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

Active Learning

Active Learning

Image Source: Natalie Laderas-Kilkenny

The image above is a great example of how education has evolve over time. From the Colonial Era to most recently, there have been major  changes in education. Before, the expectation was that students remained seated, in rows, and listened to the teacher lecture a lesson. Then, students began sitting in tables, participated in small group discussion, but mostly had to listen for teacher direction and instruction. Now, with the 21st Century Skills (creativity, critical thinking, collaboration & communication)  in place, there has been a huge shift in education. In several places, one might not see students siting in rows, tables or at all. Students will engage more in individualized instruction and work on different skills that others are not necessarily working on. In these learning and innovated spaces we will probably see something similar to the following picture:

Image Source: @ViewSonic

In this image, we see the instructor delivering instruction via a Smartboard or Smart TV. As he guides students through the lesson, students are located in different parts of the room, which is something very different from the traditional setting. Students are actively engaged in the lesson and perhaps learning at their own pace or level. This is part of active learning, which we will learn in the next section.

What is Active Learning?

Active learning  involves teaching methods and strategies that engage students in the material in a meaningful way. Students will engage in small group or whole group activities that are centered around writing, listening, speaking, problem solving and reflecting. The following is a great example of some of the strategies that can be implemented to make active learning happen:

In this spectrum of active learning activities, we see the rigor from basic activities that perhaps do not involve so much time, to more rigorous and complex activities. Overall, we see students participating in active learning activities that provide opportunities for learning, applying , synthesizing and getting involved in discussion. 

My Experiences with Active Learning

Image Source: Via GIPHY

I currently work in a district that supports Kagan Structures. The Kagan structures include several of the active learning strategies previously mentioned. Some of these are: Think-pair-share, inside-outside circle, all write round robin and several other more. Kagan strategies are part of active learning, as these also follow structures that are different from the traditional instruction. When using Kagan structures, students actively participate and engage in learning. Students end up doing the hard work and the teacher essentially functions as a facilitator.

Through the use of SeeSaw, I would create portfolios for different subject areas. In these portfolios I would add stories, images, videos and student samples to give students the opportunity to access different information. Some of the projects involved working with a partner and having students record about their projects. Students really loved reading my comments or even comments from their parents. SeeSaw gave my students the opportunity to explore a variety of digital tools and enhance their learning.

Exploring Active Learning

This week, I looked at a blog called U.S. Regions, Thinglink and Websites. The blog was originally designed for an elementary school to show the work of a 3rd grade gifted teacher who taught social studies curriculum. In the blog, the teacher shared about the steps students took to research on the region being studied. Students first used a graphic organizer to help them with notes and the things that needed to be displayed in their Thinglink. After students did the research and developed their Thinglink, they had to create a 5 page website. Part of this 5 page website require for students to add all the previous projects they had completed. The use of technology, and specially the Thinglink platform, created a hands on opportunity for students to be actively engage in learning.

Until viewing this blog, I had no idea that such an amazing technology platform like Thinglink existed. The fact that students add their personal touch, have a fun purpose for doing research and showcase their learning in an innovated way makes me want to use this platform right away. If you are as interested as I am in learning and using  Thinglink in your classroom or for your teachers, please see the following video:

Video Resource: YouTube

Please checkout the Padlet I created to summarize my learning about the 3rd grade teacher's blog and active learning:

Padlet

Resources:

Center for Educational Inovation. "Active Learning." Website at https://cei.umn.edu/active-learning

Kagan Structures at https://www.kaganonline.com/about_us.php

Nicole Zumpano (2018). "What is Active Learning." Prezi at https://prezi.com/vltahpm3b1hn/what-is-active-learning/ utm_campaign=share&token=21acedd662237401cb58486f35352d6fba7d05

e6b30cf495979ca34cbf121958&utm_medium=copy

SeeSaw https://web.seesaw.me/

ThingLink Turotial and How to Use in Classroom Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yrcCE4RK1s

ViewSonic Education Blog (2018). "How to Implement Active Learning for Classrooms." Blog at

https://education.viewsonic.com/active-learning-classrooms/

What is a Padlet? at http://www.wvadulted.org/uploads/4/2/4/9/42499625/padlet_for_beginners.pdf