ITEC 57430 - Computer Applications in Education - Spring 2012

Description: "In this course, students discuss topics related to the use of technology in education including technology integration, 21st century skills, mobile learning, and ubiquitous computing. Students are introduced to networking terminology and create instructional materials such as web-based narrated videos, hyperlinked documents to scaffold learning, informational flyers, lessons using online databases or digital libraries, and simple electronic portfolios. Students work in groups to create a 'Technology Day' for a real or imaginary school and identify ways technology tools can be used to facilitate and support various instructional strategies." (Instructional Technology Course Descriptions)

Reflection: This course promoted student inquiry and taught me how to incorporate technology into lesson plans in ways I would have never thought of. I have never even created a lesson plan until taking this class, therefore I had to research how one would set up a lesson plan. One of the projects I created was a lesson plan ( Creating Basic Web Page Using HTML) that incorporated student use of screen recording software. This particular project flipped the role of screen recording software in the classroom. Usually it is the instructor who records what he or she is doing on their computers to explain a concept. Although I only included final course projects under some of the classes listed on this page, I feet that all of the projects I completed in this class are important, as well as some of my best work. Therefore, I included tham all.

Artifacts: Syllabus

1. Instructional Recordings and Student Reflection - This project focused on creating a lesson plan that incorporated student use of screen writing software.
2. Technology Integration and Educational Psychology - This project focused on creating two lesson plans that incorported new cutting edge technology.
3. Technology and Assessment - Online Discussion Evaluations - This was by far my favorite project. We formed groups of four that took on the role of the instructor by working together to create four discussion topics that centered on a particular subject. The discussion we came up with were presented to the class during our designated week. Each member facilitated one of the four discussion topics and evaluated each students' contribution to the discussion by grading them on a list of criteria. This was a great experience for me. I created a score sheet for our group to use when evaluating student participation. My particular discussion topic was titled "Online Technology Tools for Teachers." I chose this topic in hopes that students would share resources available to teachers. At the end of the discussion, I compiled a list of all tools shared by the students and then gave them copies.
4. Technology and Student Research - Instructional Databases - This project focused on creating a lesson for database exploration.
5. Final Project - Student Portfolios - The focus of this project was to create a master ePortfolio template detailing what is required for each page that can be used by students. A completed student sample was also required and you are viewing it now..

Final Grade: In Progress (Hissom)