Global Warming Instructional Design Pages

Feel free to view my Technology Use Plan created for my graduate studies at Boise State University for EDTECH 501. This presentation provides an overview of a the process of creating a district wide Technology Use Plan along with examples of each step.

I created a Technology Needs Assessment example discussed in the Technology Use Plan presentation. This assessment a necessary step to be taken by school districts in order to evaluate the success of the District Technology Plan.
Thank you!

The US military’s proven success of using technology for a teaching medium is a model for successful technology integration on state and national levels. According to Reiser, (2001) military trainers expressed satisfaction with training films utilized during World War 1. The military defined the immediate crisis, and after the proper collaboration, used the appropriate technology to solve the problem.

I propose that our educational system should take this same approach. Our National Educational Technology Standards(Nets) focuses on infusion of technology in order to create, problem solve, and collaborate. Our state standards focus upon this same need. Our local administrators’ goal is to raise student test scores in order to comply with state accountability. Further collaboration is beneficial to define the exact goal of the state and require implementation by local districts of appropriate technology encouraging that specific goal. For example, integrating technology for global communication, real world problem solving, and creation and expression will naturally allow students to think and express themselves and enhance their performance on standardized testing. It would be far better to define our goals as educators and work together toward its achievement, such as the military demonstrated to us in my previous example. Change is needed; however, unity in our goal is the determining factor for success.

Reiser, R.A. (2001). A History of Instructional Design and Technology: Part I: A History of Instructional Media. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49 (1), 53-64.

Professional organizations play a valuable role for educators of all ages and subjects.  Today’s students are required to learn advanced technology skills in order to prepare for the21^st century workforce.  Technology allows students to create, problem solve, research, collaborate, and interact globally. Students have the ability to learn and express themselves in their individual learning style.  Teachers must embrace this technology in order to incorporate into their plans technological tools that are of educational benefit.  This is not an easy task for teachers who are already overloaded with district tasks.  Professional organizations have so many resources that guide teachers where to start with all these unknown Web 2.0 tools.  Many lesson plans, tutorials, and examples are at a teacher’s fingertips, and the fear of where to begin is alleviated.  This Web Quest will help teachers who did not realize this availability.  Without these organizations, a k-12 teacher could be easily frustrated.

There are a variety of organizations to choose from.  Each organization benefits most educators with students of all ages.  There are also organizations that cater to specific technology content, such as science, engineering, networking, and the arts.  The first step to deciding which organization suites your specific needs is to determine the area of your focus. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is a great place to start your journey into an organization designed for technology integration.  This organization provides a multitude of resources designed to incorporate technology into the K-12 curriculum. Professional development, newsletters, publications, current research, The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), educational career opportunities, support and discussions are just samples of what this membership has to offer.  Administrators, K-12 educators, higher educators, technology coordinators, researchers, network engineers, web designers and informational technologists all have areas of interest and support available.

I strongly suggest that teachers investigate their individual state’s organizations. Most educational technology organizations have membership offers on an individual basis and package deals for larger groups.  If your school district is not a member of these organizations and consortiums, I urge you to research what your state has to offer.  Be sure that you understand how your school district, administration and faculty would benefit from joining these memberships.  The driving force behind my advocacy of having a district membership where I am currently employed was my discussion of how our town would save money.  I was finally heard when I demonstrated with monetary figures that included free professional development throughout the year.  Therefore, membership would save money in our budget since the cost was much cheaper than paying for individual experts to come into the school district for required professional development training hours.  Unfortunately, most district business administrators must consider budgetary constraints as a priority before educational value. If your state offers this membership to you, consider that it is a benefit to budgeting, faculty and most importantly, our students.  Statewide educational technology conferences and meetings are also more convenient to attend throughout the year.   Local organizations offer teachers valuable lessons, web experiences, and possible software for your classroom.  Professional development opportunities, lectures, and vendors are available for particular learning experiences.  I find them to be hands on; fun, creative lesson building that helps spark enthusiasm while integrating technologies into our daily curriculum, resulting in enhanced students’ learning.   Whenever I am apprehensive about joining, learning, researching or advocating something new to my career, the deciding thought is always, “do it for the children”.  Visit some of these suggested educational technology professional organizations below and keep an open mind.  Consider if these organizations are beneficial to your teaching career.  And the one question to always consider is “will this benefit the children?”

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) :  This professional organization is a resource designed assist educators of prek-12, higher educators and education leaders, with advancing learning and teaching with effective use of technology.  Membership ranges from $212.00 to $49.00, depending on what offers you wish to receive, retirement or international online status.  Membership consists of specialty groups, periodicals, conferences, discount webinars, leadership opportunities, awards, and more.  The price was a struggle for me at first, but I am now confident is was worth every penny.

New Jersey Educational Computing Consortium, Inc. :  The goal of this organization is to “promote and support the integration of technology in education as it applies to student learning, professional development, and instructional planning.” The membership is based on district participation; hence individuals do not have the opportunity of joining.  Membership costs range from $525.00 to $825.00 depending on how this fits in with your district. Benefits consist of monthly meetings, discounts for your district, hardware, software and service, statewide educational conference, and a digital learning institute with topics discussed for three continuous days.

The Capital Region Society for Technology in Education: their mission is to “create synergy across the national capital region for advocacy, infrastructure, policy, practice, professional development and strategies that promote the infusion of instructional technology across the curriculum in public and private PreK-12 education and higher education”. I listed this organization since they are hosting remote ISTE on Tuesday June 29^th.  There are also many other cyber conferencing opportunities and communication available for your educational enhancement. The membership is statewide.

Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education:  The AACE is a non-profit organization with the mission “of advancing Information Technology in Education and E-Learning research, development, learning, and its practical application”. Membership ranges from $135.00 to $35.00 depending on age and resources available.  You have the opportunity to network with professionals around the world; attend their world conference, digital learning and professional publications.

New Jersey Association of Educational Technology: This is a FREE organization to anyone in any state.  Members include administrators, educators, IT professionals, technology coordinators, vendors and computer or software companies. This network promotes the use of technology in education.  You will find information about their annual conference, awards, publications, and upcoming events.  If you do not join any other professional organizations, please at least check out the free resources available.  There is no risk and perhaps you will find its value as much as I do.

“What are Web 2.0 tools?”  “How do I upload media files to the Internet?”  I am embarrassed to admit that these were my first Google searches when I began my EDTECH 541: Integrating Technology into the Classroom course.  However, I suppose a learning log requires a bit of brutal honesty.

At the beginning of the course I had already realized my love for learning new computer resources; however, I wasn’t confident that my internal drive was enough to fulfill the requirements for a Master’s Degree in the Educational Technology field.  When I received my first assignment, I really became apprehensive.  I had to set up a blog site for my learning reflections, and create a website for a project showcase.  I immediately thought I was in over my head, but surprisingly, I enjoyed every minute of it.  My seventeen years of teaching were a definite benefit for my lesson planning, since we were to create activities to incorporate into a Thematic Unit.  Creating these lessons was not only enjoyable, but it also helped me develop the 21st Century tools necessary to further educate my students for a successful future.  My assignment for this blog is to answer questions about my learning throughout the course.

What have you learned?

I am happy to report that I am now knowledgeable about the definition of Web 2.0 tools, and am also equipped to use many of the valuable Internet resources with my students.  I also use my own three children ages 5, 10 and 12, as “techie guinea pigs” so I can evaluate how diverse age groups respond to different forms of web tools in order to express themselves, create, problem solve and communicate through different forms of media.  I already had previous knowledge of various learning styles and student needs; however, I was unaware of the vast resources available that allow students to learn globally and show their learning through creative means.  My students and I enjoyed the ePals account created for my Weather Unit.  EPals allows the children to communicate with students all over the world, and discuss topics of interest or analyze global issues.  My students learned how to create a video using iMovie and upload these videos to You Tube.  My ten-year old son was able to use this new tool for his winning science fair project (a plug for Zachary).  I had fun teaching how to create animations, glogsters, digital e-books, embedded website images, locating digital primary documents, testing science and math simulations, using Excel to make pictographs, creating start pages, playing with music, PE, and art web sites, and creating Voicethreads for our kindergarten Wiki Space.  All of these activities, and so much more, are found at my EDTECH Project Showcase site.  I invite you to check it out at your leisure.

If someone told me in January that I would be able to accomplish the entire above mentioned, plus write a weekly blog, and research assistive technology to help special needs and gifted students, I would have thought they were out of their mind.  I can now proudly state, that I not only accomplished this, but I believe I did it well.  I am fully prepared to utilize technology within all subject areas for ages k-12, and I look forward to sharing my new-found education with others.

How has the course work demonstrated mastery of the AECT standards?

My instructor, Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D, can attest to the fact that I had no idea what these standards meant towards the beginning of the course.  Her patience and support are a true testament to what teaching is all about.  I would like to publically blog a well deserved “thank you” to Jackie.  She proved that online courses can lead to a successful and personal learning experience.  Because of her critical thinking activities, I had a big “aha” moment. I do understand these standards and hours of research were not necessary.  This understanding came naturally through my assignments.  Jackie had us “learn by doing” which is my favorite educational quote.  I achieved theses mandatory M.E.T. standards each week.  My advisor, Dr. Snelson, has a wonderful outline of the AECT standards on her website which I used to analyze my learning. (Snelson, 2010)

Standard 1-Design: I designed a thematic unit using the Universal Design for Learning resources (CAST, 2010) which will be presented at my Project website.  I included objectives, essential questions, goals, lesson procedures which use motivational, informational application, and closure procedures.   Assessment  tools and accommodation, along with materials, are included with each lesson.

Standard 2-Development:Throughout my unit development, I integrated audiovisual materials through prepared print technologies, embedded video and recordings, photographs, and digital books.  All technologies are incorporated into the unit through computer-based resources in order to present visual and auditory messages.

Standard 3-Utilization: I incorporated a media rich environment for my young learners by providing many age-appropriate resources and activities in order to guide them to succeed throughout the Weather Unit.

Standard 4-Management: My unit involved planning and developing projects while monitoring student learning and engagement.  I had to organize all learning activities and resources to provide a learning rich environment for each student.

Standard 5-Evaluation: My instructor evaluated my weekly assignments using a rubric given to us prior to our assignment, allowing us to prepare lessons adequately and to provide feedback on each aspect of the assignment.  I designed my own rubrics and assessments for all of my Weather lesson plans.

How you have grown professionally?

I previously mentioned at the beginning of my blog, how I have grown with applying technology into my classroom curriculum.  What I didn’t expect to enhance was my networking skills as an educator.  This course inspired me to be proactive with helping our education system move forward on a much larger scale. I have always been active and educated with my district’s technology needs, but now I broadened my horizons to our national vision and goals.  I joined many new organizations and education communities such as the ISTE, NJAET, Educators’ PLN, Ed Tech Graduate Students’ Association, Twitter, numerous Ning and Wiki Spaces, and many more.  None of these organizations are required  in my course syllabus.  I have also reached out to state senators to help reinstate Educational Technology federal funding, and I continue my commitment to my district’s technology vision.  My learning flourished into these new areas of interest and global peer networking.  I plan to continue my commitment as an educational technology advocate; not for my own needs, but also for my commitment to our youth.

How your own teaching practice or thoughts about teaching have been impacted by what you have learned or accomplished in this course?

Prior to this course, my mind-set on lesson planning was accomplished through our district teachers’ editions with technology and project based learning as an added bonus when I found the time to integrate it into the day.  I didn’t think my students had enough hours in the day for enjoyable computer activities other than art projects.  This was especially true for my fifth grade class.  Now I realize, after all my necessary research and readings of professional literature, that teaching mainly to practice state testing is a huge disservice to our children.  Problem-solving activities and global PBL Projects teach our youth the critical thinking skills necessary to be successful in the 21^st century.  Providing our students with various ways to express their knowledge, while using appropriate technology to practice new skills learned, will prepare our children for success on testing, as well as in their future.  State test scores were keeping my teaching preparations and my students’ enthusiasm for learning stagnant.  I now re-evaluate how to prepare my students for any exams by making long-range goals for the children based on problem solving, critical thinking and analysis, alongside drill and practice.  Technology integration enhances the ability for our students to accomplish long-term necessary life skills.

How theory guided development of the projects and assignments you created?

The Technology Integration Matrix (Technology, 2009) allows me to decide successfully which different technologies can help my students achieve each learning activity.  I study this matrix to determine what category my technology enhances for my students. These categories include entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation.  I test drive each technology used to ensure the “relative advantage” for the curriculum goals.  Technology should not be for glitz and glory.  The Essential Criteria Checklist for Determining Education Software (Roblyer, 2010), proves helpful when deciding necessary programs required for my yearly budget.  Programs need to be tested prior to adoption to determine its usefulness to all learners.  Bloom’s Taxonomy is used consistently for creating lesson objectives and essential questions.  This helps my students tap into critical thinking skills rather than one word answer formats when being questioned.  The UDL previously mentioned, helps me align my teaching with current learning research in order to meet the needs of every learner.  All my students are now treated “special” and learn in a unique way.  I keep this objective in mind throughout every lesson.  This course was a much-needed refresher on how many unique and exciting ways a child can learn.  It also sparked me to never stop learning along with all of my students.

I encourage all teachers to look into all the wonderful free webinars and tutorials available on the Internet.  Do not be afraid to test out the latest web resources.  It sparked my career as if I just started teaching for the first time.  The end of this course is bitter-sweet.  I will miss my weekly assignments using the latest web tools, but I look forward to continuing my learning journey and constant networking and research.  I plan on blogging throughout my technology learning adventure as new courses and career paths arise.   I believe that each day is a new beginning of a long and exciting learning journey.

CAST. (2010). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines Version 1.0. Retrieved April 28, 2010, from Universal Design for Learning Center: http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines

Roblyer, M. D. (2010). Essential Criteria Checklist for Evaluating Instructional Software. Retrieved Feb. 10, 2010, from Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (5th Edition) Companion Web Site: http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/2448/2507611/Volume_medialib/IAF03.PDF

Snelson, D. C. (2010). EDTECH ePortfolio Template. Retrieved April 29, 2010, from Dr. Chareen Snelson: http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/snelsonc/portfolio.html

Technology, F. C. (2009). The Technology Integration Matrix . Retrieved February 2, 2010, from Florida Center for Instructional Technology: http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/index.html

This week I had the opportunity to visit many sites which described specific assistive technology resources. I clicked around on the Assistive Technology Glogster provided my Ed Tech 541 instructor and was amazed at how many of these unique applications had free downloads and ideas for specific learners. The Universal Design for Living (CAST, 2002-2010) was the most useful in advocating technologies that enhance instruction and support the learner in order for them to be successful and independent.  This website promotes Planning for All Learners (PAL) which “promotes access, participation, and progress in the general education curriculum for all learners” – There is a toolkit that includes tools, resources, guided lessons, models of instruction, and templates in order to facilitate educators when planning to meet the needs of their diverse classroom population.  Teachers must have mentoring and training to keep up with the latest methods of reaching all students, and this website addresses educator’s needs fully.  After reviewing all of the resources available, I questioned some of my own teaching methods, as well.

I recently had a visit from a former student who now follows an IEP for his specific learning disability.  This student struggles with expressive writing and language, as well as difficulty getting thoughts on paper.  The task has always been tedious and frustrating for him, and he was thrilled to tell me that his teacher is allowing him to use the word processor.  This seemed like a fabulous idea for this child since I know the potential of his creative imagination.  I asked him to show me his work when he was finished.  A week later he came to see me, but looked like the same frustrated child I witnessed weeks before.  He muttered under his breath that he “can’t write”.  I asked to see his work and immediately noticed all the points taken off for grammar and spelling.  I was a bit frustrated for him since I knew he had used a word processor.  Why were there so many errors?  Out of pure curiosity, I asked his special education teacher if I could teach him to use the spell and grammar check on the computer thinking this might help his self-esteem.  I respected her answer when she informed me that she didn’t allow that since it would not teach him spelling and grammar.  Perhaps using this icon would be a crutch, however, I wished there was a better way to help this child.  Consequently, his spelling and grammar did not improve from a poor grade.  What next for this child?

After this week’s research, I found a wonderful website that I believe would be beneficial for this student’s needs. I am not a special education teacher; however, I will share this site with our special education team. The program Word Prediction, provides the student with the opportunity to pick from word choices for spelling, and listen to their writing with text to speech ability.  The child can then hear if a word is missing or if the work is not making sense.  The child must pick from a grammar choice, henceforth, will receive a concrete lesson while working.  Unlike spell and grammar check, the program basically tutors the child trough the process.  I could never fault faculty for not being aware of this program.  Schools are not always capable of providing additional professional development when it comes to assistive technology.  Due to budgetary constraints there is the usual visit from vendors and the tendency is to concentrate more on physical disabilities.  I am optimistic that technology training in this area will become more prevalent in the future.

There are enumerable websites and information available about the latest assistive technologies such as, cameras for wheelchairs, text-to-speech applications, switch operated pc mouse, classroom audio enhancements, magnification of computer screens, iPod Touch applications, etc. We were given a wonderful resource in my graduate course called UDL Toolkit Wikispace. This website provides links to all of the wonderful assistive technology advancements.  I suggest visiting this particular site to see if any of these technologies will assist your special learners in order to provide them with an equal educational opportunity as those children in the general education population.  Some of these assistive applications will even help advance at-risk students who could benefit from learning through different means and diverse learning styles.  Keep your students in mind as you browse through each application and technology.  You may be as surprised, as I was, at how you can give each student a new way of learning and opportunity for success.  Please share your thoughts or experiences with me through your comments, since I am also new to the world of assistive technology advancement.

CAST . (2002-2010). Supporting educators in learning about and practicing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) . Retrieved April 20, 2010, from CAST Transforming Education through Universal Design for Living: http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/

Roblyer, M.D., & Doering, A. (2010). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc

Wisconsin Public Broadcasting. (2008, December 17). Surf Report: Integrating Arts Across the Curriculum. Retrieved 4 20, 2010, from Educational Communications Board: http://explore.ecb.org/surf/surf_report?subject=110

NCSS. (1994). Curriculum Standards for Social Studies: I. Introduction. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from National Council for the Social Studies:
http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/introduction

As a kindergarten teacher, I am currently focusing my efforts on the science curriculum, and developed a thematic unit on Weather and Seasons for my students.  Many of the resources we use from the Internet and library require literacy skills for success with the students’ projects. My students are required to keep a journal in which they log their science learning activities and ideas.  They complete this written journal using small sentence formation and illustrations appropriate to their age.  I taught them to use Internet Resources such as Brain Pop, which includes a “Write about it” tab.

Educational technology is embracing literacy instruction beyond its oral and print-based tradition. “The Internet is constructing global bridges for students to communicate, by changing the way that information is absorbed, processed, and used. Technology is influencing how people read, write, listen, and communicate.”(Holum, 2001)  With this in mind, my students are also encouraged to communicate with their ePal partner schools in a shared writing lesson, an activity providing this young generation with the ability to jointly watch the writing process being developed appropriately.  I usually complete this assignment on the Smart Board so all students’ attention is focused on how we develop appropriate written work, and how we can edit our ideas once we’ve read our work aloud.  The students are much more attentive when using the Smart Board, rather than when I use chart paper or the chalk board.  They are excited and know that the work they are doing is special and something some of their caregivers or parents did not have the opportunity to do during their kindergarten years.  I hear this sentiment repeated from caregivers everyday, which helps to solidify my belief that technology enhances student motivation with use in school day assignments.

Kindergarten students are still developing the required phonics and decoding skills for successful reading comprehension.  I find many of them talking home e-books that helps increase their oral vocabulary related to weather terms.  The students are also provided with effective decoding skills when these terms are used in a Power Point presentation for drill and practice.  Not only are the young learners able to read these scientific terms, but  they are also given the opportunity to use these terms in a sentence.  We use Kid Pix so the students can type new vocabulary and create digital drawings of each new vocabulary term.  When all of these technology-enhanced lessons are combined, my young learners eagerly take ownership of their reading and writing skills.  New words become familiar reading words and each student is capable of using the new vocabulary appropriately when discussing the daily weather.  When using an e-book, rather than a read aloud, I am able to focus my full attention on my learners’ comprehension while assessing and questioning the comprehension of the students.  Teachers who use audio books are able to make more effective use of questioning and discussion time because they could pay attention to the content and meaning of the text, focusing on students’ comprehension process and not just their own spoken performance”.(Hobbs, 2007)  My students can also listen to chosen e-books in classroom centers and share them with their families at home.  They find it more enjoyable to use the computer than struggle with flipping pages in their tiny hands.  These books provide another visual, so important for keeping the attention of little minds.

Today’s classrooms are filled with rich literacy content across the curriculum.  Each subject and grade level is required to go beyond the basic skill content and enhance writing and reading lessons through thematic units.   Technology promotes learning even further by motivating the students and engaging all learning types and special needs.  Technology- savvy teachers become an inspiration to our profession.  Typically, you see a high success rate from their students and a level of enthusiasm palpable upon entry to their classrooms.  At this juncture, technology is here for the duration.  It is evident that it is in everyone’s best interest, especially our students, to utilize this dynamic tool within the educational day

Bibliography

Hobbs, R. (2007, May 17). Using Audio Books to Promote Critical Listening Skills Using Audio Books to Promote Critical Listening Skills. Retrieved March 20, 2010, from School of Communication and Theatre; Media Education Lab: http://mediaeducationlab.com/using-audio-books-promote-critical-listening-skills

Holum, A. P. (2001,October). Critical Issue: Using Technology to Enhance Literacy Instruction. Retrieved 2010, 17-March from North Central Regional Educational Laboratory: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li300.htm

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