Reflection EDTC 6139

State the competency, or standard that is appropriate for your degree and licensure area. 

ISTE Standards C 1 Visionary Leadership:  Technology Coaches inspire and participate in the development and implementation of a shared vision for the comprehensive integration of technology to promote excellence and support transformational change throughout the instructional environment.

• a. Contribute to the development, communication, and implementation of a shared vision of the comprehensive use of technology to support a digital-age education for all students.

ISTE Standards C 2 Teaching, learning, and assessments:  Technology Coaches assist teachers in using technology effectively for assessing student learning, differentiating instruction, and providing  rigorous, relevant, and engaging learning experiences for all students.

• a. Coach teachers in and model design and implementation of technology-enhanced learning experiences addressing content standards and student technology standards.

Describe the requirements for the artifact. 

EDTC 6139: Selection and Integration of Multimedia for PreK-12 Schools was taught by Dr. Ken Luterbach second summer session of 2013.  The textbook used for this class was Instructional Technology and Media for Learning by Smaldino, Lowther, and Russell, which covered a full range of technology and media formats. The focus of this course was the selection, evaluation, and integration of multimedia for preK – 12 schools.  We examined the NC Essential Standards for Technology Competencies along with the content standards for the selected grade levels when developing curriculum materials and lesson plans.

           The final project was vetting a collection of instructional multimedia resources for middle school science classes that were considered to be exemplary for their content, their suitability for diverse learners, and their connection to NC Essential Standards or the Common Core State Standards.  This list was then shared with a science teacher for input and feedback.  In completing this project I learned that having technology in a lesson for the sake of technology is not integrating technology.  Technology should enhance a lesson, or allow a student to explore and experience something not readily available, or be a means of motivating a reluctant learner.  As it was pointed out in the text, technology does not “automatically make teachers more capable” (Smaldino, Lowther & Russell, 2012, p. 2).  Technology should become part of a teacher’s best practices to facilitate collaboration, communication, and learning. 

Explain how your artifact is a good example of the objective, competency, or standard. 

Technology used in a PreK-12 classroom must align with a state’s essential standards and/or Common Core State Standards.  The technology artifact presented here shows the NC State Essential Standards for Science alignment and the alignment to the North Carolina State Essential Standards for Information and Technology (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2010). Technology integration should support a digital-age education for all students.  This artifact is representative of the technology that can be integrated into middle school science lessons.  The multimedia suggested allows for many interests and learning modalities depending upon how they are added to the curriculum.  Students can interact with physics simulations or virtual labs, research information on hurricanes or hydrology, practice and review with science themed games, watch a movie that ties directly to physics, or manipulate visuals on a whiteboard.  As an instructional technology coach/facilitator I should be able to assist other teachers to design and implement technology enhanced experiences.  This artifact was shared with a science teacher for feedback and suggestions and later shared with other teachers as part of a planning session.  In the planning session teachers had the standards and the content with instructional best practices and were looking for multimedia and technology suggestions for which this list was an excellent starting place. 

Educators are questioning if students today learn differently because of their early and constant exposure to technology.  This difference must be considered as teachers plan instruction for the digital-age student.  New theories of learning are being suggested, such as George Siemans’ Connectivism, as researchers work to understand today’s students (Siemans, 2004).  Today’s students are exposed to technology from infancy (as babies play with parent’s cell phones instead of toys) and they expect to continue using technology at school and at work.  But to be truly successful with the technology and learning students must be able to read and comprehend the text, interpret the visuals, listen to audio for meaning and carry these skills into the use of the various media formats.  As the amount of information made available to students is increasing at a phenomenal rate the students must be able to select what they need, comprehend it, synthesize it, and communicate what they have learned.  The careers some of our students today will have as adults have not even been invented yet.  Making them literate in all the formats (text, computer, distance learning, cyberlearning, visual, audio, video, and media) is the best way we can prepare them for a future we can only imagine.  A change in the delivery of instruction such as the Digital Teaching Platforms suggested by Chris Dede and John Richards (Dede, 2011) may be the 21^st Century educational system that leads the digital-age students to success in the work force.

Discuss how you might change the content, strategy, or design of the artifact. 

This artifact was a good exemplar for the competency/standard as it illustrated numerous examples of multimedia that could be integrated into science lessons to meet the individual needs of a diverse group of students.  The examples in this artifact would appeal to students with different learning styles while meeting the content and technology standards establish by the state.

            This artifact could be improved with more examples for specific content areas; however this is an excellent starting point in planning lessons for middle school science.

Discuss how the artifact is representative of future career goals and plans.

My intention following graduation is to work as a Technology Facilitator in a PreK-12 school.  This artifact is a good example of how I am able to collect multimedia suggestions for a particular content area and grade level that meets the state standards for the content and for technology. 

References

Dede, C. (2011). Reconceptualizing technology integration to meet the necessity of

transformation. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 5(1), 4-16. Retrieved from www.joci.ecu.edu/index.php/JoCI/article/download/121/127

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (2010). Common core state and NC essential

            standards. Retrieved from http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/standards/

Siemans, G. (2004). Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age. elearnspace, Retrieved

fromhttp://www.ingedewaard.net/papers/connectivism/2005_siemens_ALearningTheoryForTheDigitalAge.pdf

Smaldino, S., Lowther, D., & Russell, J. (2012).Instructional technology and media for learning.

 (10th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.