Experience Before Program
I am Deisy Bazan from Rio Grande City, Texas. Growing up in a small community you learn the importance of unity. After graduating college in 2006 and getting married, we relocated to the Houston area where my family and I resided for 11 years.
I had the pleasure of teaching in 3 different districts. From the biggest district of Houston ISD to the smaller ones of Galena Park and Deer Park ISD. Coming from a small town, I didn't like commuting time, so each time we moved, I moved districts. At my last district of Galena Park, I learned so much about the importance of a blended classroom. It is there that I grew a passion for technology in the classroom. Although we led a very comfortable life and had many opportunities in the Houston area, both my husband and I decided to relocate our family back to our hometown.
Now we are back in our hometown and ready to pursue my Master's degree in Educational Technology in addition to the E-Learning Certificate and the Technology Leadership Certificate. Embarking on this journey was long overdue. I have been out of the college setting for over 14 years. But, I am very eager to learn new strategies that will help me make my classroom more engaging! I also started teaching with the newly introduced PK3 program in our district. It has really been a change in atmosphere after spending several years teaching fourth grade. I am really enjoying being able to lead my teaching and incorporating fun and engaging activities with my little ones. This year was an exceptional one since for the first time in our career we started remotely. The little ones have adjusted well, but I sure miss the personal connections. On the bright side, it has opened greater avenues for me, as I am able to put my tech skills into action. I love being able to incorporate tech trends into my educational setting.
Experience Throughout the Program
The Educational Technology Master's Program at UTRGV has been a magnificent opportunity for me. Throughout this time I have been able to extend my network with colleagues and professional learning communities. I have learned so much from working in collaborative groups. I am amazed by the large group of individuals that are goal-driven, knowledgeable, and talented in this program. The courses are fast-paced, but they are very well designed and we have excellent professors to guide us in this journey. Each course I have taken has opened another door with knowledge and opportunity for self-growth. This program has ignited my self-directed path to grow professionally. I have learned the process of educational technology and how to set instructional goals. I have also learned to create multimedia presentations with a variety of tech applications. I am delighted with everything I have learned and have placed it into practice as best as I can.
Over the course of this program, I have gained many skills and expertise. Some of the most valuable components of the Educational Technology Program are from the following courses:
EDTC 6320-Instructional Design Cooperative Project:
This course helped me embrace the elements of instructional design and technology. It also helped me understand the importance of the authentic learning approach in today’s learning environments. This approach helped me provide better input on how to provide real-world relevance and collaboration approaches to our collaborative project. Our team worked collectively on the Google Sites, Google Slides, and Google Docs to develop a client proposal along with a multimedia presentation. We also met occasionally over Zoom to discuss new ideas and progress.
EDTC 6321- Instructional Design Project
In this course, I became more familiar with how to write instructional goals that were specific and measurable. I was able to create an instructional design model and work progressively through the five phases in the ADDIE model. I was also able to fully operate through the analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, and evaluation process to develop the five instructional units for the reusable learning object. This was also the first time I received feedback from a peer evaluation and SME evaluation review. It was interesting to collect feedback on an instructional design unit.
EDTC 6323-Interactive Multimedia Object
Over the process of this course, I learned more about Mayer’s multimedia learning principles. Through this multimedia principle, I learned the importance of creating clear multimedia messages that supported both visual and auditory channels. I was introduced to emerging technologies and Mayer’s cognitive processes in active learning. This course in particular provided the foundation for my learning journey of multimedia. Mayer’s multimedia principles form the foundations of designing effective multimedia instructional designs.
EDTC 6351 Web-Based Multimedia in Instruction
The web-based multimedia course improved my designing methods. I was introduced to learning how to design an infographic on Canvas. I really enjoyed creating an infographic because I felt it highlighted the effectiveness of the multimedia design. I also learned the importance of creating a storyboard and getting feedback before creating the video. With this course, I saw the improvements I have made throughout the process of the grad program. I can say there has been relative growth from when I first started the program.
EDTC 6332 Educational Technology Practicum
This is the capstone course to this program. I am beyond grateful for the opportunities I have had in creating and developing web-based projects and the collaboration network we have developed over the progress of this Ed Tech Program. Within this practicum, I was given the opportunity to design and develop a final web-based instructional training on Google Sites. This interface is accessible through different electronic devices which makes it a great platform to use for learners. My district is a Google for Education district so utilizing Google Platforms has been very helpful for my learners. I also capitalized on the use of these platforms by creating blended learning for the classroom instructional unit. The draft of this web-based instructional training was reviewed by a small group and a subject matter expert. This feedback helped me improve and make modifications to my web-based instructional training.
Lessons Learned
The Educational Technology Program has helped me grow as a learner! I have learned many different aspects that are essential in our classroom. One of the greatest takeaways that I have had throughout this program is that WE are all multimedia designers! WE all take an important part in making a difference in this digital-rich learning environment. EDTC 6321, EDTC 6351, and EDTC 6332 helped me get a better understanding of the importance of the ADDIE learning principle and process. I have learned that the ADDIE model adds value to the instructional design. With the ADDIE model, I was able to analyze, design, develop, implement and evaluate many of the project-based learning assignments. The following ones are the ones I was able to utilize the ADDIE learning process from beginning to end: the research-based cooperative project, the instructional unit for a specific target audience, the interactive reusable multimedia object, the micro-learning object that addressed a real-world instruction problem, and the web-based instructional training. Other principles that enlightened my learning journey were the student-centered learning approach and the multimedia learning theory. Even though I learned many important theories and principles, the most insightful learning was done through the collaboration of ideas and experiences shared in our professional learning community. The Ed Tech Blog and our discussion forums were filled with great information from my colleagues. I thoroughly enjoyed bouncing back ideas and learning from my colleagues' experiences. Overall, the Ed Tech Program has been a great learning experience. TEAM work makes the DREAM work! Collaboration is key to success! I am ready to continue learning!
Future Goal
This year definitely was life-changing for most of us, and now more than ever I feel the need for technology to be integrated into our classroom and our daily lives. I hope the knowledge I acquire from these sessions and the networking of colleagues will help me grow more as an individual. I feel that as Ed Tech graduates, our obligation is to continue being informed and continue growing professionally. We need to advocate for educational technology, digital citizenship, and multimedia learning. Our curriculum and professional development need to reflect the integration of educational technology.
My personal goal is to obtain a leadership position at my campus or district. I would like to continue to make the push for a more blended learning classroom and share tips with teachers on how to provide more interactive opportunities with technology.