STE Standards for StudentsOne additional framework to keep in mind when evaluating thelearning experience of digital tools and apps is the InternationalSociety for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for Students.Given the rapidly shifting technological landscape of present-daysociety, students need technology-rich learning experiences thatcan prepare them “for work and life in this uncertain future”(ISTE, 2016, p. 2).ISTE revised their Standards for Students in 2016 to focus on the useof technology to “amplify learning” and to “support students as theybecome agentic, future-focused and adaptable” (p. 2). Thesestandards emphasize the use of technology to help students develophigher-order thinking skills and the capacity to succeed as learners,citizens, and professionals. There are seven standards, which we willdetail in the following section. For a visual overview, explore the ISTE

he revised Bloom’s taxonomy (2001) is organized into six categories(see Figure 1) (Armstrong, 2019; Shabatura, 2018). The first category,“remember,” refers to the recognition and recall of information, likereciting facts about the legislative branch. The second category,“understand,” relates to the learners’ ability to interpret, summarize,and explain information. For instance, a civics student might explainhow a bill becomes a law. The third category, “apply,” involves theuse or modeling of information, like demonstrating the process ofpassing a present-day bill.The fourth category, “analyze,” refers to breaking down,differentiating, and classifying information. For example, learnerscould compare and contrast different types of legislation. The fifthcategory, “evaluate,” involves critiquing, assessing, defending, and

Take amoment to reflect and consider, what might you do differently nowthat you have read this chapter to prevent that from happening agai

Hopefully, this chapter has inspired you to keep accessibility in mindwhen finding and selecting digital tools and apps for teaching andlearning. In this chapter, we discussed how to use UDL principles tocreate accessible, equitable, and inclusive learning experiences andenvironments.

Evaluating Technology for Learners WithDisabilities

Evaluating Digital Tools and Apps

eatures closed captions

Unfortunately, many tools and apps do not provide accessibilityinformation. Even worse, many tools and apps have not been designedwith accessibility in mind.

You may be thinking, “I don’t have the time, resources, or ability todifferentiate learning for all 30 (or 150) students.” That’s wheretechnology, including digital tools and apps, come into play!

That equity is a zero-sum game,” writes Blackwell. “In fact,when the nation targets support where it is needed most—when wecreate the circumstances that allow those who have been left behindto participate and contribute fully—everyone wins'" (Collins, 2021,paras. 13-14)

As educators, we must strive to create fully accessible learningenvironments for our students.

Evaluating Accessibility

Practice Quiz

Digital Tool in Practice: Students use Slack to collaborate onreal world projects with classmates, community members,peers at other schools, and professionals in the field.

Digital Tool in Practice: Students use Wakelet to curate“wakes” - collections of news articles, blog posts, videos,podcasts, and other online resources - to draw connectionsbetween current issues and class topics.

Tik-Tok, Snapchat,

Bloom’s taxonomy

Digital Tool in Practice: Twitter is an educational socialnetworking tool where students and educators can participatein Twitter Chats organized by topic hashtags (e.g., #SSchat) todiscuss current educational challenges like media literacy inthe age of “fake news.

ConstructionismConstructionism describes how learning happens through playfulbuilding of an object, artifact, or idea that can be seen by andshared with others. Papert and Harel (1991) describeconstructionism as “learning-by-making” (para. 1

Digital Tool in Practice: Google Tour Builder is a knowledge-building tool allowing students to construct interactive virtualtours using Google Earth. Students could create a virtual tourof key places during Shays’ Rebellion and insert links, videos,and text descriptions to draw connections to a present-daygovernmental protest

Jonassen

Constructivism refers to learning that occurs by creating meaningfrom experience.

Digital Tool in Practice: Kahoot! is a game-based studentresponse tool. Educators can design or use predesignedKahoot! games to help students memorize Constitu

Theories provide a basis to understand how people learn and away to explain, describe, analyze and predict learning. In thatsense, a theory helps us make more informed decisionsaround the design, development and delivery of learning. (para.4)

Bloom’s taxonomy

magine you are a new eighth-grade civics teacher. Your students arestruggling to understand how the Constitution influences present dayU.S. society. Students have read the Constitution, reviewed videoshighlighting important aspects of the U.S. government, and discussedtheir learning with classmates, yet they are still struggling to connectaspects of the Constitution to contemporary life.

How can you prevent a scenario like this from happening in the

n today’s advanced technological landscape, can you really haveprivacy?Do you currently have a GPS, a smartphone or tablet, or apps thattrack your location? Do you have an artificial intelligence (AI) device,like SIRI, Alexa, or Cortana, that records what you say? Have you everhad your password stolen or your personal information hacked from asite that you joined? Have you ever signed up for a tool or downloadedan app without reading the terms of service or privacy policy? Haveyou ever signed up for an online course (e.g., Coursera, WGU,

Evaluating Cost, Privacy, andData

For example, even though Pixabay (a website featuring high qualityfree stock photos) has a SafeSearch feature, the website states thatthe SafeSearch filter isn’t 100% accurate. Also, viewing adult contenton Pixabay is easily done with the click of a button. While Pixabay maynot be banned by your school administrators or IT staff, the use of itin your classroom could potentially violate CIPA.

Children’s Internet Protection ActThe Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), passed in 2000,protects children from obscene or harmful content on theInternet. CIPA is the reason sites like YouTube, social media, andeven Internet searches may be blocked or filtered in schools. Schoolsand libraries that are part of the E-rate program (discountedtelecommunications and Internet access) must comply with CIPA.According to the Federal Communications Commission (2019),schools and libraries subject to CIPA must create and adhere to anInternet safety policy addressing how they:Restrict students from accessing obscene or harmfulinformation/materials and child pornography;Ensure the safety and security of minors when they engage indigital communications (email, chat rooms);Prevent unauthorized disclosure of students’ personalinformation;Prevent minors from engaging in illegal behaviors, such ashacking.CIPA may impact whether you can use certain digital tools, websites,and apps. For instance, you might want to show a YouTube video inclass, only to find out that YouTube is banned on the school network.

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act(FERPA)The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), passed in1974 and last updated in 1992, protects a student’s personalinformation and educational records from unauthorizeddisclosure. This law gives students “access to their educationrecords, an opportunity to seek to have the records amended, andsome control over the disclosure of information from the records “(Drake, 2014, para. 12). Educators and administrators must have theconsent of the student and their guardian (if they are under 18 yearsold) before they can share student information or records.Returning to the Pokemon Go example earlier in this chapter, thiscould have been a potential FERPA violation since Niantic was givenfull access to students’ school Google accounts through the single signon process. While Niantic was quick to change what data they

Educator’s Guide to Student Data Privacy

It can either be attained in“browsewrap” where you never click any “I Agree” buttons, but thereis text on the screen that states, “By using this site, you agree to ourTerms of Service.” In a clickwrap form, the site will prevent you fromentering until you check the “I Agree'' button. Browsewrap may notbe as intrusive, but they may still be capturing data from the user(Pegarella, 2016).

Similarly, end-user license agreements (EULA) and terms of service(TOS)

Even if you as an individual user may be okay with sharing your datafor “free” tools, when you assign a tool to students you are askingthem to share their data, whether they want to or not.

his can be especially problematic when you ask studentsto use their school gmail account to login to a tool, as that tool maygain access to private information from the stu

Although free edtech tools and applications (apps) can be used toenrich, and even transform, teaching and learning, it is important toremember the old adage, “If something seems too good to be true, itprobably is.” This is not to say free edtech tools have no place in theclassroom, but it is important to understand the true cost behindemploying such technology when it is presented as being “free.”

Udacity

Coursera

WGU

Scratch (Coding tool)Instruction: 25 instructive animations, demonstrating most ofthe features and operations.Interface: Codes are integrated into blocks. Separate tabs forcoding, avatars, and sound. WYSIWYG.Access: Windows. IOS. Android. Mobile App.Language Support: Multi-language interface.Cost & Devices: Free to use.Diverse Character/Icon Selection: Yes. You can select from adiverse range of sprites (characters) or create/upload your own.

Does the tool or app provide free diverse characters/icons?Does it support multiple languages?

Diversity and Language SupportBefore using a tool in the classroom, you should examine whether itsupports diverse learners. Make sure students can choose diverseicons, flags, gender marks, and characters without additional payment(paid membership or fees

Try the Tool on Different Devices and BrowsersTest the tool on the operating system(s) (e.g., Windows, iOS, Android)your students will use either at home or in class to access it. For web-based digital tools, test whether the tool works on different browsers(e.g., Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Edge)

Access Across Devices and PlatformsWhen a tool will be used in a computer lab or on the same devicesfrom a cart, cross-platform usability may not be an issue. However, ifthe tool is being used in environments where multiple kinds of devicesare being used, or if students will use this tool on personal devices, itis important it operates well across different platforms. Therefore,when evaluating the user experience, it is helpful to determine howthe tool or app can be accessed.

If the tool does not allowstudents to share their work, teach students how to capturescreenshots to show their learning with the tool

A poorly designed user interface, with too many features or anunintelligible layout, may confuse and exhaust users as they areworking on their tasks. In addition, user interfaces with too manyadvertisements may distract the user from tasks, and sometimes theads can be inappropriate for young users, like in the screenshotbelow

When students get to share their work with an authentic audience(e.g., family and community members, authors, scientists), they willbe more engaged and invested in their learning experience

For example, while the final outcome of using a WYSIWYG web designtool like Wix is the same as using complicated HTML coding, Wix ismuch more intuitive and easier to learn. Therefore, students usingWix will spend more time learning about the content they are postingon their websites and less time learning the coding skills needed tocreate a website

Digital Intelligence (DQ) Framework,

Take a fewmoments to explore Kathy Shrock’s Bloomin’ Apps page,

Bloom’s taxonomy can serve as an instructional design tool to helpyou select the most appropriate apps and tools based on the level anddepth of

Let students choose how to present their work. Instead of2.only giving writing options or standardized quizzes and tests,provide them with the option to post a video to a forum likeFlipgrid or create a slideshow, video, Powtoon, online brochure,or infographic

Multiple means of engagement: Motivating students to1.engage in the learning process (“why do I need to know this?”).Multiple means of representation: Delivering content to2.students so it is perceivable and comprehensible (“what do Ineed to know”).Multiple means of action and expression: Enabling3.students to express what they have learned so this can beassessed (“how can I show what I know”

Universal Design for Learning

Backward Design

Pedagogy

he SAMR Model, the PICRATMatrix, and the TPACK Model

Step-by-step tutoring: Step-by-step tutoring is easy to follow1.and students can practice the operations simultaneously, whichallows for a hands-on, trial-and-error learning experience in asafe space (e.g., students can make mistakes and learn fromtheir mistakes in a virtual sandbox rather than on their ownprojects)

Tinkercad, a digital 3D modeling tool, offers a well-designed userinstruction feature that makes it easy to learn how to create 3Dmodels

Before you get started with exploring the chapter, watchthe Evaluating the User Experience Powtoon animated video featuredbelow for a brief overview of the chapter content

The tool had too many features that overwhelmedstudents rather than supporting their learning. Some of the studentscould not open the tool on their device or browse

Consider this: You recently attended a national conference anddiscovered a fascinating digital tool from a session. You thought itwould be a perfect match for your class, so you integrated this toolinto a lesson for your first day back from the conference

der a CC BY-NC-SA license, whichmeans that you are free to do with it as you please aslong as you (1) properly attribute it, (2) do not use it forcommercial gain, and (3) share any subsequent works

Royce Kimmons for making this OER book design platformavailable and providing ongoing support throughout the designprocess

Using This BookWe hope that you find this book to be a valuable resource. Feel free toshare it or use it in your class or training! This book is released undera CC BY-NC-SA license, which means that you are free to do with it asyou please as long as you (1) properly attribute it, (2) do not use it forcommercial gain, and (3) share any subsequent books under the sameor a similar license.

Teaching with Digital Tools andAppsTorrey TrustVersion: 1.67