My thoughts on INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY METHODS:

I took this class as a beginning vocational business teacher. I had no formal training in lesson planning prior to the class with the exception of a three-week training session for new teachers (New Teacher Institute, CMSU, Warrensburg, MO) so this class was a very good learning experience for me. I was very happy to be introduced to some of premises and practices of Instructional Technology by covering design models such as ADDIE and PADDIE. Learning about instructional design and how to create activities and processes to direct my students was especially helpful. It aided me in building a base of information for all subsequent lesson plans.

The class also covered eye-opening topics such as the “digital divide” (defined as “those who use the computer and the Internet and those who do not"), and assistive technology. Studying the digital divide found in the U.S. made me aware of the problems certain age groups and income levels encountered in their ability to use technology or obtain access to it. I appreciated learning about it because it gave me insight into what I was sometimes encountering among students in my own classes. A large percentage of them did not have computers at home due to their socioeconomic status and had to rely on the school to learn how to use computers and also to have access to the Internet. A result of the divide was that some students were enrolled in my class who had much weaker computer skills than others. This class helped me identify those students and gave me a better understanding of their needs so that I had empathy for their situations and more patience with their lack of skills.

The assistive technology portion of the class gave me information on emerging technologies that help enable those with disabilities to use computers and give them more function in a digital world. A plethora of software and hardware was covered so that students of the class became more aware of the technologies and where and how to find them. Another item that I enjoyed learning about was the concept of graphic organizers. I found them to be a useful tool in initiating new students to topics they would be learning in my high school Multimedia class. We also explored “WebQuests”, an online tool for administering Internet lesson plans.

	ARTIFACTS
NaturalSpeak - .rtf (57 kb)	ID Project - .rtf (36 kb)	Graphic Organizer
	WebQuest