Unit 5 Reflection: Assistive Technology

It was interesting thinking about assistive technology from the teacher/instructor perspective the past two weeks. I grew up with a sister with significant physical disabilities. She is wheeelchair bound and only has limited functioning of her left hand; no use of the right. She struggled through school more so physically and socially than academically, but they were linked. Her disabilities were a hindrance to fitting in with other students, which as had a negative impact on her learning in a small public school system.

My parents enrolled her in Durant-Tuury Mott school in Flint which was a school devoted to students with disabilities at the time. A Google search shows it is now a montessori school. I would go with her and my parents for assessments and they had rooms full of adaptive equipment to handle almost any physical limitation. What they did not have at the time was the digital technology that would have helped a tremendous deal. This was in the early 80's. She did well at DTM, though it was a segregated system now frowned upon.

In the early 90's, my parents bought us a Nintendo NES. I took total advantage of this and played too much (don't tell my kids who complain about our stricter screen-time rules :) My parents witnessed my sister sitting back watching me play without any engagement, so they purchased the EMiO - The Edge Joystick so my sister could play along.

You can see in the above pic the size difference form the original. It was GINORMOUS in comparison. I spent more time helping her push a button she couldn't so her game would not end so soon, but it worked. We were playing together. All in all it was a success in getting my sister and me to engage each other more meaningfully. My parent's only regret was that the controller did not plug into the Commodore 64.

How does this apply to the class topics? We reviewed UDL and standards governing access to technologies so students have more equal chance of success. We discussed the practical use of such technologies, and how they can aid in assessments to facilitate education. From my history and experience, the value in assistive technology is deeper than engaging technology to access the same learning content as the other students, but also the supportive social context that fosters learning. When learners are left out and unable to engage, there is an indirect ostracizing that can impact the emotional development and investment in the learning community. Participation is key.

Digital technology has brought much learning content in the classroom to a more accessible platform. Though some students may still need some support to engage the technology fully, this is far ahead from where we have come.

Unit 4: Realistic Enhanced Assessments Using Technology

There was a lot covered these past 2 weeks that also included Spring Break and a midterm paper!

It was good to review Weeks 7/8 & 10 to see how all the elements flow together to address a
seemingly simple topic yet has many depths and resources to explore for Unit 4: Technology in Assessment.

Being relatively new to the education and technology field, I was not aware of the numerous resources
available to instructors that can assist with assessments. The adult learning environment that I am
engaged filters some of the tools that seemingly apply to k-12 education; however, the aspects and
tools used game me ideas for qualities that I am exploring for adult instruction and use of technology.

The most appealing technologies to me included the virtual reality sims presented by BK in Week 10.
Simulations are vastly popular in healthcare because they offer a safe environment for practicing skills
that would otherwise add risk or cause harm to patients in the real world. As exciting as technology may
take us, there are a few considerations that cause some pause to fully pursue these tools:

1. Alignment with learning objectives, instructional strategies and assessment. The virtual reality sims appear to be designed to aid instruction in a somewhat narrow field of instructional engagement. This is fine as long as the instructional goals fit within the parameters of the sims, and as long as the data collection and reporting features are also aligned with the learning objectives and instructional strategies.
2. Cost. Education is a significant industry that affords many opportunities for entrepreneurs to develop innovative instructional delivery tools including technologies. These technologies come at a cost. Like text books when i was in elementary school, the rich schools has the newly published and printed books, while poorer schools used their leftovers. Can the technologies be affordable enough to reach broad applications and audiences?
3. Accessibility. The latest development of apps brings many tools for use in the classroom. Most older kids and adults have access to tablets and smartphones that allow for downloading apps for use. The assessment technologies explored in Week 8 shed some light on the exciting use of these in classrooms, though I smirked when I saw the video with each student sitting in a circle with an ipad at their seat. My kids go to a charter school, and are not issued or told they need to have smart devices to engage in their education. Cousins attending Byron Center are given MacBooks. The disparity is interesting, and I question the fairness in the economic aspects of education and opportunities for kids who don’t have either personal or school resources to keep up with technology trends.

Lastly, as national education standards are starting to expect better use of data in the classroom requiring use of such assessment technology, will the proper resources be provided to the students AND the educators for proper use of the technology? The data output is only as good as the quality of input, and there is a growing pressure on instructors and schools to become data managers as it relates to use of technology and formative assessments.

I am looking forward to  incorporate technologies discussed in Unit 4, and feel more prepared with the
theory to select the tools that will enhance the curriculum, instruction and direction for student growth!

Unit 3: Applying Technology in Assessments

There was a lot covered these past 2 weeks that also included Spring Break and a midterm paper!

It was good to review Weeks 7/8 & 10 to see how all the elements flow together to address a
seemingly simple topic yet has many depths and resources to explore for Unit 4: Technology in Assessment.

Being relatively new to the education and technology field, I was not aware of the numerous resources
available to instructors that can assist with assessments. The adult learning environment that I am
engaged filters some of the tools that seemingly apply to k-12 education; however, the aspects and
tools used game me ideas for qualities that I am exploring for adult instruction and use of technology.

The most appealing technologies to me included the virtual reality sims presented by BK in Week 10.
Simulations are vastly popular in healthcare because they offer a safe environment for practicing skills
that would otherwise add risk or cause harm to patients in the real world. As exciting as technology may
take us, there are a few considerations that cause some pause to fully pursue these tools:

1. Alignment with learning objectives, instructional strategies and assessment. The virtual reality sims appear to be designed to aid instruction in a somewhat narrow field of instructional engagement. This is fine as long as the instructional goals fit within the parameters of the sims, and as long as the data collection and reporting features are also aligned with the learning objectives and instructional strategies.
2. Cost. Education is a significant industry that affords many opportunities for entrepreneurs to develop innovative instructional delivery tools including technologies. These technologies come at a cost. Like text books when i was in elementary school, the rich schools has the newly published and printed books, while poorer schools used their leftovers. Can the technologies be affordable enough to reach broad applications and audiences?
3. Accessibility. The latest development of apps brings many tools for use in the classroom. Most older kids and adults have access to tablets and smartphones that allow for downloading apps for use. The assessment technologies explored in Week 8 shed some light on the exciting use of these in classrooms, though I smirked when I saw the video with each student sitting in a circle with an ipad at their seat. My kids go to a charter school, and are not issued or told they need to have smart devices to engage in their education. Cousins attending Byron Center are given MacBooks. The disparity is interesting, and I question the fairness in the economic aspects of education and opportunities for kids who don’t have either personal or school resources to keep up with technology trends.

Lastly, as national education standards are starting to expect better use of data in the classroom requiring use of such assessment technology, will the proper resources be provided to the students AND the educators for proper use of the technology? The data output is only as good as the quality of input, and there is a growing pressure on instructors and schools to become data managers as it relates to use of technology and formative assessments.

I am looking forward to  incorporate technologies discussed in Unit 4, and feel more prepared with the
theory to select the tools that will enhance the curriculum, instruction and direction for student growth!

Unit 2 Reflection: Finding the Assessment Sweet Spot

Much of the materials over the past two weeks challenge the traditional scientific methods for assessing student learning. Trends in education assessment are moving from evidence-based objectivism and more toward student/teacher sharing learning supported by the cognitive model where students learn from meaningful engagement of activities that challenge practical application of learning to solve situational problems.

I see this trend happening also in medical education where medical students are starting clinical training in year 1 of medical school. They are mostly shadowing providers and writing papers at this point, but they are learning by modeling practitioners on how the knowledge they are learning is applied in the practice of medicine.

http://phoenixmed.arizona.edu/education/md-admissions/md-program/curriculum/pre-clerkship-curriculum-years-1-and-2

Accreditation for medical and other programs are now requiring elements of interprofessional education and practice, meaning students are required to have exposure and exhibit competencies on how to work with other health professionals as team-members. The assessments to measure such competencies are up to the individual schools, but from my experience with a few projects a local college uses assessments from the medical preceptor as a summative assessment post-rotation. To me, this misses a significant learning opportunity for the student to be engaged in the assessment process and modify behaviors to meet the said benchmarks that rate competencies.

Sticking to areas of influence I have over the education programs I run,  I am challenged on the movement away from scientific models of assessment as a means to gather generalizable data to report on education trends and effectiveness. As an educator, my primary responsibility is to ensure students are no only learning, but also gaining skills on how to apply knowledge in the work environment. I have to employ a battery of assessments as discussed in the exploratory activities to address multiple needs including:

• authentic assessment: to ensure students meet measurable standards for knowledge on foundational blocks necessary for selection into job training and then into clinical training
• dynamic assessment: ensure students master medical documentation skills to be applied in clinical training. Timely, personalized feedback is provided to students for process improvement. This is done in classroom and simulation environments.
• competency assessment: students must prove ability to perform essential tasks in the clinical environment to be eligible for employment. Students are provided a peer assessment at the end of each training shift and given support for weak areas to improve. Often the knowledge was provided in the theory portion of the education, and told to "freshen up" on materials. 

I would love to explore ways to add more playful assessments as a way to include friendly, competition for students as incentive to learn the dryer aspects of the training, like medical terminology and medications. We have added Blackboard badges and certificates as a summative assessment award for successfully passing certain lessons. But having intermediate challenges along the way would add additional benchmarks for motivation. I need to create a plan and seek approval from leadership, especially if this adds more time for students to an already lengthy training program. 

Unit 1 Reflection: Dirty Assessments and Definitions

Unit 1 Reflection

This unit opened my awareness to the complexity of assessments as they have been traditionally practiced in K-12 learning environment. I am over a job training program where the assessments are used to qualify students for the training, and then are formative through training to assess student aptitude of the lesson contents. We do use summative reporting as a way to view the class as a whole and summarize areas we can improve the delivery of this blended/online learning environment.

Newton (2007) challenged my perception "formative"and "summative" assessments asserting their is no unified definition or use of either; but rather, the intention of the assessment and use is what drives the modality, delivery, and use of the results.

I spent 10 or so years in clinical research where in science we begin with a hypothesis/theory and then test the theory using well understood methodologies, many including psychometrically validated instruments. We know through this process that the results we pull from the assessments have greater predictability for the intended use in addressing the stated problem.

In education, the assessments may or may not have rigorous testing.  When a validated instrument is used out of context of the originally intended population, the results can be skewed.  I spent a good year pouring over Nunnally & Bernein's book on Psychometric Theory (1979) for a research project I developed:

https://books.google.com/books/about/Psychometric_theory.html?id=WE59AAAAMAAJ

It is heavy in constructivist/behavioral theory that references Dewey and Skinner on predictive responses to set questions that relate to behaviors/perceptions from test takers.
What I learned through this book and applying some of the methodologies is how variable the responses are based on the test taker's perspective and understanding of the test questions themselves! It is important that the tests used and results gathered are used for the intended purpose. Policy makers who summarize results from population targeted studies and apply broad brushes to larger groups are very misleaded! In a strict sense, broad conclusions are invalid and should not be used!

On another point, there is a real practical challenge with tying assessments that aid with a iterative learning process and teaching dynamic in a timely fashion that is meaningful in real time.  In research, we have some great ideas on the information we'd like to collect, but by the time it is gleaned, cleaned, analyzed and written up, by the time of publication the results are obsolete (in manuscript development). This is where technology can help with rapid feedback to instructors and students. If the testing is automated with programming to autograde can help reinforce learning for students.  Of course, not one solution fits all, as some assessments may need to be catered to address student specific needs, such as learning and testing difficulties.

Ideally, I wish to use assessments that feed to an iterative process that is ongoing. Use of technology allows for a timely feedback when using systems that provide reliable data that applies to the student accurately.