Whitney Cornelli

Have you ever known you wanted to do more, but you were not quite sure how or where to start? After working as an elementary teacher for a couple of years, I knew something was missing from my practice. I had mentor teachers, I had wonderful students, but I knew I needed something else. It was only once I was accepted to the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) degree program at Michigan State University and began my first course that I figured out what I needed to do. I needed to get back to being a lifelong learner, prepared to teach in today’s technology-rich classrooms.

 

During my first year of teaching, I quickly realized that I wanted to be more confident teaching with technology and feel more equipped to set my students up for success in using it. I was a new teacher, I had access to technology, and I really didn’t feel like I knew how to use it in my classroom. It was during my second year of teaching that I acted upon this realization. I was torn between Masters programs, but ultimately decided upon the MAET program due to how big technology is in education. It is not going anywhere, but only going to improve and become even bigger. I knew I needed to stay on top of technology as a way to improve my skill set, increase my resource base, and feel more confident. My hope was that the program would provide some insight and tips for teaching with technology and leave me feeling more equipped, but it provided me with so much more than that. The MAET program provided me with confidence, expertise, and a sense of responsibility to be the best teacher with technology that I can be - for my students, and for my colleagues.

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As I progressed through the MAET program, there were a few individual classes that changed the way I saw my responsibilities as an educator. The first course was CEP 811: Adapting Innovative Technologies to Education. This was the second course that I was newly enrolled in for the MAET program. I was eager for CEP 811 to begin, but I quickly became overwhelmed. I was unfamiliar with maker kits, the maker movement, repurposing, and the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines. I chose to see the course as an educational challenge, and did my best to meet/exceed any and all expectations set up for me by the course instructors. Though I felt stressed at many times throughout the course, CEP 811 was completely set up to help me succeed and mirrored what I was responsible for doing in my own classroom to help my students succeed. I learned through exploration; my students learn best when they can explore what they are interested in. I now try to give my students more chances for exploration depending on what we are studying, and I offer more choice in assignments so that students can explore a topic they are personally interested and invested in. This personal interest and investment is what kept me motivated throughout the course, and I felt I was responsible for instilling this love of learning in my students, too. CEP 811 helped me to rethink the lessons I was teaching in my classroom, and make sure that all students’ needs are being met. The UDL guidelines were big in this, and I still think about them to this day when planning lessons for my classroom. I enjoyed checking over the activities I created in CEP 811 and confirming that they were best meeting the needs of all learners. I use this same thinking in my classroom now. This course really helped me to think about different ways to differentiate learning for individual students and how important “making” and exploration are in the learning process. I carry that learning with me with each new group of students that I have the privilege to teach.

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Immediately after taking CEP 811, I began taking CEP 812: Applying Educational Technology to Issues of Practice. Now that I was familiar with what educational technology was comprised of, I looked for solutions to issues of practice that used technology. This course helped me to realize that I had a responsibility to my colleagues to keep them informed with what I was learning in my MAET courses. As part of the course, I designed a technology survey and administered it to my teaching team at the time. I found through conversation that teachers were not feeling fully equipped to teach with the technology they had been given in their classrooms. I also made sure the survey included open-response questions so that the staff could anonymously voice their feelings on the topic of technology use in the classroom. My colleagues had been teaching for a wide range of years, and I really enjoyed hearing the ways they’d like the district to help them move forward with technology integration in the classroom. This made me think - couldn’t I become a resource for my colleagues in the area of using technology with education? They were voicing concerns over not having access to many resources for integrating technology successfully. Couldn’t I become a resource for them? From that point on, I took it upon myself to be responsible for sharing my technology knowledge with any staff that needed it. This course made me realize that I wanted to be a leader for my colleagues and within the district to help others feel more comfortable and confident.

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Keeping in mind what I had learned in CEP 811 and CEP 812, I really saw CEP 815: Technology and Leadership as the confirmation for me that it was my responsibility to lead others in the field of technology. Learning about the seven transformations of leadership helped me to think about my colleagues and how to best work with them altogether. I also was able to identify where I was within the transformations and how that might impact how others saw me/how I saw them. We completed a lot of activities involving taking a leadership role with respect to technology. These activities were connected to the real world and allowed me to think and reflect on how I might react in the same situation. I realized that I was responsible for not only introducing technology tools to parents, but also for helping them through the process of understanding the affordances of technology. I thought about the role of homework in the classroom and actually revamped the homework routine in my own classroom. I also thought about and proposed ways to increase parent-school communication using digital tools. This led me to eventually lead my first ever district-wide professional development on using social media in an elementary classroom (instagram and a wordpress blog) and how I personally use these digital tools to communicate with stakeholders on a continual, informed basis. This course really helped me to see my potential for being a leader, and gave me the confidence I needed to lead others.

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One last course that changed the way I saw my responsibilities as an educator was CEP 822: Approaches to Educational Research. While the previous courses I mentioned led me to take on more of a leadership role among colleagues and within the district, this course led me to see the reasoning behind educational research and why it is so important when thinking about what I do in my classroom each day. This class really opened my eyes to a world of educational research that I was naively unaware of. After learning about and understanding the numbers and data associated with research, I chose a topic of personal interest to research. I researched the implementation of school-wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) systems at the elementary level. I had worked in buildings that implemented it and buildings that did not, and I was curious as to why not all buildings choose to implement it. I was not looking for research that went one way or the other; I was open to research that supported and/or did not support the implementation, and also gave evidence as to why. While at first it was difficult to do, this assignment helped me see how important it is to see both sides of an issue/argument before moving forward. A month later, I found myself sitting on the PBIS committee at the elementary school I was teaching in. I drew upon my research, project, and notes taken while researching to offer feedback and advice on how to best start a new PBIS committee and who/what it would entail. This course helped me to see how educational research is applicable in classrooms and schools each day. I now feel more responsible for researching methods of teaching, learning styles, and activities to be sure they really are best practice for my students. I have also since then become a member of the PBIS committee at the district level; this course really gave me the confidence to make my voice heard on issues that matter to me most, and helped me to understand the importance of researching all angles of an issue in order to find what is best for students.

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Looking back on the MAET program collectively, and thinking about where I started in my career and where I am now, I have changed the way I approach my job. I consistently find myself thinking more deeply about the technology choices I am making in the classroom. Before I started the MAET program, I would use things like an iPad cart or a computer lab simply because it was there and fun for the children. Now, I question myself first. I ask myself, how will this tool help my students today? What do I want my students to learn through using it? How will my students learn through using it? Do my students understand why I want them to use it? I find myself being much more explicit with my students about why we are using the digital tools we use, and taking the time to make sure they understand how to use them successfully. Rather than using technology because it’s there, we use it because it will help us to review a skill/concept, connect with others, or receive immediate feedback on progress in certain areas.

 

The MAET program not only changed the way I approach my job in terms of my students using technology, but also in terms of my colleagues. I am more on the quiet, reserved side; as a new teacher, I really never felt it was my place to make my voice heard. I never thought I had anything to teach others - I was so new myself, and felt I still had so much to learn! However, throughout the MAET program I’ve found my voice and confidence. If a colleague mentions they are struggling to find ways to use tablets in the classroom, or need access to more resources to help struggling learners, I offer assistance in any way that I can. I have shared out resources from the MAET program that I have been exposed to thanks to peers from around the globe. I became a leader for my colleagues when I created and presented a presentation on how I use social media in the classroom. I was nervous, but I submitted a proposal for the session and it was offered to all lower elementary staff in the district to attend. The MAET program has helped me feel the urge to take more leadership roles in my building and district and I now approach my job as a leader, not a quiet voice in the background. I find myself wanting to back up the idea that technology is great, but also that it must be used for a purpose and that purpose must be clear and understood to all. I have the MAET program to thank for opening my eyes to the new possibilities in the world of educational technology.