Reflection
Raw to Refined
“The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle.” - Baron Pierre de Coubertin
When I began my journey through the Educational Technology (EDTEC) Masters program, I had only been teaching three years but was already looking for a change. I enjoyed the students and my colleagues, loved the community and the school system, but I needed a new challenge. At the same time I began noticing the rapid growth of the internet and high-speed communication technology and how it was merging with the field of education. In my experience, most teachers were using computers only as fancy typewriters and expensive encyclopedias. But I was hearing of high school classrooms collaborating with other classrooms worlds apart and college students creating, sharing, and communicating online. Something was changing in education and I was frustrated to not be a part of it.
As a result, I began attending every training my school district offered and any conference they would send me to. I started reading books and research articles and searching for ideas and examples on the internet. I then began trying new practices with my students and integrating new technologies. My results were positive, thus encouraging me to find more, learn more, grow more. But I felt limited in my position and that’s when I began looking for something new. A new career? A new position? A new degree? Something where I can grow and have an even greater impact on more than just my classroom.
That’s where I was when I stumbled upon the field of educational technology. I looked at almost a dozen universities that offered an online Masters degree in Educational Technology. Most of the programs required students to attend at least two weeks on campus, something I wanted to avoid. Also, the majority of them were geared towards K-12 teachers who wanted to remain in the classroom. I had not ruled out remaining in the classroom, but I wanted a Masters program that would give me options. A program that would not only make me a better teacher, but also give me the knowledge, experience, and skills necessary to move into higher education or the corporate world if I wanted. San Diego State’s EDTEC Masters program was the only program that met my needs, and I couldn’t have made a better choice.
Ideas
From my first course to my last, there have been several ideas that have resonated with me. These ideas help form the framework through which I approach my instructional tasks. Throughout these ideas, my loves of theory, the learner, and culture are interwoven.
The Community of Inquiry Model
Social Presence
One idea that I love is Social Presence. Though the term “social presence” has developed into one of the central concepts topics when discussing distance education, its definition is still unclear. Rourke, Anderson, Archer, & Garrison (1999) define social presence as “the ability of learners to project themselves socially and affectively into a community of inquiry.” Garrison, Anderson, & Archer (2000) developed a model (see image) which shows the important role that social presence plays and how it is connected to other parts of the educational experience. As can be seen from the figure, social presence is a major part of almost every aspect of the educational experience, including grades. According to Moore (1989), social presence is directly related to the interactions that occur between the learner and the instructor, the learner and course content, and the learner and other learners. Moore’s theory of transactional distance identifies two key elements, structure and dialogue, that need to be balanced when designing online courses (Moore, 1973). During my time in the EDTEC program, there have been various collaborative and communication technologies employed to increase dialogue and reduce transactional distance including:
- Blackboard
- Moodle
- Blogs
- Video messages
- Message boards
- Adobe Breeze / Connect
- Wimba
- Skype
- SecondLife
- Telephone / conference calls
- Google Docs
- AOL Instant Messenger
As I explained for my Interpersonal Standard artifact, my best experience in terms of feeling connected to the instructor and my classmates was in my EDTEC 670 course. As I reflected on that experience, I noted that the instructors used several of the communication tools above including blogs, video messages, email, phone conferences, Adobe Breeze, Google Docs, and Second Life. I learned from this experience that there wasn’t any one communication technology that set this experience apart from any other, but rather it was the effective use of a combination of tools that reduced transactional distance and increased my social presence, resulting in a very positive experience.
Content performance matrix
I know this is somewhat elementary, but one of my biggest breakthroughs early in the EDTEC program was learning the difference between a fact and a concept. Ruth Clark’s content-performance matrix helped me understand the difference between the two as well as the other types of knowledge. Also important was understanding the difference between remembering and applying the types of knowledge and how each requires unique learning strategies. Prior to this I hadn’t considered the idea that we learn each of the different types of knowledge in different ways. This new breakthrough had an immediate impact on my job. I began looking at what I was teaching my students, classifying it according the content-performance matrix, and designing instructional strategies accordingly. I instinctively had been doing a lot of correct things according to Clark’s matrix, but it has since been an invaluable tool and made me take a much more systematic approach to designing instruction.
Motivation
“It is in fact nothing short of a miracle that modern methods of instruction have not entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry … It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty.” - Albert Einstein
The last big idea is the concept of motivation. The main reason I chose to go into education was because I felt I could make learning more interesting and do a better job of motivating my students than what I had experienced as a student. I knew there had to be more to learning than textbooks, worksheets, and lectures. Before entering the EDTEC program, I had experienced some success as a teacher in motivating my students, but I see now that it was mostly smoke and mirrors (and my effervescent personality). It wasn’t until I was introduced to the research focused on motivation that I started to see that there were other more proven and reliable ways to motivate my learners.
My son reminding me that I still have a lot to learn about motivation.
Whether it is Gagne’s 9 events, Keller’s ARCS theory, or Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow theory, motivation is woven through many concepts, principles, and theories as well as numerous books and articles. In addition, it is addressed either directly or indirectly in every course I have taken at SDSU. It is clear to me that motivation plays an important, if not the most important, role in the field of educational technology.
While I was in the planning stages of my client project for EDTEC 795A, motivation played a major role. Because much of the content, delivery methods, and software tools were defined before I was brought on board the project, my research and planning focused on cognitive load, instructional design principles, and most importantly motivation. Keller’s (1983) ARCS model of motivational and instructional design influenced much of how the content was introduced and presented. Rather than giving a lecture and having the learner memorize the concepts, I chose to stimulate curiosity by posing questions or problems to solve. Immediate feedback was provided throughout to provide positive reinforcement and motivational feedback. I also emphasized using relevant scenarios, examples, and problems that the learners might recognize or would likely encounter in the future. The feedback Fair Isaac received was very positive which confirmed and affirmed my growth and understanding in regards to motivation and my entire journey through the EDTEC program.
Still Refining
My nearly five year journey through the EDTEC program has changed me not only as a student but also as a person. Juggling my professional, personal, and academic lives has been difficult at times. But just as it is the struggle that transforms the caterpillar into a butterfly, the hard work, perseverance, and effort has transformed me into a much better professional, person, and learner. I used to approach life in a very narrow minded, black and white, my way is the right way kind of style. But I have grown to be pragmatic in my thinking and appreciative of the ideas and skills of other people. I am much more patient now before offering solutions. Instead, I gather data, listen to people, and study each situation. When faced with a performance problem, I no longer assume that I have all the answers. But at the same time, I also believe that I now have the skills necessary to truly solve any performance problem that comes my way.
My daughter reminding me to never stop learning.
“When you stop learning, stop listening, stop looking and asking questions, always new questions, then it is time to die.” - Lillian Smith
My title implies that I am already refined, but I am actually in a continual state of process. There will never be a day when I consider myself totally refined or finished. I will never stop learning because I will never stop questioning being amazed at the small miracles in nature.
As my EDTEC experience winds down, I often think about that first audience of teachers I worked with on my project for EDTEC 540. Starting next year, I hope to be teaching teachers. Last week I applied for a position as a Technology Integration Specialist and will hopefully be teaching teachers how best to integrate technology into their curriculum. Currently, I have started consulting on the side at the state level department of education as well as helping teachers around my school and district to use effective instructional strategies in science and math. I have many great instructors and classmates to thank for helping me reach this point, and I am truly grateful for my experience in the EDTEC program.
References
Clark, R.C. (1999). Developing Technical Training: A Structured Approach for Developing Classroom and Compute-Based Instructional Materials. (2nd ed). Silver Spring, MD: International Society for Performance Improvement.
Garrison, R., Anderson, T. & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105.
Keller, J. M., (1983). Development and use of the ARCS model of motivational design (Report No. IR 014 039).Enschede, Netherlands: Twente Univ. of Technology. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 313 001)
Moore, M. G. (1989). Three types of interaction. The American Journal of Distance Education, 3(2), 1-6.
Moore, M.G. (1973). Towards a theory of independent learning and teaching. Journal of Higher Education, 44(9), 661-679.
Rourke, L., Anderson, T., Archer, W. & Garrison, D.R. (1999). Assessing social presence in asynchronous, text-based computer conferences. Journal of Distance Education, 14(3), 51-70.