Defining the Field

1. How do the definitions in the first chapter compare to your own definition of instructional or educational technology?  What experiences or other influences have shaped your definition? How has your definition changed from examining the definitions in the first chapter of this book?

When I first began in education I would have said that my definition of instructional technology agreed with older definitions that included the hardware aspect of it. As I have experienced more in education and the changing of expectations, I would say that my definition heavily agrees with the AECT recent definition. The improve performance aspect is a strong factor for me because the classroom has changed. It is no longer teacher centered, whereas it is learner centered. This is the "Cycle of life" if you will, people are not so simple anymore compared to earlier times. As a society we question, inquire, and really need a full understanding of material because of the changes in this "life cycle." Technology is constantly changing and really helping to streamline programs for a simpler way of teaching and put the focus back on the learner and hold the learner accountable.

In my classroom I mainly teach Digital Design and Media Production, but I also teach a section of Math Intervention for 8th graders. In this intervention class I have set up the process of introducing a concept that has been previously discussed in their regular math class. Then we go over problems that have risen during this introduction, this can be anything from they just don't get it at all to misconceptions they may have. Next we go over problems together and then I have them log-in to think through math where they are assimilated through a series of individualized activities. Sometimes they play a game with the concept and other times they work out problems step-by-step. By teaching this class in this manner I have really attributed my interpretation of educational technology to. As it states in the book, "The authors indicate that this term (improve performance) emphasizes that it is not sufficient to simply help learners acquire inert knowledge. Instead, the goal should be to help learners apply the new skills and knowledge they have acquired." I believe that technology in the classroom is as much important as the learner. As I stated earlier, learning should be learner centered and from this definition improving performance should be a main factor when defining instructional technology. 

I am not exactly sure that my definition has changed of instructional technology after reading this chapter. I would think that what I have read is a better interpretation and more formally designed definition of my interoperation of education technology.  

2. Next, think of a lesson or unit of instruction that you have developed. Or if you haven’t ever taught or developed instruction, think of one that you have received. How does that lesson adhere or fail to adhere to the six characteristics of instructional design? How would you redesign it to better adhere to the six characteristics.

In my classroom I teach a section over videography. At the beginning of the year my students take a pre-test so I can measure where they are and how far they have come in my classroom (#4). I break each section of the pre-test down so I can continuously analyze their movement in my class. When we first begin in videography we discuss that before going to film we have to plan. This plan involves a story line, script, storyboard, etc... To begin we watch a series of the Allstate mayhem commercials as they students find them funny and enjoyable, I am really using them to tell a story (#3). We then go through scene by scene and describe key vocabulary that they have learned. This is vocabulary that focuses on lighting, character placement and screen shot view. Together we create a storyboard so my students know what is involved in a storyboard. After this I group my students based on common interests and have them come up with their own "Mayhem" commercial (#1). Students create their storyboard on a website called storyboardthis.com. This website is so helpful because it takes the barrier away of I can't draw and allows my students to really focus on the storyboard process. I believe this process is so important because my students become their own teachers and get feedback and different interpretation from each other (#5). After we have covered this topic, I can see from their work as well as the post-assessment of what they have learned and I use this to also see if I need to re-teach any concepts that they may still not be strong in. 

From the lesson above, I cover all aspects from the 6 characteristics of ID. Characteristic number 2 is not defined in the actual classroom as I set up objectives based off of my TEKS and these objective are reviewed with my students so they have an understanding of what is coming up (defined by language objective and content objective). Also, number 6 when speaking of a team, I refer to this as my classroom. Apart of the team are myself, students individually and their peers.

As of this moment I would not say that I would change anything. I believe that I would have to wait and see what I would change for this upcoming year as its a new group of students with new needs for them to learn. I have taught this lesson for 4 years and I have drastically changed it. So far, this process has worked for me very well. 

3. In the 3^rd chapter, Reiser distinguishes instructional media from instructional design, excluding teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks from the definition of instructional media. Why? Would you consider teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks instructional media? Is the purpose of instructional design to incorporate media into instruction?

I think that teachers, chalkboards and textbooks were left out because the intent of this section was primarily on technological media. In a way think of it discussing the things in a classroom that don't define the room, clearly a room has a teacher and probably a chalkboard and textbooks. The actual items these things are not necessarily important, but the items these things represent are. I believe they should have been included. The teacher and what he/she physically teaches and physically does, the chalkboard and what is physically written on it, and the textbooks and what we can interpret/learn/apply from them. I believe that media should be incorporated as much as possible, but cannot always be used depending on the subject at hand. We have to remember what catches students attention and that is hands-on media technology. Classroom structure should be focused on the learners and what helps them gain a full understanding. This becomes difficult to differentiate for me because I teach a computer class and technology is used daily in my class. So when I say it depends on the lesson, for my specific class structure and lessons it is used almost every time. I also think that this differs from teacher to teacher depending on their level of familiarity and comfort of integrating it into the classroom.