Tim Stark

6/26/2016
EDTECH 592
Reflection/Research Paper

Reflections and Takeaways from the EDTECH Program

Work in the field of education is an interesting thing. I have found in my own practice

during the EDTECH program that the line between learner and teacher often blur. Whether it is

my own learning through the EDTECH courses, or in the ways I am learning from my students

and my own Professional Learning Network (PLN); I have quickly realized that there is not ever

going to be a time where my learning ends and just teaching begins. For my part, that is an

exciting aspect of education. Being a part of a field that is never stagnant and constantly

requiring me to make changes and improvements has kept me engaged in education. This paper

is a mix of reflection and research about some of the key understandings I have taken away from

the EDTECH program at Boise State University. The following sections of the paper show my

growth in the areas of learning, the art and science of teaching, the design of instruction, net,

working and collaboration, and finally, the research practice connection.

Lesson One: Reflections on Learning

The EdTech program has done a lot to affirm my own beliefs that constructive learning

environments lead to increased learner engagement. The idea that knowledge is constructed from

experiences and is built upon the prior knowledge is central to constructivism. Further, not every

student is going to learn in the same way. Knowledge acquisition is gradual and discussion of

ideas is central to learning (Kanuka and Anderson, 1999). I have made a point to have students

complete work using an inquiry process since I began teaching. Researching topics that they

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have a say in choosing and using past knowledge to guide ones path through learning have

always been central to my practice. This program has further grounded my belief in this form of

teaching and my practice in the classroom shows this through the many research and inquiry

based topics that I teach on a regular basis. Having such a classroom model keeps students

engaged as they are no longer passive participants.

There have been some changes to my classroom practices since starting the EDTECH

program. One of the changes has been an increase in the amount of technology that students use.

When students create a research task for me there are a lot of choices for them in showing their

learning. They use digital creation tools and have the choice of making videos, constructing

books, and making short presentations to demonstrate understanding. Ultimately in my courses I

want students using authentic learning tools that have relevance beyond my subject. I want them

to utilize resources that can be useful for them in years to come. Examples of this include

introducing them to Open Educational Resources (OERs) and how to become proficient with

productivity software like Google Apps and Microsoft Office programs. This comprehensive

approach to digital literacy is well supported by research. Voogt, Erstad, Dede, and Mishra

(2013), state that the digital networked world is in need of workers who can think creatively and

independently. However, our system of education is not yet fully optimized for this new reality.

Giving students opportunities to show creativity within my classroom and to utilize authentic

technology tools has been and will continue to be central to my practice.

Working in a world that is becoming increasingly infused with technology and also more

and more connected has brought forth interesting research as well. These insights have begun to

change the way I approach how learning takes place within my classroom. Since constructivist

learning focuses on the way experience and interaction with others influence our knowledge, our

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increasing connection through social networks is playing an increased role in the way that people

learn (Schrader, 2015). Schrader (2015) states that ...with technology, the classroom is broader

and participation more equalized. The moral implications of participation among equals are more

likely to be achieved via computer and technologically mediated social networking. Each person

has equal access (if possessing the technology) to participation(p. 29). For a teacher working in

a small community this is a huge opportunity. My students are able to connect with others who

are like minded and no longer is our isolation a limiting factor. My entrepreneurship course is

possibly the greatest example of this. I have students research different companies via social

media. In the course they also make connections with different companies that they are interested

in. Through this we are able to web-conference with two different entrepreneurs this year who

were about 150 miles away in the Minneapolis area.

With the rapid pace of change in educational technology, one of the challenges is to stay

abreast of the different ways that learning can be enhanced through its use. There are several

changes that I am excited to see in the upcoming years. First is geographic information systems

(GIS). By using real world tools students are able to formulate their own questions about a given

geographic problem. They can then, with GIS, explore their own neighborhood and create

detailed maps that can answer their questions. Learning management systems (LMS) advances

are another technology that I have been interested in. Having all of the learning objectives,

assignments, and grade information in one central place is allowing teachers to have a much

better idea of how their students are learning. With a modern LMS they are able to pinpoint just

how a student is doing and what areas they may need extra help. Such insights to learning were

never so easy to access as they are now.

Lesson Two: The Art & Science of Teaching

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 A great teacher knows the art of motivation and engagement. A great teacher also knows

how all their students are performing and where learning gaps hinder the learning of their

different students. Teaching is not solely art nor solely science. It is a blend of both. Technology

aids all teachers to increase learner motivation and engagement and also gives increased ability

to monitor student learning. As I have taken classes at Boise State, the richness of technology

integration was combined with the learning theory of constructivism. This major theme in our

learning in the MET classes and also has been a major component in my own teaching.

The MET program has helped me to bolster my ability to use technology to teach

effectively in a constructivist environment. Kanuka and Anderson (1999) state that learning

needs to connect to prior experiences and use those experiences to build upon new knowledge.

Gaining real world experience is also of high importance in constructivist teaching. The learning

theory of constructivism has influenced how I approach the different classes that I teach. One

example is an entrepreneurship class that I taught this past school year. Students each chose a

business idea that interested them. They then each dug deep into their individual business ideas

eventually writing their own unique business plans. As they were taking the class, they also

spoke with many different business owners both in our community but also throughout the state.

Finally, central to the class was discussion where the students could ask one another about their

different ideas as they were learning different aspects about entrepreneurship.

The learning theory of constructivism also pairs very well with gamification and game

based learning. Games can transform the learning in a classroom giving students the opportunity

to take on different roles than they would in a more traditional classroom. Also, learning

experiences do not need to necessarily be within the walls of the classroom, but can take place

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anywhere, giving flexibility to learning (Thomas, 2006). Games can also increase the social

connectedness of the classroom in ways that traditional learning cannot.

I have not had a chance to use a lot of game based learning in my own teaching to this

point, but I have seen in my teaching how gamification increases learner motivation. In my 7th

and 8th grade computer classes a main task students have is learning touch typing. The website

TypingClub is used. This site utilizes many gamification techniques and it is clear that it is

effective in motivating students. Scores, badges, and a five star rating system are all used to keep

students on track. It also gives many different kinds of feedback to them instantaneously as they

work through the different lessons. These different game techniques are well supported in

literature as well. Filippou and Cheong (2014) state that badges, progress bars, leveling up, and

leaderboards can all be used for progress monitoring. It can create a competitive environment

which with the right students, becomes a large motivating factor as well. I want to take many of

the ideas TypingClub has used and employ them in my other classes.

Constructivist learning is a different approach to education. Technology can aid it in

many different ways by keeping the learner at the center of everything and allow teachers to take

a step back. This change is something I need to still grow in, but I am excited to continue this

approach in the fall.

Lesson Three: The Design and Evaluation of Instruction

There have been several changes to the way that I approach the design and evaluation of

instruction after going through the EDTECH program. I want to first address the courses that I

have taken that have had an influence on my practice. First are the instructional design and

evaluation courses. Prior to this program I was aware of and utilized practices such as tying

lessons to specific learning objectives and standards. These classes however have caused me to

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take a much closer look at how I plan. Taking care to consider the cognitive level of the different

lesson tasks and to increase my attention to formative assessment are direct takeaways from

EDTECH 503. From EDTECH 505 I am now better able to determine the effectiveness of the

different classes and programs that I am a part of. Evaluation for Educational Technologists has

already been very helpful in my work. I serve as my school districts representative for a multi-

district cooperative committee seeking to collaborate on professional development and

educational technology. I was part of a team evaluating how teachers in these districts integrate

technology into their practices. Prior to taking this evaluation course I am sure I would not have

been able to assist as deeply as I did. We were able to analyze both quantitative and qualitative

data and will be using that information to provide targeted professional development to teachers

this fall.

Two other courses have also been influential in my approach to teaching: Technology

Supported Project Based Learning and Educational Games and Simulations. The project based

learning (PBL) class has given me a great framework for making more meaningful and authentic

projects for my students. I will be teaching a careers course this year. It is my first year teaching

the course and I will be utilizing a PBL component in the class class called genius hour. Genius

Hour is a long term research project framework that allows students to complete a research

project on a topic of their choice. According to Rush (2015), the idea originated with Googles

20% time where employees were given a significant amount of time to pursue a topic of their

choice. In an educational environment Genius Hour helps students learn many valuable 21st

century skills such as research, critical thinking, creativity, and evaluation of different types of

sources (Rush, 2015). Another exciting change to my teaching as a result of the EDTECH

program came from EDTECH 532 Educational Games and Simulations. I teach a computer skills

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course for middle school students. In the class I have been exploring gamifying many of the

different aspects of the class. In EDTECH 532 I was able to see just how motivating a gamified

class can be. This type of instruction has been shown in research to be successful as well.

Gibson, D., Ostashewski, N., Flintoff, K., Grant, S., & Knight, E. (2015) state that the

gamification technique of badging is very effective in increasing learner motivation. Badging

provides recognition and can be tied to a very specific skill. Knowing this I am beginning to find

ways to integrate it into my teaching as well. My schools learning management system has a

framework for their use that I will be seeking to use more as well.

An additional way that I have begun to change my practice through the EDTECH

program is in formative assessment. I have included this as a part of my teaching, but I have been

introduced to new and effective ways of doing this as a result of my own research and through

the EDTECH classes. The idea of learning logs, which were present in many of my courses, are

something I will implement as a part of my Genius Hour process in my Careers and

Entrepreneurship courses. Giving students time for self reflection on their own learning is

something that I have found to be important. Formative assessment and student monitoring is a

major point of emphasis at my current school as well. According to Ateh and Wyngowski

(2015), effective formative assessment informs a teacher of student progress and also helps

students to further their own learning. Having effective ways to monitor student learning

becomes especially important in classrooms using constructivist learning environments. Kanuka

and Anderson (1999) state that learning should be student directed. Not all learners are going to

learn in the same way or same pace. In a constructivist environment it is quite likely that students

will be performing different tasks than their peers. A teacher then is going to need to have ways

to determine the progress of the different students in their classroom. Such an example of

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formative assessment may be having students evaluate sources they are using in their research.

One such method for this is to create a graphic organizer where students cite evidence, analyze

sources, identify central ideas, and evaluate points of view (Ateh and Wyngowski, 2015).

Creating a process such as this allows students with a broad range of topics to have a specific

task to complete in a lesson and still allow for a lot of learner choice and a specific task for

knowledge construction, all traits that align well with the constructivist environments explained

by Kanuka and Anderson (1999).

The EDTECH program has provided me with a much deeper knowledge of the design

and evaluation of instruction. By obtaining specific tools and resources I am able to provide new

ways for students to approach content in my courses. I am also able to be better informed of

student progress. I know that the design and evaluation of instruction and assessment is going to

be a fast changing part of education in the coming years. By completing the EDTECH program I

am sure I am well equipped to be a leader in this area for years to come.

Lesson Four: Networking and Collaboration

There have been several courses in the EDTECH program where collaboration with other

students was a core part of the course. The one for me that left the largest impact though was

EDTECH 543 Social Network Learning. This course pushed us to create our own professional

learning networks. The class showed us how to network with teachers digitally and more

importantly, required us to be an active part of teacher collaboration groups. This informal way

of collaborating with other teachers has driven me to network and collaborate in a variety of

other ways since taking that course.

One thing that I have begun to participate in more now are EdCamps. Through these I

have begun to see how teachers outside of my own school approach learning and instruction and

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I have vastly prefered these types of professional development over more traditional teacher

trainings. One thing that I have personally experienced with EdCamps is the way that groups of

people coming together and discussing can increase their own collective knowledge. This idea is

supported by Carpenter and Nixon Linton (2016) who state that EdCamp success is driven by

social constructivism. ...Learning is not an individual experience. Knowledge is created through

interactions such as explanation, dialogue, and negotiation, (Carpenter and Nixon Linton, 2016,

para. 5). With EdCamps I am not limited to the viewpoints of teachers in my school for PD. My

current school district, Cromwell-Wright Schools in Minnesota, has been pretty progressive in its

approach to professional development. As a school we actually participate in an EdCamp with 8-

10 other schools each fall. Each time I attend one of these I have additional tools to use with my

students that I was not previously aware of and am creating more robust networks of teachers to

collaborate with each year. Research has also shown that I am not alone in my preference of

these types of professional development. According to Ferriter and Provenzano (2013),

networked learning and professional development experiences such as twitter and EdCamps

allows teachers to meet their own unique needs, not just what many teachers in an entire district

may need. A quote that I compare this too actually comes from Surly, a Minnesota craft brewery

who state that beer for everyone is beer for no-one. Professional development is just the same.

A final collaboration example that I want to speak of here is my work with the Northeast

Area School Consortium (NASC). This is a collaboration among the many small districts near

my school. We meet monthly to find ways that we can better work together. Teachers in small

schools are often isolated and dont have peers who teach the same subjects. In my case I teach 9

different classes each year and no one in my building teaches the same courses. NASC

committee is working to create shared curriculum resources and networking events between the

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schools in order to give all teachers a network of individuals to work with. While this committee

is only in its second year, it is having a lot of success in providing educational resources and

organizing annual EdCamps. It has also been a way for me to connect with other like-minded

educators who value this type of collaboration.

Being able to network with other teachers has been one of the most rewarding aspects of

my job in recent years and advances in technology are making this much easier. Whether it is

learning management systems that allow users to share their work globally, or even the

collaboration ability of Google Drive and web conferencing, there is a lot of rapid development

in this area and it is exciting to think of the way it can change in the future.

Lesson Five: The Research-Practice Connection

Research plays an important role in education. Without a clear connection to those

actually practicing what researchers find to be effective however, the full potential of new

findings is not going to be realized. My time in the EDTECH program has allowed me to learn a

lot more about the different findings that are guiding effective education today. It has made me

realize the importance of staying current on new findings and open to making changes to the way

I approach my practice.

Like I have said before, the learning theory of constructivism has been further engrained

in my practice as a result of the EDTECH program. Research in several areas has me looking to

how I approach the design of several new courses I will be teaching this year. What I am

particularly interested in though goes a bit beyond just constructivist learning theories. I was

using many of the tenets of constructivism prior to the program. Where I have a great deal of

interest though are the practices that teachers are employing to empower their students with

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opportunities for choice, collaboration, and authentic learning. There are two specific areas in

which I plan to emphasize in my classroom this coming school year: Gamification and PBL. I

plan to implement these practices into some of my courses this fall.

Games have many features that align well with constructivist learning and are motivating

me to find ways to integrate them into my classroom. Students can experiment and there is not a

large penalty for failure. They also encourage outside the box thinking and give students a sense

of control (Callaghan, 2016). Further, games by their nature are student centered and can provide

opportunity for meaningful collaboration.

The other area that I am looking to implement more in my classroom this school year is

PBL. Hernandez-Ramos and De La Paz (2009) state that PBL aligns well with constructivist

learning as it promotes a deep understanding through activity, structured interaction, and

meaningful tasks. Research from these authors showed a strong correlation between PBL and

student achievement. My work in EDTECH 542 - Technology Supported Project Based Learning

has given me a framework to follow in integrating PBL and now, after taking EDTECH 504

Foundations of Educational Technology, I feel I now have a firm understanding of not only why

PBL can be effective, but what practices I can make sure I utilize to bring out the potential of this

teaching tool.

One of the values the EDTECH program has had for my teaching is that it gave me the

opportunity to research not just specific learning theories, but also methods that use these

learning theories in practice. It is not possible to draw on knowledge when you are ignorant of its

existence. Continuing to follow developments in how people learn and ways that emerging

theories can be applied will be an important part of my own learning going forward.

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Closing Thoughts

As I reflect on the previous two years of learning from the EDTECH program it really

was not until I took time to write this paper that I realized just how much knowledge I have

gained not just about technology, but about the learning process and ways that teachers can help

their students grow. I know I will continue to learn and improve my teaching in years to come as

well. Through this program I feel well prepared to be a leader in whatever organization I am a

part of when it comes to technology use and the design of learning. I am thankful for this and am

looking forward to the opportunities that it has opened up for me in the future.

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 References

Ateh, C. M., & Wyngowski, A. J. (2015). The Common Core State Standards: An
Opportunity to Enhance Formative Assessment in History/Social Studies Classrooms.
Clearing House, 88(3), 85-90.

Callaghan, N. (2016). Investigating the role of Minecraft in educational learning

Carpenter, J. P., & Nixon Linton, J. (2016). Edcamp unconferences: Educators

Ferriter, W. M., & Provenzano, N. (2013). Self-directed learning . . . for teachers. Phi
Delta Kappan, 95(3), 16-21.

Filippou, J., Cheong, F. (2014). Towards the gamification of learning: Investigating

Gibson, D., Ostashewski, N., Flintoff, K., Grant, S., & Knight, E. (June 01, 2015). Digital
badges in education. Education and Information Technologies : the Official Journal of
the Ifip Technical Committee on Education, 20 (2), 403-410.

Hernandez-Ramos, P., & De, L. P. S. (March 08, 2010). Learning History in Middle
School by Designing Multimedia in a Project-Based Learning Experience. Journal of
Research on Technology in Education, 42(2), 151-173.

Kanuka, H, & Anderson, T. (1999). Using constructivism in technology-mediated

Rush, E. B. (2015). Genius hour in the library. Teacher Librarian, 43(2), 26-30.

Schrader, D. E. (2015). Constructivism and Learning in the Age of Social Media:

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Thomas, S. (March, 2006). Pervasive learning games: Explorations of hybrid educational
gamescapes. Simulation & Gaming, 37(1), 41-55.

Voogt, J., Erstad, O., Dede, C., & Mishra, P. (2013). Challenges to learning and
schooling in the digital networked world of the 21st century. Journal of Computer
Assisted Learning, 29(5), 403413. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12029

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