Description: The artifacts included for this indicator represent work accomplished through the collaboration of myself and the seven other doctoral students in my cohort to develop a course for iTunes University entitled, A History of the Spiritans. The process and the product represent the demonstration of the ability to select and use technological resources and processes to support student learning and enhance their pedagogy.  One of the initial tasks involved analyzing existing courses to distinguish best practice in course design for optimal learning. The team then completed content research and created a variety of materials including audio stories, digital stories, assorted documents and weblinks to express the story of the Spiritans who founded Duquesne University.  These were eventually placed into the iTunes platform and provides learners with a variety of modalities to choose from for supporting learning.

 

Reflection:  This course was one of the most practical applications of technological pedagogical content knowledge included in the program.  As a cohort, we were tasked with the creation, or at least accomplishment of first steps towards an acceptable course to be offered by Duquesne University utilizing the iTunes University platform.  Dr. Kush showed us the inner workings of this platform, allowing us to experience first hand the developers vantage point of iTunes University. The tasks were broken down into manageable units and categorized according to skills needed for successful completion.  This was a very intimidating venture for me as my technology knowledge was minimal at the time. However, I was able to contribute during the discussions of pedagogical best practice and learner expectations within an open access course.  I also contributed by writing some of the digital story scripts, attending meetings with Fr. McCloskey, and particularly assisting with the taping of the Summary of the Spiritans by Fr. McCloskey.  The entire process helped me to form ideas for pedagogy and practical application of innovative technology.  The experience has provided me with confidence by way of experience in my ability to create, use, assess and manage technologies for educative purposes.