Selection and Integration of Instructional Technologies - RWLDs

Final Project: Integrated Technology Learning Experience

2011-12-04T18:25:00.000-06:00

flickr.com/vectorporta

You have spent the past semester exploring a variety ofstrategies for Selection and Integration of Instructional Technologies. It hasbeen more than just reviewing software programs and websites. We have examined using pedagogy tointegrate technology to create 21^st century learning environments.

You have had the opportunity to create lessons and learningexperiences that implement these strategies. Your final assignment will requireyou to apply these strategies to create an integrated technology learningexperience that incorporates what we have learned through the semester. Youwill select a unit that you typically teach (or would like to teach) anddevelop it to incorporate the concepts, ideas and strategies that you havedeveloped throughout the semester.

YES, YOU MAY USE/ADAPTSOME OF THE MATERIALS THAT YOU DEVELOPED THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER!!!! Using those materials is the wholepoint of this final project. This provides you with an opportunity to use whatyou have learned.

Content:

Use the GraduateRelease of Responsibility lesson structure for your basic format. This is NOT a full semester class. At most, it should involve 3weeks of learning.

Your assignment needs to incorporate all 5 of the modulartopics that were covered this semester. This does not mean that you need to create a separate part for each ofthe topics. It would be assumed that you will be able to integrate these concepts.

Gradual Release ofResponsibility: Integrate the four parts of the GRR Strategy (FocusLessons, Guided Instruction, Productive Group Work, and Independent Learning)

Integrating DigitalTechnology: Identify the cell(s) on the Technology Integration Matrix (TIM)your activities where your activity(ies) reside. It will be expected that youwill use the terminology specifically used in the TIM to explain your rationalefor your determination. Referring to the TIM examples, provide evidence foryour choice.

21st CenturyClassrooms: Create your learning environment incorporating the Characteristics of Effective Instruction outlinedin the Iowa Core Curriculum (andlisted in the Walkthrough form.) These characteristics were defined in the RWLDreadings. Explain how and why your activities address each of these.

CyberCitizenry:Integrate 1 or more of the Common Sense Media topics in your unit. Explain what you will do to introducethe students to your topic and how it will be integrated into the unit as awhole. (You do not have to consider teaching colleagues and parents in thisassignment as you did in Module 5.)

Universal Design forLearning: As you create your learning experience, you need to incorporatethe three UDL principles. These were described in the watchings and readingsthat you did for Module 6. Applythese principles and the specifics described in the examples described in theRose article to creating your Unit. Describe what you did and why you did it. Refer specifically to the UDLprinciples and applications.

Format:

As a guide for how you can submit this assignment, you will find an outline on this RWLD blog. It is an additional page. You should be able to find the tab for the Final Project Outline above this posting. This is an outline that aligns with the rubric. PLEASE note that the required content is NOT all contained in the outline. You MUST refer back to this page for the full content.

Final Project Rubric

Submission:

Post your Learning Experience as your final posting for this class on your blog. Submit the URL to your posting in the Final Project dropbox.

Due Thursday, 12/15 @ 6:00 PM

Contact Dr. Z if you have any questions.

Module 7: Universal Design for Learning/Assistive Technologies

2011-11-26T16:49:00.000-06:00

The world isn't equally accessible to all people. There are many challenges that we have to be able to function and succeed in our worldly activities. In the past, people have tended to emphasize the deficits in others' ability to function in the world. This has led to always talking about people being handicapped and disabled. This can cause a great divide between groups.

Here is a TED Talk (TEDMED) video of Emilee Mullins who talks about what the term, disabled, means to her. She is a double amputee who is an Olympian runner and motivational speaker.

Having Special Needs
Consider, if you will, that all humans have special needs. It is just a matter of degree. It might be the need for glasses for reading, the need for an auditory reader because someone has vision problems or the need for alternate means of communicating because someone has Lou Gehrig's disease or cerebral palsy. As we get older, we might review articles on our computer screens at 150% so that they are easier to read. It's all a matter of degree.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a combination of pedagogy and technique that acknowledges the different levels of needs. UDL uses brain-based research to identify the need for addressing multiple methods of representation, expression and engagement of learners with information and knowledge. It involves instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments.

The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) is a leader in the field of UDL. Here is 5-minute introductory video in UDL.

Now that you know about the basis of UDL, how can it be applied in the real world classroom? The answer is not direct. It all depends upon the learning situation that is involved. Read/watch these resources to see some best practice and good ideas for integrating UDL into course design. Both of them are situation in a post-secondary learning environment (Notice the diversity you non-NK12 Teacher candidates), but consider how these strategies might work at the lower levels.

Rose, D., Harbour, W., Johnston, C., Daley, S., and Abarbanell, L. (2006) Universal design for learning in postsecondary education: Reflections on principles and their applications. http://www.udlcenter.org/print/258 Link is at the bottom.

iPads in the Special Ed Classroom
This is a blog run by a special education educator. This page is a treasure-trove of resources. It explains a variety of benefits of using tablets (yes, I know that it is iPad-based, but think "tablet") as computing tools for students. These are from the teacher's, student's and education's points of view. Explore the many resources in the right column as well.

Glenda Watson Hyatt's Blog
Ms. Hyatt has a thriving blog online. She has written a book and consults with educators on using technology in teaching. She also has athetoid cerebral palsy. This means that she has problems with muscular control. Glenda explores the many assistive tech apps that can be used to assist challenged learners like herself. Watch her video, The Left-Thumb Blogger, to see how she uses assistive technologies to overcome her challenges. Imagine if you could offer this in your classes to your students.

Aimee Mullins: Running on High-Tech Legs (10-minute video)
In this TED archive video from 1998, paralympic sprinter Aimee Mullins talks about her record-setting career as a runner, and about the amazing carbon-fiber prosthetic legs (then a prototype) that helped her cross the finish line. (This a video of a presentation from TED Talks. We STRONGLY suggest that you visit TED.org to hear some of the greatest minds on the planet present their ideas and visions.)

What is Universal Design for Learning?
Now that you have been introduced to UDL and experienced the needs for using such strategies, the question remains about "How to implement UDL strategies." The book, Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age, is a comprehensive book on UDL by the CAST organization. The CAST authors have posted the book online and chapter 4 provides a good introduction to implementing UDL. Please read Chapter 4: What is Universal Design for Learning? to build a background for the work you will do in the UDL assignment. You may find reading the rest of the book useful for learning more about UDL.

Assignment

How does UDL fit into YOUR life? You have a choice of how you want to explore, collect, and present information about UDL. This isn't just about Assistive Technologies. Assistive Technologies are things. You get to sleuth how Universal Design for Learning is/can/should be integrated into the learning environment with which you are the most familiar.

Here are your choices:

1) a. Interview an educator who consciously uses UDL in her/his teaching. Learn what you need to learn to better understand UDL and be able to use it in your present/future teaching situation. Here are some questions you might consider, but don't limit yourself to them. Begin your interview with a series of written questions but you can go where the discussion leads you. Discover what this educator does. Why did s/he decide to use UDL? What is the process used when designing curriculum which implements UDL?

This interview will be shared with the rest of the class through your blog. You can use a variety of media to create it. You could video record using your phone or a camcorder. You could create a podcast using a phone app or digital recorder. You could used Dragon Dictate on your iPad to turn your interview into a written document.

b. After your interview, you need to include a recap which you will create after you have had a chance to read/watch/listen to your interview. In this recap, you will explain what you learned and how you will use it. Identify the specific aspects of the interview that connected to your understanding of using UDL in teaching.

Challenge yourself! This interview should be long enough for you to learn what you need about creating UDL lessons.

2) a. Based upon your teaching circumstances or the circumstances of another educator, find and collect a set of at least 10 iPad/Android apps that will can be used to create/provide a UDL-enhanced learning environment.
b. For each of the apps, explain the existing (or imagined) circumstances in which each of these apps would be used and and then how you will use each app to address these needs. Explain which of the 3 principles of UDL are addressed with each app.
Remember that this is NOT about the apps. It is about providing a UDL-enhanced learning environment.

3) Using the CAST UDL Lesson Builder, create your own UDL lesson. This will necessitate your signing up for an account with the UDL Lesson Builder website. You can improve a lesson that you have already taught or you can write a whole new lesson. You will need to use various types of technology/web 2.0 tools in making your lesson more accessible. This is JUST THE LESSON PLAN. If you decide that you should have demonstration videos for the lesson, you DON'T have to create them for this assignment.
Please make the UDL changes evident in your lesson. Place the specific changes you made in RED so that your reader will know what you did specifically to integrate UDL into your lesson. You should also include short notes about what you did and why you did it.

FINALLY, I will expect that each of you will review and respond to at least 3 of these projects. Respond to these as comments on your classmates' blogs.

Submission:

Post this on your personal blog. Many of you have had success in linking to a Google Doc where you have created a specific lesson. This would work for you to create an introductory posting and then link to your product.
Post a link to your blog posting from the Universal Design for Learning discussion on BB9. I have found this to be useful because it places easy access to all of the postings in one place and then I can easily send you an email containing feedback.

Please contact Dr. Z if you have questions.

Module 6: Cybercitizenry

2011-11-06T18:34:00.001-06:00


ewashtenaw.org

You have an opportunity to explore and plan a cybercitizenry program for your school. It is not just for your students. It is one that will include your colleagues, your students AND their parents.

The intent of this project is to create something that will be applicable to your existing teaching situation or might be used when you have your own teaching/training environment.

Begin by going to CommonSenseMedia.org and register as a member.

You will notice that Common Sense Media is more than just curriculum for teaching internet safety. You will find that they like to share their opinion on things like movies, games, websites, and apps through their Ratings and Reviews section. Look at all of the tools that are available in the Common Sense toolbar. Explore this section and consider how you would actively integrate it into Professional Development for Parents and Teachers.

Review the overall mission and opportunities available through CommonSenseMedia.org. Click on the Online Training icon in the CommonSense toolbar. This page will provide you with an overview of the curriculum, an intro to the parent education modules, and finally an on-line training about teaching students called Raising Kids in Our Digital Media World.

You are change agents in your schools. You are making a difference by making informed choices and recommendations about building a safe educational learning environment. Become familiar with the resources provided on the Common Sense Media.

Assignment: Your assignment, when you decide to accept it, is to create an overall instructional program that will instruct your teachers, parents and students. You can't teach the students until you have taught your colleagues. You can teach students about the perils of the online life, but it won't make much of a difference unless you educate their parents.

Your assignment is to design and develop a strategy for educating this trio of learner communities:

Identify grade level that fits your present or future situation. If you are in higher ed, you will want to use the high school resources or you might be able to use some of the adult education materials or you might want to find some other materials to include.

Consider that you will work with other teachers to teach cybercitizenry at your level. If you are working in the English department of Pumpkin Center Middle School, consider that you will meet together with your English colleagues who teach other grade levels. Articulation is important if you want to make a difference in your students' thinking.

Identify the topics that you want to teach at the various grade levels. If you don't have any colleagues to work with, you can just identify what you need to do for your own students and their parents. You will want to include multiple resources. You can use the Reviews and Advice sections. You may find other resources that you want to include.
Using the Common Sense Media and other materials (if you wish), create an instructional plan that will work with faculty, parents and students. (Remember that these learning experiences don't need to be all face-to-face. Some or all of it could be online.)

Create a schedule for teaching each of the 3 groups. (You can assume that you have $$ to pay for stipends for the teachers if necessary.) These could overlap so that the parents and students might have something to do together.
Identify the topics and lessons that will be taught throughout this time. For each of the topics, identify the visible outcome that you plan to see from the learning experience.
Identify what you will have your learners complete so that you have some sort of feedback about your learners' success in learning and applying this information.

NOTE: There has been some problem accessing some of the lesson plans through the See the unit lessons pages. I have been in touch with the developers and am awaiting their response.

Submit: On your blog, post your plan for educating each of your 3 audiences. This will be where you will include information listed in the section above.

Your Schedules
Explain your selected topics and why you selected them for your specific level.
Describe your approach for teaching this information. Include links to resources and lesson plans that you would use.
Explain your intended outcomes.

CYBERCITIZENRY RUBRIC

Module 5: Creating 21st Century Classrooms

2011-10-23T15:39:00.000-05:00

The 21st Century Classroom may use technology to enable students to access tools and information, but it isn't what will enable us to reach the needs of our students. We will address our students' needs when we take the time to identify their needs and act accordingly.

Begin this journey by watching this video of National Teacher of the Year, Sara Brown Wessling, address the P21 Summit in October, 2010. Yes, she is an English teacher from Johnston High School here in Iowa. You can link to the video from here.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills
It's been said that if Benjamin Franklin arrived in the 21st century, he would be overwhelmed by the mass of technology and humanity, but would feel "right at home" in a school classroom. Students' needs have changed but we typically have "21st century students being taught by 20th century teachers in 19th century schools."

Educators need to engage in a Framework for 21st Century Learning to prepare students with their necessary skills sets. Implementing such a framework can be complex. The Partnership offers a set of 21st Century Skills Implementation Guides. Here's one for Learning Environments and here's the page for a whole set of them. Open them up and as you read them, consider how you would implement it in your own school/district/corporation.

What is the difference between 20th and 21st century schools?
Standards are nice, but what is a 21st Century Education, really? 21stcenturyschools.com defines the difference on this page. This discussion is well-considered. It even has a step-by-step comparison between 20th and 21st century education. Spend some time reading and digesting these ideas. Click on the links and add them to your developing vision.

Characteristics of Student-Centered Classrooms (Iowa Core)
Is your classroom (or classrooms where you are taking classes) student-centered? One of the most important parts of creating 21st Century Classrooms is to make the students active learners in the process. But the question remains, HOW? This list of characteristics is an extremely comprehensive and useful set of guidelines (pdf.) Interestingly enough, these are from AEA 267.
Principal Shawn Holloway (Manson Northwest Webster in NW, Iowa) talks about assessing effective instruction in his classrooms using a walkthrough procedure. He has created a check sheet that he uses as a guide in his review of what he sees in classes as he Manages By Wandering Around.

Here is a link to a Word version of this MNW Walkthrough Form.doc

Assignment: Evaluate Your Classroom/Curriculum as a 21st Century Classroom.

Begin by reading the materials about 21st Century classrooms listed above. This assignment won't make a lot of sense if you don't begin with the necessary knowledgebase.
Use the MNW Walkthrough form (or one you create/find for your specific circumstances) to evaluate your classroom or a class you are taking for student centeredness. If you have your own classroom, then evaluate your own classroom. (If you do not have your own class, evaluate a class that you are presently taking.)
DO NOT complete the online MNW Walkthrough form. Either use the Word version provided above, or type the form into your blog posting to be completed as part of this assignment.

Based upon your completed MNW form,

Describe the existing format of class for each of the characteristics.
Reflect on how you would upgrade your reviewed class to better fit the characteristics of a 21st Century Classroom. Your ideas should reflect that you read and understood the material assigned in the RWLD.
Finish with an overall review of this class's present situation and where you see that it will go based upon your proposed changes. Link to online examples of these improvements where possible.

Submission:

Post this to your blog.
Submit the URL to the 21st Century Classroom dropbox.

Module 4: Technology Integration

2011-10-02T19:18:00.000-05:00

flickr.com/schopie1

Integrating digital technologies into your curriculum is much more than just adding a computer to the lesson. Technology must be considered as a tool that will support learning experiences. It must be selected based upon pedagogical needs rather than the other way around.

Effective learning involves challenging learners with situations that are relevant to their lives and are challenging enough to interest them and engage them in the learning process. When educators discuss levels of intellectual challenge, they typically compare higher-order thinking to lower-order thinking. These terms are best described by using Bloom's Taxonomy.

Thinking Blooms

Bloom's Taxonomy was first published in 1954 when Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues wanted to create a hierarchy of terms that they could use when they were describing various types of questions that they might use on a test. Since then, the taxonomy has taken on a broader meaning which educators used to also describe educational activities.

In the 1990s, one of Bloom's students, Lorin Anderson, lead a group of cognitive psychologists who reconsidered Bloom's taxonomy and reworked it to reflect 21st century learning. You will notice that the new taxonomy has changed the static verbs to active verbs by adding "ing" to the end. They also removed Synthesis and placed Creating on the top.

This tool has been aligned with 21st Century in many ways. Andrew Churches in Australia has provided a digital perspective where he begins provides Bloom's Taxonomy with a context and then identifies a number of digital tools that can be grouped into each level.

Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally. Church demonstrates that the Higher-Order Thinking skills are the top three verbs, Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating. The Lower-Order Thinking skills are the bottom three verbs, Remembering, Understanding and Applying.

Kathy Schrock and Samantha Penney have used a more graphical format to align Web 2.0 tools with the new version of Bloom's Taxonomy. Kathy limits her work to Google tools while Samantha expands it to a wide variety of Web 2.0 tools. Carefully review these sites to provide a background for your later assignment.

Read Chapter 2 in the Literacy 2.0 book to learn about "Finding Information." Churches places finding information at the Remembering level. Do you agree? Are all of the processes in the chapter Lower-Order Thinking activities? How simple is it to actually specify the actions to a single Bloom verb? Is it important to do that or is it enough to just define them as Lower-Order or Higher-Order?

Adding Technology to the Mix

Technology can be used in a learning environment but will it make a difference? It all depends on HOW technology is used. Like Bloom's Taxonomy, technology can be integrated in a variety of ways. These may include teachers who operate at a basic level by using PowerPoint presentations to support their lecture-driven methods. They also include the teachers who step back and encourage students to use these tools in innovative ways to create new projects and experiences.

The problem has been to find a vocabulary to define these various levels of integration. Apple Computer sponsored a decade-long research project entitled Apple Classrooms of the Tomorrow (ACOT). This project involved providing technology-rich classrooms by filling them with Apple IIgs computers AND providing one for each of the students' homes (20th century 1:1 computing.) As they examined the various levels on which teachers used technology, they identified a 5 stages including: Entry, Adoption, Adaption, Appropriation, and Innovation. Read the article, What is Effective Integration of Technology, and Does It Make a Difference by Debra Rein. It is a short article, but it provides a background for the ACOT Evolution of Thought and Practice. Please note that these levels of adoption exist in any teaching/learning situation whether it is in corporate, PK-12 or post-secondary settings.

Watch this video on Edutopia and decide where each of the examples lie on the ACOT continuum.

Technology Integration Matrix

The key to successful integration requires a system to integrate the research on Learning Environments with what has been learned about technology adoption. In 2005, the Florida Department of Education created their Technology Integration Matrix (TIM). This is a matrix that uses a series of 5 steps in technology adoption that is similar to the ACOT set. It also has a set of desired learning environment characteristics which include Active, Collaborative, Constructive, Authentic and Goal Directed.

Go see TIM and play around for a while to see what they have to offer. You will even find some cells with video examples of lessons in a variety of subjects.

You will also want to visit the Arizona flavor of this matrix. It is essentially the same but it have video examples sorted by grade level.

NOTE: I have been looking for such a matrix that displays this in a corporate training format, but to no avail.

Read chapter 4 in the Teaching the New Writing book. It is filled with a variety of applications in using technology to tell stories. Identify the cell where each of these examples would lie? Is there any question about this classification? If so, why is there a problem?

Barriers to Technology Integration

Change is not always easy. Even if an innovation can obviously improve learning situations, there are a number of things that can get in the way. In some cases it has to do with institutional barriers that get in the way. Review (look for the highpoints) an article, Barriers to Adopting Emerging Technologies in Education by Rogers. This article looks at potential problems in the PK-12 as well as the University level schools.

Sometimes the problem is in the attitudes and belief systems of the teachers. This is another article which explores the Beliefs and Practices of teachers in the ACOT study.

Changes in Teacher's Beliefs and Practices in Technology-Rich Classrooms by Dwyer, Ringstaff and Sandholtz (Note: This information won't really be used until next module, but I wanted you to have it to ponder for a while.)

Assignment:

You have learned a great deal about technology integration. It has many faces. The Entry levels of adoption are not bad to use in the classroom. Sometimes slideshows are the most efficient way to convey information. The key is to move deftly along the continuum to ensure that your learners are engaging into their learning experiences.

You need to find 5 instances of technology integration in your special field of interest. You may find these on videos or in real life or on paper or ????? The key is that you consider this important to your field of teaching and it is worth your time to evaluate.

NOTE: Do NOT emphasize a technology tool. This assignment asks you to find an actual teaching/learning experience where a technology tool is used as part of lesson. The tool is not the center of this activity but rather what can be done using that tool.

Evaluate it by:

Describing the example including level, subject, intended outcome and process.
Identifying the cell on the TIM into which it would be classified.
Explain why you classified it into that cell. What are the attributes that cause it to fit into that section?
Explain how this would fit into your world of teaching/learning. How would/could you use it in your classroom? If you don't have a classroom yet, then place it into the classroom where you intend to work.

BAM!!!! Take it up a notch.

Select 3 of your examples and explain how you would reorganize this lesson to move it to another level. This means that after you have identified the cell where one specific lesson's activities exist, you will identify changes you will make in how you are designing the lesson's activities to move it to another cell that is "Up a notch." You MUST identify the specific coordinates of the cell where you are moving the lesson.

The Characteristics are not in any sequence, so how would you take it to another characteristic?
The Technology is in a sequence so you will need to move it to the right.

You ONLY have to move it one block in the Characteristics OR the Technology

You will submit this on your blog.
Submit the URL for your blog posting into the TIM dropbox.

Refer to the Module 4 page in eLearning for specifics and rubric

Module 3: 21st Century Teaching Paradigms

2011-09-18T19:11:00.003-05:00

Remember the ITEC Conference:

On October 16 - 18, over 800 Iowa educators will descend upon Des Moines to share, learn and brag about using technology in education. This group will range from kindergarten to college; from student teacher to administrator; and from first year to 35 year educators. This is your opportunity to learn from the professionals and maybe even share some of your ideas.

Students such as yourselves will only cost $25 for the whole conference (includes a lunch).
If you want to learn more about this conference or register, visit the ITEC website.

You will even be able to earn some extra credit for this class if you attend.

flickr.com/sfbike

Releasing Responsibility
The typical learning/teaching paradigm is one where the teachers typically introduce new concepts with the expectation that students will eventually master the ideas and skills. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. In many cases it results in students memorizing information without actually learning it to a level where it can be actually applied.

Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher feel that effective learning in the 21st century requires deeper learning than rote memorization. They see the learning process as a transfer of responsibility for the material from teacher to student in a planned and orderly manner. This is what they refer to as a Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR).

You have just read about the four component framework in Chapter 1 of our Literacy 2.0 book. These sour steps begin with the teacher modeling and "talking aloud" about the process being taught and leading to a point where the student is expected to complete an independent task that demonstrates competency.

One might compare this process to teaching someone to ride a bike. See how these teachers use GRR to teach their students a new skill. Notice how they give "just enough" support (scaffolding) to enable to rider to be successful. Gradually this support is removed.
This strategy for teaching is called the Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky).


www.fisherandfrey.com

The GRR process is used in schools to provide the necessary support for learning. Here is Jeffrey Wilhelm in Boise, Idaho explaining how it works.

Here an elementary reading teacher uses GRR to scaffold her students on the way to learning to read and enjoying it.

Create Your Own GRR Assignment: Your assignment is to take an existing lesson (or one you have been planning to create) and reorganize it using the GRR model. Please refer to Module 3 to get the specifics.

Additional Resources:
Fisher, D. and Frey, D. (2008) Releasing responsibility. Educational Leadership.

Gradual Release Model Lesson Design (.pdf) - Fisher, D. & Frey, D.
This is more complex than this project is actually meant to be, but it will provide you with some ideas about how a GRR lesson should be created.