Carter's Adventures in Educational Technology

Using Backwards Design For my innovation project, I have to develop a course design using Fink's (n.d.) guide in order to create significant learning to be used for my blended learning of professional development of technology integration. At first, I was intimidated to write a whole course guide but then I fell back on my curriculum writing experience. The two are not so different, both start with you thinking of your end goal and then you work backward to determine the skills needed to get you there. Siedleck, n.d. I started by developing a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) for my learners; educators that I was assisting to integrate technology into their classroom. I asked myself what did I want them to remember and be able to do 2 - 3 years after they completed my course. My BHAG is that l earners will create a blended learning environment for their classroom which provides their learners Choice, Ownership, and Voice through Authentic learning opportunities ( COVA ).

To Do Is To Learn Venosdale, 2012       I believe that you have to experience something to really learn; think about when you were a kid and you were told “don't touch the stove, it's hot.” You never truly believe them until you touch the stove and experience the pain for yourself, I know because I was the one touching the stove.        Learning is a very active thing, you're making connections, reflecting on personal experience, and talking to people about it. You work to connect the newly acquired knowledge to prior knowledge so that it has context and meaning to you. M yself as a Learner       I  like to learn about things relevant to myself and applicable in my life. I learn best when I’m actively engaged real life applications. I don't learn very well in lecture-only atmospheres, my mind tends to drift if my hands are not engaged, therefore I learn best by doing. I also need to have a passion for the topic in order to motivate myself to continue le

3 Days of Learning Know Your Impact is a 3-day conference my school district holds in June. Each day has a different focus, classroom culture, innovative teaching practices, and social/emotional well being. I was thoroughly exhausted after the conference this year! Last year I only informed the teachers about registration then helped set up since I was a member of the information committee and once it started I was able to attend the sessions. This year my new position was part of the team that was running the whole shebang.  Early in October, we started contacting vendors for the expo, (it's a good thing they were all still calling me after ISTE!) I was to find 4 commercial and 4 local vendors. Next came finding teachers to present. Some were highly encouraged to present since they participated in our Google training for the Level 1 Certified Educator. Others I had to convince that they had something awesome to share with other teachers. (I think they know how hard teachers

Here's my reflection on A New Culture of Learning  by Thomas and Brown.  The three principals from A New Culture of Learning: - The internet has the most up-to-date information for learners. - Peer-to-peer learning is most natural for learners. - Collaboration happens in a collective of learners. Application within my  Innovation Plan : - Online resources for teachers to reference. - Working within the collective to build understanding. Resources ChangSchool. (2015, Dec 14). Dr Tony Bates on Building Effective Learning Environments. [Video File]. Retrieved from URL https://youtu.be/3xD_sLNGurA Harapnuik, D. (2015, May 8). Creating Significant Learning Environments (CSLE). [Video FIle]. Retrieved from URL https://youtu.be/eZ-c7rz7eT4   TEDx Talks. (2012, Sep 12). A New Culture of Learning, Douglas Thomas at TEDxUFM. [Video File]. Retrieved from URL https://youtu.be/lM80GXlyX0U   Thomas, D., & Brown, J. (2011). A new culture of learning . Lexing