Strategic Change Models: Educational Technology Goal

For the Educational Technology Goal project I have created an integration plan for a real e-Portfolio project. The task required that I identify obstacles to success; these are inferred in the design.

The Google Sites ePortfolio for Target Setting and Enrichment activities will be designed, trialled and implemented for Year 10 students by the end of Term 3, 2014.
The flowchart below outlines the individuals and groups with a stake in the success of the implementation of this new system. Adherence to the timeframes outlined will be essential to the success of the implementation of the ePortfolio for the Key Stage (Year 10 and 11) for the start of the next academic year.

Communication: Podcast for Professional Development

Podcasts for Professional Development

Podcasts are a convenient way to reach many people. As a leader, I can publish my views on technology with a human voice; emotion included. My listeners can subscribe to my podcasts and have the latest casts automatically downloaded onto their mobile devices. Personally, I like to listen to the podcasts I subscribe to as I drive to work; I can't read as I drive but I can still consume the latest goings on in the fields I am interested in. Podcasts allow listeners to come into contact with my ideas for using technology at a time that suits them and they can be doing something else as they listen! Teacher time is precious and finding a way to offer them PD without taking more time seems like an ideal use of technology.

Final Instructional Design Project

Webquest

http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/martinmullan/502/webquest/start.html

The Webquest, made popular by Bernie Dodge, is a structured learning environment for students to find resources that support the production of an object for their learning. In this case, the theme of the webquest is Animal Testing. 

The "Triple Impact" self/peer/teacher assessment is a powerful pedagogical tool for enhancing the students work. Reflection and feedback at multiple times throughout the process increases the quality of the final product. Ertmer points out that "Students noted that peer feedback can be valuable and, more importantly, described how giving peer feedback not only reinforced their learning but enabled them to achieve higher understanding" (Ertmer, 2007)

This was the final object I created in this module and encompasses all the elements of the other modules; accessible and responsive design, with appropriate copyright usage demonstrated.

I find the webquest structure itself useful, but elements of it are somewhat redundant and repetitive. In the future when I create a webquest, I will not include all of the elements as a result of my learning on this task i.e. the introduction, task and process pages can all be one, and the teacher page does not have to be included for the students to see.


Ertmer, P. A., Richardson, J. C., Belland, B., Camin, D., Connolly, P., Coulthard, G., et al. (2007). Using peer feedback to enhance the quality of student online postings: An exploratory study. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 12(2), 412-433.

Virtual Field Trip

http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/martinmullan/502/start.html

The Virtual Field Trip is a series of linked pages with different activities on each. Students navigate through the site completing the activities and do the research at the proposed sites; it is somewhat like a webquest but tries to "take" students to the real-world places they are studying, virtually!

I have embedded a specifically designed Google Map, a Mindmeister MindMap, and a YouTube clip. The various media and interactivity make this learning object engaging and a challenge to complete.

Jigsaw

http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/martinmullan/502/Jigsaw.html

Elliot Aronson, the creator of the Jigsaw activity describes it as this: Jigsaw is a cooperative learning technique rich in opportunities for promotive interaction (Aronson, 2008).

The Jigsaw activity is an excellent pedagogical group work strategy where students initially assign themselves to do research on part of the whole task. They split up and work with other students from different groups also researching the same topic to become "experts". These secondary groups decide how to teach the content to their "home" group and then give a presentation.

A short quiz is given at the end of the session to ensure the students have taken onboard the learning objectives and have taken the activity seriously.

Aronson, E. (2008). Jigsaw classroom. Retrieved July 29, 2013 from http://www.jigsaw.org/ 

Digital Inequality

Over the last week I have been on a school trip to Phuket, Thailand. Every time I go to Thailand it amazes me how rice farmers can pull out a smart phone and happily text away, or how it is possible to pay for your Air Asia flights, along with all your other bills, in 7 Eleven. The Thai technology infrastructure is pretty good despite their 91st placing by the ITU last year!

Initially I was intending to do my piece as a comparison of the strategies Thailand and Malaysia have put in place to bridge their digital divides with regards to broadband access and to bring themselves inline with the international agreements for 2015. However, a discussion with a colleague on the trip, when they said they needed to figure out Google Docs, was what triggered me to think about the issues with our staff as a whole. Since all of our students have their own devices and can bring them to school if they wish, their techie skills are high. They are autonomous. What they don't do so well is use the technologies available to them to enhance their learning, and this is due to the teachers not exposing them to the plethora of awesome apps and websites available to them. 

Just like what Anthony has done for us with the use of these different web apps, the exposure to the technology needs to be greater. Of course, teachers will complain about not having enough time therefore whatever strategies are put in place, they need to target as many individuals as possible so as the 'don't have time' excuse becomes superfluous.

I mention Digital Literacy in my second to last slide. This is an issue I wish to look into further and hopefully provide some guidance for the improvement of at my school with the help of our librarian.

Mart's Digital Divide/Inequality Voicethread

Accessibility

http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/martinmullan/502/accessibility.html

Accessibility is about designing web pages that provide content that is available to the greatest number and type of devices, be they keyboards, screen readers, mobile devices or for low bandwidth connections. It is also equally important that the greatest variety of people are given access to the content of the page. It is the law that designers meet the standards set out in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. These standards are summarized on the WebAIM 508 check list page.

I particularly enjoyed testing my page for color contrast and for access by individuals with different types of color blindness. One of my students is purple/blue color blind and this drove me to produce the most attractive but accessible design I could.

I also found the challenge of ensuring that my pages are accessible on as many browsers as possible fun. The websites analyse your design and find any errors. All of my pages are certified for HTML5 and CSS3 compliance.

AECT Standards 2012: Learning Environments

AECT Standard 3 - Learning Environments: 
Candidates facilitate learning (p. 41) by creating, using, evaluating, and managing effective learning environments. (p. 1)

Indicators:
• Creating - Candidates create instructional design products based on learning principles and research-based best practices. (pp. 8, 243-245, 246)
• Using - Candidates make professionally sound decisions in selecting appropriate processes and resources to provide optimal conditions for learning (pp. 122, 169) based on principles, theories, and effective practices. (pp. 8-9, 168-169, 246)
• Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates use multiple assessment strategies (p. 53) to collect data for informing decisions to improve instructional practice, learner outcomes, and the learning environment. (pp. 5-6)
• Managing - Candidates establish mechanisms (p. 190) for maintaining the technology infrastructure (p. 234) to improve learning and performance. (p. 238)
• Ethics - Candidates foster a learning environment in which ethics guide practice that promotes health, safety, best practice (p. 246), and respect for copyright, Fair Use, and appropriate open access to resources. (p. 3)
• Diversity of Learners - Candidates foster a learning community that empowers learners with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities. (p. 10)

NOTE: Parenthetical page references are to Educational Technology: A Definition with Commentary (2008, A. Januszewski & M. Molenda, Eds., Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.)