My New Direction

Change is natural...Change is natural.... Change is NATURAL??? Heck no it's not! Change it a ton of time, and hard work- but it can be enlightening, and FUN. For our kids, we need to make it pleasurable and try really hard to make it seem natural. Just like the mega-Olympian Michael Phelps makes his butterfly look easy, and natural. We know that he's been training since before he hit puberty- for hours a day, 6-7 days a week. BUT he makes it look soo effortless. THIS is what we, teachers, need to do. Make change look, or feel, EFFORTLESS. Moaning and groaning only hurts the kids, and make the person doing the whining miserable! So, let us, the few who are exploring technology within education move those who are afraid, forward with ease and compassion.

Many schools are, or should be, implementing some sort of virtual learning in the classroom. This could be blogging, district/school/class twitter accounts, wikis or even Web 2.0 programs/applications. There are so many studies of teachers posting video lectures on a class blog site along with notes over the content that students access out of class. Pros: This allows more time to have hands-on activities in class with more student-teacher interaction. Cons: It takes time to prepare the "lecture." Time is precious, and sometimes hard to come by for teachers. My IDEA: Only post class notes/lectures on Fridays. Allow the kids all weekend to access, and let the post cover the entire week. Do not try to burn yourself out by re-posting lectures/notes every day.

Reusability is an AWESOME benefit the World Wide Web has brought to teachers. I remember, when I was a kid, my mom (also a teacher) was sorting through her school boxes. She pulled out a collection of HUGE binders, and called them her "educational bibles." ???? I asked her why they were so important, and she told me that they contained every lesson plan she had ever made for every subject within every grade she had ever taught. Now, looking back, I couldn't imagine having binders full of lesson plans!! We have the Internet now! We do have to be careful that we do not infringe on intellectual property rights. The Web has made it all too easy to discover, then copy and paste anything we need. I am looking at possibly going into Library Sciences and becoming a Media Specialist. If I violate copyright, I could lose my license. :-/ Eeks. This is a topic I hope to thoroughly attack in my LIS classes.

Rich Media is defined as: learning products that incorporate high-end media such as sound, video, animation and simulation. After working towards my Masters in Educational Technology, I cannot see how I would ever keep Rich media out of any classroom. I am still torn on my future career, but whether it is post-secondary education, or a library, or even back to the classroom I will use rich media in multiple ways. These ways could be: instruction, presentation, classwork, projects or even examinations.

Emerging Technologies ARE the future of education... I cannot wait to incorporate Web 2.0 into instruction in whichever field I choose. When I was in the classroom, we used educational and virtual games. These games have been around for a long time. The oldest that I remember was the Oregon Trail, then Sim City in High School. My son is already playing Sim City and learning about infrastructure and money management. He is 6.

The classes I have taken over the last 5 months have been very informative and exciting. They have shed new light on how we can evolve the education system and ways to improve our students' desire to learn. I am very passionate about making others passionate and finding new approaches to things... Anything. Life will always have obstacles and we will always have to adapt and change. The future is, and will always hold change.

Good luck to everyone and may we use, and "reuse" the things we have learned through our education. I hope that everyone passes the knowledge we have been fortunate to learn on to our peers, students, administrators and family whether they work in education or not. Remember that learning takes place with everyone and everywhere!

Instructional Design Position

Good Day All!

My Background:

Currently I am not working a full time job. I work part time for a community college building classes and hiring new instructors. This particular college wanted to "re-vamp" their continuing education class options. Previously, I taught middle then high school, and coached UIL swimming at the high school level for 3 different 5A schools.

I am enrolled in the ETEC (Educational Technology) program at TAMU-Commerce and am expecting to graduate in May 2013. My weakness, I felt, was technology and that is what influenced my choice of majors. I am now dabbling with the idea of getting my librarian certification immediately after I graduate and becoming an elementary Media Specialist (Librarian). This year, having more free time (resigned from teaching May 2012) I have been helping in 2 different elementary libraries. I have fallen in love- too bad it was after I was 2/3's way through my degree ;). If I were to transfer to ETEC/Lib Science, I would be lacking 9 classes. This is the same amount of classes I would have left if I graduated, then started. Since I am not 100% what I want to do post-graduation, it is more beneficial for me to finish as an ETEC major, and then get the certification.


My other desire (the reason I initially enrolled in this program) is to become a post-secondary instructor, preferably for online classes. I have really enjoyed these online ETEC classes, and have had really good professors. I am leaning to applying for a position as an ETEC instructor in a college/university. In my undergrad classes, I had some online professors that were not-so-helpful and made the classes VERY frustrating- to say the least.

I would prefer to design instruction, and possible develop it as well. I am very creative, and explain new ideas well. The times are changing- and instructors need to jump on the bandwagon to stay effective. I have never worked in the private school sector, and feel that I would rather stay with what I know- public school, whether it be elementary or post-secondary.

There is no way that I will gain all the skills I need for either of these jobs with only my graduate level classes. I will continuously take workshops and ask questions; one can never know enough.

Organizations that will best support my continued learning would be:
**FYI: section 6, chapter 26, Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology**

ETEC Instructor Post-Secondary:

Educational Technology: http://www.bookstoread.com/etp
Educational Technology, Research and Development (ETR&D): http://www.aect.org/Intranet/Publications/index.asp#etrd
Educational Technology and Society: http://ifets.info/others/
Educational Technology Review (ETR): http://www.aace.org/pubs/etr
Distance Education: http://www.odlaa.org/publications/publications.html
American Journal of Distance Education (AJDE): http://www.ajde.com
Society for Applied Learning Technology (SALT): http://www.salt.org
Quarterly Review of Distance Education (QRDE): http://infoagepub.com/products/journals/qrde/index/htm
plus many more..

Elementary School Librarian (Media Specialist):

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE): http://iste.org
International Technology Education Association (ITEA): http://www.iteaconnect.org
International Forum of Educational Technology and Society: http://ifets.ieee.org
Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT): http://www.aect.org
Association for Media and Technology Education in Canada (AMTEC): http://www.amtec.ca
TechTrends: http://www.aect.org/Intranet/Publications/index.asp#tt
T.H.E. Journal: (non refereed Articles of real educators): http://www.thejournal.com
plus many more....

I DO feel that it would be great to join many of these organizations before graduating- because it could help me decide exactly what path to take. Why take the 7 extra classes (for the librarian certification) if I choose a different path?

Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT): This organization links professionals with common interests to educational technology and its application in learning. There are several different counsels so all needs/specialties can be met. The AECT hold a summer conference that has job placement as well as several hundred presentations. This organization would be beneficial for both jobs I am interested in... And it also publishes journals for other sites I have listed in each category.

Society for Applied Learning Technology (SALT): This organization is for professionals in the field of instructional technology. There is an annual convention that covers topics from distance education to interactive instructional delivery. Becoming a member of this organization could really solidify whether I wanted to become an ETEC instructor, and whether I feel I would be successful in this career choice.

I am excited to continue my path to a new career, and cannot wait to see what the future holds!

 

Healthy Post-Secondary Classrooms

 At the beginning of my graduate degree choice, I was 100% certain I wanted to teach Higher Education (post secondary). Throughout these past five months, I met many other students who have made my “clear path” blurry. I am now torn between wanting to teach ETEC college classes, and becoming an elementary school librarian. These are two polar opposite jobs! After this semester, I will be lacking two classes to complete my degree. I have checked with advisors and my best path (financially and educationally) is to graduate and then get my library certification. I could change my mind by May, and not spend money (7 classes worth) on a certificate that I might never use. For the purpose of identifying trends with instructional design and technology, I will focus mainly on higher education.

The health professions follow an altruistic outline for caregivers called the Hippocratic Oath. When teaching college students, students who PAY for their education, I feel that an oath similar to this could be beneficial in student productivity and communication.

 

The Hippocratic Oath was put in place for healthcare professionals to maintain a set Code of Conduct. The oath provides guidelines for people who have chosen healthcare careers to abide in order for their patients to feel as comfortable, trusting and respected as possible. The main focus of these guidelines is to hold the professionals accountable for their actions and teach them that they need to have strong interpersonal and communications skills in order to perform their job completely.

In a post-secondary classroom, a professor could not only uphold a set of rules such as these, but post them online (or discuss them) the first day of class. The student could sign or e-sign a contract stating that they will be constructive and compassionate towards their classmates. Many students are afraid (in K-12 as well) of interacting with others or the teacher in classrooms. They are afraid of rejection, or being misunderstood. In many situations, it is easier to stay silent than offer an opinion.

 

The fuel behind learning, is interaction. This is a critical element that cannot be left out of classrooms, digital especially! The class oath would be inviting and uplifting, and the teacher would be expected to abide by it as well. In healthcare professions, prior to becoming a “professional,” students are taught the techniques of “care”. In my classroom, students would be TAUGHT how to interact. I would be very involved in the classroom discussions and maybe even organize and the first study group. The professors have to be the leaders of character and expected actions in the educational environment. Etiquette is the key that many people forget until it might be too late, and hurtful criticism has been spewed.     

 

.. These are just a few thoughts and ideas I am excited to explore and refine. J