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Rationale Paper for AECT Standa The rationale paper makes a case for each of the artifacts selected

for the ePortfolio. Specifically, the paper should provide a clear rationale of (1) why each artifact was selected, (2) how each artifact demonstrates mastery of the standard(s) it has been mapped to, (3) your understanding of connections between theory and practice, and (4) a discussion of how your teaching or thoughts about teaching have been impacted. The recommended length is 20 to 30 double-spaced pages. Cited references should be formatted in APA style.

HTML Preferred: Please prepare your rationale paper in HTML format. Word and PDF documents are difficult to work with.

Rationale Paper Outline

TITLE BLOCK

Linking Theory to Practice and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology

Shanda Veatch 6-8th Grade Theatre and Publications Teacher, Gaiser Middle School, Vancouver School District

Title or affiliation (e.g. 6th Grade Social Studies Teacher, Somewhere, Middle School)

Date

INTRODUCTION Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential. Winston Churchill

I have found this quote to be ever more relevant as I have slowly made my way through Boise State Universitys Masters of Education Technology program. While most of my peers in education have held Masters degrees, I was one of the few hold outs who, after 20 years in the field, had yet to unlock that potential. It was just over three years ago when I decided that it was time to not only conquer an advanced degree, but to expand my knowledge in an area of extreme interest to me, educational technology. As a single mother of two, a full time educator, and a passionate consumer of cheese, I had taught my way through multiple grades, content areas and pedagogy. Through it all, I had the great fortune to utilize my training in the Theatre to direct, instruct and inspire students in the Theatre Arts. Initially, I considered an advanced degree in Theatre, but sadly, I knew that my undergraduate work in the Conservatory of Acting at Cornish College of the Arts had provided me with such a strong base in Theatre, that it was going to be hard to find a program that rivaled, much less surpassed this training. In contrast, I always enjoyed working with technology, and in addition to my Drama courses, I was able to secure a position teaching publications at my current assignment, Gaiser Middle School. For the past five years, I have learned and integrated

technology into my teaching, gradually discovering that the opportunities available to me as a teacher of technology were only limited by my knowledge. It was time to learn more. It took me some time, but I found Boise State Universitys program and, after comparing it to some others, made my initial inquires into the program. The opportunity to work slowly and deliberately through the program appealed to me. I wanted to continue my full time work, continue being a parent to my children while getting this degree. But I wanted something I could use. I found this statement on the BSU Website, and my mind was made up.

The program is specifically designed to meet the needs of practitioners who want to immediately apply in their work environments what they've learned in ours.

It has been a daunting process at times, but a consistently rewarding one. Because I have been able to use much of the work I created during my time at BSU, my teaching has improved, contributions to my educational community have increased, and there has been a passion rekindled that I had not anticipated. I am extremely satisfied with my accomplishments in the program and my choice of Boise State as the vehicle for obtaining my Masters degree. This reflection paper was an opportunity for me to line up some of my best works for review and align them with the standards set forth by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). This paper is organized by AECT strand and the standards set forth by the association. Artifacts which demonstrate mastery of the standard are included, and commentary is provided about

the impact the theory has had on my teaching practices. It is with great pride I present these artifacts of learning from the last three years at BSU, as I enthusiastically greet the future opportunities my training here will surely provide.

AECT Standards

Standard 1: Design Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to design conditions for learning by applying principles of instructional systems design, message design, instructional strategies, and learner characteristics.

1.1 Instructional Systems Design (ISD) Instructional Systems Design (ISD) is an organized procedure that includes the steps of analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating instruction (Seels &Richey, 1994, p. 31).

While many of the projects that I undertook in the MET program at BSU were based on the design process, one of the most comprehensive courses I took throughout my time at BSU was Instructional Message Design, EdTech 503, and the Instructional Design Report I created in conjunction with a unit I designed as a Web Based Instructional project. In this course we were required to systematically analyze and design a course using the ADDIE process: analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. I chose to create a course for instructors in the use of Windows Movie Maker. The process was very slow going at first. I found that working

on each individual piece of the project rather than working on the entire project simultaneously to be frustrating, but discovered that, in the end, the restraint I needed to exercise during the development of the design plan paid off great dividends with a well organized final project. The artifacts I am presenting from for this standard are the actual design document, and the steps I undertook to complete this document. These steps, which followed the ADDIE process closely were, the instructional design project proposal, the front-end analysis plan, the front-end analysis report, the goal analysis document, the subskills analysis and entry behaviors flowchart, the learner and context analysis, the outline of instructional objectives, the learner assessment document, the instructional strategies packet and the instructional materials for learners document, the formative evaluation plan and the formative evaluation results. Each part of the ADDIE process plays a critical role in the development of an Instructional product, but in my opinion, the evaluative process may be the most critical to the development of a meaningful product. The act of developing the instructional material cannot be understated, and while it plays a key role in producing worthwhile instructional design, it is only part of the whole design process. If a design product is properly evaluated, then this too is critical to its successful development. In learning the process instructional designers undertake in order to create successful projects, I have gained an appreciation for the systems approach designing instruction. Prior to embarking upon this project, I viewed instructional design as essentially linear in its approach, but upon its conclusion, I have come to the realization that it is, in fact, quite non-linear. The systems aspect of instructional design requires extensive revision of each individual piece. As any segment of the process is impacted, so the entire product

is impacted. Each step in the process needs to be revised to embrace any changes made at every step, including the evaluative process. This process has had a lasting impact on the implementation of all instruction that takes place in my classroom. I tend to evaluate my instruction with a more systems approach. I have also revived many lessons that I have used in the past and taken time to do a summative evaluation on the content prior to putting them to rest for the year, and have reaped the benefits the following year when that instructional unit has been pulled out and brushed off with that evaluation in place.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand: I am also including the evaluation of a web quest I developed for EdTech 502 entitled Propaganda Web Quest. The web quest was based on the model developed by Dodge and March. The lessons are designed to meet instructional standards in Social Studies, English, and Computers. Lessons are designed to tap into the higher cognitive levels of Blooms Taxonomy. The evaluation portion of this web quest demonstrates the final assessment which is available for students to refer to throughout the web quest. I was able to use this web quest for instruction in a middle school English classroom setting. It was a project that had a very high engagement rate, and the number of students who completed the entire assignment was far higher than other, similar, paper/book-based investigations I delivered while teaching that course.

1.2 Message Design Message design involves planning for the manipulation of the physical form of the message

(Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 31).

I selected my Instructional Message Design project from EdTech 506 entitled Stage Directions to demonstrate my attainment of this standard. I created this unit for students in my theatre classes in order to teach them the basics of blocking on a stage. One of the greatest challenges I faced when addressing my Theatre courses in the EdTech program was finding ways to bring a broader understanding of the theatre to my students using a digital approach. Stage directions seemed to be a logical place to start. Students in my Theatre course are placed there because they are essentially kinesthetic learners. As a result, integrating technology into this coursework was a challenge. In the process of creating a unit of instruction on scene blocking, many steps were taken before the final product was reached. Choices about course direction and graphic design were made, feedback was solicited, and adjustments continuous. The concept being addressed was Mental Models and Near Transfer I chose to work further with stage directions when creating this graphic. Reducing the cognitive load was the goal for this work. The mental model I was trying to work with was the stage itself. Showing the stage and linking to the animations from the same image I used in an earlier lesson allowed for lesson continuity as well as providing students to opportunity to access a mental model that will help them not only to retain the information from the previous page, but to the stage itself. The elements I worked with for this project were line, both horizontal and vertical, using the grid. I also used shape. I chose to crown the picture and placed some fullness in the figure. Movement was used by employing the animations, as well as balance and text, which help to guide the user to the proper points on the graphic.

1.3 Instructional Strategies Instructional strategies are specifications for selecting and sequencing events and activities within a lesson, (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 31).

The controlled, systematic delivery of the content I developed for my Theatre Blocking Game, which I created in Ed Tech 506, exemplify the essential elements of this strand. Students are prompted to execute a series of movements through an interactive tutorial. As I have stated previously, bringing theatre to students through a digital medium can be a challenge, but this particular project was an opportunity for me to build a lesson, and an opportunity for practice, which regularly takes place in the classroom. Initially, students are guided through the process through a slide show which outlines the rules for the interactive game. The activity allows students to make blocking choices for some characters on a stage. If the blocking choice would work, taking into account audience sightlines, the student receives a positive smiley. If the blocking choice is incorrect, then the smiley does not look happy, and the student is prompted to redo the choice for mastery. This visual is meant as a self assessment of this unit prior to moving on to the final project of staging a short piece with a partner. I created this visual in order to provide an experiential opportunity for the users of this lesson. This graphic allows the user to make good as well as bad choices for blocking a simple scene. It pertains to sight lines. If the audience, as represented by the smiley faces, can see all the action, the audience's response is positive. If they can't see all the action, then they get "grumpy".

The user clicks through, making choices as to the route the actor should take from the doors to the couch. I made this graphic in two parts. The first is in the form of an animated slide show. I tried to time it so that everything can be read in a timely fashion. This can be read aloud by the instructor, or read silently by the students. I then created the interactive section, which is linked from the animation. The goal of using primary colors in this graphic was allow students to view this graphic from a distance, and to voice their choices to the teacher, while the teacher selects their choices. I wanted to make the buttons clear, so that routes to the different pages were easy to identify, and their purposes apparent.

1.4 Learner Characteristics Learner characteristics are those facets of the learners experiential background that impact the effectiveness of a learning process, (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 32).

I conducted a Learner Analysis for my EdTech 503 Instructional Design Project on Windows Movie Maker for the classroom. This was a guided investigation into the population to whom the Movie Maker lessons would be delivered and included entry behaviors/knowledge, prior knowledge, attitude, motivation, education, learning styles and group characteristics. Each of these areas were divided the sub topics of characteristics, implications and data sources. This was a comprehensive view of the target audience and allowed me to maintain that focus as I was creating the project. My target audience was middle school teachers. My instructional objective was to introduce teachers at my school to Windows Movie Maker as a tool for classroom instruction.

Movie Maker has been preinstalled on all computers in our district, and was simple to place on the desktops of our computer lab. According to the rationale on the IDP proposal, There are many uses for media in the classroom. Supplementing instruction with media can streamline the instructional process. Teachers regularly seek new approaches to content delivery. By introducing them to the use of Movie Maker, which is a free and commonly installed program in the Windows platform, teachers will gain the knowledge necessary to edit pre-selected digital video clips in order to enhance their classroom instruction. I used my brother, Joel Veatch, as my subject matter expert, as he has spent his life as a professional video producer and creator. It was an opportunity to work with him on a project for this program, and he proved to be an excellent resource. I sent out a survey to my colleagues at Gaiser Middle School to get an idea of what the interest in learning Movie Maker might be, and was interested to find that there were many interested parties. My angle was to propose to them how they could create a video to play for their students which include basic, beginning of the year rules and classroom expectations. Teachers expressed an interest in getting professional development in this area. Sadly, our professional development funds have been put on hold, so the possibility of going on with this teacher in-service is currently on hold.

Standard 2: DEVELOPMENT Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop instructional materials and experiences using print, audiovisual, computer-based, and integrated technologies.

2.1 Print Technologies Print technologies are ways to produce or deliver materials, such as books and static visual materials, primarily through mechanical or photographic printing processes (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 37).

My online course design project for EdTech 512 gave me many opportunities to include print technologies in my course design. The project was entitled Introduction to Middle School Journalism. I took the opportunity to design an online course placed the content that I had been delivering for the past several years in to one place. I used Moodle to create this course. Included in each of the units were multiple documents for download by students for submission for grading. This web-based instructional unit has made it possible for me to allow students to work at their own pace in Journalism. Being a middle school elective, students move in and out of that class throughout the year due to mobility, intervention courses and AP course requirements. This results in a history of having to reteach the basics of journalism to each new incoming student. The WBI allowed me to have the opportunity to continue working with students on creating a newspaper while keeping the new students engaged in learning simultaneously. This project has turned into one of the most useful projects I had the pleasure to create during my EdTech career. I have used this WBI every year in the classroom since I developed it, and I have since passed it along to the new Journalism instructor. All the curriculum is mapped out in a systematic approach to the learning goals and the print technology allows the instructor to do regular formative assessments to ensure that students are gaining an understanding of the material before moving on to the next unit.

The end result of this project is to create a printed newspaper for publication, so this is the use of print technology at its best.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand I also used printed material in the development of my units on stage directions for EdTech 506. Among the printed material I developed for this course were a series of lesson plans to help guide the teacher. This artifact from lesson 1, demonstrates how these plans are to be used in the classroom. This is a hands-on experience for the students and the teacher, and does not allow the teacher to be standing near a desk and referring to digital copies of the information while instructing, so it is imperative that the teacher be able to move about the room with a hard copy of the lessons. In addition to the lesson plans, there are also handouts that accompany the lessons which serve the same purpose for the students. Students are to move about the room, work in small groupings while referring to scripts, outlining blocking. These artifacts are examples of assessments for blocking, open scenes (or scripts) for practice and assessment, and blocking lessons to assist students in plotting their blocking for their final project.

2.2 Audiovisual Technologies Audiovisual technologies are ways to produce or deliver materials by using mechanical devices or electronic machines to present auditory and visual messages (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 38). Audiovisual technologies are generally linear in nature, represent real and abstract ideas, and allow for learner interactivity dependent on teacher application.

I am quite proud of the artifacts that I produced for my Journalism course. Among these artifacts is the Journalism formatting lesson I created in EdTech 521, for students to begin the process of formatting their articles in preparation for uploading into InDesign, the program used at our school for publishing our school newspaper. This was the first time I created a voice over for a lesson, and, as with the material I created for my Introduction to Journalism Moodle course in EdTech 512. I have used this camtasia presentation every year since I created the lesson. It has allowed me to deliver information to each and every incoming student in my class while being able to continue the work of bringing the publication to completion without interruption. All of the expectations are outlined in this presentation, and it is available for review by students if they forget some of the main points presented in this presentation throughout the year. It is the little things, the details that get lost in the process of developing a publication for print in a middle school, and these details are contained in this presentation so there can be no confusion. I created this project by going creating a list of all of the formatting issues my editors face when receiving an article from their journalism peers. I culled past articles for examples and non examples, and created screen shots of each and loaded these into Fireworks. Fireworks allowed me to manipulate the images, blur out names, and draw arrows to highlight issues in each of the articles. I then created a powerpoint of the images and recorded a voice over for narration. The students are able to plug in their headsets and listen to the instruction while viewing the slide show. At the conclusion, they are tested with an interactive quiz for mastery of the concepts delivered in this lesson.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand

In EdTech 513, I created a slide show for my Online Multimedia course. This lesson was created to help students to understand the essential principles in conducting an effective interview for the school newspaper. This is a middle school Journalism lesson designed using multimedia and contiguity principles in order to teach students how to conduct a formal interview for the school newspaper. Text is used sparingly, and proximity of text to graphic support the speaker notes which accompany each slide. The concepts being addressed were the application of the multimedia and contiguity principles to instruction. According to Clark and Mayer, 2008, the multimedia principle is based upon the fact that, "People learn more deeply from words and graphics than from words alone." This lesson was a careful combination of this and the contiguity principle, according to Clark and Mayer, used the proximity principle between words and graphics demonstrating contiguity. "In multimedia presentations, printed words should be placed near the correlating graphic(s) in order to create a connection to the learner," (Clark and Mayer, 2008).

2.3 Computer-Based Technologies Computer-based technologies are ways to produce or deliver materials using microprocessor-based resources (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 39).

Edtech 513 was a revelation of for creative output for me. Multimedia instruction was one of the key goals I wanted to explore upon entering the EdTech program at BSU. It was here that I was able to explore several computer based instructional strategies that I had not fully explored prior to taking this course. The first artifact that I present in support of this strand was the Digital Storytelling Project. As a teacher, I spend many hours working with students on becoming confident speakers. Students are regularly required to tell improvised theme-based autobiographical stories to the class. This project was an example of this. I had recently come across a box of photographs from my childhood. Not only did this project provide me with the opportunity to cull through many pictures from my childhood, but forced me to scan a portion of them for use in this project. I uploaded the pictures to Fireworks for editing and created a WMV of a story from my childhood. The images are timed to my narrative for a comprehensive delivery of the computerbased instructional model.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand

The other piece of computer-based technology instruction is a podcast I created for EdTech 513 entitled Theatre for Educators. This particular podcast remains among my proudest products of my entire BSU career. Podcasting has been a passion of mine for many years, and I have been an avid consumer of this medium. Online Multimedia Instruction gave me the opportunity to create a podcast from beginning to end, and upload it to itunes. What happened during the creation of this podcast is somewhat of a performance mystery. My goal was to use the fundamental elements of theatre and

applying them to the teaching profession. This worked very well. I was able to seamlessly incorporate my philosophy as an educator into a model of instruction, the core of which I would like to spend more time investigating. Approaching teaching as an actor would his or her part is often an overlooked view of the profession, and yet, it is vital that we view ourselves as not only people who deliver instruction, and assist students in gaining the instructional goals, but we are cheerleaders, performers, responsible for making students think that they are important in not only our lives, but integral to the success of the class as a whole. I was inspired and excited about my final project for the podcasting portion of this course, and was able to share it with many colleagues. It has been a seminal work for me, and a guide for my goals as an educator.

2.4 Integrated Technologies Integrated technologies are ways to produce and deliver materials which encompass several forms of media under the control of a computer (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 40).

For this AECT strand, I would like to present my Moodle hosted EdTech 512 Introduction to Middle School Journalism course. As I have mentioned before, this course has become one of the most utilized online Journalism courses in our school. For many years, teachers of this course have not had a complete curriculum to provide to students. My objective for this course was to bring all the materials that I have used to deliver instruction into one place. Students in this class work at varied ability levels and tend to work more independently, due to the publications schedule. This online course allows for this to occur. I have been able to leave this online course as a legacy to

future teachers of our middle school Journalism course in order to provide them with a comprehensive integrated WBI. Learners have control of their learning through this web-based instructional course. There are many opportunities for interactivity with the program through the use of printed material. There are links to virtual tours, online instruction through youtube and interactive lessons and quizzes. Students are led, through asynchronous learning environments, how to use our districts host server files, how to create powerpoint slides, how to utilize our InDesign program and how to prepare, brainstorm, interview and write an article for publication.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand

The second artifact which I would like to present for this standard is my Instructional Design course for EdTech 506. This course utilizes many forms of integrated technology in order to achieve the learning goal of teaching students the essential elements of staging and blocking for a beginning Theatre course. Included in the visual design portion of this course are images which allow students to learn about different types of stages. This allows students to view various configurations of performance venues while learning the applicable vocabulary. I also created an advanced organizer which provides students with a visual to help them to understand what the learning goals are for this course. My stage directions advanced organizer helps students to test themselves in viewing the stage as a place where directions can be communicated in written form. Using Fireworks and Dreamweaver, I was able to create this project as an interactive

web hosted unit complete with instructor lesson plans and printed materials for students to use while completing the tasks.

Standard 3: UTILIZATION Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to use processes and resources for learning by applying principles and theories of media utilization, diffusion, implementation, and policy-making.

3.1 Media Utilization Media utilization is the systematic use of resources for learning (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 46).

The Instructional Design Project powerpoint I created for EdTech 503 is an example of media utilization in a two-fold approach. First, the goal of this project was to teach instructors how to use Windows Movie Maker as an instructional tool in the classroom. The use of Movie Maker is an innovative yet rarely employed educational tool. Many educators shy away from such forms of advanced technology, but with this lesson plan, teachers can use and review the steps necessary to bring this application to their instruction. I employed the ADDIE process in creating this lesson as a visual aid in delivering this instruction. The systematic process I used to bring this lesson to my colleagues provided them with a clear model for practice and every day use. I have used this program as an instructional aide to my peers, and have had the opportunity to use it for my students in my Yearbook course. Students were required to create commercial advertisements for

yearbook sales. They were able to use this lesson to help them to upload their videos to Movie Maker in the classroom, which were edited in class and submitted to administration for approval for school wide dissemination. The commercials were played continuously on the school channel and assisted in yearbook sales for the spring of 2011. The project was so successful; I plan to repeat this lesson each year to help with yearbook sales.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand

In addition to the IDP powerpoint for EdTech 503, I created a final project which demonstrates the fusion of all the elements delivered in the previous lesson. This project is a Movie Maker video entitled The Most Talented Men. I created this video by downloading creative commons video clips and music. It employs the use of many of the tools presented in the lesson including editing, fade, synching sound to video and transition. It was an opportunity for me to explore Movie Maker as a tool. Before I undertook this project, I had no experience with Movie Maker. I undertook this project as an opportunity to learn about a tool which I had much interest in, but had yet to have explored.

3.2 Diffusion of Innovations Diffusion of innovations is the process of communicating through planned strategies for the purpose of gaining adoption (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 46).

As part of my first course at BSU, EdTech 501, I created a blog which was designed to bring together my ideas about integrating technology into the classroom. As a part of this course, I was required to write a letter to the school board regarding the use of technology in the classrooms of our district, and in particular Gaiser Middle School. I addressed several issues facing our population, not the least of which was the digital divide. Our population has a diverse range of students from many socio economic backgrounds, and while we are requiring students to become more familiar with technology in our classrooms, many have limited or no access to technology outside of the school environment. There are many factors that have led to this situation including school district mapping, which forces half of our population to be bussed long distances to and from the school. The state requirement that students have access to computer technology before or after school for at least five hours per week is an issue when it comes to the transportation situation our highest poverty population faces. Making the computers available is not enough when students are required to board their busses immediately after the bell rings, or arrive just minutes before the start of the school day. Many of these students do not have any other forms of transportation, due to economic difficulty and gas prices, so there needs to be an effort put into place which would bring technology to them, perhaps in a more satellite based approach, with computers made available to students regardless of their district location.

3.3 Implementation and Institutionalization

Implementation is using instructional materials or strategies in real (not simulated) settings. Institutionalization is the continuing, routine use of the instructional innovation in the structure and culture of an organization (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 47).

The Technology Use Plan I created for my Tuttytech Blog in EdTech 501 was an example of working toward a greater vision of technology use within the Vancouver school district. The goal was to bring awareness to the viewer of the timeline we are facing in our district and around the state for integrating technology into the classroom. I have found that, while there is a mandate state wide, that technology be integrated into all learning environments within the next year, there seems to be little movement in the regular classroom in that direction. Our district is spending money on bringing into the classroom, programs which support reading, math and writing, but there needs to be dissemination of the urgency with which each teacher must meet this goal. Imposing technology onto individual teachers without providing them with the rationale or the tools to comply is a disruption to teaching which is already being delivered effectively within the classroom. There is a need to help teachers to pull more of their instruction together via the web, rather than having a baby with the bathwater mentality. As I have experienced through this EdTech program, much of my instruction has benefitted from bringing material onto the web for use and adaptation to different curriculum with which I have been entrusted. Heightening awareness among educators who do not have a broader vision of the mandates that are moving their direction, might help to inspire them to utilize technology on a more regular basis within their classrooms without having to bring in entire programs designed to just meet the state mandates.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand

I would like to present my Introduction to Middle School Journalism as an example of this strand of the AECT standards. This has been the most successful contribution I have made to our middle school curriculum and is currently being utilized by third party presenters to ensure successful delivery of this program. I am proud of this product and pleased with the positive results it has delivered to both students and instructors at our school.

3.4 Policies and Regulations Policies and regulations are the rules and actions of society (or its surrogates) that affect the diffusion and use of Instructional Technology (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 47).

For my final course in the MET program at BSU, I took Blogging in the Classroom, EdTech 597. In this course, I had to address multiple policies and regulations in order to justify the use of a blog as a classroom tool. I investigated the regulations which are restricting access to blogging and publications in order to draft a blog proposal to the administration of our school. There are many technology regulations in place in the Vancouver school district which are meant to prevent misuse of technology by students. These regulations have led to a filter which is often preventing access by students to learning tools which could benefit learning. The CARB blog proposal outlines the regulations, and addresses the ways in which the Community Arts Resource Blog could be not only an effective

instructional tool for my students, but a resource for families to access free and inexpensive arts opportunities in our community. Student privacy is an important factor when creating an online web resource. The goal was to give students access to post on this blog. A teacher managed blog, with pseudonyms created for each user, was designed to maintain student privacy while allowing them the opportunity to participate in the blog. Parent signed photo release permission slips would be required for any images uploaded to the blog that included images of individual students. Access to the blog would be outside of the school day, and students would be required to submit electronic copies of their posts to be uploaded to the blog by the instructor outside of the work day.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand

EdTech 521 provided me with the opportunity to create a Camtasia power point of class expectations for online communication. This was a guide for students in online netiquette. This is an audio and visual narrative providing students with the outline for standards when posting, responding and reviewing online content. Creating a supportive climate for a virtual classroom is essential to the success of a group. One of the keys to this is to have a common set of rules which we must all follow when communicating and collaborating with each other.

Standard 4: MANAGEMENT

Candidates demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions to plan, organize, coordinate, and supervise instructional technology by applying principles of project, resource, delivery system, and information management.

4.1 Project Management Project management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling instructional design and development projects (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 50).

The analysis that went into the creation of my EdTech 512 Introduction to Online Journalism represents this strand. There were multiple steps that went into creating my web-based instructional proposal. I had the task of creating a design document that represented the steps for the planning, monitoring, and controlling instructional design. The design document began with a problem analysis of the WBI. While researching the state Journalism standards, I discovered a lack of an aligned curriculum for middle school Journalism students. The document then explores the target audience for curriculum delivery. My curriculum is geared toward middle school, grades 7-8. The analysis revealed a 55% poverty rate at Gaiser, where the course is currently being taught, with a 71% Caucasian population. An evaluation of the course which explored the effectiveness, appeal and efficiency of the goals, content, technology and message design of the program was conducted and published in the document. Reviews of the timelines for implementation, formative and summative evaluations were explored in this design document as well.

I found this aspect of the development of my WBI to be very challenging. Researching, assessing, and conducting a systematic analysis of this project was, at first, a daunting task, but the end result of the WBI has proven to be by far my best work in this program, and I lay much of its success not only at the feet of my instructor, but because of the extensive analysis that went into the creation of this document.

4.2 Resource Management Resource management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling resource support systems and services (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 51).

In Edtech 512, as I created my Introduction to Middle School Journalism WBI, I created a formative and summative evaluation plan which explored the timeline for implementation and review of the WBI. The goal for this document was to outline a short and a long term vision for the implementation and evaluation of this program. Since the creation of this WBI, the course has been field tested and assessment data has been gathered for formative evaluation purposes. This data has been shared with administration, and the program has continued. It is now being reviewed for a second year, and reviewed throughout this year, with a summative evaluation to be delivered to me by the current instructor for continued review. The actual timeline for review has been moved up, as staffing issues at our school demanded that the curriculum be delivered on to another instructor a year prior to the plans timeline. This does not affect the quality of the review process, and will, in fact, allow for an earlier and more realistic formative assessment this year, rather than next.

4.3 Delivery System Management Delivery system management involves planning, monitoring and controlling the method by which distribution of instructional materials is organized . . . [It is] a combination of medium and method of usage that is employed to present instructional information to a learner (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 51).

In addition to the formative and summative evaluation plan presented above, I would also like to present the Learning Task Map I created in EdTech 512. This graphic is an organized look at the flow of each of the WBI goals for Introduction to Journalism. It allows for the instructor to view the course as a whole, and gives him or her the chance to review the process at each learning point, and move in an organized and reflective, or systematic pace through the WBI. The current instructor has a copy of this LTM and has forwarded it on to administration for his scope and sequence for the course. I created this LTM on Fireworks. IT was another opportunity to use this program in consort with Dreamweaver. I have found, with each use of Fireworks, that the uses for this program are giving me more fluency in publishing my work, and as a result, becoming an even more constant and key component when creating graphics to be used online.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand The WBI Strategy Worksheet I created in EdTech 512, also was an attempt to plan, monitor and control the method by which distribution of instructional materials is organized. This document had several parts, including orientation to learning,

instruction on the content , measurement of learning and motivational strategies with detailed instructional strategies for each unit of instruction presented. Within each of these units, there were sub-domains including which forced an examination of the objectives and analysis of the learning clusters from a different angle each time the WBI was examined. For example, the orientation to learning analysis included an overview of the instruction, objectives and desired performance outcomes, relevance, recall activities and lesson openers and navigation. Each of the units was examined and analyzed for effectiveness and delivery management in multiple ways.

In the same EdTech course, EdTech 512, I was able to explore this strand while creating my message and visual design document for Introduction to Middle School Journalism. In this document, the course is laid out by instructional content delivery dates. Design elements such as text, graphical, media, balance and harmony were explored through application ideas within the lessons.

4.4 Information Management Information management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling the storage, transfer, or processing of information in order to provide resources for learning (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 51). Information is available in many formats and candidates must be able to access and utilize a variety of information sources for their professional benefit and the benefit of their future learners.

In creating my Tuttytech Blog for EdTech 501, I was able to explore some of the trends in online education through the National Educational Technology Trends Study

State Strategies Report, Us Department of Education, Vol. 1, 2005. In this report, I explored some of the requirements that are being put into place for both student 8th grade technology proficiency as well as proficiency standards for educators. I explained some of the universal technology that has been put in place through the use of our online data management system, Skyward, which allows access by students, educators and parents to relevant student data such as grades, standardized test scores and attendance. I included several relevant links including Learning.com, Washington State Tiers of 8th Grade Technology Literacy Indicators and Technology Integration on the OSPI website.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand

For EdTech 505, I created an Internet Websites Project wherein I was able to locate and review twelve websites for use by educators in meeting technology standards. The document I created was intended as a resource for educators to locate evaluative resources in beginning program evaluations. Evaluating learning programs is an exhaustive and systematic process, and providing professionals with the resources necessary to begin conducting a review is essential.

Standard 5: EVALUATION Candidates demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions to evaluate the adequacy of instruction and learning by applying principles of problem analysis, criterion-referenced measurement, formative and summative evaluation, and long-range planning.

5.1 Problem Analysis Problem analysis involves determining the nature and parameters of the problem by using information-gathering and decision-making strategies (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 56).

In creating my design document for EdTech 512, I undertook a problem analysis for Introduction to Middle School Journalism. The essential problem that faces

teachers of middle school Journalism is that there are no state standards for middle school in Journalism. This has resulted in a lack of aligned resources for middle school educators faced with the problem of teaching this content. Standards for Washington State are for grades 9 and 10.

The document was created to explain the situation facing these educators, and then place the particular WBI in context, (ie: middle school students, Vancouver schools). I also explored the audience to whom the WBI would be introduced by researching the current student population, the course requirements and the standards that students must have attained in order to participate in the course.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand

EdTech 505 required that I do a program analysis and create an Executive Summary of that analysis. Theatre educators from the Vancouver School District formed a district sponsored Professional Learning Community (PLC) in order to review and make recommendations to the district regarding the Washington State Theatre

Learning Standards and the Classroom Based Performance assessment data from the 2008-2009 school year. The goals for this project were designed to provide educators with district level curricular alignment in the Theatre Arts and to begin a process of identifying Power Standards through which educators could assure that these essential goals were being met within each of the classrooms during the academic year. After viewing the data, the group drafted consensus recommendations regarding 2010 assessment tools. This evaluation was conducted to monitor the progress of the formation of the PLC and the effectiveness of the collaboration in meeting the goals set forth by the district as stated above. The program was designed to assess the process of evaluating the data given to the attendees and the conclusions the PLC drew as a result of these findings. The process of this evaluation occurred in three phases. The initial evaluation took place during a break out session in September of 2009, prior to the beginning of the school year. The attendees consisted of the newly defined Theatre PLC, which had been previously known as the Theatre Cadre. During this session, members were asked their opinions about the current draft of the Theatre Standards and their confidence in being able to meet all the Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) outlined in the document. After the break out session in which teachers defined Power Standards for the Theatre EALRs for Vancouver School District, a confidence assessment was made regarding the document and its adaptability to the classroom through the implementation of the Power Standards approach to curricular alignment.

The final assessment was conducted in December of 2009, at a second Theatre PLC meeting. The Power Standards for EALR 1 that had been defined at the September meeting were compiled into a single document for review by the PLC team. Each assessment established a consensus of dissatisfaction with the existing Theatre Standards. The formation of the PLC team was initially met with skepticism among the cadre members, but has, with district support, become an acceptable and appreciated format for establishing curricular alignment. Ongoing district sponsored PLC planning time has increased the satisfaction levels of its members since the original meeting in September of 2009. While the lack of confidence in the state Theatre Standards has remained consistent though the entire evaluation period, the Power Standards approach has provided most of the educators with a satisfactory work around to working with a flawed document.

5.2 Criterion-Referenced Measurement Criterion-referenced measurement involves techniques for determining learner mastery of pre-specified content (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 56).

While I have multiple artifacts to demonstrate achievement of this standard, the artifacts I would like to present for this portfolio are both from EdTech 506. The first artifact is a project from my unit on Staging for the Theatre called Lights Up. This was a project that I created in order to help students to test themselves in stage directions. Using an image of a stage, I utilized the masking feature in Fireworks to reveal different sections of the stage as the user manipulates a simulated dimmer switch on the bottom of the page.

This was a complicated integration of fireworks applications into my lesson and utilized many features which had been presented during the coursework. It allows for students to explore and gain a better understanding of the correspondence between the stage, the audience and the technical lighting aspects of theatrical work. Once the students have mastered this content, they are ready to move on to create their final blocking project for the unit. I have successfully used this graphic several times in the classroom. This allows me to bring more practical elements of theatre design into the classroom without having the tools to demonstrate, such as a lighting board, lights, stage etc.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand

I also created a project entitled How do I move around the stage? for EdTech 506. This was also designed to allow an interactive, criterion based exercise to assist students in gaining an understanding of the corresponding written language of blocking for the theatre. Students are to click on an abbreviated stage direction, designed for script notation, and they view the corresponding graphic which executes the given command.

I also created this as an animated project using Fireworks. The character was a simple shape generated stick figure which moved from center stage to the area of the stage indicated. When he arrives at his destination, he makes a little celebratory move. Students in my Theatre classes have enjoyed this exercise, and it has given them a

simple, interactive game which has greatly assisted them in understanding the parts of the stage.

5.3 Formative and Summative Evaluation Formative evaluation involves gathering information on adequacy and using this information as a basis for further development. Summative evaluation involves gathering information on adequacy and using this information to make decisions about utilization (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 57).

The portion of the design document that I created for EdTech 512 that I would like to present as an artifact for this strand is called The Evaluation of Introduction to Middle School Journalism. This portion of the document is an assessment and a timeline for assessment of the WBI. It delves into the evaluative criteria to be used, the stakeholders and the essential questions that must be asked as the information gathering process is taking place. This document also outlines the Methods and the tools to be used during this process.

I have submitted this design document to our administration for approval, and it is currently being evaluated by the subject matter experts and the primary stakeholders named in the document.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand

Again, I present my Executive Summary for the Vancouver School Districts Theatre Arts Professional Learning Community as an artifact for the formative and summative evaluation strand. In this document, the ongoing analysis, and the tools used to gather them were presented along with the summative analysis of the Arts PLC. This document was submitted to the district and the findings have assisted with the ongoing PLC objectives for VSD.

5.4 Long-Range Planning Long-range planning that focuses on the organization as a whole is strategic planning....Long-range is usually defined as a future period of about three to five years or longer. During strategic planning, managers are trying to decide in the present what must be done to ensure organizational success in the future. (Certo et al., 1990, p. 168).

One of the artifacts that demonstrate some long range planning was my blog proposal for EdTech 597. This proposal was written to address a need for more access to the arts in our community. I created this blog as an attempt to create a resource for students and their families to access free and inexpensive arts activities in the Vancouver area. The proposal outlines the timelines for implementation in the classroom as well as the various uses to the arts educators in our school. It is a practical look at the uses for the blog as a classroom tool and a community resource for the future.

Additional Artifacts which Support this Strand

The Tech Use Plan I developed for EdTech 501 outlined the long term implementation plan for VSD to comply with the state mandated technology integration timeline. I developed this slide show as a visual to be presented to staff in order to understand the timelines that are required for this implementation and the technology integration standards to which our district is being held.

I also created an Evaluation of Determining Instructional Purposes Proposal in the course of creating my evaluation report for the VSD Theatre Arts Cadre. Although this was a hypothetical proposal, it allowed me to visualize the process by which a professional review process would be proposed, and the methods by which the implementation of this assessment would be created. I was also required to a budget for each of the members of the team, and a timeline for the information to be gathered and the tools to be used in such a situation.

Write a brief conclusion. You might discuss some important things you have learned that are reflected in the selected artifacts. You could even discuss plans for the future. How has this made you a better teacher/trainer/educator?

REFERENCES

Include at least three or four references in APA format. Cite each reference in your paper so that there is agreement between citations and references.rds

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