Annotated Transcript - My Journey Through the Master's of Educational Technology Program
Spring 2013
CEP 810: Teaching for Understanding with Technology
Instructor: Amy Pietrowski
This was my first course in the Master's in Educational Technology (MAET) program at Michigan State University. It served as my first introduction to educational technology and introduced me to many of the educational theories that support the use technology in the classroom. Throughout this course, I was introduced to many technologies that I currently use in my teaching such as Twitter, social bookmarking sites, Prezi, blogs, and wiki spaces to name a few. I learned about effective teaching strategies and how to integrate technology into lessons to enhance my current instruction. Additionally, I learned about creative uses for technology and was introduced to the TPACK framework for teaching and learning. Most notably, I created a personal growth plan that allowed me to set goals and create a framework for my future aspirations and learning in the MAET program.
Summer 2013
CEP 811: Adapting Innovative Technologies in Education
Instructor: Amy Pietrowski
In this course I explored the many different ways that technology can be creatively used to enhance student learning in the classroom and beyond. Many of the themes and projects in this course centered around the use of innovative education technologies such as my Makey Makey kit. I explored different ways to apply this innovative technology into my classroom lessons and learned how to repurpouse everyday items into educational tools that I could use in my everyday lessons. I explored concepts such a universal design for learning and created several classroom layout designs using Google Sketch-up. Lastly, I was given my first introduction to proposal writing and practiced by writing a conference workshop proposal for potential submission.
CEP 812: Applying Educational Technology to Issues of Practice
Instructor: Sara Beauchamp Hicks
This was my last course in the Educational Technology Certificate Program before I officially applied and was accepted into the MAET program at Michigan State University. In this course I learned about ill-structured and wicked problems and some of the ways that technology can be used to solve these problems. In addition to learning different problem solving strategies, I also learned how to create and produce a screencast and I started and maintained my first blog site. I used my blog to publish my work and share my ideas with my classmates and my professional learning community.
Fall 2013
CEP 816: Technology, Teaching, and Learning Across the Curriculum
Instructor: Dr. Rand Spiro
In this course, the primary focus was learning how to use technology effectively to improve learning and understanding in the classroom. Weekly discussions were had between classmates and directly with the professor about some of the emerging ideas about teaching with technology and how specific technologies can be used in the classroom to address areas of interest in the subject area and grade level that I teach. This course centered much of what was learned and discussed around ways to promote a deeper learning and understanding based on the basic goals and needs of teaching and learning.
CEP 820: Teaching Students Online
Instructors: Ann Heintz and Sandra Sawaya
The main focus of this course was online learning and ways to better facilitate online learning through the use of a learning management system. At the start of the course, I explored various learning management systems and the different features that each had to offer both instructors and students. I was then able to select a specific learning management system for further review, critique, and to use to create my own online course module. Throughout the duration of the course, I created an online course module using the learning management system that I selected. In the end, I had created a fully functioning module for an online course in my specific content area that could be used directly with the students that I currently teach.
Spring 2014
CEP 815: Technology and Leadership
Instructors: Joshua Rosenberg and Ben Gleason
This course emphasized the qualities and skills necessary to be a leader in education with a specific focus on leadership in educational technology. I examined the relationships between teaching, learning, and technology and how to effectively manage and support the relationships between all three. Many of the assignments and projects required me too look at education and the addition of technology through the eyes of a leader or a manager. In other words, I looked beyond the use of technology in my own classroom and thought in terms of the bigger picture and addressed the implementation of specific technologies on a building, district, and community level. An important aspect of this course was examining the role of various stakeholders in the implementation of educational technology and creating a budgets that could be presented as part of a future proposal.
TE 846: Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners
Instructor: Dr. Patricia Edwards
The primary focus of this course was literacy education in the classroom and beyond. I learned many different strategies that can be used to support literacy education in the classroom as well as specific learning theories that address literacy education. The techniques and strategies that I learned could easily be implemented into my daily practice and I had several opportunities to discuss the strategies that I used with classmates and receive their feedback and ideas. A focal point of the course was the final literacy learner analysis project. This project required me to complete a case study on one of my current students in which I conducted both a pre and post assessment and created lessons that were tailored to the specific literacy needs of the selected student.
Summer 2014
CEP 800: Learning in School and Other Settings
Instructors: William Cain and Joshua Rosenberg
In this course I continually worked to find ways to incorporate technology into my classroom with the purpose of creating opportunities for more meaningful lessons that produce a deeper understanding of the content and curriculum. I learned of how to create a voice thread and created and recorded one that depicted three of my own students understanding of a selected topic within my curriculum. I also created a digital story that outlined my students journey through a unit of study and examined and compared different teaching and learning theories. Lastly, I created a lesson plan that linked teaching and learning with technology with the TPACK framework with the goal of providing an opportunity for student learning, growth, and mastery that would foster a meaningful learning experience and deeper understanding of the content.
CEP 807: Capstone Portfolio Course
Instructors: Brittany Dillman, Spencer Greenhalgh, Dr. Matthew Koehler, and Joshua Rosenberg
This course serves as the final and culminating course in the MAET program. In this course I reflected on all of the previous courses that I completed and the learning that took place in each. I utilized much of what I learned in my efforts to create an online portfolio that highlights my experiences as a student in the MAET program at Michigan State University. In addition to reflecting on the skills that I have acquired as a student in the MAET program, I have had the opportunity to reflect on my career as a educator and plan for the future by setting goals that include my passion for educational technology. This course has provided me with the opportunity to revamp my overall resume as I aim to emerge from the MAET program as a future leader in educational technology.
CEP 822: Approaches to Educational Research
Instructors: Tatyana Li and Dr. E. David Wong
This course takes a close look at different research methods as they pertain to educational research. After learning about different research methods including ways to locate, read, and analyzing statistical data, I conducted my own research about a current issue in education. I conducted my research by reading and examining several professional sources and studies that have been published about the topic. In examining my selected sources, I was curious in the methods and findings in the research and how they related to the educational research problem that I selected. After careful examination of published research on the topic, I wrote my own research proposal including the methods that I would use to conduct my own research. This course provided me with a wonderful overview of research methods that are important in educational research and has helped me to look at findings from a more critical and informed point of view.