All teachers want every lesson they deliver to be a positive
learning experience for students. I now have a much better understanding of
every piece of the process to ensure this happens for me and all teachers I
train. A sufficient amount of time and planning plus the mindful selection of
media and tasks will result in a well-designed lesson (Larson and Lockee, 2014,
Loc. 4549). I think if any one of the ADDIE components are left out of this
design process, then learner needs won’t be met and the lesson will fall into
the ‘poor and ineffective’ category. Will some lessons fail? Of course they
will! The key is to bring that lesson out of failing mode and give it a
redesign to improve and change the parts that did not work. Instructional
design is a process that mostly happens before the lesson is taught and
includes phases: learner analysis, planning and design, developing the
activities, and implementing the lesson. Evaluation happens at the end of the
lesson, but it also occurs during the process so that at any time a component
can be modified or eliminated.
Prior to this course, I was not aware of the Connectivist
Approach to instruction and how it can enable educators to build a
high-quality, robust lesson from any content area and for any grade level. In my approach to developing a training
session, I realize how each decision made throughout the ID process should be
centered around the participants, their perception of the topic, and how they
will use their new ideas and skills to impact student learning (Larson and
Lockee, 2014).
My professional development session, Bring It On with BYOD,
addresses policies, management, and instructional use of BYOD. The goal is to
guide teachers in their planning as they strive for a 1:1 learning environment (Davis, 2014).
My target audience is high school teachers of all subjects, but this training
could be delivered for middle and upper elementary teachers as well. Even after
I went through the selection of media and activities, I made some last minute
changes to my agenda because I do not want to confuse or overwhelm my
participants. Since the topic is BYOD, I chose to model a lesson using NearPod, a free app for students for any
device/OS. I designed my slides in PowerPoint and imported them to NearPod
where I added even more activities and resources. I selected a few different
interactive tasks and two different assessment tools to demonstrate, Socrative and a Google Form which will be
accessed by QR code. One digital strategy in my training is
called an ‘App Smash,’ and it will be a new term for most of my participants. I
selected an article on how to teach students to App Smash and will give
teachers time to read or scan it during the session. My presentation, video,
handout, and more resources are on my blog page, Bring
It On with BYOD in Your Classroom.
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| Image Credit: https://ipad4schools.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/i4s-appsmashing-005.png |
One thing I will change for future trainings is to include
at least one task or activity that allows the participants to have several
options for a more differentiated style. Also, I have
usually posted my handouts and presentation on my blog for participants to
access after the training is over, but I have several new ideas on how I will
make these available in the upcoming year. For example, one idea I want to try
is to create an app that will act like a web page for all materials,
activities, and assessments to make PD available anywhere, anytime. If time
allows me to create a prototype this fall, then I may have a sample group of
teacher try it out for our next class. Overall, I have many new ADDIE-inspired ideas that I plan to develop in the upcoming school year.
References
Davis, V. (2014, Feb 4). 6 BYOD discussions every
school should have. Retrieved from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/byod-discussions-schools-should-have-vicki-davis
Image retrieved from: https://ipad4schools.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/i4s-appsmashing-005.png
Larson, M. and Lockee, B.B. (2014). Streamlined ID:
A practical guide to instructional design. New York: Routledge.
Angela, I too, have learned so much about the intricate details that are involved in the design process. The ADDIE model outline was most helpful to me. I made the creating process much easier!
ReplyDeleteThe interesting point to me about the connectivist approach to learning is that the learning is constantly changing. Essentially, this is the root of learning. Learning is about changing your thoughts and outlooks to adapt to new information. Larson and Lockee (2014) discuss how connectivist learning experiences are designed to "build a network of relevant information sources to consult as needed for daily tasks and learning" (pg. 79). They go on to explain that design elements for this type of approach are still evolving. Your idea to create an app falls into this category of learning. Not only is the learning evolving, but you are also creating resources to maintain the learner's connections to the knowledge and information you have presented (Larson and Lockee, 2014, pg.79). Please let us know when you have completed your prototype. I would love to know your results!
I am very excited about the professional development topic you chose. I have been intrigued by the policies and implementation of BYOD, because it is a daunting task to re-create the classroom that uses students' devices without allowing them to be distracted from learning. Larson and Lockee (2014) state that "instructional design projects are typically initiated to solve a need," which come in various forms: problem, challenge, and opportunity (Loc. 786). I think your PD for BYOD covers all of those needs.
ReplyDeleteI have not had a chance to look at your materials yet, but I look forward to doing so. BYOD is a bone of contention within my program, and I how maybe your material might help me in my quest to get it accepted. It looks like you have a wide variety of activities to effectively communicate clear thinking on the subject, which is what God message dressing does according to Larson and Lockee (loc. 4767).
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