Artifact 5

Context & Conditions

The following website on Assistive Technology and Structures of the Brain was created for my EDET 735: Technological Applications for Diverse populations class. This class was completed in my second to last semester in the Learning Technologies and Design master’s program.

The final project for this class was to create an accessible website with the topic about a previous lesson plan I completed in the course by also including information about diverse populations, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and assistive technology. The topic I did the previous lesson plan for was about Structures of the Brain and how it can include all learners in my classroom. This website was designed for others to come to, to see how UDL and assistive technologies can be utilized within social studies for diverse populations. Additional research articles and blogs are summarized and included. The website also includes a barrier to learning chart with resources to better suit all learners within the classroom. Additionally, an accessible PowerPoint about the Structures of the Brain is included for teachers to utilize as well and to aid diverse learners.

Scope

The overall goal of the website was to create an accessible website and to recognize ways to provide assistive technology and UDL to diverse students for other teachers. With this website, several assignments from the course were included. This project also aided in my experience with designing websites.

Role

I independently designed and developed this accessible website. I am not a SME on how to expertly implement assistive technology and UDL within my classroom, so additional peer-reviewed articles are included within the website. These peer-reviewed articles did a great job at educating me further.

Instructional Design

Designing this website involved the Learner Characteristics and Development of Instruction steps of the MRK model (Morrison et al., 2013). When creating this website, it was crucial that I was aware of the accessibility functions that I needed to include to fit the target audience of the website. This also reflects the Analyze stage of ADDIE since I was determining the characteristics of my learners to properly communicate information (Allen, 2006).

Related Performance Indicators

AECT Standard 3: Candidates facilitate learning by creating, using, evaluating, and managing effective learning environments (Association for Educational Communications and Technology, 2012).

Indicators:

• Creating – Candidates create instructional design products based on learning principles and research-based best practices.
• Using – Candidates make professionally sound decisions in selecting appropriate processes and resources to provide optimal conditions for learning based on principles, theories, and effective practices.
• Assessing/Evaluating – Candidates use multiple assessment strategies to collect data for informing decisions to improve instructional practice, learner outcomes, and the learning environment.
• Managing – Candidates establish mechanisms for maintaining the technology infrastructure to improve learning and performance.
• Ethics – Candidates foster a learning environment in which ethics guide practice that promotes health, safety, best practice, and respect for copyright, Fair Use, and appropriate open access to resources.
• Diversity of Learners – Candidates foster a learning community that empowers learners with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities.

Reflection

This website/project was my first time truly developing an item with accessibility guidelines being the focus. Until this class, it had never really been on my mind, and now, since that class, it is all I think about when creating a product. Previous websites or modules like the Prototype from EDET 722 or the eLearning Product from EDET 703, did not have accessibility features included, nor were they even a thought. Items such as screen reader friendliness and al text were not included. Looking back now, I would absolutely include them and will continue to include accessibility features when possible. This portfolio is also another example of how I have improved and grown from this course by utilizing accessibility features throughout.

For this project, alt images, high contrast text, and screen reader capabilities were incorporated throughout. Information such as an accessible lesson plan and barriers to learning chart are also included within the website. While accessibility may not make the website look as “pretty” the fact that diverse learners are able to utilize the website makes up for it.

Context & Conditions

The Front-End Analysis was created in EDET 722: Instructional Design and Assessment in the first semester of my Learning Design and Technologies master’s program. The Needs Assessment and Analysis are sections of an overall Instructional Design Document. After the Needs Assessment and Analysis were completed, a task analysis, assessment items, objectives, sequencing/pre-instructional strategies, instructional strategy, and formative evaluation plan were completed. The Instructional Design Document was utilized to develop a PowerPoint Prototype on the Prohibition.

The Needs Assessment introduced the purpose, process, results, and recommendations of the prototype along with the target audience being high school social studies students enrolled in World and U.S. History. The purpose of the prototype was to create a module on the Prohibition due to the school year not allowing time for an in-depth chapter about the Prohibition. By conducting a needs assessment, students were able to express if they were interested in the Prohibition, their level of knowledge, and what specifically interested them. The needs assessment then went on to explain how this information will be collected for the 10-12^th grade social studies students. Students were to complete a Google Forms survey to be able to assess their needs for this prototype. The results indicated that overall, about 83% of students had heard of the Prohibition, but that about 92% wanted to learn more. Students were generally interested in learning more about how the Prohibition influenced gangsters, why the Prohibition occurred, if only the United States was affected, and about speakeasies. By conducting a needs assessment, I was able to better design the prototype to include items of interest and ensure effective and efficient instruction.

An Analysis Report was also conducted. The goal analysis started with 13 goals and was refined down to three. A learner analysis was then conducted to find out background information and prior knowledge. All participants were to be students 15-18 enrolled in high school College Preparatory or Honors World and/or United States History classes. Students were to also be fluent in reading, writing, speaking, and listening in English; have at least a 6th grade reading level; be motivated to learn about the Prohibition; and know how to use basic technology. Lastly, a contextual analysis was completed. Within the orienting context, it clarified which students were in which class and that only was participant was not interested in learning more about the Prohibition. Within the instructional context, it stated that the self-guided prototype would be available within the LMS used for the class. The transfer context then described which unit this prototype would best fit into for full comprehension.

Scope

The purpose of the Needs Assessment and Analysis Plan was to effectively collect data to assess student interests within the diverse learning environment. While this was connected to an overall larger document, this assignment was my first time conducting a Front-End Analysis.

Role

I independently created this Instructional Design Document. No SME was conducted on this, besides feedback / improvements from my instructor.

Instructional Design

Incorporating the MRK model, this needs assessment and analysis report would reflect Instructional Problems and Learner Characteristics (Morrison et al., 2013). A needs assessment provides information to make decisions throughout the design process easier (Morrison et al., 2013). Learner Characteristics are utilized within the analysis stage to learn about the students taking the module and be able to have a better understanding of the learners by incorporating a contextual analysis (Morrison et al., 2013). This Front-End analysis would be part of the analysis stage where we are utilizing the needs assessment to understand the gaps in learning that need to be filled (Allen, 2006).

Related Performance Indicators

AECT Standard 3: Candidates facilitate learning by creating, using, evaluating, and managing effective learning environments (Association for Educational Communications and Technology, 2012).

Indicators:

• Creating – Candidates create instructional design products based on learning principles and research-based best practices.
• Using – Candidates make professionally sound decisions in selecting appropriate processes and resources to provide optimal conditions for learning based on principles, theories, and effective practices.
• Assessing/Evaluating – Candidates use multiple assessment strategies to collect data for informing decisions to improve instructional practice, learner outcomes, and the learning environment.
• Managing – Candidates establish mechanisms for maintaining the technology infrastructure to improve learning and performance.
• Ethics – Candidates foster a learning environment in which ethics guide practice that promotes health, safety, best practice, and respect for copyright, Fair Use, and appropriate open access to resources.
• Diversity of Learners – Candidates foster a learning community that empowers learners with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities.

Reflection

When creating this Instructional Design Document, I truly had no idea what was going on nor the purpose of it. When creating this, I truly thought it was a waste of time and would be easier to just make the actual product without designing it in the document first. Due to this being one of my first classes in the program, I now know the purpose and importance of these design documents. The goal is that is better suited for learners due to the analysis’s throughout and so that any developer could pick this document up and be able to develop the product without having to know the content.

When looking specifically at the needs assessment and analysis sections, I have grown to learn how important needs assessment are for effective instruction. Throughout my internship experience, I had “real world” experience with a different needs assessment and truly got to see how important and effective they are. Needs assessments are ways to gather data on learner knowledges and interest to better cater instruction to them. By completing the analysis plan I was able to see what to specifically teach about for better engagement.

Overall, I believe this document still is very well done and is one document I often looked back on to reference for other assignments.