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Comprehensive Exam Chandra L. Carroll Lamar University  ** Comprehensive Exam  ** Evolution is a concept that ushers in growth and transitions from a point of origin to something more complex and sophisticated. It entails a metamorphosis that is never static but ever changing. As I embark on a new career as an educational technology leader, I, along with the demand for a 21st century education that is expanding into a bustling frontier of multimedia learning, have adjusted my commitment to education to meet the new challenges and demands that encompasses such initiatives. As a leader, I am ready to assume the role of an educational technologist who will assist teachers in making ground breaking strides in teaching by equipping them with the skills and technology tools that will transcend education as we know it. I am proud to say that my preparation to do so has come by way of the Master’s degree program of Educational Technology Leadership at Lamar University that has likewise equipped me to evolve into the competent leader I have become. Through this writing, it is my goal to share my educational experiences in this program as well as my future goals on how I plan to help shape the future of education with a redesigned pedagogy, skills, and expertise that are immersed in technology integration. Through a change that I have made for the better, I, now, embark on a glorious, rewarding, challenging, and promising future. ** Position and Leadership Goals  ** ** Position Goals  ** It is my desire to further my career as an emerging technologist in acquiring a position as a technology facilitator at the elementary school level. In this setting, I will best utilize my skills and background experiences to assist teachers in integrating technologies. Williamson and Redish (2009) stressed, “The work of technology facilitators most likely occurs in one-to-one coaching or small group scenarios” (p.24). Considering that my learner orientation is hands-on, this would be my best fit as I mentor and model the benefits of technology at the campus level. Furthermore, my background experience in using technology in the classroom came during my formative years as a first year teacher at a pilot technology elementary school. Through this experience, I fully understand the importance of getting teachers to embrace and adapt technology implementation in the foundational years of our Digital Natives. ** Leadership Goals  ** I, moreover, seek to be the kind of leader that initiates technology use in a non-threatening way. We understand the impediments of technology use due to teachers’ lack of knowledge, skill, and understanding in integrating it into the learning. I want to lead firmly realizing the urgency of now for its use yet gently remembering how challenging this can be for some teachers to adopt. Prensky (2001) reminds us of this significance with this metaphor, “It’s very serious, because the single biggest problem facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language” (p. 3). The need to transform minds of these immigrants to embrace teaching that is engaging and embedded in the curriculum is my driving force. Understanding the need to accommodate such a wide array of diverse digital natives fuels this drive. My personal need to apply my learning in a hands-on way and make a difference in the trenches furthermore propels me. I choose people in my line of work which entails being engaged with them on all fronts. Through directly working with teachers and sometimes students, my initiatives will enhance learning and make a difference ultimately in improving the school I am in. Ultimately, with this experience, I plan to affect change and become a technology leader as a district technology specialist. ** My Educational Technology Vision  ** ** Position Goals and Horizon K-12 Report  ** Forecast: This is a special weather bulletin. On the horizon, ground breaking storms of technology use like never before is coming our way leaving educators no choice but to weather the storm and equip themselves with tools that will engage the learner in unprecedented ways. After reading the // Horizon K-12 Report //, my excitement for technology integration and the path I have chosen only intensified as I received confirmation that there is really no turning back to education as we once knew it. I told of my desire to work in a campus based setting directly involved with the teachers and students and hands-on integration. The report gave six technologies that I am aware of and have used personally such as e-books, mobiles, augmented reality, game based learning, gesture based computing, and learner analytics. Because of these trends, I believe my position as a technology facilitator is solidified. Consequently, the demand for use of these tools in education will create positions that require my expertise, skills, and savviness of use as a facilitator for professional development as schools seek to incorporate them. I began with a metaphor for this initiative as a storm because, like a storm, the hands-on opportunities that technology integration is creating are torrential. I referenced the word, “torrential” through Google and found the definition at Dictionary.com which means “falling rapidly and in copious quantities” (“Torrential,” Dictionary.com). With that in mind, the global community can get ready for the “gusher” as new technologies and opportunities surge. ** Leadership Goals and the Horizon K-12 Report  ** “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” -Old English Proverb People, like horses, will only do what they have a mind to do. With this consideration, I inspire to be the kind of leader that will affect the minds or consciousness of educators I am entrusted with knowing that they may not initially have a mind to embrace these various and new technologies, but I must create one. The // Horizon Report // informed us of the impact of the six aforementioned technologies and stressed how difficult it is to keep up with them because technology is ever evolving. Since this is happening at an overwhelming rate, users are creating their own guides along with the experts causing an abundance of information to sort through over the internet. Hence, leaders will be needed to assist teachers in sorting through this and staying current with changing trends. The report confirmed, “There is a greater need than ever for effective tools and filters for finding, interpreting, organizing, and retrieving the data that is important to us” (Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine, & Haywood, 2011, p.4). As a leader, I would gain more experience in task, TF-IV.A.2, which calls for me to “assist teachers in using technology to improve learning and instruction through evaluation and assessment of artifacts and data” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, p. 90). Although presenting these tools are not enough, as Williamson and Redish (2009) emphasized, I know I must create “desirable uses or best practices” for these tools. This, in turn, will prepare me to lead with foundational skills that consequently propel me to constructing and designing curriculum models as a technology curriculum specialist. ** The Internship of an Emerging Technologist  ** ** A Reflection of Self as an Emerging Technologist  ** ** “ **A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” (Lao-tzu, 605 BC – 531 BC). A step into a glorious future is what I took, the day I chose to enroll in graduate school through Lamar University’s Academic Partnership program and pursue a Master’s degree in Educational Technology Leadership. As I ventured into this extensive course, I enthusiastically embraced my mission. With a foundation in technology, I delighted in knowing that the path I was embarking on would, no doubt, satisfy a dream that I had often envisioned for my ultimate career goals. Prior to moving to Texas, while teaching in Georgia, I devised my mission statement for my online games and activities website. Since technology use was always an integral part of my classroom instruction and being the creative teacher I’ve been, I imagined entrepreneurship in the field of technology and learning. When the door opened for this opportunity, I thought, with a newfound fervor and joy, that this coursework was exactly what was needed to jump start my vision. As I began each course, my goal was to learn as much as I could by accomplishing each task set before me. As my knowledge increased, I discovered that the fascinating world of technology is bustling and teeming with opportunities for enthusiasts like me who aren’t afraid to embrace it. My direction was confirmed with mastery of the knowledge and skills assigned to this course. Many a time, I was challenged by the volume of work the coursework demanded, but I endeavored to pursue and not quit. This assures me that I’m equipped with the fortitude to keep going even in the face of adversity even if it comes from within. Because of my tendency to attend to details, I found myself requesting extensions because I always wanted to put forth my best work. One of the ways I did this was making sure every reading assignment was digested. This contributed to assignments that were reflective of depth of thought and understanding at a critical level. My learning style was assessed and affirmed through inventories that I learn best visually in a hands-on environment. This approach was also reflected in the // Teaching Style // // Inventory // by CORD (2005) that I found impressive. It showed that much of my plots were in Quadrant D which revealed, “Instructor prefers analysis to rote learning and focuses on familiar applications” for learning and “Instructor prefers to have students learn through hands-on activities completed collaboratively” for interaction (CORD, 2005). As a result of this inventory, I was assured that I am the professional that the educational community will benefit from because these approaches foster the constructivist theory which I am a proponent of to integrate technology in the classroom. The constructivist model is revered as an effective way to integrate teaching and learning process (Dede, 1995). All that I have learned about me is consistent with an emerging technologist ready to make an impact in education with the click of a mouse. I purport a new proverb, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with ‘one click’ on the information highway.” ** A Reflection of My Technology and Leadership Skills  ** Throughout the internship, I learned new technology and leadership skills that created an awareness to learn more. Each course exposed me to new layers and levels that suggested I was only a novice in the realm of all there was to learn about my new career. Much of my experiences prepared me for the coursework but weren’t advanced enough considering that they were rudimentary skills. My knowledge increased tremendously as we completed assignments that applied use of advanced technologies. Many of them I was unprepared for; nevertheless, the skills were adopted as a result of well planned courses that built on these experiences. To raise my level of proficiency, I assumed as many field based hours in technology professional development as my schedule could handle. One of the ways we become adept learners is to pursue professional development that will build these skills. Another profound way I did this was simply to use the technology. “One of the most successful is to use the technology to learn how to use the technology…,” declared Solomon and Schrum (Solomon & Schrum, 2007, p. 111). As a leader, I adopted the philosophy that the goals I was trying to reach on my campus were to be introduced with patience and understanding. Many of my collaboration with coworkers required me to guide teachers to technology use and facilitate it through one-to-one demonstrations. An example of this was working with my co-teacher last year and modeling use of the student response systems in our classroom. Mouza affirms that this kind of collaboration is beneficial to teachers building capacity in teaching with technology when she said, “Moreover, teachers need professional development that is hands-on, is directly aligned to curriculum goals, and allows for follow-up support in their classroom” (Mouza, 2002/2003, p. 275). ** A Reflection of My Attitude as an Emerging Technologist  ** An attitude to learn and persevere has centered me throughout the program. Oftentimes, thoughts of giving up challenged me, but I knew that this was not the kind of attitude that determined emerging technologist take who dared to make a difference in a field a work that so desperately needs overhauling. I am grateful that I learned with the support of instructional assistants and professors who have been very patience with my progress in this course. I have, no doubt, adopted the same attitude of grace and recognize that it will be needed when I leading, guiding, mentoring, modeling, designing, influencing, and engaging other prospective technologists who will come behind me. I hope to be as considerate to them as the people who have encouraged me along this journey. To take on such a challenge as influencing teachers to use technology in the classroom will demand a relentless, yet caring attitude. For the most part, my attitude has been cooperative as I have had to adjust and adapt to the new demands placed on me in this course as well as my field based experience. As a result, I am flexible and find it easy to blend my ideals with others for a common good. Through a consensus, I yield to others which, according to Richardson,”incorporates the varied knowledge and experience of all involved” (Richardson, 2005, p. 34). With this attitude, collaboration and working with others as we integrate these engaging technologies will be rewarding for all.  ** References  ** Dede, C. (1995, September-October). // The evolution of constructivist learning environments: Immersion in distributed, virtual worlds //. Educational Technology, 35(5), 46-52. Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2011). // The 2011 horizon // // report //. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Lao-tzu. // The way of lao-tzu //. Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC) Mouza, C. (2002/2003). // Learning to teach with new technology: Implications // // for professional development //. Journal for Research on Technology in   Education, 35(2), 272-89. Prensky, M. (2001). // Digital natives, digital immigrants: Part 1 //. //On the Horizon //, //9//(5), 1-6. Richardson, M. (2005). // Consensus leadership //. Principal Leadership. National Association of Secondary School Principals. 6(4), 32-35   Solomon, G & Schrum, L. (2007). // Web 2.0: new tools, new schools //. International Society for Technology in Education. Williamson, J, & Redish, T. (2009). // ISTE’s technology and leadership standards: what every K- 12 technologist should know and be able to do. // Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.  “Torrential.” // Dictionary.com //. Oakland: IAC Corporation, n.d.   Web. 24 April 2011. 