Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
of teaching strategies and lesson plans, these were typically designed around the
notion of temporally and physically constrained resources (e.g., textbooks) within
the confines of a single classroom. The distributed and limitless access provided by
the Internet turns these assumptions on their head (Greenhow, Robelia & Hughes,
2009; Pea et al., 2008). In addition, while the resources may be available, accessible,
and meet quality standards—particularly with respect to content they are not always
ready for classroom use. In a very real sense, there is a gap between online learning
resources produced by researchers and content experts, and the practitioners, with
pedagogical expertise trying to adapt them for their own classrooms.
In the context of an 8-year research project, we have been focusing on two
related strands of research to help address these challenges. First, we have devel-
oped a simple, Web-based software tool that provides an important connection
between teachers, their teaching practices, and online learning resources. Begun
in 2001, the
Instructional Architect
(IA.usu.edu) helps teachers quickly and eas-
ily find and assemble online learning resources to design learning activities for
their students. Second, to support teacher usage of the IA while also support-
ing a broader goal of conducting research about the impact of using online
resources in the classroom, we have been iteratively developing and refining
a technology-focused teacher professional development (PD) model to support
teachers in integrating twenty-first century teaching and learning skills in their
classrooms.
The following chapter describes the IA and several iterations of our PD model,
as informed by evaluation results and best practices in the literature. As we will
describe, while our different PD models have been based on different instructional
models, the one common feature has been the use of authentic design problems. The
chapter concludes with a discussion of the impact of our work on teacher design
activities, and their classroom practices.
Technology Context: The Instructional Architect
Ultimately, teachers use the IA to create activities for their students that incor-
porate online learning resources built by others—including content experts and
researchers. We begin the description of the IA with two examples created by teach-
ers using our tool (see Figs. 15.1 and 15.2). The foreground of each figure shows
one of the teacher's selected online resources. The background shows the IA project
itself, created by the teacher.
As is apparent from the figures, teacher-created IA projects are fairly simple.
Typical teachers are not professional Web designers, nor should we expect them to
be. Instead, they are teaching professionals attempting to efficiently and effectively
address classroom and learning issues.
System description.
From the home page of the IA, users can (1)
browse
IA
projects, (2)
register
as a new user, or (3)
login
as a registered user or as guests with
reduced functionality.
