My name is Jessica Shea and I am from Conception Bay South, Newfoundland. I am 26 years old and am in my fifth year of substitute teaching. I received my Bachelor of Education (primary/elementary) with a focus in Physical Education in 2013 from Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). After substituting for a couple years, I began to pick away at my Special Education degree online at MUN. About halfway through that program I was accepted into the MET program and decided to put my Special Education degree on hold while I completed my master’s degree online at UBC. I was fortunate enough to complete my internship in the K-4 school I went to as a child, and have now become a main substitute teacher there, working most days. Unfortunately the demand for teachers is low in Newfoundland, so I am very eager for a position.
The school I work in is a very technology forward school, and I felt that getting my master’s in educational technology would be essential for my career when teaching in such a technology driven era; whether it be at this school or any other school. My goals for this course, and program, are to learn as much as I can to help me become the best teacher that I can be. Exploring and experimenting with the technologies I am exposed to in this program will help me implement technology into my future classroom. I am also eager to learn how to properly execute using educational technology in the classroom so that my students become active, and excited learners.
When thinking forward about what I would like to learn about LMS, assessment, social software and multimedia, I think about how I would be able to use these in the future. For me, my career will be based on students from Kindergarten to Grade 6, so I need to learn how, if possible, these technologies can be used to aid the learning process with students at such a young age. Of course, the older students get the easier it is to use more complicated technologies. In ETEC 565A I am hoping to learn how to select appropriate technologies for this age group to ensure the best learning opportunities for students with different learning abilities. By using technology, I hope to be able to reach the needs for each and every child. I would like to become more familiar with Chickering and Ehrmann (1996) implementation of the seven principles and Bates’ (2014) SECTIONS model to ensure I am choosing technology with purpose. I would also like to keep the ISTE standards for educators close by so that I can build confidence and create positive attitudes towards technology in my future classroom.
Essentially, I am eager to learn how to better integrate technology into education and use it to motivate students as well as make content more accessible. Much too often, technological resources are not used to their full potential. I hope to become a knowledgeable educator who can combine technology with the curriculum to enhance and support learning. My goal is to learn how integrate all that is embodied in the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) concept and, with technology, I want to allow students to manifest and embrace the 4 C’s of 21st century learning. I believe that technology is the future of teaching and learning so it is important that I become comfortable with selecting, teaching, planning and development of learning technologies!
References:
Bates, T. (2014). Choosing and using media in education: The SECTIONS model. In Teaching in digital age. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/part/9-pedagogical-differences-between-media/
Chickering, A. W., & Ehrmann, S. C. (1996). Implementing the seven principles: Technology as lever. AAHE bulletin, 49, 3-6.
International Society for Technology in Education (2017). The ISTE Standards for educators. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators