Running head: GROWTH ASSESSMENT 1

My Educational Technology Journey

Michelle A. Wieding

Azusa Pacific University

Term Course Title Professor What I learned Term 1 Spring I

511 Foundations in educational Technology

Dr. Kathleen Bacer Sakai Adobe PDF APA Basics Google Hangouts Digital Citizenship Social Bookmarking

Term 1 Spring I

571 Curriculum Foundations Valarie Suffern Learning Theories Technology applications Curriculum Guides Voice Thread

Term 2 Spring II

517 Telecommunications Joe Bruzzese Browsers/Extensions Google Drive and Docs Twitter Blogs Skype Website building Google Hangouts: Video

Term 2 Spring II

527 Special Topics in Educational Technology

Barry Bettger Assistive Technologies, RSS PLN Resource evaluation

Term 3 Summer

518 Global Learning/Cross-Cultural Classrooms

Dr. Kathleen Bacer GLP Learning Structures Telecollaborative

eNotebookTerm 3 Summer

524 Instructional Design and Development

Kathryn Price Blogger UBD Principles of Design

Term 4 Fall I

521 Digital Imagery/ Learning Environments

Doyle Potter Adobe Photoshop Premiere

Term 4 Fall I

523 Educational Applications of Information Design and Hypermedia

Laura Silva Information Architecture Podcasting GLP Website design

Term 5 Fall II

515 Emerging Trends in Technology Dr. James Brown MOOC MARP BYOD/BYOA Trends

Term 5 Fall II

520Applications of Technology-Supported Curricular Tools

Elizabeth Silver SIP Excel Data Manipulation Implementation Plan

Term 6 Spring I

526 Practicum in Educational Application of Technology

Dr. Kathleen Bacer TelecollaborativeeNotebook

Growth Assessment ePortfolio Cadre Website

Term 6 Spring I

572 Advanced Educational Psychology Dr. James Brown Brain Rules

History of Coursework

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Personal Growth I have, for a long time felt that I have my beliefs and my personal understanding of myself

sorted out. The last year at APU has introduced challenges that were unexpected. Upon

enrollment at APU, I did not realize that I would be studying scripture in addition to the content

of the program. Being asked to open up about my familial challenges and possible shortcomings

in my own faith gave me the opportunity to learn more about my personal beliefs, strengthening

them.

Receiving my welcome package that included the Bible, I thought was sweet gift; little did I

know that I would actually be reading and using it as part of my curriculum. Initially I was rather

perturbed by this fact as I felt forced to read, reflect and openly share in what I felt was a very

private matter. I have found through the forums and required readings that I have learned new

things about myself, as well as, strengthened some of my beliefs by articulating them verbally.

I grew up in the Catholic Church and attended parochial school. When I came of age, I made

the personal choice that my beliefs and my faith in God would be something that was mine and

mine alone. I kept it to myself and only minimally discussed it with my husband. It was not a

topic amongst friends, or family. I have found through the forums and readings a strengthening

of my personal faith and a voice to defend what can sometimes be unpopular views.

Lastly, anyone who has read my faith posts will know that in this last year my parents have,

through no fault of their own, put me through the wringer. I have had to rely on my extended

family as well as the APU forums as a place to vent and talk through my feelings. I had to

depend more heavily on God, family and myself knowing that it was going to take everything we

all had to make it through the overwhelming difficult obstacles in our way.

Overall, through all of the trials I have encountered at APU, I was initially feeling obstinate

toward the process. I am however grateful for the opportunity, albeit kicking and often

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screaming, and have grown in my faith. The one thing that I balked at most in the beginning is

the one place from which I found prompts that touched my heart and opened areas of me that I

had not known possible.

Professional Growth

As an educator in the program, I have made tremendous ground in instructional strategies and

technology infusion in my curriculum and extracurricular activities. I have these opportunities

since I am an advisor at my school, as well as a member of various committees. All of these

things are miraculous to me considering a lack of technology background.

As someone whose educational discipline is tactile and not technology based, my selection of

a technology program came as a great surprise to many, including myself. I cannot even being to

express how I have grown personally in my use of technology beyond even acceptance. In both

my personal and professional life I am never more than an arms reach away from one of the

many devices I use for life and work.

In the classroom, at first I struggled to find ways to integrate technology to make use of the

1:1 Chrome books that were implemented in my district. Now students not only find themselves

using technology in a ceramics class, but using it on a regular basis via my BlogSpot, Twitter,

Padlet, Socrative, You Tube, and so many others. Recently, I have even used technology as a

modified teaching method when I was physically unable to provided hands on demonstrations.

As a result of this experiment, I have found that my students are not only performing to the level

desired and historically evidenced, but also they do so with greater enthusiasm. They have

continued to search out information and tutorials via technology using the various tools and

groups that I have shared with them, further inspiring them to excel.

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Professionally, I am constantly amazed at how my education here at APU has at times

exceeded that of the Tech Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA). I have been able to share my

knowledge and experiences, which has not gone unrecognized, as I have become an active

member of my school sites tech team, attended technology conferences, and even taught

professional development to my peers. Having gained the respect and recognition has brought

forth even more opportunities for me as I am being asked to generate another professional

development, as well as attend the ISTE conference as a teacher representative for my district.

While I initially enrolled in a masters program to move diagonally on the pay scale, I have

received so much more. I never expected to find myself actually using technology, let alone

helping other educators at my school and district in doing so. Although this may be premature, if

the current trend continues, I may have found a second iteration of my career.

Technical Growth

My technical proficiency starting point was abysmal to say the least. I documented this fact in

a first semester paper called, My Starting Point: ED TECH Proficiency (Wieding, 2014). In the

last year, I have had to release my fears and at first, force myself to use the technology as part of

the program. In fact, looking back at the person I was, I cant even figure out what in the world

made me choose Educational Technology as a course of study; it seems like the absolute worst

choice for who I was then. As a result of the program, I am a different person today. My life and

career are surrounded by technology and I cannot imagine a different way of operating.

I took a test in the first semester, and the results show that I had a 59% technical proficiency,

which surprised me, considering how little I knew (ProProfs, 2011). Before writing this paper, I

retook the original test, and was not surprised this time with a 90%, which shows growth on an

empirical level. I also retook both the Technology User Survey and was classified as Novice

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before but now find myself as an Experienced User (The Innovative Educator, 2006). The

Massachusetts Technology self-assessment tool, while it had many unchecked boxes before, had

only 9/109 of the standards listed that I felt deficient at today (Massachusetts Department of

Elementary and Secondary Education, 2011). I am amazed at the comparison showing how

much I have progressed.

While in the program at APU, I was exposed to software-based technologies like Photoshop,

and Acrobat, and those experiences helped me in many ways. However, the area in which I feel I

had growth was web-based applications and cloud services. Through the use of Google Drive

and Blogger, I have reinvented my classroom environment procedures and redefined the learning

experiences for my students. In effect, I have begun to flatten my classroom, and they are using

the technology to take their learning beyond what we create on a daily basis but into the world.

Where I have grown most, however, as far as abilities and experiences has been as a result of

the programs design of learning in a sink or swim environment of technology usage. This has

equipped me with the skills and ability to research, finding the tools I need to adapt and use

technology in problem solving and innovative ways both inside and outside of my classroom.

This is the most beneficial area of growth because no matter what new technology is introduced,

I will have the ability to function with ease and without fear or hesitation of tech deficiencies.

The journey I embarked upon a year ago to improve my technological skills and remove my

fears is far from over. Being that technology is constantly evolving and changing the world that

we work and live in. I feel as though this journey has only begun. The progress that I have made

as a student at Azusa Pacific University has equipped me with the tools to continue to grow as a

life long learner serving as an inspiration to my colleagues, students and family.

Life Long Learning Plan

This last year, I served as a role model to both my students and members of my family when I

returned to college after nearly 14years. But does one have to go to college to continue to learn

and grow? I say, certainly not. I have learned via the program that living in the 21st century

digital world that there is a wealth of information and tools available for us to continue our

educational aspiration whether how big or small they are, and they are right at our fingertips.

The reality is, what I have learned today will have changed tomorrow, especially when

talking about technology. To keep apprized on the changes and continue my learning journey, I

plan to continue to maintain a presence in various groups in my PLN including Twitter, Edmodo,

Google+, and iEarn looking for ways to connect and collaborate with other teachers and artists. I

have come to believe deeply that my students and I can learn and be inspired by the work of

others through these connections.

I see my future growth in the district tech teams as well. As a current active member, I will

continue to attend monthly meetings, spend my Sunday evenings in Hangouts, learn and share

new applications, and attend conferences. I feel the most important part of learning about

technology is helping others. While I already have presented PD to my colleagues and am doing

so here again in the coming month, I aim to become a Google Certified Teacher and hopefully be

a presenter at GAFE Summits.

Conclusion

As the program at APU comes to an end, I see this journey in educational technology only

beginning. The program has given me the confidence through knowledge and skill attainment in

working with technology and provided me with varied learning experiences that have already

changed my teaching, and earned me recognition as a leader with in my school.

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References

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2011). Technology Self-

Assessment Tool (TSAT) - Office of Digital Learning. Retrieved from

http://www.doe.mass.edu/odl/standards/sa_tool.html

ProProfs (2011, August 1). Technical Proficiency Assessment. Retrieved from

http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=technical-proficiency-assessment

The Innovative Educator (2006). Technology User Survey. Retrieved from

http://theinnovativeeducator.wikispaces.com/TIE%27s+Tech+Assessments

Wieding, M. (2014). My Starting Point: ED TECH Proficiency. Unpublished manuscript,

Department of Education, Azusa Pacific University, http://apu.edu, Retrieved from

http://bit.ly/1799ccO

Title Page: My Educational Technology Journey History of CourseworkPersonal Growth Professional Growth Technical Growth Life Long Learning PlanConclusion

References