EdTech 541 Final Blog

I initially signed up for EdTech 541 because up until now, most of my coursework had been focused on strictly online teaching. However, I was planning on broadening my horizons to teach with technology in a physical classroom. This course helped me prepare to do that by focusing on integrating technology into classroom teaching. This class has helped me grow professionally because I learned a variety of integration strategies that I was previously unaware of. Furthermore, it helped me define my teaching philosophy. 

My teaching practice and thoughts have been impacted by this course because I now automatically consider ways to teach using technology in a in-person classroom that I wouldn't have previously.
Many of the lessons I have designed on this website are from constructionist theory. This is because I believe that Students should be given ways to construct their own learning. However, I am also a strong believer in Argumentation Theory because debates and discussion facilitate critical thinking skills in the classroom by encouraging learners to include broader and more thought out perspectives. Finally, I also like to use Transformative learning theory because I think that students are more able to come to a complete understanding, or transform, after deep reflection.

As part of my Masters in Technology program, I will be completing a final portfolio that will emphasize projects I have worked on during the program. I will also be matching these projects to AECT standards. This website helped me to meet the following standards. 

Content Knowledge: I met this standard by creating lesson plans in three content areas that were not traditionally part of International Relations teaching. I demonstrated how technology could be used in those content areas and provided examples of how it could be done.

Content Pedagogy. I met this standard by evaluating current research articles on using technology in teaching environments and applying this knowledge to form a personal technology teaching philosophy.

Learning Environments. I met this standard by focusing on the environment that I actually plan on teaching in next year.

Professional Knowledge and Skills. I discovered a lot of teaching resources. I was also able to discover methods and ways to implement learning that I had not previously considered such as serious games and social media.

Blog Self Assessment: 

Criteria	Outstanding	Proficient	Basic	Below Expectations
Content 70 points	Rich in content, full of thought, insight and synthesis with clear connections to previous or current content and/or to real life situations made with depth and detail.	Substantial information, thought, insight and analysis has taken place with some connection to previous or current content and/or to real life situations but lack of depth and detail.	Generally competent in summarizing learning, but information is thin and commonplace with limited connections and vague generalities.	Rudimentary and superficial regurgitation of content with no connections and/or completely off topic.
Readings and Resources 20 points	Readings (from course text) and other resource materials are used to support blog comments. APA style is used to cite references.	There is some reference to readings and other resource material. No or limited use of APA style references.	Little if any reference is made to readings an other course materials.	Readings and resources are not mentioned.
Timeliness 20 points	All required postings are made early in the module to give others time to comment.	All required postings are made but not in time for others to read and respond.	Some or all of the required postings are made, but most are at the last minute without allowing for response time.	Some or all of the required postings are missing.
Responses to Other Students 30 Points	Two or more substantial posts with at least one detailed response made to address another students' post.	One or more satisfactory posts with at least one satisfactory response made to address another students' post.	One satisfactory post with a brief response to another students' post.	One brief post or no post at all and no response to another students' post.

Rationale for Assistive/Adaptive Technology

When my son was born, I would have never guessed, predicted, or believed that he would be born with Autism.

 I initially suspected that he had some problems when my mother mentioned it to me when he was nine months old. I can not begin to explain how it is for a mother. It became increasingly complicated when my daughter was also born with some underdevelopment problems. Therefore, you could imagine that I don't need to find research to prove to myself the importance of using adaptive or assistive technology. As a mother, I do not care how much money it takes, tight budgets are something I'm used to.  However, I can understand why those who don't have the equivalent of a second degree in Autism would need an explanation. Lets not forget that it is not just necessary for those with Autism. Every week I take my son to Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, counseling, and Habilitative Intervention, but I only take my daughter to Occupational Therapy, counseling and Habilitative Intervention. You can imagine how many lobbies I have sat in filled with other children like mine and often times with more severe disabilities than my children have. These kids are not just numbers in a budget, they are real. They need the same opportunities as typical children and they will still need them when they reach adulthood.  It is easy to rationalize cutting budgets for a minority of children when they are not your children or your students. I didn't think much about it either before I had mine. It can be difficult for some people to relate to heartfelt stories of personal experience. Logical arguments are needed. 
When children with disabilities get access to technology that can help them function in society, it benefits society as a whole. However, according to Dave Edyburn, without it, "Environmental barriers detract from people's ability to participate in society and perform desired activities"  When those children grow up, they will contribute to society. Therefore, as children, they need access to the best assistance to help them do that. Some of the greatest thinkers, musicians, and artists have or had disabilities. Could you possibly imagine Stephen Hawking without the adaptive or assistive technology and devices that he needs every day? Would he be considered the greatest scientist in the world? It is difficult to predict who the next Einstein will be if his or her school district doesn't see the value of making sure that every child reaches his or her full potential. 

Edyburn, D. L. (2000). Assistive technology and students with mild disabilities. Focus on Exceptional Children, 32(9), 1.

Technology Integration Challenges in Undergraduate Political Science Courses

While completing the BSU EdTech program, I have also been working on the BSU College Teaching Certificate Program. This semester I have been preparing to teach at BSU. Next fall I will be teaching a Political Science Undergraduate Course. It has certainly been challenging to transfer skills I have learned online to the campus teaching program. I was first made keenly aware of the challenges by observing a current BSU course that is intensely traditional in its delivery. I was not sure how to approach the challenges I faced when I was required to substitute teach in it. I became quickly aware that the challenge of integrating technology in undergraduate political science courses is related to the bigger challenge of rigid traditional teacher centered teaching methods. When I was an undergraduate in the Political Science program, many of the courses that I attended were based on lectures, tests, and writing papers. Although some instructors are working on integrating technology by discussing Game Based Theory or providing class session recordings on Blackboard, changes in teaching methods may need to come at a slower pace due to the nature of the program and the field. 

In my teaching course, we are strongly encourages to integrate activity based learning. This is an approach that encourages the use of technology and tech tool integration. This brings up obvious challenges. For example, paper writing is still central to the Political Science Department curriculum, but student centered learning calls for creating artifacts using online tech tools instead. If I use the artifact alternative next fall, will my students feel like they should have been writing papers instead? Artifacts can't be submitted to journals for publication and are not used when applying for graduate schools. Will the other teachers in the department view me as a legitimate teacher when I cater to student needs? Sink or swim attitudes are still ingrained in the teaching style of tenured faculty. Students. Perhaps instructors still resist constructionist approaches. Some scholars (Kirschner,Sweller,& Clark) argue against them as well

In conclusion, I will have my work cut out for me next year when I will be required to implement technology and student centered teaching approaches in a environment where the other teachers in the field are still not ready.  

Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problem-based, experiential, and inquiry-based teaching. Educational psychologist, 41(2), 75-86.

Integrating Technology into Political Science Education

Using Technology in Political Science Courses is forward thinking. Students already use technology outside of the classroom. Therefore, it makes sense to use it inside the classroom as well. It makes teaching purposeful, activity based, and transformative.
It is exciting to see how the education field has changed from an instructor based and often exclusive approach to a student based inclusive approach. It is extremely important to view students as individuals. Therefore it is important to design and implement courses in ways that make sense to them by offering a variety of methods and options including technology based ones.
One major reason for integrating technology in lecture classrooms is that it fosters the ability for instructors to implement Web 2.0 in their courses. This includes the use of Blogs, Microblogs, Wikis, Social bookmarking and tagging, RSS and syndication, Social networking, Peer-to-Peer file sharing, Multimedia sharing, Data mashups, Personal Learning environments, and online Academic exchange. (Davis, 2009)
Another reason for integrating technology into the classrooms is because it helps students implement 21st Century learning techniques by providing instructors student centered options for assignments using a host of web tools.(Lever-Duffy, 2002)
Finally,Political Science is not a one size fits all field. It is always fluid. Technology is fluid as well. Therefore we need to demonstrate to our students by adapting to technology if we expect them to adapt to the changing nature of politics.

Davis, B. G. (2009, July 17). Tools for teaching. John Wiley & Sons.
Lever-Duffy, J., McDonald, J., & Mizell, A. (2002, November 1). The 21st-Century Classroom: Teaching and Learning with Technology. Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc.

Game-Based Learning in Political Science

The university classroom is generally seen as an environment for adults. Students learn to become professionals. Many students have already spent years in a professional environment and are returning to increase skills. Therefore, the concept of introducing gaming into the classroom may seem immature to faculty.
 Despite this perception, there are those who disagree. Woessner, author of the article Teaching with SimCity: Using Sophisticated Gaming Simulations to Teach Concepts in Introductory American Government, made the following claim...

  Although the use of SimCity-based simulations will not revolutionize political science and civics education, the selective incorporation of these sophisticated civic simulations has the potential to generate enthusiasm among otherwise disinterested students. As a tool for teaching high school civics or introductory American government, in-class exercises based on SimCity may help the next generation to understand why, in politics, there are no easy answers.

Personally, I don't like playing video games and I haven't done it for years. Therefore, before completing this assignment, I would have probably joined the ranks of those who view game based learning as a hopeless cause. Heeter, author of the article, Impacts of forced serious game play on vulnerable subgroups, completed a study that demonstrates that I am not alone.  

The most important threat to a serious game having its intended impact is when players dislike the game and would not play it on their own if not assigned to do so. Resistant players were less committed (play for less time), experienced less positive affect, less focused attention, and more negative affect than eager players who would play even if they did not have to. Resistant players performed worse and played in such a way that they experienced less challenge during the game. Serious games are likely to be least effective for players who dislike a game and most effective for those who like the game. Declaring that serious games are less effective for players who dislike the game on the surface seems to imply that serious games simply need to be great games, and they will have the desired impacts. The problem with that solution is that liking a game is highly idiosyncratic. Every one of our games in the study had eager players and resistant people who would never play the game intentionally. Even if a game were a great example of its genre, the appeal of such a game would certainly not be universal. Different people like different games. Even the most wonderfully designed serious game will fail to appeal to some players. This also points to the need for more future work on understanding the relevant individual differences between game players, particularly for formal learning environments."

Despite these negative findings, there may be a small relative advantage for providing games as an alternative assignment for those students who may otherwise feel more disengaged. Heeter also stated that "Based on our findings, one could also appreciate the inverse interpretation: serious games are a good way to reach gamers, and serious games are a potentially great way to reach players who really enjoy the game" Furthermore, Heeter did list suggestions for improvement by stating that "Serious game designers should consider how their game will be received by non-gamers as well as avid gamers and females as well as males."


Woessner, M. (2015). Teaching with SimCity: Using Sophisticated Gaming Simulations to Teach Concepts in Introductory American Government. PS: Political Science & Politics, 48(02), 358-363.

Heeter, C., Lee, Y. H., Magerko, B., & Medler, B. (2011). Impacts of forced serious game play on vulnerable subgroups. 

Voice Thread: Social Media in Education

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Acceptable Use Policies

"An acceptable use policy (AUP) is a document that outlines a set of rules to be followed by users or customers of a set of computing resources, which could be a computer network, website or large computer system. An AUP clearly states what the user is and is not allowed to do with the these resources." Technopedia (2012)

The national Education Association recommends that a good acceptable use policy should have a preamble, definition section, policy statement, acceptable uses section, unacceptable uses section, and a violations/sanctions section. (2004) However, I noticed that some of the institutions that I researched were lacking a clear label for acceptable use in the first place. 

It was difficult to find acceptable use policies for institutions similar to mine. I think it is because they can be listed under different titles and in different places. However, I did look at some policies that impacted my community in Boise ID. It appears like many places lack all of the components recommended in a firm policy. The biggest surprise was from Boise Public Schools. 

Idaho State Agency Employees Acceptable Use Policy
The state of Idaho has a reliable and descriptive acceptable use policy. It has all of the components laid out in a detailed manner. 

Department of Defense Acceptable Use Policy
Many people in Idaho serve in the military, so it is worth exploring. DOD's policy requires a signature and seems like a high priority. 

Micron's Acceptable Use Policy
Micron is a major employer in Boise ID. In this ethics manual, some acceptable use guidelines are listed on page 26, but not explicitly labeled as an acceptable use policy. This policy is specific and thorough. 

Boise Public Schools Acceptable Use Policy
I couldn't find a specific Acceptable Use Policy, but the policy manual has something close on pages 55 and 56 of the Manual. It seems strict because it says that all material has to be approved by the board. However, when using movies, it simply states that teachers must comply with the law. 

Boise State Acceptable Use Policy
Boise State's policy is short and to the point. In summary, it reserves rights for itself and everything must be in compliance with state and national laws. 



References:

1.(2012). What is an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)? -
Definition from ... Retrieved February 24, 2016, from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/2471/acceptable-use-policy-aup.

2.(2004). Education World: Getting Started on the Internet: Acceptable ... Retrieved February 24, 2016, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr093.shtml.