Graduate Showcase
Master of Arts in Educational Technology
Welcome to my Master's showcase, an expedition through my educational journey at Michigan State University. Divided into two main sections, this showcase embodies my evolution as both a perpetual learner and a pioneering teacher leader.
In the first leg: Lifelong Learner, I unveil projects that signify my ongoing quest for knowledge and innovation. Here, I showcase endeavors ranging from exploring new tools to crafting inventive lessons. Although not all directly relate to my career path, each project has expanded my skills and knowledge in new ways to broaden my educational horizons.
Continuing onward, we encounter the Teacher Leader section, where I present artifacts showcasing my emergence as a guiding force in education. From designing professional developments to composing compelling memos, these pieces exemplify the leadership skills cultivated throughout my MAET program.
Together, these sections paint a vivid portrait of my graduate journey, showcasing dedication, innovation, learning, and passion. Join me as we explore the transformative power of education and the endless possibilities it offers. Welcome aboard!
Lifelong Learner
Soft Starts
While on campus for my hybrid sessions, my instructor started every morning with a fifteen minute "Soft Start" to provide us time to settle in to class, interact with our classmates, work on any assignments or revisions or any other tasks of our choosing prior to starting our official lessons. I found this to be so helpful as a student and wanted to do research to see if it would be beneficial for my middle school students. I learned that Soft Starts were originated from the Virginia Chance School and emphasize purposeful and mindful engagement at the beginning of a learning session. I was hooked and knew I needed to integrate soft starts into my own teaching routines to promote intention, engagement, and exploration in learning experiences for my students. I made a set of slides to use with each period that I could easily update each day and add in different videos throughout the year which I learned could help calm my students and get them focused . For more information about the benefits of soft starts, read my blog post.
Click through the gallery of slides to see how I customized each one for the individual period and included the specific time based on the our school's bell schedule to provide each period with a full five minute soft start experience.
The Art of Paper Quilling
In one of my courses I was tasked to complete a Networked Learning Project (NLP) where I learn something new, ONLY using online networks and resources. For this task, I decided to finally take on the challenge of learning how to do paper quilling. This assignment gave me the perfect opportunity to pull out my quilling kit I bought during the pandemic and finally open it and give it a try. I learned how to navigate YouTube and find videos that were specific to beginners and learned how to interact and network with quilling enthusiasts in different social media groups specific to quilling to help guide my journey. I found it fascinating to see how many skills can be learned by utilizing the sources of the internet. I would not say I became an expert at paper quilling but I did learn to take initiative and responsibility of my own learning, setting goals and tracking my progress through self-directed learning. Through that process I learned more about the quilling art form which is not easy and time consuming. The overall products are beautiful and I wish for time to be able to set more goals and see what progress I can make. Interested in more, read my blog posts about this process.
Asynchronous vs Synchronous
Exploring different aspects of online teaching and learning was a large focus of one of my classes. Through reading different articles and watching videos about synchronous, asynchronous and hybrid models of teaching, I learned the best ways to provide lessons for my students in each of these different settings. One of the assignments in this course was to adapt an assignment from an asynchronous to a synchronous mode. This required me to take into consideration the various factors learned about in each setting such as including a detailed instructional video or utilizing breakout rooms in Zoom sessions, to ensure a smooth transition while still meeting the learning objectives effectively. For more information about each of these versions, read my blog post which provides more details about each.
Click on the image to the left for Version 1, the Asynchronous Lesson.
Click on the image to the right for Version 2, the Synchronous Lesson.
Design Thinking
In one of my first courses I learned how to implement the Design Thinking Model from the Stanford Design School. I then selected a problem of practice (PoP) as my focus while I went through the model. My problem was often there isn't a plan for implementation of professional developments within schools and districts. After analyzing my problem through the different phases of the Design Thinking Model, I created a prototype and this video to explain to others the process I took in testing my prototype. I learned how to gather the input of all stakeholders and properly test and revise my prototype.
Key Tools for an Inclusive Yearbook
During one of my classes, I was assigned with the task of choosing a topic I wanted to learn more about and then developing my own Learning Plan which included the MAET model of explore, create, and share. I then had to go through the learning plan I created for myself and complete all of the pieces. Since I was going to be a first year yearbook advisor in the fall, I learn more about how to provide inclusivity throughout a middle school yearbook and also learned how to create an appropriate infographic. The image in this section is the infographic I made using Canva to put up in the classroom for my middle school yearbook class to always refer to throughout the year when capturing photographs, writing copy, designing spreads and creating our yearbook. Through Canva, I was able to enhance my graphic design skills and utilize my creativity while also learning the different features within.
Click on the image to see the full infographic I created.
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Wicked Problem of Book Bans
I was tasked with selecting a wicked problem in education, researching it and developing a potential plan to solve that wicked problem. This was not an easy feat as these problems are called wicked for a reason as they often don't have a perfect solution and instead one solution could lead to more problems or you are forced to choose the best worst option. My classmates and I selected book banning as it has become a more prominent problem in schools, districts and our society. We created a multi-media presentation using Genially and I am proud of the work we did and the collaboration involved to create such an awesome presentation. I learned how to navigate Genially to be able to make this awesome presentation and utilize all of the tools and different features it has to offer. This assignment also taught me that it is okay to not always have the answers and that not all problems are going to be solved but there are many ways for me to look at different viewpoints and possible solutions. If you would like to learn more, head over to my blog post where I describe unraveling the pages of this wicked problem.
Teacher Leader
Writing a Memo
One of the creations I needed to tackle was writing a brief memo on a self-selected issue. I had to pretend that I was sending this memo to stakeholders on an administrative level and possibly have it posted in a public forum. I chose to write my memo to the current members of my school board and the district officials about revising the practice of providing letter grades to students. Through this process I learned when writing a memo it is necessary to make sure the intended audience and issue being presented are clear. I also learned to clearly state my position on the issue with appropriate evidence and relevant research. In addition, I learned to provide advice with a clear course of action to the audience in order to write a useful memo. Overall, I'm proud of the way I formatted my memo by making the issue clear and concise, stating the point of view, providing a course of action and including references to support my stance. Click here to see the full memo.
Scroll through the pages of the memo or click the link on the left to see a larger version of the full memo.
Click on the image to to see the full infographic I created for my fellow educators about rethinking grading practices.
Alternate Memo
This task was a follow up to the memo above that was written to stakeholders on an administrative level but instead, the purpose of this one was to create something to communicate to my fellow educators all of the information that was provided in the original memo. To do this, I decided it would be best to create an infographic including all of the key points along with visual representations. The goal was for my colleagues to be able to have access to all of the information covered in the memo and engage with the information of this critical issue of rethinking grades. I learned that even though this was not an official memo, it was still crucial to include all of the necessary pieces including clarity, position and action and that it was necessary to present this information in a way that was easy for the stakeholders to have access to and read quickly.
Professional Development Design
One of my favorite assignments around leadership had to do with creating a professional development (PD) for educators. I learned that I needed to include many aspects to this creation such as developing learning outcomes for the participants, an agenda of the PD, a resource list and at least one complete resource that would be used in the PD session. The principal at my district's continuation school reached out to me to create a series of after school, one hour PD sessions for her staff with a focus on using the Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures to increase engagement in their classrooms. This was the perfect task for me to fulfill the requirements of this creation as it was also applicable and I presented it soon after. I learned to get feedback from the participants so I could make the necessary changes before going back to present again.
Note: This presentation was the second in the series.
Click on the image to see the full set of slides included in the presentation.
Personal Leadership Philosophy
At the end of one of my courses about Leadership and Technology, I was asked to create a compelling representation of my Personal Leadership Philosophy specifically through a video format. I was encouraged to use my voice within the video to share and tell the story of who I am as a leader. Through this task I learned more about video editing and how to include voiceovers into my creation. I also learned how to connect my vision with a theme to make it appealing to the audience. Here is my video and my voice of my Personal Leadership Philosophy. Enjoy!