Technology Plan Evaluation

Many technology plans that I am reviewing refer to it as a “live” document. That is such a fitting description! I’ve looked at how many have evolved from previous years and it’s not so much goals/objectives that change but more and more details are added to the tactics that are being used to accomplish the goals.

Practicum in Instructional Technology (2/13-2/17)

The  performance requirements for Georgia Southern’s practicum in instructional technology are basically centered around 2 roles that are key to the effective implementation of instructional technology: the technology specialist and the technology program administrator. This week, to get a better understanding of the technology specialist role, I visited the instructional design lab at Georgia Perimeter College, Clarkston GA. I interviewed the instructional technology specialist who had 20yrs of experience with the college and a wealth of knowledge. He gave me a brief history of the college and described how the role of an instructional technologist had evolved over the years. His favorite part of the job is interacting with the faculty and his philosophy is “Each one, teach one.”  In other words, he encourages faculty to share what they learn about technology with their colleagues. He described his job as picking up where formal training workshops leave off. His services are not limited to the design labs but the training and collboration with faculty & staff takes place in offices and classrooms around the campus.

I also attended 2 sessions of the EDUCAUSE conference being hosted on the campus. Throughout the week, I’ve been revising the plans for the staff development workshop that I will be delivering. Preparing supplemental resources and performance tasks that specifically speak to my target audience has been extremely challenging.

Professional Portfolio Update 2/6/12

A professional portfolio is a key assessment for GA Southern University’s M.ED. Instructional Technology Program. The link to my portfolio had to be submitted today so I’ve spent about 30 minutes each day this past week fine tuning the content. I’ve tried to include comments which would allow anyone reviewing the portfolio to get a clear picture of the challenges that were encountered during the development process. I’ve also tried to include references to various technology utilized for creating the artifacts as well as references to research that supports the viewpoint communicated by the content.

Technology Program Administrator – weekly status update

I am in the process of reviewing an extensive information technology strategic plan for a community college. The scope of the plan is widespread encompassing academic, administrative, and operational components. I spend about 30 minutes a day reviewing the document (taking notes/highlighting main ideas) to basically wrap my mind around all that is required to develop and consistently follow-up on such a plan by key stakeholders.

Technology Specialist – weekly status update

At this point, I am spending approximately 2 hours a day (non-consecutive time)  crystallizing my thoughts on the staff development workshop and documenting my instructional plan. Like a puzzle, it is all coming together. Preparing instructional strategies directed toward the adult learner has been somewhat challenging because my previous practical experience involved developing lesson plans for middle school students.

Staff Development Workshop

The target audience for my staff development workshop includes faculty that are currently “hesitant” to use technology. I prefer to have no more than 10 students in class in order to allow me to encourage active participation from each student. The workshop will be held in a computer lab and participants will be required to come prepared to complete pre-selected actions using the Blackboard learning management system. I want to focus my instruction on performing basic actions within the learning system because I hope to help the participants create a foundation on which they can build as they become increasingly acclimated to using technology.

Not Started Yet…

Ok, it’s been awhile since my last blog! Why?? I needed to setup a tool for use in my evaluation class that didn’t require much thought, so I had to abandon the blog and just use a wiki ’til I get more familiar with the platform. Now that I am on break from school, I want to get this blog rolling…

I can’t say whether or not it is user friendly yet but I am now starting to use it to post all my random threads of thought about instructional technology…

Understanding by Design

Please visit my Understanding By Design webpages to gain a greater understanding of how the UBD design model can be used to create comprehensive study units. The principle purpose of these pages is to establish a forum for the collaborative development of middle school science units. The unit currently under development is for 6th grade Earth Science students studying the Theory of Plate Tectonics. Join in the development process by using the blog to ask questions or share activity ideas, instructional strategies, and instructional tools!

Getting Started!

As a student of instructional technology, I evaluate a variety of tools that claim to be user friendly and allow quick and easy setup. WordPress is not only the platform for my blog but also one of many tools being evaluated for educational purposes.
I tend to learn technology best by “experimentation” and googling for support as needed therefore when I find tools that allow me to get started quickly it satisfies one of the basic criteria for being considered “user friendly.” The jury is still out on WordPress as this is only my first comment!