Stephanie Check

In this course, I had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of how people learn inside and outside the school contexts. I grasped the importance of student understanding and how they construct knowledge. After studying multiple theories of learning, I had the opportunity to create a Personal Theory of Learning. Throughout the course, I also explored habit formation by creating a habit, and tracking this. I was able to reflect each week on the successes and challenges that came along with creating this specific habit and maintaining it.

CEP810 is one of the introductory courses to the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program that would help me understand the flow and structure of future MAET courses. I explored different learning frameworks and theories, including TPACK. TPACK is a framework designed by Drs. Matthew Koehler and Punya Mishra that focuses on technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge. I learned how these frameworks and theories impact educational technologies utilized in the classroom. This course introduced the foundational knowledge that would be built upon throughout other courses.

In this course, I learned simple coding platforms that can be used at the K-12 level. I explored Scratch and MakeyMakey, along with the micro:bit. Every week, I was given the opportunity to use a new coding tool to create a unique project by engaging in a quickfire. I learned through this class the idea of iteration, learning along the way that perfection is not the "end all, be all" of these projects. I also learned the lack of parameters may not always be a bad thing. Sometimes having the opportunity to be open to any idea that comes to mind can become an incredible project in the end.

CEP811 encompassed topics about innovative technology, and ways to be a maker and an innovator. I examined and worked with innovative technology, with the end goal of developing an innovative learning experience for my students. I also researched concepts such as copyright and fair use laws, filter bubbles, Universal Design for Learning, and intersectionality. CEP811 pushed my thinking and encouraged me to consider new and unique ways of learning for all students.

CEP815 strengthened my confidence to become a leader in my school community. I analyzed the relationships between technology and leadership by reading case studies and participating in scenario-based creations. This gave me the opportunity to see who I am as an educational leader and work on strengthening skills needed to continue to be a leader. It also gave me insight into how to address issues within the classroom, school, and community in a professional manner. At the conclusion of the course, I had the opportunity to culminate all my thoughts and ideas as a leader to create a global vision around educational technology.

In CEP820, the creation of an online course was my main objective. It challenged me to think about how learning can be delivered in a digital environment. I explored different types of course management systems (CMS), critically reviewed a specific CMS, and developed my online course (OCM). Throughout the course, I received peer and instructor feedback along the way. At the conclusion of the course, I created an OCM that fostered a sense of community and responsibility, was user-friendly for all, and was effective for delivering content to students.

In CEP812 I focused on the different approaches to use a range of technologies to address various education-related problems. Warren Berger's A More Beautiful Question was a driving force throughout this course to focus on inquiry and spark curiosity in the classroom. I examined problems of practice, including well-structured, ill-structured, and wicked problems. At the culmination of this course, I created a final project about a wicked problem, - student retention - a question that sparked my interest and inquiry skills. This course strengthened my skills in creating innovative sketchnote videos to convey my ideas on specific topics.

In this course, I examined the history of various educational concepts such as grading and assessments. I assessed the quality and use of assessment in my own personal and teaching experiences. I had the chance to create a speculative assessment without any constraints, which challenged me to think abstractly. My final project gave me the opportunity to "metagame" the systems, policies, and conventions surrounding a specific topic, research about it, and present the information in a digital format.

CEP822 focused specifically on educational research. I explored qualitative and quantitative research methods and the importance of each method when conducting research. This course helped me to become a consumer of research and a producer of research based on inquiry. It also helped me to understand what makes research valid and unbiased, how to interpret data in an informed way, and how to perfect this challenging skill of researching. I wrapped up this course by completing a research project focused around a misconception in the field of educational technology.

This is my final course of my master's program. I had the chance to showcase my graduate work and skills through an online portfolio. My online portfolio has a collection of my best work, my reflections on myself as a student and educator, and added personalized elements to make the portfolio eccentric. This course gave me the opportunity to support other colleagues by giving feedback via Flipgrid to finalize our completed portfolios to show when new job opportunities arise. It also gave me the ability to use my web design skills to create a cohesive portfolio, focusing on detail with purposeful content and design.