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later. I would like to remake the mock crime scene as an interactive game to help the learner stay
engaged. Educational games are being used to help students learn all sorts of skills.
My last course EDTC 6332, Practicum in Educational Technology, was a tremendous learning
experience. This course as pure application of skills learned from all of my previous EDTC
courses. I had to identify a potential human performance problem and design, develop,
implement, and evaluate an instructional solution. The performance problem I identified was in
using an interactive polling application that our school district adopted. The interactive polling
application was Plickers. Plickers allows teachers to poll students using their district provided
iPads. What makes Plickers standout amongst other interactive polling applications is that
students do not need expensive equipment. Plickers uses paper student cards that the teacher
scans with their iPad. I chose to develop a face-to-face training for my Biology department since
we are under extreme pressure and limited time to cover biology topics before the STAAR
Biology EOC exam. This app will allow teachers to check student understanding before moving
on to a different topic or reporting category. Face-to-face instruction was chosen due to United
Independent School District requirements that all professional development by face-to-face. This
type of training allows the trainer to read the audience and give feedback immediately. My
proposal was approved and I began the design and development stage. During this stage I
developed the design document and instructional solution. The design document is a guide that
would allow anyone to deliver instruction to a group of learners. It included many different areas
such as goals analysis, learners and context analysis, and task analysis. These steps were needed
to develop a foundation for the instructional solution. Performance objectives were created for
the learners based on the task analysis. Assessment of learners was done using a checklist style
evaluation. Learners had to show mastery of skills by properly completing them during the
training. The instructional materials consisted of a trainer guide and learners guide. Both
included screen shots and easy to follow directions needed to complete learning objectives. A
learners checklist was included so that learners could track their progression throughout the
training. Before implementation, a summative evaluation was carried out to verify that learning
objectives were clearly stated and that the instructional materials were aligned as well. The
summative evaluation consisted of a one-on-one evaluation and a small group session. Both
summative evaluations were positive and very few modifications were needed. Full
implementation was carried out with the full biology department. Feedback from participants
was positive and the only major area of concern was the time needed to complete the training. I
will look into revising the amount of time needed or split the training in to two sessions. I would
like to convert this training to an fully online asynchronous solution for other teachers in my
district.
The M. E. in Educational Technology program has helped me to better understand how to
develop learning modules for different learners. I was so used to the lesson plan format that our
district makes us use that I would design lessons with out taking certain information into
consideration. One area I really would not focus on was a detailed learners analysis. When I
would create lessons plans, I knew that the learners were high school students and not much
thought was given about other characteristics they bring to the classroom. Unfortunately, I would
do the same when developing professional development training for peers. I now know that a
detailed learners analysis assists in designing effective instructional solutions.
I have also come to see how important time management is in developing simple lessons or full
instructional packages. Working as a teacher full time, juggling family responsibilities, and
completing course work has been challenging. We all have the same amount of time in a day but
some use that time more effectively and efficiently. Time management became increasingly
more important as I went through the M.E. program. As an instructional designer, I will be
responsible for ensuring that my projects are completed on time and within budget. Some tools I
found useful were apps that kept track of how much time was being spent on specific tasks and
gave a combined time for the overall project.
My goals for the future include acquiring a position in my school district's Instructional
Technology department as an Instructional Technology Specialist. The courses that I have taken
here at UTRGV have given me the necessary skills and tools to help develop training modules
for students and teachers. I am also researching other opportunities such as creating learning
applications for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. I have started informally
learning how to program using Swift. I have noticed a lack of quality education apps in the area
of biology and would like to concentrate on creating fun, exciting and educational applications.
The skills learned while pursuing my Masters in Educational Technology will be used to develop
these learning applications.
I would like to thank all of my instructors and classmates that have taught me and helped me to
achieve my goal. I look forward to meeting them at graduation and am excited about the new
profession I am about to be a part of.
Respectfully,
Christopher M. Birch