The following is my Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) transcript. You will find the courses I took as well as descriptions of what I learned and accomplished in each course.
*CEP = Counseling, Educational Psychology & Special Education
*TE = Teacher Education
Teaching for Understanding with Technology
Instructors: Ron Houtman and Emily Stone
Technology can be a powerful tool in education. This course pointed out, however, that technology is not a tool that should stand alone, but rather this knowledge should come alongside a teacher’s content and pedagogical knowledge. This leads to the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge, or TPACK, framework of technology integration. This course also allowed me to explore my Professional Learning Network (PLN) as I mapped out where my support comes from. While creating my PLN, I recognized that I was not taking advantage of social media. As a result, I created a Twitter account and began to follow as many educational technology sources as possible.
Adapting Innovative Technologies in Education
Instructors: Melissa White and Janine Campbell
Most technologies are not designed for education. However, with a little imagination, many of these everyday technologies can be repurposed to aid in education by creating experiences that are “Novel, Effective, and Whole (NEW).” In this course, I experimented with iMovie, Maker kits (such as the Makey Makey), SketchUp, and the infographic Easel.ly. Through this experimentation, I discovered the importance of constructivism and of providing my students with authentic learning experiences.
Applying Ed Tech to Issues of Practice
Instructor: William Marsland
People struggle to solve big problems. In this course, I worked with a think tank of peers to address the wicked problem of Reimagining Online Learning. First, I first captured the problem in an infographic and then my think tank wrote a paper detailing three possible solutions. In addition, this course showed how technology can address a range of teaching issues. For example, I experimented with using EDpuzzle to help students with ADHD. I also created a technology integration survey that I distributed to the teaching staff at my school. Finally, I analyzed the survey results to help guide my Technology Coaching role.
Learning Technology by Design
Instructors: Dr. Punya Mishra and Carmen Richardson
This course focused on the 5 steps of the Stanford Design model (empathize, define, ideate, prototype & test). This design model is organized in a way that allows anyone to become a designer as it takes a complex problem and breaks it down into smaller more manageable parts. For me, this makes the design process much less overwhelming as it forces me to set aside the devoted time needed to design. My problem of practice for this course focused on redesigning my SIMPLE Learning Cycle in AP Biology in a hope to get my students out of their seats as they actively investigate questions in an attempt to understand the world around them.
Technology and Leadership
Instructors: Dr. Benjamin Gleason and Dr. Aman Yadav
As new technologies emerge daily, the way students learn and therefore the way teachers teach changes. This course prepared me to lead my school through these exciting changes by examining and developing professional development as well creating an instructional screencast. In particular, I created a professional development workshop that helped teachers understand various feedback techniques. This course also allowed me to consider many ethical and social implications of technology as I evaluated, addressed and commented on various scenarios.
Learning in School and Other Settings
Instructors: Diana Campbell and Carmen Richardson
This course addressed the questions “what do we know about learning?”, “how does it take place?” and “what can improve or hinder it?” Throughout the course, I learned about chunking, scaffolding, fluency, and many other theories of learning. I also studied what allows something to become a habit and then I used this knowledge to create my own Habit Plan. For the final project, I wrote out my Personal Theory of Learning and my Personal Philosophy of Teaching. The purpose of writing these personal statements was to consider how people learn, what influences that learning and how this dictates the way I teach.
Approaches to Educational Research
Instructors: Dr. Andy Saltarelli and Patrick Beymer
This research course taught me how an understanding of research can inform the way I teach as well. It also showed me how thinking like a researcher can improve my professional growth. In addition, I learned the basic skills of a teacher-researcher as I wrote an Annotated Bibliography, Introduction & Background, Executive Summary, Research Plan and Literature Review as I sought to answer the question “how can teachers best encourage and support self-regulated learning in their students through the use of current technologies combined with sound pedagogy?”
Teaching Students Online
Instructors: Dr. Anne Heintz and Carmen Richardson
Technology can allow classrooms to break free of the traditional brick and mortar boundaries. It can allow students to access resources, explore, and collaborate anywhere and at any time. During this course, I explored various learning management systems, analyzed the pedagogical choices of previous Ed Tech students, and studied the many standards for online course design. Using this knowledge, I created two units for a new AP Biology Blended course using the LMS Kickstand.
Teachers as Teacher Educators
Instructor: Dr. Margo Glew
Teachers must also be learners. There is always room to grow therefore, there should never come a time when a teacher thinks they have learned all there is to know. While all teachers must continue to learn, this course focused on how experienced teachers can help to support novice teachers. Most notably, I learned that new teachers need much more support than they are currently getting. In particular, my school’s mentoring program must be addressed and a shift needs to be made to support educative mentoring.
Proseminar in Educational Technology
Instructors: Dr. Matthew Koehler, Brittany Dillman, Spencer Greenhalgh, and Sarah Keenan-Lechel
To display how my educational technology master’s has encouraged me to be a Learner, Leader, and Thinker, I created an online portfolio for my final program requirement. My portfolio includes an updated resume, a Showcase that highlights many artifacts from throughout my previous 9 courses, and essays that reflect on my ed tech journey. It also includes an active blog many ed tech resources such as a list of awesome tech tools and recommended sites. I hope to continue to use these features as a way to share and collaborate regarding education technology.
Run With EdTech! 