UMUC EDTC 670

Teaching
and
Leading
beyond
Boundaries
Final Reflective essay

Jasmine Pope

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Introduction
To think that I started this journey of obtaining my Masters degree in
Instruction Technology about a year ago is insane to me. I have watched
myself grow in so many ways. Looking as far back as to the years of 20062010 when I completed my Bachelor of Arts degree in theater arts and my
Bachelor of Science degree in telecommunications I have never been more
proud of myself until this very moment as I articulate the words for this
essay. When I made the decision to go back to school four years after my
undergrad graduation I had no clue what I wanted to do let lone what I
wanted to study. I always knew I had a passion for children, a passion for
education but was fixated on my passion for television productions. I came
up with a crazy idea in my head that I wanted to learn how to integrate my
productions background into the classroom. Although this made no sense to
me I did some research on how to enhance the learning experience for those
students who find school to be a challenge and are not as interested as most.
The light bulb came on and TECHNOLOGY popped in my head. What child
these days are not hooked to their tablets, computers and other devices?
The answer is slim to none, in some way shape or form students are exposed
to technology. So I asked myself what can be done. I stumbled across UMUC
and took a look at their graduate programs available. And discovered the
Instructional Technology program was being offered and from my own census
and research I decided that this was the path for me. Mind you I have not yet
become a teacher until this final semester of my academic journey so it has

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been very interesting to see where I have started to where I will end up. But
most importantly how I can use the skills and practices that I have learned
through this journey. To better understand where I have started and where
we are headed, I take a walk back down memory lane.
Conceptual Framework
The University of Maryland University College Masters of
Education Integration of Technology k-12 program is based off of a
conceptual framework in which you need to understand to understand the
journey you are to embark. Its primary focus is to shape and mold educators
to be the best technology leader, teacher and model as possible with in their
profession. The course work is designed to make students understand the
practice, citizenship, tools and globalization of the use of technology in the
classroom to enhance the learning experience. The journey consisted of 12
courses of study all with a different purpose, approach and model of
instructional technology integration for k-12 schools. The statement I know
that all students can learn at higher levels, (Conceptual Framework) speaks
volumes when evaluating yourself if you want to pursue your passion for
teaching. All educators should believe in their students and should push
them to higher levels. On the outer layers of the circle we as educators will
be able to teach for learning, develop skills in instructional leadership,
integrate technology and review digital citizenship practice, teach at local
national and global levels, become creative, innovative and adapt to our
learning environments. All these skills are what make us students the

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educators we are today through these education programs provided through

UMUC. All of these skills were properly implemented in each and every
course taken during matriculation.
Course Journey
In the beginning of this process we used Web Tyco as the shell for our
courses and since we no longer have access to those courses I will try my
best to reflect upon those courses to the best of my knowledge. Although I
did save the core work to my computer I have to sort through and remember
what assignments went with which course. Which is part of the process in
the journey trying to be as organized as possible. I will review the courses
that I felt were the most beneficial and really pushed me to grow the most.
EDTC 600 Foundations of Technology in Teaching and Learning
This was the introductory course to this journey. Along the way
we learned what the basic guiding principles would be for the rest of our
matriculation. It is kind of hard to remember all of what we did in the course
but I remember it being that defining moment of will I be able to handle an
online course and career. It took a lot to adjust to and had to constantly
remind myself that I needed to check in daily and keep up with the pace of
the course. What I did like about this course was the fact that it was primarily
discussion board style. The major assignments were basic and simple.
EDTC 610 Technology in K-12 Education: Synchronous,
Asynchronous and multimedia Technologies

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This course was the first course in which we really started to integrate
technology into our own. Since I was not yet a teacher I gained a lot of
insight from other teachers and designed my own hypothetical classroom
that got me through the course. I did make sure the data and would often
reach out to other teachers that I knew from my undergrad program. They
allowed me to sit in and observe their classes and implement some of the
lesson plans I have created.

EDTC 630 Administration of Technology Initiatives: Planning, Budgeting, and

Evaluation

This course is where we were introduced to the logistics of technology

integration. We had to develop a plan for implementation into a school. We
developed a network plan for a developing schools computer lab. We had to
accommodate 30 students at a time in the lab. We had a budget to abide by
which included the cost of training, equipment and the design of the
network. I did not realize how much goes into technology integration and
how expensive this can be. The complete presentation is below.
NETWORK+ASSIGNMENT (Autosaved).docx.pptx
EDTC 645 Global Networking
This course by far may have been the hardest course for me through
my journey. Not because of the content but because of the amount of work

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that was given with very minimal assistance. However I did gain much
appreciation for globalization and the expansion of technology used word
wide to advance education. The part of this course I enjoyed the most was
connecting with two education professionals in Cambodia. To learn more
about their culture, educational system and practice was very inspiring. We
had to develop a case study on a country of our choice. We used global
networking to reach out to a professional and gain insight on their education
and technology system with in their country. This experience has helped me
gain insight on other education systems and how globalization can help
shape and mold our students to explore other cultures and become well
rounded model citizens. I have become more interested in how other
experience I have made an improvement in personal networking I began to
become more interested in the a working and personal relationship with the
two professionals I connected with. We communicate primarily through
Facebook and I am glad they were able to help me out. A link to the
presentation is below Cambodia Presentation EDTC645 J.POPE.pptx.
EDTC 650 Teaching and Learning in K-12 Virtual schools
This course to me was one of the courses that changed my mind about
online schooling. I found that in the beginning of this journey I was more of a
traditionalist where I didnt want to see schools loose to technology. Once we
began research on virtual schools and the endless possibilities of virtual
schooling my mind changed tremendously. Coming up being an
internationally ranked athlete I could have benefited from a virtual school

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program. Since I always traveled and missed a lot of school these types of
programs could have been the best solution for me as a student instead of
self-teaching while away. Virtual schooling offers individualized learning
practice where students can get the necessary attention and structure
needed to be successful. In this course we explored virtual schools and were
asked to be a consultant to our school district and propose the idea of a
virtual schooling program in our district. An example of this project is
provided. However I no longer have access to the screen casted presentation
of this project. Virtual Schooling.pptx.
EDTC 670 Capstone Project
As we approach the end of the semester I can honestly say I am proud
of all the hard work and efforts put in to get to this point. For me this was the
most exciting course for me because I was finally able to apply and
implement all the skills I have learned to my own classroom. Although my
students are young I have made major impact in their education by
implementing technology to the best of my ability and allowances so far. This
course finally opened the door for me to implement some of the skills
learned is the most rewarding part of this entire experience.
Conclusion
As you can see this journey was not taken lightly there were so many
things to explore about technology and education. Through this journey I
would now consider me somewhat of an expert in the process of integrating

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technology into education. Teaching and leading without boundaries literally

has no limit as long as there are advancements in technology. With these
tools and advancements the world of education has and will be changed
forever. Teachers will be able to teach abroad and link students with other
students in foreign countries. They can form personal and professional
relationships with people all over the world. Technology enhances the
learning experience because it allows students to explore content in many
different levels. According to the conceptual framework all these courses
have modeled students such as myself to become leaders in technology for
education. We have been able to explore exactly what it takes to be
successful in it. I will be able to bring fourth many different tools that have
been explored to the classroom. Web 2.0 tools and devices are crucial to
education at all levels of education from Pre-K to high school. Students can
improve on other skills needed for education with the help of technology.
During my first year of teaching thus far I have properly introduced my
preschool class to technology and have watched them grow exponentially. I
have introduced applications for learning for different subjects such as
colors, shapes, letters etc. These tools have been helpful when trying to
develop recognition skills. Technology makes teaching beyond boundaries
possible.
References

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University of Maryland University College. (2011). Conceptual framework: Teaching and leading beyond boundaries.

University of Maryland University College. (2014-2015). MEd in Instructional Technology: Program objectives.