Instructional Designer

Image Source: Darko1981/ Shutterstock

My Instructional Designer technology course has come to and end, and I feel like I have grown so much as a professional. To be quite honest, I feel that this course has really made me think outside the box. Before I would probably consider the standards, content and my grade level, but this course helped me considered multiple ends. Planning curriculum goes beyond the grade level and there are different aspects to consider. One of the most important aspects is the learner you have in front of you. Students are different, and therefore, they have different learning styles. As educators, it is extremely important to consider the different learning styles and think of better ways to differentiate instruction.  Technology can really help differentiate instruction and meet the needs of every individual. If used properly, technology can have a huge impact on student learning.

Part of the course required creating an instructional process. When I first began developing the design, I walked in with one idea, and as the process continued, I came up with a different idea. Part of this was because at first there were so many things I wanted to present. However, as the process went on, I realized that I had to be more specific with my plan and that there needed to be multiple things considered. Some of these included thinking about a major challenge with technology in my current district and the process for presenting and implementing it. I had to ask several people and find a common problem. Per teachers and other staff, part of the problem was not having enough training on using an online learning platform, and per families the problem was having difficulty accessing the material for remote learning. This background gave me the idea of researching for a common online learning platform that could help address multiple problems. Seesaw would be a great online platform that could  be used across different grade levels and one that could also support students and families at home.

When I shared my plan with the colleagues I will be working with next year, I realized that they also shared a common interest. They saw the same need and thought this would be a great plan to implement. This gave me more hope for the project and a better understanding for presenting it to the rest of the staff. When I first presented the idea of using Seesaw across all grade levels, the timing and the format was not the best one. Teachers were feeling overwhelmed with the shift of instruction and they were not prepared for it. However, when I began creating and sharing examples, teachers got more excited and began to take some interest. With the administration on board, I think this plan will have a good turn out.

One of the greatest parts of the project proposal, was step number 4: the design process. Although the planning for step was very time consuming, I thought it was worth as it was an extremely important step. During this step, I had to considered several factors. For instance, I had to think of the layout of the plan, and considered the people involved as well as the time frame. When I got to this part of the process, I think I could visualize the project coming along and really happening.

Step 5, peer review, was another great step because I got to receive some feedback from colleagues. My colleagues gave me reassurance about the plan and they also helped me think of better ways for presenting it. I then made the changes they suggested for the design. I added more visuals and resources that teachers could easily access during implementation of the plan.

Going through the process of planning this technology proposal was very helpful, since I had multiple opportunities to reflect. Planning a project like this takes time and one really has to think about the teacher's needs, but most importantly, the needs of students. I feel that this plan will have a good impact in my school community and help solve some of the problems we are having.

The role of a technology specialist is an important one in any school. Now more than ever, this role is crucial, as we shift instruction more to rely on the use of technology. Due to many factors, teachers do not always have the ideas to help all their students, and they need someone along their side. Instructional designers can really help teachers better plan and think of different ways to support students.

Learning Specialist/Instructional Designer

Learning Specialist/Instructional Designer Proposal Reflection

Image Source: Online Learning Consortium (OLC)

Who would have thought that we were half-way into our Instructional Design Grad Course? Our course began in the midst of E-learning. eLearning is "learning utilizing electronic technologies to access educational curriculum outside of a traditional classroom" (eLearningNC, 2020). While preparing a proposal for a technology tool that would enhance student learning, I had to brainstorm around ideas that could potentially involve E-Learning. For that reason, my proposal took many routes.

Image Source: Tim Riordan (2019)

At first, my focus was heavily on the language barrier that exists across many schools and districts. That is, students not understanding their teachers, and teachers not being able to communicate with families because of a language barrier. As an educator of English Learners (ELs), language happens to be one of my greatest passions and will probably continue to be. For that reason, I thought about keeping my proposal around the language parameters, but also around a major issue currently faced in our district. That issue is the inconsistency between learning platforms for students accessing the material from home. 

Like many other schools, most of our teachers had very little training in technology, which then led them to use whatever they knew or had. As a result, different teachers were providing assignments in many different formats. Some teachers, for instance, were using very recognized online platforms such as Seesaw, Google Classroom, Class Dojo, along with many others.  The inconsistency from grade level to grade level, and from teacher to teacher, led many families to have difficulty accessing the learning material. Families did not know whether they should go to the district website, get an email or simply wait for the teacher to tell them what to do. To help address this accessibility and communication problem, I thought about proposing on using a common online platform for the k-5 elementary group or at least within the grade level brackets k-2 and 3-5.

Image Source: Nord Anglia Education (2018)

When I first presented the idea of going forward with a common online platform, such as Seesaw, the proposal was not well received. Some teachers rejected the idea, and others did not give it much importance at that time. I believe this rejection and lack of importance was not intentional. Instead, it was something that would just add more to the tip of the iceberg.

Image Source: Nicholas Thibodeau (2018)

Teachers  were already feeling overwhelmed with everything that was going on due to the pandemic. To help ease some of that anxiety, I began planning  and using some of the Seesaw resources to share with teachers and admin. When I shared these samples with teachers and admin, they were very pleased and thankful. In fact, it was a good turn out that they seem to be ready to learn more.

Even-though there seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel, there are still some barriers that need be overcome. Some of these involve getting more teacher buy-in, especially from reluctant teachers who have difficulty adapting to new changes. Also, the idea needs to be presented to the rest of the administration and wait for approval. Nevertheless, I am still excited about the idea of having a common online platform for our teachers, students and families. I think this will make a huge impact on the lives of many people in our district.

As one can see, the role of a Technology Specialist, just like any other specialist and educator is an ongoing one. There can be many challenges presented, but it is very important to be open to ideas, challenges and change. I am excited to continue evolving on this instructional designer journey and continue to see how technology impacts our world. 

References

eLearningNC.gov. (2020). About eLearning. eLearningNC. Retrieved  

         from http://www.elearningnc.gov/about_elearning/what_is_elearning/ 

Class Dojo. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.classdojo.com/

Google Classroom. (2020). Retrieved from https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google- 

        classroom/mfhehppjhmmnlfbbopchdfldgimhfhfk?hl=en

Nord Anglia Education. (2018, June 4). Seesaw image retrieved from

        https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/en/our-schools/beijing/shunyi/article/2018/6/4/seesaw- 

        expectations

Online Learning Consortium. (2020). Image retrieved from

        https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/learn/programs-and-courses-for-the-instructional-designer/

Riordan, T. (2019, August 19). Which Way Do I Go? Image retrieved from

        http://new.timriordan.me/which-way-do-i-go/

Seesaw. (2020). Retrieved from https://web.seesaw.me/

Thibodeau, N. (2018, January 12). Iceberg Illusion Image retrieved from 

       https://twitter.com/nthibodeaujarry/status/951889156296400896/photo/1

Technology in a STEAM Classroom Reflection

Technology in a STEAM Classroom

The presence of digital tools in the classrooms has increased dramatically in the past years. This trend in technology has accelerated over time, which has made it difficult for some teachers to keep up to date with. In the following infographic by Seeta Pai, the Executive Director of Education at WBGH in Boston, she displays the frequency in use of technology by teachers.

Infographic by: Seeta Pai

This infographic shows that, although teachers would love to use technology tools more frequently, there are time constrictions. It can sometimes be time consuming when looking for the appropriate technology tools to use, which is one of my biggest problems for incorporating technology in the STEAM classroom. I will often have an idea, but not necessarily sure of which tool to use. Or sometimes, I will know which tool I want to use, but I'm not sure if it has the features I am looking for. To overcome this problem, I think it would be helpful to have a table chart listing different tools and their functions. For instance, if I want to display an article online, I would go to my table chart and look at the different technology tools that can do this.

Another aspect for incorporating technology into a STEAM classroom is the management piece, especially with the younger kids. For instance, when I attempted showing a lesson to the whole group, and I wanted for them to follow along, I realized that many were needing my help and I could not be there at the same time to assist. Perhaps I could have placed them in groups or pairs to help each other.

There are so many great technology tools that I wish I could implement if I had a classroom. In the meantime I can implement some when I lead team meetings or when I support classroom teachers. One of the tools that I would like to use with teachers is Thinglink. After learning about the tool in class, I began developing one for the fifth grade team. Currently, fifth graders are studying about ecosystems, and I thought it would be a great idea for them to display their learning through Thinglink. The one I created included pictures of different ecosystems with some readings in Spanish. Often, it is very difficult to find resources in Spanish, for which I compiled several passages around the topic. This will hopefully facilitate time for teachers when attempting to look for resources in Spanish.

GIPHY

A controversial question that has caused a lot of commotion in education has been “how early should technology be introduced?.” With the 21st century skills at the forefront of everything, I believe technology should be introduced as early as possible. I, like many other teachers, thought that young children should not be introduced to technology in the young grades (Kindergarten-first) because there were so many other important skills that children needed to develop. Yet, after learning more about STEAM and the 21st century skills, I now believe that children as young as in kindergarten, if not earlier, should be introduced to technology in a STEAM classroom. As teachers, we have been asking our kindergartners to do algebraic thinking and other problem solving activities. By introducing technology into the STEAM classroom, we will be providing a scaffold for thinking and activity much  like other tools. We will also be providing a great equalizer for students by giving them opportunities to access what they probably could not before.

Although technology plays an important part of a STEAM curriculum, I do not think that it should always be used. There are so many other ways for incorporating STEAM in a classroom that does not necessarily involve technology. As teachers, we need to continue encouraging ways for students to think deeply and solve problems with a hands-on approach. In addition, it is important for teachers to find out how much screen-time our students are having so that we can determine if technology would be the best tool to use.

Resources:

Pai, Seta. (2013, June 21). EdTech Isn’t Optional, It’s Essential. Infographic retrieved from https://elearninginfographics.com/teachers-edtech-study-infographic-400-free-edtech-tools/#sthash.TKadqfib.qjtu

ThingLink, a digital tool that allows teachers and students to turn an image into an interactive graphic. Available at https://www.thinglink.com/edu

Techonology in STEM

Technology in STEM

Image Source: Kid 101

I cannot believe that I am halfway through a technology course called EDU 782 Technology in STEM. There has been so much that I have learned in this class, from something as simple as the meaning of the term STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and math (WeAreTeachersStaff, 2018, March 16). In the class, I learned that an “a” was added to the term STEM, which now included the arts program. 

For those of us who have been long in the field of education, we know that there have been many shifts in instruction. One of these instructional shifts has been STEAM. STEAM calls for implementation of 21st Century skills in the classroom. In the EDU 782 course, we learned that part of the 21st century learning includes collaboration, critical thinking, communication and creativity (the 4 Cs). These terms might sound simple, but the reality is that they go deeper in the learning process, as well as in instruction. In the following section, you will see some examples of the 4 Cs.

Critical thinking involves reflective and independent thinking. It goes beyond memorizing facts and it involves the person in reasoning and becoming a problem solver (Finley, T. 2014, August 19).  

Image Source: Christopher Danielson

In the previous image, we see the question “which one does not belong?” When we ask our students to think beyond the yes and no answers, we help them become critical thinkers. In a classroom where we see critical thinking taking place, we probably will see students taking control of their learning and perhaps presenting to other peers. One perfect example of taking control of the student learning, was when we had the opportunity to learn about Ozobots. An Ozobot, is a small robot that will move around based on coding. In the following image, you will see the example that a group and I put together:

Personal Photo

Part of this project involved learning the order of planets from smallest to biggest. As a team, we needed to figure out how we would make our Ozobot move from one planet to the other. Considering that this was a new concept for all of us, we needed to support one another, through communication, collaboration and critical thinking. Part of our creativity was involved in the form that we made the Ozobot move from one point to another. In the end, we were able to successfully make our Ozobot go from one planet to the other. Without cooperative learning, thinking and planning, this project would not have been possible or successful.

Considering that I was not familiar with several of the technology tools presented in this course, I felt overwhelmed by all the tools I needed to learn. One thing that helped was having the cooperative work because I was able to learn from my peers and practice the tools together. There was an occasion where we got to explore a tool on our own, which was the Scratch App. Scratch is an online programming tool that allows students to create their own stories, games and animations. Since it was my first time coding, I had a very difficult time with this technology tool. I needed a lot of additional support from my teacher. I realized that perhaps I could explore more using the simple version of this app, which is called Scratch Jr. Scratch Jr. is often used with young children, and like the other version, it allows students to create their own games and stories. To further my learning with this technology tool, I will be using it with a group of students who have created their own stories and now need to bring them alive.

An important takeaway that I have had so far from this technology course is that we cannot continue to refer back to the old ways of instruction. As professionals, we need to continue evolving and see the new teaching practices in place. Part of this evolutionary learning involves taking risks, thinking critically, asking for support and most importantly reflecting on the things that we can change. My hope is to continue evolving as a learner and try to embed as many things as possible to my instruction and learning process.

Resources:

Danielson, C. Which One Does Not Belong? Available at http://wodb.ca/

Finely, T. (August 19, 2014). Critical Thinking Pathways. Edutopia article  

         retrieved via https://www.edutopia.org/blog/critical-thinking-

Pathways-todd-finley

Ozobot available at https://ozobot.com/

Scratch available at https://scratch.mit.edu/

Scratch Jr. available at https://www.scratchjr.org/

WeAre Teachers. (March 16, 2018). What Do We Mean When We Talk About  

         STEM? Retrieved at https://www.weareteachers.com/what-is-stem/