​     To make the claim that teaching was my first choice as a career would be a misrepresentation of the truth.  I had big dreams of representing the defenseless in a chamber of righteousness like only I could do.  Who was I kidding? What was I thinking? I was thinking I could defend away what I know now to be years of injustice students experience in Americas politically driven educational system.   So I stepped into an evolving career which provided me the opportunity to be creative and innovative.  I mastered elementary teacher education in an online forum and enjoyed the interactions of online learning.  This was enough to plant the seed to pursue knowledge on how to develop the same interactions for the students I teach.  This was in 2007, when the economy was in the beginning stages of this recessive atmosphere that seems endless.  Like many other Americans the reality of joblessness and uncertainty was prevalent.  I need something to give me an edge in the job market, something to make my skills marketable and provide me with a direct connection to how my student’s see the world. The Educational Technology certificate program at Michigan State University was the first choice in my Google search for educational technology programs in Michigan. 

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Formalizing

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     I decided to begin formalizing and tracking what I was learning and doing in regards to using technology in the classroom, immediately upon entering Teaching for Understanding with Technology CEP 810 put into perspective what technology integration in education really meant.  The most intriguing thing about my interactions in this class is it helped me become a student again.  It put me in the position to experience learning as a novice and helped me forge an appreciation for how my student’s see learning.  In a technological driven society technology enhances how and what students learn, connect to real world context, actively engage in learning, participate in learning, and how frequent they interact and receive feedback.  Exposure to technology is first nature for the child of today. Unlike the reserved children of eras past where we relied heavily on human interactions, actual face to face interactions or what would now be characterized as “therapeutic play” is now rapidly display via electronic devices. Their lives are saturated with knowledge that is open to technology as a learning method. When we explore the stuff kids bring to the table learning become self-directed.  The most important things I took from CEP 810 was the ability to organize my online thoughts, opportunities to expand my personal learning network and lastly,  a new beginning to what technology integration could offer me as a professional. 

     Almost simultaneously with this new wealth of information in technology came the effects of the political maneuvering and economic challenges in education for me, unemployment.  My focus changed from enhancing my skills to better serve the students I teach to making myself marketable to compete for future employment.  At this point I knew I would need to continue my studies at Michigan State University to complete the Masters of Educational Technology to give myself the edge I needed.  By the time I entered Adapting Innovating Technologies in Education CEP 811, I was driven by the need to gain employment but relaxed with learning how to apply instructional principal and methods to educational problems using technology. 

     In this class I was presented an opportunity to build upon my knowledge base in technology through a variety of online experiences.  I learned how to create a website, explore web publishing software and use File Transfer Protocol. The vast amount of information and infinite uses these tools presented helped me to expand my knowledge base on what teaching strategies, learning outcomes and feedback will be obtained when integrating technology into learning.  Of the aforementioned, learning effective teaching strategies when integrating technology had the most profound effect of the learning presented.

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     The integration of technology requires teachers to give much consideration to what teaching strategies are appropriate.  When presenting information using technology it is important that teaching strategies present new techniques to make learning more creative, inviting and student centered.  Continuing to teach or lecture in the same fashion where learning is teacher center renders an environment that inhibits creativity even when technology is utilized.   This course broaden the scope on which teaching strategies is effective when integrating technology.  I learned about instruction design principals and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principals.  Following both principals in technology integration helps teachers strategically create lessons that are supported in curriculum design, analyzes learning needs and systematically develops instructions. This helps drives home how the use of technology strengthens how a teacher decides to strategically approach disseminating learning.  This aspect of learning is what teaching in the 21st century is about.  The beginning of the program help some key pieces to what I needed to do to refocus myself on two levels.  

    The integration of web-based technology presented in this class afforded me a ways to view how to electronically create information and communicate that information to create a specific presentation.  The educational and pedagogical possibilities the technology presented will assist me with developing learning that promotes creativity and higher-order thinking skills. The incorporation of auditory and visual material helps link different types of representation of written text in learning.  They provide the flexibility needed to present learning beneficial to a diverse population of learners.  Web quest, Wikis, and resources from Merlot presented in this class are effective educational tools for supporting auditory and visual learning.  They presented me with the means of keeping up with advances and integrating recent technologies into lessons.  

     My personal goal for technology integration was to learning how to included technology and determining if the technology I am to use best fits my instructional objectives.  I feel this course gave me a better outlook on a more structured method of incorporating technology into the classroom. As an educator I am always searching for new and innovative ways to integrate technology.  The information presented in this class assisted me with finding a logical way to use technology.  I was confident the knowledge I acquired would help sustain my desire to continue growing in this program.  After completing the certificate portion of this program, I knew I had to find ways to apply the knowledge I now possessed so I begin to volunteer in the classrooms of my colleagues.  At this point I had epiphany, “why not teach adults technology integrations”. 

Leader in Technology

     They say good things come to people who wait; by the summer of 2012 I was back in the classroom and beginning the summer cohort online.  Balancing both school responsibilities and online classes was not as easy I thought.  Of the three classes presented during the summer, Technology and Leadership CEP 815 had the most profound effect.  This course provided me with focus in developing qualities that would help manage the interactions between technology, teaching and learning.  An important aspect was learning how to assess the benefits that technology presents to different audiences.  One of the most profound pieces of knowledge I gained from this class is the history of technology in education, using “The Argument," by John Hattie, to gain an understanding of the six factors influencing student achievement and comparing instrumental and missional thinking.  My final presentation for this class displayed my understanding of Hattie’s argument.   I strongly took from this argument that the factor of student achievement that is most influenced by technology is the child.  In a technological driven society technology enhances how and what students learn, connect to real world context, actively engage in learning, participate in learning, and how frequent they interact and receive feedback.  Although this each aspect was equally important, as an educator, a full understanding and balance of everything that will enhance learning for my students was essential to helping me obtain the level of leadership qualities I needed to obtain. 

     Gaining a full understanding of missional vs. instrumental thinking provided tools I needed to put into perspective what is important to the greater good of an organization.  The impact of having the ability to look at the bigger picture and make sound decisions based on providing an opportunity to obtain a specific goal instead of instrumental thinking, which incorporates an idea for the sake of using it. This is important because it helps create another important aspect I believe I will need to make sound decisions in leadership.  The undertaking of leading in technology requires not only for you to have technical skills, but compassion for the ideas and desires of those who seek to gain knowledge using technology.  My presentation, “Tough Empathy” was drawn from the article “Why Should Anyone Be Led by You”.   This article identifies “Tough Empathy” as one of four unexpected qualities an inspirational leader should possess.  I chose this image because I saw it to demonstrate workers showing their support for the direction their leader is taking them.  Tough empathy means giving people what they need, not what they want (Goffee &Jones, 2000).  My text was taking partly from the definition and concludes with what reaction an inspirational leader can expect if he provides those he leads with this attribute as he/she makes tough decisions.  There will be a balance created with those who are being led and the reaction will be one that carries the leader and his endeavor a long way.  I soundly believe that leadership in technology presents the same pitfalls for those in charge it does in every industry.  Practicing tough empathy with my students will create the balance needed to create a student-centered environment that respects the understanding of what students bring to the table. 

On-Line Learning

     The effect of completing my second masters online has had a profound effect on the way I feel about using technology.  The highlight of this program came as I put together my Course Management System using Haiku LMS.  The value of this learning environment  has the potential to not only provide students with the technical knowledge need to excel in the twenty-first century but it creates an opportunity to satisfy the need to organize learning in a systematic fashion for teachers.  It has become apparent that when it comes to technology many adults are like the students they teach.  They are hesitant to break old habits and hold steadfast to what works quickest.  My experience online has provided me with a level of understanding of how knowledge can be created, borrowed and redesigned in a safe environment.  No longer can we make the claim, “I don’t know” it is as simple as looking on a mobile device to gain knowledge in an instance. 

     As I reflect on the many things I will take from obtaining my MAET online, I celebrate the accomplishment I have made.  I am now comfortable with employing technology to be inclusive of grade level strategies that incorporates the use of technological tools that will be beneficial to my students, parent, colleagues and the entire school community.  I am able to meet the challenges of constructing an atmosphere that employs cooperative interactions amongst students and the teacher using technology. I can successfully research to expand on current knowledge in technology that will be the catalyst for more research.  I can successfully use the same research process to make immediate decision on the direction of learning in my class.  I know that establishing an environment where opportunity to make responsible decision about learning is clear and concise will align me with all technology define in creating 21st Century Skills for teachers and students. As the technological world continues to evolve my desire to learn shall too. 

Bring It All Together

    The conclusion to each course in my studies at Michigan State University provided opportunities to reflect and set personal and educational goals.  The opportunity to create a culminating visual of the accomplishment of each aspect of the MAET program at Michigan State University in this Capstone has provided me with an opportunity to not only display my accomplishment but to reflect on my ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of technological knowledge that will creat opportunities for continual learning in educational technology.  I recall words from required reading, “I Dare You” in undergrad by William H. Danforth, “think tall, stand tall, smile tall, and live tall”. I dare myself to continue to “think tall” in using technology to enhance learning, “stand tall”, when presenting my knowledge of technological advances to my colleagues and the entire school community, “smile tall” as I certify may knowledge with a Master of Arts in Educational Technology, and “live tall” because I possess the knowledge and desire to learn and teach in a technological world​​​​​​​​​​.