TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY

Artifact Rationale

The artifact selected was one of my first real opportunities as an educator to create something technologically that would be of benefit to my students. Although technology is a huge part of my students’ everyday experiences, I am not always given the opportunity to create original forms of literature, specifically tailored to meet the needs of my students by using technology. Learning Outcome 1E: Technology, asks for students to be engaged with an opportunity to learn outside of regular context using technology as a method of interaction. This artifact is the application of research to construct an interactive E-Book that students would be able to read independently. This book provides students with a unique opportunity to engage with a book using interactive technology and book features that allow students to develop critical reading skills. The description of research and use of technology to foster learning are why I believe this artifact is thoroughly aligned with the learning outcome.

Inclusion of this artifact in the portfolio was critical in showcasing my ability to develop an engaging technological tool that draws upon different research implications and considerations. The research involved in the creation of this digital book was arguably the most critical stage of the process. These considerations allowed me to construct a book that would be rigorous enough to promote growth but accessible enough to allow emergent readers to get through it on their own. Once these considerations were made, it was up to me to determine the best way to write the book on an engaging level, using facts without plagiarizing, and develop features within the book that would keep the student interested.

The book utilizes a variety of resources within the form of an e-book. The students are able to click links within the e-book that will guide them to the online glossary, interact with captions, and have certain sections read to them. Additionally, students are prompted by coaches within the text that guide them through comprehension questions and other strategies built into the book. This book is an interactive and technology-fueled creation that is engaging to students on many terms.

This book was created using research from different authors on a variety of different book characteristics and strategies. As stated before, these considerations were of the utmost importance at the creation of the e-book. Word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension were among the most important considerations made to construct this book. To consider the types of words that should be utilized within the book, the target audience had to be analyzed for their ability to decode and recognize words automatically. For this reason, Ehri and McCormick (1998) were critical in attaining a sense of what should be included in a book on these students’ level, specifically in terms of their “phase of word learning” (Ehri & McCormick). Recommendations made by these authors allowed me to understand the importance of certain vocabulary and how students would be able to learn new words. These considerations allowed me to develop student vocabulary in context.

Applegate and Modla (2009) make more considerations in terms of the relationship between fluency techniques and comprehension. Since the book was online, fluency is difficult to manage; however, these researchers recommended that fluency and comprehension strategies are used in conjunction with one another. Thus, many comprehension strategies were used within the text that aided in the development of student fluency and automaticity.

Brabham et al. (2012), on the other hand, made strong recommendations for the inclusion of vocabulary. These authors recommended that students are exposed to words that they can utilize among many contexts, which allowed me to include critical vocabulary words that students would see across academic, social, and potentially political contexts. In relation to this sort of content fluidity, comprehension strategies recommended by Harvey and Goudvis (2013) were very similar to those of Brabham et al. (2012). Harvey and Goudvis (2013)’s work, though, focused specifically on comprehension. The suggestions made were for students to be exposed to “strategic” comprehension methods that could be used with contextual differentiation. For this reason, many of the questions asked within the text were worded to be similar to other questions that could be asked about a book. These research implications were vital to the success of creating this digital book. This artifact successfully aligns with Learning Outcome 1E: Technology for many reasons. The first is that the inclusion of research in the creation of academic content is ultimately the backbone of solid creation.

This artifact aligns specifically with the learning outcome, though, not because of the research itself, but because of how the technology tool built upon the research to advance the learning opportunities of students. Research was used to construct an E-Book with many different features, allowing students to utilize it wherever they have technological access. The culmination of technology with the use of research is why this artifact aligns with the learning outcome.