AECT Standard 1 (Content Knowledge)

Candidates demonstrate the knowledge necessary to create, use, assess, and manage theoretical and practical applications of educational technologies and processes. 

The “Management of Web 2.0 Tools” essay was written during the fall of 2024 for EDET 746, a course on the management of technology resources. This essay provided the task of selecting two web 2.0 tools that were relevant to my teaching career. The tools I chose for the essay were Canva and Quizizz; these are two tools that my other colleagues and I commonly use in our classrooms. Once these tools were selected, I conducted research to support why these tools were useful and how to properly manage their uses within instruction.

I very commonly use web 2.0 tools in my instructional strategies, so I have gone through many trials of errors and success with various tools. Canva and Quizizz were two tools that I had become fluent in and could demonstrate the benefits of using them as a teacher. With this task at hand, I began my research confident in my ability to provide evidence and substantial rationale of the tools.

This assignment demonstrated my understanding of (1) evaluating web 2.0 tools, (2) how to best manage their use within the classroom setting, and (3) the ability to support my analysis with evidence. While this artifact was solely created for a school assignment, it forced me to think critically about the resources I was using within my instruction. Not only was I having to understand the boundaries of web 2.0 tools and their benefits, but I also had to think from a critic’s perspective so that potential users could be fully aware of the instructional resource at hand. Additionally, it supported the larger theme of building reliable resources for instruction and determining their proper use, a skill I have been building throughout my graduate school program.

As the author of this essay, I worked alone to produce the product. The assignment did not call for any collaboration, only external research from other authors. I would not consider myself a subject matter expert at this point, but an experienced professional within the context of tools for instructional strategies for classrooms.

When examining this artifact in comparison to the Morrison, Ross and Kemp (MRK) and ADDIE instructional models, it can be classified within both models’ design phase. For the MRK instructional model this artifact supports the “Instructional Strategies” element as it involved, “designing creative and sometimes innovative ways of presenting the information that help learners integrate the new information with ideas they already understand” (Morrison et al., 2019, p. 16). Both web 2.0 tools identified in the essay, Canva and Quizizz, are to support the design of instructional materials so that information can be displayed to students and allow them to grow in their understanding of the given topic.

For the ADDIE instructional model this artifact fits within the “Design” phase. This phase of the ADDIE model commonly focuses on, “learning objectives, assessment instruments, exercises, content, subject matter analysis, lesson planning and media selection” (University of Washington Bothell, 2023). Canva and Quizizz are both incredibly versatile web 2.0 tools and could be classified under multiple categories within the ADDIE design phase. Their usage would depend upon the instructor’s needs.

This artifact reflects the expectations within standard 1 of the AECT standards. The reflected standard and the relevant indicators are listed below.

“AECT Standard 1 (Content Knowledge): Candidates demonstrate the knowledge necessary to create, use, assess, and manage theoretical and practical applications of educational technologies and processes.

Indicators:

• Using - Candidates demonstrate the ability to select and use technological resources and processes to support student learning and to enhance their pedagogy. (p. 141)

• Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates demonstrate the ability to assess and evaluate the effective integration of appropriate technologies and instructional materials.”

While the term “Web 2.0 Tools” was a relatively new term for me, the process of purposefully choosing instructional materials was not new to me. It is a skill I must demonstrate daily within my work as a teacher and creating lessons for my students. Additionally, it is a skill I have been refining throughout my graduate degree as I have learned more about instructional design and accessibility. This skill was an advantage to my success in creating the artifact as I had built a strong understanding of this process over the last several years.

Regarding AECT Standard 1 on content knowledge, this artifact directly supports the indicators of “Using” and “Assessing/Evaluating”. Within this assignment, I not only selected appropriate technological resources that would benefit student learning, but I also evaluated their usefulness by determining how the tools could be used within a variety of instructional scenarios. For example, it is explained how Quizizz can be used to develop instruction, independent or whole class practice, to gamify the lesson, or to create an assessment. This artifact demonstrates my ability to practically employ technology resources that support successful learning experiences. 

While I feel confident in the tools I selected and the points of emphasis I presented in the essay, I know that there is room for improvement within my elaboration. I felt more pressure to oblige to the page requirement rather than increasing the quality of my analysis; extending my thinking would have pushed past the page limit which at the time seemed important. If I was able to adjust this writing for a future publication, I would intentionally dive deeper into each tool’s analysis by providing examples of use and by detailing the effectiveness of each tool for student learning. Editing this writing would also present the opportunity to note the new features that these tools have published with AI features which could help quicken the development phase of instruction. 

The “Algebra 101 Online Course” was created during the summer semester of 2023 for EDET 755, a course on design and evaluation of information access and delivery. The online course was created through Canvas, a digital learning management system. The online course, Algebra 101, concentrated on the foundation elements of algebra. This included algebraic expressions, equivalent expressions, and solving one-step equations.

While developing this online course, I was able to bring a strong understanding of the content, instructional strategies for teaching the basics of algebra, how to assess student learning, and the structure/sequence of teaching the necessary topics. This allowed me to focus on the skill of building the course online; taking the materials I could easily create and integrating those items into the Canvas learning management system. It was important in this artifact to demonstrate my ability to create successful learning experience through an online course.  

Although this artifact was purposed for a course assignment, the materials created were useful to myself and my content partners as we were able to utilize pieces of the course for our lesson plans and once on an eLearning day to provide an opportunity of practice to students. Within the artifacts’ original purpose, this online course was viewed as the final assessment of my ability to develop an effective online course. This meant it was vital for me to utilize all that I had learned during the course by exhibiting an understanding of the characteristics of distance learning: effective elements of online learning, best practices, course design and development, and building an online classroom environment. 

As the designer, developer, and instructor of this online course, I worked alone to put together this artifact. The assignment did not call for any collaboration, only to put to practice what we had learned throughout EDET 755. Additionally, I would consider myself a subject matter expert for this online course that covered the foundations of algebra. While I could have asked others for their opinions on the subject, this is something I have taught for years and that I have critiqued each year to improve. 

When an analyzing this artifact to the Morrison, Ross and Kemp (MRK) and ADDIE instructional models, the online course can be categorized into both models’ development phase. The eighth stage of the MRK instructional design model is the development of instructional materials. The creators state, “This part of the process involves putting all the parts together to produce instructional materials such as video recordings, web pages, print materials, or audiotapes” (Morrison et al., 2019, p. 16). While the prior seven stages were addressed in the creation of this online course, the artifact was mainly to assess my ability to create opportunities of learning online through a course management system. Properly developing the course was vital to ensuring a smooth learning experience for students.

For the ADDIE instructional design model this artifact fits within the “Development” phase. This stage of the ADDIE model, “is where instructional designers and developers create and assemble the content assets that were blueprinted in the design phase. In this phase, storyboards are created, content is written, and graphics are designed. If eLearning is involved, programmers work to develop and/or integrate technologies” (University of Washington Bothell, 2023). When making this online course, the development process included organizing the learning materials into modules, acquiring any external resources, and ensuring the functionality of all learning materials. Altogether, this phase was essential to guarantee that everything within the course was running correctly and that its structure was beneficial to students.

This artifact reflects the expectations within standard 1 of the AECT standards. The reflected standard and the relevant indicators are listed below.

“AECT Standard 1 (Content Knowledge): Candidates demonstrate the knowledge necessary to create, use, assess, and manage theoretical and practical applications of educational technologies and processes.

Indicator:

• Creating - Candidates demonstrate the ability to create instructional materials and learning environments using a variety of systems approaches. (p. 81)”

At the beginning of EDET 755, I had little to no knowledge of building a course that was entirely online. This meant that I learned a lot throughout the summer semester. However, the online course was the first time I applied any of the concepts I learned wholistically. This artifact is a good example of my initial application for demonstrating my understanding of the development of online learning experiences.

This course was about the halfway point of my degree, which means the artifact occurred before learning some important elements of instructional design. Some of these elements included, but are not limited to gamification, various instructional design models, how to plan for eLearning, storyboards, the cognitive load theory, design elements, user interface, and accessibility with technology. If I were to update the online course for Algebra 101, I would be intentional on adding in some gamification to engage learners more, creating a better user interface experience, and ensuring that all learning materials were accessible for a diverse audience. Each of these elements are important to developing learning experiences that are engaging, functional, equitable, and enjoyable.

In relation to AECT Standard 1 on content knowledge, this artifact directly relates to the indicator of “Creating”. Creating an online course from scratch showed my ability to use a variety of approaches for instructional materials and within creating an online learning environment. This artifact contained modules that gave students access to several lessons, various practice activities, assessment items, while simultaneously keeping in mind the goal of using the learning management system to construct an effective community of learners.

This artifact aided my growth as an instructional designer as I came to understand how every single element of instructional development contributes to a successful learning experience. Prior to this artifact, I did not understand the importance of elements for online learning like the frequency of teacher communication, the ability to interact with peers, and verifying the expectations for the entire course at the very beginning. Each of these elements, and those not listed, are essential to learners having a successful learning experience.