Reflection Letter

Dear Educational Technology Faculty,

As I reflect back on my experience with technology, I realized that I have always been interested in technology and very versatile in learning and using it. However, when I looked at the first 12 years of my teaching career I did not implement technology in my instruction and take advantage of the role it can have in learning. Approximately five years ago I made the decision to incorporate more technology in my instruction. I started by using online communication with students and using web 2.0 tools, lab probes and software, and video labs in my physics classes. Then, after a couple of years of doing so, I made the decision to learn more and started my master's in educational technology at UTB. I was interested in learning not only more available technologies, but proper strategies of planning and using technology to enhance instruction. The UTB program provided a great opportunity and platform to accomplish this goal.

I started the UTB educational master's program with 15 years of teaching experience and three years of increased technology implementation in my teaching. As I progressed in the program, I was refreshing in some areas such as learning theories and instructional practices, and I was learning and growing in other areas such as instructional technology integration and educational technology leadership. The two main objectives I had professionally as I entered the program were to (1) increase my knowledge of instructional technology, the use of instructional technology, and the instructional design process to increase learning in my classroom and to (2) be prepared to advance to a position of technology leadership in the future. As I reflect on the first objective, I know that I have learned a great deal in not only instructional technology tools and their use, but also in the instructional design process. I appreciated learning it both from an educational and corporate view. The different professions of students and instructors in the classes provided a unique perspective and learning experience. The ADDIE approach and implementation by design was one of the key takeaways from the degree for myself. Knowledge of and ability to use the ADDIE approach was required to be demonstrated in several of my courses in the program. A full instructional design project had to be created in EDTC 6321 and feedback was provided throughout the project. Then the multimedia portion of the instructional design project needed to be created in EDTC 6323. This provided valuable experience in not only learning the ADDIE principles, but implementing them in real-life practice. The ADDIE principles then had to be utilized in the e-learning design project of EDTC 6325, the practicum in educational technology, and the e-learning practicum of EDTC 6358. In all of these instances, I was required to have a full working knowledge of the ADDIE instructional design principles and I implemented them in scenarios that were either on the job or very closely reflected their on the job implementation. Along with this learning, I also learned many new and powerful instructional technology and web 2.0 tools that I will continue to use and implement in my profession in the future. I also learned how to seek out technologies that are either new or a better fit for a desired purpose. Educational technology is constantly changing and continually learning and being able to select appropriate technologies are important skills.

I found the program very rewarding and a great amount of the learning was immediately applicable and could be implemented in my instruction right away. Taking two courses every semester while maintaining a full-time job and raising a young family was very challenging. Time management skills and efficiency were an absolute must in completion of the program in these circumstances. Not only was the UTB educational technology faculty excellent in the delivery of the courses, but they were very understanding of the challenges that many of the students faced in their lives, but without compromising the integrity of the program. As I complete my program at UTB, I would encourage future participants of this program to be very committed to their studies and learn how to adapt the schedules of their lives to continue to include their current required tasks, but to make consistent time to stay on top of their studies. The work within the degree requires students to master the concepts needed to be learned, but the quality of the work requires consistent effort and time management. Consistent work on projects over the allocated time produces much higher quality end products than when the projects are completed all in the last days before a deadline. I would also encourage future participants to network within the program and use this network to learn from each other and to explore other learning/career avenues that may present themselves from the network. A number of the courses in the program require collaborative learning, and the connections made in these courses can benefit the participants beyond the current course. The final advice I would give to future participants is to connect their learning in the program to their profession whenever possible. The work within the degree takes on more meaning if it can be incorporated within the current profession. Not only will the work be more meaningful, but it will be retained more and will be a better indicator of experience utilizing the new learning within the profession.

The second professional objective I had in this master's program addresses my goals of attaining my degree. I feel that the UTB program, combined with my professional experience, has prepared me to move into a full-time educational technology/leadership position. The learning and work within the degree has addressed many of the key components of my desired professional position. I am very grateful to have completed such a complete master's degree in the field of educational technology. As I graduate from this program, I fully intend to pursue advancement in this field and refine the skills I learned within the degree. I will use my learning to effectively work with instructional technology in my current position and in future positions. I also feel, besides learning more about educational technology on the job, my pursuit of formal education may not be complete yet. I would like to thank the UTB faculty one last time for the great learning experience they provided.

Sincerely,

Michael Voth