synthesis essay

From Blindness to Sight

Prepared by: Jean-Claude Aura Date: June 2011

Before the MAET

After the MAET



Congrats on your MAET!

Yeah. Way to

go!

Phenomenal!

Err.. Thank you. I really appreciate it, and thank you all for coming today.

Quite an achievement!

So, how does it feel now that you’ve completed

your MAET?

Uh, it feels great. I mean, I feel like I’m a different person now. Before the MAET program, I struggled a lot to get students’ attention. Now, the learning process has become fun and smooth, I guess.

Learning is fun? Where was this guy when I was a kid?



Can you tell us a bit about the MAET

program? Yeah, like which course benefited

you the most?

The MAET program comprises 10 courses, and all of them are more or less equally important. It all depends on your personal preferences, but none of them is dispensable. It’s like asking a right-handed person and a left-handed person which hand they preferred. Although you’d get different answers, the truth is both hands are important to both types of people.

Hmm. Makes sense. I have 5 grandchildren. I like Johnny best, but Tony is also nice, and Joey is cute, Rachelle is sweet, and Janice is funny. It’s very hard

to pick a favorite. Each has a special character.



Fair enough. We’d like to know if the courses should be taken in a

specific order.

Right. If so, why and how? My son wants to enroll but is a bit

confused.

Well, in a sense, yes. You must first start with the courses that initiate you to the basic technologies, which will help you later on with the more advanced technologies. With this in mind, you can still choose to take one course before another provided the latter is not a prerequisite for the former. For example, CEP 810, 811, and 812 are prerequisites for the rest of the program because that’s where you develop an understanding of the importance of technology in education. From there, you move on to explore how these and more advanced technologies can enhance teaching and learning. Throughout the program, you’ll realize that technology is a means to an end rather an end by itself. You’ll be learning how to use technology for educational purposes, thus the program’s name.

In my days, the only technology that existed was a calculator the size of this room, so to speak. And he used the plural for technology! Strange.



Can you give us a better idea?

Yeah. How are the different courses interconnected?

I started off with CEP 810, which tackled MS Office, like Word, PowerPoint and Excel. These programs are at the core of teaching as everything revolves around them: students prepare written assignments and presentations that they can later on upload to their website. However proficient you may be in these three, there’s plenty of room for improvement. When I started using PowerPoint, I felt smug at first, but then I was surprised to learn there were so many plug-ins I didn’t know about that I could add to enhance my presentations. For example, I learnt how to embed a You Tube video into a PowerPoint presentation, along with audio that would play throughout the entire presentation or with each individual slide. I also learnt the difference between the mp3 and WAV extensions, a difference that affects the size of the presentation. After that, we were introduced to what I call the essence of technology: Blogs. I learnt how to set up my own blog on Edublogs, where I shared all my assignments with my instructors and peers. This experience was one of a kind. I was so excited that I upgraded to a professional blog for a very modest fee of $49 a year. This would be one of my online spaces that would revolutionize my teaching. To top my excitement, I learnt how RSS feeds bettered the impact of blogs by keeping me up to date with my students’ posts. I used NetVibes for that purpose, but I also experienced Google Reader. Once I set up a class blog, I’d ask my students to post in their individual blogs which I would monitor thanks to NetVibes’ alerts. That was awesome! I only got to read the latest posts without wasting my time browsing through their blogs to check their latest posts. Along the way, students’ communication skills improved as they started commenting on each other’s posts.

Post? Like the mail post? I can mail a post alright. This guy wasted his money on this course. What a pity.

http://jeanclaude1.edublogs.org/



What came next? Were the rest of the

courses harder?

Surprisingly, the rest of the courses became easier as I completed each course. CEP 810 paved the way for CEP 811, the next course on the list, where I learnt to create StAIRs, which stands for Stand Alone Instructional Resources. StAIRs are crucial for differential learning. Most of my classes consist of students with mixed abilities, and the NCLB policy, meaning No Child Left Behind, requires teachers to provide students with every possible opportunity to learn at their own pace. StAIRS require little intervention from the teacher and focus on students’ ability to learn by themselves. Of course, I’ll always be there if need be, but I’ll be more like a guide on the side. Another interesting technique I learnt that favors differential learning is WebQuests, where students embark on an online journey gathering information to fulfill an authentic task. WebQuests engage students in lifelike situations where they need to collaborate to achieve a common goal. In my WebQuest, students have to persuade the boxing federation to ban boxing. Instead of just asking students to write an essay on their opinion, they go on a quest to gather as much information as possible about the consequences of boxing, and then address the federation with a touching letter and a shocking presentation of facts. We all learn better when we are emotionally and mentally involved.

Stairs! My worst enemy. Alas, I can’t stand alone. I need a

walking stick all the time. Age, I guess.

https://www.msu.edu/~aurajean/Technology Showcase/WebQuest/WebQuest.html



Tell us more. Sounds interesting.

We’re listening.

Well, once some of the basic technologies had been covered, we were introduced to Web 2.0 technologies. These included podcasts, online activities, web pages, and many more that mark the 21st century. We learnt that the difference between Web 2.0 and Web 1.0 lay in the ability of users to communicate better by sharing information and uploading videos and photos; the user had become more important than the content. Web 2.0 plays a key role in education as it allows for a broader audience to touch base. For example, once my students realized that their blogs were accessible to literally the whole world, they started taking things more seriously. They weren’t simply working for their teacher or peers; they had an authentic audience, including their parents and friends. Another thing we learnt was which strategy worked best with which technology. Such strategies, such as deductive, inductive, and scaffolding should be taken into consideration as each engages students in a different manner. Do you want your students to work their way to a conclusion or the other way around? You can design your activities so they increase in difficulty after each completed level. All these strategies enable teachers to tailor their lessons to meet each individual student’s needs. One thing to bear in mind is that students have to learn to behave online. There’s a certain protocol to follow online, called netiquette, where students understand that online communication requires a certain sensitivity to clarity and tone. Above all is copyrights laws. I prepared a small activity where students understand how to preserve their rights and the rights of others. It’s of utmost importance that students give credit where credit is due. How would you feel if someone stole an idea of yours and claimed it was theirs?

Web? This guy can spawn webs? Now

that’s human evolution.

https://www.msu.edu/~aurajean/My_MSU_Assignments/A Matter of Ethics/Matter of Ethics.html



With so many technologies out there, how do you decide

which one is the most suitable to a given situation?

True. Isn’t it confusing?

Selecting an appropriate technology can be quite tricky, but if you focus on your objectives rather than the technology, you’ll make a wise decision. In CEP 800, we went through the process of explaining the technology of our choice. I chose Smart Boards because they increase students’ interaction with the material taught and help present information in a lively manner. I didn’t know much about Smart Boards, and in CEP 800, I got the chance to explore this technology in depth by applying it to one of my lessons on countries and nationalities. I asked students to locate a few major countries on the board by dragging the name to the correct position on the map. Students were not simply doing rote learning, and more than one type of students benefited from this activity: visual and kinesthetic. Students were moving objects with their hands and were positioning them on a map that was a miniature replica of the world’s geography. You can visit my analysis of technology in the classroom to learn more about Smart Boards. CEP 800 opened my eyes to the delicate decision of choosing an appropriate technology to achieve a particular goal.

Since when have boards become smart?

https://www.msu.edu/~aurajean/Technology Showcase/CEP810.html



Eventually, students will get bored with a

particular technology. What do you do in this

case?

That’s true. How many technologies can you come up

with?

Good point. That’s where creativity comes in. CEP 818 emphasizes the importance of creativity in teaching and learning by highlighting all the thinking tools that the world’s geniuses used. I particularly loved this course because I totally support the idea that learning should be fun. Students explore different ways of tackling a given problem by involving all their senses. While this course is especially important for teaching Science, I couldn’t think of anything less for essay writing. I conceived an approach that can turn essay writing into a fun activity, and I wrote all about it here. Instead of asking students to describe a room, I involved all their senses by asking them to visualize the room and redesign it however they liked. In this way, students were describing a room they designed rather than a room someone else designed. Personalizing matters makes a world of difference. It’s amazing how much allowing students’ input into an activity can impact the learning outcome.

We were lucky if we could open our mouth in class, let alone express our wishes.

What has the world become?




Do you mean to say that your lessons are designed based

on your students’ taste?

How do your students’ preferences influence

your teaching?

You can rightly assume that I design my lessons based on my students’ abilities. In CEP 817, we learnt the importance of good design and that the quality of a website is directly related to aesthetics, user-friendliness, and content. I paid special attention to this course, just as I did with CEP 818, because I learnt what is needed to create a fully functional website. My website is my main means of delivering content to my students, so having a well-designed website facilitates learning. In CEP 817, we were encouraged to use our imagination to come up with a quality design that not only catered for the content, but also for aesthetics. Beauty plays an important role in every task people undertake, and having an appealing website draws students’ attention. My main experiment in this course was the creation of a single-page website with all the materials embedded in it, rather than the usual multiple-page website where each page deals with one distinct part of the content. After conducting a short survey, I found out that each design appealed to a different type of audience.

Beauty in education? Everything was ugly in my time - books, the

school, even the teachers!

https://www.msu.edu/~aurajean/Teaching by Design/Big Kahuna.html

https://sites.google.com/site/jeanclaudeaura/home



Can you give us an example of an online

lesson? What exactly goes

on in an online lesson?

An online lesson can be conducted in many different ways. I mentioned blogs earlier, but one very common way is using an LMS, which stands for Learning Management System, also known as CMS or Course Management System. In CEP 820, I designed a complete essay writing module on Moodle, along with a detailed lesson plan called Online Course Design. Both can be found here. It was both fun and challenging as it took time to figure out how the system worked. I had a particular interest in CEP 820 because my current job requires me to use BlackBoard Vista to conduct online lessons. Students have to be able to access the materials and see their grades and feedback at all times. An LMS offers great flexibility for both the teacher and students. If a student misses a lesson, they can always access the materials from home. If I can’t make it to school, I can always assign some work for students to do without having to be physically present. Designing a lesson on an LMS may be time consuming at first, but it’s worth the investment in the long run.

Does this guy expect students to work on

assignments at home? Get real!




So, what’s next? What are your plans now that you’re done studying?

I don’t want to sound weird or anything like that, but the truth is studying never stops. You can lay back for a while, but you can never disconnect yourself completely from developments in technology and education. That’s why CEP 815 had us prepare a professional development plan where we thought critically about areas we deemed important to familiarize ourselves with. I developed a manifesto where I expressed my areas of concern. As I rely on technology in my career, I need to keep abreast with the latest advents in education, and these will certainly involve technology. I’m not implying that one should keep up with technology every step of the way, but in a sense one should be aware of changes that have a positive impact on education. These professional development plans serve as a summary of what you already know and as a guide to what’s left to know. In a world heavily laden with technology, I have to organize myself or else I’ll soon be lost amid a rubble of unfinished tasks.

Can he develop something against senility? I can’t even remember where I put my

glasses. I could make use of such a technology.





That’s 9 courses so far. Where’s the 10th?

The last course, called Capstone Portfolio, shouldn’t be much of a problem if you’ve been consistently working on your assignments throughout the program. CEP 807 helps you put together all the work that you completed in the program. Just like with all the previous courses, it requires you to step back and reflect on your work thus far achieved. These constant reflections give a sense of wholeness to your work and serve as a wrap up. As teachers, we are often required to reflect upon our lessons to figure out ways to improve them. Besides these reflections, CEP 807 prompts you to create a portfolio that will serve as a professional online document for potential employers. This portfolio consists of your CV, your reflections, a technology showcase where you display your work done throughout the program, your blog, and many other points you may consider relevant to recruitment. CEP 807 plays a key role in wrapping up all your work and presenting it professionally to the rest of the world.

I’m starting to have a headache. This guy sounds relentless.

https://www.msu.edu/~aurajean/Webfolio.html



Any last words you’d like to say about the

MAET program? Anything more that’ll help my son make up

his mind?

The MAET program may comprise 10 courses, but these courses shouldn’t be considered separate entities. They complement one another in a way that helps you understand the pedagogical aspect of educational technology. As I mentioned before, make your objectives your main goal rather than technology. Technology should serve education rather than the other way around, and believe me it’s very easy for teachers to fall into the trap. They get so absorbed by the fascinating effect of a particular technology that they forget all about their initial intentions. Always revise your plan to see if you’ve made the right choice of technology. Once convinced, move on to design a creative lesson that will engage your students in authentic tasks while making sure they’re familiar with the ‘laws of the net’, or netiquette. Evaluate students based on their individual progress, give plenty of constructive feedback, and you’ll be surprised how much the MAET program has changed you.

I’m out of here.

synthesis essay

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