What tools should we use in classes? Get a Certificate of Applied Instructional Technologies

Here are several points from the First edition of the Workbook used in the first CAIT Workshop (April 2013)

(1) There is distance between the teacher and the student. 

(2) Media do not cause learning. 

(3) Media do not cause motivation. 

(4) Methods can be equivalent even if they are not equal.

You are encouraged to wrestle with your beliefs about education, particularly about technology in classrooms.

For example, some people have these beliefs:

Look at our Intuitively Appealing Beliefs

Belief 1: Ask the student what he needs

What's real? Many students don't know what they need. Many students will choose a less-effective method of learning because that method will require the least effort.

Belief 2: “Our school needs more technology. Without computers, our students will fall behind.”

What's real? Clark points out that adding technology to a classroom does not guarantee improvement. “Media are mere vehicles.” Teachers need to use effective methods.

Belief 3: Projects are good for everyone.

What's real? Ask, “How will the projects be given to the students?” Don't give too many choices. “Here are 15 projects. Choose one.” BETTER: give 3 or 4 options.

Projects are good for advanced motivated students. The rest of the students need fully guided instruction.

Belief 4: I should teach to the student's learning style

What's real? Clark points out that it is more reliable to find out what each student knows ("prior knowledge") and start teaching from there. Willingham calls it "background knowledge." Source: Writings by Richard E. Clark cogtech.usc.edu

An Open Letter to Participants about the Certificate of
Applied Instructional Technology (C.A.I.T.) 

https://sites.google.com/site/caitatflex/photo-gallery-for-cait

The Pathway to Certification 

A certificate indicates that some attention was given by theparticipant to a subject. The certificate is awarded or earned because the person invested himself in a process. 

The Process 
The process of earning the CAIT is simple: a) study the suggested readings and b) show what you understand.
Attending a workshop is not required but many people find
it useful to start their pursuit of the certificate with a face-
to-face workshop. There are equivalent ways of obtaining
the information needed to successfully and effectively
obtain the certificate.

Letter of Appreciation 
A letter of appreciation will be given to each participant in 
a workshop. Attendance in the face-to-face workshop is an
easier step for some people to take in the process of
receiving a certificate than the online version of the
workshop. Attendance is not mandatory. Creating a
portfolio that shows your understanding of the key 
principles of effective uses of Instructional Technology is 
central to the CAIT. 

The letter of appreciation can be included in the 
participant’s portfolio, but the letter is not a necessary
ingredient in the composition of the portfolio.
The Portfolio should contain the following:

a. A description of the participant’s understanding of 
technology. How do you define “technology”?

b. Several demonstrations of how you use technology to 
teach. “Several” is a guideline. Create as many
demonstrations as you feel you need to show that you
are an emerging expert in the use of tools.

c. An annotated list of books that are related to the topic. 
“Show what you learned” from the Suggested
Readings by writing a summary in your own words of
at least 20 books or articles or videos in the archive of 

Suggested Readings. The number 20 is somewhat
arbitrary. The purpose of requiring a portfolio is to
push the participant to support future decisions about
the use of technology in education with references to
research. “Where is the evidence to support your 
choices?” is the repeated question asked by Dr. 
Richard E. Clark in his presentations at various 
conferences. 

The list of works in the Suggested Reading list will grow as 
more participants bring their life experience to the process. 
Holders of the Certificate can recommend the addition of 
books, articles, websites and videos (as well as other 
formats) to the list to help future participants to gain an 
understanding about how technology can be used 
effectively. 

The contents of the Portfolio should be made digital format 
so that the portfolio’s parts can be exhibited on the Internet 
for easy review by employers. The certificate holder is 
encouraged to keep a back-up paper version since some 
employers have a system that rewards applicants who 
submit documents. 

CREATIVE COMMONS: The content of the Portfolio is 
recommended to be labeled as “creative commons,” to 
communicate that YOU own the words but that you 
encourage OTHER PEOPLE to copy and use the words 
(with attribution to you). 
The Portfolio can be submitted in Digital form by posting 
the contents on the Internet and then sending the links to 

Steve McCrea TheEBookMan@gmail.com. It is 
recommended that you send a text message to his phone to 
catch Steve’s attention. +1 954 646 8246.

Definition of Instructional Technologies

In education, instructional technology is "the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning,"   (WIKI)

For the Certificate of Applied Instructional Technologies, we want participants to embrace and struggle with several importantideas and themes.

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