Educational Technology Effects

Jody Humes English Instructor Carlmont High School October 2012

INTRODUCTION After earning a bachelors degree in English, I knew that I wanted to become a high school teacher and immediately went back to college for a teaching credential. In 1999, I began teaching English and never considered the possibility of getting a masters degree. In 2010, I began to feel that my teaching would benefit from going back to school. After having attended various workshops for a decade, I knew I wanted to learn more about how technology could be used to enhance the way that I taught. It seemed to be something that created excitement in both my students and me. It was then that I discovered Boise State Universitys Educational Technology program. Over the past three years, I have studies various educational theories, designed units utilizing technology, and have applied what I have learned and developed to my practice- all of which has made a powerful difference in my students education.

The purpose of this paper is to showcase the work I have completed in the EDTECH program. Each artifact featured relates to a substandard as outlined by the Association of Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). The five AECT standards include design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation. Each artifact contains a description regarding why it was selected and how it demonstrates mastery of the standard. In addition, I will explain how different theories connect to the practice.

The following standards are from the AECT Standards for the Accreditation of School Media Specialist and Educational Technology Specialist Programs (Earl & Persichitte, 2005).

STANDARD 1: DESIGN 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.

To prove proficiency in the Instructional Systems Design process, candidates must be able to analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate instructional materials. The Instructional Design Project, titled Credible Websites Annotated Bibliography, which was created in EDTECH 503, demonstrates competence in meeting this substandard. This unit of instruction was designed for high school freshmen to find credible websites to research an essential question related to the Holocaust and organize them into a MLA formatted annotated bibliography. Before designing the unit, I analyzed my students needs by creating a Needs Assessment Survey and studied the data. The design process involved identifying learner objectives, creating a chart to represent necessary steps in the learning process, and writing a motivational strategies plan to ensure student success. In the developing process, which requires authoring and producing the instructional materials, I created a presentation, student handouts, and an annotated bibliography rubric. After implementing the unit, I created detailed plans to evaluate the adequacy of instruction.

According to Smith and Ragan, authors of Instructional Design, To be easily learned, recalled and used, new declarative knowledge must be tied to the learners existing (i.e. prior) knowledge. As a matter of fact, to be stored in long-term memory, incoming information must be meaningful (Smith & Ragan, 2005, p. 154). Thus, students learn more when they care about the

content and can make a connection to it. So it stands to reason that specifically designing a lesson around their needs is more effective than using a generic lesson. By creating a Needs Assessment Survey and using its results to plan the unit, students are likely to have buy-in, and feel that they are doing something meaningful.

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

EDTECH 506: Graphic Design for Learning, was incredibly rewarding because it gave me an opportunity to create an Instructional Message Design Project entitled Response to Literature Essay: Writing for Freshmen which best meets this substandard. This project was developed to teach ninth grade students how to write a response to literature essay, and I used my knowledge of design principles to create numerous graphics that are used within the unit. In my Justification Paper, I explain how each graphic is related to design principles. In Creating Graphics for Learning and Performance, the author, Linda Lohr, states, Your goal when chunking is to help the learner think about information in a meaningful or an efficient way. Information processing theory states that short-term memory can handle seven plus or minus two items at a time. Anything over that and the mind is likely to lose pieces of information (2008, p. 125). Keeping this in mind, when developing my thesis image, I chose to limit information so that students could focus on retaining the key element. I also thought it was important to include a visual in my design. Lohr claims, Symbols, icons, and metaphors are widely used in software applications...to help people learn new tasks and information (2008, p. 170). Because the thesis

statement is often compared to a spine, I included an image of the spine along with the information. The background color of the image is white, and I also used white as the titles background. I thought this similarity might fuse the two together in the learners mind.

I have always enjoyed art and design, but EDTECH 506 helped me understand how message design can be used to help learners better perceive and retain knowledge. Ever since I have created the Instructional Design project, I have used it with my classes to teach essay writing. It has been an invaluable resource, and has really inspired me to use more graphics to teach complex material.

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

In EDTECH 502: The Internet for Educators I created a Webquest that exemplifies sequencing events and activities within a lesson. The purpose of the WebQuest is to explore various factors that contribute to obesity in America. It exposes students to ideas that they may not have considered, which will allow them to develop an informed opinion before they write an essay on the topic. The WebQuest contains multiple pages that can be used by both students and teachers. Pages for the students include the following: Start, Introduction, Task, Process, Evaluation, and Conclusion. The teacher page contains a lesson plan for instructors who are interested in using the WebQuest. It features a variety of information including the purpose, rationale, learner

description, prerequisites for teaching the lesson, instructional objectives, and the standards addressed.

Webquests are particularly effective because they are student-directed learning activities. The popular Webquest concept utilizes a template designed to provide students with the opportunity to access and work with a range of online resources to explore and answer meaningful and significant questions (Doolittle & Hicks, 2003, p. 87). Because these activities have open areas for student exploration, they are able to focus on materials that are of interest to them and direct their own learning. Although the teacher will have provided a learning outcome, the teacher also provides several avenues for students to arrive at that outcome.

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

An artifact that demonstrates an awareness of learner characteristics is contained in an EDTECH 503 Instructional Design Project, which is to teach students how to created an annotated bibliography that contains credible websites. The project includes a description of the learning context, which explains how compiling an annotated bibliography is related to the content of the course. It also has a transfer context section, which explains that students will need to conduct research in their educational and personal lives, and this project will give them a foundation for selecting credible resources. A description of learners is also included- which features the learners ages, the description features a gender and an ethnicity breakdown. Additionally, it

explains the schools open enrollment policy because students who self select to be in honors courses tend to be more intrinsically motivated than those who select to be placed in lower level classes. This artifact is therefore is consistent with the ADDIE model for instructional systems design, which begins with the analyze phase, and this requires knowledge regarding the learners and their characteristics. Because it is critical to have an understanding of the learners existing knowledge and skills before beginning the designing phase.

STANDARD 2: DEVELOPMENT 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.

My EDTECH 506 Instructional Message Design Project is an artifact that demonstrates I have the ability to produce text and visual materials, using different tools. The website that I created, contains multiple pages that are designed for students to teach them how to write a response to literature essay. In EDTECH 506, I learned different design principles that relate to how people learn and used that information to create many images that blend text and design. In one example, used to teach students the definition of a Concrete Detail, I layer graphics and text over one of my photographs. In Creating Graphics for Learning and Performance, the author states, As designers of instructional visuals, your task is to create an optimal figure-ground balance. To do this, you need to create a clear distinction between the figure and the ground and help learners by doing some of the brainwork for them (Lorh, 2008, p. 108). I attempted to have a clear distinction between the figure and the ground by using a photograph of my sidewalk for the ground, but not for the figure. I also thought using the image of concrete would also help the user

understand that concrete details are hard facts- just like cement. This project was particularly rewarding, as I have had had to use the opportunity to use this particular image, and website, with my students. Using text, graphics, and photos to teach challenging content has helped make the material more accessible and enjoyable for both my students and me.

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.

The EDTECH program has given me the opportunity to create a variety of audiovisual technologies as a way to instruct students. In EDTECH 513: Multimedia, I created a Worked Example Screencast, which has proved to be repeatedly beneficial to my students. The video that I created is a tutorial on how to integrate quotations, because students are eager to use quotations to support their writing. However, high school students need to be provided with clear techniques, and have the opportunity to practice what they have learned. My tutorial introduces four techniques for integrating quotations, reviews the strategies, and then gives student the task of integrating quotations using each of the methods presented. This tutorial, posted on YouTube, may be viewed by students any time they forget how to incorporate the strategies. It appeals to advanced freshmen to seniors alike. Furthermore the worked example is recommended to use when students are learning processes to construct knowledge. According to Clark & Mayer, Instead of following the traditional practice of showing a single example followed by a great deal of practice, learning is more efficient with a greater reliance on worked examples. While studying a worked example (in contrast to solving a problem), working memory is relatively free

for learning. As learning progresses, new knowledge forms. At some point, practice does become beneficial to help learners automate the new knowledge. In other words, most efficient learning starts with lessons that initially use worked examples that manage cognitive load and then transition into practice (Clark & Mayer, 2008, pg. 204).

Another artifact that utilizes audiovisual technologies is an Asynchronous Lesson developed in EDTECH 521: Online Teaching in the K-12 Environment. The primary objectives of this lesson are to have students identify themes in Romeo and Juliet, and create an online presentation on its themes, using Google Docs. To give students an understanding of how to identify themes in literature, the asynchronous lesson provides students with both auditory and visual messages. Before students hunt for themes in Romeo and Juliet, they watch an engaging video on how to find themes in literature. It features graphics, audio, and text. Using this video to teach theme is effective because it is consistent with the coherence principle, which indicates students learn better when the verbal information is presented auditorily rather than visually (Moreno & Mayer, 2000). The video does not add redundant or superfluous material which can hinder a students ability to acquire information.

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

The artifact that I selected to demonstrate proficiency in this subdomain is a Spreadsheet Lesson that I created in EDTECH: 541, Integrating Technology into the Classroom Curriculum. In this

lesson, entitled The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society, one of the objectives for students is to be able to persuade their fellow students to pursue higher education. But before they begin their essay, they have to collect data regarding how a persons income is affected by his educational level and create a spreadsheet to record their findings. As an English teacher, having students create a spreadsheet, is not something I had considered previously to taking EDTECH 541. Yet as students encounter more and more nonfiction in the English curriculum, students are expected to read complex articles and reports involving numbers. According to the authors of Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching, Whenever concepts involving numbers can be clarified by concrete representation, spreadsheets contribute to effective teaching demonstrations (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p. 121). Having a series of numbers presented on a spreadsheet makes it easier for the learners to study relationships, and this ultimately makes spreadsheets an effective learning tool.

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.

In EDTECH 502: The Internet for Educators, I created an Interactive Concept Map entitled Introductory Paragraph Elements. The webpage, designed for students who are beginning to write analytical essays, provides students with information regarding the components of an introductory paragraph. Additionally, it contains images with clickable links that allow the viewer access additional information. According to Clark and Mayer Based on cognitive theory and research evidence, we recommend that e-learning courses include words and graphics, rather

than words alone (Clark & Mayer, 2008, pg. 56). So if a student needs further assistance writing a thesis statement, if he follows the thesis link, he will be led to a site that contains examples of thesis statements and gives tips regarding how to write a thesis statement. I have found this to be a valuable tool to use when teaching essay writing to students beginning high school, because inevitably they need further assistance outside of the classroom and this webpage provides them with additional instructional tools.

Another artifact exhibiting this subdomain is a Virtual Field Trip, which was also created in EDTECH 502. As the schools fashion club advisor, I have many students who are interested in fashion, but do not know much about the fashion week. So to give them an opportunity to experience fashion around the globe, I created a virtual tour of the fashion capitals, including New York, Paris, London, and Milan. At each fashion capital there are links that feature influential designers from the city as well as runway shows. In addition to watching videos, students see photographs and read reviews of particular designers shows. The virtual field trip gave students in the fashion club a way to experience different regions and learn about more about established, as well as up-and-coming, designers. According to Litherland and Stott, Stated rationales for using Virtual Field Guides point to their widespread use as introductory resources, in that they help to mitigate the costs of real field trips, thus widening participation, and they have a role in building student confidence and familiarity with the area prior to a real visit (Litherland & Stott, 2012, pg. 216).

STANDARD 3: UTILIZATION 3.1 Media Utilization

Media Utilization is the systematic use of resources for learning.

In EDTECH 542, I developed a Project Based Learning Project titled Career Exploration Project. It is designed for twelfth grade students so that they can find a career choice that matches their interests and skills, and then create a resume. This project exemplifies this substandard because the website that I created for the project provides students with the process for learning, and it contains many resources that they need to complete the project. For example, students are explicitly shown how they will complete this process on the Project Timeline webpage. Available resources include items such as a resume workbook, a peer review guide, a video tutorial, etc. Developing this project was rewarding because the constructivism learning theory supports project-based learning. It enhances the learners understanding by engaging them in hands-on, minds-on lessons through an inquiry based curriculum (Hoge & Hughes, 2010, p. 13). As opposed to traditional instructional strategies in which a lesson is directly taught by the instructor within a single period, project-based learning usually occurs over an extended period of time, and students are responsible for finding answers to the questions that they pose through hands-on engagement (Hoge & Hughes, 2010, p. 13). As students collaborate, they begin to construct a shared understanding which can make for a powerful learning experience.

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

This subdomain focuses on bringing about change by adopting new technology. An artifact that exemplifies this subdomain is a Technology Use Plan that I created in EDTECH 501: Introduction to Educational Technology. Before creating a Technology Use Plan Presentation, I had no idea how school districts went about obtaining technology and integrating it into the curriculum. I thought someone wrote a grant to receive money, which was then spent without much thought. Studying technology use plans and developing a presentation made me realize the importance of all elements- creating a planning team, having a clear vision statement, developing goals, establishing a timeline, etc. One discovery I made as a result of working on the Technology Use Plan is that once the evaluation is complete does not mean that the cycle is over. According to Anderson, Evaluation is a continuous, ongoing process. This process is both informal and formal. The informal component goes on in the planners and implementers minds as the planning and implementing process begins and continues. The formal component takes place at intervals throughout the process. The informal is more intuitive; the formal can be done with established criteria (Anderson, 1996, pg. 11). Both formal and informal evaluation is ongoing. Ultimately I discovered that creating a technology use plan is incredibly challenging, but the benefits of having clear goals and long term vision are the fundamental components of a system that will have the potential to truly capture student interest and improve achievement.

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.

To meet the implementation and institutionalization subdomain, in EDTECH 541: Integrating Technology into the Classroom Curriculum, I created an Adaptive/Assistive Online Presentation which features adaptive/assistive technology that can be used to assist a wide range of studentsfrom those with cognitive difficulties to the gifted and talented. Assistive technology allows students to achieve success that they might not have the opportunity to experience otherwise. According to civil right activist Judy Heumann, For most of us, technology makes things easier. For a person with a disability, it makes things possible (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p. 405). Many of the tools featured in the presentation can be used in a variety of subjects. For example, Write:OutLoud helps students with their writing. As students type, the program reads what they have written. This will help students hear their mistakes, and can be used in any class that requires students to write. The intended audience for this presentation is high school teachers. As such, it promotes institutionalization of the featured instructional materials.

Another artifact that I created in EDTECH 541: Integrating Technology into the Classroom Curriculum, is a website entitled Technology in the Content Areas. It is intended a resource to be resource for teachers in a variety of subjects- Language Arts, Social Studies, ELL, Art, and Music. For each subject there is a section on Internet instruction, technology tools, instructional software, and productivity software. It contains recommended strategies for integrating each specific tool, as well as the relative advantage for using the tool and its expected outcome. Thus these tools can assist teachers in personalizing the curriculum. According to Rice, Curriculum should be flexible and dynamic, with a minimum of structure based on student needs and/or developmental considerations (Rice, 2012, pg. 27). Teachers who have access to these tools have the ability to implement them into the curriculum for potential long range use.

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.

When students are expected to collaborate on the Internet, it is important that they are aware of the expectations regarding proper online behavior. According to Rice, When preparing students to learn, teachers in regular classrooms frequently communicate expectations such as rules for the classroom, how and when assignments are to be completed and turned in, and appropriate ways of interacting, such as raising your hand to talk. Online teachers also have to establish the culture of their online classrooms (Rice, 2012, p. 79). One artifact, the Netiquette Scavenger Hunt, created in EDTECH 521: Online Teaching in the K-12 Environment, requires students to visit different websites and gather information regarding what is considered appropriate and inappropriate behavior. The guidelines remind students to avoid typing in all caps and to not flame or respond to any flames. In addition to telling students what not to do, the core netiquette rules remind students to use spell check and proofread what they have written. After students have participated in the Netiquette Scavenger Hunt they are fully aware that rules and regulations apply in cyberspace just as they do in everyday life. Another artifact that addresses policies and regulations is the Plagiarism Scavenger Hunt, which was created in EDTECH 502: The Internet for Educators. The scavenger hunt takes students various websites that define plagiarism and the consequences for plagiarising. It also provides instructions regarding how to cite sources and thus avoid plagiarism altogether. This activity is particularly important because plagiarism can potentially ruin a students academic career. Thus it is critical for students to understand how to

properly cite passages. In addition, the Plagiarism Scavenger Hunt helps to establish students expectations.

STANDARD 4: MANAGEMENT 4.1 Project Management Project management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling instructional design and development projects.

In EDTECH 505: Evaluation for Educational Technologists, my first artifact that represents this subdomain is a Far West Laboratory Proposal. For this particular project, my task was to respond to an education and research company that was seeking an evaluation of their training program. In my proposal, after describing the training package, I provide a detailed description of the evaluation method, create a task schedule to complete the evaluation, and develop a budget to inform the company what the evaluation would cost. By writing this proposal, I gained a deeper understanding of the steps involved in program evaluation.

The second artifact that represents mastery of this subdomain is a Program Evaluation, which was the culminating project in EDTECH 505: Evaluation for Educational Technologists. The purpose of this project was to evaluate whether or not Direct Interactive Instruction teaching strategies, as implemented by Sequoia Union High School Districts intervention team, were having on student achievement. To answer this question, my partner and I examined data provided by the districts benchmark tests, interviewed teachers, and monitored the costs associated with Direct Interactive Instruction. The final recommendation was that the school

district consider using this teaching strategy only with students who are performing below grade level. As a result of completing this project, I learned how to function as a program evaluator.

Corn, Byrom, Knestis, Matzen, and Thrift recommend providing feedback to stakeholders based on data collected. One time-honored way to encourage project participants and stakeholders to provide data is to provide them with summary reports and feedback based on the data they provided. People want to know that they are contributingthat the information they provide actually matters. Often, they want to know how their responses compare to those of the larger group. This strategy also allows those providing data to use that information for their own formative purposes (Corn, Byrom, Knestis, Matzen, Thrift, 2012, pg. 537). Consistent with this recommendation, my partner and I shared the results of the staff surveys with teachers and administrators. Additionally, they were informed regarding our final findings and recommendations.

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

An example of the resource management subdomain is the Technology Use Plan Presentation, which was created in EDTECH 501: Introduction to Educational Technology. In this project, my partner/coworker and I provided a rationale for having a technology use plan at the school district for which we work. This artifact is consistent with Andersons idea that the technology plan has several committees made up of key personnel. Committees should include students,

parents, community members, faculty members, administrators, business persons, laypersons, librarians, administrative support personnel, technology professionals (Anderson, 2006, pg. 17). We selected a planning team consisting of stakeholders who would be willing to invest their time and efforts. In addition to needing a strong team, a successful technology use plans needs a vision statement and must establish clear goals and objectives. The Technology Use Plan also considers how to assess the district's needs, and recommends that the planning team could use the Maturity Model Benchmarks Rubric to determine its strengths and weaknesses. It includes a staff development plan to ensure that teachers and administration are able to effectively use technology. Working on the Technology Use Plan Presentation gave me an opportunity to understand all that is involved in planning process. At times I struggle with long range vision, and this project challenged me to see that in order for a district to create a successful technology use plan, it has to plan for many phases that span years at a time, and has to include a range of stakeholders in the process.

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.

The Asynchronous Lesson that I created in EDTECH 521: Online Teaching in the K-12 Environment demonstrates this substandard. The lesson, entitled Exploring Themes in Romeo and Juliet, requires small groups of students to create a GoogleDocs presentation on the themes

in the play. In the planning stage of this project, I knew that students would need explicit instruction regarding how to create a GoogleDocs presentation, thus I created a video called Collaborating to Create a GoogleDocs Presentation, which is listed on YouTube for students to be able to easily access it. So students are able to monitor what they have learned, there is an assessment at the end of the video. The answers are revealed so that they have an opportunity to correct any errors. Students are also provided many additional resources if needed. For example, if they would like additional help with GoogleDocs, I provide them with another video. And since integrating quotations are a required part of this assignment, students are provided with an optional video tutorial. According to Rice, It is important for teacher to establish a nurturing environment, where students feel connected and empowered to participate and take risks (Rice, 2012, pg. 31). This asynchronous lesson is designed so students are able participate by taking the online quiz without feeling nervous about taking any risks. Because the video tutorial does not record their answers, there is no immediate harm to getting an incorrect answer. Furthermore, if they do answer incorrectly, the correct answer is revealed in order to clarify any misconceptions.

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.

The Social Networking Project, created in EDTECH 541: Integrating Technology into the Classroom Curriculum, gives students to explore themes in their summer reading novels. To complete the project, students collaborate using various social networking sites: Wikispaces, Diigo, and Mixedink. The planning stage involved collecting resources that would help students

to have a better understanding of themes in literature, because this is something that puzzles even the most intelligent student. The slideshow and theme articles are listed on the Diigo page for students to easily access. Once students have an understanding of theme, they are required to participate in an online discussion for each book. As the instructor, this gives me an opportunity to monitor their discussion and address any problems that they are encountering. After this discussion, students collaborate to create theme statements with their group members using Mixedink, which is a collaborative online writing tool. By requiring students to collaborate using this website, I have the ability to access their works in progress. This gives me the opportunity to assist them and assess what is working well and what needs improvement. Though the teacher has access to student work, this project is ultimately student centered. According to Doolittle and Hicks, Constructivism requires that teachers become facilitators of knowledge, not conduits. Students, then, learn best when they are socially interacting within an authentic situation that is relevant to their prior knowledge and goals, and that fosters autonomous and self-directed functioning (Doolittle & Hicks, 2003, p. 84).

STANDARD 5: EVALUATION 5.1 Problem Analysis Problem analysis involves determining the nature and parameters of the problem by using information-gathering and decision-making strategies.

My artifact for this substandard comes from the Final Design Project, created in EDTECH 503: Instructional Design. According to the ADDIE instructional design model, at the start of the design phase, it is critical to determine what learners already know. Thus before I was able to

design a project that required students to compile credible websites in an annotated bibliography, I had to determine the learners specific needs. As a result I created a multiple choice Needs Assessment Survey and had my students respond to the questions. Then I studied the data and determined that in order for my students to find credible websites they had to be much more critical about the information that they found on the internet. So I had to find websites that appeared to be legitimate, but contained erroneous information. By seeing this firsthand, students would learn the importance of being skeptical of information and consequently not blindly accept everything that they encounter on the Internet.

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

To determine if the learner has mastered the pre-specified content, I use rubrics. One such rubric is featured on the Evaluation page of my WebQuest entitled, Obesity in America: Whos to Blame? which was created in EDTECH 502: The Internet for Educators. Because this unit is designed to help students demonstrate to colleges that they are ready for college level writing, they have to write an expository essay. The rubric contains various sections that focus on different aspects of the essay- such as its response to the topic, quality and clarity of thought, grammar, usage, and mechanics, etc.

Another example of a rubric used to evaluate student writing is a response to literature rubric created for the Instructional Message Design Unit in EDTECH 506. The purpose of the unit is to

instruct ninth grade students how to write an analytical essay. The rubric is distributed to students to communicate the learning expectations for the response to literature essay. It is important for students to have access to this information before they begin the writing process so that they have a clear understanding regarding how to achieve an excellent score. This particular rubric examines the introduction, support, unity/coherence, conclusion, and mechanics.

Using both of these fully developed rubrics have certainly helped make the grading process more efficient. And according to Palloff and Pratt (2005) if rubrics are linked to course expectations and students are directed to use them for assessment of themselves and their peers, students will end the course with a clear picture of their performance (Palloff & Pratt, 2005, pg. 44). So they essentially benefit student and teacher alike.

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.

During my time in the EDTECH program, I created numerous formative and summative evaluation tools. The first artifact is from the Project Based Learning project created in EDTECH 542: Technology Supported Project Based Learning. In this project, students take a career test to determine their ideal career. They then research the career of their choice and compile information in a multimedia presentation that will include a description of the career, its required education and training, salary range, a profile of someone in this career, and a plan to transition

from high school to the career of choice. The writing portion of this project includes a resume. Because it is important to set standards for high quality work, I created both formative assessments and summative assessments. Before students create the final resume draft, the formative assessment calls for students to participate in a peer review, so that they will have the opportunity to measure whether or not they are meeting the objectives. This stage in the learning process is particularly critical. According to researcher Shieh Ruey, Peer review, which is the one way of eliciting constructive feedback among learners, is considered not only to increase students critical thinking skills, but also to promote a higher-level grading function for the instructor (Ruey, 2010, 718). After they have turned in their final draft, it is evaluated using a summative rubric, which evaluates the resumes content, writing conventions, format, and job experience.

5.4 Long-Range Planning

The Program Evaluation, that I completed for EDTECH 505: Evaluation for Educational Technologists, is the best representation of this substandard. In this project I had an opportunity to evaluate the districts use of Direct Interactive Instruction to determine if it was ultimately helping students better demonstrate proficiency in the California State Standards. Overall, my partner and I discovered that students were making minimal gain. The teachers did not recognize a significant amount of improvement with its use for the bulk of the student population. The teachers did seem to indicate it as an effective teaching strategy for students who are below grade level. Consistent with recommendations to share information with stakeholders, my partner and I revealed the teachers responses to the staff. Corn et. al. suggest Develop[ing] a plan to actively

share project and evaluation plans, activities, and results with stakeholders. Even when the majority of the evaluation activities are being led by a small team, communicating regularly with participant and stakeholder groups about the evaluationincluding important questions, implementation progress, data findings, and decisionsis likely to increase school-wide understanding and support of the project and its evaluation (Corn et. al., 2012, pg. 540). My partner and I recommended that the school district consider using this strategy with only students who are performing below grade level.

CONCLUSION In this rationale paper, I have selected a number of artifacts for the purpose of demonstrating mastery of the AECT standards. Having a chance to compile these artifacts has caused me to look back on the three years I have spent taking courses in Boise State Universitys Educational Technology program. During this time I have had the opportunity to learn many theories that transformed the way that I approach teaching. In addition, the EDTECH program has been incredibly beneficial because it has taught me many practical skills that I have used to infuse technology into the curriculum. The program went beyond my expectations, because in addition to theory and practical skills, it taught me about program evaluation and instructional design. Each class in the EDTECH program was critical to acquire mastery of the AECT standards. Even though I have taken all the courses to complete my masters degree, I do consider my learning in this field to be over. The next step is to continue to use the knowledge and skills that I have learned to continue to challenge and support my students. Whether this will occur in a brick and mortar classroom or in the virtual world is yet to be known...

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Earle, R. S., & Persichitte, K. A. (2005) (Eds.). Standards for the accreditation of school media specialist and educational technology specialist programs. (4th ed.). Bloomington, IN: Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Retrieved from http://aect.siteym.com/resource/resmgr/AECT_Documents/AECTstandardsREV2005.pdf

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