The Masters Degree in Educational Technology:

Where was this focus and motivation during my undergraduate study?

By: Nathanael Cannon, Spring 2014

Excited. That is probably the best way that I could describe myself after I was accepted into the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire for 2002 Spring semester. Well, perhaps a bit relieved also. In my application, I incorporated a wise quote from Yoda in the George Lucas film The Empire Strikes Back, Do or do not. There is no try. Without a doubt, this has become my personal and professional motto. I needed to somehow incorporate a part of me into my application; otherwise how could those reading it catch a glimpse of who I really was as a person? Yodas simple yet powerful phrase resonated with me as I took my first steps into the world of education. I wasnt going to try and be the best teacher possible, I was going to do whatever it took to achieve excellence! Fast-forward twelve years and much changed. I accepted a secondary mathematics teaching position in Monroe, WI (200 miles south of my undergraduate hometown of Eau Claire). Ive been married, moved four times, become the Voice of the Cheesemakers, got divorced and travelled across the United States several times. I own and have incorporated more technology into my life than I had ever dreamed was possible. Even with all the hills and valleys of my life, I would not trade any moment or experience because they have collectively shaped who I am today. The words on the title page of this paper are ones which my students used to describe me when I posed the question, If someone asked you what Mr. Cannon is like, what would you say? I am thankful for their honesty, and I believe the results have made me a more effective educator. I recount these personal details because in order to understand the content on the AECT standards section of my website one needs to take into account not only the end result, but the process as well. Indeed, when I consider the amount of time invested, tears made, soundtracks

listened to, coffee shops around the country visited, and sleep missed (likely due to the unhealthy quantity of caffeine consumed) which all contributed to my success in this graduate program. I am amazed at the journey. I could not have done any of this without the support of my family, friends and surprise individuals and places along the way which helped me become inspired, stay focused, recharge the batteries. Additionally, these events caused me to discover little bits of math and technology in everyday life, which allowed me to continually improve my teaching technique in constant pursuit of educational excellence. So without further delay, let us begin with the rationale behind the artifacts for the AECT standards.

STANDARD 1: DESIGN Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to design conditions for learning by applying principles of instructional systems design, message design, instructional strategies, and learner characteristics.

1.1 Instructional Systems Design - Instructional Systems Design (ISD) is an organized procedure that includes the steps of analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating instruction.

For this section of the AECT standards, I selected the EDTECH 503 Instructional Design Project that I created during the 2012 Fall Semester. This project was mostly procedural (with an underlying attitude theme) and is of the digital responsibility/netiquette variety as it relates to high school students: specifically, how to properly set up and utilize an email account and Facebook. Additionally, this project examined techniques to create and maintain a professionallooking Facebook account. After surveying a random sampling of students at my high school, it

became clear that a majority of the students were aware of what digital responsibility meant and how blatant abuses of it can be harmful to them. However, it was the more subtle situations of technology misuse that this attitude-adjusting project aims to correct. I was fortunate to have my Instructional Design Project reviewed by the districts Director of Curriculum and Instruction and provide feedback from an administrative and district-wide perspective. With his approval of the Rationale, the Analysis Report, the Planning for possible implementation in a high school environment, the Learner Content and the Formative Evaluation Report, I had a ready-to-go Homeroom at my high school to better educate students regarding Digital Responsibility. This Instructional Design Project had many components which went into its creation. Mindsets utilized included: Creating lesson plans for a substitute teacher, Possessing appropriate background knowledge to prove to my undergraduate professors why I am doing what I am doing, and Demonstrating the need for the important information that students need to know in this technology-driven world. These would need to be presented in such a manner that administration would see the educational value and approve it. Considering the complexity and depth of this project, it meets several of the AECT Standards (1.3 Instructional Strategies, 1.4 Learner Characteristics, 3.3 Implementation and Institutionalization, 5.2 Criterion-Referenced Measurements & 5.3 Formative and Summative Evaluation) but I wanted to ensure that any additional artifacts created could be used to demonstrate my growth and understanding of the standards.

1.2 Message Design Message design involves planning for the manipulation of the physical form of the message.

I had a great time creating this next artifact in my EDTECH 541 class that I took in the summer of 2013. Anyone who has taken graduate courses during the summer term knows how incredibly intense and compact the weekly assignments can be. With the assignment of integrating technology into a content area of my choice looming over my head, I was able to fall back upon a childhood obsession that was sparked by my father and grand-father: World War II. While my reflection on the entire lesson can be found at http://bit.ly/1pHusMe, this Social Studies assignment where students are required to research a battle or secret mission that happened during the war really articulates the statement in this standard of manipulation of the physical form of the message. Many official documents from that time in history are becoming declassified. Because of this, a significant amount of new information regarding WWII from both sides perspectives is now available for the public to see. Sadly, these documents might only be found in one place somewhere in the world. 30 years ago, it might have been the family vacation to go see these items. That is not as much the case in todays instantaneous I-want-it-now society. Getting to these spots to observe these documents can be incredibly difficult for the general public much less academic scholars and students. The United States Navy, the History Channel and several other online resources have done a fantastic service scanning or duplicating these artifacts so that this part of the worlds history is more readily accessible to those who wish to learn more about it.

1.3 Instructional Strategies Instructional strategies are specifications for selecting and sequencing events and activities within a lesson.

I enrolled in EDTECH 502 during my first semester in the masters program in the summer of 2012. I honestly had no idea what to expect, especially when informed that I had to build my own website from scratch. The original page for my 502 class can still be found on my website and I consider it important to showcase the overall development of my technology skills and to serve as a reminder of the humble origin of this website. I can honestly say that building this website and all of its massive-complexity gave me a new appreciation for what popular websites like amazon.com and google.com go through on a daily basis. Of all the things which I have created during the progression of this Program, I am perhaps most proud of this website. With that heartfelt statement out of the way, one of the assignments from that class was to create a Webquest which highlights the AECT Standard being asked for by 1.3 Instructional Strategies. Creating a project for any teacher to use and walk the students through the process step-by-step was at first a daunting prospect, especially since common life experiences may be lacking. With simplicity in mind, I came across this idea of Build Your Own Hotel Room while I was on vacation. Almost everyone has seen a hotel room and possibly even a room at home that they can call their own. Personalizing their room and a hotel is something that forces students to hone their management skills, better understand basic market factors, and work collaboratively towards a common goal while still leaving enough wiggle room for them to be creative and

showcase a little of themselves in the presentation. Significant planning goes into something as massive as a hotel; therefore, the order of activity completion is extremely important.

1.4 Learner Characteristics Learner characteristics are those facets of the learner's experiential background that impact the effectiveness of a learning process.

Everyone learns differently and has different backgrounds and stories that helped shape who they are today. This is something that I firmly believe in as a teacher as I work with helping as many students as possible make connections to their lives with the material that they are learning. This AECT Standard can be found sprinkled throughout many of my works in this Masters program but I wanted to focus specifically upon three of them in this section. They are: EDTECH 504 Synthesis paper that was written in the spring of 2013, EDTECH 505 PBIS Evaluation report that was created in the fall of 2013, and finally the EDTECH 543 Top Ten Digital Footprint assignment that was completed in the fall of 2013. The Synthesis paper that I wrote on Mathematics with Everyday Expertise described a phenomenon I had observed in my years as a high school mathematics teacher, but had not previously been able to put a name to. Several correlations between technology and everyday activities were examined, as well as how technology can be involved in the students life (both in and outside of the classroom) which is exactly why this piece is an excellent artifact for this standard. When I came across Everyday Expertise written by Zimmerman and Bell (Jonassen & Land, 2012), I was immediately drawn to the presented learning theory that there was more to

learning that trying to narrow it down to one item. Indeed, consider the following excerpt from this work: *T+he everyday expertise theoretical framework allows for learning to have multiple dimensions individual, social, and cultural which results in a broad consideration of how people learn within and across learning environments (Jonassen & Land, 2012). Everyone learns differently had been pounded into my head ever since I commenced my education classes at UW-Eau Claire. Nasir and Hand (2008) support this statement when they accurately pointed out that, One conclusion researchers have drawn from these findings is that teachers might support better learning in school if they build on the understanding students are gaining outside of school. I finally had a name and some research to confirm my observations in the classroom. Allowing students to use their own life stories and/or technology has been one of the most effective strategies in helping them better understand math. My EDTECH 505 PBIS evaluation report was created in the fall of 2013 and examined how our statewide usage of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Support system affected to 1st Hour and Lunch Hour tardiness. PBIS has yielded invaluable insight into the root cause of these tardy behaviors. Throughout the year, lateness was recorded in our electronic grade book program called Skyward and then monitored by Administration. Utilizing attendance data provided by an external website, we thought that we were achieving our target of less than 10% of student hours being late. However, when we examined actual attendance data from just one-third of the school year, we found that over 40% of our student population had at least one tardy hour. Further and longer-term investigation is definitely warranted to assess the

accuracy of this data, but it was still quite beneficial to discover specific trends within the data, trends which can help educators better understand their target audience. The final example for this section is the EDTECH 543 Top Ten Footprint assignment that was completed in the fall of 2013. With one-on-one classroom talk becoming extremely important within our district, Digital Responsibility and Netiquette have become critical subjects. This assignment focused upon the central tenet that everything you do in cyberspace can affect someone or something. In pursuit of this, the end goal is provoking students to think before acting.

STANDARD 2: DEVELOPMENT Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop instructional materials and experiences using print, audiovisual, computer-based, and integrated technologies.

2.1 Print Technologies Print technologies are ways to produce or deliver materials, such as books and static visual materials, primarily through mechanical or photographic printing processes. Throughout this entire Masters program, I have been collecting my writings and projects into a central electronic location to ensure universal access. Visiting my website, one can see numerous YouTube videos and Scribd files sprinkled throughout. But when I was first introduced to this standard, my initial reaction was that this is exactly what my school district website (http://www.monroeschools.com/webpages/ncannon/index.cfm) was designed to do. (Here are the links to some of my current pages: Mr. Cannons school website Geometry notes, Mr. Cannons school website Algebra notes, Mr. Cannons school website Homework.)

For the last seven years, I have been creating SMARTBoard files and worksheets and posting the blank versions of them to this website. Following the class hour, I would add the completed version of those notes as well as the answer key for the students to check their work. During Parent-Teacher conferences, feedback from parents and guardians indicated that having this resource of technology available to their son or daughter has helped them become better students. Even former students who have gone on to other math teachers within the high school and even college have reported that having that ability to double-check something or get caught up quickly has benefitted them and they wish their current teachers did the same. If a student is gone because of illness or a family event, the website and Internet never shuts down and will be there for them when they want to get caught up. All they have to do is go online and get the information they need to stay current with the class. The same goes with students who are leaving school early for sporting events or who are at away events have want to check an answer or look at the notes. It is all there for them in one easy-to-access location online, which is something to which children of this generation are accustomed. I cannot force them to learn every single day of the week within my classroom walls. However, with this unfettered access to technology, the walls and those 47-minutes of class time per day are crumbling down. If a student is not willing to work during class time but does later in the day, they are not punished too badly by that decision they have made and can stay up-to-date. 2.2 Audiovisual Technologies Audiovisual technologies are ways to produce or deliver materials by using mechanical devices or electronic machines to present auditory and visual messages.

There are numerous examples of this standard which can be found on my website but I want to highlight the following three. They are: EDTECH 541 Walled Garden which was created in the summer of 2013, EDTECH 533 Introduction to the Swing Offense and EDTECH 533 Math Remix Mashup #ParallelMadness , both of which were created in the fall of 2013. When I first received the assignment for a Walled Garden, I honestly had no idea what the term even meant. However, after some research, it became evident that a Walled Garden is something that was very close to accurately describing a high school and its network. As I mentioned previously, and will mention again later, I have a classroom website that I use on a daily basis which functions as an auxiliary instructional aid. I also have a classroom Facebook account, YouTube page and Twitter so that I can continue to stay in touch with the technological mindsets of the students. While the Child Internet Protection Act (C.I.P.A) is very important in a school setting (sometimes Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are blocked on school grounds), having these electronic resources available on numerous platforms is something I think is very important in the development of todays plugged-in learner. While these are just a few of the ways technology and social media has been used within my classroom, the one way that has had the most effect in my classroom is the potential to have conversations with students outside of the classroom. This allows students who may be excessively shy or extremely busy still stay connected with the classroom. The potential of staying connected with the classroom while creating another mode of communication with an expert in the subject who also happens to be acquainted with the student was an effective educational rationale for the use of technology in the classroom that Picardo pointed out in his article. Being able to contact the teacher electronically and in private to ask for help or

clarification without fear of peer pressure or ridicule would help engage the hard-to-reach students and leaves the door wide open to new ways of personalizing and differentiating tuition. The Introduction to the Swing Offense is a video that I have wanted to make for my middle school basketball players for several years and the EDTECH 533 assignment provided the opportunity. During almost every basketball game, the coach is in some way drawing up a play for his players either on the offensive or defensive side. While this might work for the players who have been playing for some time, I usually have the students who are just coming out and do not have that much experience playing the game. My experience teaching lowerlevel students in math has confirmed that one needs multiple methods of presenting a concept. Showing this YouTube video which outlines offensive motions and sequencing is a dynamic way of showing all the moving parts and what it takes to be a Team on the offensive end. I asked an adult, who is incredibly smart, to review the video and provide some honest feedback. He commented to me that he just thought that all the players moved around for the heck of it! He did not realize that there was a system and coordination of movements needed by all five players on the court. I am pleased that I can help not only my players but also anyone else who wants to learn about the Swing Offense. And as an added bonus, I never imagined that my video would receive over 1,000 views as of the writing of this paper. Finally the video Math Remix Mashup #ParallelMadness that was also created for EDTECH 533 was a way to poke fun at the growing Hashtag trend that was created via Twitter. It was taken to a completely new level of craziness and humor by the 2-minute video that Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake created together, and can be found at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57dzaMaouXA. With over 20 million views, the writers of this video have created something truly unique and I chose to borrow the same basic idea but instead apply it to the geometrical concept of parallel lines intersected by a transversal. As previously stated, I am always searching for new means to advance student understanding of the presented material. This video took a humorous approach to how students think about lessons in school (especially math), as well as the teachers mindset throughout the lesson and even those who happen to overhear the conversation. Geometry is a very visual branch of mathematics and while it can be confusing at times, having a resource like YouTube to present concepts in a fun, visual and auditory way might be just the key that some students need to understand what is going on in class.

2.3 Computer-Based Technologies Computer-based technologies are ways to produce or deliver materials using microprocessor-based resources.

Like the previous standards in this section, there are multiple examples that I wanted to highlight that shows my understanding of this concept. The first I have already talked about in 1.2 Message Design and that was the Social Studies assignment: WWII in the Pacific. As I said before, without the use of computers to make these documents available electronically after recent declassification, it would be incredibly difficult to view them if you were not near their physical location. The next example of this AECT standard I created was the EDTECH 597 Scratch game that was crafted during the spring of 2013. This artifact utilizes an online computer program to create a game that exemplifies exactly what this standard is looking for. Many of my students

had never even heard of Scratch, but after demonstrating it, they began to formulate ideas and brainstorm applications for this website and software application. Helping students be creative and think not only inside the box but outside the box is something all educators need to be doing. Providing students opportunities to be creative and think outside the box is something toward which all educators should strive. Even though Malone (Malone, 1980) stated that challenge, fantasy, and curiosity are three essential categories for a successful gaming experience, the same idea can be applied toward classroom learning as the two activities share commonalities.

2.4 Integrated Technologies Integrated technologies are ways to produce and deliver materials which encompass several forms of media under the control of a computer.

Most applicable to this standard would be the EDTECH 541 assignment of Internet for Instruction: Planning your Spring Break that I prepared during the summer of 2013. The goal of this assignment was to set up an itinerary for a Spring Break with proof of prices, mandatory events, and the total trip cost, all in presentable electronic forms. This artifact covers the requirements of having the students produce and deliver several forms of media since I am asking them to utilize computing forms besides the traditional desktop computer; examples could include mobile phone and/or tablets. To borrow the commonly-used phrase, Theres an App for that! really describes the almost limitless potential of these non-traditional computing platforms.

STANDARD 3: UTILIZATION Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to use processes and resources for learning by applying principles and theories of media utilization, diffusion, implementation, and policy-making.

3.1 Media Utilization Media utilization is the systematic use of resources for learning.

My EDTECH 502 Concept Map is a great example that showcases my understanding and mastery of this AECT standard. At the time of this assignment, I was preparing to teach the Real Number System and it was an ideal combination of a classroom need and Masters assignment. The section of this standard that references systematic and math is incredibly systematic, especially regarding numbers. At its simplest level, acceptable answers could be either Real or Imaginary. Since Imaginary Numbers are covered later on in the students mathematical careers, we focus exclusively upon the Real numbers, which themselves can be further broken down into Rational, Irrational, Integers, Whole and/or Natural numbers. My website explains this in an interactive format that can refer the learner to external websites which can further increase their understanding of the Real Number system.

3.2 Diffusion of Innovations Diffusion of innovations is the process of communicating through planned strategies for the purpose of gaining adoption.

This standards artifact will be used again as my AECT 5.4 example, and both are closely related to one of my AECT 3.4 artifacts where we examine the Acceptable Use Policy that I helped craft for my school district. However, before I get ahead of myself, let me focus first

upon the example created in my EDTECH 501 class during the summer of 2012 (Technology Use Overview Plan). This plan was created with the mindset that we as educators need to be preparing students for life after high school; therefore, we must do our best to locate and demonstrate technology that best supports this goal. Any teacher who wants to be part of this committee should be encouraged and welcomed to contribute to this common goal within the school district. Unique and cross-curricular perspectives present within the committee can only benefit students after they complete their required education. While the National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) for 2010 provides clear direction (including suggestions) to districts on how to be successful, it is ultimately the responsibility of each individual district to adapt it to fit the needs of their students. One must be careful, as there are many tools and devices available and merely possessing them does not guarantee success! In a recent article in the Huffington Post, Liang Vergara (2014) discusses how I have yet to walk into a classroom and find that 100 percent of the students are driven, self-motivated learners You cant just place students in front of digital content and expect them to succeed. We, as educators, must be cognizant of this
important fact as we strive to make learning more practical and applicable to our students. . Vergara continues on when he states that

I want teachers to be empowered to be physically active, moving around the space, talking and joking, coaching and supporting kids. I want kids talking to each other, providing tips and guidance, and developing their ability to work collaboratively. This is the type of blended learning implementation you walk into and immediately say, This feels right. It creates multiple levels of

connections that strengthen relationships among students and teachers, and drives the engagement that motivates all learners.
Indeed, if we can foster this using the amazing technology that is currently available, anything will be possible for our students when they leave the walls of the high school.

3.3 Implementation and Institutionalization Implementation is using instructional materials or strategies in real (not simulated) settings. Institutionalization is the continuing, routine use of the instructional innovation in the structure and culture of an organization.

As previously mentioned in the AECT 2.1 standard, my school district website has been incredibly helpful in keeping the students connected to the print versions of what has been going on in class but in an electronic form. When this standard asked for using instructional materials and strategies in real (not simulated) settings I could think of no better example than my website. It does not get much more real than when we are dealing with students learning in the classroom and making sure they, within reason, have all the resources and advantages to succeed. Over the last few years I have been asked several times to use my website as an example at school district technology sessions. Fellow colleagues can gain inspiration and develop ideas for their own classroom websites. While classroom websites are currently optional within my district, I feel that as more are created we will see increased comprehension by our students. Here are the links to some of my current pages: Mr. Cannons school website Geometry notes, Mr. Cannons school website Algebra notes, Mr. Cannons school website Homework.

3.4 Policies and Regulations Policies and regulations are the rules and actions of society (or its surrogates) that affect the diffusion and use of Instructional Technology.

There are several examples of this standard throughout my assignments in the EDTECH program. The three which will be examined here are: EDTECH 541 Acceptable Use Policy (which I helped draft) during the fall of 2012, EDTECH 502 Netiquette, and EDTECH 502 Plagiarism Scavenger Hunt, the latter two being crafted during summer 2012. The Acceptable Use Policy was a necessity within our district as we observed the increase in technology adaptation by our students. We did have an existing technology policy but the language of this document had become dated and needed an overhaul to address mobile devices and even future technology. Once drafted, this new policy required approval from the School Board, which was not an easy task as we wanted the policy to reflect the unique culture present within the Monroe School District and not be a cookie-cutter general policy copied from somewhere else. After much hard work and dedication by the committee, which was composed of tech-savvy teachers along with administrators, a policy was drafted, presented to the School Board, and later adopted. This was my first-ever experience working on a legal document that would be a guide for several years of technology usage, so providing flexibility to adapt to changes in technology while still providing consequences for violations was quite challenging. All-in-all, I was pleased with the outcome and proud of the role I played during its creation. My EDTECH 502 Netiquette website is something about which I am very passionate when it comes to the technological world. Several years ago, I was the victim of a demeaning

usage of technology by a student. While that individual thought it was cute and funny, I was not laughing. Administrators were brought in, the individual was disciplined, and the situation was put to rest. Well, I knew for a fact that once those pictures made it to the Internet, they were never going away which is something that much of todays generation does not yet fully comprehend. Some of them do, but with the ability to screen-capture a SnapChat, even those ten second pictures which supposedly disappear could come back to haunt you. The more information and awareness that our students have the better chance everyone can use the Internet and all of its amazing resources in a positive way. Finally, the Plagiarism Scavenger Hunt that I also made in the summer of 2012 for my EDTECH 502 class shows how digital media needs to be used appropriately and not just used whenever I want because no one is going to catch me since I am a high school student. Copyright and fair use are important concepts about which we must all learn, including the educator. There are valuable resources available on the Internet, and in the past we could pretty much borrow anything and be fine. Digital media is not necessarily in the same boat and because of that, people need to be aware of what we can and cannot use and how to appropriately give credit whenever it is required.

STANDARD 4: MANAGEMENT Candidates demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions to plan, organize, coordinate, and supervise instructional technology by applying principles of project, resource, delivery system, and information management.

4.1 Project Management Project management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling instructional design and development projects.

After looking at the title of this standard and seeing Project as the first word, the only artifact that I could think of was my EDTECH 542 Project Based Learning (PBL) activity that I created in the spring of 2013. The driving question of that activity was, How can all the land be divided up for our new outdoor athletic facilities to better serve the school and the community? Throughout the entire semester that it took for me to create this month-long project, I had to constantly keep in mind all of the ways that departments within our building could become involved with this activity. It really displayed how changing to a PBL mindset as an entire building would require significant change, sacrifices and planning from the district, Administration, and the community. The reason is that Project-Based Learning would be difficult to correlate to the national standards to which many school districts are now subscribing. Even with this difficulty, the benefits to students could be life-changing. Regardless of whether your school has implemented Project Based Learning, a class that is small enough (or if the department as a whole agrees that a certain class can handle this transition) to utilize this concept will be able to gain a deeper and more dynamic connection to classroom material and its applicability to individual students lives.

4.2 Resource Management Resource management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling resource support systems and services.

As I stated in AECT standard 1.1, my EDTECH 503 Instructional Design Project that was completed in the fall of 2012 displays the planning, monitoring, evaluation and support systems which are needed to create a homeroom for all teachers within the high school, regardless of their technological abilities. Making a high-level plan universally available electronically is

absolutely key to giving confidence to the educator. As part of this plan, website links may be included which allow an individual teacher to tailor the implementation specifically toward their students.

4.3 Delivery System Management Delivery system management involves planning, monitoring and controlling 'the method by which distribution of instructional materials is organized' . . . [It is] a combination of medium and method of usage that is employed to present instructional information to a learner.

My EDTECH 541 Hypermedia integration of videos: mathematics lesson is a great way to demonstrate how controlling the delivery system is essential when one is guiding the learning of the students within a classroom. It would be very easy to show the end product and say, Get here. Go! Yes, some students would have little to no difficulty doing this; however, not everyone learns in the same manner. Beginning with the this particular lessons basics of mathematical Direct Variation and Removable Discontinuity, it is critical to employ a step-bystep approach so as to ensure learning comprehension. While it would be great if I were able to take absolutely all the time needed until everyone has mastered each topic in its entirety, there are inevitably extenuating circumstances which inhibit this. This, combined with the newest state and national standards against which my school is now compared, prevent me from employing this molasses approach to teaching. Indeed, following this approach, our class sizes would be a handful at most, and maybe even one! In these situations, multiple electronic resources such as YouTube

personalities and websites can aid in bridging the gap. As an added benefit, it also allows students to work on their time-management skills.

4.4 Information Management Information management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling the storage, transfer, or processing of information in order to provide resources for learning.

In my EDTECH 541 Spreadsheet project (made in the summer of 2012), I had several spreadsheet examples and activities which required planning, monitoring by both the student and educator, and processing of the resulting information. The first time that I gave this assignment, I assumed that the students knew absolutely nothing about the computer program Microsoft Excel. This activity from EDTECH 541 gave me the opportunity to explore other examples similar to what I was asking my students to complete. I would love to be available for my students wherever and whenever they need assistance. Sadly, however, I physically cannot be in more than one place at a time; and contrary to their popular belief, I do have a social life!

STANDARD 5: EVALUATION Candidates demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions to evaluate the adequacy of instruction and learning by applying principles of problem analysis, criterion-referenced measurement, formative and summative evaluation, and long-range planning.

5.1 Problem Analysis Problem analysis involves determining the nature and parameters of the problem by using information-gathering and decision-making strategies.

In the fall of 2013, I created two videos for EDTECH 533 which relate to problem-solving and decision-making strategies. These videos were my stop-motion video on creating the Unit Circle and the Behind-The-Scenes interview on the creation of this video. I was really excited to try a stop-motion video because I grew up watching something very similar on the claymation television show Gumby. I did not anticipate the incredible amount of time and energy, along with the sheer quantity of still photographs required to create this stop-motion video! In fact, I ended up incorporating this in a fun and humorous manner when I interviewed the star of the video, Lego-Man. We discussed situations where you sometimes fail or are overwhelmed and how important it is to gather information about what went wrong so that you do not repeat the same mistake in the future.

5.2 Criterion-Referenced Measurement Criterion-referenced measurement involves techniques for determining learner mastery of pre-specified content.

Throughout this Masters program, it has been necessary to create a rubric to evaluate the effectiveness of student comprehension of the presented material. I decided to focus upon the EDTECH 502 Webquest Evaluation Rubric for the activity of building your own hotel. This rubric clearly states the evaluation criteria for the hotel project, and makes it quick and easy to demonstrate understanding of this AECT standard. Because I grew up during a time when rubrics had not yet become widely mainstreamed, I had difficulty understanding exactly what the teacher was expecting from my work. Had a rubric been incorporated, any guess-work or confusion could have been eliminated, plus it ensures a more consistent grading assessment process.

5.3 Formative and Summative Evaluation Formative evaluation involves gathering information on adequacy and using this information as a basis for further development. Summative evaluation involves gathering information on adequacy and using this information to make decisions about utilization.

For this AECT standard, I am again drawn back to my EDTECH 542 Project Based Learning activity that I previously discussed in AECT standard 4.1. Like the previous standard, some sort of rubric or assessment method is needed to ensure that students can demonstrate understanding of the presented material. Historically, only an end-of-unit assessment was used to assess comprehension; however, there are additional methods which may be utilized to qualitatively and quantitative assess understanding. Please understand: there is still a definite need for a summative assessment. But formative assessments can be excellent check-points along the way. Possible examples include journals or learning logs, and plans or outlines (combined with regular meetings with the individual and/or group.

5.4 Long-Range Planning Long-range planning that focuses on the organization as a whole is strategic planning. Long-range is usually defined as a future period of about three to five years or longer. During strategic planning, managers are trying to decide in the present what must be done to ensure organizational success in the future. As I discussed in AECT standard 3.2 & 3.4, the Acceptable Use Policy is something that needs to be universally adopted by all school districts and must have total commitment by everyone in the chain of educational command if this policy is to work effectively. The

Acceptable Use Policy relates to this standard because technology is always changing! We do not know what will be the next big thing in life; because of this, we must be prepared and have a policy that is flexible enough to allow for evolving technology while being sufficiently rigid to establish clear boundaries.

Conclusion Narrowing down the best artifact to represent each AECT standard was easily one of the most difficult tasks during this graduate program. There were times when I wanted to use the same artifact over and over again because that one assignment had so many facets. However, I did not think that this approach would accurately demonstrate how much I have changed over the last two years, both as an educator and as a person. I am an avid user of modern technology and this program was quite relevant to my personal and professional aspirations. I want to thank Boise State Educational Technology faculty for their top-notch instruction, the tech support people who have helped me on more than one occasion, the guidance counselors who ensured that I did what I needed to do (on-time!), and finally to you, the reader. I trust that I was successful in providing insight into who I am as an educator, student, and individual.

Resources Jonassen, D. H., & Land, S. M. (2012). Theoretical foundations of learning environments. New York: Routledge. Liang-Vergara, C. (February 28, 2014). How Teachers Can Use Digital Technologies to Motivate Students and Encourage Learning By Failing.Inhuffingtonpost.com. Retrieved March 1, 2014 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-liangvergara/blended-learning-mindresearch-institute_b_4860446.html Malone, T. W. (1980). What makes things fun to learn? heuristics for designing instructional computer games. GSMALL '80 Proceedings of the 3rd ACM SIGSMALL symposium and the first SIGPC symposium on Small systems. Nasir, N. S., & Hand, V. (April 01, 2008). From the Court to the Classroom: Opportunities for Engagement, Learning, and Identity in Basketball and Classroom Mathematics. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 17, 2, 143-179. Picardo, J. (February 16, 2010). Microblogging: making the case for social networking in education. In boxoftricks.net. Retrieved July 15, 2013 from http://www.boxoftricks.net/2010/02/microblogging-making-the-case-for-socialnetworking-in-education/ salazam (2011, September 2). Do. Or do not. There is no try. In youtube.com. Retrieved February 26, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ4yd2W50No The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2013, September 24). #Hashtag with Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake (Late Night In youtube.com. Retrieved February 26, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57dzaMaouXA