Who initiated this Pathfinder? Barb Brown
"I have always been interested in the impact of educational technology on teaching and learning and started pursuing a Ph.D in Educational Technology in September of 2008 under the supervision and guidance of Dr. Michele Jacobsen at the University of Calgary. This pathfinder was initiated as an assignment in a doctoral seminar for students in educational technology during summer session 2009."
What is the purpose of this Pathfinder? Why hope?
"This pathfinder was developed to guide or provide a roadmap for doctoral studies in the area of curriculum integration of technology in K-12 schools and building leadership capacity. Creating a framework for the pathfinder has allowed me to narrow my research focus and begin collecting ideas that may be integrated in my work. I plan to use this pathfinder as a dynamic tool that will support my research topic."
Who is the intended audience for the Pathfinder?
"Working alone is not my intention and so I would also like to extend an invitation to all those interested in similar research ideas to utilize this tool and help build upon the ideas as well. Alberta school jurisdictions, policy makers, academic institutions, professional organization and anyone involved in designing, developing, utilizing, managing or evaluating professional learning programs for district and school based administrators may find this pathfinder useful. The power of this pathfinder is not in the development of the initial framework; it is in the potential to promote networking, collaboration and ideally the amplification of research ideas."
What is the rationale for the organization of this Pathfinder?
"The pathfinder evolved as I started organizing content related to my research topic. Once I started refining my topic and reviewing literature it became evident that I needed to concentrate on specific areas. Constructing a concept map was also a helpful excercise in providing a visual roadmap for my literature review and the scope of my research. Organizing the pathfinder at the same time helped me to articulate the intent of my research in greater depth. Through this process I found myself engaging in a significant amount of reading and collecting. Thus, you will notice the navigation bar is divided into two main categories: 1) collections and 2) readings."