CT 913 Final Project AAbbott

This blog is intended to fulfill the final requirements for CT 913 Teaching with Technology.

I tried to divide this post into multiple pages, but from my understanding of the Blogger resources I found, you cannot make a post into multiple pages. I apologize for having everything in one long post and have done my best to break everything up visually.

The Role of Technology in Your Teaching Philosophy and Practice

I am an avid baker and a third year PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). I am interested in pursuing teaching positions once I have successfully defended my thesis. Since my research area is functional biomaterials, I anticipate teaching courses such as “Introduction to Biomaterials” which I have prepared sample materials for.

There are many similarities between following a recipe and following a scientific protocol for the process of creating a biomaterial. Both require attention to detail, sequential steps, and an overall understanding of how each component contributes to the overall results. In the context of teaching a biomaterials course, I will serve as the students’ cookbook: a repository of knowledge meant to help them gain an understanding of the different recipes (or topics), but one that can still be interpreted and adapted by the students as they develop as engineers. I consider it the role of a teacher to help students get started on their educational journeys and to facilitate their progress along the way. I am there to help students help themselves.

Do you need fancy gadgets or will the basics do?

(Image from Tasting Table)

In the context of my teaching philosophy, the use of different classroom technologies is similar to the use of kitchen tools. For example, there are many ways to cut butter into a biscuit dough (ex.  by hand, pastry cutter, food processor). However, with each type of technology, different outcomes may be enabled. For example, the use of a food processor may result in the formation of finer crumbs while the incorporation of technological tools such as Padlet or PollEverywhere may enable finer understanding of course material. However, care should be taken to adopt technology with purpose. Flambéing may look, but will burn out as quickly as the “hottest new educational app” if there is no true substance behind it. Pedagogically motivated lesson plans should always come first and technology should only be incorporated as a tool to advance your learning objectives. While innovation and adoption of new tools should always be considered, if you start with the wrong dough mixture, a food processor will not produce the biscuits that you want. 

Is the new technology worth it or will it burn out quickly?

(Image from Wikipedia)

Throughout this course, I have expanded my knowledge of available technologies and have gained experience with some I never anticipated using (such as Jing and Screencast to create and distribute video) because I was intimidated by them. These are new tools in my kitchen and I look forward to adding more in the future now that I am not as “technology-shy.” As twenty-first century bakers (and learners), understanding how to incorporate new technology is important and vital to both the teacher’s and the students’ professional growth. It is up to teachers to drive the process of technology adoption in the classroom, but I think it is important to remember that sometimes all you need to accomplish your goals is a willingness to dig in with your hands instead of running to a food processor to get things done. It is up to the teacher to determine what the appropriate tool for an application is as well as to evaluate if it will truly contribute to advancing the objectives of the course. In the future, I will carefully evaluate any new tools I use, but I wouldn't let my comfort with the tools I currently have prevent me from trying new technologies.

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PAGE TWO

Annotated Bibliography

This page includes resources that discuss considerations for how to incorporate various technologies in their teaching practice and is intended for all disciplines.

Bodekaer, M. (2015, October). Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://www.ted.com/talks/

michael_bodekaer_this_virtual_lab_will_revolutionize_science_class#t-669964

In this TEDxCERN talk, Michael Bodekaer, discusses the incorporation of virtual reality as a tool for interactively teaching science at a collegiate level. This work with virtual reality was pursued as a means of making classwork more accessible to students and was meant to redefine scientific teaching strategies which often rely on lecture and book based learning. Michael worked with technology companies and professors to develop a virtual laboratory where students could interact with laboratory technology and gain an understanding of the techniques needed to perform experiments as well as gain scientific knowledge. The virtual aspects allow students to have access to equipment their school may not have which enables them to experience more complex experiments. While this talk focuses on the incorporation of virtual reality for the sciences, the adaptation of virtual reality technology could be applied to any discipline. A study performed by Stanford demonstrated that the use of virtual reality teaching was 76% more effective than traditional teaching methods showing this technology could make a large impact in the classroom.

Davidson, C. N. (2017). The new education: How to revolutionize the university to prepare

students for a world in flux. New York: Basic Books.

Cathy Davidson spent more than two decades teaching at Duke University, during which time she became vice provost of interdisciplinary studies and founded collaboratories for work on teaching, learning, technology, and innovation. As the current director of the Futures Initiative at the City University of New York, Davidson is well suited to remark upon the state of higher education as well as provide suggestions for how to revolutionize higher education. She provides examples of incorporating technologies into the classroom as well as the growth and need for mass online open courses. She also encourages teaching that is interdisciplinary, for example incorporating elements from humanities into engineering classes. Through this novel, Davidson challenges readers to help reform higher education so students can seek “a sustained a productive life.” This novel is useful for anyone looking for inspiration to make a change in the life of students.

Educause. (2013, May 06). 8 Lessons Learned from Teaching Online. Retrieved November 18,

2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=Bp4BG4Me7TU

This video, produced by Educause, contains 8 lessons from experts in the field of online teaching. This resource is focused solely on online teaching which is typically considered a different undertaking than in-person teaching. However, a major takeaway from the video is that many of the same considerations of technology use apply to online classes as the in-person class considerations. However, the experts also stress the importance of logging in regularly to the course to keep up with the students which could be considered a time burden not found in in-person courses. Additionally, providing audio/video feedback is encouraged to help students engage within the course and feel connected. Overall, this video reminds teachers to be cognizant that students want to interact with their professors and how that is done in online courses can impact their perception of the course.

Gonzalez, J. (2018, September 20). 6 Ed Tech Tools to Try in 2018. Retrieved November 18,

2018, from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/6-tech-tools-2018/

In this article, Jennifer Gonzalez, the author of the Teacher’s Guide to Tech, shines a spotlight on her top six technology tools in 2018. These tools are innovative, trendy, and useful in all subject areas. These tools are provided through Gonzalez’ research as well as conversations with teachers who use them every day. This is a useful article because it is something that is updated yearly with new, innovative tools that teachers could use within their classroom. Additionally, Gonzalez provides a brief description of how to utilize the tool within the classroom and mentions what systems it is compatible with. For example, Insertlearning is an extension you can add to your Chrome browser which allows you to make lessons out of webpages and interfaces with Google Classroom.

How to Integrate Technology. (2007, November 5). Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/

technology-integration-guide-implementation

This article contains a vast array of resources for successful technology integration into the classroom with links to many technologies as well as additional edutopia resources. This article encourages the reader to think about how they are using technology with the students and what purpose each tool is serving within the classroom. Divided into hyperlinked sections, this article allows easy access to the sections that are most relevant to the reader. One of the most useful facets of this article is it discusses how to create interactive, technology enabled lessons based upon different technology set-ups. For example, it describes tools you can use with one computer and a projector (ex. Voicethread, Livebinder) vs groups (Googledocs, Moodle) vs each student having a computer/device (PollEverywhere, Socrative). The sheer number of resources discussed and how to apply them makes this a useful page for any teacher interested in utilizing technology in an impactful way.

Jones, S. (2018, October 04). Q&A With an Ed-Tech Expert: Don't Focus on the Tools.

Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2018/10/03/qa-with-an-ed-tech-expert-dont-focus.html

In this article, Sasha Jones of Education Week interviews technology expert Justin Bathon about how technology, education, and the law intersect to create a promising environment for student learning. Justin Bathon is an associate professor in Educational Leadership Studies and the Director of Innovative School Models at the University of Kentucky. His experience with teaching as well as his work to personalize learning for students give his discussion of technology pitfalls and proper ways to adapt technology credit. He also discusses how Generation Z students have been shown to learn differently from traditional methods and discusses how knowledge of how students learn can benefit technology adaptation in the classroom (in this case, the incorporation of more videos since Generation Z prefers learning that way). Finally, Bathon includes an important discussion of the legal ramifications of using technology in regards to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy act as well as the First Amendment. This last component alone makes this article worth a read since it is rarely discussed in the context of technology incorporation into the classroom.

Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://

topr. online .ucf.edu

This website is a public resource provided by The Center for Distributed Learning at The University of Central Florida. It is intended as a resource for those interesting in online and blended teaching strategies. All entries on the site include a description of how pedagogical practice informs the use of the strategy and provides examples of the strategies use in an actual course. For example, an article titled “Provide Non-linguistic representation to foster reflection” discussed the pedagogical basis for Dr. Angela Danley assigning her students the task of finding images that represent what it means to be culturally literate. Submissions are provided to the site from contributors, so it is possible some examples may not be as strong as others. Additionally, K-12 examples are provided as well as college level examples. However, the breadth of resources available on the site means everyone can find lesson suggestions they could incorporate into their teaching practice.

Teaching with Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://facultyinnovate.

utexas.edu/teaching-technology

This webpage, provided by the Faculty Innovation Center at The University of Texas at Austin, provides a host of resources for the use of technology in content delivery, assessment methods, and communication at a college level. Divided into sections including “How Can I Do This” and “Why Is This Important”, the page allows for exploration of related subtopics that provide additional information and resources for the overarching topics. The page also contains external links to tools such as Padlet, a collaborative online website that could be used for the creation of online portfolios. Overall, it is a good resource that can serve as a jumping off point for additional resources on how to incorporate technology into a classroom and is specifically focused on the college level.

Reissman, H. (2017, September 14). 7 smart ways to use technology in classrooms. Retrieved

November 18, 2018, from https://ideas.ted.com/7-smart-ways-to-use-technology-in-classrooms/

In this article, by Hailey Reissman, an editorial coordinator at TEDx, discusses 7 ways to use technology in classrooms. Although the focus on the article is on K-12 classrooms, the “tech tips” can be applied to college courses. Each tech tip discusses an overlying principle of using technology within the classroom and provides at least one in class example of how to apply a technology appropriately. For example, one tech tip reminds teachers that “something boring on paper is still boring on a tablet or a laptop.” Instead of moving math tables to a digital format, students can play math games to learn the same concepts, but in a more engaging fashion. With points like these, Reissman reminds the reader that technology should not be used just for technologies sake, but as part of a defined lesson plan that uses technology to address certain goals.

Staley, D. J. (2004, January 1). Adopting Digital Technologies in the Classroom: 10 Assessment

Questions. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2004/ 1/adopting-digital-technologies-in-the-classroom-10-assessment-questions

David Staley, the Director of the Humanities Institute at The Ohio State University, provides a list of 10 assessment questions for teachers to consider before adopting technologies within the classroom. Although this article is on the older side, the assessment questions ring true for all modern adoption of technology. Staley also references research from experts in the education field to support his development of the 10 assessment questions. As is the theme with many of these resources, the main driving force for using a technology should be about the benefit that the technology can have in the classroom, not the need to incorporate the latest fad.  An important concept in these assessment questions include the expansion of the classroom space. Technology, such as online discussion platforms or “virtual study groups” through Google Hangouts or similar, allows the expansion of the course beyond the usual confines of a classroom.

 

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PAGE THREE

Sample Lesson Plans

Many of the resources on the previous page provided guidance on both tool selection as well as the integration of technology into the classroom. Here I will provide three example lesson plans that incorporate technology and discuss my pedagogical goals and objectives for each one.

Image from National Journal

Course: Introduction to Biomaterials

Name of Lesson: Medical Device Regulatory Process

Tool: Tricider

Learning Objective for Lesson: To develop an understanding of the approval process for medical devices.

Description of Lesson and the Integration of the Tool: This lecture covers the regulatory processes governing medical devices in the United States. After a general overview of the FDA process including different approval pathways, case studies of medical devices will be studied to see how they were approved (or not! Failed devices may also be included). The students will be asked prior to class (asynchronously through Tricider) to suggest medical devices they would like to see covered in the lesson. I anticipate allowing at least one week for the tricider use to enable all students to suggest devices or to upvote devices suggested by their classmates.

Discussion of Pedagogical Goals: Through allowing the students to suggest devices they would like to see covered, students will have partial ownership of what they are learning about. Additionally, they will be able to select options that interest them which will increase engagement during the case study discussion. The use of Tricider allows students to upvote suggestions that their classmates have made (which could be useful for students who don’t know what they learn about until they see options). It also allows anonymous voting so students will select devices they are truly interested in, not just what their friends want to learn about. Tricider was selected above other polling type software because it allows a convenient way to vote on previously submitted responses as well as provide new responses. Providing the polling asynchronously also allows students the time to consider what they would like to learn about.

Link: Example Tricider question linked here: http://www.tricider.com/brainstorming/3QYwiJgtM4N

Please note this question is currently closed for interaction.

Assessment: Student understanding of the medical device regulatory process will be evaluated by homework problems that ask students to provide the approval pathways of example devices. Devices suggested by the students from Tricider that were not incorporated into the in-class case studies will be used as examples in the homework.

 (Image from Clix Marketing)

Course: Biomedical Engineering Design

Lesson: Brainstorming as Part of the Engineering Design Process

Tool: Flickr

Learning Objective for the Lesson: Understand how the brainstorming process contributes to the design process. Apply documentation skills to the brainstorming process.

Description of Lesson and Integration of Tool: In this course, a group of students works together to design a device that addresses a biomedical problem (ex. sit-stand assistive device, low-cost incubator). An important step in the design process is brainstorming. Prior to class, a video lecture (produced through Screencast) discussing the brainstorming process as well as associated reading will be posted on the course website.  Students will use Flickr to document their brainstorming session(s) and can create a storyboard of how their ideas progress.

Discussion of Pedagogical Goals: Typically brainstorming is done by throwing ideas on a whiteboard/blackboard/posterboard/some form of transient media. However, after the session, only key ideas may be kept and less successful ideas may be lost. Taking pictures will help the student preserve their notes in case they need to reference them later on in the project or if they end up pursuing an idea that didn’t pan out. Taking pictures also helps students with developing documentation skills and will help them maintain clear record of their design project. Finally, it helps students see how they have involved themselves in the design process (fostering engagement within the course) and will remind them they have lots of creative ideas (helping them gain confidence in their abilities).

Assessment: Students will be evaluated on their use of brainstorming process “rules” that are discussed in the video lecture as well as their documentation of the process. These rules will be provided to the students as guidance before the brainstorming session. Documentation of the brainstorming process will be evaluated through a rubric provided to the students along with the Flickr assignment.

(Image from MeeToo)

Course: Introduction to Biomaterials

Name of Lesson: Classes of Biomaterials

Tool: PollEverywhere

Learning Objective for Lesson: Identify the appropriate class of biomaterial for an application.

Description of Lesson and the Integration of the Tool: This lecture covers the three classes of biomaterials and gives an overview of their properties and uses. Throughout the lecture, interactive sections are included where students would use PollEverywhere to select the class of biomaterial they think is best suited to the example application. This would be used to check understanding of the different classes of biomaterials throughout the lecture and would be synchronous.

Discussion of Pedagogical Goals: Through incorporating polling technology in the classroom, real time feedback on student understanding can be gathered. This will allow me to know whether the students understand the topic and we can move on to the next topic or if additional discussion on the topic is needed. Additionally, since each student will have their own account, I will be able to identify students who are struggling with the material and provide them with additional resources. Utilizing PollEverywhere will meet my teaching objectives of student engagement during lessons as it allows everyone to participate, not just students who are comfortable speaking in class.

Link: PollEverywhere question: https://PollEv.com/multiple_choice_polls/Bmo7ZNmhE1Fudxl/web

Assessment: Students will gain participation points for participating in PollEverywhere questions, but they will not be graded on if they receive the correct answer. This is to encourage students to evaluate their own understanding on the knowledge and to not cause their grade to suffer if they need more time to understand topics taught during lecture.

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PAGE FOUR

Multimedia (video/audio) Incorporated into a Sample Lesson Plan

This page takes one of the lesson plans from Page Three and provides sample video web content that would accompany the lesson for the students. It also describes the pedagogical intent of the content and the design.

Lesson Plan: I have created an instructional video on how to use PollEverywhere for students in my Introduction to Biomaterials course. PollEverywhere will be incorporated into lectures to provide real-time feedback on student understanding and to promote student engagement in the course.

Link to web content: https://www.screencast.com/t/qgwGVHfm
Note about the content: the PollEverywhere guide I am showing was one I wrote for a class that I TA'd in Spring 2017. I used that guide since it created the most realistic video environment for how I would present this information as a professor. 

Pedagogical Intent: The intent of this video is to demonstrate the use of one of the tools that students will use throughout the course: PollEverywhere. The goal of incorporating PollEverywhere within the provided lesson plan, as well as throughout the course is to increase student engagement during lectures. It is also intended to provide opportunities for student self-assessment on their knowledge level within the course. PollEverywhere provides real-time feedback during lessons and interfaces with Canvas to allow a seamless grading environment for the students.

Design: Through use of Jing, I can show students where resources on the course website are (in this case Canvas) as well as show them the navigation of PollEverywhere so they are familiar with the site layout when they log in. This will help prevent any issues when we first incorporate this technology during class. By providing both the video as well as the written instructions on Canvas, students will be able to use the information modality that best works with their learning.