Discuss how you integrated your studies and experiences in the MS program in Educational Technology to enhance your skills in designing and developing digital-age learning experiences and assessments.
Through the Educational Technology program I have become comfortable using technology which has lead me to implement more technology in my classroom. I have designed many more online activities and assessments that have become interactive engaging lessons for my students.
The first area where I have grown in my technology use is creating my website. I started with Wordpress which was not easy for me to master. I did work hard and was able to post my assignments successfully. When my school informed us that we were switching to Google Sites for our teacher websites next year I knew I wanted to become comfortable with that platform. I decided I wanted to make a whole new website for my ePortfolio on Google Sites. I have successfully made the transition and am loving the easy to use Google Sites. I am creating pages with ease and organizing and reorganizing my website without any confusion. This familiarity with Google Sites is going to help me make a very user friendly school website that parents and students will be able to access and navigate with ease. I will be able to post forms for parent signatures and information about upcoming activities so parents can feel involved in their children's education.
Another area where the skills I have learned in my Educational Technology Master's Program have been used to create a digital learning experience for my students is my use of Google Classroom to personalize my instruction. I used to use Google Classroom only to post homework and assessment dates. I now use the function of Google Classroom where I can pick certain students to send specific information to. When a student is absent I send them the lesson presentation and and other assignments they missed. When a student is struggling with content I send them extra review games and supplementary lessons to review. The next step for me is to provide advanced assignments and readings to my students who have an interest in pursuing science careers or who have shown advanced skills in science.
Through my studies I have seen the importance of data collection and instant feedback for my students. The best way to assess my students progress in through online formatives and summatives. These types of assessments produce instant feedback for both me and my students. I have come to love the Edulastic site for assessments. To make an assessment on this site the teacher just needs to type in the Next Generation Science Standards they want covered and the site produces a large assortment of questions that address those standards. The questions can be quite interactive with diagrams and reading passages and they are more complex than just simple multiple choice. They also mirror the style of questions that are on the new Smarter Balance Science Assessment which are mandatory state tests administered to science students in 5, 8, and 11th grade. By using the Edulastic assessment I am preparing my students for their state science testing while covering our current 7th grade science curriculum. I have also given my students quick formatives on Quizizz, Kahoot, and Quizlet Live. In fact my Thesis Research Study included data from an Edulastic assessment, as well as from Quizizz and Kahoot and showed increased academic achievement after using these sites.
An area where my technology experience in this class has really expanded is the use of science simulations in my classroom. Ever since I completed my Virtual Manipulatives Project I have become fascinated with the amount of science simulations that are available for my students. I have been especially enamored with the PhET site and have created many lessons from their simulations. This past year I have adapted three engaging PhET activities from their site, PhET States of Matter, PhET Build an Atom, and PhET Gravity and Orbits. My students have enjoyed working on these simulations and have gained knowledge by being able "to manipulate the visual representation" which gives them "the opportunity to make meaning and see relationships as a result" (Moyer, Bolyard, & Spikell, 2002, p.373). These simulations are the only way my students can see what happens to an atom as you add a proton or take away an electron, my students can see what happens to molecules when they are cooled to 0 degrees Kelvin, and they can watch what happens to gravity as they move the planet earth closer and further from the sun or turn gravity off altogether. None of this would be possible for my students to experience without computer simulations. My students learning is really being taken into the 21st century through these simulations and they are developing a deeper understanding of the science content.
References
Edulastic. (2019). Retrieved from https://edulastic.com/
Kahoot. (2019). Retrived from https://kahoot.com/
Moyer, P.S., Bolyard, J.J., & Spikell, M.A. (2002). What are virtual manipulatives? Teaching Children Mathematics, 8(6), 372-377.
PhEt Interactive Simulations. (2018). Retrieved from https://phet.colorado.edu/
PhEt Interactive Simulations. (2018). Build an Atom. Retrieved from
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/build-an-atom
PhEt Interactive Simulations. (2018). Gravity and orbits. Retrieved from https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/gravity-and-orbits
PhEt Interactive Simulations. (2018). States of Matter: Basics. Retrieved from
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/states-of-matter-basics
Quizizz. (N.D.). Retrieved from https://quizizz.com/admin
Quizlet Live. (N.D.). Retrieved from https://quizlet.com/latest
Sanderson, H. (2019). The Effects of 1:1 iPad Use on the Academic Achievement among 7th Grade Students in Science. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/view/heatherseducationaltechnologys/research/chapter-1-introduction-of-the-project
Sanderson, H. (2018). Atoms, Molecules, and Phases Changes Virtual Manipulatives and Online Software Project. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/view/heatherseducationaltechnologys/coursework/edu-656-tech-applications-in-math/virtual-manipulatives-and-online-software-project
Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.smarterbalanced.org/assessments/samples/