Week 4 reflection Definition of Instructional Design and Technology

My previous view of Instructional Technology is consistent with the key point in the definitions that have not changed over the years. That is to say that I have always thought of instructional technology as “the use of media for instructional purposes” (Reiser and Dempsy pg. 7). I had never considered Instructional Technology as a process. Reiser and Dempsy would say I am using the definition of “Instructional Media”, not Instructional Design and Technology”. This concept was a bit challenging for me to fully comprehend. I must admit that I remember the way life used to be, before home computers, cordless phones, or even remote controls for television. When I was young, we only had three stations on the television and if your antenna was strong enough, you could get a fourth channel on a clear day. (I was born in the early 70’s) I always thought of technology as the tangible items developed by super geniuses. Then as I got older and learned more about computers and other basic technology, my definition changed. I now added software, the internet, and anything that could be used with the hardware to my definition. Once I discovered the internet, I knew I liked all of these technological advances, especially the ones that helped me.

Now that I am a teacher and have had some exposure to the field of instructional technology, the definition I am most comfortable with—probably because I understand it and agree with it—is the 2006 AECT comities definition, “Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources (n.p.).” This definition matches my main directive as a teacher… I am here to teach and facilitate learning. The 2006 definition seems to be based on instruction; therefore, it matches my belief in what instructional technology and design is… “creating (generating instructional interventions and learning environments), utilization functions (selection, diffusion, and institutionalization of instructional methods and materials), and management (incorporates project, delivery system, personnel, and information management)” (Reiser and Dempsy pg. 6).

I was surprised when I read that a definition of educational technology and design would include “noninstructional means”. How can a concept with the word instructional have the term noninstructional used to define it? The book uses the term “noninstructional” when they discuss “improving human performance in the workplace”. The authors of this book say this field had “been dubbed human performance technology or performance improvement. I don’t see the connection between improving human performance in the work place with instructional technology. One could use instructional technology and design to improve human performance but the improving performance is not instructional in itself. I’m sure there is someone out there who can make me change my mind when they explain the concepts in a new way. Until then, I consider the terms very separate.

Until I am more educated in the title instructional design and technology, I will take the definitions at face value. I can’t see anything that might be missing in the modern definitions. But, to be completely frank, I didn’t see what was missing in the 1994 definition until I read the 2006 definition. As I learn more, I believe I will be able to see whether or not there is any information missing in either the 2006 AECT or the authors’ Reiser and Dempsy definition of instructional design and technology.

Week 4 Reflection (Part 1) ...Social Bookmarking can be a Tool for Teachers

This assignment was actually a little difficult for me. I am a rather private person. I didn’t mind writing the blog because I could word thoughts and ideas to academic standards. This way I only let people know what I want them to know. Using Delicious was scary at first. I wasn’t sure just how much information I wanted to give out. Do I really want people to know about my hobbies and interests by letting them know what web pages I like to surf? Than I figured, I could try it out. I don’t necessarily have to link all of my interest to my delicious page. I played around with it for a few days and decided, if used correctly I could handle having one.

I could definitely see the potential of a social bookmarking tool. One of the projects my junior high kids work on is a persuasive essay research report. The students are given topics to choose from by the science teacher. She also provides two or three websites where the students might be able to find some information. This was always the difficult part of the research. The students would go to these sites and search for hours. Literally, the kids would have to word things just right in order to get any information on the subject they were researching. A social bookmaking tool would have been a blessing. I could stop sitting at student computers trying to find the “right” search words and actually teach the kids how to take notes from the web or write web bibliography cards. If the science teacher and I could have made a social bookmark took for this project, the research part would have been so much easier. Granted, students need to learn how to find information on the internet, however, that could be another lesson at another time. The point of the persuasive research paper was the writing.

I also like the idea of staff sharing with staff. I just sat through a professional development hour where a fellow teacher reported back to us about a technology seminar she went to. She had a 50 plus page packet filled with web addresses. It was a lot like the social bookmarking except on paper. I wish now that she would have just directed us to a social bookmark with all of these addresses on it. It would have been so much easier. To tell the whole truth, I have not picked up that packet of web addresses since the professional development two weeks ago, even though it has some sites I was interested in. If it had been on a social bookmark site, I would probably have played with it a little.

As for parents of students in my classroom, I can absolutely see a use for it. In my class syllabus and my open house newsletter I list at least seven websites the parents and students can go to for extra help or practice. I only list seven because I know that more may overwhelm some people and others are not going to go and type in all of these LONG web addresses just to check them out. If I had a social bookmarking page just for students and parents, then I think the parents (and students) would actually spend some time surfing these sites. They may even learn something.

Once I got over my initial fear of social bookmarking, I found a tool that has a lot of potential for education. I’m glad I got over it and got with it.

Kendra

K. Rork's Delicious Page

I added a gadget to my Blog page so that anyone who goes to my blog can also access my delicious page. If you can't access it, let me know so I can fix it. I put up some links for Wiki's if anyone is interested.

http://delicious.com/rorkk

Wiki has Incredible Potential for Education

When I found out we had to work on a wiki page this week, I was a little nervous. First of all, I had never even heard of a Wiki before taking this class. Second, we were working in groups and I didn’t want to disappoint anyone. So, I did what I always do and tried to learn everything I could about Wiki’s before I got started on the “real thing”, the assignment. I went to PBWiki and registered for my own account. It was very informative. I was pleasantly surprised when it had a “Back to School Challenge” that offered a free $250.00 up grade for just practicing and learning about Wiki’s. It was really easy. It gave me step-by-step instructions on the basics. Each time I completed a lesson, I earned points. The lessons covered things like setting up pages and links. It also covered some things like plug-ins and inviting people to visit my wiki. It took about five days, but I finally earned enough to get my free Wiki upgrade. The thing that I really liked the best was the training videos and the wiki manual. The videos are sixty-two short clips, about 15 to 30 seconds in length that tell and show you how to do one thing. It was extremely helpful. I liked the manual even better. It had more information than the video section.

After practicing the wiki, I started to do my share of work on the assignment. The first night it took me about 3 ½ hours. After that, I was able to do the same thing on our other page in less than an hour. It was actually very satisfying. I really liked the look of our page and the information it gave. I even learned of a few new websites I can use with my students. With my new knowledge in hand, I went to the principal of my school and talked to him about getting a wiki account for out district, at least our building. He said he had heard about them and was interested. So, now I am testing out a wiki for my school. I’m setting up different folders and pages. It is still in the planning phase, but soon I will be able to use it for our staff development on improving writing. It is very exciting.

As for how I will use a wiki with my students…I already have a plan forming. I used to maintain a nice looking and practical class web page. It had my syllabi, lesson plans, handouts, and other teacher things. It worked well for its purpose—to give information. But now that I have seen some of what a wiki can do, from my practicing and the examples from this class, I don’t want a web page anymore. I want a wiki. I would like to set up a wiki account for my classes. The wiki would contain the same information as the web page, but it would do so much more. I could use it to send and receive information to parent and guardians about my class where parents could comment on lessons and upcoming school events. I could have a Q and A page where parents could ask me questions and I could post my answers. No more having the same conversation about the same topic twenty five times. I would also use it to get feedback on which fundraisers parents would like to participate in and where the class trip should be. Not to should cliché, but he possibilities are endless.

As for a teaching tool, I already have some plans. My first idea is to use a wiki, in school and out if the students choose to work on out “Fighters of Darkness” assignment. I work with the art teacher to have the students learn about famous artists and their painting and then write a biography and a persuasive essay showing how these artists have somehow improved the world with their talent. It is a fun project, but on a wiki, it would be incredible. Now, not only can the students write their biographies and essays on the wiki, but they would also have to link to their sources—bye, bye plagiarism. In addition, students can link or upload the art they will be discussing in their essays. I would also ask them to add links about when and where the artist lived, as well as, any other interesting information they may come across.

Another idea that I would like to try is using a wiki to keep the students reading logs. My students are required to turn in reading logs, reflections or answer to teacher supplied open-ended questions, each week. I would like the students to post their reflections on the wiki. This way other students can read the reflections and see which books they might like to read. I would also like each student to keep a reading list with book star ratings and comments about the book. This way other students could have an insight into which books they would like to try. Students could also link the book to an author’s web page to see what other books were available from the same writer.

I have several other ideas I would like to try, but I don’t want to burn out the students. Not to mention that time in the computer lab is short when you share it with five other grades. I am very excited about using my free upgraded wiki account to work with my students. I am also looking forward to see how the staff at my school will use the wiki (separate account) for staff development in writing. If it works out, maybe the school will use a wiki instead of the massive amount of paper we use now for daily announcements and teacher memos. (Think of the money and paper we can save.) I hope my colleagues, students, and parents give the wiki a chance. I think they will come to like it.

Teachers, and Readers and Blogs, Oh My! EDT5410 week 2 reflection

“Hello, my name is Kendra, and I’m a technoholic.” Well, maybe not a true technoholic. I don’t have any cool equipment. You know, the kind with all of the bells and whistles, but I really like to blog. And the Google Reader? Don’t get me started. I admit I was very reluctant to write my thoughts on a medium that the whole world, if it chose, could read and therefore judge, but it was am assignment. What could I do? So I bellied up and just did it. I couldn’t believe how easy it was. I had a lot of fun doing it and it actually changed my mind about blogging. Then, when I went back to check my blog—I still couldn’t believe it was me who wrote one—I saw that someone was following it. That was quite exciting. I had to see what else Google had to offer. That is when I did it. Completely accidentally, mind you. I set up and RSS. Whoa! Now I could follow everyone’s blog in the class without ever going to a different webpage. The heavens opened up and the choir started singing. You see, for some reason my WMU elearn site was taking a very long time to load all of the different pages. I’m not a good one for waiting. I was a little frustrated. But now I didn’t even have to go to the WMU site at all. It really made my day! As you can see, I’m hooked. I will definitely be using the Google Reader to keep track of topics I’m interested in, especially genealogy, specific news events, and educational sites. I hope I don’t sound too flighty, but I really am hooked.

Now for the question, which layer of the Dale’s Cone would I place blogs and RSS’s. To answer this question, I had to break down and analyze the types of information and learning that takes place when a person uses blogs and RSS’s. A blog takes a person’s personal thoughts and displays them in text format to anyone who would like to read it. RSS’s keep up to the minute track of any updatable site a person my be interested and stores that information, to be read, at the users leisure. There is a lot of information transfer going on, but it is only in text format. Therefore, it is my opinion that both the blog and the RSS definitely belong in the Verbal Symbols section. The information potential in both blogs and RSS’s are “limitless”, and both are “a common ground for anyone who can (read)” (and use the internet).

Computer Imagination. What exactly is it? According to Martin Siegel, Ph.D. in “Falling Asleep an Your Keyboard: The case for Computer Imagination” it is something that can do the following: “follow interest, find information, integrate multimedia, be interactive, limit the amount of information, spread ideas quickly, affect a community of users, and is updatable.” But most importantly, it “must achieve some desired end.” To use a blog or RSS as an “imaginative” tool, it must “develop understanding that leads to effective action.” Do RSS’s and blogging do these things? They can. In the world of education, blogging can be quite a tool! I had a few “problems” that blogging and could help solve. Some school—more than you think—are running on fumes as it pertains to money. This can be a problem with discipline. Some schools just don’t have the money to staff a full time in school suspension supervisor. What if students who were issued out of school suspensions had to make up their studies the same day by responding to specific teacher created blogs? They would have to follow the instructions on the blogs, visit any website listed, complete the tasks issued, and respond to the blog before the end of the day. This way the students would be responsible for his or her making up missing assignments. This problem is a big deal in the school I work at, as the powers that be say that any student getting an out of school suspension must be able to make up missing work. This way there is an alternative assignment that has time constraints. On a more positive note, blogging could be used for things like homework help. There are many teachers who can’t be available right before or after school due to other obligations. In addition, there are students who don’t know they are going to have issues with their homework until they get home to start it. In these cases, a teacher could set up a nightly blogging time to help students who have questions. Teachers could then direct students to web sites that can help. For example, if my class was working on a research report and a student was having trouble setting up a works cited page, I could direct them to citationmonster.net. A site that can help them properly site any source. Or if he was having trouble with adverbs, I could send him to any number of grammar sites. On the side, blogging could help students work on typing, spelling, sentence structure—your basic writing skills.

An interesting, imaginative way to solve the problem of parents who have trouble with their child not doing his/her assignments is using both blogging and RSS's. An RSS could be very advantageous. A parent could connect to teacher’s homework blog sites to find out exactly what a child had don at school. Teachers could write a short description of what took place in class and any related homework assignments. The parents would always be on the same page with the teacher and there is no more,

“What did you learn at school, Johnny?”

“Nothin’”

“Do you have any homework?”

“No.”

In this situation, the child has the advantage. Mom or dad has no idea if Johnny is telling the truth. But if they had just checked their RSS, they would already know the answers to both questions. An RSS could help stop the frustration of kids who don’t always tell the truth about homework or parents who just like to know what is going on with their child’s education, but don’t want to call every teacher, everyday. This solution would only take minutes for the teacher to update their blogs, and minutes for parents to check. Chalk one up for parent/teacher communication.

As you can see, I am on my way to being a “technothinker”. But, I defiantly should leave the coining of new terms to someone else.

My attitude on the potential for technology in education

The potential of technology…it’s a mind-spinning concept, especially when you apply that potential to the world of education. My experience with technology has definitely put me in league with Charles M. Reigeluth, although; I do not totally agree with his current assessment of the way schools are “sorting students”. Using technology in a school setting could change the face of education as we know it. There are several problems that could be solved with the equipment, know how, and resources available right now. Moreover, as technology advances, the future holds even more exciting opportunities.

As a teacher I have first hand knowledge of the problems with the educational process. I, too, have been frustrated to the point of tears about the way the current system does not, or should I say, cannot help students with special needs. The requirements some of these students have to meet to get “special services” are daunting. The time it takes and the way students are assessed would be laughable if it weren’t so sad. The potential for technology here is fantastic. Neil Postman in “Of Luddites, Learning, and Life” states that “(Technologies) have nothing whatever to do with the fundamental problems we have to solve in schooling our young.” I have to respectfully disagree. The main “problem” is getting students to retain information and be able to use that information in other ways. If the equipment, programs, and training were available, students with special needs could learn at a pace that would be beneficial to them and in ways that would increase retention and synthesis of that information, without the need for qualifying for “special services”. Having an individualized learning program using different technologies would do wonders for these students. Reigeluth supports this in his article “Beyond Technology Integration: The Case for Technology Transformation” when he writes, “An alternative assessment paradigm would be to have an inventory of attainments, each which reflects certain standards, and check off each attainment…(this) characterizes the learning-focused paradigm.” As you can see the potential for technology to solve problems with low learners is immeasurable.

Using different kinds of technology brings high interest to bored and frustrated students. There are several reasons for students to become bored and/or frustrated at school. One of these reasons is that the learner has already mastered the information being presented and now must sit through the lessons anyway. He/she must wait for the other students to catch up. Reigeluth states in his article “Beyond Technology Integration: The Case for Technology Transformation” that students “learn different things at different rates in different ways utilizing authentic tasks…can only be made manageable and affordable with technology.” Using technology-based programs like NOVA net—a computer class that lets students work at their own pace—could be a real advantage. Now students can advance as fast as their potential and work ethic will let them. No more waiting for Johnny to get it so the class can move on. Another reason for boredom and frustration is that a student is not being taught information in a way that he/she can easily comprehend. Let’s face it. There are many different learning styles—audio, visual, or kinetic. It is difficult for teachers to teach every lesson in every learning style. Some students get frustrated with failure when they have trouble processing the information. It is not a lack of effort, but a lack of time and resources. Technology could potentially help teachers teach the required information in many different learning styles at the same time. This would expedite the learning process, alleviate student (and teacher) frustration, and give students more opportunities for success. Using Computers and other technological devices could let each student learn the same lesson in a way that is most advantageous to him/her. The more successes s/he has, the harder s/he works to achieve his/her goals. It really is a win/win situation. Neil Postman in “Of Luddites, Learning, and Life” believes that “New technologies do not, by and large, increase people’s options but do just the opposite.” I believe that if he spent more time in the schools seeing how technology is helping students at all levels, he would change his mind.

This is my vision of the technological age in education. Using technology to help EVERY student succeed regardless of the learners level or learning style and to help all students advance as far as they themselves are willing to go. I know modern and future technology is not the answer to all learning difficulties and problems, but it would definitely, definitely help many students and teachers make the most out of education.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

kkrork