TetzMathPortfolio
“Games have grown up, and playing them is no longer reserved for children. In fact, the ability to play may be the single most important skill to develop for the 21st century.” (Thomas & Brown, 2011)
Annotated Transcript - Michigan State University
Understanding Abbreviations
MAET- Masters of Arts in Educational Technology
CEP- Counseling, Educational Psychology & Special Education
TC-Telecommunications
MI-Media and Information (previously TC)
The Purpose Of This Transcript
This page's purpose is two-fold. Firstly, it shows a record of which courses I took during my MAET program. If you click on either the course number or the course name it will direct you to the official course description. The images beside each course not only use colour to identify the faculty, but they also use the geometric shapes to identify what position in my MAET program they hold.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it summarizes what I learned from taking the course and how the course has influenced what technology I have learned to use and how I teach in the classroom.
Summer 2013
Teaching Understanding with Technology
This course was my introduction to the MAET program. I learned about the knowledge teachers need to know to include technology in their classrooms through TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) work by Kereluik, Mishra, & Koehler. I had just spent the two years previously learning about how Shulman’s work was built upon in mathematics education only to see a different branch that it had taken in the world of educational technology. It was very interesting to see the similarities and differences between these two branches of the same tree. This course also encouraged me to start learning how to code in C++ as my independent learning project. I have found that learning the basics of coding in C++ has helped me unwind html code when I wish to modify the code on my website.
Adapting Innovative Technology to Education
In this course, I really expanded my definition of the word technology. In the past, technology for me has always meant some sort of computer or electronic gadget that was usually pre-fabricated before I got it. This course made me relook at the word technology and showed me that I was capable of being a creator of that technology as well. This was my introduction to the Maker Movement, and I found that it was really mind engaging to not only envision an idea but then to build it as well. Working with the Squishy Circuit Lights I really had to be aware that red/green and blue/yellow colour blindness does exist and that how I placed the lights had to make sure that a student with either colour blindness would not be disadvantaged through the activity. It is not good enough to just create something for the classroom; you need to be able to create something that allows the most, if not all, students to participate.
Applying Educational Technology to Practice
This course was the first time I had to complete a project with two people I had never met. My last Masters program was a hybrid program so I had already met everyone in the cohort before we started working together. It is a unique situation to try and figure out how to best use the skills of two people you had never met. I had always been fascinated by the Whiteboard Animation also called RSA animate, however, my underdeveloped art skills have always made me feel as if this was beyond my grasp. With the art skills of one of my fellow class members, we would create my first RSA animate. I have since gone on to create more of this style of video using Videoscribe to be my artist, but the first one created in this course holds a special place in my heart. This was also my first project that looked at changing education as a whole not just teacher practice. It helped me to see that many of the things I rail against in education are institutional things that must be changed from within the system. Since this course, with every survey or discussion group that I can provide feedback to, I have made sure that if I have feedback or insight to give that I make an effort to share it.
Summer 2014
Learning in Schools and Other Settings
In this course, every project I created was one that could have immediate impact in my classroom. I learned how to create an effective podcast and learned that yes indeed, a cardioid microphone is necessary for clear sound. I also learned that almost no one at a store would know what that was, so doing research beforehand is important to ensure you have a brand name that is searchable. As well in this course, I had to learn how to use IMovie on a Mac and an IPad on the same project to create a five minute trailer as neither platform had what I wanted by itself. This is also the course that I realized that creating unit plans are really difficult when you want to use teachable moments to teach concepts at the moment that students need that information. It took me many iterations, to finally settle on a method of planning while still letting the learning unfold as naturally as possible. The unit plan I created here is one I still use every year. Tweaking it just a little each time, to make sure that I am able to encourage more students to fully participate.
Approaches to Educational Research
This was my second Educational Research course in my Grad School career. I looked at it as a refresher course on using statistical analysis. I love math, so getting to spend time playing with numbers was quite enjoyable. The final project on using statistical analysis to support a research question was a great learning opportunity for how that would work if I decide to conduct research in the future.
Fall 2014
Theories of Games and Interaction for Design
In this course, I got to look at educational theories in a new light, that of their use in Serious Games. When I say Serious Games I am not talking about games that deal with serious topics, although they might, I am talking about games designed to educate. I was able to see how the educational theories that have guided my teaching practice for years, supported the creation of Serious Games. My favourite part of the course, besides doing the research for the game I would create in my next course TC 830, was the Learning Theories Trading cards that we had to attach to our assignments. They really made you decide what theories would best suit the situation at hand, and they were a really easy way to focus on what was most important to ensure you followed the theory you chose to support student learning.
Spring 2015
Foundations of Serious Games
In this course, I was able to culminate my desire to create a math game to help students change their attitude towards mathematics. I can honestly say, I have never been so excited to complete coursework before. I even was sending out email updates to my colleagues in the math world. I never knew that a math board game + a room full of university educated people would = hours of fun and laughing till my sides hurt. With all the feedback loops built into the program I was able to create a game that is better than I could have imagined at the start of the course. I learned to combine my passion with game design concepts and sound educational theories. This course pushed me to find my passion, harness its power, and to dig deep to become a game designer.
Fall 2015
Understanding Users
I struggled with this course at the beginning, as it is centred on designing things for a specific users. The exact opposite of what we do in Education, with Universal Design for Learning (UDL). However, the more I learned in the course I could see more ways that designing for a specific group could be beneficial, including designing a gradebook especially for the teachers using it. I also learned how to run a focus group and create a summary report. While I do not think I will often design for a specific user, the learning of how designing in that way works and the theories behind it will make me a better game designer over all.
Spring 2016
Learning Math with Technology
As a Canadian, this course was really informative as it allowed me to look at Mathematics curriculum from another point of view. This course looked at mathematics education from the point of view of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the Common Core, neither of which are my present program of study. It allowed me to compare and contrast the three programs of studies, while looking at a variety of technology tools that could support mathematical learning. Being able to use three different points of view on mathematics education while critiquing technology tools allowed me to be able to distinguish those that had robust learning and those that did not. I know from taking this course, I now have a more robust understanding of how technology tools support student learning, and I am more easily able to defend their use in the mathematics classroom.
Capstone Educational Technology
During my MAET program I have used Angel, Desire to Learn (D2L), Google Sites, Google Docs, Google Drives, Google Groups, Wordpress, and Wix to showcase my work. In the Capstone program, I created a cohesive website that showcased my best work from my MAET program and beyond. This course allowed me to create a professional presence on the internet. It required me to reflect on what is important to me as a teacher, as a learner, and as a mentor.