Flight Path
My codename is KimProbable and my mission is to complete the Master of Educational Technology (MET) Degree. This is my 6th MET course and my 16th online course.
I always wanted to be a teacher; so directly out of high school I went to university and joined the profession as a Middle Years Teacher.
After 14 years of being a field agent, I moved to administration. For the last 3 years I have been working as the District Technology Coordinator. A majority of my time is working with current field agents, one on one, in small groups or in large groups integrating technology into their programs. Another duty of my job is to support strategic planning by Senior Administration. This determines how technology is implemented into programs and which technologies our district will support.
There are two reasons that I chose to take this course. Although I consider myself to meet the standards for teachers as described and developed by the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) (ISTE, 2008), there is always room for growth. My first goal in ETEC 565 is to expand my network of colleagues so that I can participate in a professional dialogue, expand my thinking and learn from others.
My second goal is to have fun. Although I have a lot of experience with Learning Management Systems (LMS) as a participant of 16 online courses, I do not have experience with an LMS as a teacher. I’m looking forward to the active play and discovery by developing a learning module in Moodle to answer my questions that follow.
As an experienced online learner Chickering and Gamson’s Seven Principles for Good Practice (1987) resonated with me and reinforced ideas already developing in my personal philosophy of teaching and learning. For my own learning, the principle that resonated with me the most was the idea of prompt feedback. Through prompt feedback I am able to correct my path, reexamine my thinking and develop ideas. This is an idea that I will need to develop during this course. How can I ensure prompt feedback for students in an LMS? What structures, protocols and procedures can we develop as a team so that students are receiving prompt feedback like we do in this course for instructors and peers?
Another principle that resonated with me is “Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning” (Chickering & Gamson, 1987). Writing has never been my first choice to demonstrate my learning. I have always been a performer. It is ironic that in my graduate work I am pushed to demonstrate my learning mostly through writing in the form of essays. I understand the importance of writing but am always appreciative of choices to demonstrate my learning. Again, what structures, protocols and procedures can we develop as a team so that students are given choice in demonstrating their learning? How can we challenge students to expand their repertoire and develop skills, like I have, with demonstrating my learning through writing?
References
Chickering, A.W. and Gamson, Z.F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39 (7), p. 3-7. Retrieved May 22nd from http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm
ISTE (2008). National educational technology standards for teachers. Retrieved May 22nd from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for-teachers-2008.aspx