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Daniel McIlhenney
Graduate Student
Boise State University
August 4 , 2015
A DIGITIAL DEGREE FOR A DIGITAL AGE:
PATH TOWARDS PROFESSIONAL GROWTH THROUGH EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
For the final assignment for completion of the program, I have created a portfolio that features a
wide variety of examples of my work over the last three years as part of the Boise Stated Graduate Program
in Educational Technology. The classes I have taken cover a wide range of topics related to educational
technology. They include such topics as assessment, social media, instructional design and much more.
This digital portfolio covers a broad range of educational areas from creation to diversity to ethics. The
portfolio can be viewed at: http://danielmcilhenney592.weebly.com/
The Boise State EdTech program is guided by the standards developed (and revised) by the
Association for Educational Communication and Technology (AECT). The standards put forth by the
AECT cover the areas of content knowledge, content pedagogy, learning environments, professional
knowledge/skills and research. Students at Boise are expected to engage with each standard and their
various indicators over their progression through the program. Certain courses place more emphasis on
specific standards or indicators. By the conclusion of the program, all areas have been highlighted through
a combination of instruction, collaboration, research and creation.
This paper will serve as my rationale for how I met each of the standards and indicators of the
AECT. I will highlight each standard and sub standard, provide an example or examples of my related work
and explain how I feel my work has satisfied the standard or substandard. In addition, I will detail how the
work at Boise State has personally impacted my professional career. The artifacts cover a variety of
subjects. I am a special education teacher working in a co-teaching model. I have taught a large variety of
subjects and my work at Boise State reflects that. In addition, I will provide references from researchers,
professors and authors that will help explain the standards or connect my examples to a standard. All
sources have been gathered through Boise State’s digital library, collection of digital journals or textbooks
that have been chosen by Boise State Educational Technology staff. By the end, I hope to provide a
thorough explanation of the standards and how my portfolio demonstrates competency in all areas of the
AECT.
STANDARD 1: CONTENT KNOWLEDGE
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge necessary to create, use, assess, and manage theoretical and
practical applications of educational technologies and processes.
Indicator: Creating - Candidates demonstrate the ability to create instructional materials and learning
environments using a variety of systems approaches.
512: Course Module 1-5
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513: Digital Story
The first example is from EdTech: 512: Online Course Design. Most of the course was devoted to the
creation of a unique learning module that actual students could use. Every aspect had to be accounted for
from how students would navigate the modules to the calendar for assignments to assessments. I developed
a mini learning environment for students that would be entering Chemistry and needed a refresher on the
basics of chemistry that they were expected to have learned in 9th grade Physical Science.
Having co-taught both Chemistry and Physical Science, I noticed how many students were forgetting
key concepts from Physical Science that were essential to success in Chemistry. Many of the struggles
students had in grasping the early stages of Chemistry were due to a gap between what they remembered
and what the Chemistry teacher assumed they would remember. There is a lot to cover in Chemistry and
there isn’t time to spend one or two weeks reviewing in class. I designed these modules to provide online
remediation to students.
In designing the learning module, I began with a concept map that organized all the key learning
targets. By identifying what students needed to learn and mapping out a pathway to connect related
concepts, I was able to organize the mini course into succinct and related modules. Each module is broken
into specific sections with “I can” statements to key the learner in on what they are expected to takeaway
from the material. Many of the modules also end with a forum discussion. Students are to post their
answers to the discussion question as well as reply to another student’s post. Looking at the work of
Kissinger and Bennett (2014) at reconstructing classes within a connectivist framework, one key element
that was repeated in their redesigns was the use of forum discussions. I wanted to embrace a sense of online
community and allow students to help each other learn through their own unique understanding of the
material.
The first module focuses on the basics of matter and is taught mostly through videos. After
viewing the videos, students must answer comprehension questions. The videos do present some
advantages over in class lectures or textbooks. Unlike in a class lecture, the video can be stopped and
replayed if a student misses something important. Unlike just text, the videos allow for the use of dynamic
models which better represent the active world of atoms than a still graphic from a textbook could. The
other modules focus on energy, changes in matter, balancing chemical equations and the periodic table. In
addition to videos, these units incorporate slide shows and interactive simulations. Students can use the
background information from the slide shows to help them draw conclusions from their experimenting with
the simulations. Some of the modules also feature brief WebQuests (Dodge, 2015). The goal was to
incorporate some constructivist approaches through inquiry based learning.
For my EdTech 513 Multimedia course, I created a “digital story” about the development of a
mass American culture during the 1920s. The presentation is meant to be energetic and lively with
narration, images, and audio that will hold the audience’s attention. I used iMovie to piece together video
clips, audio clips and created some sound effects on Garageband to enhance certain portions. I then
narrated it. This project was a reworking of a concept that I first started for my EdTech 533 YouTube for
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Educators class. One of the changes I made here was to remove the screen text. Most people assume that
having narration with the text is better than narration alone. However, Clark and Mayer (2011) clear this up
in their book, “E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of
multimedia learning”. Their research shows that text with narration creates a traffic jam in the language
pathway of the brain. More effective understanding and retention comes when only narration or only text is
used.
I have used the video in my own history class. The goal is not for students to remember specific
names like Babe Ruth or Louis Armstrong, but to understand the concept of what we consider American
pop culture (sports, movies, music, fashion, etc.) emerged in the 1920s and created a common bond that all
Americans could relate to. Evaluations given to the students after the video have produced positive data.
Students find the video informative, easy to follow, and are able to identify the key point. In addition, they
are able to connect the information to their own understanding of the role of current pop culture in shaping
a cultural identity as Americans.
Indicator: Using - Candidates demonstrate the ability to select and use technological resources and
processes to support student learning and to enhance their pedagogy.
502: Chemical Bonds: Jigsaw
The indicator of “using” is being represented by one of my earliest assignments completed for
EdTech 502. Here, I have created another science assignment. This is a jigsaw for chemistry students
learning about types of bonds. It meets the indicator requirements because I have selected technology
resources that will support students as they are first being introduced to the concept of chemical bonds.
While I did not create any of the material here, I did gather in a variety of resources that cover the standards
for the lesson. There are videos, interactive applications, etc. Entire textbooks can be written just on
chemical bonds. This lesson only serves as an introduction to chemical bonds. For that reason, I tried to
find resources that were simple, straightforward and without too much extraneous information. Clark and
Mayer (2011) found that extraneous information can be distracting and leads to lower retention of
important information. This is especially true when the learner is a novice on the subject. As this
assignment is to serve as a basic introduction to chemical bonds, I sought to keep the information simple.
The assignment is a jigsaw. A jigsaw gives students the opportunity to research a topic and then
become the teacher by presenting the information to other students. In a jigsaw, each student group covers a
piece of the content. After sharing the information about their piece with the other student groups, the
pieces can be assembled so that everyone has a clear picture of the whole topic. Since there is a vast variety
and quantity of information available regarding various subjects, the teacher’s job is to facilitate the
learning by creating structure and ensuring quality information is found. To do so, I have given the students
the key questions that they should be focusing in on. Also, I have provided the resources that they should
use. If a jigsaw is left too open ended, students may report back with information that is accurate, but fails
to meet the standards that are required for the unit. If students are not given appropriate sources for
research, there could be concerns over the accuracy of the information found.
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The jigsaw is appropriate for this subject because is an introduction to chemical bonds and covers
only the more basic information regarding bonds. Research has shown novice learner performance does
increase when instructed by expert students, but those increases are mitigated by the difficulty of the topic.
The more complex the topic, the less the quality instruction of an expert student is able to improve the
performance of novice students (Berger & Hänze, 2015). As we move further into each bond type and
cover more complex concepts such as how bond type impacts compound properties, a jigsaw would
become less appropriate.
Indicator: Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates demonstrate the ability to assess and evaluate the effective
integration of appropriate technologies and instructional materials.
505: An Evaluation of the AAP at AHS
EDTech 505 is a course focused on evaluation. Not evaluation as in student assessment, but as in
program assessment. As part of the course, I was required to plan and carry out an extensive evaluation of a
local program. I conducted an evaluation of an ongoing after school program established to provide
tutoring and access to technology for students with failing grades and high levels of missing assignments.
The program is known as the Academic Assistance Program (AAP). Students are provided a quiet work
environment with access to technology and teachers for tutoring. Admission into the program is a team
decision reached by staff, student and a parent or legal guardian. Once a student is registered for the
program, they must attend regularly. AAP meets twice a week for one hour after school. Unexcused
absences from the program will result in a student being removed from the program.
My decision to evaluate this program came because I had worked as a teacher tutor in the program
so I had familiarity with it. Also, I knew that there was very little data collected on the program. The only
data being tracked was the attendance. There was no data collected to indicate whether the program was
helping the students using it. Considering the program was using the two valuable resources of time and
money (teachers were paid to work it), the program needed an evaluation to assess if it was effective.
I worked with administration to collect data over the course of an entire trimester. The most
important thing I learned from the class and my evaluation was that it so much more than just collecting
data. The evaluation has to begin by asking the right people the right questions so that a proper context and
motive for the evaluation can be determined. I had worked in the program and I could not articulate what
the actual goals of the program were. When I asked other teachers that had worked in the program, they
also could not articulate specific goals. It was only by meeting with the administrator running the program
that I was able to receive explicit goals for the program. Without clearly defined outcomes, it would have
been impossible to collect and evaluate data.
There were three specific areas that were identified as goals of the program that required
evaluation. The program sought for students to reduce their missing assignments to a maximum of two per
week. To track this, I used our school’s electronic gradebook to track the missing assignments of the
students in the program. The result was that as the marking periods went on, missing assignments began to
pile up. This was a goal that was not being met. I examined if the program was able to improve student
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grades to a passing level in their core classes. To gather this data, I also tracked the students with the
electronic gradebook. I found students were passing only about half of their core classes. The third area of
evaluation was access to technology. I used a Likert Scale survey to gather feedback from students, parents,
and teachers in the program. There was agreement that the access to technology available was not
significant.
I presented the information to administration and staff. With the conclusions, I also brought up
some points of discussion. One thought was that two days a week for an hour was not enough time for
students to get the assistance needed to make a significant improvement in their academic performance. I
suggested investigating the possibility of the program adding a third day. I also recommended the
administration find an available media lab so that students always had access to technology. The current
model has everyone meeting in the cafeteria. Then, if some students need to use a computer, one of the
teachers will take those kids to a lab to work. It seems to add an extra step to accessing technology. That
set-up seems out of line with an explicit goal of the program.
The administration and staff were receptive of making changes based on the results of the
evaluation. The program immediately shifted from the cafeteria to a media lab. Due to budget constraints,
administration felt adding an extra day was not currently possible. If the program was not working, teachers
felt that expanding it could be an even greater waste of resources. However, everyone agreed that it was
important to track the data regularly. A procedure has been put in place where every student will complete
an electronic form indicating their grades and number of missing assignments every Monday as part of
their duties in AAP. This will both help administration collect the data and ensure students are aware of
where they stand in meeting the goals of the program. My involvement in this program evaluation was real
life practice at assessing the integration of technology and instruction in an after school program. The result
has improved my understanding of the process of evaluation as well as helped improve my school’s
understanding. I hope that this mindset of evaluating data and regularly examining a program extends
beyond just the AAP.
Indicator: Managing - Candidates demonstrate the ability to effectively manage people, processes,
physical infrastructures, and financial resources to achieve predetermined goals.
503: Instructional Design Project
Using the somewhat limited resources (technology and time), could I train students and staff on how
to not just use, but create their own media enhanced interactive maps? That was the goal of my
Instructional Design Project. It was done using Zeemaps. Zeemaps is a website that allows users to make
their own custom maps with integrated media. For example, a teacher could make a map of key events of
World War Two. The teachers could create markers on the map that the users click on to get information
and access media. A teacher could place a marker at Pearl Harbor. There the teacher could add a brief
summary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and embed images from of the aftermath of the attack. A teacher
could place another maker on the beaches of Normandy with text explaining the context for D-Day. The
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teacher could embed a short clip from Saving Private Ryan to allow students to really experience the
danger and brutality of the operation. The goal was for either teachers or students to be able to complete the
lesson and have a set of skills that they could apply in the future. Teachers would be able to make maps for
their own classes to guide students through lessons. Students would be able to make maps as a creative way
of demonstrating learning to teachers or share learning with other students.
Time is a very limited resource for students and staff. The project has to be something that can be
completed quickly. Teachers have many obligations in school and outside of school, so I know they are
going to be more responsive to learning a new skill if it can be done efficiently. With students, there is an
extensive amount of mandated objectives that must be covered. My school runs on trimesters, so time is
extremely limited and classes are fast paced. Adding extra objectives for students must only be done when
they are worthwhile and can be done in a brief amount of time. Money is also a limited resource for my
school district. This project would allow the school to complete a piece of technology related staff
professional development at no additional costs. Zeemaps is available for free (there is a limit to the
number of maps each free user can make). The school has the infrastructure of computer labs with Internet
access available already.
My role in the development of the project was managing the people and the process to ensure a
successful project. The plan outlined covers the development of the project, multiple levels of evaluation of
the project, a flow chart of all objectives, analysis of the objectives as well as an ARCS table. The project
worked towards a procedural intellectual learning outcome (Ragan and Smith, 2005). I was asking the
students/teachers to learn a step-by-step process that required following specific directions and proceeding
in a specific order. It was eye-opening to actually think about how many steps are involved in many of the
tasks we ask our learners to perform. Knowing the sequence is very helpful in understanding where learners
are going astray and where teaching can be improved. Laying out the flow chart of objectives is an essential
first step for managing the processes of designed instruction. After the objectives are mapped, they were
assigned a category from Bloom’s Taxonomy. This helped me determine the most appropriate means to
assess the objective as well as ensure that the project was challenging learners to think on multiple levels.
This management of objectives and assessments was the groundwork for the process.
I was also responsible managing the people involved in the design project. Keller (1987)
highlights the importance of taking a systematic approach to engaging and motivating learners. To do this, I
have created an ARCS table. ARCS stands for attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. It is a
guide for how instructional design should be created with the user in mind. How will we create interest
among the user? How will be allow the user to connect the learning to their life? How will we help the
learner find success? How will we make experience a net positive for the learner? I have considered all of
these questions and incorporated strategies to engage the learner with each element of ARCS in mind.
The instructional design project had established goals with multiple objectives and required me to
manage people, processes, limited resources and take advantage of the existing infrastructure to deliver a
comprehensive lesson/professional development piece that students or teachers could benefit from.
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Indicator: Ethics - Candidates demonstrate the contemporary professional ethics of the field as defined
and developed by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
543: Digital Footprint Plan
The slideshow I created for EdTech 543 Social Network Learning outlined my plan for
professionals seeking to establish themselves digitally. As beneficial as social media in the digital age can
be to professionals, it also comes with a host of pitfalls. It is important that educators remember that from
the moment they begin interacting with the digital world, they begin creating a footprint. Unlike footprints
on the beach, these digital footprints will not wash away with time. The slideshow that I created is a basic
guide so that professionals can establish and keep a solid reputation digitally.
The first step to establishing a digital persona is a name. It is important for a professional to use
their real name consistently across all platforms. This will create a familiarity amongst users. (Richardson,
2008). It will also allow make a person searchable for current or future coworkers, administrators, or
“clients”. Also, like good lesson planning, the use of social media should be done with an end goal in
mind. What will the brand be? (Nussbaum-Beach, 2013) Before anything is posted, a professional will
determine if it contributes to reaching the targeted goals. If it doesn’t, it shouldn’t be posted. There are
endless forms of social media available and nobody should sign up for everyone. Find the social media that
best align to the desired outcomes and focus on developing a brand there.
Those are some of the basic first steps towards establishing a positive professional footprint. To
maintain a positive professional footprint, a user must follow a basic ethical code. Much of it is common
courtesy that people follow in their day-to-day lives. However, these codes of conduct are often discarded
when interacting digitally. For example, copying and stealing are obvious ethical taboos. When using social
media, users must remember to give credit to their sources. Professional standards for crediting sources
does still apply to even a limited character environment like Twitter or an image based app like Instagram.
I run a school Twitter account and have found these guidelines to be really essential in making
sure the account stays professional. Before anything is posted, I always make sure to review it and judge if
it aligns with my purpose. I have found that in doing so, I have been able to keep the account targeted in on
updating followers about school events and building a sense of community and pride around the school.
Being in education, the bar for ethical digital behavior is higher than in most professions. Teachers
are setting an example for students. If a teacher plagiarizes, how can the teacher or school expect to hold
students responsible for the same infraction? Posts that feature drinking, sex, relationships, profanity, etc.
are not advised for almost any professional in any area. However, the consequences for this in education
can be even higher. I have always maintained separate anonymous private social media accounts to ensure
my private life does not become entangled with my professional life. By following the steps in the digital
footprint plan I created, educators can establish and maintain a highly ethical digital brand and minimize
the possibilities for an embarrassing (or worse) situation.
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STANDARD 2: CONTENT PEDAGOGY
Indicator: Creating - Candidates apply content pedagogy to create appropriate applications of processes
and technologies to improve learning and performance outcomes.
513: Multimedia: Child Labor in America
The artifact used as an example for this indicator is a slideshow created for EdTech 513
Multimedia. The slide show covers the topic of child labor in the late 18 th and early 19th century. I had an
opportunity to use the presentation in my own class this past spring and it was very successful in both
capturing the attendance of the students as well as the transferring of knowledge to students. The lesson
uses images and narration to guide students through the world of child labor in the late 18th century and
early 19th century. Most slides also feature notes. The notes are the narration in which the teacher should be
delivering with the corresponding slide. The majority of the information is only presented through
narration. Research by Clark and Mayer (2011) suggests that a teacher either use narration or text, but not
both. Using both is a violation of the redundancy principle and actually reduces retentions rates amongst
learners.
This lesson serves as an introduction to a larger unit on “The Progressive Era”. Since history is by
definition, a study of the past, students often view it as irrelevant and boring. When I poll kids at the
beginning of history courses, one of the most common complaints I hear about history is that it is boring.
As a person with a history minor, I believe this to be absolutely untrue. I believe the mistake history
teachers make is that they fail to make history relevant. Creating relevance is an essential piece to
motivating students (Keller, 1987). The goal of this unit is to make a relevant connection between their
lives as school aged kids today and how their lives may have differed 100 years ago. I hope that students
will see that people their age were often not treated fairly and this will make the students interested to learn
how reformers of the time period enacted major nationwide reforms in areas such as labor, food, and drugs.
Finally, I hope they are able to relate this to current problems in their school, community, or country and
develop thoughts about how modern day reformers could bring about positive change.
To make the material relevant and interesting, I engage the students. The lesson taps into their
personal lives. Are they working? If so, how what kind of job? How many hours? These personal
connections can help make the lesson seem more meaningful to students. Also, throughout the lesson,
students are asked to think and draw some of their own conclusions based on the images shown. The
conclusions they are asked to draw connect to the objectives of the lesson. These objectives are not a
mystery. In the very beginning, I made sure to include the exact objectives that the lesson focused on.
Including clear objectives is an essential element to mastery learning (Lalley & Gentile 2009).
Indicator: Using - Candidates implement appropriate educational technologies and processes based on
appropriate content pedagogy.
533: System of Equations
For EdTech 533 YouTube for Educators, I created an interactive instructional video for solving
systems of equations. Our school has embraced concepts of “mastery learning”. For example, not every
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student might understand the material at the same pace. If a kid fails an assessment, there is no reason they
should not be allowed to continue practicing those skills and retake a similar assessment later. It is
important to allow students more time to learn concepts. Research from Guskey (2007) indicates that if
teachers are:
....giving all the same time to learn--that is, providing little variation in the instruction--typically
results in great variation in student learning. Students for whom the instructional methods and
amount of time are appropriate learn well, and those for whom the methods and time are less
appropriate learn less well. (p.9)
The argument I hear from math teachers is that there is so much material to cover, there is no way
to go back and remediate. I hoped that this interactive instructional video could be used outside of the
classroom to help guide students that needeto brush up on systems of equations with the goal of retaking
their assessment and working towards a mastery of the concepts without taking away from the limited time
in class.
To give students an opportunity for review on the topic of systems of equations, I have created an
interactive instructional video. The video helps students choose the best method for solving the system of
equations. Students would be given a mixed selection of systems of equations on a worksheet. They would
use these worked video examples as guides to help them solve their problems. My experience has been that
students often are able to perform elimination, substitution and graphing when presented separately.
However, when the problem is more open ended and the student has to choose a method and carry it out,
the likelihood of error or confusion increases significantly. This interactive series of videos allows a student
to find the problem that looks most like their problem and choose that path to get a worked problem that
relates to the problem they are currently working on.
These worked examples are supported by research as being a strong practice for linear algebra. A
study by into the impact of worked examples in algebra found:
Students who were given worked examples required less acquisition time, needed less direct
instruction, made fewer errors, and made fewer types of errors during practice. Although the
worked example group had fewer practice problems, the children in this group continued to
outperform those in the conventional practice group on posttests on which the worked examples
were no longer available. Importantly, the worked examples were helpful to students defined as
lower achievers, including students with a history of failure in mathematics and students identified
as learning disabled. (Carroll, 1994).
Since the inspiration behind the lesson was to target those that would need remediation in a
mastery learning model, the target audience of the video are learners that are low achievers in math. The
goal of our administration with mastery learning is to improve passing rates. By using worked examples as
part of a review for a reassessment, we are catching students that would have traditionally failed and are
offering them pedagogically sound instruction with further opportunities to demonstrate mastery.
Indicator: Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates demonstrate an inquiry process that assesses the adequacy
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of learning and evaluates the instruction and implementation of educational technologies and processes
grounded in reflective practice.
541: Video Blog:Media in the Classroom
For my blog entry in EdTech 541 Integrating Technology into the Classroom, I reflect on the use
of Khan Academy as a place where students can develop their skills across a wide variety of subjects. Khan
Academy allows students to work independently, set goals, earn badges for their achievement, and offers
multiple levels of formative feedback. When students are given autonomy and allowed to set goals, it
improves their intrinsic motivation and ultimately their performance (Albrecht, Haapanen, Hall &
Mantonya, 2009). Students using Khan Academy are competing against themselves. In class, students are
always comparing their performance to their peers. For lower performing students, this can be a very
unhealthy practice. Students may continually underperform compared to their peers and over time perceive
this as personal failure. It is much healthier for students to compete against themselves. Students that
compare their results to their past results are getting a more fair assessment of their personal progress. I
imagine it like running. If I compare my mile times to Olympic track and field athletes, I will always see
myself as a poor runner and might struggle to see any hope for continuing to train. However, if I compare
my mile times to what I was able to run two months prior, I will see improvement and feel a sense of
accomplishment. Khan Academy helps kids establish a healthier format for viewing their own progression.
Randall and Zundel (2012) found that when formative feedback was used, students became more
motivated to improve areas of weakness. Khan Academy features multiple levels of formative assessment.
If a teacher tells a student that their answer of 4 was wrong and the correct answer was 10, this does not
provide the student an understanding how to fix their mistake nor does it provide any significant insight.
When the next similar math problem is presented to the student, they will be no better equipped to answer it
correctly. Smith (2008) notes that research shows “explanatory feedback promotes higher scores and
reduces cognitive load compared to corrective feedback”. (p. 35)
Conversely, I have often seen situations where a student has the wrong answer and is then given
all of the work required to have correctly answered the problem. This is an improvement over just giving an
answer, but it is not ideal. Does the student learn anything or do they just copy down the steps so they have
it right? Is the teacher robbing the student of an opportunity to think their way through the problem? Many
math problems require many steps. A student may be stuck on step one. If the teacher then gives steps one
through five, the student does not know if they would have been able to independently manage steps two
through five. A much better method for formative assessment, the approach Khan Academy takes, is
providing feedback one step at a time. If a problem has five steps and a student is stuck on step one. They
can be given the information needed to move past step one without being given the information needed to
solve the entire problem. This allows students to pinpoint the exact pieces of a problem that they are
struggling with. It can also lead to a sense of accomplishment even when students are not able to fully
answer a question independently. A student can see growth as they might go from needing three hints to
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needing just one hint to solve a problem. There is significant progress being made there that is completely
lost in an all or nothing model of feedback.
Based on my research into formative assessment and student motivation, I find Khan Academy to
be a well designed piece of technology for students looking to learn a large number of subjects. This
artifact stands as a reflection into my research and investigation of Khan Academy as a means for student
growth through an educational technology that implements appropriate and adequate research based
principles.
Indicator: Managing - Candidates manage appropriate technological processes and resources to provide
supportive learning communities, create flexible and diverse learning environments, and develop and
demonstrate appropriate content pedagogy.
501: Tech Trends Lesson Plan
541: Walled Garden
Unfortunately, not all of our working environments are as up to trend as we wish they would be.
At the time I created this lesson plan for the Introduction to Educational Technology course, my school
district was still blocking student access to email (which included Google and Google Docs). My challenge
was finding a way for students to work in groups and then access their materials at home so they could
continue working from home. My goal was for students to embrace their learning groups and the end
product. Instead of just seeing the group assignment as whatever they could get done in school, I wanted
students to see their work exists outside of the walls of our school and therefore it’s quality should not be
entirely dependant on how much time we spend in the media center working on it. The assignment should
be not a representation of their work in class (fixed to a specific place and time), but a representation of
them as people (who are able to work and communicate independent of time and place). Dropbox was the
technology that I chose to use to allow students more flexibility with when and where they work. Students
could use a shared Dropbox account to add, edit, share and save their work from anywhere at anytime.
The assignment that I chose to experiment with the implementation was a piece of a unit on the
Renaissance. Students were assigned groups that represented a major artist from the Renaissance. They
were role-playing a mock application for a Medici family art fair. Students were required to produce an
application with a cover letter, a portfolio with four examples of the artist’s work and explanations of what
the work was and why it should be considered an essential piece of the Renaissance. Groups must also have
a references page (which we were considering properly cited sources).
I also included an audio blog post regarding the idea of a “walled garden”. A “walled garden” is
the idea that to protect the students from possible negative content, schools should block websites (like my
school was blocking all email). I firmly believe that to provide the most diverse, flexible and supportive
learning environment, schools need to educate students on how to use potentially powerful tools like
YouTube and Twitter, not block them. Instead of tying learning to the physical school building, schools
should embrace the idea of their school as one without a physical boundary. Facebook Groups, Google+
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and other online communities can be embraced and used for learning. These groups can expand student
opportunity for learning.
Fortunately, since these assignments were completed, the district has made significant policy
changes. The district has officially adopted Google for email for staff and students. The staff and students
have been trained on Google Docs and Google Slides. YouTube and many other websites are no longer
blocked. Even social media has found it’s way into the classroom. Through a newfound collaboration
between the tech department (which I am a member) and the foreign language department, social media
and phone apps have become a key piece of Spanish and French instruction. Using social media, students
are able to communicate with native Spanish and French speaking teens. The students from my school help
them learn English while they receive help learning Spanish or French. Mondahl and Razmerita (2014) find
that language learning “…takes place in collaboration with others – you cannot learn a language without
hearing and reading what others produce” (p. 341). Since in a classroom of students learning a new
language, only the teacher is an expert able to communicate accurately in the new language, there is not a
lot of opportunity for students to engage in the language except with other novices. With social media,
many more native language speakers can be communicated with and it will give learners an increase in
opportunities to engage with experts. This is a wonderful example of what is possible when the garden
walls are removed and schools are open to the wealth of digital possibilities.
Indicator: Ethics - Candidates design and select media, technology, and processes that emphasize the
diversity of our society as a multicultural community.
502: Internet Enriched Lesson Plan
We live in a very diverse society and that is well reflected in my school district. Students of many
races, religions, backgrounds, and birthplaces make up the near 900 students in the high school I work.
Students from Detroit drive in, sometimes from an hour away to attend the school. Students from the
Middle East have traveled thousands of miles to come to our city and education is a major reason. It is
important that the content being taught is representative and fair to the students we teach. The country will
continue to become more diverse as immigration will continue to profoundly reshape the demographics of
the country (as it always has). The 2000s saw immigration increase at levels rivaling the early 20th century.
(Cherlin, 2010 ) Schools that do not address diversity risk alienating large portions of their communities.
The Internet enriched lesson plan that I developed is an investigation into major world religions.
Beyond historical and cultural information, I also included information regarding current demographics and
world geography. The religions investigated are Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and
Sikhism. To answer the questions, one must navigate the map through Europe, Asia, Africa, North America
and South America. The map is enriched with media and details of many key events and places in religious
history. Finally, there is a video that I created that combines images, music, and quotes from holy texts or
religious figures. The hope is that students see the common bonds in the religions and not just differences.
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STANDARD 3: LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
Indicator: Creating - Candidates create instructional design products based on learning principles and
research-based best practices.
513: The Next Chapter Podcast
503: Zeemaps Self-Checklist
I am a regular listener to many podcasts ranging from professional to leisure. So, when asked to
create one for EdTech 513, I was very excited. While there are endless podcasts about fantasy football and
popular television shows, there aren’t too many podcasts covering books and even fewer book podcasts
aimed at teenagers. My idea was to use the world of podcasts to recommend books to students. If a student
was enjoying learning about the Roaring 20s in America History, what great books might interest them?
My first episode is for students that enjoyed reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” and wanted
recommendations for books that share some of the qualities of Harper Lee’s classic American novel. When
creating the podcast, I made sure to use casual and informal language. Research indicates that learner
interest and retention is higher when material is presented conversationally as opposed to a more formal
scripted manner (Clark and Mayer, 2011).
An English teacher might be very tempted to use a formal script with formal grammar. However,
research contradicts that notion. Instruction is more successful when done in a more conversational style.
This is true for word choice and tone (Clark and Mayer, 2011). While my podcast was generally scripted, I
did not read from a script. I made a detailed outline of all the topics I wanted to touch on and worked off of
that. Without some kind of script, the podcast may have been chaotic and disjointed. On the other hand, if a
teacher is simply reading off a script, it may cause the listener to lose interest. It is important to find a
balance so that the podcast (or videocast) sounds planned, but not rehearsed.
While a long way from happening, I would like to create a digital podcast/videocast environment
for the school. It could be a place where a few teachers and students host podcasts. I know I have ideas for
several more installments of “The Next Chapter”. One idea would be to bring on students to talk about
books they have read and would recommend to other students. The band teacher seemed interested in the
idea of playing samples of music with his feedback so that students in the band could listen to it while
practicing at home. The art teacher was also intrigued by the idea of a videocast featuring examples of
student artwork, his analysis of their work, interviews with the student artists and opportunities for the
student artists to share art that inspires them. If I were able to get the podcast project up and running, I
would do so with collaboration from students involved the media production courses. They would help
record, edit and produce the podcasts. If the project is successful, it would be a large step towards more
student-centered learning as we focus on what the students are interested in, what the students are
producing and spread that throughout the school community.
The second artifact included is a self-assessment checklist for the Zeemap lesson from EdTech
503. Learners were to build interactive media rich maps. One map that they were to build was a direct copy
of the map that I modeled for them through a screencast. The second map would be a personal map of
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favorite places in the world or places they hoped to someday visit. Each map had the same requirements for
number of markers placed, media used, etc. This self-assessment is a checklist learners can follow to ensure
that they have met all the map requirements. Learners need chances to assess their own progress and fix
their mistakes before work is submitted for a final grade (Smith, 2008).
Indicator: Using - Candidates make professionally sound decisions in selecting appropriate processes and
resources to provide optimal conditions for learning based on principles, theories, and effective practices.
543: Social Media Policy for Teachers
504: Mobile Learning
For this indicator, I first chose an artifact from EdTech 543 Social Network Learning. Social
media opens a large world for educators to interact with their students. However, for every positive comes a
negative. Teachers must be careful in how they use social media. Teachers must be even more careful when
engaging with students or parents. I created this guide for school staff to ensure that the social media
experience is positive and safe for all involved. If appropriate practices are followed, social media can be a
powerful learning tool for students and open up many new learning environments for a teacher to take
advantage of. However, before a teacher can focus on pedagogy or theory, they must first ensure basic
safety practices are in place.
The second artifact is from EdTech 504 and is a mobile learning lesson for a health class. The
lesson is entirely mobile and would not require a student physically enter a classroom. Students would use
Instagram to create a food journal of all the food they ate for five days. Students would then use a website
to help translate those images into a graph of the types of food that they consumed. Using Internet tools, the
students are able to input the food they ate to gather data on how healthy their food consumption was,
identify areas of weakness and areas of strength. Students will finish the assignment by using Pinterest to
gather a board of images and recipes that would represent five days worth of healthy eating.
The lesson takes advantage of student centered learning theory by making the individual student’s
diet the center of the lesson as each student examines their own health habits. In addition, it is part of an
inquiry based model. Instead of listing facts of a healthy diet or an expert analyzing a students’ meals for
them, students are given the means to investigate their own eating habits. Based on the information students
gather, they must draw their own conclusions regarding their eating habits as well as develop an approach
to improve it. These are life long skills that students can apply to their lives beyond school as it removes the
physical classroom and transforms the Internet, social media, and the student into the actual learning
environment.
Indicator: Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates use multiple assessment strategies to collect data for
informing decisions to improve instructional practice, learner outcomes, and the learning environment.
503: Needs Assessment Survey
503: Evaluation Survey
503: Analysis of Learning Targets
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In EdTech 503 Instructional Design, I learned how to build instruction piece by piece. Every detail
must be taken into consideration. Each piece must have a place and be set into the exact right spot. There
are no shortcuts to developing high quality instruction. Even a few missed small details could cause a
course to fall apart. EdTech 503 forces teachers to think with the end in mind and evaluate every element of
the instruction. The goal for my project was to have students or teachers use and create interactive maps
with embedded media. A few years ago, I would not have given this much thought and then wondered why
so many learners were unsuccessful.
Before any design is done, it is important to conduct a needs assessment survey. This survey will
help dictate what skills need to be addressed. For example, a technology lesson that integrates Twitter
might require a significantly greater level of instruction if being taught to a group of high school students
than it might if taught to a group of recent retirees. Some things that should be assessed are comfort level
with technologies, access to technologies, special physical or cognitive needs. Once an assessment of the
needs of the learners is completed, the design leader can map out all the areas of instruction necessary to
meet the end goal of the lesson. This needs assessment is essential because course design must seen
through the eyes of the learner, not the teacher. Think not about what needs to be taught, but what needs to
be learned (Smith, 2008).
One of the most important things I learned in class is that all lessons have multiple learning targets
and those targets need to be addressed in different and appropriate ways. When I had thought of evaluation
in the past, I would have thought of only evaluating students. I would have never thought to evaluate the
actual learning targets themselves. Different learning targets address different levels of learning and lend
themselves to specific forms of assessment. It is important for educators be very aware of what they are
assessing and how. If that is flawed, then the data they collect may be of no use. Once appropriate test
forms are established, data must be collected regularly. Through all phases data should be collected and
used to drive further course improvement. It is a continuous loop of feedback.
Finally, it is important to gather feedback at the end lessons to collect the thoughts of people who
had been through the program. My survey sought to find if learners found it useful, easy to use, interesting,
estimated time for completion, and suggestions for improvement. Again, these suggestions will drive future
improvement.
Indicator: Managing - Candidates establish mechanisms for maintaining the technology infrastructure to
improve learning and performance.
504: School Wi-Fi Network
Wi-Fi is arguably more important than any piece of hardware. The ability to wirelessly connect to
the Internet drives much of our modern world. We get our entertainment, news and music through Wi-Fi.
We share pictures, send birthday messages and balance our bank accounts on Wi-Fi. If Starbucks and
McDonalds have Wi-Fi, why would schools not have Wi-Fi? There is a world of educational opportunities
available through the Internet that students can access from their phones or tablets if the infrastructure is
provided. Many schools are even eliminating textbooks in favor of using cell phones to access information.
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Tessier (2014) studied one school that replaced textbooks with cell phones. The findings were powerful.
Student scores either remained the same or improved and the students appreciated being able to use their
phones in place of heavy expensive books.
This artifact is my outline for establishing Wi-Fi for my high school so that students could connect
using their own devices or school provided devices. A limited network existed, but I wanted to outline key
points for opening the entire school up to a vast building wide network capable of supporting 1000 users.
However, I wanted separate networks for teachers, students and guests. I estimated 10 access points in
strategic locations throughout the building which in theory would mean no access point was supporting
more than 100 users at time. This is well below the threshold of the approximate 250 users per access point.
It would leave us with room to continue to deliver a strong connection for times when a certain area is
experiencing a surge in connections. Security is essential and WPA 2 level encryption was recommended.
This past school year, the district technology department did install Wi-Fi across the building.
While I did look at their plan, I was not part of the development. The positive pieces were that they did use
WPA 2 level encryption and established separate networks for staff, students and guests. However, they
installed significantly less access points. I have already experienced issues with parts of the building not
receiving a signal strong enough for any useful accessing of the Internet for even a task as simple as
checking email. In addition, as more and more teachers adopt the use of cell phones in their instruction, I
have concerns that the current system will be unable to support a significant increase in demand.
Indicator: Ethics - Candidates foster a learning environment in which ethics guide practice that promotes
health, safety, best practice, and respect for copyright, Fair Use, and appropriate open access to resources.
502: Copyright and Fair Use
503: Zeemaps Instructional Video
502: Netiquette
EdTech 502 is one the earliest courses most students take in the program. Along with learning
how to design web pages, students are learning the basics of how to be fair on the Internet by giving proper
credit and respecting fair use. The first assignment is a WebQuest for educators to use to learn about
copyright and fair usage. The WebQuest was developed primarily by Bernie Dodge of San Diego State
University. “The WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that
learners work with comes from the web” (Dodge 2015). Think of it like a scavenger hunt on the Internet.
While teachers are often very critical of students copying, they are often offenders when it comes
to breaking copyright laws and borrowing without giving credit. My hope is that the WebQuest provides
teachers with information regarding the specifics of what is Fair Use, how to use creative commons and the
guidelines for using copyrighted material.
My second artifact will is a screencast from my instructional design project. In it, I model how to
create a map with Zeemaps. I model the proper use of creative commons images. I show the user how to
access Wikimedia Commons and Morguefile, how to read a license and how to give proper attribution. It is
important for educators to model proper copyright and Fair Use procedures.
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The third artifact is geared towards students using the Internet. It provides a basic set of guidelines
for good behavior just as a teacher may have for inside of their physical classroom. In addition, it reminds
students that even online, sources must be cited. Together, these three artifacts represent an understanding
of respect for others, a respect for their creative works online and a commitment to establishing an
environment where all parties are expected to reciprocate those levels of respect.
Indicator: Diversity of Learners - Candidates foster a learning community that empowers learners with
diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities.
501: Digital Divide
The Digital Divide presentation was a group project. We were responsible for examining potential
solutions schools can use to alleviate the gap between those with home access to technology and those
without. No matter what background students are growing up in, they deserve equitable access to
technology so that they can maximize their education and be best prepared for the future. This is especially
important because research has correlated use of technology with academic performance (Sun and Metros,
2011). A study of college freshman in Turkey found the two factors that most limit student use of
technology for educational purposes are a lack of financial resources and a lack of skills (Ricoy, Feliz &
Couto, 2013). Schools can most certainly play a role in overcoming both barriers. The barriers exist across
a diverse set of the population and are impacted by socio-economic status, race, educational background
and zip code (particularly rural compared to urban).
Each group member volunteered to research different potential solutions to the digital divide (that
gap between those with technology access and those without). Then, as a group, we ranked them based on
what we felt was most likely to produce a significant impact. Our research sought to create a better
understanding for our future roles as experts in educational technology and the part can play in empowering
diverse learners with the skills and access needed to even the academic and technological playing field.
STANDARD 4: PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
Indicator: Collaborative Practice - Candidates collaborate with their peers and subject matter experts to
analyze learners, develop and design instruction, and evaluate its impact on learners.
541: Digital Curation Checklist
543: Real Time Professional Development
The digital curation checklist was a group assignment for EdTech 541. Using Facebook, Twitter,
Google Docs and Google Slides, I collaborated with my personal learning network (PLN) to create a guide
for organizing high quality digital content. An important part of an educator’s job is to find, maintain, store
and disseminate information in their area(s) of expertise. The Internet allows curators to reel in more
content and reach an even wider audience. This increases the importance of good digital content curation.
The checklist is a series of questions that digital curators should ask themselves to ensure their content is of
a high quality. If an educator is able to find a well curated source of educational information, they can
efficiently improve their instruction, evaluation and design techniques. Digital curation is akin to the
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building of a library of resources that are shared amongst like-minded professionals. While it is not direct
face to face to collaboration, it is collaboration through the sharing of content.
The checklist was established through efforts by myself and two other Boise State EdTech
students. Due to our common background in math (they both teach math and I have a lot of experiencing in
co-teaching math), we chose to join together. Throughout the semester, we shared resources, reviewed each
others work and collaborated on projects. This artifact was one of those projects. Individually, we each
came up with ten different points that we believed were important. Then, using Google Docs to collaborate
in real time, we eliminated redundant points, consolidated some points and organized the remaining points
under main ideas. We hoped that our collaborative work on the checklist could help other professionals
efficiently find, collect and manage resources that could guide educators in developing better practices,
assessment and instruction.
The second artifact is my reflection on the real time professional development that I engaged in
through video conferencing and Twitter. Before EdTech 543, I had no idea how easy it was to connect to
free, high quality professional development. On Twitter, it was late summer, and one of the most
interesting conversations I had was with fellow teachers on making “first impressions” or the lessons to
give on the first day of school. We shared stories and strategies for the first day of school. We discussed
how to develop a sense of community, how to inspire students on the first day of class and how to quickly
identify students that may struggle. Teachers shared their strategies for more efficiently collecting
background data on their new students to improve instruction. Teachers shared what kind of information
they found meaningful, trends that they had noticed through their years of work and early warning signs of
students that are struggling or disengaging.
I also attended various video conferences. With a webcam, I was able to view live presentations on
a variety of educational topics, interact with the other viewers and the presenters themselves. The video
conference that made the strongest impression was a presentation and chat with an autism behavior
specialist. He mentioned how iPads can be an effective means of modeling for children with autism. For
example, parents or teachers can film themselves brushing their teeth on the iPad. When they want the child
to then begin modeling that behavior, the video can be played on the iPad so the child can learn along with
the adult without having the adult in the room. It is a step towards independence. I thought that it was a
clever use of technology and modeling.
Through my personal learning network, Twitter and video conferencing, I was able to collaborate
with peers and experts to help develop an improved understanding for how to facilitate professional growth
in areas such as collecting high quality content resources, conducting brief evaluations of new students to
identify at risk learners and how to use technology to deliver quality behaviorist based instruction to
students with autism.
Indicator: Leadership - Candidates lead their peers in designing and implementing technology-supported
learning.
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503: Zeemaps Instructional Video
This artifact chosen for the indicator of leadership is representative of the expanding role that the
Boise State EdTech program has allowed me to take in my career as a technology mentor. One of the goals
of this instructional video is to teach fellow educators how to use a new technology. The technology is
Zeemaps. It is a site that allows users to make interactive media rich maps. This role as technology mentor
is one I have begun taking on at school through my professional growth plan. The school administration
realizes the need for increased integration of technology across all subject areas, but due to a lack of
experience, many staff members are unfamiliar with ways technology can be incorporated into teaching.
Since I co-teach, I am in a position to work side by side with staff members across numerous content areas.
I am working with them to more regularly integrate technology. In addition, I am creating instructional
content, holding after school training sessions and working inside of the classroom to give demonstrations
on lessons featuring technology for those staff members that I do not directly work with. My hope is that
teachers can implement the techniques and tools that I am training them on and the school will see an
increase in the overall integration of technology.
The artifact I have included is representative of these efforts because it is a screencast of the
building of a media rich map. I model the process from beginning to end. It is in line with the modality
principle as it uses voice narration along with the images and not text with the images. “Audio explanations
of visuals leads to better learning than a text explanation of visuals.” (Smith, 2008, p.76) Included in the
video are guides for using sources for public domain images and information on how to attribute images
properly.
I created my first project with Zeemaps for an earlier Boise State assignment. I then used it in a
co-taught history class. My co-teacher was very impressed with the map, but felt that it would be
impossible for her to create something similar. That was the inspiration for instructional design project and
the journey to provide free professional development to fellow staff members. She was one of the test
subjects that I first had try out my instructional design project. Today, not only is she able to make
Zeemaps, but she has trained other teachers and students in how to use it.
Indicator: Reflection on Practice - Candidates analyze and interpret data and artifacts and reflect on the
effectiveness of the design, development and implementation of technology-supported instruction and
learning to enhance their professional growth.
543: Creative Expression of PLNs, Connectivism and Communities of Practice
543: Professional Learning Environment Diagram
EdTech 543 opened me up to the world of professional growth available through social media. As
I engaged with it, I also had time to creatively reflect on it. For the first artifact, I represented personal
learning networks, connectivism and communities of practice through Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.
The task was to represent these important ideas through images. I saw the symbolic professional as the sum
of the people and theories that shape their practice. It reminded me of Da Vinci’s famous drawing and the
curiosity Leonardo showed towards discovering the pieces that made up man.
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I saw our personal learning networks as the feet or base on which we stand as professionals.
Despite being far away from the head, the feet provide stability, support and the base for which man can
operate. We do not typically know or work closely with our personal learning network, but as it grows, it
provides a professional with a wealth of effective design and instructional strategies. Over time, we build
our network as a spider weaves it’s web. As a spider is supported on it’s web, the professional is supported
on it’s personal learning network.
The joints were connectivism. Our joints link our body to the appendages that reach out into the
world just as connectivism sees all new learning through the context of our own unique cultural and social
experiences. The joints are the body parts that literally connects our core with the physical appendages used
to interact with. Connectivism is like the chain link fence. A person’s understanding is always within the
framework of their own personal experience. A fence is used to divide one place from the next, one
person’s property from another’s piece of property. People on different sides of the fence may have
different interpretations of events as the physical separation colors our mental perception of the world.
The hands were our communities of practice. We work directly (hand in hand) with our
communities of practice just as our hands directly interact with the outside world. The assembly line is one
of the symbols I chose for the communities of practice. It is people working side by side to complete one
ultimate goal. Each might have their own specific task, but it is all as part of a larger team effort.
The second artifact is a venn diagram of the social media that I use as part of my personal learning
network. Each social network has traits that make it effective for certain purposes (media, organization,
etc.). It is important to know the strengths and weaknesses of technology so that it can be best
implemented.
Indicator: Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates design and implement assessment and evaluation plans that
align with learning goals and instructional activities.
503: Evaluation Plan
This artifact is a layout of a four step evaluation plan to determine the effectiveness of an
educational strategy through feedback from students, evaluation of student performance and feedback from
a colleague. It was a performance based skill that was being evaluated. The stages for evaluation were one
to one, small group, field trial and expert. I wanted to ensure the learners were learning the exact process
that I was intending, that everything was running smoothly and that the learners found the skills helpful.
Through a combination of interviews, surveys, and observations, I would constantly gather data and adjust
my process. This constant loop of feedback and improvement is necessary whenever a new technology or
program is being implemented. Smith (2008) believes that there are certain areas what that should be
prioritized when evaluating and improving a course design. These include areas that students complain or
respond negatively to, areas where learners are not successful and areas where the students ask the most
questions. Based on the questions asked and results reviewed in my evaluation plan, I will be able to focus
in on those areas to improve my course design.
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It is not enough to test a new project or learning module once or even twice. Improvement is an on
going process. Smith (2008) points out that “continuous improvement” (p. 95) is part of any project,
module or course. After all the various levels of evaluation done during development, there will always be
a need for adjustments. Some fixes could be as simple as fixing broken links. Others could be large changes
due to shifts in technology or government dictated standards. The area where my evaluation could be
improved is to add a long-term plan for regular maintenance and evaluation.
Indicator: Ethics - Candidates demonstrate ethical behavior within the applicable cultural context during
all aspects of their work and with respect for the diversity of learners in each setting.
504: Relative Advantages
This artifact from the Theoretical Foundations of Educational Technology is a chart of challenges
I face as a teacher, the technologies that could be used to address them and the reasoning behind the
technology. Since I am a special education teacher, many of the issues I deal with daily relate to learning
disabilities that result in trouble with basic math or decoding text. There are also students on my caseload
from time to time that are unable to consistently be at school due to physical, social, or emotional
challenges. Technology allows me to bridge many of these gaps. I can offer online courses or tutor through
Skype for students not able to physically be in the building. A whole host of products can read text to
students and cell phones provide students with access to calculators wherever they go. When working with
ESL students with disabilities, it can be an extra challenge. Translation software allows material to be
accommodated in English and then translated to their native language. No matter how diverse the student
population is, there exists a technology that offers an advantage over the more traditional means.
STANDARD 5: RESEARCH
Indicator: Theoretical Foundations - Candidates demonstrate foundational knowledge of the contribution
of research to the past and current theory of educational communications and technology.
513: The Coherence Theory
504: Bruner's Cognitive Theory
The first artifact for the indicator of theoretical foundations is my review of the research
conducted by Clark and Mayer on the coherence principle. The coherence principle is the idea that learners
remember best when the content is kept simple and straightforward. “Bells and whistles” only serve to
distract from the key information. Extraneous audio, text, and graphics are correlated to reduced
performance in learners. Research has shown that retention is highest when distracting information is
eliminated. Clark and Mayer (2011) found that teachers that avoid extraneous audio are to likely expect to
see retention rates 20% higher than if extraneous audio was included.
Initially, this research seems to contradict “common sense”. Most teachers would want slick
lessons with impressive graphics and attention getting sound effects. However, the goal of teaching is more
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than just impressing the audience or catching the attention of the audience. It is about transferring ideas and
skills to the audience. Sound effects, music, and graphics may be so impressive or such good attention
getters that they pull the audience’s attention away from the ideas and skills that make up the objectives of
the lesson. It may be initially difficult to understand how the use of extra text can be a negative. Yet,
knowledge of the redundancy principle and Cognitive Learning Theory can help an educator understand
why text that accompanies narration is often a negative. Part of the cognitive learning theory is the concept
of brain pathways. When we learn, information travels and is stored on various pathways. The human brain
has various pathways for various types of information. One pathway for explicit information includes
words, symbols, videos, etc. (Moghaddam & Araghi, 2013) When that pathway is flooded with information
(such as narration and text), it can create a backup in the cognitive pathways and reduce retention. That is
why the redundancy principle indicates that student retention is generally highest when information is
presented as just text or just narration and not as both (Clark and Mayer 2011).
I believe the way that Cognitive Learning Theory influences the design of educational technology
through principles such as the coherence principle and the redundancy principle represent an important step
in understanding the roles of research and foundational knowledge in shaping high quality teaching.
“Common sense” is often actually leading to inferior instruction. With an understanding of learning
theories and related principles, I am able make informed decisions about the design of lessons and
educational technology. Instead of making assumptions, I can make evidence based decisions.
The second artifact chosen for theoretical foundations is a review of research on Bruner’s
Cognitive Theory from Theoretical Foundation of Educational Technology. Bruner’s theory broke away
from Piaget’s linear theory of cognitive development. Bruner believed that each individual functioned at
different levels of mental development depending on the situation and subject matter being examined.
(Brain & Mukherji, 2005). Bruner is one of the earliest and most notable contributors to a cognitive theory
of learning. Most students in teacher education courses learn about the concept of spiraling (the idea that
the same concepts need to be repeated intermittently before mastery can be established) and it is one of
Bruner’s many contributions to education. The concept of spiraling curriculum is evidenced based and is
used across a wide spectrum of the education world. It was a recurring topic during my undergraduate
program for special education and it is even being used succesfully with adults in nursing school. (Luce,
2009).
As a result of the research into the core theories behind learning (cognitive being just one of the
learning theories explored EdTech 504 and throughout my EdTech coursework), I am able to move forward
with the ability to understand the current learning theories being developed and their implications for
educational technology and communication. For example, Marie Sontag (2009) has helped pioneer a
learning theory she refers to as social-connectedness and cognitive-connectedness schemata (SCCS) theory
that she describes as:
Rather than tossing out old theories, instructional designers need to incorporate those elements
that remain relevant and restructure them... . SCCS theory responds to this call, integrating the
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best of previous learning theories to meet the needs of today’s learners. With its inclusion of game
elements, which foster attention, memory, and motivation, SCCS provides a bridge between
behaviorist and cognitivist learning theories” (p. 2).
Without having done the research into the traditional learning theories, I would be without the
background needed to continue to develop myself professionally as technology and theory develops. The
newly developed theories are based heavily in the more traditional theories studied in the EdTech program.
Indicator: Method - Candidates apply research methodologies to solve problems and enhance practice.
501: Research of Free Online Content
How could we make important free online content available to those in the public that need
improved technology literacy? That was the problem put forward in EdTech 501. My results serve as the
artifact for the indicator of method. Through Google Scholar and online databases, I collected information
relevant to the problem presented. Using it, I formed an educated answer to the question put forth. Instead
of speculation, I had an answer that I could support.
My first step was to make a list of the negatives to developing free online content for those living
in poverty. If the content is to be successful, I need to know what could cause it to fail and then hope there
is available data that can provide a guide to working around the potential roadblocks. I created a list of
areas I needed to research. How would those in poverty access the content? How will people in poverty
know the content is available? What content do people in poverty want and need?
If I could find data relevant to those three questions, I was confident that I could develop a plan
that would yield a positive result. So, like the scientific method, I had my problem. Now, I needed to
conduct my background research before putting for my hypothesis.
As to my first issue of finding a location to access the content, I found 44% of those living in
poverty rely solely on public libraries for access to the Internet (Becker, et. al., 2010). While not the
majority, it does represent a significant portion. Additionally, public libraries are existing and already
funded. It would be very cost effective to plug into an existing infrastructure (especially one with a built-in
user base that overlaps with our target audience). Since our target audience is using the public library, it is
also the most logical place to promote the content.
The third concern related to the type of content to make available. Research showed that those
depending on the public library for Internet access were using it mainly for social connection, education,
employment, health, government/legal services, community engagement, financial management, and
entrepreneurship (Becker, et. al., 2010). These represent the interest and needs of the target audience. Some
possible content that would be useful and overlapping with interests of the audience would be how to
operate Google Scholar/research databases, find/apply for jobs online, access government services, use
Microsoft Office, and use the Internet to translate between languages to improve communication.
If we create content that overlaps with the target audience’s areas of interest and we make it
available in public libraries where our target audience already accesses the Internet, than the content can
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reach people in poverty and (assuming the learning content is of a high quality) will improve the skill of the
users to operate the tool that is the Internet.
Through a methodology similar to the scientific method, I was able to encounter a problem, pose
questions, conduct research and develop a testable hypothesis. From there, I could test out the plan on a
small scale. Even my hypothesis is incorrect, it will have enhanced my practice since science is as much
about knowing what does not work as it is about knowing what does work.
Indicator: Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates apply formal inquiry strategies in assessing and evaluating
processes and resources for learning and performance.
501: School Evaluation Summary
541:The Confluence of Educational Theory, Educational Technology and Assessment
In EdTech 501, students were asked to perform an evaluation of a school. The evaluation was to
gather both general information and to evaluate the implementation of technology throughout the school. I
chose to evaluate the high school I work at. Despite having worked there for several years, I quickly
discovered that I had never taken the time to assess many of the areas required for the assignment. I was
going to need to conduct research to complete the evaluation.
The first step was to find basic demographics. To find the demographic information, I went to the
school website. Searching the website, I was able to find most of the basic information needed. That was a
very basic level of research that required little more than Internet access and a little digging. Like the
scientific method, before any complex experiments are designed or lengthy new data is collected, the
researcher should always start by reading up on the existing information available. I found a good deal of
background information, but I also needed to evaluate various levels of the school as it related to
technology. This information was not widely published on the school website. I needed to find a way to
gather the technology relevant information and use it to rate the resources/infrastructure as well as the
behavior of school stakeholders. I had to gather information and draw conclusions from it. I chose to
conduct several interviews to collect the information needed. I interviewed people in administration, the
tech department, our media center specialist, teachers from various disciplines and noted my own
observations of staff and students.
The areas I examined were broken into several main filters. Some of the filters included
administration and curriculum. Then, those filters were separated into more specific categories. One of the
most impactful pieces of information that I discovered from my interviews was budget related. 2012 was
the height of the recession and Metro Detroit was heavily impacted. I knew the school had eliminated the
tech director and cut both the budget and staff. However, I had not realized the extent. The tech staff went
from five to two. The budget was reduced to just 5% of the prior year’s technology budget. Another
surprising discovery was that a “technology committee” existed within the district. Through my interviews,
I was able to determine that both in terms of behavior and infrastructure, the stakeholder involvement was
operating at an “island” level. This means that there was a total lack of communication and integration with
stakeholders. The only staff members invited to participate with the “technology committee” were
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administrators, media specialists, CTE (Career and Technical Education) teachers and members of the
shrinking technology department. The rest of the staff was receiving no updates as to the results of the
meeting.
Based on my evaluation, I was able pinpoint specific ways that I could improve the performance
of the district technology. First, I requested opening the technology committee up to all teachers. District
wide emails were sent inviting all staff members. The committee has quadrupled in size and become much
more diverse. The entire district receives minutes from the meetings. The latest project the team is working
on is a tech bond to update the infrastructure and replace the money lost from the budget cuts. My next goal
is to increase stakeholder involvement further by inviting students and parents to attend the meetings. By
taking the time to thoroughly gather information, I have been able to identify areas of weakness and
address them. This is having a positive impact on the entire school district.
For my second artifact under the indicator of assessing/evaluating, I used the ERIC database
through the Boise State library to find information regarding educational technology, assessment and
learning theories. The result is a research paper examining where educational theory, educational
technology and assessment meet. All three are having major influences on each other. Technology has
allowed teachers to replace traditional pen and paper study guides and tests with “smart” online tests,
message boards, and online voting. The result in some instances has been improved student satisfaction and
improved academic performance (Nicol, 2009). One of the more interesting thoughts I encountered in my
learning theory related research is being studied at Brigham Young University. These ideas are
automaticity and the illusion of a conscious will. Automaticity is something people experience regularly.
People drive to work and don’t remember part of the drive, yet they know they stopped at the red lights and
arrived safely. Someone sneezes and a person that doesn’t believe in god or superstitions quickly responds
with, “God bless you.” These can all be done automatically. They do not require active attention from the
brain. Are theorists and researchers underestimating the role that automaticity plays in learning? Are some
learning theories partially flawed because they give too much credit to the active role the individual has in
making their own decisions (Yanchar, 2012)?
No one learning theory fully encapsulates how people learn. Not all researchers fully agree on
every aspect of human learning. As learning theories and science expands, they will drive the future of
technology and change how assessment is delivered. At the same time, technology will drive the
development of those learning theories and shape the role of assessment. Finally, as assessment continues
to receive more focus in education, learning theories and technology will be forced to meet the demands of
an education system focused on quantitative results.
Through this research in evaluation, educational technology and learning theories that took place
both in this artifact and my entire academic career at Boise State, the most significant conclusion that I
have been able to glean is that it is essential to stay on top of the science of learning. Developments are
never ending and with each new development, a ripple of change spreads across the sea of education. Using
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a database like ERIC that pulls from so many academic journals is one of the most efficient ways to gather
high quality peer reviewed research and stay current with developments across any area or field.
Indicator: Ethics - Candidates conduct research and practice using accepted professional and institutional
guidelines and procedures.
505: Response to Request for Proposal
For the indicator of ethics, I have chosen an evaluation proposal that I put forth for the fictional
Far West Laboratory. EdTech 505 focuses not on individual student evaluation, but on program evaluation.
In laying out my proposal, I followed the proper guidelines for sound and objective evaluation. An
evaluation is something that must be well planned. It should be done in a professional manner with clearly
outlined procedures. Before any evaluation is started, the evaluator should submit a thorough proposal. The
proposal should cover the key procedures that the program evaluation will entail. These include a timeline
with detailed tasks, the method of evaluation, a list of necessary staff, and a detailed budget.
For my evaluation proposal to Far West, I covered all the essential steps that would be expected
of a professional evaluation proposal. I began with an introduction and overview. The overview was a
summary of my understanding of the program to be evaluated. When doing high quality research and
evaluation, it is important to establish a common understanding of the current situation and the ultimate
goals for the outcome of the project. From there, I presented the core structure of the evaluation. As part of
the evaluation plan, both quantitative data and qualitative data would be gathered.
The quantitative data recorded would come in the form of time taken to complete the learning
sessions. Far West Laboratory had designed the program to take between ten and eighteen hours to
complete and could be done in one lengthy workshop or spread over several shorter sessions. However,
there were no trials done to verify the accuracy of those numbers for either case. I proposed to test the units
both in short sessions and in lengthy sessions. To ensure the integrity of the data sets, no participants will
participate in a unit more than once. Another goal of the program is to create future program leaders. Once
a person completes a unit, they should be able to become facilitators of the unit. Those asked to become
facilitators were chosen at random to guard against any slection bias.
The qualitative data collected was to come from surveys. Surveys would be given to both
participants of the trials and local administrators. The surveys would gather information on interest in
further training, reasonable price points, quality of instruction, and preferences for lengthier sessions
compared to spread out shorter sessions.
I provided Far West with a detailed task schedule. The task schedule lists specific tasks and the
dates by which those tasks would be completed. Establishing an understanding of the time frames for a
project is essential to a professional research project. The institutions paying for and supporting the
research have a right to know not just how the research is being carried out, but when they can expect the
major research pieces will be completed. This schedule will help keep all parties on task with their
responsibilities. Since research often requires multiple staff members and a sizeable budget, all workers and
costs need to be plainly detailed up front. I outlined the personnel involved, the reason for their
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involvement, the hours of work estimated for each worker and the cost for each worker. In addition, a basic
operational budget is given. A clearly defined budget will ensure that neither side is surprised or can claim
miscommunication. A problem with budgeting or staffing could significantly compromise the quality of the
evaluation, timeliness of the evaluation, and the reputations of all parties involved.
In the evaluation plan, I made every attempt to comply with the basic ethics of evaluation and
research in both the areas of the actual data collection and the information provided in the proposal. In
doing so, I believed I touched on the four key components of the logic model of evaluation. Through the
qualitative and quantitative data, I gathered input on the program resources (the textbooks provided), the
aspects of implementation (short sessions vs. longer sessions), output (time taken to complete units) and
outcomes (the attitudes of participants, willingness to invest further in courses, and ability to facilitate
future courses) (Lawton, 2014). Due to the time frame of the evaluation and newness of the program, the
outcome data was mostly short term and mid term. To improve on the evaluation, it could be recommended
that a follow up evaluation be done at a later date to evaluate the long term outcomes.
CONCLUSION
My portfolio is a representation of the work that I have completed in the Boise Stated Educational
Technology program. The program directly aligns to the standards set forth by the AECT. This paper has
provided my rationale for why I have demonstrated competency across the areas of content knowledge,
content pedagogy, learning environments, professional knowledge/skills and research. The artifacts
presented cover course design, program evaluation, copyright policy, Fair Use, a variety of learning
theories and much more. A wealth of research has been cited to support my work and ideas. The research
has covered both theory and practice. In addition, I have explained in detail the many ways that the
program has positively impacted my professional career and my professional community. I believe that I
have gained an extensive collection of knowledge and skills that have deeply improved my ability as an
educator, mentor, and person.
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