To Me Educational Technology is the use of devices and programs to make content accessible to all students, through the creation and use of curriculum tools and programs. Educational Technology allows educators to collaborate and create with other educators across the country. Educators are now able to follow each others journeys using blogs, Pinterest, and Teacher Pay Teacher. In chapter one, a variety of definitions of Educational Technology are presented, over time the definition has changed. Throughout the first chapter one overarching idea stuck out to me, flexibility. To work in an ever changing field such as Educational Technology one must be flexible to be successful. Robert Reiser states that defining the field of instructional technology is difficult, "because the field is constantly changing (Reiser 2012). When comparing my definition of Educational Technology to AECT's the noticeable difference is the inclusion of ethical practice and my lack of considering it a defining part of Educational Technology. I think this is becoming more important in our daily lives as technology shifts from a want to a need. The management of created resources is something many educators overlook because of the new internet age. Specifically using Teacher Pay Teacher one must buy licenses based on want to share with others. Today copyright is tricky based on new technological advances. My definition of educational technology has never included the use of instructional media such as movies. Growing up I have always had access to movies so I have never thought of them to be part of technology. When I design my lessons I usually include a short video for entertainment purposes. Videos allow me to trick my students into learning and laughing simultaneously. Looking back on my self evaluation on TTESS I could say that I used technology daily, and plan to remember this part of the definition moving forward. My experience in Educational Technology is directly shaped by the district I teach in, McKinney Independent School District. McKinney invests in technology for both students and staff members. In my kindergarten classroom I have ten iPads, four mac minis, an ESPON board, and a MacBook Pro. I am very lucky to work at a campus that is rich with technology resources including a MakerSpace. Not only do we have devices, we also have access to a variety of programs to aid our instruction and planning. My initial interest in Educational Technology came after attending a Region 10 Digital Fluency Training. In those four days I was exposed to multiple resources and ideas to implement using my classroom technology. After this training I shifted my mindset from technology as a single road to a map with various way to reach the final destination.
My last year to teach second grade, I used a gamification Google Sheet for my students to practice for the MAP Test. The MAP test measures growth in math, reading, and science. The assessment is personalized based on each student, allowing for growth above and below their grade level. The Google Sheet allowed students to view instructional videos and answer questions based on their MAP scores and goals. This allowed me to have students work at their academic level all the same time. Based on the six characteristics of instructional design, my project's strength was creating a student centered program based on individual MAP goals. My project's weakness was lack of goal orientation for all students. At times motivating all of my students to practice for their MAP scores was difficult because the goal was long term and eventually the game lost its initial sparkle. The one design change I would add to my project is more short term goals and rewards based on goal achievement. Adding short term goals would have allowed motivation to maintain interest throughout the project.
In chapter three Reiser separates teachers, textbooks, and chalkboards from media. I believe this is because throughout changes in education and Educational Technology the three factors that remain consistent are teachers, textbooks, and chalkboards. Throughout the years, chalkboards have evolved to become a part of instructional media through SmartBoards and ESPON boards. However, after reading more about Instructional Design, I believe teachers and textbooks fall into this category due to the development of presentation instruction to learners. Teachers can use flipped classrooms to present information to students. Textbooks have created online resource banks to present lessons online rather than traditional reading.
Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. V. (2012). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. Boston: Pearson Education.
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Morgan,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post! Wow, you sure have a lot of technology in your classroom! I think it is great that you have a district who not only supports you by providing a variety of devices, but also supports you in how to use the devices in your lessons. I think this is a piece that is missing for some, including me.
Some of the devices and programs/apps that you mentioned I am not familiar with, but I would like to learn more. I am also interested in possibly attending the Region 10 workshop that you mentioned.
I have never heard of the MAP test, but it sounds interesting. We use iStation in my district which also works at the student's level. I don't feel like I fully understand iStaion yet, but I'm constantly learning new things!
Thank you for pointing out that textbooks today have online resource banks. I don't use textbooks in the physical form at all. However, I do use the online resource tools that come with our textbooks. One of my favorite is our Science adoption. We use StemScopes and they have so many online resources that are fantastic. They have videos, projects, songs, and games that specifically go along with the unit we are learning about.
I do the same thing when it comes to Google Education Suite offered in my district referring to your comments on gamification when you choosing to use the elements of a game to add flavor to the classroom environment. It works to motivate young children to reach an objective. Several organizations are making use of gamification to motivate students.
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest problems with weak students in the classroom is that they fail to realize the fact that they are on their own when it comes to education and learning. They depend on teachers, friends, or parents to assist the learning process. With gamification, students are bound to acknowledge the fact that it is entirely up to them. With this, they achieve autonomy and find ways to learn in their own, most preferred, ways.
Very appealing and well organized blog. I look forward to being able to offer more feedback in the upcoming weeks as I become more confident in my own blogging skills.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post. One suggestion would be to have more paragraphs/spacing. Your first paragraph was a bit difficult for me to read at times. Your writing is good, but the spacing makes it a bit difficult. I love the background of your blog.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your comparison of IDT to a map with various routes that can be taken to reach the destination. I believe that it captures the essence of IDT. There are various ways to reach your destination, but we must decide which route will best suit the needs of the population that we're serving.
I was very surprised at the amount of technology you have available in your classroom. I've personally never heard of a teacher having such an astounding access to technology. Is this standard across the district or on your campus in particular?
Another aspect of your first blog post that I enjoyed was your mention of copyright and ethical practices in the IDT field. Not only do we have a duty to ethically utilize resources, but we also have to teach our students how to stay safe when using technology.
I enjoyed your post. Keep up the good work!
As an educator it is frustrating to see other educators not flexible in their teaching methods. As good educators we must be willing to adapt and grow in our practices because it is beneficial to the academic and emotional needs of our students. In your blog, I was able to see that you were able to reflect and develop a plan next year to try and change the burnout the students were experiencing with the program this year. It is great that you have a supportive district that gives you time and guidance when implementing resources in your classroom. One suggestion that I would offer is to change the font of your post because it was somewhat difficult to read.
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