3.5 Basic Troubleshooting
Candidates troubleshoot basic software and hardware problems common in digital learning environments. (PSC 3.5ISTE 3e)
Candidates troubleshoot basic software and hardware problems common in digital learning environments. (PSC 3.5ISTE 3e)
This artifact is the ISTE Lesson Plan for the Internet Lesson Plan project. I created this lesson plan in the spring of 2019 to give my digital learning students options for presenting their research. The lesson plan details student standards—including ISTE NETS-S standards—assessment types, resources, management, instructional strategies, differentiation strategies, and reflection questions for the project. It is a very thorough lesson write up. Also included in the lesson plan are tips for troubleshooting basic software and hardware problems. Additionally, during the project’s implementation, I had to technical problems that arose on the student end.
This artifact demonstrates mastery of Standard 3.5: Basic Troubleshooting. In order to create the lesson, I had to plan for possible problems that might arise. I provided a variety of digital tools for students to choose from for the final project, based on their tech-savvy, device compatibility, or personal preference. I also provided an extended timeframe (two weeks) for students without at-home internet to complete the project in a reasonable amount of time. Additionally, I suggest, as one option for students who are sharing devices (most of my students) or have limited connectivity, that they create presentations on paper—concept-mapping or creating their own low-tech visuals—to be recorded with their phones when access is available. I also include video tutorials and office hours to assist students as they completed their projects.
During implementation, I helped solve a variety of different software problems, mostly related to project submission. For example, some student submitted links to projects, which could not be viewed because the share settings needed editing. Additionally, since different students were working on different devices, I also had to troubleshoot for hardware problems; for example, YouTube is not available on school-issued Chromebooks; on these devices, video tutorials did not work. I ended up sending students QR codes for support videos to be viewed on their phones.
From completing this artifact—and from teaching online in general—I have learned to troubleshoot problems that might arise by planning ahead, testing options, providing resources for on-going support, and working with students and their specific devices individually to resolve obstacles. During this process, I also learned to reach out to the tech team at my school as well as Google and Microsoft forums to resolve issues. If I were to do something differently to improve the quality of this artifact, I would include links to specific forums for troubleshooting the Web 2.0 tools in the project.
The work that went into creating the artifact has impacted faculty development since I have taught troubleshooting practices as part of the the professional developments I have led. For example, I recommend that teachers try their Nearpod lessons on their phones before sharing with students in order to test them. The impact of this can be assessed by observing teachers’ digital lessons to see if everything runs smoothly or by surveying teachers to gauge the changes in their troubleshooting practices.
This artifact demonstrates mastery of Standard 3.5: Basic Troubleshooting. In order to create the lesson, I had to plan for possible problems that might arise. I provided a variety of digital tools for students to choose from for the final project, based on their tech-savvy, device compatibility, or personal preference. I also provided an extended timeframe (two weeks) for students without at-home internet to complete the project in a reasonable amount of time. Additionally, I suggest, as one option for students who are sharing devices (most of my students) or have limited connectivity, that they create presentations on paper—concept-mapping or creating their own low-tech visuals—to be recorded with their phones when access is available. I also include video tutorials and office hours to assist students as they completed their projects.
During implementation, I helped solve a variety of different software problems, mostly related to project submission. For example, some student submitted links to projects, which could not be viewed because the share settings needed editing. Additionally, since different students were working on different devices, I also had to troubleshoot for hardware problems; for example, YouTube is not available on school-issued Chromebooks; on these devices, video tutorials did not work. I ended up sending students QR codes for support videos to be viewed on their phones.
From completing this artifact—and from teaching online in general—I have learned to troubleshoot problems that might arise by planning ahead, testing options, providing resources for on-going support, and working with students and their specific devices individually to resolve obstacles. During this process, I also learned to reach out to the tech team at my school as well as Google and Microsoft forums to resolve issues. If I were to do something differently to improve the quality of this artifact, I would include links to specific forums for troubleshooting the Web 2.0 tools in the project.
The work that went into creating the artifact has impacted faculty development since I have taught troubleshooting practices as part of the the professional developments I have led. For example, I recommend that teachers try their Nearpod lessons on their phones before sharing with students in order to test them. The impact of this can be assessed by observing teachers’ digital lessons to see if everything runs smoothly or by surveying teachers to gauge the changes in their troubleshooting practices.