courses and projects
One of the strengths of Michigan State's MAET program is that each class provides an opportunity for students to develop useful projects tailored to their own school settings and specific interests. While taking these courses, I created educational tools and conducted research projects with a great deal of "real-world" value. Below, you can read short descriptions of the courses I took., and, for each course, one example of a related project.
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2011
2011
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CEP 807 Proseminar in Educational Technology Professor Matthew Koehler This capstone course, the culmination of the Master of Arts in Educational Technology program at Michigan State University, required graduating students to reflect on and communicate the highlights of what they've learned through the MAET experience via an online portfolio. This website is my capstone portfolio.
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CEP 817 Learning Technology through Design Professor Punya Mishra and Instructor Kristen Kereluik This course focused on the stages of the design process and the importance of usability as an element of design. Each student developed a detailed website, created and administered a usability test, and modified their website based on feedback. Click on the image below to see the website I designed for this course.
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2010
2010
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CEP 806 Learning Science with Technology Professor E. David Wong In this course, students explored the effect of technology on science learning. Assignments posed the questions: How effective are virtual simulations compared with real-life learning experiences? How do synchronous and asynchronous communication technologies affect learning outcomes? How can teachers develop truly compelling learning experiences using technology? Click on the image below to watch a video I created that explores the advantages and disadvantages of synchronous and asynchronous distance learning technologies.
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CEP 822 Approaches to Educational Research Professor Nick Sheltrown This course surveyed a wide range of basic research methods that any educator can use to develop new insights about students and about teaching methods. The course required each student to follow the steps required in scholarly, empirically-based research to analyze and draw conclusions about a problem in their school setting. Click on the image below to read my final research paper, which focused on the difficulties associated with drawing useful conclusions from standardized testing results in a small, specialized high school.
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TE 882 Assessment to Inform Teaching and Curriculum
Professor Alicia Alonzo This course closely examined how to properly develop and implement reliable assessment measures, from informal formative assessment to standardized summative assessments. The coursework also addressed how to record and communicate assessment results to maximize learning. Each student developed an assessment plan for their own setting. Click on the image below to read my assessment plan, which, because I am an administrator, focused on assessing teachers' educational technology proficiency.
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CEP 813 Electronic Portfolios
Professor Patrick Dickson and Instructor Denice Leach This course revolved around the development of professional e-portfolios. As students created their own e-portfolios step by step and critiqued one another's sites, they familiarized themselves with the advantages and disadvantages of various web applications now available that make creating websites relatively painless. In addition, students read about and researched alternative approaches to and uses for student e-portfolios. Click on the image below to read about and view the student e-portfolios based on the work I began in this class.
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2009
2009
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CEP 800 Psychology of Learning in School and Other Settings Professor Cary Roseth In this course, students reviewed and discussed several different learning theories in order to expand their understanding of the learning process. They then explored how educational technology might be used to create particularly powerful learning experiences, experimented with creating their own original learning tools using technology, and undertook some action research, testing the effectiveness of various learning settings and tecniques. Click on the image below to watch a video I created that compares behavioral and constructivist learning methods.
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CEP 820 Teaching K12 Students Online Professor Robin Dickson This course focused on introducing course participants to the wealth of new web applications available to facilitate learning, collaboration, and communication. Students reviewed and analyzed the usefulness of a variety of free Web 2.0 tools, explored methods of using these tools effectively in their own school settings, and developed persuasive arguments to help reluctant parents overcome unwarranted fears of unfamiliar technology. Click on the image below to learn about the social networking site I created in Ning for University of Wisconsin graduate fellows.
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CEP 815 Technology and Leadership
Professor Leigh Graves Wolf This course provided students with an opportunity to engage in self-reflection and goal-setting in preparation for taking on leadership roles in educational technology. As part of this process, students developed a personalized plan for increasing their skills in technology and leadership. Click on the image below to view my plan.
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2008
2008
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CEP 812 Applying Educational Technology to Problems of Practice Professor Joseph Codde This course, the third of the three educational technology certificate courses, assumed a more sophisticated understanding of and skill with educational technology on the part of students, and therefore was less focused on basic skills and more focused on the development of sophisticated application of educational technology tools to spefici pedagogical tasks. Click on the image below to see a lesson for teachers I developed in Dreamweaver on the complexities of copyright law as it applies to educational settings.
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CEP 811 Adapting Innovative Technology to Education Professor Joseph Codde and Instructor Melissa White This course, the second of three educational technology certificate courses, continued students' immersion in educational technology tools by requiring them to create a webquest and a self-guided PowerPoint and by asking them to collaborate using Web 2.0 applications. Click on the image below to see my webquest, which engaged student groups in a hands-on project focused on educating their classmates about the perils of plagiarism.
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CEP 810 Teaching Understanding with Computers
Professor Joseph Codde This course, the first in the series of three educational technology certificate courses, was a fast-paced boot camp for would-be educational technology specialists, requiring students to create a variety of short tech projects that ranged the gamut from voice recordings to Dreamweaver webpages. Click on the image below to see my very first attempt at an engaging PowerPoint-based lesson, in which I capitalized on the Colbert Report's popularity with teens as well as on Colbert's sharp wit and sensitivity to the effect of Wikipedia and other technology trends on American culture.
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