home

= =

Home: Introduction to __Fabulous Fractions__ unit for third grade.
10-FAM1.ECOMP.6106.N1017.57904: Designing Curriculum That Integrates Technology * Fall 2010 * Marietta, GA Alison Dunford - Lesley University

Autobiographical Information: I often stop and consider how different my life was before I became an elementary school teacher. To describe this transition as a beautiful metamorphosis could be an understatement. For twelve years I held a coveted position as a financial specialist in the corporate real estate offices of Eastman Kodak Company. This vast corporate culture, with its attending responsibilities (particularly to stakeholders), opportunities and idiosyncrasies rewarded me with knowledge of diplomacy, a commitment to excellence and a prodigious accumulation of technology training. After leaving this environment for a few years to raise my daughter, I determined that returning to the ubiquitous cubical life would not be ideal.

Originally, I imagine, I was supposed to be a teacher. I was sidetracked for a short while in a corporate world. Once my intent to change careers was galvanized, I enrolled at Kennesaw State University (KSU) at the age of forty-one. Kennesaw has an excellent reputation in my community for its teacher-training program. Teachers graduating from KSU are preferred by local schools. This was an important factor in choosing KSU. I strongly desired to become the best possible new teacher for my principal and my students. I discovered that being a student was both a privilege and an incredibly enjoyable experience! One of my personal goals became my own active, ongoing education. Attending graduate school for Lesley University’s Master of Education in Technology in Education is evidence of this. Being a strongly goal-oriented person, my achievements from KSU include graduating summa cum laude. I additionally graduated with honors from KSU, having engaged in a wide breadth of directed study courses, colloquia and honor seminars above and beyond traditional undergraduate requirements. Throughout my experience at KSU, I was nominated for and inducted into two academic honor societies: Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi. An additional and memorable event during my five years at KSU was being selected as the Outstanding Senior in Early and Elementary Childhood Education from KSU’s Bagwell College of Education. This honor included the designation of University Scholar in recognition of outstanding scholarship and notable academic achievements.

I consider the choices I have made in my recent academic history as indicative of my desire to associate with excellence as well as deliver excellence, personally and professionally. My long-term professional goals center on a being an excellent classroom teacher. I am most interested in studying how different technologies impact students at the elementary level. I have already experienced successes in several interesting areas. For example, highly resistant writers have learned to podcast in lieu of traditionally publishing their work with great success. This has given my students self-confidence and accolades that have transferred over to improved their skills as writers. I sincerely believe in the usefulness of applying technology into curriculum and instruction in all areas.

There seems to be no limit on the positive affect of technology in educating students with disabilities. Delivering curriculum in innovative ways to students with special needs is another professional and personal goal. This includes differentiation for all of the exceptional students in my classroom. I am inspired to learn how to utilize and expand upon existing technology to enhance the learning of every student. Technology has become increasingly accessible in elementary schools yet there is still a large divide between those who can and do use it effectively and those who remain tentative. This seems particularly true with teachers. A teacher who possesses excellent technology skills quickly becomes a useful resource to the entire school community. Another aspect of technology in schools is the interesting lack of training that accompanies it. I have observed several instances where hardware is summarily delivered to classrooms and the training that accompanies it is far from sufficient for teachers who are already struggling with poor technology skills. All schools increasingly face challenges with delivering, training and incorporating technology into education, I desire to become a leader with both useful knowledge and transferable skill.

Throughout my life I have endeavored to excel in service to others. My career as a teacher is no exception. Service as a teacher requires excellence in many areas and my niche is helping others through the use of technology. As I enter my third year in the classroom, I am both excited and honored to be a teacher. ||  My vision for effective technology integration in the classroom: Seymour Papert’s (Edutopia.org, http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-overview-video) idea of replacing traditional curriculum (per se) with teaching kids “what they need when they need it” is intriguing and in step with a truly perfect ‘vision’ for my classroom in terms of both Project Based Learning and technology integration. That said, I’m not sure I could hold out for system-wide changes! I would more likely have to go after a job in that type of environment that already exists – where people believe this. As ubiquitous as technology is, my own current level of integration is sadly behind. I seem to spend most of my time teaching or being a Lesley student with not nearly enough time to plan for or develop technology for my classroom in reality. I have great hopes for this to change in May (see goals below), but for now I am firmly stuck in the range of a rather mediocre adoption-adaptation. Fortunately, this is not due to a lack of skill, only time and so will be remedied.

I have many goals for increasing technology integration in my classroom and school. Project-based learning, such as the example from the Edutopia.org overview video ( []  ) is high on my priority list. Science and math immediately come to mind as areas to quickly, enhance, but all content areas have equal potential for my classroom. Even with the higher level training in this area, time remains a problem to date. An additional goal I have is to become more proficient at grant writing to support the heavy financial requirements for equipment such as classroom laptops, software, digital microscopes – it’s an endless list! Putting the technology into the hands of students is key. Finally, additional professional development is a constant requirement and goal. Although I plan to take time off after this Lesley program to implement/utilize all that I have learned, I foresee additional education in my future. ||