Assignment 3: ASSUREing Integration
Refer to both the Overall Concept for Assignments 1, 2 and your responses from Assignments 1 and 2 in
order to complete this assignment. Use the ASSURE model as the organizing framework for your
response.
Write a six (6) page paper in which you:
- Summarize the features and attributes of the emerging technology that you have chosen and the target
educational setting into which you wish to introduce the chosen technology. Next, elaborate on the
concepts and / or task that will be the centerpiece of a lesson or training episode. - Analyze learners: Describe the demographics of the intended learner audience. Select at least one (1)
of the following aspects of the learner population upon which to focus:
a. General characteristics
b. Specific entry competencies
c. Learning styles - State standards and objectives: Discuss one (1) overarching instructional goal of the lesson or training
episode. Subdivide the instructional goal into three to five (3-5) objectives that the learners should be able
to accomplish at the end of the proposed lesson or training episode. - Select strategies, technology, media, and materials: Given the content, learner analysis, the statement
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of the instructional goal, and the corresponding objectives, develop at least three (3) instructional
strategies geared toward integrating the chosen emerging technology into the proposed lesson or training
episode. Prescribe substantive approaches for ensuring that the integration of the technology reflects the
instructor’s cyberlearning literacy.
- Utilize technology, media, and materials: Develop a plan for utilizing the emerging technology and
related media and materials. The plan should outline a brief description of how you would follow each of
the 5 Ps discussed in the Smaldino et al. text. - Require learner participation: Develop at least three (3) activities that map to the learning objectives.
- Evaluate and revise: Establish relevant evaluation criteria by which you would measure the
achievement of the overarching instructional goal. Establish one (1) benchmark that constitutes the
successful integration of the emerging technology into the chosen setting.
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Technological advancements have several features and characteristics they include cloud
computing, social, and mobile learning that make them attractive to the k-12 education sector.
One of the common features is that the storage of the mobile devices and cloud computing,
devices enable students to capture relevant information for their studies. The information is then
easily integrated into projects and shared among peers, teachers, and wider audiences.
Collaboration coupled with conferencing is also enabled by technology. Some collaboration tools
have been introduced into the formal education system they are social media networks, video
conferencing, and cloud based productivity tools like Google applications. They have increased
the entrance of mobile devices into the learning environment (Nagel, 2013).
The decrease in the cost of technology devices and the introduction of policies that
inculcate technology in the education system has increased the use of mobile devices by students
(Johnson et al., 2015, p. 7). Mobile learning and cloud computing are known for their cost
reduction characteristic. Now with BYOD, a myriad of mobile devices try to access data from
them to their various protocols. The return on investment of the cloud has been viewed to be
much higher this has fascinated IT administrators in various institutions of learning (Freitas,
Morgan and Gibson, 2015, p.452).
Another feature enhanced by the technology is the accessibility of productivity tools. The
tools have made sharing of files and information in schools to be easy compared to the past,
hence improving the learning experience. In the various past schools used different means in
sharing files that made it frustrating to share information simultaneously across various
institutions of learning or even among fellow students (Freitas et al., 2015, p. 452).
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The technology has improved this as some tools allow for real-time interactions where
one can see and comment on the changes being made by others. This does eliminate the waiting
time that was present in the past where one got feedback long after the topic had lost its interest.
Regarding mobility, cloud-based and students, parents, and teachers can use SaaS products at
home and at school. They allow collaboration, data sharing, lesson planning, and project-based
learning across classrooms, schools, districts, and even nations (Potvin and Hasni, 2014, p.86).
Mobile learning has different interpretations, but from a literal perspective, it is used in
learning with the support of other technological devices such as smart mobile devices, tablets,
and laptops. The devices are important in enabling mobile learning. The e-books and mobile
applications are modified to incorporate the syllabus they will be used in the K-12 education
sector to access information, carry out research, enter various measurements, and access
instructions from teachers (Liu, Navarrete and Wivagg, 2014, p. 21).
Mobile technologies enable students to access a wider scope of information, data,
locations, and events. In this case, the teachers (or the classroom textbook) do not play the
intermediary role. Cloud computing will help teachers to produce and share digital learning
objectives and activities with their students. Moreover, it will be used to engage students in
authentic research experiences through the use of cloud-based tools (Norris and Soloway, 2013.
p.110).
K-12 is well known to be an innovative education system with dominance over the
conventional education system because it emphasizes on thinking and arriving at obvious
personal conclusions. Under this sector, the way of teaching is different and phenomenal. In this
setting, teachers follow the tactic of asking their students to work on most of the assignments. In
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this teaching technique, the students’ analytical thinking is developed, and they also get to enjoy
the learning process nations (Potvin and Hasni, 2014, p.89).
Furthermore, the students can revise what they were taught in their previous lessons. In
K-12 education system, all the students are given individual attention that enables them to
understand their subjects in a more practical way (Norris and Soloway, 2013). The teacher’s role
here is to provide the right guidance and learning opportunities to the students. This helps them
to discover their learning capabilities that foster their academic success.
The students are highly encouraged to bring their thoughts and visions in the notes that
they do submit in classrooms. They also get the chance to enroll in different forums and
educational clubs in their institutions where they get to discuss various educational topics. The
discussions sharpen their thinking ability and improve their public communication skills. The
teachers’ contribution to these forums and educational clubs is to monitor and coordinate the
discussions to avoid any deviations from the course material (Leighton and Crompton, 2017, p.
281).
The K-12 education sector has greatly improved the level of the education system and
syllabus. Schools have greatly invested in obtaining the best infrastructure to make learning
interesting and valuable. The new and innovative education strategy in this sector is
advantageous as compared to the traditional learning styles. It helps students to work alone and
be able to find solutions on their own. The students become self-determined, reliable and
indulgent. Moreover, it does improve the teacher-student relationship, hence creating a friendly
learning environment (Leighton and Crompton, 2017, p. 283).
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Several overarching instructional goals should be achieved at the end of the lessons with
the integration of technology into the education sector. One goal is for the educators to engage in
the process of reviewing and assessing the instructional strategies that are used in the curriculum.
The purpose of doing this is to improve the learning experience for the students who have greater
mastery of various technological devices. This means that the educators will increase their focus
on the students to improve their comprehension of the course content (Freitas et al., 2015, p.
458).
The first objective tied to the goal focuses on ensuring that teachers investigate and
demonstrate the use of technology resources in supporting instructional strategies. The strategies
should incorporate the various learning styles that learners use on a daily basis. Different
students will have different learning styles that need to be attended to ensure the students
perform well.
The second objective deals with the teachers or instructors examining and exhibiting the
use of technological resources to support instructional objectives. The objectives address the
needs of special education populations such as bilingual and ESL students. There are different
students with different needs, and they need to be addressed equally.
The last objective concentrates on the use of technology to facilitate cooperative learning
activities. The students need to be fully engaged in the learning activities in the learning
institution. The administration plays an important role in ensuring that teachers are evaluated on
how the technologies help improve student achievement. The students are then expected to learn
to ask appropriate questions to receive appropriate answers.
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To achieve the objectives, institutions need to use their technology to provide them with
assessment and feedback on the implementation process. One way to do this is to offer quick
checks to weigh if the students are grasping the concept before moving on to the lesson. Creating
a short quiz or open-ended response questions can do this. Another way to obtain feedback is
through personalized feedback, and this ensures teachers’ leave-personalized comments and
notes when marking the students’ assignments (Potvin and Hasni, 2014, p.91).
According to Norris and Soloway (2013), when exploring literature, the cyber guide does
provide a comprehensive and standardized instruction unit on the main literature works. This
improves the teachers and students understanding of literature. They contain a section for
teachers and students, specific course objectives, and an explanation on how to tackle various
activities. The teachers are also provided with an opportunity to integrate relevant website and
online libraries to the guide. Finally, it has a detailed grading rubric that facilitates a proper
grading system for the students.
Parents play an important role in providing technological devices and support to the
education programs. This shows that they have more interest and knowledge about their usage
and effects. Therefore, parents’ involvement is an important strategy for ensuring the efficiency
of the technology in the educational setting. Making the parents to be a part of the conversation
about implementing mobile learning programs and cloud computing technology will make them
positive in making the programs successful (Nagel, 2013).
In developing activities that map to the discussed learning objectives, the first step
involves setting goals to be achieved at the end of each course lesson by the students. This
includes the students and teachers setting different goals. The next step is to plan how the set
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goals and objectives will be achieved through the integration of technology into the classroom.
Here, the resources required are evaluated, and the processes are put in place. The third step is
the actual learning stage where the lessons and the technologies will be integrated into the
classroom.
The next step is an evaluation to determine whether the set objectives are being achieved.
There is the need to measure and evaluate the learning progress. The achievements will then be
recorded to determine the way they are working. Additionally, it is important to redesign then the
objectives that are not working and to find the causes of their failure. Finally, corrective
measures will be taken to ensure the integration of technology is effective.
Effective use of technology has changed the education system by creating more learning
opportunities. The employment of various technology devices in academics will improve the
learning process as it reduces the workload of the teachers and students. Also, educational
barriers will be eliminated as the teachers and students can collaborate in real time using these
technologies. The activities that will be mapped to learning process include peer review of team
skills, reflection essays, class assignments and questions. These will help to test the
understanding of the students (Leighton and Crompton, 2017, p.288).
One of the evaluation criteria of the overarching instructional goal is to test whether the
technology is exciting, innovative and attractive. This will be done through testing discipline
specific knowledge of the students to weigh their progress and satisfaction so far. The evaluation
will focus on issues such as the student’s leadership, professional development and the
development of community learners (Freitas et al., 2015, p. 466). In conclusion, technology will
open up the chances that will improve the quality and process learning.
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REFERENCE LIST
Freitas, S. I., Morgan, J., & Gibson, D. (2015). Will MOOCs transform learning and teaching in
higher education? Engagement and course retention in online learning provision. British
Journal of Educational Technology, 46(3), 455-471.
Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Estrada, V., & Freeman, A. (2015). The NMC Horizon Report:
2015 Museum Edition. New Media Consortium. 6101 West Courtyard Drive Building One
Suite 100, Austin, TX 78730.
Leighton, L. J., & Crompton, H. (2017). Augmented Reality in K-12 Education. In Mobile
technologies and Augmented Reality in Open Education (pp.281-290). IGI Global.
Liu, M., Navarrete, C.C., & Wivagg, J. (2014). Potentials of mobile technology for K-12
education: An investigation of iPod touch use for English language learners in the United
States. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 17(2).
Nagel, D. (2013). Cloud Computing to Make Up 35% of K–12 IT Budgets in 4 Years. Journal.
Norris, C., & Soloway, E. (2013). Substantive Educational Change is in the Palm of our
Children’s Hands. Handbook of mobile learning, 109-118.
Potvin, P., & Hasni, A. (2014). Interest, motivation, and attitude towards science and technology
at K-12 levels: a systematic review of 12 years of educational research. Studies in Science
Education, 50(1), 85-129
