Guiding Principles for Educators and Educational Technology Developers: Two Tool Kits

• In Event: What Districts and Teachers Say About Educational Technology Use With English Learners: National Study Findings

Abstract

Objective: This paper describes principles introduced in two toolkits developed in the study – for educators and for educational technology developers (Author, 2018). The toolkits each outline recommendations and resources for use of technology in instructing English learners (ELs). The goal in the session is to invite the audience and stakeholder discussant panel to offer their perspectives on the specific recommendations as well as propose other principles for guiding the field.
Perspective: The toolkits were written as a synthesis of key study findings, promising practices that emerged from the literature, input from educators when conducting the national study, and input from an expert panel. The recommendations reference the Universal Design for Learning (UDL; CAST, 2018) framework as one that could span the recommendations, and this framework will be used to situate the presentation.
Methods and Data Sources: The toolkits are based on the national study survey findings, as well as open-ended survey responses, and interviews with educators in six case study districts that enrolled ELs. In addition, an expert panel of education researchers, industry representatives and education practitioners helped to develop toolkit overviews. A first complete draft of the toolkits was then created, and “think-alouds” were conducted with another set of relevant experts (educators and technology developers) to gain input from a sample of the target audience. We then made modifications based on the results of the think-alouds, resulting in the final products.
Results: Each toolkit identified as set of “Guiding Principles.” There is a description of each principle, and for each there are sections called “What to know,” “What to do,” “What to ask,” and a set of relevant resources.
The developer toolkit identified the following Guiding Principles:
1. Understand what English learners and their educators need
2. Design by leveraging research and best practices
3. Include support features for English learners
4. Communicate with educators to increase product adoption to support the instruction of English learners
5. Offer instruction-focused professional development
The educator toolkit identified the following Guiding Principles:
1. Understand what educational technology offers for instructing English learners
2. Discover the types of educational technology available
3. Maximize the supports that educational technology offers English learners
4. Seek out hands-on, instruction-focused professional development
5. Learn more about English learners and educational technology
Significance: The toolkits bring practical recommendations for educator and technology developer stakeholders based on the study findings and expert input. The toolkit principles can prompt important discussions on our understanding from research of what are best practices when instruction with ELs uses technology resources. The discussions may help educators and technology developers further consider how findings from this study and ongoing research can inform ways in which DLRs and instructional practice with ELs can be improved.

Authors

• Annette M. Zehler, Education and Language Research Group, LLC

• Philip J. Vahey, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt