Adapting Innovative Technologies to Education (aka CEP811) has been a very interesting course. I come away from this course with a wide range of ideas and tactics to apply technology in the classroom. I thought this course was well designed and particularly suited to my needs with a large dose of theory at the beginning, and a litany of applications and projects during the last ¾ of the class. The lecture and readings on the scholarship of teaching and learning, instructional design principles, and Universal Design for Learning gave me the theoretical framework to understand how specific technologies can be used in the classroom. I feel like this foundation will give me the ability to help teachers calibrate the application of technology in a way that is authentic to their teaching process.
Using web-based technologies in this class really stirs the imagination for interesting classroom applications. While some of the web-technologies we used and evaluated are a little dated (Webquests, powerpoint StAIRs), the principles behind using technology for learning are clear. Instructional design and UDL, when applied correctly, turn a web resource into an instructional material. I was introduced to a fantastic repository called MERLOT that contains a huge amount of instructional materials that span all subject areas and grade levels. The community aspect of MERLOT means that many resources are peer reviewed, making it easy to identify well designed and useful materials. Although I don’t plan to contribute content to MERLOT, I envision using it when I am working with teachers who need resources or ideas on how to integrate technology into the classroom.
My main goals for this class were to absorb any instructional and design theory on offer, and to glean ideas for interesting uses of technology in the classroom. The theory is very important to me because I am mainly a technologist, not a teacher. I work with teachers to help them integrate technology, but I do not have a lot of direct experience teaching. The theoretical frameworks that many teachers take for granted represent a dark art to me, and I strive to understand the process of teaching and learning from the outside looking in. As for the particular technologies demonstrated, I had heard of Webquests before but not investigated their use any further. I think webquests can still be fun and interesting for students if used with updated technologies and multimedia. If a webquest can operate at the intersection of collaboration, multimedia, and role-playing, I believe students stand to gain a lot from a diverse activity.
Looking toward the future, I would like to spend more time learning about UDL to make the interaction with technology more accessible to a wider array of learners and learning profiles. Our introduction to UDL seemed really to just scratch the surface, and I’m certain that I have much more to learn about these design principles.
That is fantastic Maer. You will do a good job working with teachers next fall. Whatever project the teachers are doing the technology should be a natural. It helps to give them ideas, but eventually they will start integrating it smoothly into the curriculum. There is always something new for you to learn and to pass on!
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