Instructional Design and Technology Integration
Instructional Technology, as defined by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is "the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning." The goal of instructional technology is to enhance learning through the application of concepts, constructs, principles and propositions built upon sound theory. My portfolio is broken into sections with projects illustrating each of the core components of instructional technology: design, development, utilization, management and evaluation. Instructional Technology specialists are increasingly being called upon to use technology to augment traditional educational practices for diverse populations, through e-learning and other innovative technology-enhanced learning methods. My focus in this portfolio is to create clear, comprehensive learning materials that communicate with a diverse population of learners.
I am conducting research on learning spaces at San José State University and continue to investigate technology tools to facilitate collaborative, problem-based learning. This portfolio catalogues some of the work I have done in developing technology-rich learning spaces and facilitating teaching and learning in those spaces. Too often, best practices in learning space design are overlooked when educational institutions develop new learning facilities. However, more attention is being given to building more informal, collaborative classroom environments to enable faculty and students to interact in new ways. One example is San José State's Academic Success Center and Incubator Classroom, a new technology-enhanced experimental learning space. Working in these learning spaces has pushed me to create innovative technology solutions which enable faculty to communicate more effectively with students within and outside of the classroom.