From Pencil and Paper

 

From the day I graduated from Saint Mary’s College of Notre Dame with my bachelor’s degree, I knew one day I would want to go back to school to earn my masters.  I did not, however, have any idea in what program.  After completing my first two years of teaching, one year of which was in a 1:1 school district, I noticed that my department and school really weren’t using the technology to its full potential.  As a secondary math teacher, I struggled to find ways to appropriately incorporate the Chromebooks we were using into our lessons in ways other than giving the students access to an online textbook and having the homework posted on Google Classroom.  I had used Google Classroom, videos through YouTube and Khan Academy, and formative assessment tools such as Kahoot and Plickers in the past, but that was it.

 

As that year was coming to an end and I began speaking with my department head about beginning a master’s program, he recommended Technology in Schools program through the University of Missouri.  I will admit, I was a little uneasy at first.  Outside of a few basic technology skills and knowledge, I had little to no real prior experience with it.  I grew up in classes and courses that were very pencil and paper-based—I didn’t even learn about Kahoot until my 2nd year of teaching, which was 2 years ago.  It did not take long for me to realize though that we live in a very technology-based society, and if I wanted to keep up and keep my students’ attention, this had to be the program for me. 

  

Through the Enlightenment Period

 

Looking back now, this program has always been about creating meaningful learning experiences with technology for my students; not from technology.  So, it almost seems natural that the three most significant things I can take away from my time at the University of Missouri, is how to properly design a lesson or activity while incorporating technology to aid in the learning and/or assessing process, the ability to conduct research, and lastly, how to persevere.

 

I began this program similar to the way I began the first education course I ever took; learning about different design methods such as Backward Design and ADDIE.  This only reinforced for me the importance of taking the time to properly design lessons and activities for your students or audience.  What really resonated with me was when we took that knowledge and used it in my ISLT 9458: Technology and Assessment course to create a performance assessment for our students that used technology.  It has always been extremely difficult for me, and my department, to create assessments that weren’t the traditional pencil and paper tests.  This assessment allowed me to test my students without them feeling as though they were taking a test.  It lowered the stress level of many and was able to allow students to be a little bit creative in their work.  This was something I have definitely tried to do more and something I continue to try to do.

 

These days “data collector” is just one of the many different roles that teachers have.  I am no stranger to collecting data, doing a quick analyzation, then altering a lesson plan or two for the following few days.  It was nothing for me to keep track of data needed for an upcoming IEP or parent-teacher meetings.  While like a design method for designing a lesson or activity, I came to learn there was a format to properly writing and executing (thus the action part) of an action research plan.  I was amazed that I had never really been taught how to research anything before, and at the time of Google, why would we need to?  Once I began thinking about the answer to that question though, my answer made me want to share my action research plan with my coworkers and even my students.  One of the many topics we discussed in my ISLT 9417: Technology Action Research course, was how the concept of action research can be used throughout the school, district, or community.  I want to be able to give my students the skills and resources to make their school and communities better places to live and learn.

 

Lastly, I know how cheesy it sounds, “learning how to persevere.”  However, I was that student all through high school and my undergraduate program that always seemed to have everything come easily to me.  Until that is, I began learning about and working with technology.  My experience with it was slim, and I never really had a need for it, or so I thought.  Many courses throughout this program have challenged me, but none of them challenged me quite like ISLT 7361: Introduction to Digital Media.  I was constantly searching for videos online, staying up late, and asking everyone I could for help.  This was the first time, I began to truly feel what some of my students feel while trying to learn math.  While I was grateful I was learning new skills such as Photoshop, audio, and video editing, I was more appreciative of the fact that I was now able to relate to my students on another level.  Whenever they are struggling, I feel as though I am better equipped to reassure them that it is okay to struggle a little bit, that’s how you learn.  I also know now though, how great that little bit of reassurance know that someone is there to help you feels.  The portfolio created during this class is something that will always remind me of how good it feels to persevere during those confusing times.

 

To the Perfect Blend

 

While I began my teaching career feeling as prepared as one could for a first-year teacher, it is now that I finally feel fulfilled.  I know I will never be the “perfect” teacher, no one is perfect.  However, I feel as though I have now gained the skills to (near) perfectly blend together the assessments, projects, and activities that I had planned with pencil and paper before with technology.  I feel more comfortable using technology to create meaningful learning experiences for my students and helping the other teachers in my department to do so as well.