14+Meeting+the+AECT+Standards

=Meeting the AECT Standards in Ed Tech=

The Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is a educational organization for professionals who seek to improve teaching and instruction through the use of technology. AECT has published a set of standards to guide colleges and universities in designing and implementing technology courses to ensure that students taking and completing the courses are able to meet a standard level of proficiency. The standards that pertain to Ed Tech 451 are published in detail here, but in general, students completing Ed Tech 451 must demonstrate proficiency in (1) designing, (2) developing, and (3) utilizing technology course material.

Each of the 13 projects included in this wiki illustrate the design, development, and utilization of technology, but some of the projects illustrate individual goals better than others. The Challenge 20-20 lesson was developed as an example of integrating technology in the classroom in order to achieve community-building through social networking applications. The lesson is a good illustration of AECT Standard 1: Design. The lesson features a detailed teacher lesson plan, a home page for students, an electronic handout page for students to complete, two pages with video tutorials for students to follow, and two additional information pages for students to consult. In short, the Challenge 20-20 Project is a lesson that has been designed from start to finish.

AECT Standard 2: Development prompts students to show the capability of creating instructional materials using print, audiovisual, computer-based, and integrated technologies. The lesson on perfectly competitive firms was designed to illustrate the integration of the Internet into the classroom. The lesson requires that students make substantive use of sites that include an interactive economics textbook, a website devoted the economics in Seinfeld,and two teacher-produced instructional videos on YouTube. Afterwards, student are asked to record their thoughts and reflection using Voice Thread.

Several of the projects illustrate AECT Standard 3: Utilization which asks students to demonstrate proficiency in the theories of technology utilization and the range of uses for technology in the classroom. The fourth project shows a range of applications and software for use in social studies classes, while the twelfth project highlights the uses to technology in language arts classes, physical education classes, and ESL classes. The tenth project demonstrates a huge range of videos used in economics classes. Finally, the sixth project offers a professional development opportunity for teachers wishing to know more about promoting the safe use of the Internet in their classrooms.