ETEC565A ePortfolio

During my drive home from work, NPR’s “All Things Considered” had a story titled The E-Textbook Experiment Turns A Page, comparing traditional textbooks, and various digitals forms. While I was listening, I found myself thinking about the different formats for textbooks in terms of the SECTIONS model, and the 7 principles.

The CEO of a company that designs e-textbooks for the iPad emphasized how e-textbooks incorporate features that promote active learning.

A professor who has used e-textboooks praised the iPad for ease of use and interactivity compared to the Kindle, saying “The problem is that the Kindle is less interactive than a piece of paper . . .” The professor went on to praise the interactivity of paper, which allows quick notes and highlighting.

Students were concerned about cost, questioning whether the iPad could be used for enough purposes to justify its purchase, noting that “there are programs I could use for a laptop that would also allow me to annotate.”

Some students expressed individual preferences for different formats. Contrast these reactions to the iPad: “It still is a fun toy, but it also … makes it really easy to read articles for class.” versus “It’s ridiculously hard. I don’t like the keyboard at all.”

This program reminded me of the discussion in our science department, before our recent purchase of e-textbooks.  We made our decision based on cost factors, ease of use, availability of interactive features, and because we felt that e-textbooks could help us provide for the diverse learning styles of our students – all factors that were emphasized in the broadcast.

This is an interesting time of year to be reviewing these standards; it’s the start of the school year, with my new Physics class completing their online orientation, and the Principal of our alternative high school stating that curriculum development will be a priority this year.  I can see opportunities for enriching the learning environment, and supporting students learning as I read the ISTE standards.  This is also the time of year that I set my own goals, in my Annual Learning Plan.  Reflecting on the standards helps me to articulate my plan for growth and leadership.

I recognize the first standard, Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity, as a central challenge for me, in teaching online.  In this course, I hope to learn ways to model creative thinking for students.  I encourage students to use discussion boards to increase their engagement with real world applications, and model problem-solving for them using screencaptures (with smartboard).  I would like to learn more about facilitating discussions in order to increase student interaction, and want to explore blogs.  For example, I could have a blog about how the concepts of our Physics course apply in the world around us. 

The second standard, Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments, is particularly relevant to my face-to-face work with my alternative students.  The curriculum we use is print-based, and students use computers mainly for research, and as word-processors.  I am working with a team of teachers to enrich our learning materials using digital tools, and to provide for students’ diverse learning preferences.  Our school consists of many, small campuses, so our students generally work in isolation on their courses, interacting mostly with their teacher.  In this course, I want to learn ways to provide for interaction among students at different campuses.

The fifth standard encourages me to think about my professional growth and how I develop my leadership skills.  I promote the use of digital tools within our school, and act, on an informal basis, as a mentor for less experienced online teachers.  Through this course, I want to improve my teaching, and I’m looking forward to learning together with everyone in this class.