ASimon Rationale Paper

Running Head: EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY RATIONALE 1

Amy Simon

1st Grade Teacher, Knapp Elementary School, Racine Unified School District

February 2015

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AECT RATIONALE PAPER

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this paper is to show mastery of the Association for Educational Communications

and Technology (AECT) standards through my coursework in the Master of Educational

Technology (M.E.T.) program at Boise State University. The paper includes a section for each of

the AECT standards: Content Knowledge, Content Pedagogy, Learning Environments,

Professional Knowledge and Skills, and Research. Within each of the five standards are

indicators, or sub-standards. Samples of my work are provided along with a description of each

artifact and an explanation of how the artifact shows master of the standard.

STANDARD 1 – CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

Candidates demonstrate the knowledge necessary to create, use, assess, and manage theoretical and practical applications of educational technologies and processes.

EDTECH 502: Virtual Field Trip

This website is a virtual tour of four National Landmarks in the United States. Each page of the

site was created using Dreamweaver.

EDTECH 541: Math & Science Simulations and Resources

This webpage contains a combination of four simulations and twenty resources focused around

elementary math and science content.

EDTECH 505: Request for Proposal

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY RATIONALE 2

Far West Laboratory for Educational and Research Development (FWL), a fictional company,

has submitted a request for proposals to evaluate its “Determining Instructional Purposes”

training program. This assignment is a response for the Request for Proposal in which a made-up

evaluator, Rate Expectations, lays out how the evaluation company would complete an

evaluation of the training program developed by FWL and make recommendations for future

marketing of the training modules.

EDTECH 597: Creative Commons

This page shows the Creative Commons Licensing for the blog site created in EDTECH 597:

Blogging in the Classroom. This was my first experience with Creative Commons Licensing and

introduced me to Creative Commons.

EDTECH 502: Netiquette Page

This is a webpage that I created with rules that should be followed by all elementary students

based on recommendations and expectations set forth by my school district. The site includes a

Netiquette Quick Reference in an aside that I was able to code.

EDTECH 502: Copyright Scavenger Hunt

This webpage is designed to teach elementary students about copyright laws and why it is

important for students of any age to know and understand copyright.

Indicators

Creating - Candidates demonstrate the ability to create instructional materials and learning environments using a variety of systems approaches (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 81).

The Virtual Field Trip demonstrates my ability to create learning materials and learning

environments. In this assignment, students work in collaborative groups to visit the White House,

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_LSp1uRMSJe4Bcq0oBqOXSdhOXv2DKMdPQY3haTd6RE/edit?usp=sharing


Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, and the Gateway Arch. At each stop along the tour, students

are expected to find basic information and record it in their travel log. I created the travel log as a

resource for students to demonstrate new information learned on their tour of each landmark.

This assignment showcases my ability to use HTML5 and CSS. Each page of this Virtual Trip

was created in Dreamweaver. Having this knowledge allows me to create other web-based

activities for my students.

In a constructivist classroom, students must be involved and engaged in their learning and

become active participants in their learning. Cooperative teacher-student and student-student

relations share responsibility of creating the classroom culture. Students are expected to

participate in activities that allow the opportunity to learn different perspectives from their own

(DeVries, 2002, p. 6-10). Students are presented with the opportunity to engage in collaborative

learning in the Virtual Field Trip. A similar activity could be created to allow students to learn

about their own cultural background and to visit the countries where their ancestors descended.

Using - Candidates demonstrate the ability to select and use technological resources and processes to support student learning and to enhance their pedagogy (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 141).

In my Math and Science Simulations and Resources Page, I had to search and find

numerous simulations and resources that could support and enhance student learning and

engagement in the classroom. The Math and Science Simulations and Resources page has proven

to be a very useful tool. I often refer to the resources found on the page when planning for math

instruction and science integration. This allows me to provide my students with a variety of

resources and activities. In EDTECH 541, I was introduced to a web tool called Symbaloo that

allows me to create a visual menu of resources for my students. This is especially useful with


young students, and I have received positive feedback from student families that provides safe,

educational options for their child’s screen time at home.

Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates demonstrate the ability to assess and evaluate the effective integration of appropriate technologies and instructional materials.

In the Math and Science Simulations and Resources page, I had to search and find

numerous simulations and resources that could support and enhance student learning and

engagement in the classroom. Resources are vast, but not all resources help to support student

learning. I had to explore the resources and find which activities and simulations would make the

most impact on student learning rather than just be a shiny new packaging of the same materials.

While choosing math resources to use for my students, I consider what will help them in Van de

Walle’s Concrete - Representational - Abstract (CRA) developmental process (Van de Walle,

1990). I tend to choose resources that have a representational model and an abstract approach to

provide some differentiation for my students who are at different developmental levels with each

skill. For example, on the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM) site, students can

manipulate base ten blocks. As students advance away from the concrete manipulatives, they can

use these representational models to solve problems and to demonstrate their understanding of

the learning. I often encourage students to use online manipulatives from NLVM during whole-

group teaching and explain how they use the manipulatives to show how they reach their

solutions.

Managing - Candidates demonstrate the ability to effectively manage people, processes, physical infrastructures, and financial resources to achieve predetermined goals (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 178).

In the Request for Proposal, I had to present myself as an evaluator and determine the

process, personnel, and resources needed to conduct an evaluation for Far West Laboratory. I

had to determine how many staff members would be needed for the evaluation, how many days


on-site would be needed, and travel accommodations for my staff. I also had to determine the

most effective way to collect data from participants including those administering the training

program and those participating in the modules. This proposal shows when and how data would

be collected and analyzed to provide a full evaluation of FWL’s “Determining Instructional

Purposes” training program. While I have not had the opportunity to actually be in a position

where I have needed to manage resources in this way, this assignment allowed me to think about

everything entailed in a management role and to show one way to effectively manage people,

processes, and resources to reach a goal.

Ethics - Candidates demonstrate the contemporary professional ethics of the field as defined and developed by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 284).

In all of my assignments, I believe I have honored the Association for Educational

Communications and Technology ethics standards. In my first semester in the program, I learned

about the Creative Commons Licensing in EDTECH 597 Blogging in the Classroom, and in

EDTECH 502 I created a Copyright Scavenger Hunt and a Netiquette Page. In these examples

from my first semester of the program, and all the way through the final courses, I have been

expected to not only follow but also “promote current and sound professional practices in the use

of technology in education” (Association for Educational Communication & Technology). Both

the Copyright Scavenger Hunt webpage and Netiquette Page reflect the AECT Code of

Professional Ethics, section 3.8, which states that professionals “shall inform users of the

stipulations and interpretations of the copyright law and other laws affecting the profession and

encourage compliance” (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008). Both of these assignments provide

important information to others about the importance of copyright and the rules of ethical usage.


I have followed these guidelines in each of my assignments in the program by citing all resources

in research papers and in projects.

STANDARD 2 – CONTENT PEDAGOGY

Candidates develop as reflective practitioners able to demonstrate effective implementation of educational technologies and processes based on contemporary content and pedagogy.

EDTECH 503: Instructional Design Final Project

In this project, students create a podcast using Garageband where they record a book talk for a

book they have recently read.

EDTECH 513: Worked Example Screencast

This is a screencast tutorial that shows elementary students how to use Garageband to record a

book talk that can be used in a podcast. I used Jing to record and publish the screencast.

EDTECH 542: Project-Based Learning Final Project

This assignment was completed as a whole-course project. My Project-Based Learning unit,

“Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds,” focuses on nutrition and physical activity. I created this

project using Google Sites.

EDTECH 501: Digital Divide / Inequality

This presentation shows three main issues with digital inequality in my community. The three

main issues I researched are: access, socioeconomic status, and educational implications.

Indicators

Creating - Candidates apply content pedagogy to create appropriate applications of processes and technologies to improve learning and performance outcomes (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 1).


The Instructional Design (ID) Project contains checklists, anchor charts, and rubrics that I

created for students to use as they are creating their book talks. These can be used by individual

students, or could be used in peer reviews. My Instructional Design Project was created for 1st

grade students, but could be adjusted for any elementary school classroom. In this project,

students create a podcast using Garageband where they record a book talk for a book they have

recently read. The unit was designed using the ADDIE instructional design process. In designing

this project, I considered all five aspects of the ADDIE process: analysis, design, development,

implementation, and evaluation. I consulted with a subject matter expert (SME) for adjustments

and considerations. Then, in my Worked Example Screencast of how to record a book talk, I

show my students step-by-step what application to use, how to access the application, and how to

record their book talk. This video uses a student laptop, so what students see on their screen is

the same. It also allows for students to pause and review the video as they work along with it.

This takes the guesswork out of using a new application and focuses students on the objectives of

their work. These two assignments together show my ability to create appropriate learning

materials and instructional supports.

Using - Candidates implement appropriate educational technologies and processes based on appropriate content pedagogy (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 141).

Research on Project-Based Learning (PBL) shows that PBL can increase student

retention of content, can improve problem-solving and collaboration skills, and can improve

students' attitudes towards learning (Vega, 2012). My PBL unit engages students in reflection on

their own nutrition and physical activity levels. Students work collaboratively to learn about

nutritional and physical activity guidelines for kids. They are given several steps that provide

appropriate scaffolding as they reach the ultimate goal of creating a menu and a physical activity

guide for students in our school. After peer reviews and revisions to meet the guidelines of the


project, students present their menu to school administration or a parent panel, and share their

physical activity guides to classrooms in the school to use for possible recess activities. This

gives students a real-life situation to immediately apply knowledge gained through collaborative

research as well as a public audience for their final products. Students could even make videos to

demonstrate each activity in their physical activity guide so that students and staff in the school

understand how each activity is set up and played.

Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates demonstrate an inquiry process that assesses the adequacy of learning and evaluates the instruction and implementation of educational technologies and processes (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, pp. 116-117) grounded in reflective practice.

My Instructional Design (ID) Project used the ADDIE model: Analysis, Design, Develop,

Implement, and Evaluate. This model of design requires the instructional designers to analyze

student needs in designing and developing the instruction, to be reflective and evaluate the

instruction or unit, and to make revisions to address the changing student needs. Instructional

design with the ADDIE model is cyclical and never stops. My Instructional Design Project was

created for 1st grade students, but could be adjusted for any elementary school classroom.

Students create a podcast using Garageband where they record a book talk for a book they have

recently read. I began by performing a needs assessment survey. This ensured that I created

materials that would meet my students’ needs. I created a task analysis flow chart that shows

student progression throughout the project. I also created a pre-requisite analysis flowchart that

shows skills needed to complete the project. This also helps the instructor to know where extra

support needs to happen for learners who may not have all of the pre-requisite skills needed to

complete the task. Once the learning objectives were set and materials were created, I also

consulted with a subject matter expert (SME) for adjustments and considerations to the

assignment. From her recommendations, we decided to work collaboratively with a few students


to create their book talks. We found that students really liked talking about books they were

reading, but needed a great deal of support in writing and recording their podcasts. We ended up

creating some sentence frames for students to use when recording their book talks. We also each

decided to do a weekly book talk to model our expectations with our student groups who were

working on these. This resulted in higher quality recordings by our students, and with practice,

they were better able to self-evaluate and provide peer feedback on their work.

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 (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, pp. 175-193).

In my Instructional Design (ID) Project, we followed the ADDIE model: Analysis,

Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate. The ADDIE model is a process that continuously

analyzes student needs, design and develop instruction to address those needs, and evaluate how

well the student needs were met and what needs are still evident. Instructors must have flexibility

in addressing the changing student needs, and making adjustments to better meet the needs as the

instruction is implemented in the future. In my ID project, one suggestion that I got from my

Subject Matter Expert was to have students focus on non-fiction text. This suggestion helped to

expand my thinking of this project beyond just text, and last year I started a weekly podcast

where students recorded weekly messages that shared what we were learning in the classroom.

They shared information about our anchor texts from the week in ELA, our main focus in math

for the week, and they also got to share one highlight of the week. My students loved creating

this with me, and they were so excited to publish these on the website for their families to hear.

Allowing students to help with this transferred into a better quality recording for their book talk.

Ethics - Candidates design and select media, technology, and processes that emphasize the diversity of our society as a multicultural community (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 296).


The Digital Divide research project allowed me to look at my community and my school

through a couple of lenses. First, I was able to see the demographics of my city and my

neighborhood school community. Second, I looked to find socioeconomic status, and what

impact that had on access to technology. In looking at Pew Research Center’s data, I found that

the gap between racial groups having access to the Internet is closing, but the types of devices

that people have access to shows some inequality. For example, just over half of African-

American adults own a desktop computer, but 65% of white adults own one. 70% of African-

Americans and Latinos use their cell phones for text messaging, which is at a rate 20% higher

than whites (Smith, 2010). This leads me to believe that whites have a more traditional Internet

connection, and the minority groups rely mostly on a cell phone connection. I was not surprised

with my findings, but allowing me to see that information and understand more about my

families and resources that they have is important to being sensitive to their situation. Sharing

this information encouraged the school to put computers in our Parent Resource Room in our

school for parents to use to look up grades, attendance, and to complete job applications, pay

bills, or allow access for other needs that they have.


STANDARD 3 – LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Candidates facilitate learning by creating, using, evaluating, and managing effective learning environments.

EDTECH 542: Project-Based Learning




EDTECH 505: Evaluation Report

This evaluation report is intended to show whether or not Words Their Way is effective in

meeting the objectives of the program.

EDTECH 551: Grant Application

This grant application is a technology initiative intended to increase student access to technology

in the classroom. The application includes a needs assessment, goal and objectives, budget, and

evaluation plan.

EDTECH 502: Netiquette Page

This is a webpage that I created with rules that should be followed by all elementary students

based on recommendations and expectations set forth by my school district. The site includes a

Netiquette Quick Reference in an aside that I was able to code.

EDTECH 502: Copyright Scavenger Hunt

This webpage is designed to teach elementary students about copyright laws and why it is

important for students of any age to know and understand copyright.


EDTECH 501: Tech Trends

This assignment looks at one of the trends in technology, mobile learning, and how mobile

learning can be used in elementary classrooms.

Indicators

Creating - Candidates create instructional design products based on learning principles and research-based best practices (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, pp. 8, 243-245, 246).

My Project-Based Learning (PBL) Unit is another example of how I was able to create

learning experiences for my students. PBL is a research-based approach to instruction that

engages students in their learning through collaboration and problem solving (Hallermann &

Larmer, 2011, pp. 8-9). Teaching models that allow students to build their thinking skills “enable

the workforce to quickly adapt to changing conditions” (Clark & Mayer, 2011, p. 339). In PBL

units, students are active participants in constructing their knowledge. They work collaboratively

to learn from peers, and are required to use speaking and listening skills as well as other 21st

century skills. I believe PBL helps to build critical thinking skills in students, which will enable

them to adapt to other challenges in the future. In my project, students must work collaboratively

with a group of students to research nutritional and physical activity guidelines, and then apply

that knowledge in creating a sample kid-friendly menu and physical activity guide. Students then

present their work to an audience of peers, administration, and parents.

Using - Candidates make professionally sound decisions in selecting appropriate processes and resources to provide optimal conditions for learning (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, pp. 122, 169) based on principles, theories, and effective practices (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, pp. 8-9, 168-169, 246).

In Project-Based Learning (PBL), the projects are the central part of the curriculum. The

projects are focused on questions or problems that drive the students to construct and discover

new knowledge. Students engage in processes that may include inquiry, design, decision-


making, discovery, and problem solving. Students drive the learning in PBL, and problems are

real. “PBL is one of the best ways to be sure 21st century skills are explicitly taught, because

well-designed projects require them” (Hallermann & Larmer, 2011, p. 9). PBL is connected to

the constructivist theory of learning. Constructivism is based on the idea that “learning is

problem solving based on personal discovery, and the learner is intrinsically motivated” (Cooper,

1993, p. 17). Providing opportunities for students to be engaged in constructing their own

knowledge, and applying their learning to real-life situations is a central benefit to PBL.

Knowing the research and theory behind PBL allows me the confidence needed in implementing

this instructional shift in my school. In my PBL unit, students learn about ways to stay healthy

through nutrition and physical activity. They create useful materials for others and present their

ideas to adult and peer audiences. Products created and presented in this unit could have a variety

of possibilities, and products could be implemented throughout the school community. Students

could have a great impact on student health through products created in this project.

Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates use multiple assessment strategies (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 53) to collect data for informing decisions to improve instructional practice, learner outcomes, and the learning environment (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, pp. 5-6).

In my Evaluation Report, I use several methods of assessment to evaluate the

effectiveness of the phonics-based program Words Their Way. Forms of assessment include

tests, interviews, scales, and sentence completion (Boulmetis & Dutwin, 2011, pp. 119-145). I

chose to collect data from student test data, student feedback from a survey, teacher feedback

from interviews, and teacher feedback from surveys. Not only did this data allow me to see the

effectiveness of the program, but it also allowed me to see some variance in how teachers had

implemented in their classroom. The student surveys provided useful information about which

aspects of the program they liked and suggestions they had to keep it engaging for them.


Managing - Candidates establish mechanisms (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 190) for maintaining the technology infrastructure (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 234) to improve learning and performance (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 238).

My Grant Application seeks to acquire devices for K-2 classrooms. The goal of this

initiative is to increase the opportunities for students at my school to use technology to produce

quality work that shows how they are applying their knowledge. I think the budget in the grant

application demonstrates how I would plan for maintaining technology infrastructure to improve

learning and performance. The budget specifically plans for professional development for

teachers learning how to implement the device as well as maintenance of the devices. I think that

financial planning for the future is such a crucial part of the successful implementation of

technology that often gets overlooked. Showing in my grant application how I would set aside

money in the grant devoted for updating, maintaining, and implementing the devices shows

mastery of this indicator.

Ethics - Candidates foster a learning environment in which ethics guide practice that promotes health, safety, best practice (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 246), and respect for copyright, Fair Use, and appropriate open access to resources (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 3).

The Netiquette Page is a guide created for students, colleagues, and families to serve as a

resource to promote safety, respect, and appropriate usage of technology. This page incorporates

the three principles of our district’s Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) code of

conduct so that it is familiar to students: be responsible, be respectful, be safe. It also

incorporates much of my district’s user agreement in a brief, student-friendly six-guideline

resource. The Copyright Scavenger Hunt is a student-friendly activity that allows students to

learn and explore expectations for copyright and Fair Use. This activity would make a good

introduction or refresher for students regarding their responsibilities with appropriate technology

use.


Diversity of Learners - Candidates foster a learning community that empowers learners with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 10).

Tech Trends discusses an emerging technology of mobile learning. With the new

generation of learners, instructional approaches need to change to make learning relevant to our

students. This includes not just engaging students with devices that many already have, but

empowering students to use those devices for learning. In addition to incorporating devices that

my students are familiar with, providing opportunities for my students to use technology and

applications that they use outside of the classroom is another way to address the diverse needs of

my students. The Classroom Blogging Activity allows students to have a public platform to share

their thinking and learning with others in a safe, controlled environment. Many students already

use social media, so incorporating that into classroom instruction can be a powerful tool.

STANDARD 4 – PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Candidates design, develop, implement, and evaluate technology-rich learning environments within a supportive community of practice.

EDTECH 503: Instructional Design Final Project

In this project, students create a podcast using Garageband where they record a book talk for a

book they have recently read.

EDTECH 597: Classroom Blogging Activity

In this assignment designed for 1st grade students, the class works collaboratively to create and

maintain a classroom site devoted to sharing about books they have read.

EDTECH 542: Project-Based Learning

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1v3MGOGo8BXi7AoOk3EHTOvt_BhRiRDU4pBENY02oRwI&authuser=1





EDTECH 541: Accessibility / Adaptive Technologies

The site offers a list of resources for students with cognitive, physical, and sensory disabilities. It

also offers resources for at-risk students and gifted and talented students.

Indicators

Collaborative Practice - Candidates collaborate with their peers and subject matter experts to analyze learners, develop and design instruction, and evaluate its impact on learners.

In my Instructional Design Project, I had the opportunity to ask a Subject Matter Expert

(SME) review my literacy plan. This was the first time I had formally asked for a review of my

work. I approached a Title 1 Literacy teacher at my school to review my unit, and she offered

some feedback and suggestions. She offered to come in the classroom and help with the project,

too. We have been working closely together to plan and implement interventions for struggling

students that she works. It was a great opportunity for me to build a connection with an

invaluable resource right in my own building.

Leadership - Candidates lead their peers in designing and implementing technology-supported learning.

Many colleagues are a little fearful of using social media with elementary students. I

introduced my idea of creating a classroom blogging site for students to discuss and evaluate

books they have read, and a couple of classrooms are actually using this approach this year. My

Classroom Blogging Activity shows one way social media can be incorporated into classroom

learning and can increase student collaboration. I have tried to incorporate blogging into my

classroom through the use of KidBlog. KidBlog is fairly new to the staff in my school. Students


can interact with each other and leave feedback for peers. I have used this in solving math

problems where students have to defend their solutions, and I have used this with reading where

students can present book reviews to their peers, or respond to text they have read. With many

initiatives being introduced in my district, it is challenging to implement yet another new

approach, but blogging can be used as simply as an online journal in which students can interact

and respond to each other. I was also selected to join a program called Classroom Champions

this year. In this mentorship program, I post monthly summaries on a Google+ community, I

create and share several videos throughout the year, and my students and I get to video chat with

our Olympic Athlete mentor. Using Google Apps and video chats with students is also new to

my school, and has received positive attention and inquiry on implementing these tools by my

colleagues.

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.

The Instructional Design (ID) Project was created based on the ADDIE Model. This

model follows a cycle of analysis, design and development, and evaluation to constantly take

student needs into consideration. There was an emphasis on developing instruction with a

particular audience in mind, rather than developing instruction around content and finding an

appropriate audience (Smith & Ragan, 2005, p. 58). A portion of this assignment was the

Information Processing Analysis and the Prerequisite Analysis. Reflecting on what students need

to know and be able to do help to “ensure that students are provided with the opportunity to learn

everything they must learn to achieve that goal” (Smith & Ragan, 2005, p. 83). The evaluation

piece provides valuable data in making revisions to improve future instruction. Working with the

Subject Matter Expert (SME) to revise the project required reflection of how to improve the


design and implementation. She and I spent a lot of time discussing how to implement this with

the students we worked with. I finally decided to introduce podcasting first through a classroom

podcast where students would work with me each week to record our learning for the week. In

hindsight, this was a great way for me to assess student proficiency in working with Garageband

and it helped me know who my student helpers would be for the whole class project. It also

allowed me to provide support where students needed it, and encouraged me to record a

screencast of how to create a podcast. This screencast is also highlighted in my portfolio.

Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates design and implement assessment and evaluation plans that align with learning goals and instructional activities.

In my Project-Based Learning unit, students are provided with checklists and rubrics for

self-review and peer-review throughout the process. This ensures that students have a clear

understanding of the expectations and how their work will be evaluated. In this project, students

also have several opportunities to share what they have learned. They create two artifacts, but

have options on how to create their final product. This allows for some differentiation, and

allows students to use their strengths and interests while creating their artifacts. Students also

present to a public audience, again with options of presenting via a prepared video, or with an

oral presentation in front of their audience.

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.

In my Accessibility/Adaptive Technologies page, I list resources to address the needs of

diverse learners in the classroom. I was able to compile a list of resources to address the needs of

students with cognitive, physical, and sensory disabilities as well as at-risk and gifted students.

Educators need to be prepared to address the needs of each student in his or her classroom, and

being aware of some resources available is a professional responsibility of an educator. Many of


these tools can be useful with students who do not have the specific needs they are designed for.

For example, in working with 1st grade students who are non-readers and beginning readers,

doing research and using web-based resources pose a challenge since many web-based resources

are presented with text. Screen-readers and knowing about text-to-speech features are a daily

lifesaver for my students and I. These tools allow me to create activities and assignments without

the pressure of my students having to read all of the directions and information. It makes more

activities much more accessible to the young students.

STANDARD 5 – RESEARCH

Candidates explore, evaluate, synthesize, and apply methods of inquiry to enhance learning and improve performance.

EDTECH 504: Final Synthesis Paper

This paper focuses on the relationship between the constructivist theory of learning,

connectivism, and the use of educational technology in the classroom.

EDTECH 505: Evaluation Report

This evaluation report is intended to show whether or not Words Their Way is effective in

meeting the objectives of the program.

EDTECH 501: Evaluation Summary

In the Evaluation Summary, I analyze the district’s administrative, curricular, support,

connectivity, and innovative use and access to technology.

EDTECH 504: Annotated Bibliography


This assignment challenged me to create a list of peer-reviewed resources focused on learning

theories, and to provide a brief annotation for each resource. This bibliography was used to

complete research for my Final Synthesis Paper. All citations follow APA guidelines.

Indicators

Theoretical Foundations - Candidates demonstrate foundational knowledge of the contribution of research to the past and current theory of educational communications and technology (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 242).

In my Final Synthesis Paper, I completed research to show how Constructivism and

Connectivism support Educational Technology in the classroom. I found it interesting to see how

the foundational learning theories are still prevalent in our 21st century classrooms today. Kurz-

McDowell and Hannafin report a more significant barrier to technology integration is “the

national trend toward greater teacher accountability and the curriculum pressures applied by the

adoption of state-mandated standardized tests in elementary grades. The introduction of state-

mandated standards and tests has surely affected the day-to-day instruction in the classroom,”

(Kurz-Mcdowell & Hannafin, 2004, p. 99). This is certainly true in my school as we are

identified as a priority school due to past student performance on state standardized tests. There

is much pressure to find a way to engage our students in academics to improve test scores, but

there is little room for teachers to try and implement instructional methods that may improve

student engagement. Instead, there has been increased pressure to implement four different

technology programs totaling 270 minutes each week that each individual is expected to be

working on these technology programs. This leaves little extra time for incorporating project-

based learning, or using technology to create authentic work. My 1st grade colleague and I have

certainly had to get creative in finding time for each of our 27 students to meet their required

minutes with just 14 student laptops in addition to allowing student to use the devices to learn


and practice the essential 21st century skills. In my research, I found that despite barriers to

integrating educational technology, “incorporating multimedia technology into a constructivist

learning environment can lead to innovative teaching and learning methods for the improvement

of classroom learning,” (Neo & Neo, 2009, p. 256). I know that through instructional approaches

such as Project-Based Learning, this goal of incorporating multimedia can be achieved, and am

hopeful in being a leader in transforming the way we educate this generation of students.

Method - Candidates apply research methodologies to solve problems and enhance practice (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 243).

In the Final Synthesis Paper, I address some challenges of integrating Educational

Technology into the classroom. In my research, I found that two categories of barriers to

technology integration are given: “First-order barriers that are external to the teacher, such as not

having access to computers or training, or not having enough time to plan; and second-order

barriers that are internal to the teacher, such as beliefs about educational practices,” (Kurz-

McDowell & Hannafin, 2004, p. 99). Identifying and addressing the first-order barriers are much

easier than the second-order barriers. Teacher ability to finding solutions to the first-order

barriers is directly related to the second-order barriers, too. Even the way that teachers use

technology in the classroom varies widely based on their beliefs. In a study conducted by Ertmer,

Addison, Lane, Ross, and Woods (1999), teachers shared various reasons they use technology in

their primary classrooms. Some shared they use technology as additional or supplementary to the

existing curriculum, others used technology to motivate students because it was exciting, and

still others used technology to help prepare students for the future to develop 21st century skills.

Researchers found a strong correlation between teachers who view technology as merely

supplementary aids and second-order barriers (Kurz-McDowell & Hannafin, 2004, p. 99).

However, simply experiencing learning with the use of technology in professional development


sessions can facilitate change in teaching beliefs to align more with constructivist approaches

(Levin & Wadmany, 2005, p. 285). I see this struggle on a daily basis in my school. While we

certainly have severe limitations on our technology usage this year because of pressure to have

each student get their 270 minutes of tech time on their technology programs, we will have

opportunities to allow students to practice the essential 21st century skills. One example of this is

with utilizing the SMARTboard in each classroom to allow students to work collaboratively to

solve a math problem of the day. Using the SMARTboard, students can capture their thinking

throughout the prolem-solving process. This can occur during our center time where some

students are on laptops meeting their required minutes, and others are working on more

differentiated independent activities. Identifying barriers are first-order or second-order barriers

can often help lead to a solution.

Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates apply formal inquiry strategies in assessing and evaluating processes and resources for learning and performance (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 203).

I completed an Evaluation Summary of technological resources in my school. Using the

Maturity Model Benchmark Survey, I analyze the district’s administrative, curricular, support,

connectivity, and innovative use and access to technology. This report shows where the district is

adequate, and where the district has room for improvement in its technology use. My evaluation

found that there is ample access to technology for students and staff, but the support in

maintaining, repairing, and implementing these resources is lacking severely. In order for

technology to be implemented and utilized effectively, the gap between access and support needs

to be addressed.

Ethics - Candidates conduct research and practice using accepted professional (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 296) and institutional (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 297) guidelines and procedures.


In my all of my assignments, the Final Synthesis Paper and Annotated Bibliography in

particular, I followed all APA guidelines “giving accurate credit to those whose work and ideas

are associated with publishing in any form” (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008). I also conducted all

research “using professionally accepted guidelines and procedures” (Januszewski & Molenda,

2008). This includes using APA citations in all research papers, bibliographies, and giving credit

for all photographs and images used in my webpages and presentations. I learned how to conduct

searches that filter results for images based on their license for use. This is helpful to know what

images can be reused and/or modified. I now use this search tool all the time when searching for

images to use for my professional work.

CONCLUSION

In compiling the artifacts in my portfolio and aligning the assignments to these new

AECT standards, it is evident how much I have learned throughout this program. I not only have

a much greater knowledge base, but I am able to incorporate technology more confidently in my

classroom knowing that I have the research to defend my decisions.

I like how this program is designed to give a broad view of educational technology, and it

has definitely sparked interest in areas I felt unskilled before the program, such as blogging in

EDTECH 597, or HTML5 and CSS in EDTECH 502. All of the research in EDTECH 501,

EDTECH 503, and EDTECH 504 has built a good base for defending my decisions in how I

integrate technology into my classroom and has gained a great deal of confidence in my

educational practices. I have more options in creating and developing units that will be more

engaging for my students, and that will result in a product that my students can be proud to share

with a broad audience, such as EDTECH 541, EDTECH 542 and EDTECH 513. My work in

EDTECH 505 and EDTECH 551 has given me confidence in my ability to contribute to


technology planning committees and in acquiring new technology for my students. I look

forward to opportunities to bring in some innovative teaching strategies to my students and my

colleagues.

My ultimate career goal is to become an instructional coach in helping students to

effectively integrate technology into their everyday teaching practices. I think technology is still

used as shiny new packaging for the same old instruction. It is my goal to see technology used as

a tool rather than just a strategy to engage students. I think collaboration plays a huge piece in

making this happen. I hope to someday make a large impact for students and teachers alike in

transforming how education is delivered to meet the demands of 21st century learning.


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