Running Head: A JOURNEY INTO TECHNOLOGY WITH SURPRISES

A Journey into Technology with Surprises Shannon M. Friedman Azusa Pacific University

A JOURNEY INTO TECHNOLOGY WITH SURPRISES A Journey into Technology with Surprises History of Coursework
Fall I 2009 EDTC 511 Foundations in Educational Technology Dr. Kathleen Bacer

Mastering Acrobat Adobe Acrobat Adobe was a fun learning experience! I use Adobe at least weekly now and have taught others:) Navigating APA Learning to navigate APA style of writing was a critical, invaluable skill used in all of the following classes.

Fall I 2009 EDTC 571 Curriculum Foundations Professor Valarie Suffern

Collaboration Learning to collaborate with others on projects while growing in technical abilities Learning Styles Gained a deeper understanding of learning styles and their impact when designing curriculum

Fall II 2009-2010 EDTC 517 Telecommunications Professor Joseph Bruzzee

Technology by Fire Re-visited basic HTML Coding, Learned about FTP, RSS, Website Building and so much more! Learned to reach out to others for emotional, mental and technology support

Fall II 2009-2010 EDTC 527 Special Topics in Educational Technology Professor Barry Bettger

Web 2.0 for Education Went diving into the deep end of the Internet! Introduced to the ocean of resources on the Internet for educators. I had no idea how many amazing resources are available for educators!

Spring I 2010 EDTC 518 Global Learning/Cross-Cultural Classroom Dr. Kathleen Bacer

Global Learning Marathon Begins Prior to this class I had no idea there were Global Learning Projects, I learned about many sites & organaizations for educators to connect and share their educational projects I learned how to take technology cross-cultural

Sprint I 2010 EDTC 524 Instructional Design and Development Professor Laura Silva

Lesson Design for Project Based Lessons Learned to analyze and assess lesson design and planning to create more effective Global Learning Project Utilized the Internet for Marketing your Global Projects and collaboration with educators and technology experts Created my first website for the purpose of connecting, collaborating and educating others Putting it all together! Beginning to have confidence with the technology skills that I had been learning I created my Global Learning Project website, every detail addressed, every form, link, video, etc. Amazing experience that I will never forget! Collaborated and connected with a new cadre and developed new relationships that have been instrumental in my professional, personal and spiritual development Explored the positives and negatives of the Internet Explored and analyzed positives and negatives of the Internet and how they impact education and society Explored new applications online Created presentations and media using Internet applications to share Web 2.0 resources and Internet resources with educators, parents, students and the public Identified methods to improve technology in the classroom, school and district Assessed how I could improve technology use on my campus through educating peers and lesson creation Analyzed and assessed a District Technology Plan from a Design, Implementation and Improvement perspective Created tutorials that can be used by students and teachers to increase their knowledge of Excel

Summer II 2011 EDTC 523 Educational Applications of Information Design HyperMedia Professor Laura Silva

Fall I 2011 EDTC 515 Emerging Trends in Technology Dr. James Brown

Fall I 2011 EDTC 520 Applications of Technology-supported curricular tools Professor Elisabeth Silver

Fall II 2011-2012 EDTC 572 Advanced Educational Psychology Dr. James Brown Fall II 2011-2012 EDTC 526 Practicum in Educational Applications of Technology Dr. Kathleen Bacer

Explored Learning Styles and Motivation Deepening understanding of students and how to help them be more successful Deepening understanding of myself and how I can be a better teacher

Creating a ePortfolio to share highlights of my educational technology journey with APU Demonstrating my technology skills Evaluating the Global Learning Projects that I participated in and created for effectiveness and appropriate modifications Continuing Collaboration experiences that are strengthening my professional abiliities

A JOURNEY INTO TECHNOLOGY WITH SURPRISES Personal Growth

Personal growth is one surprise in my Master of Arts in Educational Technology(EDTC) journey with Azusa Pacific University(APU). Specifically I grew spiritually, cognitively and affectively. Throughout the Masters program I was challenged and stretched as a person; I identified passions that I didnt realize I had and learned to find balance in work and life. My faith has deepened and strengthened as a result of our faith components where we shared our faith walk and learned about others faith walk. Often my postings were done with emotion because I felt the Holy Spirit with me. The opportunity to learn with a group of people that shared my faith and belief was a rich blessing in my life. In many ways my cognitive skills were challenged the most throughout the program. Due to the intensity of the EDTC program, I had to choose carefully what commitments I made. While in Foundations in Educational Technology EDTC 511, Dr. Bacer (2009) referred to transparency as something that occurs after we have mastered something and can to do it without thinking about how to do it: Meaning that we dont think about how to turn on our television (Bacer, 2009). Through the steep learning curve in the beginning of the program, adjusting to being in the classroom again as a student and managing the level of commitment; gaining transparency was key to my success. By the end of the program it became much easier to balance the school and family commitments! Affective growth was another surprise in my journey. My confidence in who I am and in what I am capable of grew tremendously. That confidence led me to realize that I am truly, deeply, passionate about education, and technology; confirming that this is the right field for me.

A JOURNEY INTO TECHNOLOGY WITH SURPRISES Professional Growth My confidence in my abilities with technology has greatly affected my professional growth. Collaborating with other educators to share technological skills has enabled me to grow

tremendously. Career opportunities became available to me while I was in the Masters Program. I believe that I now have the abilities and the confidence to seek more technology related positions in the classroom and online. Prior to the program insecurity with technology restricted my lesson creation ability and limited my connection with professionals, peers, and students. Confidence in my technological abilities has increased my desire to create diverse lessons and to develop deeper connections with professionals, peers, and students. During the program I was asked to become an Academy Coordinator, although I did not accept the position, I do believe I was offered the position impart, due to being in this Masters program. I also had the unique opportunity to participate in and successfully complete an Administrators Academy through our District office. Creating, refining, and implementing my Global Learning Project and eTelecollaborative Projects was very challenging but also extremely rewarding professionally. Sharing technology with students was refreshing and encouraging as an educator. The quote by Marcus Tullius Cicero (2011) aptly describes me and technology before this program, If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started (Cicero, 2011). I now have the confidence to apply for a variety of positions that previously I would not have considered.

A JOURNEY INTO TECHNOLOGY WITH SURPRISES Technical Growth Throughout this program I was challenged to learn a variety of new technologies. Each new technology learned made it easier to learn the next. The technologies that have had the biggest impact upon me

were web page building, video making, blogging and web 2.0 resources. Although I had created a couple of web pages in college 12 years earlier while in my Undergraduate program, I did not have confidence in trying to create web pages prior to the EDTC program. Throughout the program I created many web pages and used a variety of online programs; including; web page for my Work Experience students, and a comprehensive website for my Global Learning Project that fifth graders used. Previously I felt too intimidated to attempt blogging and video making. Now I have tools that are applicable for my students and for peers, I am better equipped to use technology to teach technology. With each new assignment and technology component, my confidence grew. The vast amount of online programs and Web 2.0 applications available will dramatically affect my students engagement. When I first started teaching I had to create my own grading system in Microsoft Excel. Now there are so many Web 2.0 resources available and they are much more than grading programs; they include pre-built websites with blogging, chat, quiz/test taking abilities, assignment features, with built-in ways to communicate with parents and students. Growing in my technical ability has empowered me in the classroom and my professional arena. I will be actively advocating that all teachers have more access to web based resources, more training, that all teachers are required to enhance their lessons with technology, and most importantly that teachers are given adequate support to effectively use technology.

A JOURNEY INTO TECHNOLOGY WITH SURPRISES Life Long Learning Plan After learning so much about technology, I have realized how much I dont know. I will

need to continue my learning journey in technology; as technology is not static. I will incorporate several methods for this continuation learning journey; technical skill, Personal Learning Network, and new career positions. I would like to learn more about leadership and programming code to further my web page building and design abilities. I will need to continue building online tools, web pages, Blogs, videos, etc., to continue to develop my abilities. In addition to learning programming code in the near future; I will continue reading books and articles about leadership to enhance my future career desires. In Special Topics in Educational Technology EDTC 527 with Professor Bettger (2009) we created a Personal Learning Network (PLN); my network has grown immensely with Cadre members, who are now part of my PLN (Bettger, 2009). I will continue to seek out and develop new relationships with professionals in Education and Technology via online collaborations in EPALS, Nings Education Global Collaborative, Edmodo, Twitter, and TappedIn. I will join and attend the Association for Career and Technical Education again; as their conferences are very educational and are wonderful avenues for networking and building national collaborations. Throughout this Masters Program I have developed a deep passion for technology and would like to continue working with technology in an online environment. I would like to teach future teachers to use technology; to integrate technology into their lessons, have more tools, and resources available to them. I also can see a need for Technology Resource Teachers. I believe that if there was a Technology Resource Teacher per school site; more teachers would end up using technology more effectively and more frequently.

A JOURNEY INTO TECHNOLOGY WITH SURPRISES Conclusion Understanding Zimbardos (2010) The Secret Powers of Time will make a tremendous difference in my ability to teach and connect to students of all ages whether they are Past, Present or Future oriented. (TheRSAOrg, 2010). I am excited about my future and to applying the concepts and skills that I have learned to the next

phase in my career. I plan to teach in an online environment and propose a position at our district for a Technology Resource Teacher to help teachers integrate technology into their existing lessons. I am a better version of me because of my participation in the APU EDTC program. Daniel Pinks theory on Motivation is an example of why this program has made such an impact in my life; Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose create an environment where we can grow and better society (TheRSAOrg, 2010). My life is in a very different place now at the end of this EDTC Journey than it was when I began this EDTC Journey. Along the way; I had joys and sadness, easy times and challenging times, and through all of the experiences, discussions, and projects I grew in my walk with the Lord, my husband, my family, my professional connections and my technical skills.

A JOURNEY INTO TECHNOLOGY WITH SURPRISES References Bacer, K., Bettger, B., Brown, J., Bruzzese, J., Silva, L., Silver, E., Suffern, V. (2011). Online Master of Arts in Educational Technology. School of Education, Azusa Pacific University. Azusa, CA. Retrieved from http://apu.edu Bacer, K. (2009). Foundations in Educational Technology EDTC 511. Online Master of Arts in Educational Technology. School of Education, Azusa Pacific University. Azusa, CA.

Bettger, B. (2009). Special Topics in Educational Technology EDTC 527. Online Master of Arts in Educational Technology. School of Education, Azusa Pacific University. Azusa, CA. Marcus Tullius Cicero Quotes. (2011). ThinkExist.com Quotations. Retrieved from http://thinkexist.com/quotation/if_you_have_no_confidence_in_selfyou_are_twice/148575.html TheRSAOrg.(Producer). (2010). RSA Animate-Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us [Video File]. Available from http://www.youtube.com/user/theRSAorg#p/search/0/u6XAPnuFjJc TheRSAOrg. (Producer). (2010). RSA Animate The Secret Powers of Time [Video File]. Available from http://www.thersa.org/events/video/animate/rsa-animate-the-secretpowers-of-time