Upon enrolling in the Instructional Design and Technology Program at the University of Cincinnati, I had multiple educational and professional goals. As an educator, I am striving to learn more about instructional design in order to create a classroom community that promotes communication, collaboration, and creativity. In order to do this, the classroom must foster students feeling capable, confident, and competent. My time and work in this program, working alongside the professors and my peers, has allowed me to progress closer and closer towards those goals.
Learners who feel Capable, Confident, & Competent
In order for learners to feel capable, confident, and competent, it is imperative that their learning environment is designed with purpose and intentionality. In other words, instruction must be created in alignment with research, instructional models and strategies, and learners' needs. Instructional designers must know about the science and theory behind the process of learning and learners in order to design learning experiences appropriately. While I have been teaching in an elementary school for 9 years, and I do have nearly a decade of experience designing learning opportunities for my students, there is so much that I am still learning. During my time in the Instructional Design and Technology program, I built upon knowledge that I already had about designing instruction.
Throughout the duration of the IDT program, I learned about learning theories such as schema theory as well as instructional theories such as Gagne's Theory of Instruction. In addition to these, I researched and studied many other theories through projects like the IDT 8020 Concept Map. In learning about these varied theories, I was able to have a better understanding of some of the practices that I see and partake in every day when planning and implementing lessons with students. While some of these ideas and practices are intuitive to me, it has been beneficial to learn about the science and research behind the work. This information is also helpful as I move forward in my teaching career because I will be able to apply this new understanding and also support my current practices.
When reflecting back on old lesson planning practices, I was able to articulate my process through the creation of my own instructional design model for IDT 8010. This project allowed me to look closely at the process of designing instruction at the elementary classroom level. I was able to dissect each component of the process and analyze its' effectiveness. Through that process, I found a few areas that I would like to improve in my future practice. Two of those areas are assessment of student needs and assessment of the learning context. As an elementary teacher, it is of utmost importance to me that I know my students deeply. We spend all day together, and I work closely with their families to ensure their safety and success. I know a lot about them as learners in general. However, I would like to improve by developing needs assessments for specific lessons and topics. Additionally, I would like to improve my ability to think about the context for learning. A more varied approach in learning context could help to meet the needs and abilities of all students within my classroom.
Overall, I feel as though I am a much stronger instructional designer who understands the science, theory, and process behind designing learning materials. These are just a few examples of the work I have done, and I feel as though I now understand the WHY behind the practices that I have been implementing. To allow students to feel capable, confident, and competent, I strongly believe that I, as the designer and instructor, must also feel capable, confident, and competent, and that comes from having a deeper understanding of instructional theories and practices.
A learning environment that promotes Communication, Collaboration, & Creativity
Once learners have a strong sense of self within the classroom, they are better able to use technology in ways that will elevate their ability to communicate, collaborate, and create. Part of my mission as an educator is to help students fall in love with stories. I want them to understand the power of connection and learning from one another. It is my belief that communication, collaboration, and creativity drive connection, and that is the superpower of educational technology. Through the Instructional Design and Technology Program, I have learned so much about how to use technology for these purposes.
In order to sing the praises of technology, I feel as though I would be remiss to not also acknowledge its' limits. Upon finishing undergrad, I began teaching in a very affluent suburb of Columbus, Ohio. Our schools have incredible funding and access to technology and technology tools. I have always had an understanding of the privilege and access our staff and students have, but through the IDT program, I was forced to take a closer look in to some of the issues that technology can present in many areas of the U.S. and the world.
Technology's greatest limits are with equity and access-- both economically and academically. Through researching Ed Tech legislation, I learned about the ever growing digital divide, and many other technology related social issues that have impacted my view on the use of Ed Tech in the classroom. In SPED 7052, Universal Design for Learning, I learned about legislation such as the National Education Technology Plan, and many other laws, that are aimed to ensure equitable access to all learners, regardless of socioeconomic status. In addition to economic constraints, technology also struggles to be accessible to many people with varying needs. During my UDL and Teaching and Technology courses, I discovered many tools to assist learners who struggle to access what they need through tech. I completed a technology showcase on EdPuzzle and a technology tutorial for Snap & Read. Additionally, I learned about and used Google Docs, Voice Thread, and many more EdTech tools that allow learners to not only access material, but also allow them to communicate, collaborate, and create in ways that suit their needs. Knowing and using these tools within an educational setting is imperative to creating a space that is inclusive to all, and that is something I plan to be much more intentional about moving forward.
In wanting to create a classroom environment that meets the needs of every single child, I have worked to design and create many technology and hybrid focused learning materials that focus on equity and accessibility, while aligning with my mission of communication, collaboration, and creativity. In SPED 7052, I created a lesson plan that aligned to the UDL principles. That lesson plan, included here in my portfolio, allows learners to create a digital vision board using creative apps on their iPads. Additionally, in Multimedia Design Studio, I am currently working to create 4 multimedia products that engage learners. These products promote communication and creativity. Lastly, I developed my personal philosophy about assessment through the creation of online assessments and my assessment portfolio. These products allowed me to have a stronger theory about how I think assessment should be used within my classroom. I will use this learning, the tools, and my theories about assessment as I move forward in communicating and collaborating with my students in the future.
Throughout my time thus far in the IDT program, I have built not only my confidence as a teacher in a technology driven classroom, but I have built my understanding of instruction and my repertoire for designing instruction that align to my overall mission.