One of the first times I made a connection to using technology in learning occured back when I was taking a computer programming class back in high school. Back then we learned languages like Basic and Pascal - writing our scripts locally. However, to actually make the programs work we had to dial in over a modem to a mainframe computer located in the basement of the State Capitol. Back in 1986, this was something that really seemed fascinating - to be able to type something on a computer, wait a few minutes, and get a response back over the telephone wire.
However, as an undergraduate student the rapid advancements of the Internet really opened up a plethora of ideas for those creative teachers who were trying to find innovative ways to motivate students and emerse them in their subject matter. Two opportunities during those undergraduate days exposed me to these possibilities; an instructional technology course and my field experiences. The first was a class that was a recent requirement added to the teacher preparation program, ensuring that new educators would have the basic technology skills to succeed in the classroom. Each week a graduate assistant would cover a new topic and software application ranging from the using of multimedia software in the classroom to developing a personal website. The entire fifteen weeks was enough of an introduction to using technology that I wanted to have my website and graphics be more interactive - and I found myself learning on my own additional scripting languages to get the desired functionality added to my personal website.
The second experience occurred during my practicum and student teaching experiences with the Science Focus Program (or Zoo School) in Lincoln, Nebraska. The summer prior to that experience a team of secondary teachers approached my supervisor - who oversaw the computer lab where my previous technology course occured - and requested contacting any undergraduate students who might be able to provide technology assistance during their first year of opperation. The four instructors had several years of teaching experience, but thought the additional support would free them up for more collaborative planning. This provided an opportunity to not only assist them in their initial year, but also look at the applications of technology - particularly in the area of mathematics. For an entire year I had the opportunity to work with students creating a video yearbook to document that momentus year, to create an interactive CD-ROM that showcased the animals at the zoo, and testing software that would graph video footage - meaning one could actually graph a basketball shot (giving you a parabola). However, the day that still resonates clearly is the day my supervising instructor came out and shared some software that graphs brainwaves. This occured during a unit I was teaching covering basic trigonometry functions and seeing the applicability to the functions of the brain seemed to engage the students more than I could ever images.
In 2000, I took a position at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as an Instructional Design Technology Specialist where I had an opportunity to serve a growing population of distance students and to pursue my graduate degrees. I like to think of this time as my development years because I had an opportunity to learn new tools and directly apply them to learning situations. All of the examples you will see were created during the past seven years, but from a support perspective - giving you a glimpse of my technology skills and interests.
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Case 1: Proctor Form
click on image to Technology: PHP - MySql Programming
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Abstract: As online programs have grown, so has the ability to test students at a distance. One growing concern from many faculty was the ability to ensure original work was being conducted by the student. A couple of years before I began working for Extended Education and Outreach an instructional designer had developed a Flash web-interface for a single faculty member who was using an online testing system, called EDU. This project was a one-year grant funded project that allowed potential distance proctors to submit contact information that would be used during test. The original design had the Flash file (swf) read a text file of students registered for the course and required an instructional designer to update both the Flash and text files every semester. When I began working with this professor, early in our conversations he made the comment that he wanted to be able to manage and update the proctor information on his own. He didn't want to have to call and wait for design help when a minor problem arose. What this design did was create a web format that each not only he could manage and update each semester, but also add the functionality of proctors accessing information via email if they lost that information. |
| Case 2: Course Evaluation Form
click on image to Technology: PHP - MySql Programming |
Abstract: This was also a project developed while working with Extended Education and Outreach.
The problem was that the distance courses offered through the College of Education and Human Sciences each semester had grown to near seventy. Three instructional designers had been assigned to specific departments and one discussion the three of us had was how to handle the course evaluation process each semester. There had been talk for about two years prior that an online system was in the works, but little information was available as to its actual release date. As the College finished standardizing the course evaluations for every course, this project took that existing evaluation and made it available to our large student population of near 700 each semester. The site is designed with a management interface that has two buttons - one that sends out a first email to all students who have not received an email notice and another that sends out a second message to only those students who have not completed the survey. This functionality was created because the need was to only notify students who hadn't either been notified or taken the survey. Additionally, the structure is such that student responses are tied to courses and no identifiers of that student is extended into the data structure. Thus, using two unique tables to manage surveys and students keeps the anyminoty of the instrument. (NOTE: The website will take you to a different location and a simulated version of the course evaluation site.) |
| Case 3: Animated Childrens' Book
click on image to Technology: Flash |
Abstract: One of the projects Extended Education and Outreach provided me was an opportunity to work on a project called Golden. This is a project that brings in outside faculty from acround the world to teach sections of a language class for educators. This particular project brought me in contact with a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor from the Arts and Sciences Department. Her background is German and it was her first time teaching online. In our initial conversation the critical piece she conveyed was trying to maintain a similar experience online that students would get in a face-to-face section of the same course. Thus, when she brought in a German childrens' book, she wanted the same type of experience - where the reader could turn each page and move back and forth. Giving the experience a traditional book reading experience was something she thought would enhance the experience. |
| Case 4: Dynamic Image Loader
click on image to Technology: Flash |
Abstract: Long before I was intrdocued to AJAX, I began exploring how Flash could be used to enhance the functionality of a website.
In this case I was working with my brother-in-law who is an archetect in Colorado. He was just starting to use a 3D modeling program for his archetectural design and wanted a way to quickly showcase his work. This is a Flash tool I modified to fit his design and promotional needs. |
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Case 5: Zoomify
click on image to Technology: Flash |
Abstract: This was a 3rd party product that I was introduced at the FlashForward Conference back in 2002.
What this product does is to take a lot of the work out of the production process by taking a single graphic, drag-n-drop it on top of the Zoomify icon and then make a few code changes. After just a few seconds you get an interactive image and HTML page that is ready for other viewers. In this example I'm showing an image I ran through Zoomify of the Jefferson Memorial I took a several years ago. |
Last Updated:
Thursday, May 3, 2007 12:35 PM
This site was created and is maintained by Matthew C. Kutscher © 2007
