Module 2

Module 2 Analysis: Addressing Technology Challenges and Needs Sarah Cohen American College of Education ET5083: Instructional Technology Systems Management Dr. Larry Simmons August 30, 2023

Rubric for eLearning Tool Evaluation

Rubric

When it comes down to deciding what instructional tools teachers should be using in a classroom, it is important we make the right decisions and look through many different criteria points. What I like most about this rubric is the fact that it is split into large sections. Functionality, accessibility, technical, mobile design, privacy data protection and rights, social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence. Each one of these categories is extremely important in teachers' everyday life. Within each category there are subcategories that allow the instructional coach to dive in even closer when deciding if the new tech tool is going to be bringing it into the classroom. As a result of this rubric being so detailed, it offers such a great deal of evaluation that really allows us to make sure it has all of the necessary material that teachers need to make this a valuable tool for everyone in the school.

A Criteria Checklist for Evaluating Educational Software

Rubric

The two most important categories we should be looking at when discussing technology tools are the content and support they need. This rubric is very organized and provides us with a very easy evaluation process. It asks questions about content, support, assessment, cost, ease of use, and reviews. The topic that stood out to me the most was its reviews, it is extremely important to research how other schools used this tool and what they thought about it. Listening to other teachers and their own experiences will always provide detailed feedback and help people decide if the device is worth using or not. Ease of use is also a very important category because there are teachers of all ages in a school. If there is a teacher who doesn’t have as great of technology knowledge as others, this tool will not benefit everyone. The details of this rubric allow the researcher to understand if the device is suitable for the school.

Instructional Resources

Resources/Objects

It is extremely important that when you are looking for instructional resources, it is all in an organized manner. There are many tabs that allow the viewer different explore different options within the website. It provides opportunities for different delivery modes, learning outcomes, and accessibility considerations. There are countless amount of strategies that teachers can use when bringing in these resources within their classroom. It also allows you to locate a specific task that you need to fit your needs. For example, if you need help with classroom management, there is a whole section that provides the teacher with different support. There are also checklists attached to the website to help guide researchers to see which topic would help most in their area.

Instructional resource

On the home page of this website, it lists the different ways you can use instructional resources within your classroom. Similar to the other resources, it has specific tabs to help organize the website and make it easier for the user to find what they are looking for. The topic I think is most valuable is the differentiated instruction tools. This can be one of the most difficult tasks, making your lessons accessible to all learners. This website helps make it a little easier by giving tips and ideas on how to help support all your students in your classroom. This is a great tool to use when you can’t think of any other ways to enhance your classroom by yourself and you want to look somewhere without having to ask a person in your department.

Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a great tool that all teachers can use within their classrooms. This software is constantly being updated within Google and keeps the schools informed on what their next move is. This software allows all teachers within the district to be logged in and use this resource at the same time. It is a great way to have students do online learning and allow teachers to do more paperless activities. Teachers are able to post material on there, and post updates they want their students to know, and gives teachers the ability to test their students using other Google technology tools. Google Classroom also allows access to second-party tools that you can upload and post on this software. It provides so many different avenues for teachers to use.

Canvas

Canvas is another great example of a way that schools can unite everyone into one database. Canvas is a tool that allows classes to function as an online classroom and gives teachers plenty of opportunities to post material that they assign to their students. Many colleges use this tool as their main platform for their school, it provides many online resources for their students to use for their own benefit in their classroom. Teachers are also able to post quizzes and tests so their students can take them online instead of having them come into a classroom. Canvas has made it very easy for colleges to continue online learning when there are different factors that keep us all from coming to in-person classes.

An Exploration of the Effectiveness of SIS in Managing Student Performance

Effectiveness of SIS

This article by Sylvester Ngoma is a great article to use when someone wants to learn about the effectiveness of SIS. An Exploration of the Effectiveness of SIS in Managing Student Performance, by Sylvestor Ngomo states that SIS is “an integrated software package that maintains, supports, and provides inquiry, analysis, and communication tools that organize student accountability data into information to support the educational process” (pg. 5). This writer argues that it is important for schools to take this data because it will help benefit the school as a whole. It will provide the school with the information they need to better help their teachers educate their students. It argues that having individualized data on each student will help track student progress and help them with their own needs.

Effectiveness of SIS

Student Information Systems

This article talks about what SIS is and why it is such an important topic right now. It provides information on the reasoning why so many people are pushing to have access to this, especially at the higher education level. Student Information Systems, written by Luke Edwards (2022), states that SIS includes, “personal student information, grades, records of tests, attendance, appraisal performance, and plenty more” (pg. 1). The argument is that this system allows the school to track progress and performance on their students better. It can help the school show off the information about each of their students, but it can also help the school figure out ways that they can improve. This article provides lots of positives and negatives on the SIS system.

References

Anstey, Lauren. (2018). Rubric for eLearning Tool Evaluation. Western University. https://teaching.uwo.ca/pdf/elearning/Rubric-for-eLearning-Tool-Evaluation.pdf Canvas. (2023). Canvas By Instructure. Canvas. https://www.instructure.com/canvas Edwards, Luke. (March 29, 2022). Student Information Systems. Teach & Learning. https://www.techlearning.com/news/student-information-systems Google Classroom. (2023). Where Teaching and Learning Come Together. Google for Education. https://edu.google.com/intl/ALL_us/workspace-for-education/classroom/ M. Vanessa & C. Jane. (2023). Instructional Resources. Centre for Innovation in Teaching & Learning. https://blog.citl.mun.ca/instructionalresources/ Ngoma, Sylvester. (December 15, 2009). An Exploration of the Effectiveness of SIS in Managing Student Performance. Foundations of Information Technology and Scientific and Technical Visualization. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED507625.pdf Northwest School District. (2013). Microsoft Word Criteria Checklist for Software. Northwest School District. http://kcnwsd.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/69131246/Criteria%20Checklist%20for%20Software University of California. (2023). Instructional Resources. Smarter Balanced. https://smartertoolsforteachers.org/landing/instructional M. Vanessa & C. Jane. (2023). Instructional Resources. Centre for Innovation in Teaching & Learning. https://blog.citl.mun.ca/instructionalresources/