AECT Standard 1

Context and Conditions

The Canvas course was created for EDET 755: Design and Evaluation of Information Access and Delivery. This was completed during my first semester in the Learning Design and Technologies master’s program. The topic for this Canvas course was “Building Multiplication Skills” for students in 3rd through 5th grade performing below grade level. The intent of the course was to provide supplemental instruction to build on foundational multiplication skills. 

The course was designed to include three modules based on the following topics: Models for Multiplication, Building Multiplication Facts, and Solving Word Problems with Multiplication. Prior to the development of this course, I created a module agendas, and course syllabus, which described the specific objectives and activities for each module. The course was designed to be completed over three-weeks, with one module per week. Throughout each module, students would complete discussion posts, interactive Nearpod lessons, and quizzes at the end of each module. At the end of the course, students would complete a project where they would create their own multiplication word problem as their final course evaluation.

Scope

The purpose of creating this Canvas course was to develop knowledge and experience in designing and developing an online course through a Learning Management System. This course could be used as a part of a larger unit that targets a variety of foundational math skills to support students in 3rd through 5th grade performing below grade level.

Role

This Canvas course was completed as an individual project as I worked as the sole designer and developer. Throughout the process, I used my knowledge of the instructional design process, as well as my experience as a special educator who works with students performing below grade level, to create a well designed online learning course.

Instructional Design

This course reflects the learning characteristics, instructional objectives, content sequencing, instructional strategies, evaluation instruments, and development of instruction stages of the MRK model. In order to design and develop the course, I focused on the characteristics of the learners to determine instructional objectives, and present the content in an order to help the learners better understand the information (Morrison et al., 2013), such as how I broke down the content into modules for each objective. Additionally, the development phase of the ADDIE instructional model was utilized by creating the materials and activities designed for the course (Durak et al., 2016), such as the interactive Nearpod lessons within each module.

Related Performance Indicators

AECT Standard 1: Candidates demonstrate the knowledge necessary to create, use, assess, and manage theoretical and practical applications of educational technologies and processes (Association for Educational Communications and Technology, 2012).

Indicators:

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

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

• Managing - Candidates demonstrate the ability to effectively manage people, processes, physical infrastructures, and financial resources to achieve predetermined goals.

• Ethics - Candidates demonstrate the contemporary professional ethics of the field as defined and developed by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology.

Reflection

The creation of the Canvas e-learning course during my first semester was my first experience in learning how to design and develop an online course through a learning management system platform. I also had no prior experience using Canvas as a teacher or student. This allowed me to learn how to navigate and utilize an unfamiliar development tool. Therefore, the development of this course was the first time I navigated through the process of building a course using the Canvas platform. The platform allowed me to easily align the design of my course to its development. The features and organization of the platform allowed for an easy transfer of the learning materials and activities to make them easily accessible to learners. As a special educator, I chose a topic for this course that I felt would best suit the needs of the students I worked with at my school. This assisted in the process of choosing meaningful learning content and activities that would be most appropriate for students the course was intended for.

When I designed this Canvas course, I had not yet explored or gained the knowledge and skills in the area of accessibility. If I were to develop this course now, I would have made sure that images had alt text and inputted correct headings and content. Additionally, throughout my time in the Learning Design and Technologies master’s program, I have become more knowledgeable in the importance of choosing a learning management system platform that is most beneficial for the design of an e-learning course. Throughout the program, I have had opportunities to explore the various different platforms and become familiar with the benefits and challenges of each. I now understand that the platform must match the design of a course in order to develop a module that will be successful and represent the goals of the course. I can say with confidence that Canvas was the best match for this particular e-learning course I created and I would use it again if I were to recreate this online course.

Artifact 2: PowerPoint Prototype

Context and Conditions

The PowerPoint Prototype of an instructional module on “Modeling Multiplication” was created in EDET 722: Instructional Design and Assessment during my second semester in the Learning Design and Technologies master’s program. This module was created based on a larger instructional design document developed to create the prototype. The prototype was intended for students in 4th through 5th grade with learning disabilities who receive special education services for math in a small group setting. The purpose was to provide additional practice and review of basic multiplication skills, focusing on using models to represent and solve facts.

This self-paced, interactive e-learning module was created using Microsoft PowerPoint with features such as narrations and navigation for learner control. The presentation starts by informing students how to navigate using the various buttons on the slides, and providing an overview of the module, describing to learners what they should already know and what they will learn. It focused on five goals for using different kinds of models to represent multiplication, including pictures of equal groups, repeated addition, skip counting on a number line, arrays, and using those models to solve multiplication facts by groups of one through ten. The content for each goal was presented in a consistent format and structure that included an introduction with examples, practice items, and feedback on practice items. At the end, students were given a final review before being presented a link to a Google Form to complete a post-test. Additionally, the PowerPoint was presented using appropriate color contrast and text variations for headings, subheadings, and visuals.

Scope

The purpose of this PowerPoint prototype was to create a self-paced, interactive instructional module with navigation features and learning content based on a task analysis, performance objectives, assessment items, and an instructional strategy plan. This instructional module is not presented as an entire instructional unit, but it could be part of a unit that is focused on reteaching and reviewing basic math skills for students in a special education, small group setting.

Role

This PowerPoint prototype of an instructional module was completed as an individual project. I acted as the designer, developer, and SME of the PowerPoint prototype. I used my knowledge of the instructional design process and expertise as a special educator who works directly with students with learning disabilities throughout the process of creating the module.

Instructional Design

The PowerPoint prototype relates to the learning characteristics, task analysis, instructional objectives, instructional strategies, evaluation instruments and development of instruction stages of the MRK model. It reflects these components in that the designer is required to analyze the characteristics of learners, determine instructional objectives and strategies, and create assessment items for learners in order to develop the product (Morrison et al., 2013). Additionally, it reflects the development phase of the ADDIE model in that the instructional materials were created based on a design plan (Durak et al., 2016).

Related Performance Indicators

AECT Standard 1: Candidates demonstrate the knowledge necessary to create, use, assess, and manage theoretical and practical applications of educational technologies and processes (Association for Educational Communications and Technology, 2012).

Indicators:

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

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

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

• Ethics - Candidates demonstrate the contemporary professional ethics of the field as defined and developed by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology.

Reflection

The creation of the PowerPoint prototype during my second semester in the Learning Design and Technologies master’s program was my first experience using a larger instructional design document to develop a self-paced instructional module. In doing so, I learned how to transfer learning objectives and strategies to the development of learning materials, activities, and interactive content. While I am familiar with Microsoft PowerPoint, this assignment allowed me to explore how to use it as a development tool for building an instructional module. I learned how to utilize its features to create navigation and interactions between slides, such as how students would be taken to a slide with feedback based on their response to a question on another slide. I also learned how to insert voiceover recordings with a button that learners can click to have information on a slide read aloud. 

If I were to develop this prototype again now with a better understanding of accessibility, I would have better organized the layout of content on each slide. Looking back at it now, I feel as though my slides could be difficult to follow for students with visual impairments. Therefore, I would focus on visual hierarchy and color contrast if I were to recreate it. Although this assignment required the use of Microsoft PowerPoint to create the prototype, I would have used a different platform, such as Canvas, with further capabilities and creative allowances if I were to create it to use in a classroom setting. Overall, I felt this prototype was successful in that it met the requirements for the assignment. Being that it was my second semester in the Learning Design and Technologies master’s program, it served as my first experience in developing an instructional module based on a larger design document, which allowed me to gain the knowledge and skills I have now and will continue to use as an educator and instructional designer.