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As Educational Technology professionals, our multimedia competencies are shifting. It is no longer enough to just know how to record a video or crop an image; we must master AI-assisted content curation and multimodal scaffolding—the ability to take one medium (like video) and instantly transform it into structured, accessible learning objects.

Eduaide.AI perfectly highlights three major sub-competencies that every modern Ed Tech professional needs:

1. The ability to use Cross-Media Transformation such as youtube to create learning videos, generate questions, interactive pause-point checks

2. Universal Design for Learning & multimedia differentiation - Eduaide has the ability and it includes UDL planners and differentiation assistants that helps adjust text features, lexile levels, and format types.

3. Document Centric Workflow - Eduaide tilizes an in-document workspace where images, layout adjustments, and text modifications happen directly on the canvas. Mastering this type of unified interface is a core technological competency for modern instructional designers looking to scale production without losing pedagogical quality.

https://www.eduaide.ai/

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An integrated lesson planning platform

All your tools in one place

Source It

The act of using a Large Language Model to write the basis for a generative educational resource. Generating content is only the first step.

Shape It

Look at generated content as a sculptor might a block of marble. Shape the raw material to suit your unique context. Use our suite of personalization tools to more deeply differentiate instruction.

Share It

Cultivate expertise and collaborate with other users. Share your educational resources with a community of practice to reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute to find what works best for students.

Take back your time. Master your craft.

Start teaching with Eduaide today.

1. Join us on Discord

Get help, ask questions, and interact with other Eduaide users and learn how they are using Eduaide.

2. Advisory Board

Learn more about our Advisory Board and how they are helping us build the best lesson planning platform for teachers.

3. Podcasts & Press

If you want to learn more about Eduaide, our philosophy, and our mission, check out our featured podcasts and press.

Copyright © 2024 Eduaide.Ai. LLC All Rights Reserved. Icons provided by Icons8. Site elements by Denys Koltovskyi - stock.adobe.com

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Eduaide.Ai is an AI-driven platform that helps educators create lesson plans, teaching resources, and assessments.

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The ISTE Learning Library is a great resource because it brings together videos, articles, and other media that help coaches and educators learn how to use technology in real classrooms. It supports important skills like choosing the right digital tools and creating engaging learning experiences.

This also connects to the EdTech Books competencies, which emphasize that professionals need strong knowledge, skills, and abilities in creating, using, and managing technology. It’s a practical, easy-to-use toolkit that helps EdTech professionals build their multimedia skills while supporting teachers and student learning.

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ISTE’s Learning Library is a repository of educator-tested ideas, strategies, research and best practices for using technology to support student learning.

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I chose The Noun Project because it's something new to me and a resource I'd like to dig into more. It provides thousands of simple and professional looking icons and graphics that are all free to use. Most of my creations are done on Canva, which has it's own set of free material to use, but The Noun Project is just one more place to look for material if Canva doesn't have what I'm looking for or I'm using a different platform.

This is one resource I will defiantly be keeping in my back pocket and tabbed on my bookmarks to use. Have you tried it? Any thoughts?

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10M Free Icons & Stock Photos | SVG & PNG | Download Today

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🎨 Discover 10M high-quality SVG & PNG icons & stock photos for your next project. 🔍 Find the perfect icon or photo in seconds!

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As a digital media teacher, my students and I used Canva daily. It was my go-to resource and a one stop shop. It is a valuable tool that enhances bout our instructional methods as teachers and our students creativity. We can design engaging presentations, digital projects, and multimedia assignments, making lessons more interactive. Beyond the classroom, we can create flyers, invitations, social media content, and YouTube videos to communicate with parents and the with the school community.

Students can use Canva to design infographics, posters, and different video presentations, helping them develop a variety of essential digital literacy skills. They can collaborate on assignments and create content that they are able to use across various subjects.

It is easy to use, has awesome templates and tools that empowers both teachers and students alike.

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I chose Canva because I have recently been using it and have grown fond of it. With all its features especially if you take advantage of the Pro features, I find it so easy to create invite for events we have at work. I am able able use our corporate colors and save them in Canva for future use. One of my favorite features is the presentation feature. I recently recorded myself as I went thru a presentation and found it to be so easy to use. Canva is gaining so much popularity and they continue to make upgrades on it. The best part is that lesson plans can be made to capture the students attention.

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The News Literacy Project is a nonpartisan education nonprofit that is building a national movement to create systemic change in American education to ensure all students are skilled in news literacy before they graduate high school. I really enjoy teaching with the News Literacy Project. It really shows students, and teachers, how quickly misinformation can spread in this digital world, and provides tools like Checkology that helps students tell the difference between fact and fiction.

With this year's election cycle, the News Literacy Project breaks down all campaign propaganda on both sides. It also has lessons on AI, misinformation about world events, lesson plans, activities, posters, infographics, and more for educators. There's a weekly newsletter and opportunities for journalists to visit classrooms. As a journalism and digital media teacher, I try to incorporate a media literacy at least once a week. I feel that students today need to understand that TikTok isn't the best place to get their information. The News Literacy Project is a great organization to open students eyes to what they read on the web.

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The News Literacy Project works with educators and journalists to give students the skills they need to discern fact from fiction and to know what to trust.

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As a middle school math and special education teacher, I would like to share the digital resource Nearpod. Nearpod focuses on multiple multimedia competencies that are valuable for Ed Tech professionals. It lets teachers create lessons with different types of content like videos, quizzes, and activities that students can interact with. This helps make learning more engaging and can work for different types of learners.

I’m interested in Nearpod because it can help make math more visual and interactive. It's especially useful for students who might struggle with traditional teaching methods. I have used Nearpod to explain math concepts in different ways, provide instant feedback on practice problems, and I can easily see where the class is finding difficulty. By integrating Nearpod into my lessons, I’m embracing a tool that enhances multimedia competencies and addresses the specific needs of my diverse students.

Article: Using Nearpod as a Tool to Promote Active Learning in Higher Education https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1241026.pdf

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Nearpod: Foster a love of learning in every student

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Create active learning experiences students can’t wait to be a part of.

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Lead4ward is a resource that helps educators focus on their work and supports leaders with systems they can feel confident with. This is a useful resource for K-12 teachers. There are plenty of webinars/conferences available as well as activities to utilize in the classroom. A feature that stood out to me was the IQ-released questions analysis tool. With this tool, the teacher can search up a TEK and see how it was tested in the previous year in STAAR exams. Having access to this can help target intervention and support RTI classes in the areas they need assistance with. There is a lot of support in this website ranging from breaking down TEKS, to thinking stems and quick checks that can be implemented in the classrooms. According to their website, lead4ward anticipates and integrates the changing needs of schools, maintaining a focus on professional learning, engaging instruction, and meaningful assessment. Education is constantly changing and having resources that are created with the purpose of fostering student success can be helpful to educators.

Resource

https://lead4ward.com/resources/

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I wanted to share the article "Award-Winning Faculty Online Teaching Practices: Roles and Competencies" because it really nails down why multimedia competencies are so important for educational technologists. The study dives into the experiences of exceptional faculty to explicitly list the critical skills needed for successful online teaching, which is super relevant for us as we strive to create effective and engaging virtual learning environments.

What stands out about this article is that it doesn't just list skills; it shows real-world applications and best practices, covering technical know-how, instructional design, communication, and project management. These are all essential for making online education functional and enjoyable.

Plus, the study is backed by solid empirical research, ensuring the competencies highlighted are tried and tested in real-world scenarios. Understanding these can help us enhance the quality of our online instruction and make learning more engaging for our students.

I think you'll find it as insightful as I did, especially since it clearly shows what makes online educators successful. Link to PDF version here.

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Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2017). Digital learning compass: Distance education enrollment report 2017. Babson Survey Research Group, e-Literate, and WCET.

Allen, E., and Seaman, J. (2010) Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States. Sloan Consortium, Needham, MA.

Alvarez, I., Guasch, T., & Espasa, A. (2009) University teacher roles and competencies in online learning environments: a theoretical analysis of teaching and learning practices, European Journal of Teacher Education, 32(3), 321-336, DOI: 10.1080/02619760802624104

Anderson, T., Rourke, L., Garrison, D., & Archer, W. (2001). Assessing teaching presence in a computer conferencing context. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 5(2),1-17.

Aydin, C. (2005). Turkish mentors' perception of roles, competencies and resources for online teaching. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 6(3). Retrieved from http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/

Bawane, J. (1999). A study of the discrepancy between the competencies expected and competencies in practice among the primary school teachers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Mysore, India.

Bawane, J., & Spector, J. (2009). Prioritization of online instructor roles: Implications for competency-based teacher education programs. Distance Education, 30(3), 383-397. doi:10.1080/01587910903236536

Beck, D., & Ferdig, R. E. (2008). Evolving Roles of Online and Face-to-Face Instructors in a Lecture/Lab Hybrid Course (Vol. 7). Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED499577

Bennett, S., & Lockyer, L. (2004). Becoming an online teacher: Adapting to a changed environment for teaching and learning in higher education. Educational Media International, 41(3), 231-248. doi: 10.1080/09523980410001680842

Berge, Z. (2009). Changing instructor's roles in virtual worlds. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 9(4), 407-415.

Bigatel, P. M., Ragan, L. C., Kennan, S., May, J., & Redmond, B. F. (2012). The Identification of Competencies for Online Teaching Success. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 16(1), 59-77.

Coppola, N., Hiltz, S., & Rotter, N. (2002). Becoming a virtual professor: Pedagogical roles and asynchronous learning networks. Journal of Management Information Systems, 18(4), 169-189. Retrieved from http://www.jmis-web.org/toppage/index.html

Darabi, A. A., Sikorski, E. G., & Harvey, R. B. (2006). Validated competencies for distance teaching. Distance Education, 27(1), 105-122.

Dennis, B., Watland, P., Pirotte, S., & Verday, N. (2004). Role and competencies of the etutor. In Proceedings of the Networked Learning Conference 2004. Retrieved

from http://www.networkedlearningconference.org.uk/past/nlc2004/proceedings/

symposia/symposium6/denis_et_al.htm

Easton, S. S. (2003). Clarifying the Instructor's Role in Online Distance Learning. Communication Education, 52(2), 87-105.

Egan, T. M., & Akdere, M. (2005). Clarifying Distance Education Roles and Competencies: Exploring Similarities and Differences Between Professional and Student-Practitioner Perspectives. American Journal of Distance Education, 19(2), 87-103.

Goodyear, P. (2002). Teaching online. In N. Hativa & P. Goodyear, eds, Teacher

Thinking, Beliefs and Knowledge in Higher Education, pp. 79-101. Kluwer:

Dordrecht.

Goodyear, P., Salmon, G., Spector, J., Steeples, C., & Tickner, S. (2001). Competences for online teaching: A special report. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(1), 65-72. doi: 10.1007/BF02504508

Harasim, L., Hiltz, S.R., Teles, L. & Turoff, M. (1997). Learning networks: A field guide

to teaching and learning online. Cambridge, MA: MITT Press.

Kerka, S. (1998). Competency-based education and training: Myths and realities. ERIC Digest Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED415430

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2001). Lessons from the cyberspace classroom: The realities of online teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Richey, R.C., Fields, D.C., Foxon, M. (2001). Instructional design competencies: The standards, third edition. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology.

Salmon, G. (2000). E-moderating: The key to teaching and learning online. London: Taylor & Francis.

Shank, P. (2004). Competencies for online instructors: Why have instructor competencies for online instructors? Retrieved from http://www.learningpeaks.com/instrcomp.pdf

Smith, T. C. (2005). Fifty-one competencies for online instruction. The Journal of Educators Online, 2(2), 1-18.

Spector, J. M., & De la Teja, I. (2001). Competencies for Online Teaching. ERIC Digest.

Stephenson, J. (2001). Teaching and Learning Online: Pedagogies for New Technologies.London: Kogan Page.

Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research (Vol. 15). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Thach, E. C., & Murphy, K. L. (1995). Competencies for Distance Education Professionals. Educational Technology Research and Development, 43(1), 57-79.

Varvel, V. (2007). Master online teacher competencies. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 10(1). Retrieved from http://www2.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/

Wiesenberg, F., & Stacey, E. (2008). Teaching philosophy: Moving from face-to-face to

online classrooms. Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education, 34(1), 63-69.

Williams, P. (2003). Roles and competencies for distance education programs in higher education institutions. American Journal of Distance Education, 17(1), 45-57. doi: 10.1207/S15389286AJDE1701_4

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Award-Winning Faculty Online Teaching Practices: Roles and Competencies

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Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2017). Digital learning compass: Distance education enrollment report 2017. Babson Survey Research Group, e-Literate, and WCET. Allen, E., and Seaman, J. (2010) Learning on Demand: Online Education in the United States. Sloan Consortium, Needham, MA. Alvarez, I., Guasch, T., & Espasa, A.

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I chose Canva because it is a helpful tool for creating visual content, such as presentations, infographics, social media posts, and logos. It is ideal for EdTech professionals looking to build multimedia skills. Canva's user-friendly design and extensive library of templates and graphics make it accessible whether you are just starting or have some design experience. Visual communication is essential for engaging students and communicating information effectively through educational technology. Canva allows educators to quickly create professional-quality materials when designing a lesson plan, interactive instructional content, or material for an online course. Canva is also helpful for business applications. As a business advisor, I use it to help clients design logos and create graphics for their websites and social media. With Canva, clients can maintain a consistent brand image across digital platforms. Mastering Canva improves your design skills and allows you to share this expertise with students or colleagues.

Canva offers both a free and a premium version with extra features. Additionally, Canva provides certification programs, which can help you further develop your design skills and demonstrate your expertise. Overall, Canva is a designing tool that supports the development of essential multimedia skills for EdTech professionals in education and other fields.

Link to Resource: Canva

Also check out Canva Design School

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Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool. Use it to create social media posts, presentations, posters, videos, logos and more.

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I chose to share the site We are Teachers. The site contains a vast number of articles on topics that interest and inspire educators. As stated on their website, "Ideas and inspiration for reaching the the next generation". We must be able to shift our mindset and be willing to adapt our teaching methods to prepare our students for a technological world and workforce. The article linked on this padlet discusses different technology tools that allow for students to engage in the learning by going beyond simple rote memorization.

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The most engaging technology tools take learning to the next level. They give our students the opportunity to be creative and actively participate in their learning. What makes these tools so engaging is that they are interactive, and we all know that when students are in the driver's seat, they take the wheel. If they are sitting in the backseat, they zone out. We picked the 10 best tech tools for student engagement, keeping these goals in mind.

Goal: I want to make note-taking more exciting and collaborative for my students.

If your students complain that taking notes is boring and tedious, the Logitech Pen (for Chromebook) and Logitech Crayon (for iPad) are some of the best tech tools for student engagement. Kids can write, draw, sketch, and annotate digitally without losing the retention benefit that handwritten note-taking provides. They also encourage student collaboration since they pair automatically and can be used with multiple devices at once.

Learn More:

Goal: I want my students to have fun and move during class.

Brain breaks and mindfulness are so effective in helping our students take a break and refocus. Go Noodle is hands down the best tool for this. We love using these videos as warm-ups and closers too. Indoor recess? No problem, Go Noodle!

Learn More:

Goal: I want my students to have fun while I find out what they know.

It's been around since 2013, and the reason is that Kahoot! is so much fun and students love it. You create (or choose from existing) games, and students play together on their own devices.

Learn More:

Goal: I want to create a classroom community for my students and their families.

When our students feel like they belong, they are engaged in learning. To create a community online, Class Dojo is the best tool. There are so many features we love, like the morning meet app, think/pair/share app, the class storyboard that you can fill with posts and videos and share with parents, and the positive points you can give students.

Learn More:

Goal: I want to make reviewing for quizzes and tests more engaging.

I don't know a student who doesn't love playing Jeopardy. It's so much more fun than flipping through flashcards or completing a study guide on paper. This tool is so quick and easy to use. You can create a Jeopardy-style quiz board in just a few minutes.

Learn More:

Goal: I want my students to get creative in telling their stories.

Some of the most magical classroom moments are when students create and tell a story and then celebrate it by sharing it with each other. These publishing parties were some of my favorite teaching memories. If you do the writer's workshop model and are looking for a tool to help bring your students' creations to life, this is it. Students select artwork from professional artists and create a book. Plus, there are over 700 creative challenges students all over the world participate in.

Learn More:

Goal: I want my students to see themselves as writers and get excited about writing.

So often, our students feel like writing is a talent they have or lack. They don't realize that it is a muscle that they can develop through practice. When we call our students writers, and introduce them to the same practices that professional writers use, it's engaging. Kidblog is such a great tool because it's a platform for students to consistently publish their writing. Best part, it's safe, and there are opportunities for students to share their writing with classmates and students all over the world.

Learn More:

Goal: I want to make my lessons more interactive and fun.

There's a reason why Nearpod is so popular; it works. I've never met a teacher who didn't like using it because it takes what you already have (Google Slides, Powerpoint, YouTube Video) and makes it interactive. From polls to game-based quizzes, virtual reality, and simulations, there are so many ways to bring your students from passive recipients to active learners.

Learn More:

Goal: I want to use gamification and incentives to engage my students.

There's a reason why games engage students. They choose to play them on their own time. Whenever we can integrate how our kids like to play and have fun with their learning, engagement takes place. We love this tool because high schoolers created it. It's a classroom game-show platform where students own virtual currency they can "invest" during the game to boost their score.

Learn More:

Goal: I want to help my students get to know each other and bond.

We love this app for icebreakers and interactive team building. You can use it to set up scavenger hunts where you put students on teams, and they work together to find different objects you assign. They take a photo of the objects and post them on the app. Best part: the app does the hard work for you and keeps track of points, so you can declare a winner at the end.

What are your favorite tech tools for student engagement? Share in the comments below!

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The 10 Best Tech Tools For Student Engagement

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The most engaging technology tools take learning to the next level. They give our students the opportunity to be creative and actively participate in their learning. What makes these tools so engaging is that they are interactive, and we all know that when students are in the driver's seat, they take the wheel.

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I chose the eLearning Industry to serve as an instructional technology resource as it provides great information on vast areas within this field. At eLearning Industry you will find the best collection of eLearning articles, eLearning concepts, eLearning software, amoung many other areas. The provide an array of resources such as articles, ebooks, amd webinars. The topics covered in these resources range from immersive learning, buisness growth, employee training, LMS, eLearning design and development. They also focus on dispersing information about software services and eLearning content providers. I think this is a great resource overall to gain knowledge and awarness about the field of eLearning.

Reference

Discover the best collection of eLearning articles, concepts, software and eLearning resources. (2018). ELearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/

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The digital resource that I would like to share with you all is ClassDojo. Class Dojo is a web-based communication platform that connects teachers, students, and parents to create a positive classroom culture. It provides a simple and easy-to-use interface that allows teachers to send messages, share photos and videos, and post updates about classroom activities. This helps parents stay informed about their child's academic progress and enables them to be involved in their child's education. One of the most impressive features of Class Dojo is its ability to create a sense of community within the classroom. Whether you're a K-12 teacher or a college professor, Class Dojo can help you create a more engaged and collaborative classroom environment.

Reference:

ClassDojo. (n.d.). Learn all about ClassDojo ♥. ClassDojo. https://www.classdojo.com/el-gr/

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Join 95% of U.S. schools using ClassDojo to engage kids and connect with families! Free for teachers, forever.

Sign up as a...

ClassDojo connects teachers with students and parents to build amazing classroom communities

Create a positive culture

Teachers can encourage students for any skill or value - whether it's working hard, being kind, helping others or something else

Give students a voice

Students can showcase and share their learning by adding photos and videos to their own portfolios

Share moments with parents

Get parents engaged by sharing photos and videos of wonderful classroom moments

Share the story of your classroom with families

Instantly share photos, videos, and announcements on Class Story, or privately message with any parent 😍

Parents easily join your class using any device

Instantly translate messages into 30+ languages

Let families know when you're busy with Quiet Hours

All your classroom tools in one place

Make random groups of students. Display activity directions. Turn on background music. And there's so much more to come with ClassDojo Toolkit.

Give students a voice with digital portfolios

Students can showcase their learning by adding photos and videos to their own digital portfolios. Available on Chromebooks, iPads, and any computer.

Bring your school community together

Teachers, school leaders, and families can partner on ClassDojo and create an incredible school community.

Presenting?
We've got you covered!

Free resources and FAQs with
everything you need to present!

Get Resources

Never miss a moment! Stay engaged in your child's growth, no matter how busy you are.

Learn More

Any classroom, any device. 100% free.

Works on iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, and on any computer

ClassDojo will always be free for teachers

Ready to join millions of other teachers?

Get started now

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ClassDojo helps teachers, parents, and students build amazing classroom communities.

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Edutopia is a fantastic resource that provides a multitude of strategies and ways to implement best innovative practices for our 21st century learners. It is richly focused on project-based learning, social and emotional learning, blended learning, and access to all the trendy uses of technology. Their mission is to focus on the following three fundamental skills: The ability to find fact-based information, The ability to assess the quality of information, and the ability to effectively use the information learned to accomplish a goal.

Reference

Lucas, G. (2023). Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/

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George Lucas Educational Foundation

The benefits of movement in the classroom aren't limited to younger students. Pairing new words and concepts with gestures or dance moves locks in understanding-and active brain breaks prime students to learn even more.

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A free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education.

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TCEA is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting educators in their use of technology to improve student learning. Their Twitter account or X is a valuable resource for educators and anyone interested in education technology. I chose to share their X account because they are constantly sharing a variety of content daily. Their free resources, tips and advice for using technology in the classroom to articles and blogs and even current events or news about their organization is always valuable information to learn about. Not only do you get access to wonderful resources it connects you to a community with other educators to learn from their experiences. If you’ve neve heard of TCEA, I encourage you to check out their website and become a member. They will offer free memberships at certain times of the year, or just follow them on X and have access to all of the free resources they share!

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Tweets by TCEA

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"Educational Technology and Mobile Learning" is a well-known website that offers valuable resources for educators looking to enhance their multimedia competencies. They regularly publish articles, guides, and resources focusing on various educational technology tools and strategies, including those related to multimedia integration in educational settings.

You can find a variety of articles and resources on their website that discuss the latest trends, best practices, and tools related to multimedia integration in education. This platform can provide valuable insights and practical tips for Ed Tech professionals seeking to improve their multimedia competencies and effectively integrate technology into their practice. Click on the link to access a wealth of valuable resources in the field of educational technology and multimedia competencies.

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning (ETML) is a blog owned and operated by Med Kharbach. Dr. Kharbach holds a PhD in educational studies from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Canada. He was also a K-12 teacher with over 12 years of classroom teaching experience.

I launched ETML in 2010 with the purpose of helping my fellow EFL (English as Foreign Language) teachers integrate technology in English language teaching. Fast forward to 2022, ETML became among the top EdTech blogs with over 7000 published blog posts. ETML has been referenced in a wide variety of academic research journals, books, and news outlets including the New York Times, Huffpost.com, Hubspot.com... [continue reading].

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning (ETML) is a blog owned and operated by Med Kharbach. Dr. Kharbach holds a PhD in educational studies from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Canada. He was also a K-12 teacher with over 12 years of classroom teaching experience.

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I chose to use the Google Certified Coach Curriculum site, because as a new digital learning specialist this self-paced course helped me transition to this new role. This program is ISTE approved and provides coaches with tools and strategies for coaching teachers. This program guides the coach through the 5 Step Coaching Model also called the Challenge-Based Coaching Model. This model starts with identifying the problem a teacher is trying to solve and guides you, the coach, to coaching the teacher by offering tools and strategies. This curriculum is aligned to the ISTE Coaching Standards. I think this is a great resources for Edtech coaches.

Another resource which is recommended on the ISTE Coaching Standards website is the Edtech Coaching Primer Book. We read it last year in a book study that our digital learning department engaged us in to help us with coaching. We are diving deeper into the book this year as we apply our learning.

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This tailored curriculum provides instructional coaches with tools and strategies that support their 1:1 interactions with educators. The curriculum is designed to be completed sequentially (e.g. follow the lessons in the order they are listed).

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I discovered Common Sense Education as a resource for this assignment. It provides a range of resources, lessons, and tools for educators to teach digital citizenship and integrate technology in the classroom. Topics covered include digital footprint, reputation, news, media literacy, cyberbullying, online safety, privacy, and security. They offer lesson plans, videos, interactive activities, and even a certification program for educators.

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Our website for families provides reviews and ratings of movies, books, games, apps, and other media to help parents and families make informed decisions about the media their children use.

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Common Sense Education provides educators and students with the resources they need to harness the power of technology for learning and life. Find our free K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum, reviews of popular edtech apps, tips on teaching responsible AI use, and resources for protecting student privacy and online safety.

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For this assignment, I chose a site I have used in previous courses.  Brainscape.com hosts the page - Top 10 EdTech blogs you should know.  I have revisited the site many times as the information is constantly updated.  Each blog has a specific focus, from learning tips and tricks to the more formalized ISTE website.  Each of these blogs listed in one site keeps the information a few clicks away, rather than trying to visit each one independently.  The variety of these blog sites allows the reader to find what they are looking for and provides a tremendous amount of resources that can utilized as well.

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Education is evolving fast. Every day, we hear about some new technology that will change the world and the way we learn in it.

At Brainscape, we are dedicated to improving the way you learn with our own innovative smart flashcard technology ( check out our subjects here), but there are many other educational technologies that are key to improving learning around the world.

Because these rapid changes offer us the chance to improve education at every level for all people, it is more important now than ever before for teachers and students to have access to the best new methods, programs, and devices in the field right away.

Luckily, many dedicated educators blog about some of the best education technologies available and the evolution of their uses. These 10 EdTech blogs are our favorites here at Brainscape.

Smart, pithy, and immediately useful, these blogs will teach you plenty about the best and most up-to-date technologies for use inside classrooms, at home, and wherever there are students who want to learn.

Top 10 education technology blogs

1. The Innovative Educator

If you have ever felt that school was boring or irrelevant, the Innovative Educator, Lisa Nielson, understands how you feel. Motivated by her own disillusionment with the way public schools today approach teaching, Nielson focuses on showing other educators ways that they can use freely available resources and technologies already within students' grasps to make classes more engaging and relevant. Not only does Nielson deal with broad ideas about technology in the classroom, but also the nitty gritty details of implementation, so that teachers will be able to use her ideas without having to struggle against a budget process or other restrictions.

Check out Innovative Educator.

2. The Daring Librarian

Gwyneth Jones, the Daring Librarian herself, knows that librarians can have lots of fun. Approaching ed-tech with a sense of humor and plenty of Vines and cartoons to illustrate her stories, Jones writes a blog that entertains as it informs. Not only does she provide plenty of excellent content on new apps and ideas on how to use everyday websites as learning opportunities, but also a good measure of fun stories that will have you laughing out loud.

Check out The Daring Librarian.

3. EdTech RoundUp

With weekly posts on the state of technology in education, EdTech RoundUp is the best place to go to find out the latest news related to education tech. The comprehensive coverage of news and recently released apps and devices allows you to find out the latest happenings in just one place every week. While this blog may not have as many original ideas as some other blogs in the field, the RoundUp provides you with the best place to keep informed on progress in the field.

Check out EdTech RoundUp.

4. MindShift

When you are tired of reading the same ideas over and over again written in different words on different blogs, head over to MindShift for something unique. Focusing on slightly edgier, more fringe topics within the educational technology field, MindShift opens your eyes to totally new ideas. With its wide scope and its dedication to sharing all unique opinions on education, MindShift will give you plenty to talk about with your colleagues.

Check out Mindshift.

5. Free Technology 4 Teachers

While ideas are great, implementation remains the biggest challenge for many teachers. A lack of resources and tools plagues many schools, making it more difficult to use technology in the classroom. Richard Byrne addresses this in his blog, Free Technology 4 Teachers. His well-organized site is a treasure trove of free apps, software, videos, and graphics that teachers can use in the classroom right away. Practical and clear, Byrne gives suggestions that even the least tech-savvy teacher can use.

Check out Free Technology 4 Teachers.

6. Cycles of Learning

Who doesn't like a good life hack? Ramsay Musallam recognized how useful hacks could be in classrooms, so he set up Cycles of Learning to share practical education tech hacks to make teachers' lives just a bit easier. Once you see his TED Talk on sparking learning, you won't be able to get enough of his content. By focusing on simple ways to inspire real learning in students using technology in the classroom, Musallam shows us that even learning can be hacked.

Check out Cycles of Learning.

7. Edutopia

Hosted by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, Edutopia has plenty of well-indexed information on how technology can be used in classrooms. Since information is filed by age group and topic, teachers can easily get practical ideas that are relevant to their current curriculum without wading through lots of ideas that won't quite work for their individual situations. With plenty of videos and fun quizzes, Edutopia can be a fun place to browse even if you aren't looking for anything specific. Make sure to click on their "Trending Topics" section to find out what the hottest topics are currently in education technology.

Check out Edutopia.

8. Steve Hargadon

Don't let the simple design and lack of flash fool you; Steve Hargadon's blog provides plenty of worthwhile current information on educational technologies. A true ed-tech leader, Hargadon is the director of the Web 2.0 Labs, host of the Future of Education interview series, chair of the Social Learning Summit and the Learning 2.0 Conference, and co-chair of the annual Global Education and Library 2.0 worldwide conferences. As Hargadon is one of the top experts on educational technology, you can be assured that reading his blog will give you plenty of innovative ideas.

Check out Steve Hargadon.

9. EdSurge

EdSurge is a buzzing community of education technology educators and entrepreneurs. It's a wonderful mix of teachers, storytellers, and techies. It was founded by a long-term journalist called Betsy Corcoran, who served as EdSurge's chief executive. The blog focuses on the future of learning, where you can dive into topics focused on PK-12, Higher Ed, and Education Business.

Check out EdSurge.

10. ISTE

ISTE is arguably one of the biggest tech education organizations in the world. It's infamous for organizing large events for educators in technology every year. Although the membership requires a fee, their blog on education and technology are free and accessible.

Check out ISTE.

Edtech blogs keep you current

While all of these favorites are worth bookmarking in our opinion, every day more creative education tech blogs pop up with new approaches and unique ideas. At Brainscape, we love reading any education technology blog we happen upon- there's always something new to learn.

Education technology never stops changing, but by following some of the leaders in the field, we can make sure that we are in the know about the best ideas out there to help our students.

If you are interested in other useful teaching advice, check out our guide for how to improve your students' knowledge retention.

Best of luck in your education career!

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Education is evolving fast. Every day, we hear about some new technology that will change the world and the way we learn in it. At Brainscape, we are dedicated to improving the way you learn with our own innovative smart flashcard technology ( check out our subjects here), but there are many other educational technologies that are key to improving learning around the world.

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https://www.edsurge.com/
I decided to share EdSurge as a digital resource for a number of reasons. First, EdSurge is an independent news and research site for people who work in education technology. It has articles, tips, and research reports about the latest trends, tools, and strategies in the field. It talks about things like personalized learning, blended learning, instructional technology, data and analytics, and more. Second, EdSurge also has a job board for professionals, which gives them chances to move up in their careers. It also holds events and conferences where professionals can meet each other, share the best ways to do things, and learn from experts. Lastly, professionals can stay up-to-date, grow their professional networks, and improve their skills in the field of educational technology, which is always changing.

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EdSurge - Education Journalism and Research

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A nonprofit newsroom reporting on the powerful forces, fascinating people and innovative practices shaping teaching and learning.

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Open Learn: Free Learning from The Open University 

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Open Learn is a website that provides free courses, interactive opportunities, and videos over a wide variety of topics. I  searched "Multimedia and Technology Enhanced Learning" and was provided with 904 resources related to this specific topic. This source includes various multimedia examples, case studies, and practical exercises to help one develop the necessary competencies for integrating multimedia into educational technology.  I chose this resource because it is easy to use, free, and provides a large variety of ways to learn new skills and stay up to date on trending technologies.

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Get inspired and learn something new today

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Get inspired and learn something new today free course icon Level level 1: introductory icon Badge icon free course icon Level level 1: introductory icon Badge icon free course icon Level level 2: intermediate icon Badge icon You can use OpenLearn to From 1 to 100 hours of learning - discover hundreds of free courses to inspire and inform everyone.

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This research based article is a wealth of information for a variety of reasons. Not only does it highlight the importance of the KSA framework, but it provides resources that link to several professional organizations that support competencies and standards for the instructional technology profession. The article also provides specific researchers and highlights their works to contribute to the examination of instructional technology profession. I found the information in the article to be helpful because it breaks down the importance of this profession and supports everything with research from credible sources.

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2. Instructional Design Knowledge

3. Sources of Design Knowledge

Students entering the field of instructional design must possess a wide array of competencies to be successful in their future roles (Ritzhaupt & Martin, 2014). Competencies are the knowledge, skills, and abilities professionals need in their roles, while standards speak to a pre-defined level of quality or attainment of those competencies. Competencies and standards are essential aspects to advance professionals in this field. Several professional organizations guide the development of competencies and standards. They also have certification programs for instructional designers and instructional programs. In this chapter, we review the instructional design standards and competencies both from professional organizations and those proposed by researchers who guide the educational preparation of instructional designers and also support their academic and work experiences.

Competency and Standard

In this section, we review the term competency and standard before we introduce instructional design competencies from professional organizations and from research. Richey et al. (2001) defined competency as "a knowledge, skill or [ability] that enables one to effectively perform the activities of a given occupation or function to the standards expected in employment" (p. 26). Spector and De la Teja (2001, p. 2) refer to the term competency as "a state of being well qualified to perform an activity, task or job function" and competency refers to the "way that a state of competence can be demonstrated to the relevant community." Thus, competencies are specific to a community of endeavor in which professionals determine the competencies valuable to the profession. As competencies are identified and developed, professionals express these competencies as standards to assist professionals, professional associations, academic programs, and the larger community to better understand the domain of interest.

The KSA framework, comprised of Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities, has been used by researchers to study competencies in the field. Ritzhaupt et al. (2010) used the KSA framework to categorize educational technology competencies into knowledge, skills and abilities statements. Figure 1 illustrates this framework in light of three domains used to characterize the field: creating, using, and managing. The KSAs represent the core processes and resources used by those practicing in the field, which are the creation of instructional materials, learning environments, and instructional products using systematic approaches and based on research to improve learning and performance. Using refers to selecting, using, and implementing educational technologies and processes to support student learning and to enhance their pedagogy. Management refers to managing people, processes, physical infrastructures, and financial resources to create diverse learning environments and provide supportive learning communities to improve learning and performance (AECT Standards 2012, 2008).
Figure 1 Knowledge, Skill, and Abilities Statements for Educational Technologists (Adapted from Ritzhaupt et al., 2010)
Standards are critically important to establish a foundation for a field. For instance, the field of project management established the well-known American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) Guide to The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), which is used as the basis for the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification program and as the official body of knowledge for the profession.

Instructional Design and Technology Competencies and Standards From Professional Organizations

The field of instructional design is comprised of several professional organizations, several of which define competencies and standards for the profession. Table 1 provides a summary of these professional organizations and the following section provides more details about each. Each organization has a different focus and provides standards and competencies for their relevant programs. Students should be reminded that these standards and competencies serve as ideal frameworks, and should not be discouraged by their scope.
Table 1 Professional Organizations Who Publish Instructional Design and Technology Standards
International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (IBSTPI)
http://ibstpi.org/
Ibstpi Vision: To be the leader in setting international standards in the areas of training, instruction, learning, and performance improvement.

Ibstpi Mission: Develop, validate, and promote implementation of international standards to advance training, instruction, learning, and performance improvement for individuals and organizations.

Ibstpi has competency sets for various learning and development roles, including the instructional designer. They also have competency sets for other roles such as training manager, evaluator, instructor, and learner. For the instructional designer, Ibstpi (2012) developed 22 competencies across five domains.

Each of these competencies has detailed performance statements and a level of expertise (essential, managerial and advanced) identified for each of them. Ibstpi goes through a rigorous development model to identify and validate these competencies. The steps in the model include preliminary analysis of job roles, identification of foundational research, competency drafting by directors and experts, validation study design, translation of research instruments in multiple languages and implementation worldwide with working professionals, data analysis and competency validation, publishing final competencies and performance statements and disseminating the competencies to practitioners, researchers and organizations.

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)
https://www.iste.org/
ISTE Vision: ISTE's vision is that all educators are empowered to harness technology to accelerate innovation in teaching and learning, and inspire learners to reach their greatest potential.

ISTE Mission: ISTE inspires educators worldwide to use technology to innovate teaching and learning, accelerate good practice, and solve tough problems in education by providing community, knowledge, and the ISTE Standards-a framework for rethinking education and empowering learners.

ISTE has developed well-adopted standards for students, teachers, administrators, coaches, and computer science educators. The ISTE standards are widely accepted in the K-12 community, and have been transformed into assessment systems (Hohlfeld et al., 2010) and a new professional credential offered by ISTE known as the ISTE Certification, which is a vendor neutral teacher certification based on the ISTE Standards for Educators. The ISTE Standards for Educators can be accessed at https://www.iste.org > standards for more information.

They include:

1. Learner: Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning.

2. Leader: Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning.

3. Citizen: Educators inspire students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world.

4. Collaborator: Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems.

5. Designer: Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability.

6. Facilitator: Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students.

7. Analyst: Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving their learning goals.

International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI)
https://www.ispi.org/
ISPI Vision: Performance improvement practices are recognized globally as an essential part of every organization's competitive strategy.

ISPI Mission: ISPI and its members use evidence-based performance improvement research and practices to effect sustainable, measurable results and add value to stakeholders in the private, public, and social sectors.

ISPI has proposed 10 Human Performance Practitioner Standards for instructional designers who assume the specialized role of performance consultants. The ten standards include,

1. Focus on Results or Outcomes

2. Take a Systemic View

3. Add Value

4. Work in Partnership with Clients and Stakeholders

5. Determine Need or Opportunity

6. Determine Cause

7. Design Solutions including Implementation and Evaluation

8. Ensure Solutions' Conformity and Feasibility

9. Implement Solutions

10. Evaluate Results and Impact

In addition to the practitioner standards, ISPI also has accreditation standards for organizations and programs/courses. ISPI certifies practitioners though a rigorous peer-review process and with the opportunity for the practitioners to be re-certified every three years.

Association for Talent Development (ATD)
https://www.td.org/
ATD Vision: Create a World That Works Better

ATD Mission: Empower Professionals to Develop Talent in the Workplace

ATD certifies professionals in learning and performance (CPLP) and associate professionals in talent development. The Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) candidates are tested on ten (10) areas of expertise and include:

1. Performance Improvement

2. Instructional Design

3. Training Delivery

4. Learning Technologies

5. Evaluating Learning Impact

6. Managing Learning Programs

7. Integrated Talent Management

8. Coaching

9. Knowledge Management

10. Change Management

ATD also has a competency model for learning and development through which they identify roles, areas of expertise, and foundational competencies for professionals in learning and performance.

Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)
https://www.aect.org/
AECT Vision: We seek to be the premier international organization in educational technology, the organization to which others refer for research and best practices.

AECT Mission: Provide international leadership by promoting scholarship and best practices in the creation, use, and management of technologies for effective teaching and learning.

Januszewski and Molenda (2007) defined Educational Technology as "the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources" (p.1).

AECT has developed standards for educational technologists in five areas. These standards can be accessed from the AECT website.

For each of the standards, there are several indicators provided. AECT certifies graduate certificate programs in higher education who prepare educational technologists based on these standards.

University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA)
https://upcea.edu/
UPCEA is a leading association of professional, continuing and online education. Their goal is to provide high quality, professional, continuing and online education programs of practice in higher education.

UPCEA® Purposes:

To promote quality in professional and continuing higher education.

UPCEA has seven standards identified to provide excellence in online learning leadership.

1. Internal Advocacy

2. Entrepreneurial Initiative

3. Faculty Support

4. Student Support

5. Digital Technology

6. External Advocacy

7. Professionalism

Online Learning Consortium (OLC)
https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/
OLC® Vision: Setting the global standard in online and digital learning

OLC® Mission: Creating community and connections around quality online and digital learning while driving innovation

OLC's Five Pillars of Quality Online Education include:

Instructional Design and Technology Competencies From Research

In addition to the professional organizations, several researchers have examined instructional design competencies and standards over the years. Table 2 below provides details of researchers and the competencies and standards examined for various instructional design professionals. These articles can be used to plan professional development, academic programs, and learning experiences for our professionals and emerging professionals.
Table 2 Instructional Design and Technology Competencies From Research

Liu, Gibby, Quiros, and Demps (2002)

Instructional Designers

Interviews

Problem-solving and decision-making skills

Kenny, Zhang, Schwier and Campbell (2007)

Instructional Designers

Literature Review

Communication skills, knowledge of instructional design models, problem-solving/decision-making skills, and technology skills

Ritzhaupt, Martin and Daniels (2010)

Educational Technologists

Job Announcement Analysis and Survey of Professionals

Multimedia competencies for educational technologists

Lowenthal, Wilson and Dunlap (2010)

Instructional Designers

Job Announcement Analysis

Instructional design experience, communication skills and collaboration skills

Wakefield, Warren and Mills (2012)

Instructional Designers

Job Announcement Analysis

Communication and interpersonal skills, managing multiple instructional

Design projects, specific traits, and collaborative skills

Ritzhaupt and Kumar (2015)

Instructional Designers in Higher Education

In-depth Interviews

Solid foundation in instructional design and learning theory, possess soft skills and technical skills, and have a willingness to learn on the job

Learning theory also guides ethical decision-making when engaged in the creation of a wide-array of learning solutions. Professionals must also stay abreast in emerging learning technologies and should possess both the ability to learn independently and the commitment to lifelong learning. Other knowledge, skills, and abilities were identified in these studies, but these areas noted were frequently observed and noted.

Conclusion

Professional competencies and standards are helpful ways to communicate the value-add of our professionals to stakeholders outside of our community in various professional contexts (e.g., healthcare), to assist our professionals and emerging professionals in planning professional development and lifelong learning (e.g., which webinar to attend), and to guide our academic programs to align with the expectations of the needs in our field (e.g., selecting which topics to cover in an instructional design course). While no list of competencies and standards is complete, those enumerated in this chapter provide readers a glimpse of the status of the profession as described by our professional organizations and existing research literature. Students entering the profession should spend time on learning these competencies and standards to identify career paths and professional development opportunities. We conclude the chapter with some independent learning activities for your edification.

Application Exercises

1. How should professional competencies and standards be identified, documented, and used by professionals in our field? What forms of research methods have been used to identify and document these competencies and standards? Write a brief overview of how you think competencies and standards should be developed in our profession by reviewing the existing articles listed in Table 2.

2. Read three of the recent articles listed in Table 2. Using the competencies and standards provided in these articles, write a short list of professional learning outcomes for yourself to achieve in the next calendar year.

3. Explore one of the professional organizations discussed in this chapter to identify more detailed information about the organization, including when the professional organization hosts its annual conference, the cost of membership, the list of readings available with membership, and any of professional learning (e.g., webinars) provided by the organization for its members.

4. Some scholars, such as Ritzhaupt and Martin (2010; 2014; 2018) have expressed the competencies of professionals using knowledge, skill, and ability statements. Using this approach, search and identify 10 instructional design professional position announcements using tools like indeed.com. After identifying the announcements, code the knowledge, skill, and ability statements found in these announcements.

References

Brown, A., Sugar, B. & Daniels, L. (2007). Media production curriculum and competencies: Identifying entry-level multimedia production competencies and skills of instructional design and technology professionals: Results from a biennial survey. Paper presented at Association of Educational Communcations and Technology.

Hohlfeld, T. N., Ritzhaupt, A. D., & Barron, A. E. (2010). Development and validation of the Student Tool for Technology Literacy (ST2L). Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(4), 361-389.

Januszewski, A., Molenda, M., & Harris, P. (Eds.). (2008). Educational technology: A definition with commentary (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associate

Kang, Y., & Ritzhaupt, A. D. (2015). A job announcement analysis of educational technology professional positions: Knowledge, skills, and abilities. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 43(3), 231-256.

Kenny, R.F., Zhang, Z., Schwier, R.A., & Campbell, K. (2008). A review of what instructional designers do: Questions answered and questions not asked. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 31(1).

Liu, M., Gibby, S., Quiros, O. & Demps, E. (2002). Challenges of being an instructional designer for new media development: A view from the practitioners. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 11(3), 195-219.

Lowenthal, P., Wilson, B. G., & Dunlap, J. C. (2010). An analysis of what instructional designers need to know and be able to do to get a job. Presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Anaheim, CA.

Ritzhaupt, A. D., & Kumar, S. (2015). Knowledge and skills needed by instructional designers in higher education. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 28(3), 51-69.

Ritzhaupt, A. D., & Martin, F. (2014). Development and validation of the educational technologist multimedia competency survey. Educational Technology Research and Development, 62(1), 13-33.

Ritzhaupt, A., Martin, F., & Daniels, K. (2010). Multimedia competencies for an educational technologist: A survey of professionals and job announcement analysis. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 19(4), 421-449.

Ritzhaupt, A. D., Martin, F., Pastore, R., & Kang, Y. (2018). Development and validation of the educational technologist competencies survey (ETCS): Knowledge, skills, and abilities. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 30(1), 3-33.

Spector, J. M., & De la Teja, I. (2001). Competencies for online teaching. ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology, Syracuse University.

Tennyson, R. D. (2001). Defining core competencies of an instructional technologist. Computers in Human Behavior, 17, 355-361.

Williams van Rooij, S. (2013). The career path to instructional design project management: An expert perspective from the US professional services sector. International Journal of Training and Development, 17(1), 33-53.

Wakefield, J., Warren, S., & Mills, L. (2012). Traits, skills, and competencies aligned with workplace demands: What today's instructional designers need to master. In P. Resta (Ed.), Proceedings of society for information technology and teacher education international conference 2012 (pp.3126-3132).

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Standards and Competencies for Instructional Design and Technology Professionals

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Instructional Design Knowledge Sources of Design Knowledge Students entering the field of instructional design must possess a wide array of competencies to be successful in their future roles (Ritzhaupt & Martin, 2014). Competencies are the knowledge, skills, and abilities professionals need in their roles, while standards speak to a pre-defined level of quality or attainment of those competencies.

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This article was interesting to me because it clearly laid out what the KSA (knowledge, skills, abilities) of the instructional designer are, and it showed which of these KSA's show up most often in job postings. When there is so much to learn, this helps to prioritize KSA's that would most likely be needed and desired by employers.

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ISTE Standards for educators: https://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards-for-teachers

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is an international set of standards for educators with technological applications and implementation best practices at its core. This link provides EdTech leaders with seven pillars it deems essential for optimal technology integration within education.

Technology Integration Matrix- https://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2019_TIM_Summary_Descriptors_Portrait_BW-US.pdf

Where the ISTE standards provide powerful individual threads of proper edTech integration, the TIM takes it one step further by providing a multidimensional spectrum of technology integration intertwined with characteristics of optimal learning environments. I see the ISTE standards as individual threads of understanding and application and the TIM as a fabric of edTech reality that grounds the dynamic dance of education and technology. Tim is a great tool to see where an educator or edTech leader may stand within a specific lesson or overall class experience motif.

I believe the ISTE standards and the TIM provide a well-focused set of multimedia competencies and the language of best educational practices.

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I discovered this article during the Instructional Design course. It highlights the many ways that ADA Compliance can be considered specifically for online course frameworks. As we prepare for our final multimedia project, I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Millers' view that ADA compliance has reached the point where it is no longer optional, but a valuable necessity to instructional design.

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Lessons learned from campuses nationwide have informed an approach to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act during the process of online

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I picked this article for two reasons; the first is to remind us that we should always be prepared for the unexpected and the second reason is because I want to share this resource with others because it is a free resource with good information pertaining to education.

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Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning

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All it took was an international pandemic to help finally get media literacy into the educational system. If only we had gotten a better head start years ago.

Those of us in the world of media literacy education and research have been talking and writing for some time now about the importance of media and information literacy for everyone in society. Indeed, some of the foundational works on the topic date back to the mid-20 th century.

Many media literacy researchers have focused on addressing this need by integrating media literacy curricula into the educational system at the K-12 level. Others, like myself, have also advocated for the inclusion of media training in post-secondary higher education as well.

To a very limited extent, this has started to happen. Unquestionably, media have become a bigger part of the learning experience at all levels of the educational system, as a function of the growth of technology in all aspects of life. If one walked into an elementary, high school, or college classroom of the late 2010s, it would certainly have included dramatically more media integration than could have been imagined just a few years prior.

But, for all the media technologies that have come to be used as tools in education, there has continued to be surprisingly little time devoted to actually teaching about media. Such educational experiences-related to both media production and analysis-are particularly important in higher education. Young adults during their college years are especially in need of training to help them develop the set of competencies that will allow them to navigate the adult world with an appropriate understanding of media institutions, impacts, benefits, and risks.

There are multiple ways to accomplish this. Most directly, specific media literacy courses can be offered. In practice, though, such media courses are populated mostly by communication or media majors and are unlikely to be taken by the majority of the student body. This is a consequence of the fact that most fields of study have become increasingly packed with highly regimented course progressions that offer little opportunity for deviation and little time for electives. Alternatively, media literacy competencies could also be addressed by integrating media-related lessons into existing classes. Yet, again, doing so has proven challenging, given widespread faculty concern that they lack the time or training to address topics beyond their specific disciplinary expertise.

And then the COVID-19 global pandemic happened.

In an instant, almost everything in the educational world shifted online. Instructors who rarely used technology suddenly had to learn about video capture, online lecturing, creating digital resources, and adapting print materials for an online setting. The list of new media applications being integrated into the virtual classroom space went on endlessly.

Almost overnight, it also became that clear that many of those students who have been described as "digital natives" did not, in fact, have many practical digital media skills at all. Could they create an Instagram post, or share a trending video on TikTok? Sure. But could they figure out how to perform even basic media functions needed for online learning? Sadly, the answer has often been no. In short, the pandemic exposed just how limited everyone's media competencies really were.

Now, educators at all levels-including those at post-secondary institutions-are realizing that they will likely have no choice but to devote time from their busy semesters that are chocked full of discipline-specific material to teach about using technology in an educational setting. Suddenly, instructors across all disciplines are realizing that they might need to integrate media lessons into their classes. And, further, educators from all disciplinary backgrounds are realizing that they might need to learn about media themselves as well.

Despite the strain this has put on professors and students, this realization is good. As a media educator who has been researching and writing about media literacy since I started working on my PhD, this is something I have been advocating for a long time. Maybe this was the last little push we all needed to finally move in the direction of integrated, comprehensive media literacy training across the educational system.

Yet, I fear it may have come too late. An entire generation of individuals has grown up in the internet age and completed their formal educational journey without any-or with very little-media literacy training. This was a missed opportunity, and the results are nothing short of depressing. We have a proliferation of fake and pseudo news sites, the sharing of misinformation and disinformation, and the manipulation of media platforms by those in positions of cultural, political, and commercial power. All of this is happening in plain sight.

To someone who has been trained to think about the constructed nature of media, it would be easy to recognize the way in which powerful elites are manipulating society through its media. But, instead of seeing it for what it is, widespread media illiteracy has contributed to the spread of falsehoods that are destroying our culture, our democracy, and-in light of the pandemic-our health and our lives.

Perhaps the pandemic has taught us just how important media education is. No, we cannot fix the problems created in the recent past; we cannot double back and ensure that the generations who came of age without comprehensive media literacy education develop these skills now. But, we can take steps moving forward. Let's learn from this situation, and use the momentum we've gathered during a year of online and remote learning to permanently integrate media literacy lessons into our curricula across the educational system.
Hans C. Schmidt (PhD, Temple University) is an associate professor of communications at Penn State University, Brandywine. His research focuses on media literacy and journalism education.

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Media Literacy in a Post-Pandemic World | Faculty Focus

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All it took was an international pandemic to help finally get media literacy into the educational system. If only we had gotten a better head start years ago. Those of us in the world of media literacy education and research have been talking and writing for some time now about the importance of media and information literacy for everyone in society.

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I stumbled upon this resource while researching applications that have the possibility to enhance student engagement in my classroom. This app gives the user the ability to create interactive experiences through images, video, and 360 degree media for improved learning.