Descriptions of the courses I took as a student in the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program at Michigan State University are detailed below.
| Key to course titles: CEP = Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education TE = Teacher Education |
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Summer 2016 |
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| CEP 820 Teaching Students Online | |
| Dr. Anne Heintz | There are alternatives to the traditional method of one teacher instructing students in person in a brick-and-mortar building. In this class, I learned how to choose the best learning management system (LMS) for my situation and how to deliver content to students through technology using a flipped classroom or blended learning approach. Ultimately, I developed an art education module into a blended learning course using Canvas, while considering the various needs of my diverse students. The skills I learned in this class have helped me to incorporate aspects of blended learning into my traditional classroom instruction. |
Spring 2017 |
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| TE 846 Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners | |
| Dr. Dongbo Zhang | Regardless of what subject or grade level we teach, all educators share the responsibility for literacy instruction. I worked with a student as I learned the skills to administer pre-assessments, identify additional necessary assessments, develop differentiated literacy instruction, and analyze post-assessment data. Readings and class discussions taught me the history of language and literacy, the many facets of language acquisition, and the importance of choice and an authentic audience in student motivation. As I completed each assignment, I acquired a vocabulary that allows me to communicate with other literacy educators about our students’ needs. |
Summer 2017 |
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| MAET East Lansing Hybrid Year 1
In the first year of the MAET East Lansing Hybrid cycle, I spent six intense weeks between East Lansing and home completing the requirements for the Graduate Certificate in Educational Technology. Through these three courses, I learned the importance of teaching technology, teaching through technology, and learning to continue searching out appropriate technology resources in an ever-changing educational technology landscape. |
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| CEP 810 Teaching for Understanding with Technology | |
| Christopher Seals and Mary Wever |
In this course, I learned about the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) Framework, an invaluable tool for thoughtfully choosing appropriate technology given the teaching context. My classmates and I did a deep dive into understanding how experts and novices learn, understand, organize and recall information. In today’s educational environment, our students have access to a multitude of online resources. I explored the depth and breadth of those resources when I completed my own networked learning project using only non-traditional, online resources to learn to code Arduino. |
| CEP 811 Adapting Innovative Technologies to Education | |
| Christopher Seals and Mary Wever |
During this time, I learned the importance of making, making-to-learn, and the maker movement as my classmates and I created and ran a maker fair in Michigan State University’s Main Library. When students make, they learn skills and content through the iterative process of creating, failing, and trying again. I learned about remixing content for students and the related issues of copyright, fair use, and the Creative Commons. Finally, with the knowledge I learned from TheThirdTeacher+, I used Sketchup to create a 3-D design for a collaborative learning environment for the 21st century. |
| CEP 812 Applying Educational Technology to Issues of Practice | |
| Christopher Seals and Mary Wever |
Wicked problems in education are those problems that do not have an immediate, single or correct answer. Yet when we approach a wicked problem through an iterative design process, we can seek to find some information to begin solving the problem. My partners and I collaboratively approached one such wicked problem in education using the questioning approach posed by Warren Berger in A More Beautiful Question. We framed the question, posed possible solutions, surveyed stakeholders, did research, and created a presentation to share our findings. |
Fall 2017 |
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| CEP 813 Electronic Assessment for Teaching and Learning | |
| Dr. Colin Gallagher and Spencer Greenhalgh |
This course focused on authentic assessments – both assessments as learning and assessments of learning. Through the reading of scholarly articles about assessment, I compiled and cultivated a list of features of well-made assessments. I explored various technology tools for summative and formative assessment. These included tests, rubrics, and digital portfolios, as well as non-traditional tools like games and videos. In this course, I figured out how to use my LMS to conduct digital conversations with my students even when I am unable to meet with them each day during class. |
Spring 2018 |
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| CEP 817 Learning Technology Through Design | |
| Carmen Richardson and Bret Staudt Willet |
This course focuses on design, both as a process and as a product. Using the design thinking process as proposed by the Stanford d.school, I identified a problem in my teaching practice, then approached it step-by-step using the modes (phases) of the process. I learned how to empathize with users, define a problem then approach it with a wide open mind, narrow in on possible solutions, create and test prototypes, and repeat steps as necessary. Using this iterative process, I approached a problem of developing creativity in my art and technology students and ultimately made a prototype for a classroom environment and class schedule that is specially designed with the needs of young children in mind. |
Summer 2018 |
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| MAET East Lansing Hybrid Year 2
The second year of the MAET East Lansing Hybrid cycle presented issues of psychology and its impact on the classroom, educational leadership and its inherent responsibilities, and both the importance and limitations of research as a tool for gaining understanding. |
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| CEP 800 Psychology of Learning in School and Other Settings | |
| Brittany Dillman and Dave Goodrich |
Within this course, I participated in many deep, rich learning experiences. I was able to confront and question my own teaching practices as seen through a learning theories lens, considering how I utilize aspects of behaviorism, cognitivism, and situative perspective. It was interesting to note that my actual beliefs were different from what I originally thought they were and helpful to reflect on how these theories impact my practice. It can be revealing to examine what we think we know. |
| CEP 815 Technology and Leadership | |
| Brittany Dillman and Dave Goodrich |
As educational leaders, we have the responsibility of considering issues of student privacy, ownership of data, and digital redlining. We also have to weigh the ethics involved when the line between our roles as educators and brand ambassadors becomes blurred. We gave tech tips aimed at sharing technology information as well as cultivating a skill for seeking out and finding new technologies for specific purposes. Also, after identifying and reading an article about using computational thinking and new literacies to scaffold creative thinking, I created a three-minute stop-motion animation to share my learning. |
| CEP 822 Approaches to Educational Research | |
| Brittany Dillman and Dave Goodrich |
The focus of this course was research, including problem identification and methods of collecting and representing data in research. We also considered the inherent limitations of research. In addition to participating in research observations, I did a literature review to identify possible approaches to solving the problem of supporting struggling learners in my elementary computer science classes. I found several recommendations for interventions that I have used in my classroom and shared with other educators. |
Fall 2018 |
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| CEP 807 Capstone in Educational Technology | |
| Dr. Matthew Koehler, Aric Gaunt, Sarah Keenan Lechel, and Sukanya Moudgalya |
This final course in my graduate studies focused on the creation of a digital portfolio. Through this portfolio I had the opportunity to share, reflect on, and synthesize my coursework. Working with my classmates, this was an iterative process that involved feedback from instructors and peers and multiple opportunities for revision. The process and final product showcase my skills and my years of work and serve as a model for using portfolios with students. |