Philosophy of learning:

I believe that every individual has the right and ability to learn and reach their full potential to contribute to our global community. In this 21^st century, we must utilize the resources that we have to engage and empower individuals to reach their full potential in their chosen life path and expand their world view. Using digital technology is the key to unlocking that potential and it needs leaders to guide those individuals to those resources. With the use of digital technology, learning can be dynamic and innovative to improve societies all over the world.

I believe that every individual needs to be supported by leaders that can guide them to the resources that maximize their growth and achievement. Through digital technology, educators can strengthen an individual’s development of critical 21^st century skills to help them grow and thrive in environments that are innovative and progressive technologically. By facilitating learning through learning environments that are designed and incorporate technology, individuals will be prepared for the future. By engaging individuals with technology, curriculums can be rigors and relevant to real-world scenarios and situations that can occur. By establishing the teacher and student roles with digital technology, the classroom will become a more secure, engaging, and innovative place that ideas and dreams will begin to grow.

I believe that every individual wants to become a citizen of the global community and live in a interconnected world that thrives and grows with new ideas and inventive concepts. In this 21^st century, we must embrace new ways to connect to one another through digital technology and recognize potential opportunities. Through digital environments, individuals can communicate and collaborate with people around the world with simplicity and efficiency grow and prosper. By utilizing the resources that are available to us, we expand on those opportunities for generations to come.

Professional Goals

Technology is the cornerstone of any civilization. As we enter the 21^st century, digital technology has become the way that we communicate, collaborate, and produce our goods and services. One of the reasons that I decided to steer my professional career towards education was because I knew that technology in academia needs to progress faster than it has so that future generations can continue the growing and connecting of our global community. As I look back on my experiences as a student in secondary and post-secondary education, I realize that I did not get the technological education that I needed, not by anyone’s fault, to be prepared to enter the workforce. After a few years of professional experience, that is when I decided that I would like to help educate and train individuals about and for technology careers. As an educator, I found that my professional goals change as I further my personal education and encounter students and employers along the way.

One of my professional goals is to further my education to become a leader in educational technology. After I achieve my Masters in Educational Technology, I would like to continue my post-secondary education with either a Specialist (Ed.S.) in Leadership as I continue my journey on the high school level or purse opportunities on the collegiate level by pursuing a Doctorate (Ed.D.) in Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service in Higher Education.

Another one of my professional goals is to create curriculums that utilize and  embrace industry recognized credentials in technology so that students will have opportunities before they leave the academic environment. By working with testing companies, Certiport, and software companies, Microsoft and Adobe, I have been able to link certification exams to curriculums on both the high school and college level. By creating these curriculums, we have given students in our school district the opportunity to earn stackable industry credentials that are marketable when search for job opportunities. My goal is to increase participation in these programs in our school so that it all students have the opportunity to earn these certificates.

Another one of my professional goals is to create curriculums that utilize and embrace technology to target career pathways that train our students to be prepared to enter the workforce.  These past two years I have been working closely with our community college and my high school administration to align classes that would give student concurrent enrollment in three classes at the high school level. I believe that high school and college  do not have to mutually exclusive and by linking the two together we can increase college participation and reduce high school drop outs to help prepare a better workforce. By linking the two institutions we give students a streamlined approve to the many programs the community college has developed and increase the number of opportunities for my students.

Another one of professional goals is to become more involved, on the national level, in the concurrent enrollment partnerships that my high school and college are involved with. This fall I will be presenting at the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) 2015 Conference Reaching New Heights. I will be presenting at the Conference with my experiences with dual credit programs, titled Industry Certifications as a Mechanism for Aligning Curriculum, on the high school and college level, and how I have been able to align dual credit course through the use of industry certification, specifically the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Certification exams. Hopefully, this experience exposes me to other professional opportunities with concurrent enrollment and also increases my chances of teaching on the college level.

Another one of professional goals is to increase my teaching experience on the college level. Currently, I am an adjunct professor with Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, Illinois. I have been teaching dual credit courses at my current high school the last seven years, however I have only been teaching at the college for that last year. My goal is to continue teaching at the college as an adjunct professor for now and increasing my experience so that I will have opportunities on the college level as an associate or assistant professor.