Workplace Technology Plan

• AECT 1.4

  • Candidates demonstrate the ability to effectively manage people, processes, physical infrastructures, and financial resources to achieve predetermined goals.

• AECT 3.4

  • Candidates establish mechanisms (p. 190) for maintaining the technology infrastructure (p. 234) to improve learning and performance.

• AECT 4.2

  • Candidates lead their peers in designing and implementing technology-supported learning.

• AECT 4.5

  • Candidates demonstrate ethical behavior within the applicable cultural context during all aspects of their work and with respect for the diversity of learners in each setting.

Workplace Context

The English Language Institute (ELI) is situated on the University of Delaware's Newark, Delaware campus. The majority of instructors are either full-time Faculty or Academic Development Specialists, with adjunct instructors hired as necessary. As an Intensive English Program, we specialize in teaching English as a Second Language, and our courses range from Beginner English through sheltered University courses designed to support the unique needs of English Language Learners who are preparing to matriculate into a 4-year program at UD. All instructors hold either an MA TESL or MA in Applied Linguistics.

Departmental Needs

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been necessary to shift instruction online (Dill, et al., 2020). While ELI instructors demonstrate excellence in terms of ESL pedagogy, the same cannot be universally said of their ability to integrate educational technology. As a result, the entire department has needed to receive scaffolded professional development ranging from the very basics of using simple apps in the Zoom classroom to designing state of the art online courses with synchronous and asynchronous components.

What We've Done

• Spring 2020

  • The Online Taskforce delivered practical "What Works" workshops during our departmental professional development day. A variety of topics were covered, including basic Canvas management, using Canvas assignments, and the following educational technology apps: Quizlet, Kahoot, Nearpod, Padlet, and Perusall.

• Summer 2020

  • Nearly two dozen ELI faculty members and Academic Development Specialists took the Delivering Learning Experiences Online (DLEO) course, which is offered to all departments at the University of Delaware through the Academic Technology Services department.

• Fall 2020

  • Regular PD has been delivered by the Online Taskforce during faculty meetings.

  • The Online Taskforce collaborated on an ELI Teaching Online Canvas Course with modules specifically targeted to the needs of our department, complete with optional weekly office hours with the head of the Taskforce.

  • Instructors had the opportunity to enroll in SPOT-ON, an additional online learning course offered by the University of Delaware.

Proposed Plan for Levels 1 and 2

While at this point in the COVID-19 pandemic all ELI instructors have received extensive training in online teaching and the use of educational technology in the virtual classroom, there are some special considerations for teaching at the beginner levels. For example, intermediate and advanced courses can have some asynchronous components, whereas beginner courses must be entirely synchronous due to departmental policies. Additionally, based on my department's experience teaching beginners online over the past nine months, they seem to do best with frequent short activities to practice skills and vocabulary that they have just learned, while intermediate and advanced students are able to participate in and benefit from longer, less instructor directed tasks. This means that even if an instructor is familiar with various educational applications, it is necessary for them to learn how to use them in a way that is most beneficial to beginner English language learners.

The intention behind offering static support within Canvas courses as well as professional development sessions is to reduce barriers, both real and perceived, to effective technology use in Levels 1 and 2. According to a 2016 article, there were four primary barriers that discouraged K-6 teachers from implementing technology in their classrooms (Hsu, 2016). While this is a very different context from my own, based on internal surveys and discussions with colleagues, two of the four barriers absolutely apply to my setting; namely instructor's lack of training and exposure as well as a lack of time to implement technology. By providing a static reference page that instructors can refer to, multiple brief PD sessions, and personalized one-on-one support, my hope is to increase my colleagues' technological skills in order to better apply their pedagogical knowledge to this new world of online teaching, thus increasing feelings of self efficacy and improving students' learning experiences.

Static Support

All instructors in the level will be provided with static support in the form of a document containing implementation guidelines for each Canvas course that they teach. Additionally, all courses at Level 1 and 2 will have fully developed Canvas modules in place by March, 2021, which will relieve instructors of the burden of designing an online course. Between the implementation guidelines and a fully developed course, instructors who are already comfortable teaching in an online environment should feel confident in their ability to teach the courses.

Dynamic Professional Development

Synchronous PD has been a longstanding component of the first day of each session. Because the first day of the session is always very busy and instructors need to plan for their classes, PD on this day focuses on the essentials for getting the class up and running. As such, it is essential that PD regarding implementing educational technology be directly related to basic functioning during the first few weeks of the session. There is also a level meeting in the middle of the session, which will have a list of rotating topics unless, of course, an instructor requests a tutorial on something specific.

• Opening Day PD

  • Intro to the curriculum

    • Implementing the curriculum online

  • Intro to the E-Book

    • Helping students buy the book

    • Displaying the book in class

    • Activating the listening activities

    • Navigating to supplemental grammar activities

  • Intro to essential external (non-Canvas) Educational Technology apps used in levels 1 and 2

    • Google Slides with Nearpod Add-on, Quizlet, and Youtube

• Mid-session PD

  • Rotating topics including, but not limited to:

    • Educational apps (Nearpod, Quizlet, Kahoot)

    • Online Class Management (Google Slides, Canvas announcements, Canvas calendar)

    • Canvas Assessments (Discussion boards, assignments, quizzes, new quizzes)

• One-on-One support

  • No topic is too small. From working out how to upload files to Canvas to creating dynamic lessons in Nearpod, every instructor will be met where they are and given the support that they need to confidently integrate technology into their lessons.

  • Up to 1 hour a week will be offered.

  • Sessions can be recorded and shared at the instructor's request.

Considering Diverse Needs

Within the English Language Institute, there is quite a range of comfort with instructional technology. As such, it is the goal of the Online Taskforce to meet people where they are and provide support in a way that best suits each individual instructor. This means that in addition to offering PD sessions during faculty meetings, members of the taskforce have been assigned to mentor faculty members who need one-on-one support on a weekly basis. Another support option has been a "help bar" operated by the Online Taskforce during the first week of each session both in the form of a Zoom room that instructors can pop into for live support, as well as a Zoom chat for questions that instructors have either while they're actively teaching a class or outside of the Zoom room hours.

Executing the plan to further support instructors who teach Levels 1 and 2 will not incur any additional expenses.

• The professional development materials can be created during the four hours per week that are allocated to administrative tasks in my 37.5 working hours. As the coordinator for four classes, 100% of my four administrative hours are already dedicated to developing materials for these classes, and creating professional development for instructors who teach the classes that I coordinate is one of my existing responsibilities.

• Professional development can be delivered during the two mandatory level meetings each session. As all instructors are supposed to allocate 1.5 office hours per class per week, additional one-on-one support can happen during this time in weeks where students need less support.

Dill, E., Fischer, K., McMurtrie, B., & Supiano, B. (2020, July 27). As Coronavirus Spreads, the Decision to Move Classes Online Is the First Step. What Comes Next? Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.chronicle.com/article/as-coronavirus-spreads-the-decision-to-move-classes-online-is-the-first-step-what-comes-next/

Hsu, P. S. (2016). Examining current beliefs, practices and barriers about technology integration: A case study. TechTrends, 60(1), 30-40.