The audience for my capstone website is fellow educators. These can be any teacher who wants to learn more about integrating technology into the classroom, specifically in a secondary science classroom. There are many different technology tools found on this website, as well as academic articles about technology in the classroom. The lessons page has lessons designed using technology for science lessons, however there is one digital citizenship lesson that any subject area could use in their classroom. The How-Tos section also has some great resources for all educators including how to use edpuzzle, how to use google mail and google docs and other tutorial videos.
The audience during my research was focused on my students. For my research, I focused on one specific period of students, there were 29 total students, 14 boys and 15 girls. All students were age 13 and in 8th grade. In that student group there were 15 redesignated English Language Learners who reached level 4 and tested out. There were 6 LEP students, also known as limited english proficient, who were all level 3. There was 1 new-commer student who only speaks Spanish and doesn’t speak any English. 3 students were apart of the GATE program, Gifted and talented education. There was 1 student with a 504 plan for ADHD and 1 student who was a part of the homeless program.
Instructional Design Model- Four Pillars
Four Pillars Design Model Analysis: This instructional design model focuses on the four pieces of designing instruction: the individual, the outside connection, the valued content and aesthetics. You can learn more about this model by clicking the picture above. There are important takeaways from this model that have influenced how I design my instruction. First is cognitive load, which means keeping instruction simple and direct which allows learners to focus on the content. I try to make sure my students' workload is balanced so they do not become overwhelmed. Another takeaway was the idea that good instruction is designed to aid understanding and skill development and we want to encourage higher ordered tasks. There are lower-order learning tasks (like memorization of facts) and higher-order learning tasks (using information to solve problems), which we want to focus on in the classroom. Another takeaway was about how learning should be connected to the outside world in order to give it meaning. When designing lessons to connect to the outside world, you should be looking at the tools and technologies you have available. Finally, I really have taken many parts from the aesthetics pillar and applied them to my classroom. Especially having a careful focus on the immediate experience of learning. Instructional designers are designers of materials and experience. Designers use the resources available to them to help learners have an effective learning experience. Teachers can help make learning experiences meaningful to the learner by using assignments that create an experience for the learner like: storytelling, presentations, or engagement in discussion, an in depth project, an essay written and then reflected on and many more.
5E Instructional Design Model: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate with NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) mindset
My Logo Design Process
When deciding what my logo would look like I took the long way. I spent more time deciding the colors and images that would best represent my vision for my capstone project. Eventually I decided on the idea of a map, though it took a while to find one I liked. The map inside the computer showed my idea for my title: technology navigation. I also decided to use the navigation symbols to mark the map in a few places and have those match my color choices.