Instructional Media

Instructional Media

Prezi- Prezi is cloud-based presentation software that allows you to organize and share your ideas in a multitude of ways. Prezi allows you to import videos, images, websites, PDF files, music and even PowerPoint slides into a blank canvas or template so that you can design your presentation based on your thought or connections you want to make. Prezi encourages creativity and provides you with tools to make your design come to life. I often use Prezi as an instructional delivery tool because I can embed all my instructional materials into one presentation and create a path that will address my learning goals.  

Jing- Jing is screenshot and screencast software. You can take pictures and video straight from your desktop and share them through different media outlets. The number of ways you can utilize Jing are limitless. I have used Jing as an instructional tool for my students and teachers. I can record myself guiding my students through an assignment, asking questions, providing directions, or as an assessment tool for different projects and training.

Affordances

In regard to the first affordance, Jing and Prezi provide the opportunity to address differentiation, critical thinking, and engagement in instruction. The both differentiate instruction by addressing different modalities of learning through videos, pictures, music, and text. They can also be used as a teaching tool or assessment for projects. Depending on how the lesson is designed Jing and Prezi can promote critical thinking skills and be very engaging to learners. Finding effective ways to address these areas in the classroom can be a complex thinking task but because Jing and Prezi can address all the areas, you are able to free your mind and time for other task.

As for the second affordance, Jing and Prezi change the way you think and process information. The first time I used Jing it was for a Web 2.0 course. You had to create a how to video for a Web 2.0 tool and describe how you utilized or would utilize it instructionally. Jing helped me think and process information in a new way because I had to think about editing, sound, visual effects, content, and delivery. Prezi also can also facilitate the same time of learning. Because you have a blank canvas to work with, you are required to think critically about how to design your presentation in a way that will support your learning goals. The templates provided by Prezi can help learners’ process new information. A complex idea can be separated into smaller points visually (also using graphic and text) to help learners absorb the information and then with one click learners can see the ideas comeback together.

What I like most about the two instructional media tools is that they can be used within each other. This makes my life a lot simpler. In my project, Prezi will be my main media delivery tool and Jing will be used to facilitate different activities like the online scavenger hunt. 

Identifying Instructional Strategies

Identifying Instructional Strategies

Instructional Goal 1- Instructional method will utilize multiple learning styles to increase learning, transfer, and motivation among learners.

Instructional Goal 2- Provide learners with the opportunity to practice creating lessons that integrate web 2.0 technologies.

• Learner Goal 1- the learner will acquire knowledge of  different Web 2.0 technologies and be able to select technologies that support lessons in reading, math, writing, and science.
• Learner Goal 2- the learner will utilize the activities/lessons provided on the online curriculum to connect and incorporate Web 2.0 Technologies.
• Learner Goal 3- the learner will be able to justify the implementation of each Web 2.0 technology to the lesson and its benefits to the learners.
• Learner Goal 4- the learner will be able to create lessons that incorporate Web 2.0 technologies.  

Motivation: how will you engage and motivate your learners to learn?

The participant in the training will identify their level of understanding of Web 2.0 Technologies and level of comfort with computers using a color rating system at the start of the training. This way throughout the training participants can work with other participants with greater or equal skill sets.

The training will begin with an online scavenger hunt for different Web 2.0 technologies. The participants will work in pairs to help offset any perceived frustration. The color system established at the beginning of the training will help with activity because I will be able to pair less skilled participants with more skilled participant. Prizes will be awarded according to place of you and your partner.

 Next, participant will view a video of Web 2.0 technologies being used in a variety of different classroom and subject areas. Participant will utilize an easy Web 2.0 tool such as Wordle to describe their feeling toward the video and the importance of Web 2.0 technologies.  

The Understanding Web 2.0 technologies section of the ID will include different activities that provide an understanding of different Web 2.0 technologies. This will keep participants engaged. In these activities I will keep in mind the different learning styles and factors that might affect transfer of knowledge.

Refreshment will be available to participant as well as timely breaks.

To activate their schema, lessons and activities from the on-line curriculum will be utilized. Participants will choose Web 2.0 technologies that could be incorporated in these lesson as practice for the next phase.  This will allow participants to make connections and build on the background knowledge. Using Popplet, an easy Web 2.0 technology, participants will show their justification for choosing certain Web 2.0 technologies and share their understanding with the group.

In groups, participants will utilize an application/action sheet to create lessons that incorporate Web 2.0 technologies. Participants will practice creating lessons using the application /action sheet in groups and then independently. I will facilitate the activity and model how it should runs.

Participant will also be provided a binder with all the hands-out and information from the training. It will also contain pages for them to take notes.

The concluding activity of the training will require participants to complete a feedback form and provide their contact information for follow-up to the training.

Prerequisite and sub-skills: what is that they will learn and in what order?

The participants will learn:

1.      What are Web 2.0 technologies

2.      Why Web 2.0 technologies are important to toady’s learner

3.      How Web 2.0 technologies can be incorporated into the current curriculum

4.      How to create lessons that incorporate Web 2.0 technologies in all subject areas.

Practice and feedback: how will you know that they have learned it? and how will you let learners know whether they’ve learned?

Learning will have occurred when participant are able successful create at least 5 lessons independently that incorporates a Web 2.0 technology and provide a valid justification for their decision. This will be evidenced by the successful completion of at least 5 application/action sheets. Any misunderstanding will be evidenced in the in ability to complete the application/action sheet. At that point feedback from the participant will warranted so that the instructor can provide clarification and assistance.

Instructional Strategies Utilized:

Cooperative learning                                         Reinforcing Effort and recognition

High Yield Practice                                           Cues/Question/Advanced Organizers

Setting Objectives/Providing Feedback

Summarizing and Note taking 

Goal Setting

     In designing this training to support teachers in the integration of Web 2.0 technologies in to their lessons, I knew that the teachers own personal experiences, skills, abilities, and attitudes would shape their motivation toward the training. These characteristics will make transferring the information learned incredibly difficult or encouragingly possible. As I embark on the design phase of this process, I must consider what types of learning will address my instructional problem. Because it is vitally important that teachers process and organize the information into their long-term memory, I must focus on building their schema. The teachers will come to training with some background knowledge of web 2.0 technologies from the workshops the district has provided in the past and lesson planning they have done on a weekly basis. My goal is to activate their prior knowledge in order to aid in the comprehension, storage, and retrieval of the new knowledge. In the book, it says,

            “Piaget suggests that human development is characterized through acquiring and modifying schema (Ginsburg & Opper, 1979). He maintains that schema determines how people react to events and reflect the individual’s total knowledge. As new information is stored in previously formed schemata, they are constantly restructuring and redeveloping, changing how learners see and interpret the world.”

Because extensive practice aids learners in acquiring and altering their schemata, my instructional design will include opportunities for the teachers to practice creating lesson that integrate Web 2.0 technologies. Below are the goals I have for the instruction.

Goal 1- Instructional method will utilize multiple learning styles to increase learning, transfer, and motivation among learners.

Goal 2- Provide learners with the opportunity to practice creating lessons that integrate web 2.0 technologies. 

Analyzing Learner Characteristics

Analyzing Learner Characteristics

It is important to analyze the different characteristics of learners so that when designing instruction their different abilities, skills, attitude, and experiences are taken in to account.

·         Ages- The ages of the teachers that will attend the workshop range from 23 and up. Because there is such a big disparity in the ages of the teachers, their learning, transfer, and motivation will vary. Teachers who are younger and have had more training with technology will have a better attitude toward the training. Teachers who are older or have little to no experience with technology might be less enthusiastic or negative about the training.

·         Educational Level-All of the teachers attending the training will have at least a bachelor’s degree. Some of the teachers will have a master’s degree or higher which may have expanded their knowledge and experience with curriculum and technology. Having an advanced degree might increase the transfer of knowledge, attitude toward the training, and motivation toward the training.

·         Teaching Experience- The amount of teaching experience will range from 0 years of experience to 30 years of experience. Teachers who are highly motivated but have less teaching experience might have trouble with the lesson planning part but not the technology. Teachers who have lots of teaching experience but limited knowledge of technology might struggle with utilizing the technology but not planning lessons.

·         Learning Styles- Different learning styles will be represented among the teachers. This will influence the selection of the instructional method used for the training. In order to meet the needs of the different learners and increase the chances for transfer of knowledge, all of the following learning styles will be represented throughout the training.

o   Visual (spatial): You prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.

o   Aural (auditory-musical): You prefer using sound and music.

o   Verbal (linguistic): You prefer using words, both in speech and writing.

o   Physical (kinesthetic): You prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.

o   Logical (mathematical): You prefer using logic, reasoning and systems.

o   Social (interpersonal): You prefer to learn in groups or with other people.

o   Solitary (intrapersonal): You prefer to work alone and use self-study.

Beliefs and Attitudes- The teachers attitude and beliefs towards the training and different aspect of the training will impact their learning, transfer, and motivation. It is important that the instructional design encompasses pieces that will appeal to the attitudes and beliefs of the participants.   

Additional Resource: Analyzing Learner Characteristics