Student Technology Teams
Onboarding Course
I am excited to unveil my course design for student technology teams. As a firm believer in the potential of instructional technology, I utilized Fink's Approach to Creating Significant Learning Environments and Universal By Design to craft a learning experience that would empower our students to become leaders on campus. The course is tailored to 7th and 8th grade members of the Student Technology Teams, as outlined in my innovation plan. Its overarching goal is to deepen the students' understanding of technology integration in the classroom, cultivate their leadership skills, and establish effective processes for welcoming new students. The modules provide a clear roadmap for onboarding new members to the student technology team. Guided by the team's objective of assisting mid-year students and leveraging UbD and Fink's Three Column Templates, I aligned the course with TATEKS and ISTE standards, and translated these into a syllabus.
Big Harry Audacious Goal
My Big Harry Audacious Goal (BHAG) for the course is to create a Student Technology Team to help teachers and students at my school successfully (and hopefully painlessly) integrate technology in the classroom so that students can have more choice and authenticity in their assessments for learning. I hope that one day this could lead to more technology courses, Code.org’s CS Discoveries. Through these additional technology courses, I hope to encourage a greater diversity of students taking computer science at high school and college levels in the future.
Course Planning and Overview
Course Design Overview
Course Design Overview
Implementing Course Design Overview
Course Usability and Reflection
Reflect on who you were able to have conducted the usability testing. Were you able to get the right people?
I invited members of the PLC team, my department chair, the 504 coordinator, and my principal to view my course. I provided them with a link to the course planning outline, the Canvas course, and a Google form to submit feedback. Additionally, I arranged a Zoom call with Cynthia Thomas and Sarra Jackson, who are my peers from the Applied Digital Learning program, and we exchanged our course materials beforehand. During the Zoom call, we provided a guided tour of each other's courses and explained the thought process behind the decisions we made while creating them. We also shared feedback with each other on the aspects we liked and provided suggestions for further improvements.
What were the lessons you learned from the usability testing feedback?
During the usability test for the course, all testers unanimously agreed that it was relevant for today's junior high students. They appreciated the well-balanced approach that combined technical skill learning with enjoyable and engaging activities. Additionally, the testers highlighted that the course provided practical opportunities for students to improve their writing skills across multiple subjects, resulting in a holistic learning experience. The positive feedback from other educators confirms that the course's design effectively meets students' needs and interests while also providing a dynamic and enriching educational experience.
Why or why not? What can you do to improve this in the future better?
After receiving feedback from users during usability testing, I decided to include a lesson on how to customize the SSO homepage by organizing favorite apps and creating folders by topic. Additionally, it was recommended that I consider adding a lesson on microlearning using TikTok-style videos. I plan to conduct further research on how to effectively share such videos and potentially add the course at a later time.
What have you done to your design to address the usability issues revealed in the testing? What have you added or taken away?
I haven't gotten any feedback about usability problems, but users have given me some small suggestions which I've already addressed in the previous question.
How did your platform (LMS, Google Docs, or other digital sharing) impact the testing and results?
In our district, we utilize Canvas for our courses, which made it easy for my CISD colleagues to understand my course design. Although Cynthia and Sarra use Schoology in their district, Canvas and Schoology share many similarities, so using Canvas was not a hurdle for them.
How has this process improved your course and your learner's experience?
Sometimes, creating courses can take up a lot of time and it's easy to overlook important details. To get a fresh perspective, I reached out to my colleagues and fellow cohort members for feedback. Fortunately, there were no major issues with the course, but they did suggest some fun and engaging activities that could make it even better.
How has the testing impacted your alignment of outcomes activities and assessment?
I received positive feedback from my department chair regarding my course and she is interested in introducing it on our campus. To achieve this, I plan to create a special Advisory class for a Student Technology Team once school resumes in August.
How will you address the infrastructure, system, and support needs and issues the learner may face?
I will take several steps to address any infrastructure, system, or support needs or issues that may arise. Firstly, I will ensure that the Canvas LMS has clear and consistent information and instructions on how to reach out for technical assistance and answers to questions. Secondly, during the first week, I will provide team members with resources or tutorials on how to set up and troubleshoot common technical issues. Thirdly, I will foster a sense of community among team members, encouraging peer support and collaboration. Peer-to-peer support can often be helpful in addressing infrastructure-related challenges. Lastly, I will provide ongoing support throughout the course by regularly checking in with team members to ensure they are not facing any persistent infrastructure or system issues. I will also communicate updates, provide additional resources, or offer further guidance as needed.
Course Institutional Standards:
Supports for possible NEW Technology TEKS for the 2024-2025 school year:
7.6(A) demonstrate proficiency in the use of technology terminology in projects through team collaboration and communication
8.6(A) integrate use of appropriate technology terminology in scholarly inquiry and dialogue, such as classroom discussion and written samples
7.6(D)/8.6(D) select and use the appropriate platform and tools, including selecting and using software or hardware for a self-identified task;
7.6(F) determine potential solutions to solve hardware and software problems using common troubleshooting strategies, such as restarting digital tools or transferring work from one device to another
8.6(F) apply common troubleshooting techniques independently, seeking technical assistance as needed
7.6(I)/8.6(I) use collaboratively multiple technology tools to design and create, revise, or responsibly remix and publish digital projects such as digital portfolios, multimedia, a blog, or a webpage
Supporting ISTE Standards for Students:
1.3 Knowledge Constructor: Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
1.3.a Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
1.3.c Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.
1.3.d Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories, and pursuing answers and solutions.
1.6 Creative Communicator: Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats, and digital media appropriate to their goals.
1.6.a Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.
1.6.b Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.
1.6.d Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.
Fink's Approach to Creating Significant Learning Environments & Universal by Design
Course Syllabus
Course Duration:
Eight weeks, with the possibility of expanding to 12 weeks
Course Objective:
Transitioning to a new school is stressful because new students rapidly acquire new procedures and function within new expectations to succeed. After taking this course, student technology team members will be able to independently use practical and critical thinking to evaluate the best approach to working with new students, presenting detailed information in a way that is easy to follow and evaluating how they have contributed to improving the school culture.
Introduction (Week 1)
Week in the Life Activity: At the beginning of the year, Team members will record apps, skills, and information a student needs to know to be successful at McC.
Empathy Discussion: Students will watch Empathy Can Change the World and then participate in an in-class discussion
How to Explain Discussion: Students will watch How to Explain Complicated Things in a Simple Way , then find an example of a video or handout that they feel is an exemplar. They will share the example with the class and explain why they think it is effective. Students will also brainstorm why they quit watching a poorly made explainer video.
Module 1: SSO & LMS (Week 2)
Objective: Team members will review the features and settings of district provided apps and software to ensure there are no knowledge gaps.
Week in the Life Activity (continued): Team members will finish recording everything a student needs to know to be successful at McC. At the end of the week, the team will create a master list of apps, skills, and information on a shared Google Doc.
In class Review SSO and LMS:
ClassLink SSO allows students access to applications and software provided by the district. Students can ask one of their teachers to reset their password.
Canvas LMS allows students to access learning resources, submit assignments, and complete assessments.
Students can take quizzes, tests, and district benchmarks through the Eduphoria LockDown Browser in Windows 10 and Chromebook OS App instead of through the SSO.
Students can contact their teacher through Canvas and Outlook.
Activity: Teacher Survey — Students will write a needs assessment in Google Forms, asking teachers what they feel new students need to know to succeed in their classrooms in their early days at McC. Team members can watch Google Forms 101 as a reference if needed
Module 2: Chromebooks (Week 3)
Objective: Team members will learn basic Chromebook care and maintenance, such as wiping Chromebooks and exploring settings.
Chromebook OS
Activity: Students will create an infographic using Adobe Express to create the most used setting for students to customize on the Chromebook.
Module 3: Accessibility (Week 4)
Objective: Team members will learn about some of the challenges faced EB students and students with learning disabilities face in the classroom and what resources are provided to help them be successful in the classroom.
Activity: Students will meet with the EB Teacher and Dyslexia Teacher to discuss some of the challenges these students face. Students will also watch What is dyslexia? - Kelli Sandman-Hurley See dyslexia differently
At our district, EB students and students with learning disabilities can use Microsoft Translate, Microsoft Immersive Reader, and Read&Write for Google Chrome for translation, dictionaries annotations, and text-to-speech. Team members will spend some time exploring these applications. Listed below are some training videos that team members can watch and later post to a campus technology hub.
Google Read Write
Microsoft and Google Translate
Discussions: Based on the data from the Teacher Needs Assessment, team members will determine the areas of greatest and discuss the best ways to address these areas.
Module 4 (Week 5)
Objective: Team members will put what they learned about giving good explanations into action.
Student Activity: How To Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Contest — Each team member will work in groups to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, then create a set of directions or film a video on how to make a peanut and jelly sandwich. They will then present their PB&J explainer to the class; then, team members will provide feedback. Team members can improve their projects based on the feedback given. Team members hand out superlatives based on the second iteration. Note: This activity can be adjusted due to food allergies.
Module 5: Creating Graphics (Week 6)
Objective: Team members will learn how to create effective visuals through the introduction to design basics.
How to use Principles of Design | Graphic Design Basic (Emphasis, Contrast, White Space, Repetition, Proportion, Balance, and Alignment)
Class Discussion: Students will find graphics they find visually pleasing. The class will discuss and identify which design principles contribute most to the design.
Activity: Students will create a graphic (i.e., movie, poster, album cover, book cover, etc.) of their choice using Adobe Express. Students will present the graphic to the class and explain the thought behind some of the design choices.
Module 6: Culminating Project (Weeks 7-8)
Learning Aid or Video Creation — Team Members will collaborate in groups to storyboard, write a script, film, and edit an informational/how-to video or create a series of learning aids that can be uploaded to a Canvas course or website.
Module 7: Privacy and Security (Future Module)
Module 8: Tips and Tricks for Teachers (Future Module)
Module 9: Team Marketing and Swag (Future Module)
Module 10: Team Social Media (Future Module)
References:
Fink, L. D. (n.d.). A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. Retrieved from https://luonline.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-3042999-dt-content-rid-30108308_1/courses/13583.201810/Self-Directed%20Guide%20to%20Course%20Design%20-%20Fink%20Summary.pdf
McTighe, J. (n.d.). UbD template 2.0. McTighe & Associates. Retrieved February 21, 2023, from https://jaymctighe.com/downloads/UbD_Template_2.docx
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