Six+Courses

**EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP**
In my quest to become an educational technology leader, I hope to be able to share my abilities and knowledge with those in the educational field, whether in the profession of teaching or leading others. While my resume is quite diversified in the abilities that I have acquired over the years, my strengths lie within the technology field and the knowledge that I have gained from the computer-based positions that I have held.

**Position Goal**
My job position at Weatherford College is that of Web Designer. I have been employed with WC for a year and have found the information I have learned in the classes for this program beneficial in that particular role. Although I am not playing the role as professor for a class of high school graduates, I do find opportunities to instruct administrators, secretaries, and teachers about the college website. At this time, I’m not quite sure how my role will change after the completion of my M.Ed. degree, but I am looking forward to the possibilities. I have learned, after working for another community college as Graphics Manager for 16 years, not to be so focused in on a single career choice that you overlook what opportunities may appear on the horizon.

**Leadership Goal**
In my twenty-plus-year career, I have seen how technology has shifted and changed. Mimicking the ebb and flow of an ocean, some technology developments have taken a strong hold on our society and others have not. With the surging of the waves onto the educational arena, it not only has taken a strong hold, but flooded the gates like a tidal wave.

As our young 21st century students have begun their educational journey, our teachers have found they are immersed in a digital world and challenged to present new lesson materials revised and edited for the “Digital Natives” as Marc Prensky had predicted (2001). Today’s generation of instructors are now labeled as “Digital Immigrants” and now struggle in the student chair to learn the technology that is so eagerly accepted by their students. Many times, students are instructing the teachers on the classroom technology that surrounds them.

This challenge not only affects that K-12 grade levels, but also the higher education level with those similar “Digital Immigrants” struggling to comprehend this new educational technology. If students are taught the new technology in grade school levels, they sometimes find themselves facing a community college also struggling to upgrade to the new standards required of them by the state educational agencies. In essence, technology is affecting all levels of education and no matter what role you play, there will always be a need for technologist trained in the educational technology.

**Vision of Educational Technology** As mentioned in the //2011 Horizon Report//, “The abundance of resources and relationships made easily accessible via the Internet is increasingly challenging us to revisit our roles as educators in sense-making, coaching, and credentialing.” Our population is immersed in the technical gadgets of our century. Mobile devices of every kind is now available and flooding our markets with gadgets, such as the Kendall and iPad. Books, magazines, and other reading materials are now available to download to your electronic devices of choice. Libraries are considering changing their shelves of dusty periodicals into drawers of DVD’s or having the digital archived onto computer systems to be shared between several community libraries at one time and open twenty- four hours a day. No longer will you have to struggle to “get to the library before they close”!

With this digital emergence, the mass population is now expecting to learn, what they want to learn, and when they want to learn it. Companies are also struggling to “keep up” with the public demand as new versions of software and products seemingly repopulate the shelves every six months. It is now common to hear the frustrations of consumers and students alike when digital connections are not available or devices are no longer suitable for the higher version of technology data feeds.

Typical school desks with the storage bin underneath your seat to house your folders and various textbooks have now been replaced with laptop computers that are loaded with all the school software and programs needed during that academic year. Wire-bound calendars are now replaced with various electronic versions that can be downloaded to your iPad, computer or cell phone, to keep your schedule up-to-date on all your electronic tracking devices. Homework that is shared between a variety of personal devices now eliminate the old excuse of “the dog ate my homework.”

As with all changes and developments over the centuries, we are finding that we can never reverse the flood waters of advancement. As the //2011// //Horizon Report// also concurs, “These trends and challenges are a reflection of the impact of technology that is occurring in almost every aspect of our lives. They are indicative of the changing nature of the way we communicate, access information, connect with peers and colleagues, learn, and even socialize.”

** What I Learned **

**Self-Reflection**
Although the past eighteen months have seemingly flown past, the hours that I have invested into this program and the development of the skills as an Educational Technologist, have been forever etched upon my braincells. I believe I have worked harder for this degree than any other goal I have set for myself. I have learned a great deal about myself, the technology that has saturated our everyday living, my leadership skills, as well as my attitude towards it all.

**Myself**
In reflecting back to the beginning of my master’s program, it’s hard to believe that I have come so far in this journey. I remember so vividly a group of disgruntled college employees fed up with being overlooked for well-deserved advancements and opportunities, deciding to take a positive action to better our employment status. I had been searching for an interesting master’s degree that would cause financial ruin to my family or myself, as well as obtainable before I had turned 100 years old!

Although I lacked the professional skills as a teacher, I have had many opportunities to teach in one form or fashion in my career, and in my personal life. At one time, I did have aspirations to be an Art teacher in a school for the handicap or deaf. But alas, my career choices took me down a different life path leading to the title of Graphics Manager and supporting teachers in the college educational arena.

**My Attitudes**
I had my insecurities about beginning a master’s degree program, especially in a field that was somewhat unfamiliar to me, but found the reassurance of class subjects as //Multimedia Video// //Technology//, //Web Design//, and //Digital Graphics// – all subjects that I was accustomed to using in my daily work life – how hard could it be? Not being one to turn away from an opportunity to better myself or my career, I cautiously proceeded.

As I completed the required information to be submitted online, my brain kept reviewing all the information that I had found at local universities and their master’s programs that were available. I kept coming back to the reasoning of “If you pursue a MFA at another university, you will be taking classes similar to that of your BFA, why do you want to study something you are already proficient at?” Only one logical conclusion made sense, ”I want to learn something new that will enable me to share what I’ve already learned.” I found all the cards were “stacked in my favor” and I had nothing to lose! Taking that first step into the dark unknown was inevitable and take it, I did.

I was pleased and surprised of how well I scored in the class work that I was assigned and thoroughly enjoyed the subject matter. Since I had no children in my home, I found learning about the school systems and how they function a completely new and fascinating subject. As I studied about the technology that is becoming more and more available for classrooms of all age groups, I was surprised to learn of the struggles within those very classrooms. As students embrace the technology, because they’ve known nothing else, teachers struggle to learn the new technology and “keep up” with the students that they are leading into the 21st century. With this new discovery, I now know what role I may play in this rapidly advancing Educational Technology field. Embracing technology has always been easy for me, although I am one of the original “Digital Learners.” Prensky (2001) As I have taken on the responsibilities as Web Designer for a different community college, than I had originally worked at the beginning of this journey, I have found the knowledge I have gained from my studies has been readily available to share with my new colleagues. My newly learned knowledge of the educational field has been helpful to the college planning committees that I participate in that attempt to predict what might be needed for classroom instruction for these “Digital Natives.” Prensky (2001) As K-12 schools are attempting to update their classrooms into the 21st century technology, the colleges and universities are also struggling to provide those high-tech learning gadgets that new students will expect to be available in their higher education pursuits.
 * Technology & Leadership Skills **

Six Influential Courses
====In reflecting over the many months of consistent and dedicated study in the Educational Technology Leadership Master’s program, I am still in awe of the progress I have made throughout the program. I put my courage and determination to the test and have found just how much can be gained when you don’t lose sight of your goal.====

====I found that selecting six courses that were the most influential in my progress fairly easy. All the courses in this program I found very useful in different ways, but there were some that stood out from the rest. Ones that provided excellent hands-on learning and that will prove to be very useful in my pursuit as a Technology Facilitator. The six that I chose were:====


 * 1) EDLD 5306 / Concepts of Educational Technology
 * 2) EDLD 5364 / Teaching with Technology
 * 3) EDLD 5366 / Digital Graphics & Desktop Publishing
 * 4) EDLD 5363 / Multimedia & Video Technology
 * 5) EDLD 5388 / Web Development & Design
 * 6) EDLD 5345 / Human Resource Management

**EDLD 5306 / Concepts of Educational Technology**
The Concepts of Educational Technology was a great class to begin the program. In consideration that I was not a one with deep career roots in the educational field as a teacher, this class provided a better understanding of Texas STaR Charts and digital natives. As our technology continues to weave its digital web throughout our daily lives, the way we teach in our classrooms will continue to be stretched and molded around the types of teaching tools that are readily available. The students will be more willing to learn with tools that they are familiar with and use in their social environment.

**EDLD 5364 / Teaching with Technology**
Teaching with Technology introduced the class to a number of online tools that promoted a collaborated working atmosphere between team members. I learned how effective these tools would be within the corporate world, as well as an educational atmosphere. Since I had never worked in this manner, especially using this type of software, I found the possibilities very exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed working in a team with members that were scattered to all ends of the state of Texas. The process reinforced the ideas of being able to instruct a classroom of students no matter what their home base location might be, whether rural, or interurban, giving them a much broader perspective on their homework assignment.

**EDLD 5366 / Digital Graphics**
In considering that this class was teaching about a media field that I have worked in for the past 20 years, I felt quite comfortable in the multimedia concepts that were being taught. When our assignments called for creating a logo and a newsletter, I knew that my expertise would finally work in my favor. I understood the importance of knowing your audience and developing your newsletter to appeal to that particular group of readers. In my understanding of various media tools that are used, I know they will be very useful for creative instructors in the educational field.

**EDLD 5363 / Multimedia Video Technology**
Although my current career involves multimedia, it does not include the field of Videography. The planning and production part of this class was very time consuming, likewise with finding the right software to use that would be user friendly to an extent that none on our team would have a hardship learning it overnight.

Our team members were using either the Mac or PC format, so extra care was taken to be able to share editing responsibilities. Investigating various FREE video products on the market was enlightening in itself, as software programs contain various buttons & whistles promising to make your editing life a breeze. The decision was finally narrowed down to the talents of iMovie and a movie was born!

**EDLD 5365 / Web Design & Development**
As I reflect upon this course, I found it provided me with background information that might have been recorded at the development stage of a school district’s website. I was not present in the beginning stages of our existing website, but I am now the main Web Designer that reconstructs and maintains the website for a college campus and three satellite educational centers. The exposure to the three competency areas of website design and development, as well as site administration, will be very helpful in visualizing an overall picture of web design. In working on this assignment with the fictitious web hosting partner, NewSchoolSpaces.net, I was able to obtain additional information from one of the administrators in the Technology department that assisted me in the areas of project management, site design, managing content, and creating interactive pages allowing more effective communication.

**EDLD 5345 / Human Resource Management**
This particular class stressed to look at our school campuses and principals, as well as ourselves with an objective eye. There should be more time spent in instructing teachers on how their actions could be viewed by their coworkers, students, and the public. It is important to examine our campus culture closely and ponder how other people might perceive our schools in comparison to others.

While principal competencies may focus more on the administrative tasks, it must also align closely with campus cultures. Principals are viewed as the main example of a school’s culture, if he is perceived to not embrace all cultures residing in his care, teachers and students may also reflect the same bias. Our schools must help parents teach our students to be tolerant of those that may be different, whether in dress, attitude, or religion. Our schools are functioning poorly in the subject of culture tolerance and it has now become a problem world-wide.

Administrators must be mindful of ethics in their leadership. In today’s society, ethics is one thing that is sorely lacking. Sadly, in our society, there are fewer and fewer appropriate role models for our students to witness ethical behavior, or to even recognize what it means to be ethical.

In performing teacher evaluations, ethics must be used to overcome any biases and to make a fair appraisal of a teacher and their performance in the classroom. A professional relationship must be held completely separate from a personal one, especially during the actions of hiring or firing an employee.

We were asked in this assignment to evaluate ourselves along the lines of what our personal strengths were in relation to a principal’s competency. In a typical manner, personal reflections can be painfully honest at times, but it is important for administrators to realize that just as it is for their staff, they need to continue to grow professionally as well.

**REFERENCES**
Fertig, R. (2007). When "acceptable" becomes unacceptable. //The Journal//. // Retrieved from: // // []. //

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). //Web 2.0: New tools, new schools.// Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Educatio//n.//

Williamson, J. & Redish, T. (2009). //Technology Facilitation and// // Leadership Standards: What every K-12 leader // // should know and be able to do. // Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Johnson, L., Levine, A., Smith, R., and Smythe, T. (2009). //The 2009 Horizon Report: K-12 Edition.// Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants: Part 1. //On the Horizon//, 9(5), 1-6.

Prensky, M. (2005/2006). Listen to the natives. //Educational Leadership//, 63(4), 8-13.

 // **Please select the links below to view my Curriculum Vitae** // **//and my Comprehensive exam.//**
 * [[file:KBuerkle_CV.pdf]] || [[file:EDLD 5370-Comp Exam]]  ||

