EDT 502

EDT 502 - Survey of Educational Technology Tools

This course provides students with a general overview of relevant educational software and hardware technologies as well as web-based digital resources that can be used in instructional settings. The students will learn how to identify, select and integrate a broad range of technologies into different learning environments. Students will also create several technology-based instructional products using various tools, applications, and authoring environments.

Work Sample #1: Attached is an Action Plan I completed to incorporate the use of blogs during a lesson to enhance the learning experience. This action plan outlines how students will use blogs to reflect, outsource information and engage in conversations with peers and different topics. This importance of this work is that it breaks down the technology in the way that it enhances learning, describes support needed by students to be successful in this activity, and surveys criteria used to select the technology, including advantages and disadvantages. From this assignment, I learned what aspects of technology need to be surveyed before selecting it to implement in a classroom. Without proper surveying of tools, teachers may implement technology into the classroom that have more disadvantages. They may request for allocation of budgets to a tool with no concrete reasons to spend money on such technology. The learning standard acknowledged during this assignment was 2.4 Software/Hardware Selection which states: Candidates will demonstrate knowledge of selection and management of the educational technology infrastructure in a classroom setting. Candidates will identify and implement software in classroom environments. They will investigate issues related to educational technology integration.

Work Sample #2: The second piece of work I chose to highlight is a Multimedia Project Guide I created to utilize the tool Edpuzzle to enhance instructional videos. This assignment required me to describe the benefits of the technology, selection criteria, justification of peers, a description of the learning activity and the way in which assessment can be done. While this assignment once again enforces the learning standard 2.4 that acknowledges the research and evaluation required for selecting software and hardware in a classroom setting, it also touches on standard 2.2 Productivity Tools, that states: Candidates integrate advanced features of educational technology-based productivity tools to support instruction. 2.2.5 describes the identification, selection, and integration of video and digital images in varying formats for use in presentations, publications, and/or other products. For this learning activity, I practiced this standard by selecting tool that can be used to make instructional videos more interactive. This is important to understand as an educator to differentiate instruction. By understanding how advanced features can support instruction, we can create a multitude of learning experiences using single technologies or softwares.