Final
Project
EDU
697: Capstone: A Project Approach
Dr.
Anthony Valley
Ashford
University
Colette
Brooks
July
5, 2015
Introduction
In the course of the Masters of Arts in Teaching and
Learning with Technology, I have gained knowledge and insight in the fundamentals
of effective instructional design and online teaching methodology. The Program
Learning Outcomes were invaluable with many being interweaved throughout the
courses and course assignments. It is this interdependent nature of the PLOs
that make it quite difficult to rank in order of importance. For the purpose of
this assignment I will try to rank the eight PLOs in order for someone entering
the online teaching environment, which is my ultimate goal. In the creation of
my e-portfolio, I looked for work that was diverse in the technology used to
complete each assignment, as well as, good practice in the PLO that it was
representing. In the completion of the e-portfolio, and other course work in
this course, EDU 697, I am certain that I have met the learning outcomes that
were required of me in the course of my time here at Ashford University.
E-portfolio
PLO Ranked
After lots of thoughts and considerable consideration I am
compelled to rank the Program Learning Outcomes in the order listed. The
progression of importance in the way the outcomes are ordered fit my pedagogical
views as an online professor.
PLO 5. Exemplify ethical practices of technology usage.
As an online professor I will exemplify ethical practices
in my online classroom and hopefully gain a positive reputation in the field on
online education. Using technology in an educational setting comes with a lot
of responsibility, and it is vital to be ethical if I plan to become, and
remain, an effective educator in my field, which is exactly what I plan to do. Justice,
beneficence, and informed consent are just a few key elements of ensuring
ethical practices (Frankel & Siang, 1999). These are the reasons I chose
PLO 5 as the most important learning outcome to me. If I am able to create and
teach an amazing online program, but am without good ethical practices, my
program fails. This is the foundation to being a great professor, online and
otherwise.
PLO 8. Demonstrate the
ability to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support
of learning and leadership.
Part of being ethical is making informed decisions
regarding the use of technology in support of learning and leadership. In an online
learning environment there is a lot of data and information that will be passed
from the students to the professors and administration, this information is vulnerable
to identity theft, data sharing, and third party retrieval (Picciano, 2012). Having the ability the make informed decisions
regarding this information is a part of being an effective professor. When I make
decisions in the use of technology for educational purposes I will make
informed decisions on how that information is used. One step I will take will
be to inform students of the data that is being tracked and stored when we use
different technologies, including the school’s course site, and how this
information will be used. Secondly, I will ensure all student personal
information is password protected on any device I have stored their information
on. I believe that making informed decisions is partly an ethical one, and this
is why I have chosen to rank it under PLO 5.
PLO 1. Demonstrate knowledge and skills related to learning using technology.
PLO 2. Demonstrate knowledge
and skills in current and emerging instructional technologies.
In order to be of value to my university and students I
will need to demonstrate knowledge and skills related to using current and
emerging instructional technologies. Without this knowledge or skills I would not
be a candidate for employment as an online professor. I will demonstrate this
knowledge by creating functioning online classrooms, relevant course material,
and navigating in the schools learning management systems. After being showing
employers that I am ethical and trustworthy, I will need to show that I have
the knowhow and skills to be an online professor. This is why have chosen PLO 1
and PLO2 as the second most important PLOs in my career choice.
PLO 3. Design learning
opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to
support the needs of all learners.
As an online professor I will use Bloom’s Taxonomy and
Universal Design to ensure that all students have access to the learning materials
presented. This will impact the learning activities chosen for my class. I will
chose activities that will appeal to different learning styles and easily
adaptable to meet the needs of all learners. By adapting curriculum to meet the
special needs of a few all students benefit (Hall, Strangman, & Meyer,
2003, p.7). Part of being knowledgeable and skillful in teaching an effective
online course is designing to meet the needs of all students. This is the
reason PLO 3 was chosen next.
PLO 4. Apply research to
support learning in a technology-enhanced environment.
Supporting my students is part of being an effective
professor. Online classrooms have unique needs, and I will provide support by giving
research based support, including clear guidance about the direction of the
course, and open communication (Kucuk, Genc-Kumtepe, & Tasci, 2010, p.40,
49). This will be done by providing a detailed syllabus before the beginning of
the course that includes email and phone contact information, as well as a link
in the course site for accessing external supportive materials, like how-to guides
on the different technologies used in the course. Part of strategizing to meet the needs of all
learners is applying research based support for students learning in a
technology-enhanced environment. In my opinion, this directly correlates with
PLO 3 and is this reason it is ranked next in importance.
PLO 6. Evaluate technology resources to facilitate effective assessment and evaluation.
PLO 7. Utilize technology
to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate findings.
As a professor I will use technology to assess and
evaluate my students by collecting and analyze data, interpret results, and
communicate findings. An example of this is using Survey Monkey for a quiz.
After students take the quiz I will then be able to compare scores, see what
areas most students are lacking in understanding, and then create a lesson plan
to review this information to ensure all students gain the information before
moving on. The way I view the Learning Outcomes is as a never ending cycle.
After ethical decisions are made, effective curriculum is developed, all
learning needs are taken into consideration; the next step is to assess
students and the program, analyze the data, and make needed adjustments that
will inevitably effect the rest of the PLOs. In any classroom setting formative
assessments is an essential part of the learning experience giving a way for
students and instructor to make ongoing adjustments to attain predetermined
course goals and objective (Bedard-Voorhees, Johnson, & Dobson, 2011). This
is the reason that I have chosen PLO 6 and 7 last on my list. It is not because
it is the least important, but because of its role in an education program. This
Program Learning Outcomes is taking the educational content and evaluating it for
its effectiveness, without the content there is nothing to evaluated, which is
why I listed it last.
Challenges and Solutions
Throughout this final project I faced many challenges.
This first challenge came with choosing the appropriate platform to showcase my
work. I decided to use Blogger for its simplicity and its ability to become
incorporated in my everyday life, hopefully gaining more attention from
potential employers. The second challenge came from choosing work to display
for each learning outcome. Part of my challenge came from not associating
previous course names with each Program Learning Outcomes. I think that if I
had realized that courses directly correlated with PLOs, even in title, I would
have known where to look for lessons that met each learning outcome. Once I
figured this out, I placed my work in folders for each corresponding course,
and chose course materials that met the appropriate learning outcome. Ranking Program
Learning Outcomes was difficult at first. Each PLO seemed important in its own
right, and I was not able to distinguish which was more valuable than the
other. It wasn’t till I pretended I was going for a job as an online professor,
and how would these PLOs play out for me in my first weeks, that I was able rank
the PLOS. This helped me tremendously, since I knew being ethical would be my
main concern. After ranking my first PLO the rest flowed easily.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the information gained by meeting Program Learning
Outcomes in the Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning with Technology will
catapult me into a career as a knowledgeable, ethical, and effective online professor.
The lessons learned have been invaluable and have been well worth the
investment in time, energy, and finances. The creation of my e-portfolio gives
life to the lessons learned throughout the program as they showcase my
understanding of each of the PLOs in the program. In ranking the PLOs the interlinking
nature of them assisted me in deciding how to rank them, and it is this interlinking
nature of the Program Learning Outcomes that will assist me in remembering and
applying them the day I am given the opportunity to teach online. Thank you for
being a part of this life changing process.
References
Bedard-Voorhees, A.,
Johnson, L.M., & Dobson, P. (2011). Letting them show what they know: Digital assessment strategies. [Book
Submission Chapter Final Version]. In S. Hirtz and K. Kelly (Eds.) Education for a Digital World 2.0, Section F:
eAssessment: Measuring in Ways that
Matter. British Columbia: Province of British Columbia. Retrieved from Ashford University EDU 697 course site.
Frankel, M. S., &
Siang, S. (1999). Ethical and legal aspects of human subjects research on the Internet. Published by AAAS online.
Retrieved from Google Scholar https://nationalethicscenter.org/resources/187/download/ethical_legal.pdf
Hall, T., Strangman, N.,
& Meyer, A. (2003). Differentiated instruction and implications for UDL
implementation. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum.
Retrieved from http://aim.cast.org/sites/aim.cast.org/files/DI_UDL.1.14.11.pdf
Kucuk, M., Genc-Kumtepe,
E., & Tasci, D. (2010). Support Services and Learning Styles Influencing Interaction in
Asynchronous Online Discussions. Educational Media International, 47(1), 39-56. Retrieved from Ashford Library
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy- library.ashford.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=babbdc16-1294-4f2e-994e- 6da0ed94be12%40sessionmgr115&hid=114
Picciano, A. G. (2012).
The Evolution of Big Data and Learning Analytics in American Higher Education.
Journal Of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 16(3), 9-20. Retrieved from ERIC.
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ982669.pdf
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