Megan Preslin
Portfolio
Introduction
Welcome to my showcase of the time I have spent in the Master of Arts Education Technology (MAET) program at Michigan State University. You'll find samples of my work that allowed me to focus on incorporating my creativity & learning into defining barriers regarding lack of tech integration in the classroom. Through defining the barriers I was able to highlight why technology integration should not be just another thing a teacher does but should influence a teacher to empower their students. Each artifact on this page explores these concepts - maybe on its own or combine it with another concept to build a better me.
Creativity & Learning
I have a passion for helping teachers integrate technology. My belief is that it's important for all individuals to keep growing. Early in my graduate studies, I was asked to submit My Personalized Theory of Learning. This gave me the opportunity to really think about how I learn and why it is important to keep learning. I drifted into realizing the importance of my connection with teachers and enhancing their skills, but it was through the development of My Personalized Theory of Learning that stirred me in the direction to recognize the importance of my daily responsibilities.
In this activity, I explored the Makey Makey technology. Often times, a repurposing of a technology tool is needed for teachers to implement in the classroom. Many tools that have been introduced to our society didn't start off being an educational tool. It was the exploration of that tool that leads it to be included in the classroom. This activity allowed me to be free to examine new ways that I could use a Makey Makey tool in the classroom. The process gave me the opportunity to be in the shoes of the teachers I serve everyday. I bring in a tool to a training, and they don't see the relationship to their classroom. Being in this perspective afforded me to think differently and explore possibilities that I don't encounter on a day-to-day basis. It led me to be able to better predict what could happen in trainings that I conduct.
Promoting new technologies to teachers sometimes becomes a struggle. For this particular piece of work, I illustrate just how technology can help solve a problem. Enabling students (learners0 to excel is one-way technology can be utilized in the classroom. In this demonstration, I highlight how Google Read and Write can help struggling learners on a daily basis. Instead of showing teachers the ins and outs of the application, I focus on many uses this program can provide for students. It's a way to help an uncertain teacher that hesitates to introduce a new tool to the class,
The infographic to the left was the conclusion of a project that made me acknowledge creativity is all around us. The cumulation of exercises that I participated in all revolved around a problem: teachers lack the want to use district technology made available to them. The graphic highlights all of the steps I was able to do to explore my creativity and learning on this topic. This experience slowed down my initial thinking to process what could come next.
Embracing Technology Integration
Problem of Practice:
"Why aren't teachers using the technology available to them?" I was able to empathize, define, ideate, create a prototype, and then test my problem. Without knowing this process, I recognized that there are areas of weakness within my own development in regards to this pattern. After completing all the steps, I realized some of the barriers that lead to difficulty of implementing technologies.
Picture:
Bootcamp Bootleg. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://dschool.standford.edu/s/METHODCARDS-v3-slim.pdf
Research is key to helping define various problems that may arise. The idea of questioning keeps defining the problem to hopefully get to the core of an issue. Once the core of the issue is found, a solution can be constructed. This piece of work showcased two examples of how questioning something that wasn't working lead to changes. And, in the created new approaches. Taking the time to deeply question could showcase challenges that have come from certain procedures.
The difficulty of taking an inanimate object and learning how people might perceive helped me develop a new perception of that inanimate object. The created infographic to the left held a large piece in my development of creativity. It leads to a deeper insight into why teachers were struggling with technology in my district. Using my senses to observe the inanimate object, and translating why it could be difficult for someone opened my mind to struggles that I didn't always notice.
Improving ways to reach 2500 teachers is a constant within my day-to-day work. Creating an online PD course gave me a better possibility to reach more individuals on a daily basis. For learners to be able to learn on their own time, in their own environment, and to have choice in what they learned helped me see what I can make available to a larger group of learners.
