After graduating High School I went to UBC and after 4 years I completed my Bachelor of Commerce Degree specializing in Finance. For the next 10+ years I ran a travel business until I decided after the birth of my daughter that I wanted to go back to school and become a teacher. Two years ago I completed my Bachelor of Education from UBC and once I graduated I was hired two weeks later as a business teacher for at-risk students in Surrey, BC. This is my second year of being a teacher in the Surrey School District and although it is challenging I really do enjoy this job.
While I was running my business, being at the forefront of technology became an important part of staying ahead of the competition. It is at this point that I learned how to create websites and use them to sell products. I have also worked on creating sites that generate money solely through advertising. In addition I built and networked all the computers in the office as well as creating a general mail server. I implemented a system to allow for remote access to outside agents even through cell phones. In the end the technology was moving too quickly for me to keep up with it in a competitive manner without access to a full IT department. When I came into education I was surprised how far behind in technology everything was and how there was no urgency to even change anything. This was a big change from what I experienced in the private sector.
The innovative spirit that I had while running my business still follows me in this career. Even during my practicum I had my own website and Moodle setup for my class. My goal still remains to try new ideas and be innovative in the classroom. When I heard about the MET program I knew that this was the program for me. Throughout this program I have learned to use more research and to have more of a foundation when planning what technology I use. An example of this is Bates and Poole (2003) idea of SECTIONS and how to evaluate technology. Before I would have just tried a new technology in the class and see what happened. I have learned that this does result in a lot of wasted effort and it is important to have a clear understanding of what I am planning.
My reason for taking this course is to add on to my existing knowledge or to allow me to rethink the way I am presently using my technology. I am very comfortable with Moodle and I still choose it over other LMS systems as I like the many options it allows, that it is free, and very customizable. I am hoping to learn a more theoretical backing as to how I design tools in Moodle.
I am very familiar with CMS systems especially Joomla which I use for all my website builds. The important area that I need to learn is the whole element of design that allows for effective learning. This idea is further emphasized by Nigel Cross in his book Designerly Ways of Knowing, “As a process central to the evolution and skills of human beings, design is more than a set of technical exercises, but rather a field of action. Science examines the natural world, including human beings in their role as natural creatures. Science seeks objective truth. The humanities examine the world of human experience. The humanities seek subjective understanding. Design in this larger sense examines and works with the artificial world. Design works through practice and examines the realm of the appropriate” (Cross, 2006).
DVD authoring would be a new topic for me as well as learning different assessment & communication tools. In a few of my courses I have already done a lot of research when it has come to Social Media and I have a general viewpoint on how to implement it in an academic setting. “The real learning for social networking is the ability to learn from each other regardless of geography and moves away from limited and linear models towards a different kind of model, one which draws on the knowledge of students who may have more relevant, and more recent, experience than academic staff.” (Lang, 2012). If I ever have an opportunity I would definitely try it out with a real school. I am interested in learning what this course will teach about social media and how that compares to my vision of successful social media. The rip, remix, feed: creative mashups sounds interesting to me and that is a new area for me. With multimedia I am looking for new and innovative ideas that I find interesting and I will implement.
Overall I don’t expect that it will take me very long to learn most of these topics though if it is a brand new topic for me it might take me a little longer to master it if I am interested in it.
Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Chapter 4: a Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success. (pp. 77-105). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.
Cross, N. (2006). Designerly Ways of Knowing. London: Springer Verlag.
Lang, A. (2012). Exploring the potential of social network sites in relation to intercultural communication. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 11(1-2), 120-139.