Module 11 Learning Log Joseph Scogin

I am not yet certified, however when I graduate, I will be certified in 2nd-6th grade. The 6 top
evaluation dimensions that I believe to be important are: (1) Usability, (2) Connections to future
learning, (3) value of errors, (4) informational presentation, (5) media integration, and (6)
Interest.

Usability
For my concentration area, it is important for me as a teacher to maximize my time and
according to Laitinen, “usability is about maximizing effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction.
This aspect is refereed to games in this article; however, it can easily be translated to the
teaching. Teaching Elementary school grades during this time of pandemic on a hybrid schedule
means that the 2 days a week I get to see each group of students must be as meaningful as
possible. Usability is a factor that I must take into consideration in every aspect of the day, from
the lessons I teach to the kahoots that we do during our brain-breaks as a class.

Connection to Future Learning

In the spirit of being efficient as possible, teachers need to maximize cross curricular connections
and help cement aspects of one content area while also teaching another. Lee and Cherner talk
about the responsibility for teachers to not teach skills and ideas independently, but as a
collection of valuable knowledge.

Value of Errors
As a person who as grown up playing video games, I recognize the need to learn from failure.
Giving students the answer will help sometimes, but the most valuable lessons that students learn
sometimes come from self-discovery and trial and error. In education, learning from errors is
most suitably followed up with feedback in order to guarantee that the student learns the lesson
or aspect that the teacher is trying to convey from a resource.

Informational Presentation
One theme for choosing all of these dimensions is the idea of efficiency. During this time of
teaching, I have learned that time is a valuable aspect of a teacher’s plan and having resources
that do not make sense or are not clear will waste that valuable time. Having well put together
informational presentations set up students for success by providing an efficient way of learning.

Media integration
Finding resources that integrate different forms of media differentiate instruction and provides a
vast well of skill that students can learn from. Each student learns in a different way and having
diversified media in a lesson helps satisfy the different learning styles. For example, having a
well written and engaging article might be amazing for students that learn best through reading,
but the visual learners would need a graphic organizer or picture to more effectively learn from
that resource.

Interest
No teacher will be able to keep an entire class engaged if there is not some base level of interest
in the material on the students end. It is up to the teacher to find sources, activities, and games
that will pique the interest of their students. Using games in the classroom is a good way to make
sure there is a level of interest in the material.

Works Cited
Laitinen, S. (2005, Jun 6). Better Games Through Usability Evaluation and Testing. retrieved from
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2333/better_games_through_usability_.php

Lee, C-Y. & Cherner, T. S. (2015). A comprehensive evaluation rubric for assessing
instructional apps. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 14, 21-53.
Retrieved January 22, 2015
from http://www.jite.org/documents/Vol14/JITEV14ResearchP021-053Yuan0700.pdf