if you do not use it. To this end, you will take what you have learned and the product (lesson plan, activity, etc.) you created and implement it in your classroom. To complete the module, you must submit a copy of the product and a written reflection explaining how you felt about the module.