Running head: PORTFOLIO PROJECT: AN ANALYSIS OF A JIT LESSON 1

Portfolio Project: An Analysis of a JIT Lesson

Jason Cooper

OTL504- Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in 21st Century Learning

Colorado State University – Global Campus

Brenda Bagwell, PhD

April 4, 2018
PORTFOLIO PROJECT: AN ANALYSIS OF A JIT LESSON 2

Benefits of Using JIT Lesson and At-A-Glance Resources

Just-in-time mini lessons and at-a-glance resources offer many benefits for providing

effective instruction. Just-in-time lessons promote a more efficient use of time in the

classroom. By preparing with topic-relevant materials outside of class, students are

adequately prepared to be actively engaged in class. “Current research on learning indicates

that all new learning depends on the learner’s prior knowledge and current state of

understanding. If students’ initial understanding is not engaged, they may fail to grasp new

concepts they are taught, or...they may revert to their preconceptions outside of the

classroom” (NRC 2000).

At-a-glance resources are a constructive way of simplifying and streamlining

information for students. Organizing the most vital information in a clear and concise manner

is a great way to introduce a topic without overwhelming students with too much

information. Keeping information approachable and simple is a practical way of grabbing

students’ attention without intimidating them. Furthermore, at-a-glance resources reconfirms

what the most significant elements of the lesson are by highlighting them.

The Lesson

In week 7, I taught my just-in-time lesson from our week 6: “What is your plan?” assignment

to my 5th grade social studies class on African history. This lesson included how students

should handle misuse of technology, access issues, hardware and software issues, and

materials regarding using technology for school research in our school’s computer lab. The

following is the updated at-a-glance resource I used for the lesson.

PORTFOLIO PROJECT: AN ANALYSIS OF A JIT LESSON 3

Obstacle Solution Support Ideas to Reduce the

Person/ Likelihood of Occurrence

Materials

Students misuse of I will tell my The ICT Because my school is very

technology students that using teacher and limited when it comes to
technology is a myself will be use of technology, the
privilege at our available to students are very
school. Privileges help students appreciative of when we
can be taken away if if they have have the opportunity to use
misused. any questions the computer lab. Due to
about what this fact, daily reminders to
qualifies as my students that I can
misuse. The revoke their privilege of
ICT teacher using the computer lab
will be my should suffice as a means
support for of prevention. One positive
handling reminder that I can use as
students’ reinforcement is keeping
misuse of track of when students use
technology. the lab responsibly and
giving them a star on their
homeroom “star charts” if
they do so 5 times in a row.
The stars go towards candy
and homework passes.
Access issues Students will be The ICT Understanding my school’s
logged on using the teacher will network firewall system
ICT teacher’s login provide his will help reduce the
information. He login likelihood of access issues
changes his information because I can explain to
password if a student for the my students beforehand if
has an issue and is students. and why something that
restricted from using may be of interest could be
the school’s blocked.
computers. There are
restrictions for what
can be accessed
from the school’s
computers. Students
are not allowed to
have personal
devices on school
grounds.
Hardware/ software The ICT teacher is The ICT I can limit if students cause
issues always present in the teacher will an issue with a computer
computer lab when be my support by reminding them to
there are issues. if a student respect the equipment and
PORTFOLIO PROJECT: AN ANALYSIS OF A JIT LESSON 4

Furthermore, my cannot ask the ICT teacher if their

social studies classes connect to the computer has a problem.
are rather small (5- internet or However, sometimes
11 students). If there computer technology can be faulty.
is an issue with a malfunctions. In these cases, I will defer
student’s computer, There is an IT to the ICT teacher.
we can simply move technician on
them to another call if the ICT
workstation. teacher cannot
figure out a
solution.
Materials During my lesson The ICT If there is a source that is
planning time, I will teacher will blocked from the school’s
go to the computer support me network that I want to use,
lab and search for and help find I will access it from my
any sources that may a solution if a home’s internet connection
be of interest for my valuable and see if it is, indeed,
teaching or for source is inappropriate or worthy of
students’ research. If blocked. being blocked.
I notice something
seemingly valuable
is blocked, I can ask
the ICT teacher.

Critical Analysis

Besides the lessons that I have implemented because of this Social, Ethical, and Legal

Issues in 21st Century Learning course, I realized students at the International School of

Oman are rarely exposed to technology education outside of ICT class. Most students are

pleasantly surprised when I bring up such topics. Perhaps the novelty of their English/ Social

Studies teacher discussing technology stands out and grabs their attention. In any case, my

students were very responsive to the understanding that using technology is a privilege, not a

right, and that this privilege can be taken away if misused. Although the ICT department at

my school is rather small, the individual teachers are effective and have positive relationships

with my students. Because of this, the fact that I use the ICT teachers as my support when

using technology was not only a nonissue, but actually gave my students more security and

encouragement that if a problem arises, they simply need to ask for assistance to solve it.
PORTFOLIO PROJECT: AN ANALYSIS OF A JIT LESSON 5

Because space is limited in our computer lab, a student asked about computer

availability if there is another class present in the lab simultaneously as our class. I simply

addressed it by reminding her that our lab works on a schedule so there should not be an issue

as long as I book the lab early enough. Another student asked if they would have to pay for

any damage in the case of harming the school’s computer or other equipment. First, I

reminded the class that we need to be extra careful when in the computer lab because of the

high costs of the equipment and to treat the property with respect. However, if a student were

to damage any equipment, I assured them that it would be dealt with on a case-by-case

scenario. Intent, cost of damage, and the degree of damage would all be considered when

administration would handle these issues. I concluded by reminding them, that as long as we

act with care and foresight, most accidents can be prevented.

Just-In-Time Teaching

Just-in-time teaching allows for more efficient teaching. Because of this, I plan to

continue to implement it in future lessons. When introducing units that students haven’t been

widely exposed to, I will create just-in-time lessons for them to review outside of class.

Providing a panoramic introduction to a subject provides context for what will be taught as

well as stimulate any prior knowledge.

My school is planning on moving into a new building next school year. In the new

building, we will be using technology much more often. There will be a big learning curve at

the beginning of the year both, for the teachers as well as the students. I plan on using just-in-

time teaching to explain proper use and etiquette of tablets, smartboards, and any potential

online aspects of hybrid classes. In Oman, the pace of things can be rather slow compared to

the US so there is still a chance that we do not move into the new building. If this is the case,

I still plan to use just-in-time teaching to introduce English grammar topics and subtopics
PORTFOLIO PROJECT: AN ANALYSIS OF A JIT LESSON 6

with easy to read at-a-glance resources so students can see clearly how different categories of

a grammar topic are related. For example, I plan to create an at-a-glance resource on nouns

that includes pronouns, common vs. proper nouns, and singular vs. plural nouns.

Standards Integration

My school’s technology use is limited so whilst I did integrate some ISTE standards

with my school’s curriculum standards, there is still room for improvement. The standard that

has been best implemented is guiding my students into slowly becoming digital citizens in

school. My just-in-time lessons on “safe and effective web-searching” and “fair use and

copyright compliance” provided instruction for how students can “engage in a positive, safe,

legal and ethical behaviour when using technology, including social interactions online or

when using networked devices” (2018). These lessons were successfully integrated because I

had social studies research projects that required use of the computer lab. Again, once my

school moves into the new building and our technology is updated, my opportunities to use

ISTE standards alongside curriculum-based lessons will expand. While I currently have my

English students set their own personal learning goals on spelling tests and comprehension

assignments, this does not involve technology. I look forward to teaching my students how to

become empowered learners by articulating personal learning goals and developing strategies

using technology to achieve them by using online studying resources, Google spreadsheets to

keep track of their progress, and instant feedback from hybrid course resources next school

year.

Reflection

“Many of the materials on web credibility were state-of-the-art in 1999. So much has

changed but many schools are stuck in the past,” said Joel Breakstone (Donald, 2016).

Unfortunately, my school is “stuck in the past”. While modern schools have many social,
PORTFOLIO PROJECT: AN ANALYSIS OF A JIT LESSON 7

ethical, and legal issues that they face, my school, for the time being, doesn’t have an

abundance simply because of the lack of use of technology. That being said, there are still

issues currently present at my school regarding technology. These issues include fair use and

copyright compliance policies and online privacy policies.

Regarding fair use and copyright compliance policies, I was astounded to discover

how little exposure my students had to these issues. For the most part, my students were

unaware of the idea of plagiarism and the fact that you cannot use someone’s work without at

least citing it. This is due, in part, to the fact that my school does not assign many research

papers or projects. When I brought this issue up to administration, they explained, admittedly,

that their curriculum is behind the times compared to the western world. However, upon

further investigation, I discovered my school is ahead of and more progressive than every

other school in my city, Muscat, except for the American school (which implements

American curriculum). Because of this Social, Ethical, and Legal Issues in the 21st Century

course, I have asked a plethora of questions to administration regarding these issues and there

have been talks of me presenting workshops addressing these issues once we move into the

new building and implement more technology into our curriculum. As a result, moving

forward, I plan on using The Center for Digital Education’s “Guide to Choosing Digital

Content and Curriculum” as a basis for these workshops. In the guide, it states “The most

difficult part of this mind shift is the gradual release of control required for students to take

ownership” (Rey, Laufenberg, & Bjerede, 2016). Because of this course, I now feel

adequately prepared for the opportunity to help bring my school into the 21st century and

allowing my students to continue to take responsibility for their learning using technology.
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References

Donald, B. (2016, November 22). Stanford researchers find students have trouble judging the

credibility of information online. Retrieved April 4, 2018, from

https://ed.stanford.edu/news/stanford-researchers-find-students-have-trouble-judging-

credibility-information-online

ISTE Standards for students. (2018). Retrieved April 7, 2018, from

https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students

National Research Council (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School,

Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., and Cocking, R.R., eds. Washington, D.C.: National

Academy Press. (accessed April 6, 2018).

Rey, K., Laufenberg, D., & Bjerede, M. (2016). Guide to choosing digital content and

curriculum. Retrieved April 4, 2018, from https://cosn.org/sites/default/files/CDE16

DOE GUIDE_V.pdf