EDMD+7210-+Integration+of+Technology+into+Curriculum

Semester: Spring 2010

 * Summary:** This course provided students with hands-on experience with instructional technology. Students not only learned about how to integrate various programs into their instruction, but completed projects that could be used by the teacher for instruction or be assigned to students.

Roles of the Library Media Specialist

 * Program Administrator:** This course challenged me to operate in the role of program administrator because I was required to think about students' access to technology. Dr. Hur introduced us to several instructional technologies that are free to use (e.g., Audacity for podcasts) and therefore can be used in schools where there is minimal funding for technology to provide students and faculty access to programs beyond the standard productivity software. We were also required to write a position paper regarding whether or not technology is beneficial to a students' education. The position paper caused me to evaluate my experiences with technology as both a student and a teacher and the pros and cons I have faced within the duties of those two roles. While I cannot admit that instructional technologies are not infallible, I came to the conclusion that technology has improved education overall and that it is necessary for students to be introduced to it early in their educational careers so that they may successfully master 21st Century Skills by the time they graduate high school. As a program administrator, I will be required to evaluate and select instructional technologies for the students and faculty. The pros and cons that I thought about while writing the position paper for this course will help me in my future evaluations of technologies to determine if they will truly add to the educational experience of my students. Lastly, a program administrator must work in a collaborative environment and listen to the ideas of others. This course often challenged us to collaborate with others on in-class exercises and the group wiki project. By working with students who fulfill different roles in workplace (e.g., administrator, teacher, etc.) I learned to listen and respect ideas that differed from my own.


 * Information Specialist:** I worked in the capacity of information specialist during this course because I was challenged with the task of using instructional technologies to construct engaging learning tasks for my students as well as using these same programs for teacher instruction. For example, our podcast assignment required that we conduct a book talk. I could use this technology to provide previews to new items in the media center and post them on the center's website. By posting podcasts on the website, parents and community members would also have access to these previews and could see what the library is doing with its funding. This same technology could also be used by students to give an oral report to their teacher or post announcements on their classroom website.


 * Teacher:** I was required to operate in the role of a teacher in this course because I was challenged to consider how the technologies we were using could be used for teacher instruction. For example, PhotoStory could be used to create an introductory video to a unit on World War II. A teacher could also post this video on their website for students and parents to view at home. As a library media specialist, I would not only be responsible for educating students, but community members as well. I could use this program to create a tour video of the media center with voice over explaining how the physical layout and materials in the center support the libraries mission and goals. I could also use the technologies in this course to create tutorials for students and staff concerning new technologies acquired by the media center or on ethical issues such as copyright and plagiarism. I also learned about the benefits of using Web 2.0 tools such as blogs and wikis to complete group work and participate in class discussions. I can see using a blog for class discussions to keep track of who is participating and what content they are providing to the discussion.

Work Samples
media type="file" key="Podcast.mp3" width="240" height="20"

The podcast I recorded for this course was a book talk on Rick Riordian's //Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief//. This podcast is an information piece detailing how Riordian took historical fact and used creative license to create a fantasy book. It demonstrates the importance of ancient history to students as knowing what is fact and what is fiction will help them better understand Percy's story. This podcast is also evidence of my ability to use 21st Century tools and that a tool such as this could be posted on a library website to give students 24/7 access to instruction or even to advertise new library materials. I also had to utilize my knowledge of copyright as I purchased a song from the soundtrack of the film version of the book to use for the opening and closing of the podcast. Under fair use, I am allowed to use the music for this project, but I am only allowed to use 30 seconds or 10 percent (whichever is less).



The term paper required me to evaluate the effect of technology on student learning and whether or not it has been beneficial. I once again had to utilize information searching skills to find peer reviewed articles. I evaluated the evidence given in the research of these articles and my own experiences as a teacher and a student and came to the conclusion that technology has been more beneficial to education than harmful. As an library media specialist, the internet allows my students and me to gain access to resources beyond the library walls. Technology has been a god-send to information specialists in the K-12 library as it provides users with updated, as well as free resources.