2.1 Content Standards & Student Technology Standards
Candidates model and facilitate the design and implementation of technology-enhanced learning experiences aligned with student content standards and student technology standards. (PSC 2.1/ISTE 2a)
Artifact: Multimedia Design Project
Reflection:
The multimedia design project I created was the product of a WebQuest class assignment that was completed individually. The assignment addresses both science and social studies content standards in third, fourth, and fifth grades as well as student technology standards. The site guides students in creating both multimedia and non-multimedia projects, including detailed tutorials and tech support for students in order to create and foster independent and life-long learners. I carefully chose the color scheme and layouts for the website shell, created the content, found existing video tutorials, created original video tutorials, and typed all information that one may see on the website. Designing this technology-enriched learning experience for my students was both hard work and worth it.
By far, I believe this assignment was the one that exhausted the most effort while in my program at Kennesaw; however, it’s also the assignment that I have found most valuable. Throughout this entire project, I modeled and facilitated the design and implementation of technology-enhanced learning experiences for my students; my students’ usage of this project made it successful, as they learned how to use multimedia and non-multimedia applications to demonstrate their learning of the student content standards.
During the design phase of the WebQuest, I learned the basics and more about creating a website through Weebly. Choosing a shell and layouts for each of the page was a strategic effort and changed multiple times until I was satisfied; I felt it was important to create a site for students to navigate and use with ease, so I took the extra time to do so. I used results from a survey given to teachers at the beginning of that school year and feedback from the administration at my school to help determine the content standards on which I would focus. Because I was the resource gifted teacher at the time, I didn’t have actual content standards (only gifted ones, which allowed for students to extend and refine their knowledge of the standards taught in their regular classrooms) that I was responsible for teaching. Once the standards were chosen, I decided researching the best multimedia and non-multimedia applications for students to learn how to use. These types of applications are used in most of today’s job settings and could benefit the students who learn how to use them in the future in multiple and various ways. I created and found easy-to-follow video tutorials for each of the applications listed on the site as well as outlined the actual project guidelines that students would use during their creation phase. I also added background information about for teachers who may use the site who aren’t in my school system and provided my contact information as a continued support system for those who need it. I included suggestions for modifications and implementation to other teachers as well as the gifted standards, content standards, and ISTE technology standards for reference.
If I could change anything about this artifact, it would be to add more information to it as well as include more grade levels for expansion. There are many tools for younger students to learn and unfortunately, many teachers are not aware of how to implement this type of learning in the classrooms of younger learners. Adding more tools and lower grade-level information could help with the implementation of these types of resources as well as for differentiation purposes.
Once the design of the site was complete, I implemented the project first with the students in my gifted resource classroom. I wanted to make sure any changes didn’t need to be made prior to introducing the instrument to teachers. Not only did my students learn how to show their learning through the projects they were learning to create, it sparked an interest in my students to create their own WebQuests and websites as well. Finally, the implementation phase led to a school-wide demonstration of how to use the website in other classrooms to enhance their students’ experiences with technology as well as a differentiation tool. Through commentary and feedback, teachers deemed this site a useful tool to use in their classrooms. One of the teachers even came to me and told me she was using it as a tool to share in one of her college classes as well. Overall, this project definitely served its purpose for the students in my classroom as well as the teachers in my school and other areas. The impact can be assessed through the student-created projects in multiple classrooms throughout my school as well as feedback from teachers on improvements can could be made. The knowledge I gained from creating and completing this artifact is profound. The website I created can be found at http://designyourproject.weebly.com.
The multimedia design project I created was the product of a WebQuest class assignment that was completed individually. The assignment addresses both science and social studies content standards in third, fourth, and fifth grades as well as student technology standards. The site guides students in creating both multimedia and non-multimedia projects, including detailed tutorials and tech support for students in order to create and foster independent and life-long learners. I carefully chose the color scheme and layouts for the website shell, created the content, found existing video tutorials, created original video tutorials, and typed all information that one may see on the website. Designing this technology-enriched learning experience for my students was both hard work and worth it.
By far, I believe this assignment was the one that exhausted the most effort while in my program at Kennesaw; however, it’s also the assignment that I have found most valuable. Throughout this entire project, I modeled and facilitated the design and implementation of technology-enhanced learning experiences for my students; my students’ usage of this project made it successful, as they learned how to use multimedia and non-multimedia applications to demonstrate their learning of the student content standards.
During the design phase of the WebQuest, I learned the basics and more about creating a website through Weebly. Choosing a shell and layouts for each of the page was a strategic effort and changed multiple times until I was satisfied; I felt it was important to create a site for students to navigate and use with ease, so I took the extra time to do so. I used results from a survey given to teachers at the beginning of that school year and feedback from the administration at my school to help determine the content standards on which I would focus. Because I was the resource gifted teacher at the time, I didn’t have actual content standards (only gifted ones, which allowed for students to extend and refine their knowledge of the standards taught in their regular classrooms) that I was responsible for teaching. Once the standards were chosen, I decided researching the best multimedia and non-multimedia applications for students to learn how to use. These types of applications are used in most of today’s job settings and could benefit the students who learn how to use them in the future in multiple and various ways. I created and found easy-to-follow video tutorials for each of the applications listed on the site as well as outlined the actual project guidelines that students would use during their creation phase. I also added background information about for teachers who may use the site who aren’t in my school system and provided my contact information as a continued support system for those who need it. I included suggestions for modifications and implementation to other teachers as well as the gifted standards, content standards, and ISTE technology standards for reference.
If I could change anything about this artifact, it would be to add more information to it as well as include more grade levels for expansion. There are many tools for younger students to learn and unfortunately, many teachers are not aware of how to implement this type of learning in the classrooms of younger learners. Adding more tools and lower grade-level information could help with the implementation of these types of resources as well as for differentiation purposes.
Once the design of the site was complete, I implemented the project first with the students in my gifted resource classroom. I wanted to make sure any changes didn’t need to be made prior to introducing the instrument to teachers. Not only did my students learn how to show their learning through the projects they were learning to create, it sparked an interest in my students to create their own WebQuests and websites as well. Finally, the implementation phase led to a school-wide demonstration of how to use the website in other classrooms to enhance their students’ experiences with technology as well as a differentiation tool. Through commentary and feedback, teachers deemed this site a useful tool to use in their classrooms. One of the teachers even came to me and told me she was using it as a tool to share in one of her college classes as well. Overall, this project definitely served its purpose for the students in my classroom as well as the teachers in my school and other areas. The impact can be assessed through the student-created projects in multiple classrooms throughout my school as well as feedback from teachers on improvements can could be made. The knowledge I gained from creating and completing this artifact is profound. The website I created can be found at http://designyourproject.weebly.com.