AECT Standard 5

Artifact 9: Management of Web 2.0 Tools

Context and Conditions

The Management of Web 2.0 Tools report was completed for EDET 746: Management of Technology Resources during my fifth semester in the Learning Design and Technologies master’s program. The purpose of this report was to select two Web 2.0 tools and research their use in your career area. This Management of Web 2.0 Tools report focused on Nearpod and ClassDojo in the field of special education. The report begins with an introduction that defines Web 2.0 tools and an explanation of their general use in the education field. For each web 2.0 tool, Nearpod and ClassDojo, this report describes their purpose, advantages and disadvantages, and uses in special education.

Nearpod is a web 2.0 tool that serves as an online platform that allows teachers to create and share interactive, slide-based lessons. Students are able work at their own pace while teachers are able to actively monitor student work as they navigate through a lesson. The report uses research by Abdullah et al. (2022) to address the advantages and disadvantages of Nearpod. These advantages included the gamification aspect, which helps to improve student engagement, meanwhile the disadvantages relate to connectivity and accessibility issues (Abdullah et al., 2022). The report then discusses how Nearpod is used in my career field of special education as a tool to personalize and differentiate lessons tailored to individual student needs. This report uses research by Charles et al. (2012) to explain how web 2.0 tools, such as Nearpod, are useful in special education as they are able to meet accommodations mandated in students’ IEPs, while also enabling teachers to collect data on individual student progress that can be used to monitor IEP goals.

The Management of Web 2.0 Tools report then shifts focus to ClassDojo, which is a web-based classroom management tool where teachers can track behavior and engage in school-to-home communication. The report includes research by DiGiacomo et al. (2022) to describe the advantages and disadvantages of ClassDojo. The advantages are that its point system for tracking and recording behaviors can increase positive behaviors and improve teacher-student relationships, while the disadvantages are that it can be time consuming for teachers to keep up with inputting points throughout the day. The report then addresses the uses of ClassDojo in special education as it can help special educators support students with social-emotional and behavior difficulties. Lastly, the report uses research by Karunamoorthy et al. (2020) to explain how ClassDojo is beneficial for students with disabilities as it increases motivation and promotes active learning.

Scope

The purpose of the Management of Web 2.0 Tool report was to use research skills to learn more about web 2.0 tools and their uses in your career field. While this report applied to my field and how I can use these tools as a special educator, the information in his report could be helpful to other teachers who work with students with similar needs to implement into their instruction.

Role

The Management of Web 2.0 Tools report was completed as an individual assignment. I worked as the sole author and editor of this assignment using my knowledge of web 2.0 tools and research skills.

Instructional Design

This report reflects the contextual analysis element of the MRK model as it was written for the purpose of audience and stakeholders to review and consider. The learners’ perspective is focused on during a contextual analysis (Morrison et al., 2013). Additionally, this assignment relates to the analysis phase of the ADDIE model as an instructional designer should consider the target audience and determine their needs (Durak et al., 2016).

Related Performance Indicators

AECT Standard 5: Candidates explore, evaluate, synthesize, and apply methods of inquiry to enhance learning and improve performance (Association for Educational Communications and Technology, 2012).

Indicators:

• Theoretical Foundations - Candidates demonstrate foundational knowledge of the contribution of research to the past and current theory of educational communications and technology.

• Method - Candidates apply research methodologies to solve problems and enhance practice.

• Ethics - Candidates conduct research and practice using accepted professional and institutional guidelines and procedures.

Reflection

The management of web 2.0 tools report was an opportunity to utilize research skills to learn more about web 2.0 tools in my career field. As a special educator, I chose to research tools I was familiar with, but wanted to learn more about and see what ways I could incorporate them into instructional design. This made me think about the importance of instructional designers having strong research skills because it keeps them informed about the latest trends and technologies to ensure they are using the most up to date, effective methods. This report also demonstrated my ability to utilize research skills to identify relevant resources, which includes peer-reviewed research articles and literature reviews to analyze the effectiveness of learning tools, as well as explore new technologies and approaches. This is a skill I continued to improve upon and demonstrate throughout the program when choosing instructional strategies and technologies to inform design decisions.

While I met all the requirements for this management of web 2.0 report, if I were to recreate it again, I would have provided more detailed examples of how those tools can be utilized in a classroom setting. In the sections where I discussed each of the web 2.0’s uses in special education, I used research to describe how these tools can be used to serve students with special needs. However, I would have used examples from my own experiences as a special educator to further explain the different uses for these tools if I were to recreate it. Reviewing the report, I was thinking about the importance of providing examples in research on learning tools and technologies to promote transferability as presenting diverse examples from different learning environments can highlight the versatility of a tool and its potential to be applied across various contexts. This, in turn, facilitates implementation by guiding educators on how to implement a tool in their classroom and increase the likelihood of successful adoption. Overall, this report serves to showcase my ability to utilize research skills to inform decisions when choosing appropriate materials and activities during the instructional design process.

Artifact 10: Group Conference Research Paper

Context and Conditions

The Group Conference Research Paper was created for EDET 780: Research Seminar In Educational Technology during my fourth semester in the Learning Design and Technologies master’s program. The purpose was to work with a group to construct a paper investigating a topic related to educational technology or instructional design. The topic for this research paper was “Artificial Intelligence Technology in Middle-Level Multilingual Learners and Writing Proficiency.” The paper was organized into separate sections, which included an abstract, introduction, literature review, methods, anticipated results, and conclusions. The study would not be conducted as the goal was to collaborate as a group to design a study that someone could ideally use.

This research paper aims to investigate the use of an artificial intelligence (AI) feedback tool for writing by multilingual writers at the middle school level. The abstract summarizes the research question, rationale, methods, anticipated results, and conclusion of the research paper. The introduction section then provided background information, the importance of the topic, and a purpose statement. Following the introduction, a literature review was provided to discuss previous research relating to the topic, focusing on writing proficiency in South Carolina, AI in multilingual education, and generative AI and Universal Design for Learning (UDL), AI-based writing assistants, applied translation and critical thinking, AI as a feedback tool, attitudes towards AI-powered language technologies, multiliteracies and multilingualism, translanguaging and machine transportation, and multilingual content in computer-based learning environments.

The methods were then discussed, which described the participants, design, materials, procedures, and analyses. The participants were multilingual learners in 6th through 8th grade who would use ChatGPT as a feedback tool for writing in the general education setting. There would be one experimental group using the tool and a control group who would receive traditional feedback. This would take place over the course of one school year using the WIDA ACCESS language assessment (WIDA, 2020) to determine its effectiveness at the middle and end of the school year. The anticipated results for this study would provide data to support the use of AI as a feedback tool for multilingual learners to improve their writing proficiency. Lastly, the conclusion discussed the anticipated findings that connected to the purpose of this research paper.

Scope

The purpose of the Group Conference Research Paper was to apply knowledge of research methods to the process of designing an educational research study. It also required demonstration of communication and collaboration skills by working with a group to construct this research paper. This allowed for the opportunity to further explore a topic related to current trends and issues within educational technology as a team.

Role

This research paper was created as a group with three other classmates. As a team, we played an equal role as the researchers, writers, and editors of the research design.

Instructional Design

This research paper reflects the contextual analysis element of the MRK model as it was written for the purpose of an audience and stakeholders to review and consider using the design to conduct this research. The perspective of the audience is highly considered during the contextual analysis phase (Morrison et al., 2013). Additionally, this also relates to the analysis phrase of the ADDIE model as the designers considered the target audience to determine their informational needs (Durack et al., 2016).

Related Performance Indicators

AECT Standard 5: Candidates explore, evaluate, synthesize, and apply methods of inquiry to enhance learning and improve performance (Association for Educational Communications and Technology, 2012).

Indicators:

• Theoretical Foundations - Candidates demonstrate foundational knowledge of the contribution of research to the past and current theory of educational communications and technology.

• Method - Candidates apply research methodologies to solve problems and enhance practice.

• Assessing/Evaluating - Candidates apply formal inquiry strategies in assessing and evaluating processes and resources for learning and performance.

• Ethics - Candidates conduct research and practice using accepted professional and institutional guidelines and procedures.

Reflection

The creation of the Group Conference Research Paper taught me how to use the research process and knowledge of research methodologies to propose a research study related to educational technology. My group members and I utilized the research methodologies, such as quantitative methods, we had learned during the course to design this study. These methodologies allowed us to identify evaluation procedures that would assess our research question and provide quantitative data. In doing so, this allowed me to further improve my ability to use my knowledge of research methodologies in order to choose appropriate data collection methods for a given research question when designing a study. Additionally, this research paper demonstrated my understanding of foundational theories related to educational technology in that I worked with my group to conduct a literature review to identify existing research involving our research question.

The group project aspect of this assignment was challenging due to the fact it was difficult at times to schedule times to virtually meet and ensure everyone had an equal role in the creation of this research proposal. We were successful in working together equally as a team, which further strengthened my communication and collaboration skills, which is an essential skill I will need to be successful in the field of instructional design.

During the semester I completed the group conference research paper , the only component I would have changed was the topic. It was difficult to choose one specific topic amongst a group of four people who work in different subject areas. We ended up choosing a topic related to multilingual learners. During this semester I was in the Learning Design and Technologies master’s program, I had not worked with multilingual learners and would have preferred a topic more relevant to my students’ needs. However, since then, I have had two students who are multilingual learners, and I am thankful that I had an opportunity to learn more about their needs through this assignment beforehand. This helped me realize the importance of exploring educational technology research and trends across various areas of education in order to be prepared for any challenge when designing instruction to serve a target audience with a diverse range of learning needs.