Week 12 - Technology Plan (Padlet-enabled)

           The technology plan consists of the software and apps that will be used to help students learn about visual and media literacy.  There is also a YouTube channel with tutorial videos about those tools, which will be a key component of the learning process. It provides visual stimulation, but there is also narration and music components to some of the examples. Therefore, students learn about visual literacy through visual literacy mediums.

            The initial inventory of tools originated from my process of trial and error during the multimedia critique process.  Also, as my confidence improved in using multimedia tools to create a variety of design projects, I identified additional tools that could provide a wide variety of effects and output.  I think this is a natural effect of these tech education courses in that the student and teacher has a newer experience with Web 2.0 that they can reflect on when they are introduced to new concepts.

•      I like that the creation of technology plans begins with a planning committee where stakeholders from the different aspects of the program discuss their needs. I think my desire to create a pre-course survey relates to this step. I provide an initial listing, but there is flexibility for students to add more apps. I strove to provide examples of apps that had some visual appeal in terms of color scheme, use of music, creatively displaying serious data or statistics, and support self-expression for a variety of personalities. The vision statement is akin to the identification of the learning standards.  It helps the instructional designer focused on the most relevant and supportive tools because there are many tools that can fit a single purpose. I think if the vision statement is clear, a mission and goals section is not necessary.

•        The next important step was evaluating content of tutorial videos. These tools are documented in the class demo column. The tutorials helped guide students through the discovery process with lecturing and reading.  This supported the motto “learn by doing”. The videos needed to be easy to understand because course is designed for students not experienced with research.  I wanted to avoid information overload. The videos focus on initial steps to retrieve software and start a file. I included the link to the software as well as examples videos or pictures I created using that tool.

•       The length and tone of the tutorial videos needed to suit teen end-users.  I rarely picked videos that were more than 10 minutes. I even picked a video that had no narration, because it was an excellent screencast of the important features, and it was supported by modern upbeat music.

•       Additional tools I included were Google forms which can be used for formative assessments to help ensure that students are learning and understand how to apply the concepts. Google sheets will also be considered to help track assignments and project management templates to document class output and deadlines. This supports risks and priorities.