Macias 1

Master of Arts in Education:

Digital Teaching and Learning
From Pancho to Mr. Macias
Francisco Macias
EDUC 526 Capstone Experience in Digital Teaching and Learning
Dr. Gilbreath
Murrieta Regional Center
URL: http://maciasportfolio.weebly.com
Date Submitted: July 1, 2015

Section One:
Introduction- Setting the context

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When I applied to the school I was only interested in gaining a

Single-Subject Credential. I mentioned to my advisor that I was
interested in getting my masters but that I wanted to wait until I
obtained my credential and a job teaching. I was stuck on the notion
that a district would not hire a new teacher if they had their masters
degree because that would mean they would have to pay more. All
through my undergrad that was all that we were told when the subject
of teaching and getting hired came up. When I graduated the same
myth flew by my ears and made me a bit timid to go for my masters
right away. My advisor recommended that I go to the M.A.Ed. with
Single Subject Teaching Credential because it would benefit me in the
long run. After receiving all of the information on both programs I
decided to go with the dual program. Deciding to do the dual program
was one of the best decisions of my life.
I began the first leg of the Masters program in the Fall of 2013. At
the time I was two years into being a dad with my first-born daughter,
Ellie. My job at the time was a substitute teacher and a BoxingBootcamp Instructor at a few gyms in my area. I knew that entering
this program was going to change my life for the better. Prior to
entering the program my only responsibilities were worrying about if I
had a job lined up everyday as a sub and that I kept my classes full at
the gym. At the time, life was easy and I was coasting by. With regards
to my environment, I would say it was low-key with mild stress,
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EDUC526 Growth Assessment
Murrieta Regional Center
Summer

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however, with regards to my financial environment and status; I was

not where I wanted to be. My wife is a 1st grade teacher and at the
time, was the major breadwinner. My jobs were bringing in enough to
allow us to have some fun on the weekends but they did not provide us
with any real substantial income. I knew that the income and jobs were
going to be temporary because I had dreams and goals that I wanted
to accomplish. Having my daughter and my wifes encouragement to
do better pushed me to reach the goals I had set forth prior to starting
the program. I set two goals prior to joining the program; first was to
do my best to maintain a 4.0 GPA the entire program and second was
to start and finish this program without any breaks. As of right now Im
at a 3.67GPA and I have not taken one break. I feel proud about that
due to the many things that have gone on since I began this program.
Personal Growth
Since I started the program I have come to learn a lot about myself. Not having
been a student since 2008 I was a bit apprehensive on how I would react to being in a
class again. There were a few things that I learned about myself with regards to who I am
as a person and most of all as a student. As a student I found out that my learning style
was not how it was when I was in undergrad. Back then, I was ok with sitting in the back
of the classroom and fine with catching every other word the professor had for me. I
found that 5 years later my learning style would be one of a more mature nature that
required a front row seat. I found out that my learning style had changed since I was last
in a class in 2008. I realized that I needed to be up front in every class and it has paid off
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EDUC526 Growth Assessment
Murrieta Regional Center
Summer

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since. Along with my learning style changing, my study habits sure changed. I vowed that
I would not get behind with my assignments and to make sure that every assignment was
turned in at least 2 days before the official due date. In order for that to happen I needed
to make sure that I was diligent with my studying. I had everything timed out on paper
and I stuck to my time frame I set for myself. I have always been a stickler for being on
time for everything. I hate being late, therefore when it came time for deadlines I never
put myself in that stressful awful feeling of having to meet deadlines. I felt that I was able
to handle the pressures of a rigorous program such as this one with grace and dignity.
In the program I made some personal connections with people who were in my
program, however, it wasnt until I got to the end of the program where these personal
connections flourished. I started the program with about 25-30 people and when it ended
there were 7 of us. Of the last remaining 7, 4 of the started with me and ended with me. I
made a connection with a few instructors because of their honesty and dedication to
helping us future teachers with great advice that was not related to the APU curriculum.
My spiritual side was tested for sure with this program. My first few classes of the
credential program had me second-guessing if I should drop out and apply elsewhere.
The behind the scenes antics the school put me through had me doubting if APU was
right for me. I was also feeling overwhelmed with the workload and thought maybe
another school would be different. I stepped away from myself and asked the Lord to
give me strength to continue and to ease my worries so that it will allow me to focus on
my task at hand. I know my prayers were answered which drew me closer to HIM as well
as make me grow with my spiritual side.

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Completing this degree would mean everything to me. I have struggled so much
to get to where I am and I still cant believe that I am just a few weeks away from
walking away with a Masters degree. I never thought Id get this far because of the
barriers that kept popping up to divert me from finishing my degrees. Growing up in a
low-income area, on welfare and raised by a single mom, I had everything stacked
against me. However, I did not let that take me away from what I wanted out of life. I
graduated with my A.A. degree in 2006, B.A. in 2008 and in 2015 I will have my
credential and masters degree. Im currently a teacher in Perris, CA, which was another
goal of mine and I accomplished it. Im still debating on if I want to end the show with
my Ph.D. Ed or not. We shall see.
Professional Growth
I became an educator while attending APU and I feel that I have grown up as an
educator as the program went on, along with my teaching. I went into my student
teaching as an Intern-Teacher, which meant I had little to no help in the classroom. I had
an APU mentor as well as the school mentor; however, they were both very busy with
their own classes. I did not see them as much as if I had a master teacher to assist in the
classroom. As I struggled to find who I was as a first year teacher, which I havent found
yet, I started to take advice from my TEP instructors when I had issues. With their help,
the classes at APU and my trial by error approach in the class, I felt that I grew quickly as
an educator.
I dont believe I had to take on any new responsibilities or changes in my
professional life due to the program. I have been in the program non-stop since 2013 so it

Francisco Macias
EDUC526 Growth Assessment
Murrieta Regional Center
Summer

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felt as if everything was flowing. I did use time at school to get school work done which
was something I had to make time for.
My Action Research Study is one I believe all teachers can benefit from; even if
you arent into working out or worried about your caloric intake. I created a research
question for this plan: Are you trying to keep up your eating habits while being a full
time teacher? My action research question that I wanted answered was followed by a trial
run for a week during the school year. The Sunday before the week was to start I made a
list of the things I know I needed to eat and prepared them that night according to my
work schedule. By Wednesday afternoon my body was on an eating time mode, which
made this transition easier. My objective to my action plan was to see if I could continue
to stay on my eating with the allotted time I was given between classes.
Technical Growth
It took me awhile to truly engulf myself in this new form of teaching and to
incorporate technology in my everyday thinking. When I took my first tech class I was a
bit lost and frustrated with the entire thing. I was old school with everything done on
Microsoft word, printed out and turned in. When I started with EDUC511 and 512 I was
lost because of the new technological terms being used. Words like LIVEBINDER,
WORRDLE, or using apps other than ITUNES was foreign to me. Over the course of the
program I felt that I was starting to grow. I was familiar with the terminology and I began
to use a lot of what I was learning in the APU classroom in my classroom at Perris High.
I learned how to incorporate IMovie, green screen, and special effects from EDUC 522
with Prof. Temple. This class helped me grow as an educator because it allowed me to
engage my students with something that they enjoyed using; technology. I have adopted
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EDUC526 Growth Assessment
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Summer

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the following apps from EDUC 522, 525, 514 and 515; ANIMOTO, IMOVIE, WEEBLY,
HAIKU DECK, MOVIE NOTE, Prezi, 20% Project and Special FX apps. I have
incorporated these apps into my lesson plans for my students to use when doing projects
or presentations. These apps have helped me to help them be more creative with their
work. My students are no longer resorting to Power Point or drawing on paper to express
themselves and their projects.
Life Long Learning Plan
When it came time to enter the program, I had to mentally
prepare myself for the journey ahead. I had to prepare myself
personally and professionally; I had to combine the two. I was warned
in undergrad by a Professor who told me, Once you become a teacher,
you are a teacher 24/7, which means, just because you leave the
classroom, it does not mean you are free of being a professional. After
hearing that I knew that I needed to make my personal life coincide
with my professional life. That was almost 8 years ago and I have
stuck to that way of thinking ever since. When I started the program I
had to remind myself of this because I know that this was just the
beginning of my educational and professional development. I know
that I will take every opportunity to continue to educate myself and
learn new strategies for my classroom as well as a teacher.
There werent many needs that arose during the program that
stood out to me that I felt were things I needed. If I had to choose
something, I think it would be that I needed to sit somewhat close to
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EDUC526 Growth Assessment
Murrieta Regional Center
Summer

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the front because I did not want to miss anything. There were for a few
times where I claimed my seat before each class and I made it known
that this was my seat.
This program has opened my eyes to technology and how it can
be a great tool to educate, motivate and inspire my students. I plan on
working with my schools I.T. Resource Teacher and see what we can do
as a team to work together. I have attended a C.U.E conference in the
past and I would like to go again. I learned a lot with this conference.
The only thing I can see that I would like to continue with that I
learned from the program is exploring the presentation tools, such as
Prezi, Animoto, Weebly and Movie Note as well as programs that will
help me to deliver mind blowing lessons in a movie form with special
effects.
Professionally, in five years I will be in my 5th year as a High
School Freshman English Teacher and Im hoping that Im still
employed. Im hoping my ideas I have now will become a reality. Im
hoping that my idea for a Life Skills and Career Readiness class is up
and running. At my 10-year mark Im hoping that Im celebrating my
9th year as a teacher in the successful Life Skills and Career Readiness
class. Personally, I hope that I have had at least 3 more kids in that 510 year span and that we are all healthy and loving life.
SECTION TWO:
History of Coursework and Course Evaluation
Francisco Macias
EDUC526 Growth Assessment
Murrieta Regional Center
Summer

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Name
:

Macias 9

Francisco Macias
Summer

Term:
Cours
e

EDU
C
511

EDU
C
512

EDU
C
514

EDU
C

Course
Title &
Instructor
Name

Foundations in
Digital
Teaching and
Learning

Term
Complet
ed

LiveBin
der
URL:

http://maciasportfolio.weebly.com

Key Skills
Acquired

Fall
2013

Live Binder,
Worde,
Technology
Safety, Vision
Statement

Fall
2013

Intro to APPS for

IPAD
How to apply
apps to the
classroom and
which ones
would be great.

INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Gilbreath

Instructional
Applications
Productivity
Software
INSTRUCTOR:
Sullivan

Digital Video in
the Classroom
INSTRUCTOR:
Temple

Evolving

Spring
2014

Spring
2015

Animoto, visual
effects such as
Green screen
tricks, Rule of
thirds, how to
capture students
with live video,
music and
animation
presentation
tools.
History of
technology and

Francisco Macias
EDUC526 Growth Assessment
Murrieta Regional Center
Summer

Comments/Suggestio
ns
I really enjoyed this
class because it eased
me into the new wave of
technology and what
was to be expected. I
was a bit thrown off at
first because of all that I
was going to have to do
for future classes, but
this class eased
everything. Great intro
class.
This course was
something I felt could
have been taught via a
YouTube channel or a
techys blog. Sullivan
was a great teacher but
I felt the class was
reaching to introduce us
to anything substantial. I
could have found all
these apps by doing
research on my own.
This class was
interesting but another
class that I felt could
have been taught from a
YOUTUBE How to Vid
Temple had some
interesting ideas and I
took some of them to
my class and they
worked. Overall, ok
class.
This class was
interesting because of
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current
technology.
Gaming and 20%
Google projects.

Educational
Technologies

515

EDU
C
522

EDU
C
525

INSTRUCTOR:
Marting

Learning in the
21st Century
INSTRUCTOR:
Rodriguez

Capstone
Experience/
Digital
Teaching and
Learning

Spring
2015

Spring
2015

INSTRUCTOR:
Mulhauser

EDU
C
526

Capstone
Experience/ Digital
Teaching and
Learning

Learned about MI
and how they
affect students.
The different
aspects of how
students learn.
Web design, how
to code for a
website.
Classroom
website, HAIKU
DECK, Weebly,
HAIKU page, and
MOVIE NOTE.

Lance Martin. He did a

great job and I felt I was
able to get some good
ideas from the class. I
really enjoyed the 20%
project because it was a
different approach to
learning.
This class was
interesting. Learning
about different learners
and how to approach it
as a teacher. Overall,
good experience and
learned a lot.
This was probably the
best class because it
allowed me to showcase
my work via a website. I
enjoyed how I could
create something that
separated me from the
district website. Made
me more user friendly
for my students.

VITA, Action Plan

movie making,
Summer
2015

INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Gilbreath

When it came to the courses, I have to be honest and say that I

did not take anything way that was mind-blowing or astonishing. I felt
that a lot of the things that were taught in the masters program were
things that I could have received from a C.U.E. Conference or typing
into YouTube. I felt that each class was like a Youtube How To video
because that is all that we did in each course. Each professor gave us

Francisco Macias
EDUC526 Growth Assessment
Murrieta Regional Center
Summer

July/2015

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their ideas, ideology on teaching, life and what they feel with be
expected of teachers in the 21st Century. That portion was interesting
to hear because many of my instructors were still in the classroom and
were putting this stuff to use. I enjoyed that aspect of the program,
however, the rest of it could have been done on my end with some
time and research. The professor made the class interesting and really
did a great job on presenting the information.
What I took from each course was the personal experiences that
these instructors have gone through and the connections I made with a
few of them. Course wise, it was interesting because of the instructors.
What I found significant from the course were things I feel I could
transfer over to my teaching were the apps, IMovie tricks and
presentation tools.
In my Program Evaluation Table I added my strengths, benefits
and/or weaknesses of each course. Each instructor was named and
with all due respect I dont feel comfortable adding more to this
because of the experience I had here at APU.
Evaluation of the impact of the Digital Teaching and Learning Program
The one instructional tool that I will take away that really impressed me was the
IMOVIE app. I have had it on my MacBook and IPAD for years but I never really gave it
a shot. It wasnt until I entered Professor Temples class where I was exposed to the many
things that this app can do. Not to mention the many special FX apps that can go with it
or how to simply add this app to any classroom lesson plan to make it come alive. I used
Francisco Macias
EDUC526 Growth Assessment
Murrieta Regional Center
Summer

July/2015

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this app to create IMovie trailers for upcoming units and the kids in my classroom loved
it. Unfortunately our school is Chrome books and I dont think the students will be able
to use this app for lessons. However, I did walk away with a handful of other apps that I
have already incorporated in my projects for my kids. Apps such as Prezi, Animoto,
Weebly and Storyboard have been useful tool to my students. The students have used
these different types of tools to enhance their projects and learning.
Program Evaluation
My overall experience with APU is a bittersweet one. Over the year and half that I
have been here I have met some great instructors that have taught me a lot about what it
takes to be a successful teacher. I was blessed to hear their stories and the lessons they
learned from the program.
The only strengths I saw with the credential program were the instructors. They
may not have believed in the way the program was structured but they did their best with
what they were given. Their one-on-one chats, life stories and care for us kept a lot of us
from giving up on the program. The weakness of the program is the behind the scenes
stuff. The administration and what they know or dont know when it comes to the
program, simple questions or who one is supposed to speak to when they dont know the
answer. There were many things that went wrong and no handled with urgency or they
were handled with a lot of I dont know.
The only recommendation I have for the program is that the admissions advisors
explain everything to the prospective students. There were several times where my
instructors have said to me Oh, you admission advisor should have told you that and I

Francisco Macias
EDUC526 Growth Assessment
Murrieta Regional Center
Summer

July/2015

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was not the only student in my program who felt that. I know a lot of other students, past
and present who are feeling this way.
I cant say enough how great the instructors were. Each one of them took the time
to really make sure were doing ok mentally, spiritually and physically during the
program. That is for both credential and masters program. I cant think of one who was
not like that. They allowed us into their life, as they became a part of ours through this
journey. Thank you, to all of my instructors.

Francisco Macias
EDUC526 Growth Assessment
Murrieta Regional Center
Summer

July/2015