Section 7: New Directions in Instructional Design and Technology

E-learning defines my job title.  I am constantly entwining technology in all its forms into the Media Center and offering staff development for teachers to teach them to do the same within their classrooms.  The flat screen TV scrolls book trailers throughout the day.  QR codes are on each bookshelf to highlight authors or specific titles.  One room in set aside for long distance learning and for students to create broadcasts.  Macs and PC's are available for student use and for teacher instruction.  A 20ft screen with a ceiling mounted data projector, Apple TV, and sound system make instruction and presentation easily seen and heard.  Research using databases, creating digital projects, or accessing Web 2.0 tools for a myriad of reasons are just some uses the computers provide.

iPod carts are readily available for teacher use, and I update them as well as search for education Apps that would benefit our students.  Kindles, Flip Cameras, Easi-Speak Microphones et cetera are my responsibility.  I do not just make them available, but I teach teachers and students to use them.

From my office, I use Camtasia to create instructional videos, book talks, and other enrichment lessons for classes (K-12).  In addition, I maintain the school website and am in the process of redesigning it and redesigning a webpage for the Media Center.

The best answer as to how technology/media will impact my future is to say that it will direct it.  As it changes and grows so will I.  The future of education will look very different than it does now.  The learning environment that most of us knew to be as straight rows, straight backs, and straight instruction   is a museum.  Educators are having a hard time accepting the change, but it is inevitable.  Technology will define how students learn.  Hmmm..... I wonder what's next????

Section 6: Getting an IDT Position and Succeeding at It

I am the District Media Specialist/Instructional Technologist for Mt. Vernon ISD.  I taught secondary English for 17 years, and the last three years of that 17, I felt a new passion flourish in my heart.  I was teaching in Coppell ISD, and I had lots of opportunities to attend staff development for technology and for curriculum related areas.  I found that I LOVED technology, and I did not possess the fear of it that many of my peers did.  So, my principal chose me for special trainings.  In addition, the librarian at Coppell was (is) amazing.  I already held a deep adoration for reading, but she brought authors like Gordon Korman, Darren Shan, Chris Crutcher, Jon Scieska, Ally Carter...  I watched students become intimately connected to the writing/reading process through these visits and through her willingness to share books with teachers to include in our classroom libraries.  An entirely new career came alive to me.  Then, my husband's job changed, and we moved to Mt. Vernon.  I became the Senior AP English teacher.  The library was a museum, and my students had not checked out a book since junior high because they were afraid of owing a fine or because they were afraid of the grumpy lady behind the circulation desk.  My heart broke.  In addition, the technology director and network administrator did not get along, so teachers had antiquated technology, and no one was willing to do anything to change it.  It was a year that turned a warm fire into an erupting volcano.  I enrolled in TAMU's Master program for Library Science and Educational Technology, and I survived a mini-May course with Dr. Espinoza.  An answer to prayer came out of nowhere.  Chapel Hill ISD approached me about becoming the new librarian, and I raced to the opportunity.  That was three years ago, and this Spring I was given a new opportunity.  I could be a change agent for the technology program and for the library program at Mt. Vernon, and I knew the Lord was leading me to be just that.  I spent the entire summer remodeling the high school library into a media center, and I agreed to take an 11 month contract, so the district could hire a new technology director.  So far, Mt. Vernon is headed in a new direction... a direction of progress.  And, I am finishing my Masters degree with this final course.  Yahoooo!

Education is most certainly the field that I choose, and I desire to be better and better and better.  It is impossible to know everything that is new in Technology, but it is vital to be current and skilled.  Sometimes, I have rat race dreams where I am sprinting on a treadmill and getting nowhere because there is so much to know and so little time to be skilled at using it.  I missed several conferences during the ten weeks I was out due to my heart attack, and I feel even more behind.  But, I challenge myself to use an app a week and create at least one video a week that highlights a book or highlights an easy technology tool to incorporate into the classroom.  My aspirations are pretty clear. I was chosen as TLA's Outstanding New Librarian in 2010, and I hope to be named Media Specialist of the year by TCEA.

I belong to TLA and TCEA, and I look forward to the yearly conference for both.  I read TechEdge and School Library Journal faithfully.  Moreover, I follow many technology people and librarians that are innovative in their fields on Twitter.  And furthermore, I consult with Stuart Burt, Technology Director at Community ISD, David Phillips, District Media Specialist/Instructional Technologist at Prairiland ISD, and Sharon Gullett, Library Guru, on a regular basis.  They push me and make me grow as well as encourage me when I feel like I am the only one who sees the needs of today's learners and cares.  TLA and TCEA rejuvenate my passions and provide information for me to take back to the teachers.  I have taken courses on Becoming a Master of Google, Video Making (Camtasia, etc), Storytelling, Gaming and the Library, Webpage Creation.... et cetera.  I always leave with a brain so full that I need at least two days to rest it.

I love what I do, and I want to be great at it.

                                                           

Section 5: Trends and Issues in Various Settings

I have been in education for twenty years, so P-12 Technology Integration continues to force me to grow.  After seventeen years as a secondary English teacher, I chose to start a new venture by becoming a District Media Specialist.  Now, I am the District Media Specialist and Instructional Technologist for Mt. Vernon ISD.  As I read chapter 21, I reflected on the progress I have personally made over the years in attitude, skills, and understanding of technology integration.  I guess the biggest epiphany I have had is that technology should be used for the most difficult concepts, not just to add something fun to a lower level objective, which is, in my opinion, the largest mistake educators make.

Business and industry instructional design teach that data is vital to lead the way in regards to effective production and every level of organization (district to department).  The military exemplifies that the mission holds the most importance. Focus on the initiative!  The red tape (protocol, budgets, timelines, political powers...) can be overwhelming.  Therefore, one must not lose the intensity for the goal (preparing students for a technological world).  Health care shows the benefits of putting money and time toward an intensive professional development training program.  Medical professionals and their employees have much to lose if procedures are not completed correctly (as do educators).  I cannot help but wonder if we approached education with the hunger for the data, the mission, and the intensive training if we could change the future for 21st century learners.  It sounds fluffy and idealistic to some degree, but it is truly the simple answer.  I see the resistance to change, to growth, to technology, to engagement, to challenges.... everyday.  Sometimes I feel like I am the only one with excitement in my heart.  It isn't true, but instructional design and implementing it is difficult in the best of circumstances
because it deals with people.

I enjoyed these chapters and contemplating where I started as an educator, where I have traveled, and the distance ahead.  I believe that leaders of the business world, military, health profession, and education have the answer to our challenges in today's schools, but it takes an unconventional and willing approach to solve them... together, the ultimate example of collaboration.