I will gain a detailed and evidence-based understanding of the appropriate and effective use of educational technologies in postsecondary contexts.
Goal #3
Goal 3 Main Page | Artifact #9 | Artifact #10 | Artifact #11 | Artifact #12
Format: Academic paper
Course: ETEC 524 Learning Technologies: Selection, Design and Application
For this group project we were tasked with creating a rubric to evaluate learning management systems. We were given a fictional scenario and needed to choose from a variety of frameworks for ed tech adoption. Eventually we settled on Tony Bates’ SECTIONS framework.
Guiding Theories and Frameworks
Tony Bates (e.g. Bates, 2015) has been an influential thinker and prolific author in the field of ed tech since the discipline itself became widely recognized in academia.
In hindsight I would not have used his SECTIONS framework in such a literal way for the final rubric, but it was a useful tool to identify the various considerations that need to be made before a new ed tech is adopted.
Reflections
Throughout my time in the MET I became more aware of the different frameworks that have been proposed to help practitioners to adopt ed tech. These frameworks are practically useful, but are also a useful way to organize my thoughts around the challenges of ed tech implementations, and the different variables that need to be taken into account.
Making decisions around ed tech adoption is usually a group-based activity, so working with fellow students was a valuable learning experience. As I mentioned above, the final format was perhaps not one I would have chosen had I been creating the rubric as an individual assignment. This is in itself a useful experience – successful use of ed tech is a group endeavour, and compromise needs to be made on all sides.