1.4 Diffusion of Innovations & Change
Candidates research, recommend, and implement strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and for managing the change process in schools. (PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d)
Candidates research, recommend, and implement strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and for managing the change process in schools. (PSC 1.4/ISTE 1d)
Reflection
As part of my job as an instructional technology coach, I researched current and emerging trends in educational technology. My main sources for this were blogs (through a Feedly reader), following a large number of educational technology experts on Twitter, and attending district, state and local conferences, such as the Gwinnett Digital Learning Conference (2013-2016), GaETC (2014-2016), and ISTE (2014 & 2016). One of the emerging trends I identified as having a high potential impact was augmented reality. It had the potential to engage students and allow them to interact with instructional material in an entirely new way.
As part of this research, I developed a report on Augmented Reality to present to my administration. The artifact above is the complete report, which features several examples of how augmented reality technology can be used in schools. After the presentation, it was decided that we would use augmented reality through technology coaching, the media center, and technology specials with no cost, since many of the apps were free.
Our initial implementation was limited to helping students use Aurasma for research reports, using ColarMix for media center projects, and demonstrations for teachers during professional learning sessions. In the spring of 2016, I contacted the Google Expeditions team and scheduled a visit by their team to demonstrate the use of the Expeditions app and Google Cardboard virtual reality headset. All of our students in third, fourth, and fifth grades experienced different learning journeys, and due to the high interest, we decided to purchase 6 virtual reality headsets to use in technology specials and to have available for teacher checkout. Teachers mainly used the Google Cardboard app along with some other curriculum apps for students to interact with grade-level content. Our journey with virtual reality clearly demonstrates my ability to research and implement emerging technology effectively in the school setting.
By completing the research and report process featured in this artifact, I learned a lot about how teachers were currently implementing Augmented Reality and some common barriers to the change process. I learned about several specific uses, as well as how it might fit into our current BYOD program at Harbins. If I were doing this report again, I would try to collaborate with others at my school to produce a more comprehensive report instead of doing it by myself. I always work better with others and the collaborative process helps to bring more perspectives to implementation and the change process.
This report and the subsequent adoption of Augmented Reality materials have helped fuel the change process among teachers at our school. Although many teachers were hesitant about Augmented Reality, modeling through professional learning has helped them become more comfortable. Additionally, teachers were able to observe a technology specials lesson using the headsets. Knowing that the students had background knowledge on augmented reality removed some barriers for teacher implementation and aided the change process.
As part of this research, I developed a report on Augmented Reality to present to my administration. The artifact above is the complete report, which features several examples of how augmented reality technology can be used in schools. After the presentation, it was decided that we would use augmented reality through technology coaching, the media center, and technology specials with no cost, since many of the apps were free.
Our initial implementation was limited to helping students use Aurasma for research reports, using ColarMix for media center projects, and demonstrations for teachers during professional learning sessions. In the spring of 2016, I contacted the Google Expeditions team and scheduled a visit by their team to demonstrate the use of the Expeditions app and Google Cardboard virtual reality headset. All of our students in third, fourth, and fifth grades experienced different learning journeys, and due to the high interest, we decided to purchase 6 virtual reality headsets to use in technology specials and to have available for teacher checkout. Teachers mainly used the Google Cardboard app along with some other curriculum apps for students to interact with grade-level content. Our journey with virtual reality clearly demonstrates my ability to research and implement emerging technology effectively in the school setting.
By completing the research and report process featured in this artifact, I learned a lot about how teachers were currently implementing Augmented Reality and some common barriers to the change process. I learned about several specific uses, as well as how it might fit into our current BYOD program at Harbins. If I were doing this report again, I would try to collaborate with others at my school to produce a more comprehensive report instead of doing it by myself. I always work better with others and the collaborative process helps to bring more perspectives to implementation and the change process.
This report and the subsequent adoption of Augmented Reality materials have helped fuel the change process among teachers at our school. Although many teachers were hesitant about Augmented Reality, modeling through professional learning has helped them become more comfortable. Additionally, teachers were able to observe a technology specials lesson using the headsets. Knowing that the students had background knowledge on augmented reality removed some barriers for teacher implementation and aided the change process.