some guidelines that are good when using technology

http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

The above link is to an article that is called Engagement Theory. The author's premise is that lessons must be meaningful and collaborative with an outside focus in order to create engagement with the students. Although this is an idea that we have heard in education training programs when we learn how to create lessons, this article focuses on the need for the engagement when using distance and virtual education programs. The students in these programs can easily isolate themselves from others and not find the collaboration and meaning in a distance class that would be found in a face-to-face environment. I plan to include these principles in the creation of my curriculum. It will not always be easy to work in collaborative activities, but I would like to use them frequently within my school environment.