Digital Portfolio
Master’s in Educational Technology
Kristen Dyksterhouse
Educational Technology Showcase
Introduction
Introduction
Through my Masters of Art in Educational Technology (MAET) program, I have been given the experience to grow personally and professionally with technology and education. I truly feel that I have been exposed to the latest changes to education today and have also gained the skills to stay at the cutting edge. On this page you will find a collection of my best work throughout the MAET program. I feel the artifacts selected best represent my learning as a teacher and student of technology while also presenting my strong ability to integrate technology in meaningful ways. The artifacts selected also represent powerful ways technology can be used as a tool to better understand the ways students learn. Artifacts have also been selected that display my current understanding and uses of technology in the classroom. To easily navigate between clusters of artifacts on this page, use the buttons below.
Online Learning
Online Learning Environments
Creating an Online Course
Through online learning experiences I was able to learn and understand math for the first time, and as a result, I went from hating math to loving it. Because online learning has impacted me so greatly and has been the driving force behind my math-teaching career, I was excited to develop my own online course module. Prior to building my course, I learned about online learning ethics, the research behind successful online courses, and factors that contribute to improved learning outcomes. Using what I learned, I developed a fully online course module for 8th grade math students. My developer notebook documents the progression of my online course module and provides rationale for my design choices that are grounded in both research and theory.
Click the PDF Icon to See My Developer Notebook
To learn more about my course, development choices, and creation process, check out my developer notebook. My notebook includes images, reflections, research, rubrics, feedback, scores, and much more.
For my online course, I used Haiku Learning for my Course Management System (CMS). To view my online course module, you must self enroll using this link and by entering this access code: FPWRW.
Networked Learning Project
Learning to Play the Guitar
With technology advancing at an exponential rate, how we learn and how we access information has changed immensely. With an online learning network you can connect with people across the globe from the comfort of your living room couch and you can access virtually any information you want within moments. With a networked device, learning can occur beyond the classroom walls and without face-to-face instruction, making education (and learning) accessible, available, and free. For our networked learning project we were required to learn something new using only YouTube and online help forums. Specifically, I decided to learn to play the guitar. You can follow my networked learning journey through the blog posts, videos, and images below.
Maker Movement
Maker Kits in Education
Remixing Tools to Stimulate Creativity & Innovation
In my educational technology classes we spent time learning about the maker movement and how remixing & reusing technology stimulates creativity and innovation in education. With maker kits (or even just repurposed kitchen utensils), learning communities, and playtime, the mindset behind the maker movement changes the way we think and learn as well as how technology and education interact. Through a series of blog posts I have documented my journey using Squishy Circuits (my maker kit of choice) in accordance with learning theory, pedagogy, and design.
For my maker kit exploration and creation, I used buzzers, LED lights, and a play-dough circuit that I created with my Squishy Circuits maker kit, a metal locker rack that I found at a thrift store, and construction paper to create a math game called Race to the Top (as shown in the images below). My blog post documenting my maker kit exploration includes more images, videos, and also a detailed reflection explaining my triumphs and many, many tribulations while working with Squishy Circuits.
With the goal of connecting learning theory to our maker kit, I designed a lesson plan for my high school geometry students in which they explored circuits as a way to develop their understanding on geometric proofs. Specifically, for my learning activity, I introduced geometric proofs by having students play with circuits then write a two-column proof for each of their steps towards creating a more complex circuit using the motor, several LEDS, and both buzzers. Check out my blog post for the lesson plan and more detailed explanation of my creation regarding learning theory and pedagogy.
Using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), I modified my original maker kit lesson plan to include elements that support the UDL framework . The revision process entailed focusing on how I could minimize barriers and maximize learning by implementing multiple methods of representation, expression and engagement in terms of what I wanted my students to learn and care about. In my blog post you will find my modified lesson plan, my rationale for changes, and my reflection of the changes.
Assessing 21st Century Learning
Gamification:
MinecraftEdu Project
Gamification is a learning strategy that employs video game design and game elements to motivate students. In this project, I learned how to navigate and create using the tutorial world in MinecraftEDU, and then, through the lens of formative assessment and design, I created a math rollercoaster that covers several strands from the math 8 Common Core State Standards.
Click the Image to View the Screencast
Click the Image to View the Screencast
Content Management System (CMS) Assessment Design
Designing an Online Assessment Using Haiku Learning
Assessments should be used as a way to gauge where students are in their learning and the feedback from the assessments should inform both instruction and learning. For my online math assessment design, used Haiku Learning, and online course management system, to create both traditional assessment measures and nontraditional assessment measures such as a reflective think-aloud and a collaborative investigation, both of which require critical thinking, problem solving, reasoning, and proof. To learn more about the assessments I created for 8th grade math students enrolled in a fully online math class using Haiku Learning, check out my blog post and screencast.
Prior to building my online assessment, I examined and compared the affordances of free Content Management Systems (CMSs) through the lens of assessing student learning. I chose to compare Weebly for Education, COURSEsites by Blackboard, and Haiku Learning. The results of my critical review of the three sites listed can be found in this spreadsheet.Based upon my analysis of these three CMSs, I chose to use Haiku Learning to create my CMS assessment.
To view my online course module and assessments, you must self enroll using this link and by entering this access code: FPWRW.
The ultimate goal of the CMS assessment design project in CEP 813 is to create an assessment in a content management system that supports and enhances students’ learning. I decided to use Haiku Learning for my assessment design because it is an effective, efficient, useful, and useable platform, making it an obvious choice for administering diverse assessments to secondary mathematics students.
Click the Image to View the Screencast
21st Century Curriculum & Instruction
Working With a Networked Curriculum
Teaching & Learning Using "Three-Acts Math"
The introduction to multimedia has been restructuring the way we think, learn, and live for the past two centuries. Multimedia tools converge text, picture, video, and sound into a single format or at least utilize a combination of the different forms. As we advance further into the 21st century, and multimedia forms and uses evolve, educators and researchers alike have recognized the power of media and have sought ways to harness it as an educational tool to improve learning outcomes and address modern educational problems. I conducted an extensive literature review on visual media and learning achievement and through my research, I was able to provide evidence-based principles for more effective uses of visual media in the classroom, specifically in areas concerning knowledge regarding multimedia instruction, multimedia learning, and multimedia tool selection as well as a close examination of how those factors interact with one another. I applied this research to create my Three-Acts Math curriculum design.
An extensive literature review examining visual media in relation to learning achievement and instructional practices.
An infograph examining the affordances of a networked movible device in accordance the UbD framework.
Tackling Wicked Problems
Wicked Problem
Innovation as Learning Ethic
As educators, we tend to discuss and want to solve the various problems with schools today. However, often times we fail to realize that some of these problems are wicked problems, or ill-defined problems that are nearly impossible to solve. My colleagues and I worked together to attempt to find a solution to the wicked problem of Innovation as Learning Ethic. The strategies we used to tackle this problem were skills we'll continue to use as we become educational leaders in our schools. I also reflected on innovation and creativity through the lens of my instructional practices. In Thomas Freidman’s (2013) article It’s P.Q. and C.Q. as Much as I.Q. he says that in our hyper-connected, technology-driven world, the individuals who will succeed “won’t just be those with more I.Q. It will also be those with more P.Q. (passion quotient) and C.Q. (curiosity quotient) to leverage all the new digital tools to not just find a job, but to invent one or reinvent one, and to not just learn but to relearn for a lifetime.” That is, intelligence alone will not prepare individuals for an unknown future with unknown problems and jobs, but rather a combination of passion, curiosity and intelligence is necessary for success in a rapidly changing economy. Reflecting on this article, I created a representation of how I embody and envision PQ and CQ in both my present and future work as educator. I created the video remix you see below using YouTube and iMovie to help viewers see that passion and creativity go hand in hand in my instructional practices and learning experiences.
To view view Innovation as Learning Ethic: A Wicked Problem! hover your mouse over the image and scroll.
Wicked Problems From a Leadership Perspective
Improving Learning Outcomes with a Networked Curriculum and Mobile Device
As a leader, I addressed the problem of low math achievement by suggesting a curriculum redesign plan that allows for mathematical abstraction. Specifically, I justified the need for a networked curriculum using missional thinking and went on to write a mLearning initiative for implementing mobile devices and in support of the new curriculum design. Using forward thinking, I also considered how to assess 21st century skills using mobile devices and a networked curriculum and as a result I created an assessment redesign plan where I examined differentiated assessments using the mobile devices infrastructure and the learning network. Finally, I put everything together and created an action plan, or roadmap, for implementing mobile devices that ensures initiative goals are being met.