Capstone Reflection Paper

ET 509 Capstone Experience for Educational Technology

American College of Education

Chevin S Stone

May 16, 2014

Introduction

            I have a coffee mug, black with bright red and yellow lettering.  It says “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.  These words are attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, but a quick search on Google disputes these actual words belonging to him.  The source I found (Morton, 2011) figures the statement has it’s foundations in a more succinct statement of truth by Gandhi:

“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him … We need not wait to see what others do.”   ~M. Gandhi

The confirmed statement speaks just as eloquently as the possible misquote, doesn’t it? In either case, these words regarding change resonate for me. When I first considered in what area I might receive my Masters’ degree, I asked myself how I could change the world with that new knowledge.  Being able to take what I know, learn something new and meld it all together was the goal; so I could become an agent of change. I am… a change agent.  I do understand, however, that I, alone, can’t change the world.

            Educational Technology is not a new phenomenon. It is the product of a slow, methodical maturation of education and how it is delivered as opposed to a re-creation or re-invention of the art form. It is education coming of age, finally, after more than 60 years “stuck” if you will, in neat little rows in stuffy classrooms.  Witnessing the “coming out” of education in the 21st Century is exciting, and I’m glad to be a part of it.  This is my reflection on my journey thus far, in educational technology.

Artifacts

            Creating artifacts in this program has been fun.  I discovered that I am able to speak on topics without stumbling over my words and provide evidence of my knowledge and understanding of topics in a manner than is interesting, enlightening and professional. As I created each artifact,  I always kept the appropriate program outcome in mind.  As I chose the artifacts I have included in my portfolio, I considered which ones most appropriately expressed my knowledge and understanding of the outcomes.  It wasn’t an easy task.

Gaps

            I had the most difficult time with Program Outcome number 4: analyze research data and use the results to modify instructional methods and content and to guide learners.  In ED 5153: Research Methods, I was challenged to define a study; determining to focus on either scientifically based research or action research. What a study should include, keeping my topic narrow and researchable and then collecting and using the data to determine how to modify classroom behaviors with the goal of more positive outcomes from students is something I do daily as a science teacher, yet, I struggled with my topic just a bit.

Addressing specific, easily identified research questions that become apparent in the classroom and/or school setting in general, is an important skill to have and I will be practicing it more in the future.  Action research is an important facet of the educational area and using the various data collection methodologies to address needs can prove to be a very valuable component of one’s professional skill set. Addressing an immediate need in the academic arena, being able to analyze the data and create interventions that can be easily tracked and measured is an area I need more formal practice in and will begin working on immediately.

Professional Growth

As I worked through course CI 539: Teacher Leadership, it occurred to me that I could show my leadership skills and grow professionally by taking the lead in creating a professional learning community (PLC) within my building. The positive culture within the building has been suffering in the last couple of years, due mainly to panic over falling test scores and ineffective interventions.  I felt the root of the issue was how the staff interacted with each other as we tried to find ways to make improvements and create a learning environment for both students and staff that would result in academic and professional gains.

A PLC is a model of school organization designed to foster collaboration and continuous learning among educators to harness school improvement through organizational and cultural change. In fact, school improvement is only possible through school communities that serve as a vehicle for across-the-board, whole-school learning (Matthews, Crow, & Matthews, 2009). I firmly believe this as do several of my professional colleagues.  We’ve worked over the past year to create an environment where teachers are slowly recognizing how to be a benefit to each other as we all work toward our common goal of school improvement.  It’s been a very slow process, with a lot of “why do we need to do that?” and “I have enough on my plate, I’m not joining another group!” but as I have become more visible in the building as the go to person for learning new technology and using different technologies in the classroom, the staff is slowly coming on board. I have created a like-minded “technology team”, who talk up the training available and who are the cheerleaders for the community.  It is a slow process, but I have growth as a technologist and a leader in the process.

Professional Work

The program outcomes have given me focus on what is actually involved in being an effective educational technologist.  Many of the lessons learned, articles read and discussions held during this program have helped me see that I already have a good foundation upon which to become more competent as a professional. 

I have made the decision to leave the classroom and work full time as an educational technologist, either in the K-16 setting or in adult training in other industries.  I’ve discovered, that although I have done well in the courses that require me to design learning environments and create online coursework, it’s very possible, at least in my mind, that I am still a novice in these areas.  The assertive nature of the instructional design sector has shaken my faith just a bit; I will work hard to get where I need to be to become an effective educator/trainer wherever I may land.

Leaders in Technology/Educational Technology

As part of my professional growth, I’ve made a point of connecting on Twitter and LinkedIn, trying to find the people who seem to be the voices of the industry.  I have attended a few seminars and conferences and find myself drawn to a particular few, mainly because of their leadership skills.  One I am particularly fond of is George Couros,  

Mr. Couros is, as of this writing, the Division Principal for Parkland School Division and an Innovative Teaching, Learning, and Leadership consultant, in Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada.  He started his career as a classroom teacher with an interest in technology and now travels around the world sharing his insights on education, leadership and technology.  His blog, The Principal of Change, has been an inspiration to me as I consider my leadership role as an educator and a technologist. I find his thoughts on how to apply technology in the classroom creative and innovative and plan to follow his lead in how I do the same.  I had the opportunity to meet him during a conference the summer of 2013 in Valparaiso, Indiana where he conducted a breakout meeting on using blogs as educational portfolios in K-12 settings.  I will admit, I’m a groupie. 

Another leader in education I’ve taken notice of as of late is Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, cofounder and CEO of Powerful Learning Practice where she works with schools and districts in several countries, including the United States, to re-envision their learning cultures and communities through the Connected Learner Experience and other e-learning opportunities. (PLPNetwork, 2013).  I connected with her and her organization via Twitter and have participated in several of her Twitter Chats.  I find her knowledge of professional learning insightful and educational.  Perhaps, in the future, I will be able to create a global learning forum similar to hers.

Reflection on Reflections

I took time to look over all the reflections I’ve written in this program and I wouldn’t change a thing.  Coming into the program, I expected to know just enough to not become overwhelmed and also open enough to learning new things to appreciate each course.  My reflections speak to what I discovered about myself as a professional and show my focus as I moved forward through each course. I have grown tremendously and can’t wait to apply all I’ve learning in a more strategic, dedicated manner.

References

Morton, B. (2011). Falser words were never spoken. The New York Times: The Opinion Pages.  Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/falser-words-were-never-spoken.html?_r=1&, April 30, 2014.

Matthews, J. L., Crow, G. M., Matthews, J. (2009). Effectiveness correlates of transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic review. The Leadership Quarterly, 7(3), 385-425.

Couros, G. (2013). About George Couros. The Principle of Change.  Retrieved from: http://georgecouros.ca/blog/about-me, May 2, 2014.

Powerful Learning Practice (2013). About Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach. Powerful Learning Practice Retrieved from: http://plpnetwork.com/about/our-team/, May 2, 2014.