6.

1 Continuous Learning
Candidates demonstrate continuous growth in knowledge and skills of current and emerging
technologies and apply them to improve personal productivity and professional practice. (PSC
6.1/ISTE 6a)

ARTIFACT: Unstructured Field Experience, Upstate Technology Conference (Summer

‘18)

The unstructured field experience was created to showcase presentations conducted at

Greenville, South Carolina’s Upstate Technology Conference. This is a conference that hosts
presenters and attendees from across the United States geared towards the exchange of
information and discourse around education technology. This unstructured field experience
included the development and creation of two presentations Layering with Adobe Spark and
Interactive Google Forms. Although there were multiple participants within each session (I
presented a total of three times), each presentation was completed independently.

The presentations that were developed for the Upstate Technology Conference (UTC) and the
sessions attended demonstrated my ability to continually grow in knowledge and skills of
current and emerging technologies. Both presentations required planning and preparation to
showcase a vast understanding of Adobe Spark tools and Google Forms, how to effectively use
them in educational settings, and how to appropriately convey the content to attendees. While the
actual presentations were face-to-face, participants were provided with resources and additional
content through having access to the slidedeck. Being knowledgeable of the the aforementioned
tools and developing content to share demonstrates the ability to apply knowledge and skills to
improve professional practice for myself and others.

The completion of this unstructured field experience allowed me to continue to sharpen my skills
as a professional learning facilitator and presenter. Presenting educational technology content to
fellow educators is a passion of mine as it allows me to continue to craft resources that will aid
other educators in supporting their students. Since this particular conference was out of state, it
was challenging to align various district and state-mandated verbiage with the content I shared to
make it more meaningful for teachers. Since my three proposals have been accepted to present
summer 2019, I would like to incorporate more of South Carolina’s educational lingo to ensure
that teachers are able to maximize their experiences.

As professional learning at conferences have progressed over the years, many ask attendees to
provide feedback at the end of sessions. This feedback is then shared with presenters to support
them with information that will aid them in future presentations. In my case, I was able to gather
a general assessment of the potential impact of each session based on what participants relayed.
Throughout my presentations, I also encourage participants to tweet their creations and
highlights as shoutouts. Based on this feedback, the information was digestible and meaningful
for those who were in attendance. In the end, this feedback gives me the impression that their
experience transferred to the experiences they provide students in their learning environments.