Term

Fall 2019

Capstone

Capstone Project

Degree Name

MAT

Facilitator(s)

Laura Halldin. Jana Lo Bella Miller

Content Expert

Mariana Funes

Abstract

With the high-value placed on digital learning and the consequential need for accompanying 21st-century digital literacy skills, effective teacher professional development is crucial. Surveys report that K-12 teachers are largely dissatisfied with their current training options. They prefer collaborative learning experiences that are energizing, supportive, and hands-on; focusing less on presentations and lectures and more on opportunities to apply learning through demonstrations, modeling, and practice. An underfunded public education system combined with a perceived “tech bloat”, the juggling of too many digital tools, exacerbate training and support issues. The 10-week professional development curriculum designed for this project facilitates the development of digital literacy skills within the framework of a Community of Practice- a shared, contextual and content relevant learning environment. It embraces a Pedagogy of Play within a digital storytelling context with an invitation to play the role of a teacher at a fictional Nissaba School of Sorcery using “digital magic” to develop digital literacy skills in preparation for a lesson exchange program with a non-magical school. Assignments utilize only a small targeted subset of digital technologies that are free and easy to use. Digital artifacts produced are directly applicable to teachers’ real-life classroom activities with the intent of encouraging collaboration in a fun and frugal learning experience that will continue to develop their digital literacy skills beyond the course itself. The goal of this project is to develop a teacher’s 21st-century digital literacy skills to enhance their effectiveness in the classroom by facilitating a relevant and effective professional development experience that both teachers and administrators are seeking.

Project Type

Professional Development

Keywords

Literacy, Staff Development, Teachers/ Teaching, Technology

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

School of Education Student Capstone Projects

Included in

Education Commons

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