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Educ 696 Week 6 Expert Educator Interview Doan Thanushi Hettipathirana
Educ 696 Week 6 Expert Educator Interview Doan Thanushi Hettipathirana
Educ 696 Week 6 Expert Educator Interview Doan Thanushi Hettipathirana
Liberty University
Interviewing a subject matter expert (SME) for educational design and development provides a
wealth of knowledge on the learning environment and the learners. This paper includes an
interview with an expert educator in special education on educational design and technology.
3. A personal analysis
Tracy Yearwood is a case manager and subject matter expert (SME) in special education
at a Middle School in the Loudoun County Public School System (LCPS) in northern VA. Ms.
Yearwood has a Master’s in child development and a Bachelor’s in Sociology and has been
involved in the field of education for seven years working with diverse student populations in
Cecily, Germany, and the USA. She considers it a personal passion of her to be working with
learners addressing their specific individual learning needs. She also has experience in
integrating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for lesson design and development. Nature of
responsibilities at her current position include development of Individual Education Plans (IEPs),
learning needs of students, implementation of goal work according to IEP goals, determination
Ms. Yearwood is a credible source as an expert educator in the field of education with
respect to educational design and technology, since she has experience in designing personalized
instruction for diverse learners, integrating educational technology and assistive technology into
the educational process to overcome potential limitations and barriers to learning, and advocating
for and utilizing universal design for learning to create purposeful learning opportunities for all
learners.
influential role affecting all aspects of the teaching leaning process in education.
Technology in special education enhances the learning and instructional experiences for
differentiation, and universal design for learning. Some key functions of educational
educational stimulation.
2. What is the nature of the current teaching/learning environment and what are its
education classroom with students with diverse learning needs. Technology the school
has converted to a one-one computing school starting this academic year, so every
student in the classroom has his/her own Chrome book provided by the county. Other
means of educational technology used in the current setting include laptops, iPads, iPad
Mini, Assistive technology devices, braille machine, hearing aids, Go Talk devices,
3. What do you think of the process of instructional design and technology in special
education in general?
both educator and the learner. It provides educators with the ability to deliver
and multiple options for differentiating and personalizing learning and instruction. It also
provides educators with quick and easy access to quality, research-based educational
tools. Technology also helps kids with special needs to overcome their limitations and
personalization all in one design platform. I like it, because it is intended to cover all
EXPERT EDUCATOR INTERVIEW 5
UDL principles, developing UDL incorporated lesson plans, and facilitation of multi-
5. What do you think of the role of curriculum in education? What is the nature and
Curriculum in general provides an orderly and organized plan for learning and
instruction. It provides you with set goals for learning experiences and their respective
outcomes. I currently do not bear any responsibilities or make any contribution towards
curriculum that is already in place at my school is called the Unique Learning System. It
provides the educators with general guideline and requirements for technology
needs of individual learners. The first step is to analyze the learners on individual basis to
determine their strengths, weaknesses, preferred learning styles, needs, and specific
barriers to learning involving the individual learner. The curriculum provides guidelines
for integration of technology in learning and instruction and the county facilitates 1:1
EXPERT EDUCATOR INTERVIEW 6
computing, which is a critical tool for special education. The goal of learning design and
opportunities for collaboration through interactive games on the web and listening to
music during break time. It encourages creativity through providing the students with
special needs with the ability to create simple computer graphics with tough technology
and to engage in critical thinking through puzzles and games that stimulate skills such as
7. What factors do you take into consideration when determining the technology needs
for your students and how do the students get accustomed to using technology in the
classroom?
with exceptionalities is the ability of the individual learner to use and manipulate the
modifications and technology are included in the individualized education plan (IEP).
The most common accommodation when it come to using devices in special education
classroom is to do with dexterity, where students are provided with hand over hand
provided by the technology specialists and assistants. The guidance and training
regarding the functionality and use of the devices and software are provided by IT
8. What are the benefits and challenges involved with the use of educational
modalities, different devices, and flexible learning and instructional options. Technology
provide diverse instructional options for educators and learning options for learners.
in my opinion is the over dependency and over use of technology for learning purposes.
Personally, I would like to see students work more on fine motor skills without so much
dependency on technology. Students these days have too much access to all kinds of
devices in and outside of school. I believe it wise to adopt a more balanced approach to
the use of technology in education where students could still thrive in acquiring
9. What current trends and issues in the field of educational technology do you identify
learning analytics, and mobile learning as three technology trends that are having a major
with the ability to manipulate technology devices more effectively and efficiently,
without relying so much on the key board. Learning analytics provide educators with
important data and information that are critical for designing individualized learning.
Mobile devices for learning and apps empower learners with exceptionalities with
Major issues when it comes to educational devices and mobile platforms are legal
and ethical issues to do with confidentiality, privacy and security of student data and
information. All educators and designers, I believe, should abide by state, county and
school rules and regulations on technology usage in schools. There also issues to do with
logistics such as delay in receiving devices for accommodation for learning needs due to
high demand.
10. What are your opinions and perspectives on the relevance of the research-based
resource that is very well designed. It provides educators with easy access to a wealth of
research-based references in educational technology that are up-to-date and very much
relevant. Technology keeps evolving rapidly and constantly. Thus, it is important for
everyone including educators to keep up with latest trends and issues and discoveries in
educational design and technology. So, it is better to have to quick and at-a-glance access
educational design and technology, that are referenced on a frequent basis in a matter of a
few seconds. I think it is very well put together and educational technologists and
teachers and everyone in between will be able to use it and benefit from it. The reference
guide seems to provide a great deal of information on a variety of topics in the field of
Personal Analysis
especially as it applies to the education of diverse learners is an educational issue that so dear
and near to my heart. This interview on educational technology with an expert educator in the
field of special education provided me with a wealth of knowledge on the role, impact,
technology trends and issues, and benefits and challenges of educational design and technology
for learner with diverse learning needs. This expert educator interview resembles the process of
interviewing a subject matter expert for instructional design and development in real world
settings, and thus, I consider this experience to be an immensely valuable academic and
professional experience.
The main take away of the interview to me is the role and impact of personalized learning
learning is a key element in special education as all learning is customized based on the strengths
and needs of the learner as prescribed in the individualized education plan. Thus, the
instructional planning and design, too should be customized and supported with resources for
as it empowers both the educator and learner with the ability for engagement in meaningful and
The most imperative technology current trend in educational design and technology is
universal design for learning (UDL), which facilitates all learners with opportunities for
education is mobile learning. It enables the learners with the freedom of mobility and empowers
EXPERT EDUCATOR INTERVIEW 10
them with ubiquitous access to devices and apps. Learning analytics is another important
technology trend that is impacting the field of special education and education in general.
Analysis of the learner needs, preferences, and capabilities is critical in designing and developing
purposeful learning and instruction. Thus, it is vital for the educational designers and
technologists to provide avenues for learner analysis, empowering the educators with the
capabilities to cater to learner needs driven by data and information in a more targeted fashion.
It is also important to take into consideration the legal and ethical issues as well as state,
county, and school standards and regulations for using technology in the planning of
instructional design and technology. Educational designers and technologists should take privacy
and security of student data and the laws regulating these issues into serious consideration when
This learning experience interviewing an expert educator on the subject matter of the
wealth of knowledge on the role, impact, benefits and challenges of technology in the field of
education, especially with respect to learners with diverse learning needs. I consider this
world learning. In conclusion, I believe, interviewing a subject matter expert, in the case of this
assignment an expert educator, is imperative for integrating state of the art technological tools
and services to provide critical learning and instructional solutions based on systematic analysis
of learning and instructional environments and learners for instructional systems design and
developing to optimize the learning and instruction processes in any educational setting.