This final blogfolio is my reflection of ITD 645, Technology in education. This reflection includes comments on the various technologies that were used throughout the duration of this class. It details how I feel about the technology, my experiences with the tools used in conjunction with our group projects, and my future plans with the tools. What I Learned in This Course I believe this class is a great course for anyone who intends to build training programs or courses in their professional career. As an instructional designer this course gave me tools that would be essential in the implementation of my courses. The textbook, Teaching and Learning with Technology, by Duffy and McDonald, shared great insight into understanding how technology and education are interrelated. It is extremely difficult to write a relevant textbook about technology since it is such a rapidly evolving field, and this book did a great job of staying up-to-date. This course also instituted several group projects throughout the duration of this course over summer of 2020. These projects provided the opportunity for us to collaborate and communicate with one another to effectively and successfully complete all of our projects. We worked together with these different tools to learn how each one worked, how to implement them in an educational setting, and how to troubleshoot them if issues arise. The group that I was paired with consisted of myself and three other very intelligent ladies based in differing fields. All of their collective expertise provided amazing insight into how each of these technologies could be implemented in various settings. Learning Tools Weebly The first project we were tasked with to complete over the course of the summer was a personal blog using the web hosting tool Weebly. We used Weebly to document our weekly learning experiences, and to communicate with our classmates. I have never used Weebly before this class, but found it fairly intuitive and easy to manipulate. I would consider using Weebly on a future project if it was not in-depth and for a short amount of time. I would not use this for a professional portfolio hosting site as it only has basic capabilities. Slack Originally, we were to use WeChat to communicate with our group members, but we had several technical difficulties in setting it up so we decided to use Slack to communicate about our group projects. A few of us were familiar with Slack and used it regularly so we saw it fit to use this for our collaborative efforts. I use Slack daily in my work correspondence, so I think it is a great, effective tool for fast communication. I intend to use Slack for the foreseeable future. Grant Writing Proposal The first group project we were assigned was a grant proposal for our ideal classroom. We all brought together our former experience with grant writing proposals to complete this assignment. You can check out what we included in our Ideal 21st Century Classroom by clicking HERE. I have successfully written two grant proposals before, and this project helped me gain additional insight on what should be included in future proposals. Lesson Plan Having come from an independent school and higher ed background, I didn't have a lot of formal experience with creating structured lesson plans that were reviewed by department chairs. My other group members pulled my slack with their classroom teaching expertise. We crafted an amazing lesson plan that would serve as a basis for the rest of our project. The lesson plan detailed the course title, objectives, grade level, activities, assignments, and resources. Since this was the base of the rest of our projects it was imperative that we created an all-encompassing document. Google Suite Apps (Google Form, Google Slides & Google Docs) The Google suite of applications is something that I use every single day. Forms are very handy to me because I can collect data and then divulge it into a spreadsheet with the click of a button. I rarely use Google slides just because I feel it is inferior to Microsoft's PowerPoint, but it is great if you are collaborating with others on a presentation. Google Docs are seriously a life saver for me. I use Docs on both of my laptops, desktop computers, and even my phone. Having my files stored in the cloud for easy access makes my life a breeze when I need to view or edit documents wherever I am. I will continue to use the Google Suite in my classroom and professional life. These products are amazing to aid in collaboration and are easily implemented with little to no learning curve. Podcast Production I have always been intrigued by the production process surrounding podcasting, so I was excited to tackle this project with our group. I love listening to podcasts and have considered starting my own podcast, but didn't know where to begin. I love the idea for instituting this in the classroom as a briefing for the day's assignments to give background before completely diving in the material. I plan to test the waters for my own podcast in the future. Listen to our podcast about Columbus being a hero or villain here. Video Editing Software Making and editing videos has always been interesting to me, so this project was something I was on board for. Exploring all of the applicable technologies proved to be a fun experience also. Each technology has its own perks and downfalls. Using video applications in the classroom allows for invigorating passive learning opportunities for students. Videos can help break up the monotony in the classroom. I plan to continue honing in my skills on video editing to become proficient in this field. Watch our video here! Interactive Learning Video I had never heard of the EdPuzzle tool, but I was totally enthralled whenever I started using it. I think it is a fun way to turn a passive learning situation with a simple video into an active learning scenario with questions and information presented throughout the course of the video. I plan to use this tool in various ways in my career. Check out our EdPuzzle here by using class code: dorsuja Course Website I loved the idea of building a course website. Afterall, I am an instructional designer, so this is right up my ally. I did, however struggle a bit with the idea of building a cohesive, structured course using Weebly since it is not fairly intuitive. It was a constant work in progress as we went through the process of completing and adding our group projects. This proved valuable in learning how different website elements work together to create a design that is easy to follow and not crowded. The course website included a home page, course materials page, assignments page, a resources page, contact page, and a page that linked the individual blogs from our group members. Padlet I think Padlet is an awesome tool. I use it in several of my online courses for discussion boards. I love the interactive aspect this tool has. I love the use of pictures, articles, and anecdotes that are displayed in an engaging manner by using this tool. I plan to use Padlet in my personal life as well. Thinglink / Scoop.it Prior to this class, I had never heard of ThingLink or Scoop.It. I felt that these tools are rather intuitive and easy to use for a first-timer. I think they are effective as a virtual bulletin boards, but I do not see myself using them more than I did in this course. I do have to praise how easily it is embedded into blogs though. I see a variety of ways it could be used, but I think there are better products that I am currently using. Quizizz Quizizz is another tool that I had never heard of before this class, but am officially in love with. Before this class, I had only used Kahoot! for a fun quiz option in my classroom. Quizizz is an intuitive platform that interacts well with several learning management systems (LMS). Quizizz is aesthetically pleasing but also easy to set up. I will try to integrate this tool into some of the courses I design over the next semester. RubiStar RubiStar was the tool we used to create the rubrics for our course. I felt that it was easily understood and manipulated. My LMs has a built in rubric building tool, so I do not see myself using this tool much. Strengths and Weaknesses As a former technology teacher, I felt that I was fairly up-to-date on educational technology tools and how to effectively pilot and implement them. This factor played an integral role in my success in this course. If I were not familiar with most of these technologies, integrating these tools into a classroom would be a daunting task. There were several things that I had never experienced before such as the DID method and various tools. This class was an amazing experience and left me with several new tools in my teacher toolbox. I am so glad that I was paired with the phenomenal group of women that Dr. Wang assigned because they were extremely intelligent and collaborative. Personal Goals I consider myself a career student after 24 straight years in school. I am excited to graduate from the USM MS HCD(ITD) program this week, but I am no where near done with my educational journey. I plan to enroll in a PhD program in the Spring of 2021 at The University of Alabama. I also intend to continue furthering my education in virtual reality (VR) and its production. VR has been a passion of mine for the last three years, and I cannot wait to see how it progresses in the future.
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Chapter 10, Prompt 3:
Consider your level of educational technology literacy as you complete this course. How competent do you believe you are in order to teach in a technology-rich environment? What other opportunities would you search for to become even more proficient in the use of technology in the classroom? During the 2019-2020 school year, I was an Introduction to Technology teacher as well as a Virtual Reality Production teacher at an amazing private school in Mississippi. As a technology teacher, I find myself to be extremely competent in educational technologies to enhance and complement traditional classroom teaching. However, just because we are competent today does not mean we will be competent tomorrow. Technology is a fast-growing field, and new technologies are introduced daily. It is imperative to stay on top of emerging trends and technology in education so your students are getting the highest caliber experience possible. Professional networks and conferences allowed me to stay on top of trends in educational technology. Joining groups that have other educational and instructional technologists in them allows you to explore technology through another person’s eyes. These first-hand accounts have been vital in my process of choosing which technologies to implement in my classroom. Listening to the successes and failures of others has allowed me to pursue a technology or leave it in the past. Attending professional, international conferences have allowed me to meet extremely intelligent people and learn from them. Attending sessions hosted by someone who has gone through or is going through the same thing as you is extremely liberating and empowering. Making these connections allows for personal and professional growth. Implementing a new technology can be a daunting task, but it is not impossible. With the help of peers, professional networks, conferences, research, and websites you can implement fascinating technology in your classroom. Imagine that you are a high school social science teacher. You have assigned students a ten-page research paper. How do you set-up the assignment to make it clear that plagiarism will not be tolerated and what tools would you use to check for plagiarism? What steps would you take if a student’s paper is found to have been copied in parts from the Internet? Research papers are something that is taught early on so that students are prepared to write many papers throughout their school tenure. When introducing this concept, it is imperative that teachers stress the importance of originality from students, and that plagiarism is not tolerated. In many college settings, there is an academic dishonesty clause that students agree to that states they will only submit work that is their own, and if they submit plagiarized work they will be given a zero for the assignment, dropped from the course, and faces academic probation or suspension from the dean. Setting precedents like these ensure that students take their assignments seriously, and do not plagiarize others’ work. As a teacher, I have implemented the TurnItIn tool into my assignments. This tool gives an originality score to compare the student’s work to millions of published papers and books. This tool is not foolproof, but it is a great companion to have when proofing papers submitted by students. Even though I have instituted this program, some students do not believe that they will be reprimanded. Having worked at a private school, the protocol may be different than a public school. If I caught a student plagiarizing we would have a meeting with the head of the high school and head of school to determine appropriate disciplinary actions. In my class, however, I would take away 20 points automatically and give the student the chance to resubmit their work for up to 80%. If they did not wish to resubmit they were then given a zero for the assignment. Quizizz vs. Kahoot Both Kahoot! and Quizizz use vivid colors and engaging music to create a game-like atmosphere. One main difference is that students using Quizizz can see both questions and answers on their devices, while Kahoot! users only see color and symbol choices only. Students are required to look up at the board to see answers, so this can boost interactivity if that is what you are looking for. Kahoot! and Quizizz are neck and neck when it comes to quiz creation: Both Quizizz and Kahoot! allow teachers either to create their own quizzes or use and remix public quizzes. The learning game formats are what set these two apart. With Kahoot!, teachers can create multiple-choice quizzes as well as discussions, surveys, and jumbles (students must place answers in the correct order). With Quizizz, teachers are limited to only a multiple-choice quiz format; this lack of question types limits learning to facts and recall. Kahoot! provides fast, right-or-wrong feedback on students' devices and on the class screen. Updated ranks appear on the class scoreboard after each question, and personal points data is sent to each student device. Using Quizizz, teachers can customize the feedback students see after each question on the quiz. Both tools fall short by not offering options for data permanence or the ability to track and identify student growth. Kahoot!'s learning games populate on-the-spot data, which can be downloaded by teachers and viewed in Excel; using Quizizz, teachers can view reports by students to see which questions they answered incorrectly or can view students' responses by question. With either tool, data cannot be compared over time for classes or individual students since accounts are not required for students. Where Kahoot! Gains superiority is the fact that it can connect students in real time with peers in over 180 countries, and students can use Ghost Mode to play against a previous score. Quizizz, on the other hand, integrates with Google Classroom, and this alone could be the crucial tiebreaker when deciding between the two tools. Project LinksTake the interactive Quizizz HERE
Quizziz Code: 7745287 Download the Summative Project rubric. Visit our interactive Thinglink for additional videos, resources, educational activities and fun facts! Remember to complete the reflection activity in our online learning management system. https://www.thinglink.com/scene/1334334884310679555 Scoop.It: www.scoop.it/topic/educational-technology-by-itd645
Chapter 8 reflection question, Prompt 1:
Have you had any distance education or blended course experiences? Try to remember what were the benefits and the disadvantages of that experience. If you have not had either type of course, try to imagine what it would be like and what characteristics of it you would like and which ones you would not. Why? My freshman year of college was filled with 19 hours worth of face-to-face classes. I’m not sure how I did it, but I did! After that year I began to assimilate online classes into my rotation by adding hybrid courses and fully online classes. After I took my first online course, I fell in love. Fast forward several years, and I finished my bachelor’s degree 100% online. In a few short weeks, I will complete a year-long Masters program that has been totally online. The hybrid experience was a great mixture of the traditional teaching and learning experience coupled with the autonomous learning that online classes require. This gave the students the opportunity for face-to-face learning and question and answer sessions with the instructor that would’ve typically taken place via email if it were an online course. There was also the opportunity for self-paced learning throughout the week before the class meeting. I felt that this gave students ample time to prepare for the class meeting. Online classes truly have my heart. I am a full-time worker with two small children, so online classes fit into my busy schedule. I am able to plan out assignments and work on them in my spare time (Ha! What is that?) to make sure that I meet all deadlines. I will, however, say that online learning is not for everyone. If you are not intrinsically motivated, organized, or a self-sufficient learner, then you may not be as successful as some students. Movie StoryInteractive Video
Use class code to access the video: dorsuja
PadletCourse Website
Check out other cool projects we have completed over on our class website!
https://itd645.weebly.com/ What are the challenges you faced with when integrating Web resources into classroom teaching and learning? Any resolution suggestions? As a technology teacher, it is my job to test and implement new technologies often. I am able to do this efficiently because I am a part of a professional network of instructional technologists and other educators that share their experiences with certain educational technologies. This group not only shares their stories with me, but they also introduce new technologies. I use this group to pick and choose technologies that I wish to pilot in my classroom. Depending on the school setting you may face funding challenges, so it is imperative that you go through a rigorous testing process to ensure this is the exact tool you need for you classroom. Some issues that I faced were not having the correct amount of tools for my class size. My department chair ordered four Merge Cubes for my technology class. While that sounds great for a test run, understand that these cubes are meant to be viewed through the lens of a smart phone and manipulated with their hands. When you have a group of four students per cube all using different apps to view the hologram in their hand, then it becomes a struggle to create an environment conducive to learning. If we had more merge cubes with only two students per cube then I believe that would have been a more successful unit. These are all things that need to be planned out in advance of purchasing the technology. My Learning ExperiencesThis week our group worked together to completes project 2-5 that included our lesson plan, technology survey, Google Doc and Slides lesson, and a podcast.
Our group has found communication to be a strong suit, and for that I am thankful. We used Slack and group text messaging to communicate our ideas. We utilized the channel function in slack to plan for future projects and lay out ideas. This strategy allowed us to plan for future projects that may take more time to complete. Check out our work below! Problem
You and your colleagues are anxious to use this district initiative to acquire educational technologies for your classroom that can help you in your teaching tasks and that can be used for teaching and learning. You attend a workshop to find out the process to apply for funds to improve your classroom. At the workshop, your principal has asked that each department and/or grade level interested in applying work together to develop an ideal learning environment that will support individualized instruction to meet diverse learner needs. The ideal learning environment descriptions the principal has detailed must include everything a teacher wants from furniture to miscellaneous equipment to technologies. The principal has specifically stated that to submit a request for up to $20,000 per classroom in funds from the district, each team must:
Project Reflection Organization The key to making any group project successful is planning and organization. The initial meeting for our group project started with a conference call where we brainstormed and clarified any misinterpretations from the prompt. During this chat we learned more about our group members that we would not have known since none of us have actually met face-to-face. This call helped in the planning of responsibilities because everyone got to voice their strengths and weaknesses for the project. Communication The second key to a successful group project is communication. Since some of us could not download and access the recommended application, WeChat, we all decided to use Slack and group text messaging to discuss ideas and share documents. All of the group members communicated in a professional manner and contributed productively so the whole process worked smoothly. Deliverable: Grant Proposal for a 21st Century Classroom Our group was made up of a variety of educators, so we all brought our own experiences to the table. We collectively decided that we wanted to implement a classroom that was conducive to active learning. Having tables and chairs that are easily repositioned provides an opportunity for many learning experiences. We included technology that was accessible for students of all abilities and stimulating for talented and gifted learning as well. Please view the final product below! 3. Gifted students have special needs just as other students with unique needs. Imagine yourself the teacher of a gifted class. Select a lesson you are familiar with teaching and reflect on how it would need to be changed to address the needs of gifted students. What technologies would you employ to support this change?
Most teachers believe that gifted students work fast therefore they tend to be given more work. Making them complete the regular “lesson” before they get to do activities more on their level is a terrible idea and a form of punishment. There are groups of gifted students who are intrinsically motivated and will complete the lesson just because their teacher told them to. The group of extrinsically motivated children will catch on fast when they realize being gifted only gets them extra work. They will begin to work on projects more slowly or purposefully make mistakes to get out of doing the extra work. Giving student the option to volunteer to test out of activities is a good way to poll students. If you start with the most difficult items first and they get ⅘ correct with little guidance then they are ready to move on. Simply making the work more difficult is not the solution, but gauging student interest and including activities that appeal to them is important also. With so many academic resources available to teachers, it can be difficult to decide how and where they fit into instruction. What process will you use to go about identifying and evaluating active learning software for your classroom?
I am a firm believer in using technology and other resources in the classroom to enhance instruction. There is no technology that can replace traditional teaching and learning. Technology is meant to complement teaching, and I intend to use it in that manner in my own classroom. To me, it is important to be a part of a networking group of educators and instructional technologists. By having this group you can bounce ideas off of each other and learn from another’s experience. Investigating and implementing a new technology is tedious and time consuming but vital in the process for creating a conducive classroom learning environment. Though the networking groups are beneficial, I like to tinker with the new technology myself. Just because one person had a negative interaction with it does not mean that everyone will find that technology is not suited to their needs. I like to use the information from my peers to help guide my experience and enhance the process. Give two examples of technologies that were used when you were in middle school (it could even be as simple as the chalkboard). How have those technologies been transformed and what replaced them today? If you could choose only one of today’s technologies for your classroom, which one would it be? Why?
Two technologies from my school career overwhelmingly come to mind when asked about how technology has changed in the last decade or more. One of my fondest memories was walking into the classroom and seeing the huge television set on top of a black rolling cart. SCORE! Movie day! When we saw the TV in the classroom we knew that we would have at least a small break in classwork. We may have had to answer comprehension questions after the video, but it was better than listening to our teacher lecture from the front of the classroom again. Nowadays, students do not have the opportunity to make the assumption of video watching as the lesson because these are not widely used in classrooms anymore. Instead, most classrooms are equipped with projectors and screens that are set up once and can be used within a few minutes of powering up. The use of computers and projectors in the classroom has made content accessible and available to students in the blink of an eye. The other technology that comes to mind is the overhead projector complete with transparent sheets. These were used quite a bit in my math and science classes so the teacher could demonstrate what we were expected to learn from that day’s lesson. In today’s classroom, ELMO’s are very popular for the same reason. An ELMO is a digital camera that projects onto a screen. Like the old-fashioned overhead projectors, the ELMO allows the teacher to write and demonstrate as they are teaching so that all students can see what is being taught. I have used these in my own classroom and find them very beneficial to convey lecture information that is learned easier by watching the process. Using the DID Steps, identify which step will be the hardest for you to complete and why. Describe ways in which you can overcome this difficulty to become a successful teacher.
To initiate the design component of D-P-A system, a step-by-step planning model called the Dynamic Instructional Design (DID) model is used. This model simplifies the design process and ensures that no step is missed while providing a framework for quality, technology-rich instruction. It serves to provide a practical guide for conceptualizing and designing an effective instructional unit. Figure 3.2 diagrams the DID model and the relationship of its planning elements. The following are the steps in the DID model:
As a native technology teacher, I believe step four is the most daunting task to me. There are times where I find a new technology and want to implement it in my classroom and use my current students as a pilot group since I know their strengths and weaknesses. Step 4 of the DID model insists that technologies be used only to support the teachers intended learning objectives instead of as a learning objective themself. I personally enjoy exploring and piloting emerging technologies directly in my courses. Doing this gives me firsthand experience and information regarding the implemented tools. |
AuthorAshleigh is a student in the Masters of Human Capital Development and Instructional Design program at the University of Southern Mississippi and an Instructional Designer at The University of Alabama. Blogroll
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