EDTECH 542- Worked Example

Here's my screencast on setting up folders and a sharing process for students and teachers in a school using Google Apps for Ed.

EDTECH 542 Post project reflection

Reflection and revision are ongoing processes that happen before, during and after a unit is rolled out to students. In past classroom experiences, my students’ input is always a part of the process. Seeing how they interpret, manage and learn provides me with information I cannot anticipate on my own. It will be like that with this PBL too, especially since my “students” are professional educators. I value their input. I am particularly interested in the content value versus time invested balance.

Because this is a job-embedded model of professional development, I see informal check-ins with teachers as an ongoing process. I’m sure there will be teachers willing to “reflect” at me regularly. I will also likely use a survey (Google Forms) a couple times throughout the unit to formally check in and request feedback. When I see that something is not working as planned, I’ll make a note of it or change it immediately if possible.

My administration will also play a role in the post-reflection process. I know I will be constantly checking in with my manager on our progress, and his input will definitely be considered. As school goals and needs change, topics included in my PBL may need to reflect that change. Because this model of tech integration is a new process for the school, revisions may have to take place as hiccups come along. Flexibility is key.

EDTECH 513: My Digital Story (Gene Tognetti - Need for Speed)

My digital story is about my developing - and ultimately, fulfilling - my "need for speed." I've always enjoyed driving fast, but obviously that's difficult and dangerous to do, along with being illegal, on city streets. I've gone to go kart tracks, watched many races over the years, but always felt a desire to actually "race" a car on a race track. This is that story. It's a very personal one, and in this case, I used a mostly casual, friendly, and  engaging style to draw the learner in. That's how I supported the Personalization Principle. 

This project helped me pull together and demonstrate many key elements of the course. In particular, I strongly resisted throwing everything plus the kitchen sink into the video. I was minimalistic in use of graphics, tried not to over-talk the narration (many edits and revisions went into the script), and even deleted several pictures I wanted to include "because I thought they were cool" but that added no value. I believe I supported the Multimedia Principle well (not overloading learning channels), and I feel I did support the Coherence Principle well also, by weeding out extraneous audio and video.

The key first step, was, of course, defining the project: what was the story I wanted to tell? Making sure I had created some boundaries so the end result would not be an endless video was clearly important, and I had to go through several script iterations to accomplish that. Pulling in images was not that hard, except for the weeding out process, which took more than a bit of time. Some fine tuning while matching the script to the particular images also took time. I used the tried and true PhotoStory application from Microsoft. I played a bit with YouTube's editor, as well as UTellStory, but neither seemed to be able to do what I knew I could in Photostory. I had not used PhotoStory in a while, and considering how old it is, I was pleasantly surprised how well it met my digital storytelling production needs. So, key things learned would be to allow enough time for the script creation and editing process to play out, and to not underestimate how long it takes to match (and then cull) the images I wanted to use with the script. 

Overall, I'm pleased with the result. A couple of the images (scanned in or from screen capture) are not quite as crisp as I wanted, but unless people try to watch the video on a big monitor or TV, it's probably not an issue. My handy dandy Samson microphone again impressed me with ease of use and how it 'helped' my voice over.

I would enjoy getting feedback on this result!

EDTECH 513: Coherence Principle

In essence, the Coherence Principle means “less is more.” In other words adding “interesting but unneeded” material can negatively affect the learning process (Clark & Mayer, 2011, p. 152). The three primary concepts that make up the Coherence Principle are:

• Do not include extraneous audio in e-learning.
• Do not include extraneous graphics in e-learning.
• Do not include extraneous words in e-learning.

Each of these concepts are well-supported in learning psychology, as well as evaluation of research evidence. One way of looking at the Coherence Principle is that, if the item being examined cannot be tied directly to the learning needed, weed it out. This does not mean the lesson needs to be boring, but that it does need to be focused on the desired learning outcome.

A well-known local organization  provides edtech integration instruction, and they’ve created a significant number of presentations/learning packages for ed tech trainer use. I’ve recently been searching for information to assist me in structuring learning for an 800+ iPad rollout for teachers and students at my new school, and reviewed some of their materials available online.

I’ve been surprised how often their presentations (viewed online) put me into an “information overload” state. The amount of words, links, concepts and images on each Google Slide (or scrolling Google Sites pages) can be overwhelming. A Google Slides presentation on iPad integration exhibited characteristics of what to avoid based upon the Coherence Principle, particularly for excessive text and graphics. It’s difficult to cull key information from any given page, in particular overloading the learner (in this case, me) with too much text (Principle 3).

Another Google Site learning artifact had too many columns of dense text, links, and images, violating Principle 2 and 3. This is too bad, because the information provided IS good, and could be used and learned much more easily if presented more clearly.  Fortunately, there is new blood in the organization, and they fully understand learner needs, and how important it is to structure information in more bite-sized chunks.  I’m already seeing many signs that new multimedia presentations done by this group much better support learners’ capabilities.

I have attended many training sessions by a very well-respected ed tech speaker/trainer that support the Coherence Principle. I feel he is a master of the minimalist Google Slide page. His well-attended sessions tend to be fast paced, but focused on a specific topic that is well-supported by simple, not overwhelming images (most typically), short videos, and very few words. He routinely includes a “resources” page at the end of his presentation where people can refer later for more detail, if need be. I aspire to create training material along the lines of this gentleman, who produces very focused training materials. Correspondingly, in California (and beyond), he is one of the more sought-after speakers, and often is now asked to keynote large ed tech conferences. All three of the Coherence principles are supported well. In particular, extraneous words on a slide are used VERY sparingly, and even what he verbalizes is typically very to the point.

Clearly, the Coherence Principle should work in tandem with the Redundancy Principle, which states that visuals should be explained with either audio (spoken word) or text, but not both. To me, as one develops a high-quality multimedia training artifact, time must be taken to craft something that has the learner foremost in mind. This will mean finding the balance between providing enough information in a slide, page or video scene and not overloading the learner. Keeping in mind how easy it is to overload the learner’s “learning channels” - audio and visual - is paramount (Cognitive Theory of Multimedia).  The end result should craft the appropriate amount of visuals, enough spoken word to convey the meaning/learning desired, and nothing more. Adding additional “fun” things or arm’s length facts of interest to the presenter must be looked at with GREAT care. It is far too easy to overload the learner, and again, he/she must be top of mind in our thinking as we design effective multimedia.

Similarly, I believe the the Modality Principle works with both the Coherency and Redundancy Principles. That is, the multimedia/e-learning designer should normally consider audio (spoken word) instruction to go along with well-chosen images to provide the learner with an environment conducive to learning the material presented, and maximize the likelihood of learning that material.

There are some competing thoughts about the Coherence Principle, and one is in the area of “extraneous audio” - music, sound effects, and so on. One idea is that, in today’s YouTube focused world of high-energy, fast paced video, the learner needs more stimulation to keep interested in the material, and, hopefully, learning it. The idea, termed Arousal Theory, is that emotion (lots of elements to get the learner’s attention, e.g., music) affects cognition (more flashiness equals higher cognitive engagement) (Clark and Mayer, 2011, p. 156).

The other view, as noted above, is that the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia learning is much more relevant when studying whether additional audio (or other stimuli) is included in multimedia. The Cognitive Theory is the concept of the extreme limitations of the learner’s channels (audio and visual) for learning. Overload these channels, and learning does not occur. To me, from a psychological and learning standpoint, the Cognitive Theory is much more relevant and should be strongly considered when developing multimedia/e-learning. I felt, in particular, the summarization of extra pictures can distract (by guiding limited learner attention away from core learning) and “seduce” (by suggesting to the user that more information is coming for that ‘topic’ and thereby using limited memory to start to organize it) was well-stated.

As I have developed my own training items (presentations for face to face learning or as reference material, videos, other e-learning tools), I have consistently struggled with the balance of information I provide. While I have improved over the years, I still tend to provide too much written information, making it difficult for the learner (particularly the NEW subject matter learner) to read and interpret my materials. This principle (actually, ALL the principles so far in the text) has resonated with me and I am fully supportive of Coherence Theory approach. As noted above in the “bad” e-learning examples I described, when I am the recipient - particularly with material new to me - the overload of information makes it difficult to learn much, and is an almost instant turnoff.

“Gamification” and simulations in learning are hot topics, and not much is yet known about how  “extra” music and sound effects (or graphics, for that matter) affects learning; it is as yet unclear how the Coherence Principle supports or impacts game-based learning.  It will be interesting to see the results of games created using more learning and psychological best-practices, once more research and testing is done.

In summary, the Coherence Principle, in concert with the principles of Modality, Redundancy and the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia, will greatly help multimedia designers “weed the garden” and produce more effective materials to maximize student learning.

EDTECH 542 The Teacher's Role in Project Based Learning

One of the greatest challenges for an instructor in a PBL unit is to adapt to the role of facilitator. Reflect on the following:

• Will my role in the teaching/learning process change?
• What are the skills of effective facilitation?
• Will the students develop the competencies and skills needed to be successful?
• What changes will you need to make in order to become an effective facilitator in your PBL unit?

I recently read a posting in Edutopia about the role of the teacher and how it changes even within the PBL realm.  Teachers can be the developer of the unit on one hand, to one who creates the infrastructure and sets guidelines on the other.  The latter has a highly student-managed PBL, where they create the essential question, find the standards they are addressing, and create a project that has both real world impact and a service component.

 

The former, although still a PBL, is very teacher-driven, allowing little choice and opportunity for unique outcomes.  The teacher still desires control in this instance.

 

In a PBL setting, teachers need to create environments where 1) students know time off task is not an option; 2) project development and problem solving takes place within the work group; 3) collaboration skills are taught and adhered to; 4) all options remain on the table until proven unsuccessful. In other words, FAILure (First Attempt In Learning) is desirable.

These are skills students need to succeed in the world. As a former junior high teacher, too often I experienced students who feared testing the waters. They thought that if they didn’t have specific guidelines with only one correct outcome, they were sure to fail (meaning get a grade unacceptable to themselves and their parents). They weren’t learning driven, but approval and fear driven.  That’s not how to succeed in the world.

I hope in using the PBL model with teachers is help them create environments that develop these global skills.  It’s about helping teachers move forward in creating units, coaching and providing support when things don’t work as hoped. It’s also about training teachers to FAIL too, to problem solve, and to collaborate with others so they experience the skills that they want their students to achieve.

EDTECH 513 - "Easy Peasy iPads in the Classroom" Podcast

This week, we were to develop a plan for a podcast series, then produce an initial podcast for that series. I am moving to a new position at a school that is rolling out iPads 1:1 for students. It seemed like a natural for me to create a podcast series that would focus on simple, effective ways for the teachers using iPads to learn tips to better integrate them into classroom process, student workflow and into the academic curriculum overall. So, I envision a weekly podcast series entitled "Easy Peasy iPads in the Classroom." The first week's podcast focuses on a basic component of classroom workflow, which is getting students work conveniently, and simply, from their iPad to the teacher so the work can be assessed. This episode uses Google Docs and Gmail as the focus for that student to teacher workflow.

Click on Easy Peasy iPads in the Classroom to download and listen to my podcast.

One big take away for me from this assignment is that, in hindsight, it would have been a much more effective result if this podcast was, instead, a multimedia presentation of some type. Verbalizing instructions about setting up labels and folders in Gmail, without any sort of visual cues, is a tough way to learn something. It would have been much more effective with a couple of simple screen shots to assist the learner in understanding where to click, what pop up or other information on the screen to expect. A few key screenshots would also make it easier for the learner to understand the overall order of tasks to accomplishing setting up the process correctly. Simply giving them visual reference points ("pages" in a presentation, for instance), that they could flip back and forth within would have made the learning process much easier. So, I believe the Message Design could have been further worked to truly see what I should have included (the visual components) before I created the audio-only version.

EDTECH 542 - Reflection on Designing Integrated Curriculum

Option 1: Designing Integrated Curriculum At some point you may consider including other disciplines in your project (if you haven't already). Watch the video below on Designing Integrated Curriculum and reflect on the benefits of interdisciplinary projects and the challenges in implementing them. How might you go about making this a reality in your school?

Watching this video was very inspiring. What these teachers are doing is something I hope takes place in our school. Nothing in our students’ lives happen in isolation, why should it in school? These interdisciplinary learning opportunities offer the ultimate in real life content integration and critical thinking. One area we see more of this happening is in STEM (or STEAM) instruction. Integrating math with science and technology seems like a natural fit, and very applicable in real life. It also makes sense to add ELA and history into the mix.

As a teacher I can see the benefit of working with a team. Often teachers work in isolation, as I did as the only 7th grade social studies teacher at our school. The opportunity to team-teach a combined ELA/social studies block was both invigorating and challenging, and it better replicated what happens in the business world. We planned, implemented, and revised instruction as necessary. We used a webquest model, integrating collaboration and technology into the students’ day. I’m not sure the students would have had as enriching an experience if either one of us tried to do it on our own.

The challenges hinted at in the video can’t be ignored. As one teacher said, you have to work harder and smarter, especially on the front end. Personalities have to be complementary, and teachers have to handle their share of the planning, implementation and other work load. Teachers have to be open to criticism (hopefully delivered appropriately). Administration has to be supportive; open to scheduling changes this type of instruction may cause. They also have to be open to providing planning time for teachers.  Parents and students need to be included in the conversations, as they too are important stakeholders in the program.

EDTECH 542 - PBL Assessment reflection

Discuss how your planned assessments meet the key requirements for effective assessments. Reflect on how you might adjust your teaching during your project to allow more student input in the evaluation process.

The assessments included in my plan meet most of the key requirements for effective assessments.

Assessment is for students.

The two formative assessments allow my students (who are teachers) the opportunity to collect resources that will they can refer to when creating lessons or providing counseling to their own students. They help the teachers assess their own digital footprint, which provides context to what their students are experiencing.

The assessments also provide teachers the opportunity to build skills. Teachers will be learning how to curate, working collaboratively with others, and understand how to reach out to a larger audience.  Teachers will also have choice throughout the assessments.

Assessment is faithful to the work students actually do.

Teachers will be maintaining both a reflective learning log and a note-taking/curation tool.  They will be using both throughout the process to build content they can use following the completion of their training. Choice in the performance task allows them to demonstrate what they know, not what they don’t.

Assessment is public.

Maintenance of the learning log and note taking/curation tool is required, and there is criteria, but teachers have the freedom to select what they collect and post. The rubric for the performance task is included in the unit. Their peers will view their performance, and hopefully some will be viewed by the student body.

Assessment promotes ongoing self-reflection and critical inquiry.

Opportunities to discuss outcomes with the instructor will be ongoing throughout the unit. I encourage the teachers to continually update their notebook and learning logs, and refer back to them, for their own personal benefit.

How teachers respond to these assessments will allow me to consider if revisions need to take place. Working with professionals, and understanding their schedules and responsibilities will require me to be flexible.  

EDTECH 542: PBL in diverse classrooms

The article I read entitled, Designing Effective Projects: Characteristics of Projects Benefits of Project Based Learning, was published in 2007 by the Intel Corporation as part of the Intel Teach Program - Designing Effective Projects. It provides an overview of Project Based Learning and then discusses the benefits of PBLs for students and teachers. Finally, it defines the challenges both teachers and students may face in adopting Project Based Learning strategies.

Although not explicitly stated, the article outlines why PBLs are ideal for a diverse classroom and for students who, for whatever reason, are not successful in a traditional learning environment. PBLs are not about sitting and listening - skills that teachers know challenge a percentage of learners in every classroom. Because PBLs present real life, relevant questions that allow students to investigate, plan and create solutions, issues that affect traditional classroom learning are not as relevant in a PBL environment.

I can relate to this finding, as it mirrors my experience when 1:1 laptops were first provided to my students.  The students who were most noticeably engaged were those most challenged with traditional learning strategies.  One student in particular stands out in my mind. He was very unhappy in school.  His educational failures were coupled with a lack of friends and frequent teasing.  He really enjoyed working on projects with the laptop computer.  It allowed him to express himself and share his learning in a way he could not with multiple choice tests or writing essays. He learned too that he had choice and options in what he produced - very empowering for a child who previously believed he was at a disadvantage.

Project based learning benefits all students in the same way.  According to the article, research has found benefits that include:

• better attendance, self-reliance, and improved attitude
• greater responsibility for own learning
• academic gains equal or better than other processes
• opportunities to develop skills such as problem solving, collaboration and communication
• opportunities that engage culturally diverse learners

Teachers face a number of challenges in implementing Project Based Learning, and have to be willing to overcome them.  Managing the learning process, as opposed to “telling”, has huge advantages for students, regardless of how diverse the classroom is.  It transforms the classroom into a space where errors allow for reflection, collaboration and change.  There are no predetermined answers, only opportunities to build on previous learning, solve problems and communicate learning in an engaging manner to a broader audience.  

EDTECH 542 week 2 learning log

Assignment: Post a reflection regarding your research this week on Project-Based Learning. What were you able to find? How do you think PBL will fit into your teaching style? Do you have an idea for a project? If so, begin articulating it now.

I have found that there is so much more information, models, and research supporting Project-Based Learning than there was when I first began my study of it a few years ago. This is very encouraging in light of other changes in education, including the implementation of Common Core, changes in standardized testing procedures, and the integration of technology in classrooms.  I believe that teachers that integrate PBL into their classrooms will produce students who will be better prepared for the challenges of college and career.  They will internalize the skills of perseverance, inquiry, and determination - skills that children have when young, but somehow are squelched by their education system as they grow older.  As Sir Ken Robinson said, the education system has anesthetized our children’s ability to be creative, and we as teachers need to find ways to “wake them up.”  Project-Based learning can (when done well) do that,  as it offers opportunities for students to use their innate creative skills to demonstrate learning.  It also allows students with different learning styles and learning challenges options to “show what they know.”  By design, PBL provides differentiation that traditional classroom teaching can not.

If I was currently teaching students, I believe PBLs would fit well into my teaching style.  Much of the work my students did in the past was of this style - unique creative outcomes, collaborative teamwork, some connection to students’ lives, reflection on learning.  

Because I will spend much of this coming year teaching teachers, my PBL for this class will address adult learners.  Specifically, I will create a project based on ISTE*T standards for promoting digital citizenship and developing digital age learning opportunities. My goal will be that teachers learn more about digital literacy resources so they can instruct their high school students how to be better digital citizens.  As my (new) school has just adopted a 1:1 tablet program, I also want this to be an opportunity to teach the teachers how to use some of the tools on their tablets.  

EDTECH 513: Creating My Learning Log

I am an active blogger and so, have some familiarity with blogging as a tool for learning. I co-author the Common Core and Ed Tech blog, which has been in existence since early 2013. I also read a significant number of blogs to gain knowledge about effective ways to integrate educational technology into the academic curriculum, as that is a major component of my current position as Vice Principal. My new position of "Educational Technologist" for a local high school will involve providing professional development of all shapes and sizes to the staff, and so even more, I will need to keep abreast of ed tech.

As I began to understand more  about multimedia principles, particularly contiguity, in the first part of the course, it provided an opportunity to critique the work that I (and my co-author) have created for the blog. For that matter, the readings gave me more context and background to also analyze other blogs that I frequently read. Here are some findings:

1.  Not overwhelming people with text.  I think that, overall, we do a good job of restraining ourselves and including only the most relevant information for people. Other blogs I read vary wildly in how closely they attend to some basic principals regarding how text-heavy they are. I can think of one very popular blog I frequent often. The content, while excellent, is detracted from by the amount of extraneous information also on the page. There is a certain amount of self-promotion done (for upcoming seminars and such) that I do understand. There is also a LOT of additional 'noise' in the way of ads that run down the right side of the page. Very distracting. I can continue to improve my blog's entries by being mindful of the limitations of text. Which leads to finding number 2...
2. Include visuals to augment the learning/text. I think we do an ok job here. We can improve the likelihood of knowledge gain if the visuals - charts, infographics, video clips - are always relevant. Including a piece of clip art occasionally is fine, but being mindful to always have a point to the additional visual information provided is important.
3. Being mindful of chunking the content so readers, in general, are not overwhelmed by what's presented. Underlying the chunking concept is the fact that readers have very limited processing capability and that needs to be at the forefront of thought when creating a new post.

In future weeks of this course, I hope to better understand other aspects of multimedia presentation. I am particularly interested in using Redundancy and Personalization, as well as finding out more about Worked Examples.

This relates to the label 2.3 Computer-Based Technologies, as we are clearly in the realm of using the computer (web pages via a blog  in this case) to augment learning. Practicing with a blog - a computer-based technology - is a very relevant way to better understand the importance of how technology can impact - positively OR negatively - learning.