ETEC561 Week 1 - Defining our Field

In my mind, educational technology means using technology to improve student learning.  This week we read many different definitions and observed the transformation of educational technology resulting from advances in educational tools and the world of technology.  A teacher one hundred years ago would have never imagined the way we engage and teach students now.  Each new day brings new ways to reach and inspire students.
I most readily identified with the AECT committee's 2008 definition of the field of educational technology.  "Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources." (p.4)
The textbook authors refer to educational technology as instructional design and technology.  I think this term is appropriate because it implies not only are we using technology to improve student learning, but we are doing it on purpose for a purpose.  We are designing instruction around technology to improve student learning.
After reading all the definitions of educational technology, I still like mine best.  Instructional media,  performance improvement, and systematic processes are all implied when saying we are going to do what is necessary to teach kids better by using technology.   A sixteen page definition of our field does not change what we do or why we do it.

I have created a NearPod lesson for my class on business ethics.  The purpose of the lesson is to teach students the definition and importance of business ethics and provide real-world examples of the type of ethical dilemmas they may encounter in the future.  The NearPod lesson begins with a classroom discussion on what ethics is and its definition as well as other terms to consider like morals and values.  The students are then given a scenario to read either together or on their own.  The NearPod then surveys students to see how each student would decide the ethical scenario given.  The results are shared with the class.  The presentation then presents three questions that should be considered when faced with an ethical dilemma and allows them to discuss the issue as a group to see if the three questions change their answer and if they can agree to an appropriate course of action.  The class is then surveyed again to see if the results have changed.  After the NearPod lesson, we will break in to groups of three or four and each group will be given their own ethical situation to consider.  They will decide how they should respond to the problem as a group and report a summary of their situation to the class along with why they decided the way they did.
Considering this lesson when looking at the six characteristics of instructional design I believe this is a well designed lesson:
  1.  The lesson is student centered because the NearPod lesson allows students to be involved, asks for their input and in no way forces a student to choose one solution over an other.  The student must simply be able to make an argument for their ethical decision to the class.
  2.  The lesson is goal oriented because the purpose of the lesson is clearly stated and focuses all aspects of the lesson on the goal of understanding and solving ethical challenges.
  3.  The lesson focuses on meaningful performance because there is no correct answer, just a justifiable answer.  Students are given real-life likely scenarios to consider and must be able to defend their answer to their peers.
  4.  The lesson should have measurable outcomes based on classroom discussion and meaningful answers to the scenarios given.  Will I be able to judge if a student will make an ethical decision in the future, given an actual ethical dilemma?  Unfortunately, no.  I can only hope they will remember the three questions and use them to their benefit.
  5.  The lesson is new and untried in my classroom.  I will definitely make changes to it as necessary to improve student outcomes.  I believe the lesson is self-correcting because students will be expected to justify their conclusions to the rest of their class.
  6.  The lesson incorporates group work and student accountability as students must agree to a solution and present the results to the class.  Any group that agrees they would do something illegal or unethical will have to justify that decision to the rest of the class.
Overall, I believe this lesson is an example of good instructional design and meets the recommended characteristics.  I will honestly have a better idea of how well this lesson reaches kids once I try it out, but I hope it is engaging and fun as well as something students will remember when faced with a difficult ethical decision in the future.
 
The definition of instructional media has certainly changed over the years.  If we look far enough back, there was a time when textbooks were advances in instructional media.  As electronics replace pens and paper, textbooks, chalkboards and classroom teachers seem to fade from prominence.  While none of our schools have traditional chalkboards anymore, we still use plenty to textbooks and printed materials.  I would also argue there is no better instructional media tool than a classroom teacher.  Nothing can evaluate, revise and redirect classroom instruction better than a teacher.  While many see the future of our field consisting of nothing but online instruction with computers and videos, I can not imagine a future without the human touch of a caring instructor who has facilitates and encourages student learning.


Work cited:
Reiser, Robert A., and John V. Dempsey. Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology. Third ed. Boston ; Munich: Pearson, 2012. Print.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school; boy, was it crazy!  I am scheduled to help out in the office (to train my PEIMS replacement) the first two periods of the day, but I ended up spending that time plus my conference period helping with schedule changes.  I also have six hours of graduate classes starting today.

The classes themselves went okay.  I know it will get easier and the one thing I worried about the most happened:  I ran out of stuff to talk about.  As a new teacher, I worry about pacing and how much stuff I can discuss or cover in a 45 minute period.  Add to that having to cover certain parts of the campus' student handbook (but only in certain classes) and I was off.  It doesn't help that I also teach three different things, so what took a while in one class, didn't even come up in another.  It wasn't awful and kids behaved, but I really want them to be busy bell to bell.  I have had several veteran teachers tell me that pacing will get easier in time.

Tomorrow I have a presentation prepared that I thought might take more than one day to cover, now I think it may not. . . .talk slow!

New School Year, New Job

Well, I passed my content exam in both Technology and Business Education.  I am now gearing up to teach in a few weeks.  It has been a crazy busy summer and I have gotten so much done, but I still feel like I could use another month to prepare.
I completed my certification course through University of Texas, Tyler this summer to teach Principles of Technology.  It was tough, mostly because it required the use of a well-outfitted lab to complete required lab set ups.  In the end, I travelled to Tyler and used their lab and it was worth it, since they had the exact lab equipment illustrated in the book and everything went very smoothly.
I am preparing to teach Principles of Technology as part of the Science department as well as Digital and Interactive Media and Web Technologies within the Technology department this year.  I have settled on a textbook and have a pretty good handle on the PofT course, but am still working on lesson plans for DIM and Web Tech.  There is no textbook and that complicates things. 
My biggest concern now is pacing.  While I know what I want to teach, as a new teacher, I do not know how long it will take me to cover each topic.  One day?  Three days?  How much time do you allot for student work in class?  How much time do you figure in for re-teaching or review?  I am guessing this is something that will work itself out with experience but I know I will be expected to turn in lesson plans nine weeks in advance.
Ready or not - here it comes!