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November 22, 2015

Dear Educational Technology Faculty,

Starting my Masters in Educational Technology has enhanced and broadened my professional and personal career. Educational technology as I have come now to realize is not just teaching how to use a computer but is the art and profession of preparing our students and ourselves for the future not even imagined yet. My first classes have included vast research and projects on Professional Development, traditional and nontraditional learning, Web 2.0 tools, Assistive Technology, Efficiency Models, and Integration of Technology into the Curriculum.  These classes have opened a whole new world for me.

I have come to realize the importance of integrating technology in the curriculum in all grade levels and in all the multiple disciplines. Technology has to be used as a tool to enhance student learning.  Our students today can not learn the traditional way.  Technology and multimedia has transformed our lives making a total necessary transformation in school performance and has accelerated the creation of an educational reform. 

I am presently working at an elementary school as their technology support teacher. These Masters' classes have help me so much professionally and personally.  I am better prepared to help my staff integrate technology in their classes.  My goal as an MTT or a Technology Support Teacher is to provide the necessary and appropriate training, skills, and motivation for my teachers. This Masters is definitely preparing me for this.

How did it all start? Dr. Sulivan’s daughter was attending my present elementary school. As a very involved parent and a professional, he gave some wonderful teachers’ workshops accompanied with Dr. Butler.  Even though I had been the TST at our campus for a couple of years and felt I was doing a wonderful job, what they were exposing of the new technology trends disrupted my peace as an experienced teacher.  I remember clearly Dr. Butler giving us the definition of Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants and everything that composed with those concepts.  I was completely captivated and understood that that explained many things; I knew I needed to learn more.  Of course I met with her after the workshop and she recommended for me to take my Masters in Educational Technology.

As I started my Masters, I initiated taking excellent very interesting and challenging classes with her, and that has been all the way up to now that I am graduating. I have enjoyed my classes so much and have also learned so much.  The most important thing about them is that I have been able to take what I learn to my elementary school to my teachers and students.  I was innovated and I started innovating instruction.

In EDTC 6320 I was first introduced to Web 2.0 tools.  Wiki was the main focus of my projects in that course. I immediately directed my self to my 4^th grade teachers, (my youngest teachers group) to have their students create a wiki  to share and comment. It was a hit!! Parents that had internet at home were very excited to have their children be so tech savvy. I was also introduced to Camtasia, which drove me crazy of happiness to know that a tool like that existed!!!  I wanted to start creating tutorials for my teachers for everything. I could not believe how tech savvy I was becoming  or felt I was, and completely at the vanguardia in technology. I was the happiest teacher and person after learning in EDTC 6340 about  blogs and blogging, and about Diggo to save time in finding important sites.  There I was running around school (like a chicken without a head) telling all the teachers about my new discoveries and how we can put them to use.  I introduce to my 5^th students Voice Thread as a classroom project and it was also a hit!

Then all the pieces came together, no more running around from teacher to teacher, classroom to classroom. EDTC 6321 put everything in place!   The ADDIE Model.  O my God, I learned so much! Everything started fitting into place. “…to not only recognize what constitutes excellence in instructional design, but to develop the abilities and skills necessary to create truly superior instruction for your students or intended learners, whomever they may be”. (Dr. Rene Corbeil)   To reinforce the excellence of instruction at UT Brownsville came EDTC 6323 where  my instructional design was furthered enhanced. I created a  web in housed tutorial for my 3^rd Grade students in Language Arts which was a hit!

EDTC 6329 focus was on E-Learning.  My project was to watch and visit online trainings and e-modules and reflect on them.  It was eye opening!  I hadn’t realized where the trend in technology was going to.  And then came EDTC 6325, I created myself a complete e-learning module. It was and I felt so professional.  And to finish “with the cherry on top”, came EDTC 6332.  A complete professional Capstone of everything learned!!!  Besides professionally putting everything learned together, the processes of Metacognition use by the professor in this class was extremely enriching, to me as a person and a professional.   

My additional courses taken in this Masters Program, EPSY 6304 Learning and Cognition, EDFR 6388 Social Cultural Foundations in Education and EDCI 6300 Intro to Research broaden my horizons and were the perfect matching pieces to connect the professionalism in this Masters program.

I have taken all my classes with great, wonderful, experienced and very professional professors, who not only love their profession and are extremely fluent in it but who have demonstrated and modeled high expectations. They have re-enforced in me the importance of professionalism and are role models. I hope to continue in the educational technology field.  I believe there are many opportunities of growth and personal gratification in helping others achieve.  Technology is our future and what better than to prepare ourselves and others for it.

I would like to thank all my Professors, Advisers, and Peers without them my growth as a person and a professional would not have been possible. My gratitude and admiration will always be with them.

Respectfully yours,

Maria del Coral Palmer 

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