Rationale Paper
Designing Instruction, Instructing through Good Design
Megan Storti
Boise State University M.E.T. Candidate
Spring 2014
Introduction
I began the M.E.T. program at the end of eight years of teaching at a small, private high school. I had a toddler who needed me at home, and I was finding the desire to stay home with him also propelled me to look for other part-time opportunities. I considered online teaching, but after filling out several job applications, I realized how much I still had to learn. As I delved more into the world of online education, I found the M.E.T. program at Boise State and decided to apply. Two years later, I’ve learned much about technology, and so much more about education. I feel so grateful for the rich experiences I’ve had in this program.
My journey to this portfolio class is one of both learning and expanding. Although I was initially interested in learning new tools to use, I have come to see the tools as secondary to the instructional design skills I’ve acquired. I appreciate that each course had clear objectives, meaningful assignments that could be personalized and each one reinforced previous skills or concepts in a new light. I was skeptical to begin a program in education because I felt in my own field, that math educators leaned decidedly towards a traditional or constructivist approach. Instead, at BSU I’ve found less emphasis on labels, and a greater emphasis on designing instructional strategies for a particular situation. Acknowledging that different students and contexts may require different learning experiences has expanded my viewpoint as a teacher and has allowed me to develop projects and course materials that are useful and meaningful for my students.
Professionally, this program has allowed me to go into online teaching with a toolkit of ideas and confidence. As I start my second year of teaching online, I am excited to continue to develop and revise materials and to have the time to explore some tools in more depth. I feel much more comfortable using assignments that are more open-ended and yet still rigorous and mathematically relevant. In many ways, I feel like my coursework was just the beginning of this next phase of teaching, and it’s provided a platform for me to confidently revise and create.
In this paper, I will discuss how each artifact I’ve chosen demonstrates the associated AECT standard and benchmark, as well as my growth in the program. Links and background information are also provided for each standard.
My journey to this portfolio class is one of both learning and expanding. Although I was initially interested in learning new tools to use, I have come to see the tools as secondary to the instructional design skills I’ve acquired. I appreciate that each course had clear objectives, meaningful assignments that could be personalized and each one reinforced previous skills or concepts in a new light. I was skeptical to begin a program in education because I felt in my own field, that math educators leaned decidedly towards a traditional or constructivist approach. Instead, at BSU I’ve found less emphasis on labels, and a greater emphasis on designing instructional strategies for a particular situation. Acknowledging that different students and contexts may require different learning experiences has expanded my viewpoint as a teacher and has allowed me to develop projects and course materials that are useful and meaningful for my students.
Professionally, this program has allowed me to go into online teaching with a toolkit of ideas and confidence. As I start my second year of teaching online, I am excited to continue to develop and revise materials and to have the time to explore some tools in more depth. I feel much more comfortable using assignments that are more open-ended and yet still rigorous and mathematically relevant. In many ways, I feel like my coursework was just the beginning of this next phase of teaching, and it’s provided a platform for me to confidently revise and create.
In this paper, I will discuss how each artifact I’ve chosen demonstrates the associated AECT standard and benchmark, as well as my growth in the program. Links and background information are also provided for each standard.
Standard 1: Design
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to design conditions for learning by applying principles of instructional systems design, message design, instructional strategies, and learner characteristics.
1.1 Instructional Systems Design: Instructional Systems Design (ISD) is an organized procedure that includes the steps of analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating instruction.
Artifact: 503 - Instructional Design Project
My Instructional Design Project focused on a lesson for yearbook students to learn three simple Adobe Photoshop techniques. It involved extensive learner and environment analysis, designing and creating three video tutorials and instructor materials, developing plans for a trial run and plans for formative and summative evaluation. As a former yearbook advisor, I was often frustrated by the varied ability levels in my students, and hoped that they would pick up all the needed skills as we developed pages. These videos and instructions were to bridge the gap for students who did not come in knowing these skills.
Although I had a strong sense of what I wanted to do before beginning the project, the learner analysis was extremely useful in identifying the particular Photoshop skills students wanted and needed to learn. Before beginning the learner analysis, I knew the demographics of the group of students, but I was not clear on their prior knowledge or specific skills. In this particular class, students were not as interested as I expected in some techniques, so I was able to narrow down my focus early on in the process.
As a teacher, this project allowed me to see all of the steps for a successful instructional design undertaking and allowed me to see how important it is to align to standards. In my previous teaching experience at a private school, we often relished the freedom of not adhering to arbitrary standards. However, this project made me realize the importance of having goals and standards at the beginning and creating instruction and assessments to align with those goals.
1.2 Message Design: Message design involves planning for the manipulation of the physical form of the message.
Artifact: 503 - Reading Quiz
The reading quiz project was designed to both summarize the readings in the instructional design textbook and to interpret those readings by choosing graphics that offered a metaphor for each topic. I initially found the project quite daunting, and wondered how I would pull it all together. However, as I worked through each part, I realized the project not only allowed me to interpret the readings differently, but also served to help showcase that interpretation better than I could verbalize. More than just words, each metaphor helped me determine and discuss a deeper meaning than a mere definition.
One of the images that stuck out for me was the image of bees in a beehive representing instructional design. Although an initial observer might see the bee activity as chaotic, in fact each member of the hive has a specific, necessary job that contributes to the success of the whole. Similarly, instructional design is a set of structured steps towards a purpose, despite how it may appear to an outsider. The beehive also shows the complexity of the instructional design process, but the need for each step.
In my own teaching, the idea of a reading quiz assignment appeals in many ways. As a math teacher, this could be adapted to ask students to find a metaphor for a concept, explain and illustrate the concept. Graphics can be powerful ways for students to describe a new idea, but additionally research shows that graphics are also a powerful memory aid. The more connections a student makes, the better the student can understand and build new knowledge for a concept.
1.3 Instructional Strategies: Instructional strategies are specifications for selecting and sequencing events and activities within a lesson.
Artifact: 512 - WBID Project
The web-based design project was a semester-long project to create an online AP Calculus course. I had recently been hired to teach online, and took over a previous instructor's course which functioned more like a distance learning class, than an online interactive class. I spent the semester assessing the learner's needs, planning instructional strategies and creating the actual assignments, quizzes, etc in a Blackboard LMS environment. In particular, this project showed me how to sequence events, and how to include motivational strategies throughout the course.
Prior to taking the 512 class, I had a few ideas of how I would structure my new online course, but I didn't have a systematic plan. This course allowed me to add not just the necessary components, but those that made it a better course. In particular, I included videos for introducing each topic, included the objectives for each section, and sequenced the topics so that students could have a common routine each lesson. The sequencing and planning tools I used in this course have also helped me to make a cohesive module for each topic. One initial confusion I had with the web-based instructional design (WBID) model was the confusion over evaluation coming so early in the process. However, as I planned the course, the early evaluation planning stage allowed me to easily determine what was working, and what parts needed to be corrected with instruction or design changes.
After completing the 512 course, I was able to implement the new AP Calculus course approximately a month later with minimal changes. Through regular surveys and discussions with students, I have been able to continue to refine the course, and I was also able to create a second semester course in a similar fashion.
1.4 Learner Characteristics: Learner characteristics are those facets of the learner's experiential background that impact the effectiveness of a learning process.
Artifact: 541 - Assistive Technology
Artifact: 504 - Learning Theories Paper
Although many projects were developed for specific learners, these two artifacts show how assistive technology can help different learners, and discuss learning strategies from theory that can be applied in the classroom.
In the assistive technology page, I have gathered resources for learners with physical limitations, memory challenges, gifted learners and learners who are at-risk of dropping out of school. Although the exercise seemed simple, it brought together tools that could help students with varying degrees of challenges as well. I had never thought of at-risk or gifted learners as needing different tools, but these populations both need differentiated instruction, and technology can help bridge the gap between what exists in the classroom, and what they may need. I also found that tools designed for one set of learners, may assist another. For example, Dragon diction software allows those with blindness or low-vision to have their words recorded, rather than typed. This type of software is also helpful for learners who are not quick readers or may need or prefer auditory learning.
My paper on learning theories focused on using learning theories and educational technology in the high school math classroom. Although it briefly describes each learning theory, I was also able to connect theory to practice and give specific examples of how to use theories like constructivism or behaviorism in the classroom with real learners. Drawing on my experience with high school math students, writing this paper allowed me to delve deeper into research, as well as consider how learners could benefit and be impacted by different techniques drawn from learning theories. For example, a math classroom can use ideas from behaviorism to help reinforce a topic, while ideas from constructivism can help students to make connections with new knowledge. As I progressed through the program, I liked how no one learning theory was pushed, even if constructivism is the main angle we hear about as educators. This paper allowed me to see how each learning theory has validity and a place in current classroom thinking. I always felt like we needed both project-based classrooms and some drill for certain students, but I wasn't able to articulate it well. Putting together the research for this paper allowed me to see that there is truth to different learning theories for different classroom situations and different groups of learners.
Artifact: 503 - Instructional Design Project
My Instructional Design Project focused on a lesson for yearbook students to learn three simple Adobe Photoshop techniques. It involved extensive learner and environment analysis, designing and creating three video tutorials and instructor materials, developing plans for a trial run and plans for formative and summative evaluation. As a former yearbook advisor, I was often frustrated by the varied ability levels in my students, and hoped that they would pick up all the needed skills as we developed pages. These videos and instructions were to bridge the gap for students who did not come in knowing these skills.
Although I had a strong sense of what I wanted to do before beginning the project, the learner analysis was extremely useful in identifying the particular Photoshop skills students wanted and needed to learn. Before beginning the learner analysis, I knew the demographics of the group of students, but I was not clear on their prior knowledge or specific skills. In this particular class, students were not as interested as I expected in some techniques, so I was able to narrow down my focus early on in the process.
As a teacher, this project allowed me to see all of the steps for a successful instructional design undertaking and allowed me to see how important it is to align to standards. In my previous teaching experience at a private school, we often relished the freedom of not adhering to arbitrary standards. However, this project made me realize the importance of having goals and standards at the beginning and creating instruction and assessments to align with those goals.
1.2 Message Design: Message design involves planning for the manipulation of the physical form of the message.
Artifact: 503 - Reading Quiz
The reading quiz project was designed to both summarize the readings in the instructional design textbook and to interpret those readings by choosing graphics that offered a metaphor for each topic. I initially found the project quite daunting, and wondered how I would pull it all together. However, as I worked through each part, I realized the project not only allowed me to interpret the readings differently, but also served to help showcase that interpretation better than I could verbalize. More than just words, each metaphor helped me determine and discuss a deeper meaning than a mere definition.
One of the images that stuck out for me was the image of bees in a beehive representing instructional design. Although an initial observer might see the bee activity as chaotic, in fact each member of the hive has a specific, necessary job that contributes to the success of the whole. Similarly, instructional design is a set of structured steps towards a purpose, despite how it may appear to an outsider. The beehive also shows the complexity of the instructional design process, but the need for each step.
In my own teaching, the idea of a reading quiz assignment appeals in many ways. As a math teacher, this could be adapted to ask students to find a metaphor for a concept, explain and illustrate the concept. Graphics can be powerful ways for students to describe a new idea, but additionally research shows that graphics are also a powerful memory aid. The more connections a student makes, the better the student can understand and build new knowledge for a concept.
1.3 Instructional Strategies: Instructional strategies are specifications for selecting and sequencing events and activities within a lesson.
Artifact: 512 - WBID Project
The web-based design project was a semester-long project to create an online AP Calculus course. I had recently been hired to teach online, and took over a previous instructor's course which functioned more like a distance learning class, than an online interactive class. I spent the semester assessing the learner's needs, planning instructional strategies and creating the actual assignments, quizzes, etc in a Blackboard LMS environment. In particular, this project showed me how to sequence events, and how to include motivational strategies throughout the course.
Prior to taking the 512 class, I had a few ideas of how I would structure my new online course, but I didn't have a systematic plan. This course allowed me to add not just the necessary components, but those that made it a better course. In particular, I included videos for introducing each topic, included the objectives for each section, and sequenced the topics so that students could have a common routine each lesson. The sequencing and planning tools I used in this course have also helped me to make a cohesive module for each topic. One initial confusion I had with the web-based instructional design (WBID) model was the confusion over evaluation coming so early in the process. However, as I planned the course, the early evaluation planning stage allowed me to easily determine what was working, and what parts needed to be corrected with instruction or design changes.
After completing the 512 course, I was able to implement the new AP Calculus course approximately a month later with minimal changes. Through regular surveys and discussions with students, I have been able to continue to refine the course, and I was also able to create a second semester course in a similar fashion.
1.4 Learner Characteristics: Learner characteristics are those facets of the learner's experiential background that impact the effectiveness of a learning process.
Artifact: 541 - Assistive Technology
Artifact: 504 - Learning Theories Paper
Although many projects were developed for specific learners, these two artifacts show how assistive technology can help different learners, and discuss learning strategies from theory that can be applied in the classroom.
In the assistive technology page, I have gathered resources for learners with physical limitations, memory challenges, gifted learners and learners who are at-risk of dropping out of school. Although the exercise seemed simple, it brought together tools that could help students with varying degrees of challenges as well. I had never thought of at-risk or gifted learners as needing different tools, but these populations both need differentiated instruction, and technology can help bridge the gap between what exists in the classroom, and what they may need. I also found that tools designed for one set of learners, may assist another. For example, Dragon diction software allows those with blindness or low-vision to have their words recorded, rather than typed. This type of software is also helpful for learners who are not quick readers or may need or prefer auditory learning.
My paper on learning theories focused on using learning theories and educational technology in the high school math classroom. Although it briefly describes each learning theory, I was also able to connect theory to practice and give specific examples of how to use theories like constructivism or behaviorism in the classroom with real learners. Drawing on my experience with high school math students, writing this paper allowed me to delve deeper into research, as well as consider how learners could benefit and be impacted by different techniques drawn from learning theories. For example, a math classroom can use ideas from behaviorism to help reinforce a topic, while ideas from constructivism can help students to make connections with new knowledge. As I progressed through the program, I liked how no one learning theory was pushed, even if constructivism is the main angle we hear about as educators. This paper allowed me to see how each learning theory has validity and a place in current classroom thinking. I always felt like we needed both project-based classrooms and some drill for certain students, but I wasn't able to articulate it well. Putting together the research for this paper allowed me to see that there is truth to different learning theories for different classroom situations and different groups of learners.
Standard 2: Development
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop instructional materials and experiences using print, audiovisual, computer-based, and integrated technologies.
2.1 Print Technologies: Print technologies are ways to produce or deliver materials, such as books and static visual materials, primarily through mechanical or photographic printing processes.
Artifact: 511 - User Manual
Artifact: 541 - Internet-Enriched Lesson
The 511 user manual was created for my Flash tutorial project on Curve Sketching. The manual itself was created in Microsoft Word and includes instructions for the program, as well as troubleshooting tips and minimum technology requirements. It represents a printed manual, which accompanies a piece of software. The manual itself used principles of design gathered from previous coursework to draw the reader in, used readable fonts and graphics to enhance the experience. The creation of the user-manual made me realize how much I've changed from the beginning of the program. I both cared about the design of the manual, the purpose of the manual and made it a useful document. In my prior teaching, I often did not think about explaining software or assignments in much detail, but the manual helps create a finished product and provides the user a tool to fall back upon.
The Internet-Enriched lesson was a worksheet designed for calculus students to use a website to help create a model based on a photo, and to find areas. This lesson really made me reach beyond my usual set of tools. In many of my classes, I felt what I was learning was really great, but not always applicable to math. In the 541 course, I made every project applicable to math, and it was a challenge. I started this project with a different idea, and then thought about a technique with modeling and photos that I had seen at a conference. I started exploring websites and developed this extensive lesson that brings it numerous web tools both for modeling, calculating and presenting. The result is an excellent math lesson that could be used as a worksheet and which truly uses the Internet to do something otherwise very difficult. The worksheet itself is rendered as a PDF, allowing it to be printed or viewed on a computer or mobile device.
2.2 Audiovisual Technologies: Audiovisual technologies are ways to produce or deliver materials by using mechanical devices or electronic machines to present auditory and visual messages.
Artifact: 541 - Video Library & Lesson
Artifact: Work - Calculator Tutorial
The Video Library was a project to collect and curate videos for high school math. The library is intended to serve as a source of extra resources for students or teachers on various topics, while the video lesson uses video as part of a classroom lesson on calculus. Although I've previously used some video in my courses, it wasn't until this project that I again viewed the video as not just an extra resource, but also an integral part of a planned lesson. The ideas of instructional design really made me view this as an opportunity to make a lesson where video enhanced the entire lesson, rather than replaced the teacher. In the lesson, the teacher introduces the topic in class, and discusses the preliminary needed information. Then, the student views the video at home, similar to a flipped lesson. When the student returns to class, the video is discussed and the conversation concludes the lesson and shows additional examples. This also allows for 'chunking' of the material, so that students are not sitting through a long lecture in the classroom or at home, and the video graphics allow the instructor to focus on the underlying math concepts, rather than her graphic design skills. As Robler & Doering state, "The impact of hypermedia in education offers increased motivation, flexible learning modes, development of creative and critical thinking skills and improved writing and processing skills." (p. 196)
The second artifact selected is a short calculator tutorial I created for my online AP Calculus AB course. After completing several projects in the M.E.T. program using Camtasia, I was able to produce this tutorial for my students that were unfamiliar with graphing calculators. I used TI-emulator software and a headset to record the audio, while students can see the buttons to press on their calculators, as well as the output. The short video along with similar videos allows students to have additional instructor help without requiring live one-on-one tutoring sessions. Although I still offer a few live calculator sessions for students, I am now able to give short 5-10 minute videos for students that are not able to attend live sessions. As a result, my live sessions can be focused more on questions and dialogue, and less on giving instructions for basic commands. Although I use other tutorials from YouTube, by creating my own tutorials I was able to focus on the specific skills that students need, and on common errors that my students made. Because students can pause or rewind the videos, they are able to follow along as quickly or as slowly as needed.
2.3 Computer-Based Technologies: Computer-based technologies are ways to produce or deliver materials using microprocessor-based resources.
Artifact: 501 - Wheelchair Ramp Lesson Plan
Although this was one of my first assignments in the program, it allowed me to begin thinking about teaching with a wider view of my students and the boundaries of the classroom. I chose to create a lesson using mobile devices for math students to look at a real application of slope. Students investigated the wheelchair ramps at their school, used both an app and trigonometry to do computations, and then discovered if the ramp met current ADA requirements by using the Internet. When I initially viewed the assignment, I thought about apps that allow students to do something that is already done by another device, like using a calculator app or eBook. However, by thinking about mobile devices, I was able to create a lesson that was real, used mobile devices and the Internet remotely, and had an unknown answer. The computer-based technology is a vital part of the lesson, but the computer is used as an active tool. The lesson also gets students up and moving, which allows them a different class experience, and a connection to a real application at their school.
2.4 Integrated Technologies: Integrated technologies are ways to produce and deliver materials which encompass several forms of media under the control of a computer.
Artifact: 502 - Wine Country Virtual Tour
Artifact: 511 - Curve Sketching Tutorial
The first artifact is a virtual tour of the wine producing regions in Northern California, regionally known as 'Wine Country'. The lesson is aimed at hospitality students, and brought together many skills from the Internet for Educators course. I adapted an advanced template, used text, graphics, video and hyperlinks to create a virtual tour. Graphically, I kept a similar design throughout the pages and used common icons to represent restaurants, lodging and attractions. Elements of graphic design influenced my choice of templates, as well as the small changes I made to adapt it to this purpose. By integrating different multimedia components, the tour represents a much better webpage than a simple video or picture.
The second artifact was a semester-long project to learn Flash and create a tutorial for my AP Calculus courses. The result is a multimedia tutorial using audio voiceover, Flash buttons and animations, text and sounds to draw in the learner and create a memorable learning experience. It's one of the most ambitious projects I tackled during my time in the M.E.T. program, and I was pleased to see the integrated elements work together to reinforce the lesson. Students are not ambushed with pages of text, rather they can focus on a graph with a few main points, and then the audio fills in the remaining information. Students must actively press buttons to move around, and have a menu to give choices and organization to the tutorial. Animations help students focus on the topic of each page, and point out main features of a graph, allowing the information to be chunked rather than presented all at once. As Ko & Rossen (2010) point out, multimedia projects like this take extra time, but they can be used to clarify abstract topics. "Complex abstract concepts are often difficult for students to sort out or remember. Often, graphics can serve as memory jogs for students who are attempting to keep a host of concepts straight" (Ko & Rossen, p.279). Because curve sketching brings together many previous ideas, the tutorial enables students to both visualize and remember the topic.
Standard 3: Utilization
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to use processes and resources for learning by applying principles and theories of media utilization, diffusion, implementation, and policy-making.
3.1 Media Utilization: Media utilization is the systematic use of resources for learning.
Artifact: 541 - Social Networking
In my EdTech 541 course, I created my first assignment involving social networking. Prior to reading about the topic, I really thought only of Facebook and Twitter as tools to keep in touch with friends or interesting people. I had even used Facebook as a yearbook advisor, but didn't see much use beyond broadcasting announcements. This project allowed me to pull together social networking tools for a math course, and design an enrichment opportunity for a math club or group of advanced students. The project involves students collaborating to create a webpage or virtual wall, interviewing mathematicians via Skype and collecting images on Flickr. Finally, students would use Padlet to collaborate on a virtual wall or bulletin board to create a resource for themselves and other students. I liked the idea of allowing students to connect both outside the classroom (to a math professor) as well as allow others to participate (through the online wall). Often students are busy, and need to choose between extracurricular activities due to after-school time available. Bringing in web tools allows those students to participate and to still connect with each other online. When I studied Connectivism , I thought of how this project connects students to other students and the wider math community, and creates a new kind of learning experience.
3.2 Diffusion of Innovations: Diffusion of innovations is the process of communicating through planned strategies for the purpose of gaining adoption.
Artifact: 522 - Moodle Quiz Module
This artifact from my online teaching course used both Camtasia and Moodle to create a short tutorial on quizzes in Moodle. It was one of my first uses of Camtasia and shows how I was able to use features such as highlighting to create a better explanation that plain text. I designed it to show other teachers additional functionality on Moodle, and to encourage them to try online quizzes. At my previous job, I was the only user of Moodle quizzes, and wanted to share my knowledge with others, and show my colleagues the versatility of the quiz feature. This tutorial along with examples in my own class would allow others to see and use the quiz feature in their own ways.
Moodle is a wonderful free LMS yet has many more options than the average teacher needs. This tutorial was designed to discuss those options and to focus on the most important aspect for creating a quiz. The quiz feature is useful, but time consuming, especially for those who are less comfortable with technology. As I went through the M.E.T. program, I often thought about past colleagues who struggled with technology, and this project illustrates one way to help teachers who need more assistance. Providing tutorials can allow teachers to learn new technology at their own pace, rather than in a one-time professional development setting.
3.3 Implementation and Institutionalization: Implementation is using instructional materials or strategies in real(not simulated) settings. Institutionalization is the continuing, routine use of the instructional innovation in the structure and culture of an organization.
Artifact: 523 - Online Communication Plan
This artifact from my Advanced Online Teaching course has been extremely useful, as I've started my online teaching career. Creating the communication plan allowed me to put a plan in place to answer routine questions, create a welcome email, and create policies for message boards and for communicating with parents. I have continued to add to the communication plan as my needs change, and I have found that implementing it has saved me time and allowed me to focus on the less routine questions. Having a message board rubric as part of the plan has also made it clear to students what is expected in message board postings, especially in math, which is not traditionally through of as a discussion course. According to Pratt & Polloff (2007), "The need to be involved to a greater extent in these classes creates a greater need for time management" (p.76). Using a tool like the online communication plan allows me as an instructor to manage the time I have for student interactions more effectively.
3.4 Policies and Regulations: Policies and regulations are the rules and actions of society (or its surrogates) that affect the diffusion and use of Instructional Technology.
Artifact: 501 - Digital Divide
Artifact: 502 - Netiquette
The first artifact was a collaboration with several other students to discuss the 'digital divide' as it exists in California. The project allowed us to research policies in both public and private settings, as well as evaluate and recommend policies for the future. Despite the large nature of the state, and the divisions between urban and rural areas, we found common issues such as a large number of English Language Learners, limited school hours and scarce computing resources. In addition to being an interesting project, I found the group experience online to be very helpful in my own teaching, as I develop group projects. Some of the same issues arise online, such as unequal participation and time management issues, but being online makes communication much more important. In addition, at the end of the project, we were asked to rate our group members - instantly solving any negative feelings about the experience, or who did their share. I was able to let the project stand alone, and then discuss the group dynamics separately.
The netiquette page I developed was intended for high school math students online. Although the project was also intended to practice HTML skills such as a border, I've turned back to this page more than once as I've developed my online AP Calculus courses. Simple gestures online can make a big impact in a student's experience and the online community that develops in a course. For instance, greetings and signing one's name help each person develop an identity online, and help others know who is 'talking'. In addition, I always tell students to remember to thank each other; this is something we do in everyday conversation, but it can be easy to forget online. Creating a netiquette policy allows students to see the expectations, and allows the instructor to set ground rules for the course behavior. This is essential online because much of the community-building we do as instructors must be more deliberate and direct to reach students who often do not know the 'rules' online yet, as they do in the classroom.
Artifact: 541 - Social Networking
In my EdTech 541 course, I created my first assignment involving social networking. Prior to reading about the topic, I really thought only of Facebook and Twitter as tools to keep in touch with friends or interesting people. I had even used Facebook as a yearbook advisor, but didn't see much use beyond broadcasting announcements. This project allowed me to pull together social networking tools for a math course, and design an enrichment opportunity for a math club or group of advanced students. The project involves students collaborating to create a webpage or virtual wall, interviewing mathematicians via Skype and collecting images on Flickr. Finally, students would use Padlet to collaborate on a virtual wall or bulletin board to create a resource for themselves and other students. I liked the idea of allowing students to connect both outside the classroom (to a math professor) as well as allow others to participate (through the online wall). Often students are busy, and need to choose between extracurricular activities due to after-school time available. Bringing in web tools allows those students to participate and to still connect with each other online. When I studied Connectivism , I thought of how this project connects students to other students and the wider math community, and creates a new kind of learning experience.
3.2 Diffusion of Innovations: Diffusion of innovations is the process of communicating through planned strategies for the purpose of gaining adoption.
Artifact: 522 - Moodle Quiz Module
This artifact from my online teaching course used both Camtasia and Moodle to create a short tutorial on quizzes in Moodle. It was one of my first uses of Camtasia and shows how I was able to use features such as highlighting to create a better explanation that plain text. I designed it to show other teachers additional functionality on Moodle, and to encourage them to try online quizzes. At my previous job, I was the only user of Moodle quizzes, and wanted to share my knowledge with others, and show my colleagues the versatility of the quiz feature. This tutorial along with examples in my own class would allow others to see and use the quiz feature in their own ways.
Moodle is a wonderful free LMS yet has many more options than the average teacher needs. This tutorial was designed to discuss those options and to focus on the most important aspect for creating a quiz. The quiz feature is useful, but time consuming, especially for those who are less comfortable with technology. As I went through the M.E.T. program, I often thought about past colleagues who struggled with technology, and this project illustrates one way to help teachers who need more assistance. Providing tutorials can allow teachers to learn new technology at their own pace, rather than in a one-time professional development setting.
3.3 Implementation and Institutionalization: Implementation is using instructional materials or strategies in real(not simulated) settings. Institutionalization is the continuing, routine use of the instructional innovation in the structure and culture of an organization.
Artifact: 523 - Online Communication Plan
This artifact from my Advanced Online Teaching course has been extremely useful, as I've started my online teaching career. Creating the communication plan allowed me to put a plan in place to answer routine questions, create a welcome email, and create policies for message boards and for communicating with parents. I have continued to add to the communication plan as my needs change, and I have found that implementing it has saved me time and allowed me to focus on the less routine questions. Having a message board rubric as part of the plan has also made it clear to students what is expected in message board postings, especially in math, which is not traditionally through of as a discussion course. According to Pratt & Polloff (2007), "The need to be involved to a greater extent in these classes creates a greater need for time management" (p.76). Using a tool like the online communication plan allows me as an instructor to manage the time I have for student interactions more effectively.
3.4 Policies and Regulations: Policies and regulations are the rules and actions of society (or its surrogates) that affect the diffusion and use of Instructional Technology.
Artifact: 501 - Digital Divide
Artifact: 502 - Netiquette
The first artifact was a collaboration with several other students to discuss the 'digital divide' as it exists in California. The project allowed us to research policies in both public and private settings, as well as evaluate and recommend policies for the future. Despite the large nature of the state, and the divisions between urban and rural areas, we found common issues such as a large number of English Language Learners, limited school hours and scarce computing resources. In addition to being an interesting project, I found the group experience online to be very helpful in my own teaching, as I develop group projects. Some of the same issues arise online, such as unequal participation and time management issues, but being online makes communication much more important. In addition, at the end of the project, we were asked to rate our group members - instantly solving any negative feelings about the experience, or who did their share. I was able to let the project stand alone, and then discuss the group dynamics separately.
The netiquette page I developed was intended for high school math students online. Although the project was also intended to practice HTML skills such as a border, I've turned back to this page more than once as I've developed my online AP Calculus courses. Simple gestures online can make a big impact in a student's experience and the online community that develops in a course. For instance, greetings and signing one's name help each person develop an identity online, and help others know who is 'talking'. In addition, I always tell students to remember to thank each other; this is something we do in everyday conversation, but it can be easy to forget online. Creating a netiquette policy allows students to see the expectations, and allows the instructor to set ground rules for the course behavior. This is essential online because much of the community-building we do as instructors must be more deliberate and direct to reach students who often do not know the 'rules' online yet, as they do in the classroom.
Standard 4: Management
Candidates demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions to plan, organize, coordinate, and supervise instructional technology by applying principles of project, resource, delivery system, and information management.
4.1 Project Management: Project management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling instructional design and development projects.
Artifact: 512 - WBID Implementation
In the 512 online course design class, I created a web-based course for AP Calculus. The artifact here shows the implementation-planning page for the course, and involves planning for the resources, people and time involved, as well as the tasks for creating the online course and ongoing management. The implementation page gave me a blueprint for weekly/monthly maintenance tasks to complete on the course as well as ensuring that all of the tools, files and components of the course were ready for students. Using the checklist of the implementation page, I can check my current course and future courses to manage their progress. This tool allows me to improve my time management, and allows me to continue to develop a plan when I refine or revise the course.
4.2 Resource Management: Resource management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling resource support systems and services.
Artifact: 505 - Response to RFP
In the artifact above, I constructed a response to a request for proposal to plan an evaluation of a fictional company, Far West Laboratories. The proposal includes planning the evaluation costs, personnel, time, and evaluation instruments. Although it was initially very daunting to complete given the scarce information, the process allowed me to think through an unknown scenario, create reasonable expectations and costs and a meaningful proposal. As a result, I was much more confident completing the resource management parts of my final evaluation project.
In many ways, resource management relates to instructional design, a recurring theme throughout my coursework in the M.E.T. program. Where instructional design creates a comprehensive plan for instruction and technology, the resource management piece is essential because without personnel and resources, the plan will not come to fruition. For example, a teacher looking for new software needs to also consider the costs, training personnel, computers available, etc. as she looks for a solution. No one piece of instruction or technology tool can be successful without considering the resources available. The response to RFP project has made me reconsider the need for a resource management plan at different stages of a project.
4.3 Delivery System Management: Delivery system management involves planning, monitoring and controlling 'the method by which distribution of instructional materials is organized' . . . [It is] a combination of medium and method of usage that is employed to present instructional information to a learner.
Artifact: 541 - Math Learning Activities
In the math learning activities page, I was able to gather resources from simulations, websites and wikis, then plan how each type of activity could be used in the classroom or online classroom. The project was simple, but one that has had a positive effect on my students. After analyzing several simulations, I was able to determine which would work for my students and was able to integrate them into current assignments. When students comment on tools in the class, the best comments I hear are often about the simulations that came from researching this activity page. As I've started teaching new courses, I have been able to return to this page for additional resources and plan how to implement them with my students. Rather than just posting link, commenting on the activities has allowed me to consider how best to give the students each resource. For some chapters, a link was sufficient, for other topics, the website or simulation became part of a larger worksheet or exercise. By planning and controlling the way students find the resources, I was able to motivate interest and help learners become more independent. The simulations themselves allow students to experiment with a topic in an interactive method that allows deeper, active learning rather than merely watching a video.
4.4 Information Management: Information management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling the storage, transfer, or processing of information in order to provide resources for learning.
Artifact: 511 - Multimedia Storyboard
Artifact: 504 - Annotated Bibliography
The first artifact was created for my Flash multimedia tutorial for AP Calculus, and includes a storyboard, planning document and tutorial flowchart. Prior to this class, I questioned the usefulness of the storyboarding process when a single individual is creating and implementing a project. However, this project answered many of my previous concerns and allowed me to use the document to manage the large process and to think through issues that can occur during a tutorial. I changed the flowchart several times from my original chart as I worked through each possibility students could encounter, and feedback from others allowed me to make major improvements in both the design and math processes before student testing. Rather than an extra layer of work, I discovered the storyboard to be essential as I created each page, making only small changes to the original ideas. Now that the project is over, I am thinking about the next tutorial I will create on Flash and I plan to use the flowchart and storyboard again in my own work.
My second artifact is a different type of information management, an annotated bibliography of math and science articles involving teaching with educational technology. I approached the bibliography as an easy task, but found fewer resources than I expected. As I read the different articles, I found very few that discussed teaching or learning strategies for high school and college students, but after some digging I was able to create a solid list, and write summaries. I came back to the annotated bibliography during the research for my final paper on educational technology and learning theories in the math classroom. I was able to use the resources I had gathered to inform my writing, both as background information and to find examples of how educational technology tools were used to control the flow of information to students through a particular learning theory lens. The project itself also was a useful resource for other teachers. As a former department chair, this would have been especially useful to plan meetings about specific research and determine if the ideas in an article could be implemented at our school.
Artifact: 512 - WBID Implementation
In the 512 online course design class, I created a web-based course for AP Calculus. The artifact here shows the implementation-planning page for the course, and involves planning for the resources, people and time involved, as well as the tasks for creating the online course and ongoing management. The implementation page gave me a blueprint for weekly/monthly maintenance tasks to complete on the course as well as ensuring that all of the tools, files and components of the course were ready for students. Using the checklist of the implementation page, I can check my current course and future courses to manage their progress. This tool allows me to improve my time management, and allows me to continue to develop a plan when I refine or revise the course.
4.2 Resource Management: Resource management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling resource support systems and services.
Artifact: 505 - Response to RFP
In the artifact above, I constructed a response to a request for proposal to plan an evaluation of a fictional company, Far West Laboratories. The proposal includes planning the evaluation costs, personnel, time, and evaluation instruments. Although it was initially very daunting to complete given the scarce information, the process allowed me to think through an unknown scenario, create reasonable expectations and costs and a meaningful proposal. As a result, I was much more confident completing the resource management parts of my final evaluation project.
In many ways, resource management relates to instructional design, a recurring theme throughout my coursework in the M.E.T. program. Where instructional design creates a comprehensive plan for instruction and technology, the resource management piece is essential because without personnel and resources, the plan will not come to fruition. For example, a teacher looking for new software needs to also consider the costs, training personnel, computers available, etc. as she looks for a solution. No one piece of instruction or technology tool can be successful without considering the resources available. The response to RFP project has made me reconsider the need for a resource management plan at different stages of a project.
4.3 Delivery System Management: Delivery system management involves planning, monitoring and controlling 'the method by which distribution of instructional materials is organized' . . . [It is] a combination of medium and method of usage that is employed to present instructional information to a learner.
Artifact: 541 - Math Learning Activities
In the math learning activities page, I was able to gather resources from simulations, websites and wikis, then plan how each type of activity could be used in the classroom or online classroom. The project was simple, but one that has had a positive effect on my students. After analyzing several simulations, I was able to determine which would work for my students and was able to integrate them into current assignments. When students comment on tools in the class, the best comments I hear are often about the simulations that came from researching this activity page. As I've started teaching new courses, I have been able to return to this page for additional resources and plan how to implement them with my students. Rather than just posting link, commenting on the activities has allowed me to consider how best to give the students each resource. For some chapters, a link was sufficient, for other topics, the website or simulation became part of a larger worksheet or exercise. By planning and controlling the way students find the resources, I was able to motivate interest and help learners become more independent. The simulations themselves allow students to experiment with a topic in an interactive method that allows deeper, active learning rather than merely watching a video.
4.4 Information Management: Information management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling the storage, transfer, or processing of information in order to provide resources for learning.
Artifact: 511 - Multimedia Storyboard
Artifact: 504 - Annotated Bibliography
The first artifact was created for my Flash multimedia tutorial for AP Calculus, and includes a storyboard, planning document and tutorial flowchart. Prior to this class, I questioned the usefulness of the storyboarding process when a single individual is creating and implementing a project. However, this project answered many of my previous concerns and allowed me to use the document to manage the large process and to think through issues that can occur during a tutorial. I changed the flowchart several times from my original chart as I worked through each possibility students could encounter, and feedback from others allowed me to make major improvements in both the design and math processes before student testing. Rather than an extra layer of work, I discovered the storyboard to be essential as I created each page, making only small changes to the original ideas. Now that the project is over, I am thinking about the next tutorial I will create on Flash and I plan to use the flowchart and storyboard again in my own work.
My second artifact is a different type of information management, an annotated bibliography of math and science articles involving teaching with educational technology. I approached the bibliography as an easy task, but found fewer resources than I expected. As I read the different articles, I found very few that discussed teaching or learning strategies for high school and college students, but after some digging I was able to create a solid list, and write summaries. I came back to the annotated bibliography during the research for my final paper on educational technology and learning theories in the math classroom. I was able to use the resources I had gathered to inform my writing, both as background information and to find examples of how educational technology tools were used to control the flow of information to students through a particular learning theory lens. The project itself also was a useful resource for other teachers. As a former department chair, this would have been especially useful to plan meetings about specific research and determine if the ideas in an article could be implemented at our school.
Standard 5: Evaluation
Candidates demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions to evaluate the adequacy of instruction and learning by applying principles of problem analysis, criterion-referenced measurement, formative and summative evaluation, and long-range planning.
5.1 Problem Analysis: Problem analysis involves determining the nature and parameters of the problem by using information-gathering and decision-making strategies.
Artifact: 512 - WBID Project
The Web Based Instructional Design WBID Project for my 512 Online Course Design class was to create an online AP Calculus course. After being hired mid-semester to take over a course, I saw many problems and decided to redesign the course. This project started as a problem analysis - the largest problem being that the course did not reflect the AP goals and guidelines. Although I had previously taken Instructional Design, the WBID Project allowed me to apply the principles of instructional design in a different way by focusing on an entire course, under the WBID model. Using this model, I was able to determine many problems that I hoped to address with my revised course, from aligning to standards, to creating a cohesive class, which led learners from one topic to another. As the course is finishing its first year, I am again going back to a problem-analysis approach to revise and refine the online design. Using surveys and data collection tools, I've been able to analyze what's working and what needs improvement in a strategic, organized way.
5.2 Criterion-Referenced Measurement: Criterion-referenced measurement involves techniques for determining learner mastery of pre-specified content.
Artifact: 505 - Evaluation project
Artifact: 502 - Webquest Rubric
The first artifact is my culminating project for EdTech 505, which involved evaluating a week of instruction in my AP Calculus course. The evaluation looked at how well the curriculum was meeting the stated standards, as well as if students were learning to communicate mathematically on the message boards. Using student surveys and data from the Blackboard LMS, I was able to analyze different measures to determine if the students were meeting or falling short of meeting each criteria. Although the project involved formative and summative evaluation as well, my focus and goal was the criteria. One of the most important lessons I've learned in the M.E.T. program has been to align to standards, and evaluating to standards was just another step in this process. As a private school teacher, I rarely used formal standards, because it was not required. However, I've grown to see that standards and criteria help all stakeholders define why we are teaching and learning specific topics. As a teacher, I now can direct parents and students immediately to the standard each lesson supports - the question of 'Why are we learning this?" has a clear answer when we use standards, and evaluate against those standards.
The second artifact is a rubric from a webquest I created called 'Cheating in Schools'. The webquest focuses on a group of students creating a policy for cheating, then presenting and sharing with classmates. As a math teacher, a holistic rubric was a tool I didn't use often, mainly because of a lack of good examples. In earlier education courses, rubrics in math were often presented as an alternative to traditional grading, and involved very little math. In fact, I use rubrics all the time in my 'traditional' grading as I determine points for partial credit. But this project rubric was different for me because it wasn't artificial, and it made me realize that a rubric can make sense for many types of projects. The criteria were clear and allowed for different levels of mastery, and other teachers without any explanation could use it. Because the webquest was open-ended, the rubric also allows for different results from different groups of students. Although I still don't use holistic rubrics very often, it helped me tremendously when I developed my criteria for message board postings and extra credit projects, which required this approach. Aligning projects to standards or criteria gives legitimacy to the project, informs students of expectations and tells parents where the project fits into the curriculum.
5.3 Formative and Summative Evaluation: Formative evaluation involves gathering information on adequacy and using this information as a basis for further development. Summative evaluation involves gathering information on adequacy and using this information to make decisions about utilization.
Artifact: 503 - Instructional Design Report
My instructional design project was to create curriculum for yearbook students to learn several Adobe Photoshop skills. The report included analysis, implementation and formative and summative evaluation. I performed an initial survey with students, as well as plans for a focus group and revisions of the curriculum. As a teacher, I often felt like evaluation needed to be done, but wasn't being accomplished. I wanted to reflect on many of my lesson plans, but had little time to do so because of other commitments at school. I also wanted meaningful feedback from administrators, who were focused more on teacher problems than on collaboration and improvement. This project allowed me to look at how to collect formative and summative data, create a realistic plan for implementation and revisions. Actually gathering data was eye-opening as well - the problems I felt were most important, were not important to the students or the new advisor. As I look ahead, I use student surveys much more to help evaluate my current courses, as well as data that can be collected and measured. I often find the same result - despite what I believe, students often have an entirely different focus, or a different take on how an assignment or project worked. Using formative and summative evaluation has allowed me to continue to improve my AP Calculus courses.
5.4 Long-Range Planning: Long-range planning that focuses on the organization as a whole is strategic planning. Long-range is usually defined as a future period of about three to five years or longer. During strategic planning, managers are trying to decide in the present what must be done to ensure organizational success in the future.
Artifact: 501 - Technology School Use Plan
The technology school use plan was created to evaluate and plan for long-term technology use by a local institution. The plan evaluates different aspects of technology usage, and makes recommendations for future improvements. Although I only used the plan in a theoretical sense, a plan like this could be very helpful to an organization as they evaluate strengths and weaknesses. Long-range planning is important for organizations to have unified goals and to plan for costs, personnel and future resources. In my own teaching, I find long-range planning on a smaller scale to be very helpful as I plan for future iterations of a course, as well as future courses.
Artifact: 512 - WBID Project
The Web Based Instructional Design WBID Project for my 512 Online Course Design class was to create an online AP Calculus course. After being hired mid-semester to take over a course, I saw many problems and decided to redesign the course. This project started as a problem analysis - the largest problem being that the course did not reflect the AP goals and guidelines. Although I had previously taken Instructional Design, the WBID Project allowed me to apply the principles of instructional design in a different way by focusing on an entire course, under the WBID model. Using this model, I was able to determine many problems that I hoped to address with my revised course, from aligning to standards, to creating a cohesive class, which led learners from one topic to another. As the course is finishing its first year, I am again going back to a problem-analysis approach to revise and refine the online design. Using surveys and data collection tools, I've been able to analyze what's working and what needs improvement in a strategic, organized way.
5.2 Criterion-Referenced Measurement: Criterion-referenced measurement involves techniques for determining learner mastery of pre-specified content.
Artifact: 505 - Evaluation project
Artifact: 502 - Webquest Rubric
The first artifact is my culminating project for EdTech 505, which involved evaluating a week of instruction in my AP Calculus course. The evaluation looked at how well the curriculum was meeting the stated standards, as well as if students were learning to communicate mathematically on the message boards. Using student surveys and data from the Blackboard LMS, I was able to analyze different measures to determine if the students were meeting or falling short of meeting each criteria. Although the project involved formative and summative evaluation as well, my focus and goal was the criteria. One of the most important lessons I've learned in the M.E.T. program has been to align to standards, and evaluating to standards was just another step in this process. As a private school teacher, I rarely used formal standards, because it was not required. However, I've grown to see that standards and criteria help all stakeholders define why we are teaching and learning specific topics. As a teacher, I now can direct parents and students immediately to the standard each lesson supports - the question of 'Why are we learning this?" has a clear answer when we use standards, and evaluate against those standards.
The second artifact is a rubric from a webquest I created called 'Cheating in Schools'. The webquest focuses on a group of students creating a policy for cheating, then presenting and sharing with classmates. As a math teacher, a holistic rubric was a tool I didn't use often, mainly because of a lack of good examples. In earlier education courses, rubrics in math were often presented as an alternative to traditional grading, and involved very little math. In fact, I use rubrics all the time in my 'traditional' grading as I determine points for partial credit. But this project rubric was different for me because it wasn't artificial, and it made me realize that a rubric can make sense for many types of projects. The criteria were clear and allowed for different levels of mastery, and other teachers without any explanation could use it. Because the webquest was open-ended, the rubric also allows for different results from different groups of students. Although I still don't use holistic rubrics very often, it helped me tremendously when I developed my criteria for message board postings and extra credit projects, which required this approach. Aligning projects to standards or criteria gives legitimacy to the project, informs students of expectations and tells parents where the project fits into the curriculum.
5.3 Formative and Summative Evaluation: Formative evaluation involves gathering information on adequacy and using this information as a basis for further development. Summative evaluation involves gathering information on adequacy and using this information to make decisions about utilization.
Artifact: 503 - Instructional Design Report
My instructional design project was to create curriculum for yearbook students to learn several Adobe Photoshop skills. The report included analysis, implementation and formative and summative evaluation. I performed an initial survey with students, as well as plans for a focus group and revisions of the curriculum. As a teacher, I often felt like evaluation needed to be done, but wasn't being accomplished. I wanted to reflect on many of my lesson plans, but had little time to do so because of other commitments at school. I also wanted meaningful feedback from administrators, who were focused more on teacher problems than on collaboration and improvement. This project allowed me to look at how to collect formative and summative data, create a realistic plan for implementation and revisions. Actually gathering data was eye-opening as well - the problems I felt were most important, were not important to the students or the new advisor. As I look ahead, I use student surveys much more to help evaluate my current courses, as well as data that can be collected and measured. I often find the same result - despite what I believe, students often have an entirely different focus, or a different take on how an assignment or project worked. Using formative and summative evaluation has allowed me to continue to improve my AP Calculus courses.
5.4 Long-Range Planning: Long-range planning that focuses on the organization as a whole is strategic planning. Long-range is usually defined as a future period of about three to five years or longer. During strategic planning, managers are trying to decide in the present what must be done to ensure organizational success in the future.
Artifact: 501 - Technology School Use Plan
The technology school use plan was created to evaluate and plan for long-term technology use by a local institution. The plan evaluates different aspects of technology usage, and makes recommendations for future improvements. Although I only used the plan in a theoretical sense, a plan like this could be very helpful to an organization as they evaluate strengths and weaknesses. Long-range planning is important for organizations to have unified goals and to plan for costs, personnel and future resources. In my own teaching, I find long-range planning on a smaller scale to be very helpful as I plan for future iterations of a course, as well as future courses.
Conclusion
As I come to the end of the M.E.T. program, I know my time here has been well spent. Aside from picking up valuable tools and skills from Camtasia to Dreamweaver, I also feel much more methodical and confident when designing curriculum and evaluating its effectiveness. But more than what appears on my resume, are the changes that have taken place in my thinking as an educator. In class after class, different lesson strategies were shown, developed and created in a real, authentic manner. This type of teaching has inspired me to think outside the textbook, and to develop meaningful, worthwhile assignments that allow both creativity and problem-solving for students, yet still meet the necessary objectives. As a newer online teacher, I am deeply grateful for this experience and hope this will be a launching pad to continued online teaching.
References
Dawley, L. (2007). The Tools for successful online teaching. Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing.
Ko, S. & Rossen, S. (2010) Teaching online: A practical guide (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Palloff, R. & Pratt, K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities. San Francisco, CA: Wiley.
Roblyer, M. & Doering, A. (2013). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (6th ed.).
Ko, S. & Rossen, S. (2010) Teaching online: A practical guide (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Palloff, R. & Pratt, K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities. San Francisco, CA: Wiley.
Roblyer, M. & Doering, A. (2013). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (6th ed.).