SHOWCASE
This page features a collection of my work from the past couple of years, mostly from Michigan State University's Master's of Educational Technology program, but there are a few additional pieces that were taken from elective courses, and my work as a technology coach.
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Reflecting on my experiences in the MAET program, I recognized three major themes throughout the body of my work: Asking Questions, Personalized & Connected Learning, and Embracing Creativity & Making. Although I have organized my work into these categories below, please realize that there is much overlap, and that many of these pieces can reflect my growth in all of these areas.
ASKING QUESTIONS
In reflecting on the first half of my learning experiences in the MAET program, I began considering what is most important in helping people learn. What came to the surface was the idea of allowing learners to create and pursue their own questions. This video is a remix that conveys the importance of asking questions; the basis for the video can be found here. and I've also written a short piece entitled, "The Power Of Thinking With Questions."
When it comes to solving the worlds "wicked problems", there is no better way than starting with asking some powerful questions. I was involved in a group that was tasked with addressing the "wicked problem" of re-thinking teaching for the 21st Century. This video is a collection of questions that launched our project. You can read my reflection on the entire process here.
There is one question that is central to all aspects of education: How do people learn? With such a large question, it can be difficult to start to formulate an answer. This video is my attempt to address this question in the context of learning to play a video game, but much of what's covered in the video could be applied to the general learning process, and is tied to my Personal Learning Theory.
If we are to push our education system/institutions forward, we must continue to question every aspect of them; this includes the design and use of the physical spaces. In considering learning needs in the 21st Century, I have redesigned a school cafeteria to not only provide a pleasant eating/social environment, but also to function as a powerful 21st Century learning space throughout the day. Please click the image for details of the design.
PERSONALIZED & CONNECTED LEARNING
Personalized Learning Network or PLN was not a term I was familiar with until I started the MAET program. One of our first assignments was to lay our our current PLN in a popplet, so that we could start to reflect on how and where we learn. Since discovering my PLN, building it up has been a continuous effort. It is now one of my goals as Technology Coach in my district to help other educators identify and strengthen their PLNs.
If you want to connect with people in the 21st Century, you have to involve social media in the conversation. While our young students understand this, some educators have a hard time seeing the value in social media. This infographic was created to help convey the benefits social media could have if utilized in the classroom. To see an annotated version that cites research, click the image, or click here.
As mentioned above, social media can be powerful learning tool if utilized properly. I have come to embrace Twitter to share and find ideas, connect with other educators, and to help me stay on top of new trends in education (and everything else). Getting Started With Twitter In Education is an online micro-course I created to help other educators learn how and why to utilize in their practice.
The past two years, I was part of a team that designed an innovation based learning conference for multiple districts in the Southeast Iowa Area. Our team collaborated to create a great learning experience for the educators in our area that also served to connect educators across districts. One of my roles was to create the website for the event, which can be found here.
Learning to weld is a long trial and error process, but it was something that I had a curiosity and passion to delve into. Everything I have learned about welding has been driven completely through online resources and trial and error. A learning process that will be prevalent in the 21st Century. This video is a summary of my "networked learning" experience, a written reflection accompanies it, and can be found here.
EMBRACING CREATIVITY & MAKING
Makerspaces are certainly all the buzz in education right now, and for good reason. The process of making can be a deep learning experience that allows students to pursue their interests and passions without constraint. This image is the beginning of an infographic that I created as I researched the making process and how to get started with makerspaces in education. Please click the image to see the full infographic.
Fruit salad might not have a lot to do with eduction, but this video demonstrates me making an "unconventional fruit salad", where I make a fruit salad using tools that were not intended for that purpose. This process is similar to a teacher creatively repurposing a technology tool for education (because most technologies used in education were not meant for that purpose).
Many technology tools are not created for education. However, if you understand the tool and its capabilities, a clever educator can find ways to repurpose tools for classroom use. In this lesson, I repurpose the image editing program, Pixlr, to help teach junior high students about genetic mutations.
Of course, digital tools are not the only technologies that are adapted for educational use. In this "Thrift-Fan-Boat" lesson plan, students are encourages to use recycled materials to create a boat powered by an electric motor. Click the image to view the full lesson plan.
On my home page, I link to my Youtube channel. This video is a reflection of the first week I spent vlogging for an exercise in my Creativity in Crisis course. I use my vlog as a place to collect my thoughts and ideas, and as a means to drive my creativity. This reflection will tell you a little bit about that process.