Showcase of Work
This showcase is a culmination of some of the projects and coursework that I completed throughout my time in the Masters of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) at Michigan State University. My areas of focus in my course selection involved literacy and technology. Below you will find summaries accompanied by links to some of my work during this program. I have categorized my work into three categories. The first category involves coursework about how individuals learn. The second section contains work tied to literacy. The last section contains work tied to meaningful technology integration in the classrooms including ways to reimagine teaching and learning in the 21st century. In all three sections you will find samples of work that shows new skills and strategies I have implemented while continuing to grow as a well-rounded educator and learner.
LEARNING
I created an infographic to show a snapshot of my ideas of how I believe learning occurs. This infographic aligns with my Personal Theory of Learning.
PERSONAL LEARNING THEORY
I created a piktochart to show how learning in school is used outside of the classroom everyday for content-specific situations. I chose football to show this relationship. This project allowed me to realize how important authentic activities are when teaching so that students can see the correlation between their learning and real-world experiences. Click here to view this document.
REAL WORLD LEARNING
View this powerpoint that shows how to create a Personal Learning Network (PLN). Here, you can also find the agenda, learning outcomes, and explanation for a professional development built around creating Personal Learning Networks. My future goals consist of becoming a technology leader in education where I plan to use this as a PD opportunity to create and and use their own PLN
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
LITERACY
LITERACY LEARNER ANALYSIS
The completion of this project allowed me to further understand how to use best practices to differentiate reading comprehension instruction for a student above grade level. I also learned several new assessment variations and the importance between a positive, home-school connection. Read the full version here.
RESEARCH REVIEW PAPER
This paper shows connections between the 10+ pieces of quality research I found supporting read aloud in the classroom and connections between the pieces and my own thoughts and experiences. From this project I learned what quality, authentic research consists of and where to find it. Read the full version here.
TECHNOLOGY
I was asked to examine my own life and think about how I use passion and curiosity as an educator and pass on these skills to my students. My goal as an educator is to constantly model these skills everyday so my students see how important they are in living a meaningful life. Watch my video, created through Animoto, by clicking on the image above, to see how I instill passion and curiosity in my work as an educator and through technology to my students. Read more on my blog post here.
TEACHING WITH PASSION AND CURIOSITY
To show case all I have learned throughout my CEP 811 journey, I made a word cloud in Tagxedo. Instead of inserting common words used throughout this course I decided to actually import the blog’s url where I have displayed all of my learning during the course. Tagxedo then choose the most frequent words used for me to create the word cloud. After this course I have a deeper understanding of what it means to actually teach with technology and how the education system needs to be reformed to meet the needs of students in today’s 21st century society.
WORD CLOUD
With a change in time, materials, careers, and resources, a change in teaching must come too. A 21st century education should not look the same as previous centuries educations. It is time to rethink how our students learn and how educators educate. A group of colleagues and myself sought out to find a solution for the wicked problem of Rethinking Teaching. We found that there is in fact no one solution, but rather a combination of theories and methods to begin to solve this wicked problem. Personalized 21st century learning, as well as a reform in the physical school environment can begin to push educators, parents, students, and community members towards the direction of rethinking teaching. You can find a PDF of this paper here.
RETHINK TEACHING
click to enlarge
click to enlarge
President Obama declared a first ever White House Maker Faire this year. There he stated, “I am calling on people across the country to join us in creating creativity and encouraging inventions in their communities” (White House, 2014) (Halverson & Sherdian, 2014, p 1). The maker movement is fostering innovation, problem-solving, collaboration, and 21st century skills in children, adolescents, and adults. The maker culture is growing into education. Some educators might find this scary while some find it exciting, either way, it requires a shift in how we educate as well as understanding how and what students learn. Read more in my blog post here.
MAKER MOVEMENT IN EDUCATION
click to enlarge
In this Technology Integration Data Analysis I have provided data that helps answer three research questions as well as how it can begin to help solve the wicked problem, rethink teaching. Completion of this project showed me that educators wish to integrate a broader range of technologies in their teaching but are unsure how to effectively and efficiently do this. I can take on a leadership role in helping my colleagues feel more comfortable using technology in their classroom by sharing resources, tools, and techniques with them. Find the PDF of the data analysis here.
TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION DATA ANALYSIS
TPACK FRAMEWORK
Competing this project helped me develop a further understanding of what it means to be a 21st century educator. 21st century educators are those who can bring together knowledge of subject matter, what is good for learning, and incorporate effective technology. The combination is described as Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). Get a better understanding of the TPACK framework by listening to the screencast by clicking on the image above.
Literacy Learner Analysis and Research Review Paper Images are curtesy of Wix.