Course Discourse:
What my Courses Mean to Me
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______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fall 2014 CEP 807 Capstone Educational Technology Professor Matthew Koehler with Brittany Dillman, Spencer Greenhalgh, and Sarah Keenan E-Portfolios are an important aspect of education for both students and teachers as a way to display work and reflect on its meaning. The award winning Capstone course serves MSU students well in preparing them for future endeavors and cataloging work as a student as well as a working educator. In this course, I had the opportunity to blend my knowledge of design with my knowledge of website building to create a web presence about me and my work. This will help me guide other teachers in a project of this nature as well so that teachers can represent the good work they do and showcase it to the world. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Summer 2014 CEP 800 Learning in School and Other Settings Professor Danah Henriksen with Jon Good We studied the work of Daniel Willingham in his book, Why Don’t Students Like School? This work investigated cognitive science applied directly in the classroom to discover what portions of our educational system don’t cater to the natural inclination of people to learn, and which ones do. As an extension of this investigation, we created a project in which we imagined how this system could be adjusted for the betterment of learners. I now realize that educators benefit greatly from understanding the workings of the brain and how that influences and promotes a positive learning experience. And, perhaps more importantly, students benefit from being able to engage in deep learning on a consistent basis. CEP 815 Technology & Leadership Professor Danah Henriksen with Jon Good How do we as users of technologies guide teachers in the endeavor of incorporating appropriate technology as an integral piece of the general curriculum? Understanding the connection between 21st century success, teaching in the classroom and academic goals, technology leaders can support teachers in immersing their students in technology as a means to solve problems and connect with others. Technology is powerful whether it is a tool or being misused. I believe that helping teachers bridge the gap between technology and the curriculum is of the utmost importance for student success today. This course afforded me the opportunity to build skills and engage in best practices to lead others in accomplishing this goal. CEP 822 Approaches to Educational Research Professor Danah Henriksen with Jon Good Often in educational settings, educators assume students have certain knowledge gained from previous educational units or years of study. As we discovered in this course, that is often a mistake. We studied how learners understand knowledge, often adopting misconceptions in knowledge. As I came to understand from this course, the problem of misconception obviously affects other areas of knowledge, snowballing into an understanding that can be difficult to debunk. As educators, we need to get a firm understanding of our students’ understanding before we can advance our lessons so that our students can advance in their learning. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Spring 2014 CEP 817 Learning Technology Through Design Professor Punya Mishra with Jon Good Design and technology are interdependent. Without good design, technology often fails to serve its purpose. Without technology, we wouldn’t have a means to reach people beyond classroom meetings in order to provide a differentiated education. This course gave me the opportunity to design an electronic resource for third and fourth graders to help them grasp the importance of non-fiction reading, writing and note-taking. This course was a discovery of the connection between technology and design and how to bring function to technology to maximize the user experience, enhancing the learning experience and I now I will always work to convey this concept to all educators.. CEP 882 Nature & Design of Compelling Experience (Seminar) Professor David Wong with H. Nguyen This course was one of my favorite courses in the MAET (Master of Art Educational Technology) program. This course focused on creating digital educative materials that resonate and connect with a learner on a level deeper than intellect. We learned that education does not happen in isolation of a the whole person. There are so many ways that we can help learners internalize content material, instead of just memorizing it. Using music, audio, video, experiential knowledge, emotional elements and such, within digital materials can immerse a learner in the learning experience as a part of being a person, instead of isolating education as an unnatural phenomenon that happens outside of just being human. TC 830 Foundations of Serious Games Professor Carrie Heeter Foundations of Serious Games was one of the most challenging courses I took in the MAET program. The theory and design of serious games was well outside my comfort zone, but an element of education that I find intriguing and extremely important. How to gamify assignments, create games for learning and incorporate gaming theory into education is an area that is underserved in education, in my opinion, but has great potential to shift learning experiences from ordinary to extraordinary. Games are important to all people because we all have an inherent desire to learn and improve our skills. Games provide a unique platform to tap into the innate drive of people to learn and progress in knowledge and skill. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fall 2012 CEP 812 Applying Educational Technology to Practice Caroline McCarthy and Jodi Spicer Applying the knowledge of technology in the practice of education requires thoughtful consideration of the function and value of particular technologies as to how they contribute to the learning process. This topic was faced head on in this course culminating in an assignment in which we solved a wicked problem in our own teaching using a technology appropriate to the learning environment and situation. I've always held the belief that technology is only useful when it solves an educational problem, meets an academic goal, or saves valuable time for a teacher. Balancing the scope of technology with the learner experience is crucial and this course taught me that finding the right balance is not only worth the effort, but will make all the difference in the learning experience. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Summer 2012 CEP 811 Adapting Innovative Education to Technology Melissa White, Jodi Spicer and Professor Leigh Graves-Wolf Technology is only valuable if it is used in innovative ways within education. Going beyond the basic capabilities of technology as a way to connect the learner to the content is the goal of Educational Technology as a field of study. When educators use technology to expand beyond the intended functionality of it, we often create lessons that enhance the learning experience for the users, especially when considering such valuable tools as Universal Design for Learning(UDL). Flexibility, innovation, designing classes for all users and transcending the intents of technology are key in positive learning experiences. From the point of taking this course through the future, I will keep in mind the importance of keeping abreast of emerging technologies so that innovative education ensues. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Spring 2012 CEP 810 Teaching Understanding with Technology Tammy Magnity and Jodi Spicer Technology, such as blogging and web 2.0 technologies, can help teachers help students meet educational goals as long as the focus remains on the learning. Teachers can also tap in to the power of these tools to build their own Personal Learning Networks, modeling how to use the power of the internet for productive means. I started my own Personal Learning Network that serves to inspire, motivate and support me in my educational technology endeavors. Technology can promote deep learning, but not without the teacher holding firm to academic goals. This course, my first in the program, set the stage for understanding the balance of content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and technology in the classroom. Content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge are at the forefront and dictate how knowledge of technology is applied in education. |
