Course Design for
Student Technology Teams
I am thrilled to share my course design for student technology teams. As an avid believer in the power of instructional technology, I used Fink’s Approach to Creating Significant Learning Environments and Universal By Design to create a learning experience that would empower students to serve as leaders on our campus. In this post, I will walk you through the core elements of my course, the institutional standards it aligns with, and the activities utilized to equip student technology teams with the necessary skills and knowledge to integrate technology into the classroom seamlessly.
BHAG
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 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 & UbD
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)
Planning Questions
1. What are your subject, level of instruction, and intended audience?
As outlined in my innovation plan, my course is intended for 7th and 8th members of the Students Technology Teams. The learning expectations of the student technology teams are to expand their knowledge of technology integration in the classroom, be servant leaders, think through/design new student onboarding processes and create a strategy for intaking new students.
2. What are the key institutional documents (i.e., syllabus, outline, accreditation standards, etc.) that will influence your design process?
The basis of my course is taking the student technology team’s objective of helping to onboard mid-year students and expanding it through the use of UbD and Fink’s Three Column Templates. I also verified that the TATEKS and ISTE standards supported the team's goals, I then took those templates and converted them into a syllabus.
3. Are you using competency-based education (CBE) or outcome-based education (OBE)? Why?
I am using an outcomes-based education format because the success of the student technology teams is based on the outcome of student and teacher technology support.
4. What design approach have you chosen? Why?
I am using a Blended Learning and Cooperative Learning approach. Team members will have in-class presentations, discussions, and opportunities to view resources to fill in knowledge gaps. Students will use the interest and talents of the team to work cooperatively and create better content and outcomes.
5. How will you balance assessment Or/For/As learning?
I have provided team members time to create surveys, collect and analyze data to solve real campus issues, write self-reflection journals, and work collaboratively.
6. Are you moving your learners into deeper learning? If not, why not?
Yes, the nature of Student Technology Teams is dealing with practical, real-world problem-solving. I aim for team members to experience many types of thinking and creativity.
7. Who controls the learning?
Until students gain enough foundational knowledge, the teacher initially controls the learning. However, the goal is for students to take charge of their learning, the problems they choose to solve, and the projects that they undertake.
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