Today's Leaders in Education
Project Outline
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Project Title: Educational Technology 101
Team Member Names: Jason Sabotin, Zaida Denise Forester, Maria Cabanillas, Natalie Holt Breen, Mari Reyes
Team members met via Google Meet on May 6th at 1600 hours CST, May 9th at 1600 hours CST, and on May 12th at 1700 hours CST. All decisions were made with the team consensus on the entire aspects of the client proposal.
Date: May 17, 2020
Purpose of the Project: The purpose of the project is to recruit and explain to potential graduate school applicants the field of educational technology. Educational Technology 101 includes a discussion about:
Educational technology is applicable to all facets of learning and can be integrated into any organization, regardless of status. The educational technology field is based on research, theories, ethical principles, and best practices while supporting outcomes and standards.
The target audience are 20 potential graduate school applicants who have expressed an interest in the field of education and are considering a major in education with an educational technology focus. Ninety percent of the participants stated they were directed to the educational technology department, by their academic advisor, after asking questions and wanting to learn more about this major and earning potential. Ten percent of the participants, who had contacted the educational technology program advisor for information, noted they didn’t know what a graduate degree in educational technology was about or what were the available career opportunities, but had heard about it from friends. Our team developed a solution that addresses prospective educational technology students who may have questions about the history, career and/or professional opportunities, salary, and standards of educational technology.
The learner characteristics are that of 50% women, 40% men, and 6 % who identified themselves as non-binary, while 4% did not disclose their gender, as defined at birth, on a birth certificate. Ninety-Two percent of the participants were college-graduates, while 8% stated they were interested in the field after completing their college degree within the next six months. Two participants noted that they are hard of hearing people.
Ten participants identified English as their first and/or native language, two participants identified Mandarin as their first and/or native language, two participants identified Hindustani as their first and/or native language, four participants identified Spanish as their first and/or native language, and two participants identified Russian as their first and/or native language. All participants noted that they were fluent readers and speakers of the English language.
Participants ranged in age from 20 to 72, with the median age at 44. Eighty percent [80%] of the participants reported that they had no prior experience in the field of educational technology, while 20% reported that they did have work-study experience in their respective undergraduate school’s computer department, developing mobile apps.
Forty percent (40%) of the participants identified themselves as Caucasian, 20% identified themselves as African American, 20% identified themselves as Hispanic, 10% identified themselves as Asian, and 10% of the participants wrote Latinx in the other box.
The implications for learning while considering this diversified potential graduate/applicant pool are that career opportunities for educational technologists exist regardless of age, gender, language, and/or abilities.
The learning problem is that the identified potential graduate students have an interest in graduate school and the field of educational technology but are unsure about the professional and monetary opportunities of a graduate degree in educational technology. The gap between what is reality and what should be the ideal is that the term and profession of educational technology continues to evolve rapidly with ongoing changes within and outside the profession, in large part due to technological advancements. Corbeil and Corbeil (2013) pointed out that most individuals including those in the education field may have no idea what entails the profession of educational technology (p. 336).
A learning opportunity was identified to better explain the profession of educational technology to potential educational technology graduate students. A recommended instructional solution for filling the identified gap is a short multi-media presentation, utilizing Google Slides, about the field of educational technology. Three goals participants should be able to accomplish by the end of the presentation are 1) define the term educational technologists, 2) identify at least one area where educational technologists are employed and 3) state potential career earnings, for educational technologists. Seeking and completing a graduate program can be time-consuming and expensive, therefore, it is imperative that prospective candidates are aware of the many opportunities available for the Master’s in Education; Educational Technology degree as well as potential earnings.
The design outline of the instructional solution is based on explaining some of the key highlights of the field of educational technology. A 3-5 minute Google Slides multi-media presentation with a voice-over and a large print transcript will be provided for all participants. The presentation explains the history, definition, professional opportunities, career prospects and the professional standards of educational technology.
The instructional solution selected was based on a program that could be delivered in a slide format, supported by a recorded voice-over, in approximately 3-5 minutes, while providing an authentic meaning and connection to participants. Hoadley and Van Haneghan (2018) note that making a connection with learners can influence the learning process (p. 72). Pappas (2013) points out that effective adult learning techniques include strategies that are visually appealing, inspire learners, address goals, arouse interest, and are personable (para 1-3).
Team consensus felt that Google Slides would be the best format for a presentation, for the prospective educational technology students. Google Slides is an online free program available to users with a Google account. There are several positive aspects about Google Slides as it is readily available and is a free online program, ideal for group projects whereby multiple users are allowed to edit in real time and update as needed, can be converted to Microsoft Powerpoint files, and voice-over slides can be integrated (Google, n.d.). Team consensus is to upload the presentation to YouTube to convert it to video for widespread presentation.
The learning principle the instructional solution is based on is on constructivism. Wilson (2018) points out that some of the basic premises of constructivism are authentic and problem-based (p. 66). Constructivism is applicable to this presentation as its constructs are founded in self-exploration and learning (Hoadley &Van Haneghan, 2018, p. 73). Koohang et al. (2009) state, “constructivism learning theory is defined as active construction of new knowledge based on a learners’ prior experience” (p. 92).
All potential graduate educational technology students voluntarily sought out information, about the educational technology program, in hopes of finding out more information about the profession of educational technologists. Research-based best practices of the instructional design solution are based on recent research in the learning disciplines. Slide presentations such as power point and Google Slides enable presenters to present information on a slide format with an abbreviated written format and voice-over slide method. According to Brock and Joglekar (2011), “lower textual density in slides and added non-textual elements both appear to stimulate positive student feedback” (p. 91). Therefore, this technique will be considered with development of the slide presentation.
Characteristics of the participants are composed of various ethnicities, age groups, and abilities. The field of educational technology continues to grow as a profession with updates in its definition and applicability. Although the definition of education technology continues to evolve, one thing remains the same -- educational technology is a profession that embraces diversity and growth.
Brock, S., & Joglekar, Y. (2011). Empowering power point: Slides and teaching effectiveness. Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management, 6, 85-94. Retrieved from
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f6b6/0ac503dbc32c00cc8e845ba3e15a7c372b4b.pdf
Corbeil, J. R., & Corbeil, M. E. (2013). What do educational technologists do? The discipline as defined by educational technology practitioners. Issues in Information System, 14(2), 336-345. Retrieved from
https://iacis.org/iis/2013/301_iis_2013_336-345.pdf
Google. (n.d.). Create beautiful presentations. Retrieved from
https://www.google.com/slides/about/
Hoadley, C., & Van Haneghan, J. P. (2018). The learning sciences: Where they came from and what it means for instructional designers. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (4th ed., Rev., pp. 68-77). Pearson Inc.
Koohang, A., Riley, L., Smith, T., & Schreurs, J. (2009). E-learning and constructivism: From theory to application. Interdisciplinary Journal of e-Skills and Lifelong Learning, 5, 91-109. Retrieved from
https://www.informingscience.org/Publications/66
Pappas, C. (2013, April 26). 17 tips to motivate adult learners. Retrieved from
https://elearningindustry.com/17-tips-to-motivate-adult-learners
Wilson, B. G. (2018). Constructivism for active, authentic learning. In R. A. Reiser & J. V. Dempsey (Eds.), Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (4th ed., Rev., pp. 61-67). Pearson Inc.