As a Door Closes, A New One Opens
By Charlene Edwards
Integrating technology into the teaching and learning process is a goal that many teachers strive for but which relatively few have achieved to date (Parks & Pisapia, 1994). One of the most important steps in achieving meaningful technology use is the development of a vision of how to use technology to achieve important educational goals (Baker et al., 1996;Kerr, 1996; Roblyer, 1993).
Computers are in the classroom and changing the way people learn. Integrating technology into the curriculum can enhance learning and development. It is a good tool that teachers can use for teaching and assessment.
I work for City of New York Parks & Recreation for 12 years. It is a great place to work. I have the opportunity to meet people and build partnerships with other nonprofit organizations. This is good but it was time to do something different. Many of the teens come into the recreation center discussed their Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. When they asked me for advice or help with their accounts, I could not help them. I did not know anything about social media. The teens knew much more about technology and social media than most adults, including myself. This is one of the reasons why I entered the MAET program.
I enjoy working with computers. My knowledge of computers was outdated and I needed to update my skills. It was time for me to learn more about the new emerging technologies that can help me in my daily life.
For several months, I researched various programs. Many of the programs were similar in the curriculum however; I was looking for more in educational technology than education courses. The MAET program offered many courses that I can use to apply for an Educational Technology Specialist license for the State of New York. The program will allow me to gain new skills to help obtain employment in the field of education. Michigan State University has one of the best education programs and that is why I applied to a certificate program in educational technology. I wanted to learn many new skills that I can use at my workplace.
The certificate program started with course, CEP 810, Teaching & Understanding with Computers. This course was a good choice to begin the program. CEP 810 addresses many topics. This course gave me experience in integrating technology into recreation and fitness programming. I was happy to use Web 2.0 tools such as Google Docs, RSS feeds, Wikispaces, Netvibes, and Wikipedia. The instructor provided informative videos on three models of teaching and learning. The three models are the didactic or traditional model, inquiry model, and the idea-based model. I learned how to use these models to improve teaching in the classroom. The traditional approach, we teach students’ information that they need to know. Technology is changing the way we learn and it is important that students have the skills that they need in the classroom. Many of the students are very computer literate. It is our job as educators to use the computer as part of our instruction.
The 24 hour Temperature Cycle assignment allowed me to explore the idea based approach. It focused on integrating the Internet into Science. At first, I did not know where to begin with a science lesson. It was a challenge because I am not a classroom teacher. The assignment taught me that planning and preparation of your lesson before you start teaching is important. First, I read over the lesson plan to prepare myself to teach the children and I checked the computers to make sure that the technology was working properly. The children were able to explore, observe and research. This lesson gave me insights on my teaching.
Another assignment that was beneficial to me was developing my personal growth plan. I needed to understand how I can grow as an educator. How can I implement new technology skills at my workplace? I wanted to expand on how technology can be used to support learning, in order to help students reach their academic goals. I used the personal growth plan as a guide to reaching my goals. There were several important goals that I wanted to achieve. Achieving these goals will help me make a difference at Parks & Recreation. I wanted to learn about new Web 2.0 tools, integrating technology into the curriculum, and online learning. I am happy to say that I accomplished all of my goals from the personal growth plan.
Finally, CEP 810 taught me how to apply productivity software such as Microsoft Office in the educational setting to support learning. I starting thinking about how can I use Microsoft Office to help the staff with documents needed in the afterschool program? The first assignment in the class was using Microsoft Word in an educational setting. So I created activity schedules to post throughout the building. As for Microsoft Excel, I created a summer camp tracking forms of the payments and parents information. These tracking forms allowed the summer camp staff to keep all of their files on a spreadsheet. Finally, I created a PowerPoint presentation on all of the rules and regulations of summer camp. The presentation was used at several parent meetings. It is amazing how you can use Microsoft Office for administrative tasks. It is a valuable tool that you can use in the workplace.
Another goal in my personal growth plan was to learn how to create and design online classes. Today’s online instruction is interactive, media rich, and increasingly capable of supporting a variety of complex subjects with sophisticated simulations and “laboratories.” It can provide instruction focused on learning styles, thus enhancing comprehension (Ebersole, 2008). Taking CEP 820, Teaching K-12 Students Online gave me the foundation to build online classes. Before taking this course, I did not know anything about developing online classes. I enrolled in a few online courses as a student. Now I had to gain experience as an online course developer and teacher. This will be a challenge. Also, I wanted to learn how to use course management systems such as Moodle and Sakaii. When I read the course syllabus, I wanted to gain some insights of the assignments for the class. I asked myself, how I can develop a course module with no experience in elearning. Where do I begin? What type of class will I create? How much knowledge do I need to have on my subject?
CEP 820 was challenging but rewarding. I learned the difference between online and face to face teaching. I knew that I could apply the same teaching strategies to an online course. The first decision was to decide on what topic that would be interesting to the public. I wanted to keep things simple and choose a topic that I had some experience and knowledge. I wanted to keep things simple. After reviewing several textbooks on different subjects, I decided to create a course module on computer basics. The module will be used for an introduction to computer course for beginners.
One of my challenges was writing an effective syllabus for the course. I had to include information on assignments deadlines, communication policy, online netiquette, and assessments. Then I learned how to use a course management system. As I reviewed several programs, many of them were complicated to use for the course module. I wanted a program to be user friendly and easy to navigate. Coursesites by Blackboard was the best choice for my class. CourseSites has great resources such as the NBC learn for instructional videos and StudyMate Class. The tutorial was simple to follow and was easy to add documents, audio and videos to the website. Audio and video enhances the virtual classroom. By adding resources such as rubrics and handouts to your classes will help the learner to understand the course objectives. Also, the developer notebook that was created in Google Docs provided reflection of my online experience.
There were a few pitfalls and problems while developing the course. First, choosing the right topic that will interest the public was essential. This is important because I wanted to find the best material to use to teach the course. I did not want the course to be vague or with little information. Another pitfall was choosing resources to use for the class. I used Wikipedia as a resource for the definition of a computer. I had to look for a better resource for the definition. Finding interactive videos pertaining to the topic of computer basics was difficult. There are so many videos on YouTube and Teachertube. It takes plenty of time to watch them. Then I had to make the decision on adding a project to the course. I wanted the project to be interactive, fun, and entertaining.
After reading several articles on online learning, I learned that planning, writing, communicating, and technology skills are important to develop online classes. It takes time and patience to create classes for all learners. Teachers should use instructional methods to help students participate in online classroom discussions in order to guide and motivate students. There were so many skills gain from this course. Always test and preview your work. You do not want to post incorrect information on the course. Technology is not always reliable. In the future, I will be developing new online classes for the recreation center. Overall, designing a course is a challenge. You can design a good or bad course. Planning and research is important.
Another course that had impact on my learning was CEP 822, Approaches to Educational Research. The main goal of this course was to learn the basics of educational research. The course introduced techniques in quantitative and qualitative research in education. The course provided strategies for collecting data to understand the research problem. This class was very informative, intense and challenging. It helped me to become a better researcher.
First, I had to choose the right research topic. This is important because I wanted to find good resources to use for my research. The class taught me how to find the journal articles using educational databases such as ProQuest, JStor, and EBSCOhost. I used these articles to help write a literature review and research design proposal. While writing an article review, it gave me experience choosing a good journal article with detailed information to use for the study.
Learning the meaning of action, mix-methods, historical, and ethnographic research is essential in deciding which study that you want to conduct. I learned about different instruments to use to gather data for my study. All of the readings and the class discussions helped me understand the material. Conducting research requires a lot of planning and time management. The researcher should set of a schedule to help complete research study by a deadline. Overall, there were many good points that I obtained from CEP 822. Conducting research requires a lot of hard work.
In conclusion, technology can enhance the learning of children in the classroom. Computers are being integrated into the curriculum more than ever. It is a tool that can help students with basic skills. With the support and professional development training, teachers can use technology to improve their own teaching practices. Technology will enable learners to become effective, efficient and productive in their life pursuits.
The MAET program has given me the background that I need to be proficient in educational technology. It has been a long but great journey. The program challenged me to become a technology educator. I am excited to utilize my new technology skills to improve productivity at the recreation center.
Computers are in the classroom and changing the way people learn. Integrating technology into the curriculum can enhance learning and development. It is a good tool that teachers can use for teaching and assessment.
I work for City of New York Parks & Recreation for 12 years. It is a great place to work. I have the opportunity to meet people and build partnerships with other nonprofit organizations. This is good but it was time to do something different. Many of the teens come into the recreation center discussed their Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. When they asked me for advice or help with their accounts, I could not help them. I did not know anything about social media. The teens knew much more about technology and social media than most adults, including myself. This is one of the reasons why I entered the MAET program.
I enjoy working with computers. My knowledge of computers was outdated and I needed to update my skills. It was time for me to learn more about the new emerging technologies that can help me in my daily life.
For several months, I researched various programs. Many of the programs were similar in the curriculum however; I was looking for more in educational technology than education courses. The MAET program offered many courses that I can use to apply for an Educational Technology Specialist license for the State of New York. The program will allow me to gain new skills to help obtain employment in the field of education. Michigan State University has one of the best education programs and that is why I applied to a certificate program in educational technology. I wanted to learn many new skills that I can use at my workplace.
The certificate program started with course, CEP 810, Teaching & Understanding with Computers. This course was a good choice to begin the program. CEP 810 addresses many topics. This course gave me experience in integrating technology into recreation and fitness programming. I was happy to use Web 2.0 tools such as Google Docs, RSS feeds, Wikispaces, Netvibes, and Wikipedia. The instructor provided informative videos on three models of teaching and learning. The three models are the didactic or traditional model, inquiry model, and the idea-based model. I learned how to use these models to improve teaching in the classroom. The traditional approach, we teach students’ information that they need to know. Technology is changing the way we learn and it is important that students have the skills that they need in the classroom. Many of the students are very computer literate. It is our job as educators to use the computer as part of our instruction.
The 24 hour Temperature Cycle assignment allowed me to explore the idea based approach. It focused on integrating the Internet into Science. At first, I did not know where to begin with a science lesson. It was a challenge because I am not a classroom teacher. The assignment taught me that planning and preparation of your lesson before you start teaching is important. First, I read over the lesson plan to prepare myself to teach the children and I checked the computers to make sure that the technology was working properly. The children were able to explore, observe and research. This lesson gave me insights on my teaching.
Another assignment that was beneficial to me was developing my personal growth plan. I needed to understand how I can grow as an educator. How can I implement new technology skills at my workplace? I wanted to expand on how technology can be used to support learning, in order to help students reach their academic goals. I used the personal growth plan as a guide to reaching my goals. There were several important goals that I wanted to achieve. Achieving these goals will help me make a difference at Parks & Recreation. I wanted to learn about new Web 2.0 tools, integrating technology into the curriculum, and online learning. I am happy to say that I accomplished all of my goals from the personal growth plan.
Finally, CEP 810 taught me how to apply productivity software such as Microsoft Office in the educational setting to support learning. I starting thinking about how can I use Microsoft Office to help the staff with documents needed in the afterschool program? The first assignment in the class was using Microsoft Word in an educational setting. So I created activity schedules to post throughout the building. As for Microsoft Excel, I created a summer camp tracking forms of the payments and parents information. These tracking forms allowed the summer camp staff to keep all of their files on a spreadsheet. Finally, I created a PowerPoint presentation on all of the rules and regulations of summer camp. The presentation was used at several parent meetings. It is amazing how you can use Microsoft Office for administrative tasks. It is a valuable tool that you can use in the workplace.
Another goal in my personal growth plan was to learn how to create and design online classes. Today’s online instruction is interactive, media rich, and increasingly capable of supporting a variety of complex subjects with sophisticated simulations and “laboratories.” It can provide instruction focused on learning styles, thus enhancing comprehension (Ebersole, 2008). Taking CEP 820, Teaching K-12 Students Online gave me the foundation to build online classes. Before taking this course, I did not know anything about developing online classes. I enrolled in a few online courses as a student. Now I had to gain experience as an online course developer and teacher. This will be a challenge. Also, I wanted to learn how to use course management systems such as Moodle and Sakaii. When I read the course syllabus, I wanted to gain some insights of the assignments for the class. I asked myself, how I can develop a course module with no experience in elearning. Where do I begin? What type of class will I create? How much knowledge do I need to have on my subject?
CEP 820 was challenging but rewarding. I learned the difference between online and face to face teaching. I knew that I could apply the same teaching strategies to an online course. The first decision was to decide on what topic that would be interesting to the public. I wanted to keep things simple and choose a topic that I had some experience and knowledge. I wanted to keep things simple. After reviewing several textbooks on different subjects, I decided to create a course module on computer basics. The module will be used for an introduction to computer course for beginners.
One of my challenges was writing an effective syllabus for the course. I had to include information on assignments deadlines, communication policy, online netiquette, and assessments. Then I learned how to use a course management system. As I reviewed several programs, many of them were complicated to use for the course module. I wanted a program to be user friendly and easy to navigate. Coursesites by Blackboard was the best choice for my class. CourseSites has great resources such as the NBC learn for instructional videos and StudyMate Class. The tutorial was simple to follow and was easy to add documents, audio and videos to the website. Audio and video enhances the virtual classroom. By adding resources such as rubrics and handouts to your classes will help the learner to understand the course objectives. Also, the developer notebook that was created in Google Docs provided reflection of my online experience.
There were a few pitfalls and problems while developing the course. First, choosing the right topic that will interest the public was essential. This is important because I wanted to find the best material to use to teach the course. I did not want the course to be vague or with little information. Another pitfall was choosing resources to use for the class. I used Wikipedia as a resource for the definition of a computer. I had to look for a better resource for the definition. Finding interactive videos pertaining to the topic of computer basics was difficult. There are so many videos on YouTube and Teachertube. It takes plenty of time to watch them. Then I had to make the decision on adding a project to the course. I wanted the project to be interactive, fun, and entertaining.
After reading several articles on online learning, I learned that planning, writing, communicating, and technology skills are important to develop online classes. It takes time and patience to create classes for all learners. Teachers should use instructional methods to help students participate in online classroom discussions in order to guide and motivate students. There were so many skills gain from this course. Always test and preview your work. You do not want to post incorrect information on the course. Technology is not always reliable. In the future, I will be developing new online classes for the recreation center. Overall, designing a course is a challenge. You can design a good or bad course. Planning and research is important.
Another course that had impact on my learning was CEP 822, Approaches to Educational Research. The main goal of this course was to learn the basics of educational research. The course introduced techniques in quantitative and qualitative research in education. The course provided strategies for collecting data to understand the research problem. This class was very informative, intense and challenging. It helped me to become a better researcher.
First, I had to choose the right research topic. This is important because I wanted to find good resources to use for my research. The class taught me how to find the journal articles using educational databases such as ProQuest, JStor, and EBSCOhost. I used these articles to help write a literature review and research design proposal. While writing an article review, it gave me experience choosing a good journal article with detailed information to use for the study.
Learning the meaning of action, mix-methods, historical, and ethnographic research is essential in deciding which study that you want to conduct. I learned about different instruments to use to gather data for my study. All of the readings and the class discussions helped me understand the material. Conducting research requires a lot of planning and time management. The researcher should set of a schedule to help complete research study by a deadline. Overall, there were many good points that I obtained from CEP 822. Conducting research requires a lot of hard work.
In conclusion, technology can enhance the learning of children in the classroom. Computers are being integrated into the curriculum more than ever. It is a tool that can help students with basic skills. With the support and professional development training, teachers can use technology to improve their own teaching practices. Technology will enable learners to become effective, efficient and productive in their life pursuits.
The MAET program has given me the background that I need to be proficient in educational technology. It has been a long but great journey. The program challenged me to become a technology educator. I am excited to utilize my new technology skills to improve productivity at the recreation center.
Bibliography
Ebersole, John F. “Online Learning: An Unexpected Resource.” The Presidency Winter
2008: 24-29.
Yonder, Maureen Brown. “Seven Steps to Successful Online Communities.” Learning &
Leading with Teaching March 2003: 14-21.