Azusa Pacific University

Geraldine Castaneda
Cadre 16
Growth
Masters of Arts Assessment
in •Personal
Educational •Professional
Technology •Technical
•Life Long
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During my time as a student of the Online Masters of Arts in Educational Technology

Degree from Azusa Pacific University (APU), I experienced growth personally, professionally,

and technically. I developed a life-long learning goal in the field of educational technology and

have become a better teacher because of my experiences in the program.

Personal Growth
Studying at Azusa Pacific for the last three years has been a tremendous experience. The

journey has been very fulfilling and life changing. I have grown closer to God, become more

disciplined and balanced in my life, and found new friends.

I have grown spiritually and have gotten closer to God than before. I had gone away from

God for quite sometime and had always blamed it on my busy life, but with studying at Azusa

Pacific University (APU) I have rediscovered God. In the classes I took I had to write each week

about a specific spiritual focus and I was able to reflect on myself about my faith. Thinking and

writing about different things was an experience and through this program I learned to discover

who God really is and how He is a part of my life. This allowed me to open up what I had been

buried inside of me and I was able to let out my understanding of what God really means to me.

Going to APU has been a kind of spiritual rescue for me.

I have always been a person who believes in discipline and balance in their lives. I strive

for others to do the same. I stress to my students and athletes how important it is to be disciplined

and have balance in their lives. Going back to school, working full-time, and coaching brought

me to a whole new meaning of discipline and balance in my life. At first, it was very difficult. I

would work on one thing more than the other and my life was unbalanced. My life became very

frustrating and stressful. I learned to spend a little time on each and not try to tackle everything

all at once, little chunks at a time was the solution. Taking on my M.A. in Educational
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Technology was far different from my experience of getting my M.S. in Physical Education. The

educational technology program was so foreign to me as compared to the physical education

program. The discipline I had acquired through my life really became important in this program.

This program required me to go online everyday. I learned to find time in my busy schedule to

get online and check my classes, grading papers and making lesson plans, and coaching

volleyball.

Lastly, finding new friends at APU has been wonderful. We were able to collaborate and

share. I gained a great deal of information my friends and professors.

The Master of Arts in Educational Technology has been very challenging. The most

significant highlight from the program are the friendships I have made. Everyone has been very

supportive and helpful and without them I would not have gotten through the program. Another

highlight would be all of my professors whom were all very helpful and understanding. Going

back to school while having a full-time job and family can be very stressful and all the professors

at APU have been tremendous.

Professional Growth
I have grown professionally as an educator since being in the Educational Technology

program. Learning about using technology in the classroom has given me a new love for

teaching. I have taken hold of the idea that technology is a tool to help facilitate learning and it

should be used to support the learning process and styles of my students. The program has

enabled me to rethink how I teach and how I deliver my lessons. I have grown as a teacher, use

more technology in the classroom, and have adapted technology into learning.

I have always been a teacher who wants to try new things in the classroom. Teaching

math can be very challenging and to find the right learning tools to keep them engaged can be
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difficult. I have found a new life to teaching since being in the program. As an educator we are

considered “life-long learners” and before the program I felt I was a stand-still in my teaching.

My teaching became repetitive and boring, but the technology program as uplifted me and given

me new ideas. I have been able to introduce different types of teaching through technology and

my students have benefited from it.

I have always seen a purpose for technology in the classroom and have always wanted to

integrate it into my teaching as a delivery and as a learning tool, but I was always overwhelmed

with all its possibilities that I felt I did not have time to do you properly without losing valuable

teaching time. The Educational Technology program has been able to help me with using

technology as a learning tool. My students, who have internet access at home, have been able to

explore most of the resource tools I have given on web 2.0. Most of my students have found the

technology helpful and continue to used it. My students frequently ask me questions on other

resources they can use that will be helpful in math. It is nice to see them enjoying the technology

and using it for education and not just for social networking. I also use instructional models to

organize my lessons. According to Shelly, Gunter, and Gunter (2010) “when using and

integrating technology, an instructional model and the planning take on a more important role.

Which technology you use is not the critical issue; what is important is that you integrate the

technology effectively and the technology is appropriate to the learning objectives.I continue to

revise, write, and develop my lessons using technology” (p. 344). I also continue to deliver my

lessons using technology with the instructional model in mind. My students have become more

engaged when I use technology. They may not fully understand the math behind it, but they seem

interested and that keeps me uplifted to continue to use technology in the classroom.
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Finally, my students have been learning through the technology I use and present to them

in the classroom. I get more feedback from my students and get more questions asked in class

than before. I have to remember that our students are different from us and how they learn now.

What suits me does not work for many of students because according to Prensky (2001), “they

spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players,

video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age” (para.11). Therefore, I

have made the classroom more student-centered by using technology and have placed them at the

fore-front of my instruction. My students have been discovering learning for themselves and hold

ownership to their learning. It has been very rewarding to watch them mature in their learning

with the use of technology. I have stepped back from the traditional methods of teaching I have

been doing for many years and have been able to experiment with idea of the facilitator of

learning and allowing my students to find out ideas, concepts, and theories on their own. Having

my students learn the process of self-discovery has been very enlightening and can see my

student have invested in their own education.

I am a different teacher now than I was before since being this program. I have been

willing to use technology and see what is available to not only gain student interest, but to allow

students to begin discovering ideas for themselves. My classroom has become more involved and

more interesting through the use of technology

The highlights in my learning experience has been using Adobe Acrobat, Google Docs,

developing a website, developing an online lesson, and looking at my districts technology plan.

Each one of these have been useful for me in developing lesson plans and giving me ideas of

what I am going to do next school year. Looking at the district technology plan has shown me
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where my district is at and where it is going in terms of technology. There is no more wondering

why things are not happening, everything happens in its timeframe.

Developing my own website has been the greatest impact on my career because I can

now use it to develop a better website for my students. As I developed my Global Learning

Project I discovered how I can use this to help my students and engage them more with

technology. Students are learning differently than the traditions of how school was taught and

this program has made a significant impact on my career. I am now able to use 21st century

learning with my students and feel confident that it is being delivered correctly and the students

are still learning.

Engaging students today is very important to me, especially since math is not everyone’s

favorite subject. Using technology in the classroom has helped me engage students more in

learning. I also discovered there is more math out there using technology and are very helpful,

which has also impacted me professionally.

Technical Growth
I have always had some confidence with my technology skills. I knew how to navigate

around a computer, download software, use applications, and troubleshoot some of my problems.

However, I was using the same tools over and over again and modifying as I went along. I

thought I was doing enough with technology. Since the program, I have become more

technologically proficient and better skilled in my use of various technologies as an educator.

I have grown technically as a person. I can research more effectively using the tools of

web 2.0. I can maneuver around with confidence and it has allowed me to be a better teacher and

help my students to be more active learners. Websites, blogs, wikis, and podcasts are a few tools

I was introduced to in this program that have helped me create better lessons and student use.
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I am better skilled with various technology tools. I frequently use Google Docs with my

colleagues and personally. Using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) has been very useful in my

school with the math department. I have found FTP’s to be very useful for our whole department

and has helped with sharing files with each other. Having more knowledge all the various

technology tools has allowed me to vary my instructional methods and gain student interest.

As I finish the Educational Technology program at Azusa, I have been more comfortable

in my technology skills, am able to perform more tasks now than before, and have branched out

beyond basic technology tools of the past. I am technologically proficient and anticipate more

growth in the future.

Life Long Learning Plan

Even though I am finishing my Master of Arts in Education Technology I will continue

to develop as an educator in the world of technology. Technology will continue to grow and

eventually become mainstreamed into the classroom I will be able to teach my colleagues how to

use the different applications.

I have plans to place the math department at the fore-front of technology at my school

and eventually bring in the rest of the departments. I will share all my experience in the

upcoming “math tech day” at school and teach new ideas to my colleagues. I look forward to

sharing everything that I have learned with them. I also, look forward at continuing to discover

educational technology tools and use them in the classroom.

Lastly, I want to keep connected with the other members of cadre 16 and my professors

for personal support and technology growth. We as a cadre helped learn and discover technology

together and I have made great friends with them. My professors in the program have been very
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helpful, encouraging, and always finding ways to help me. I am forever grateful for them and my

cadremates.

As I close this chapter of my educational technology journey I can now open a new

chapter where I will continue to explore and implement new technologies in the classroom. I am

excited for the next journey of educational technology at my school, in my lessons, and for my

students.

Conclusion
I started my journey to get my M.A. in Educational Technology and I can confidently

envision my future with confidence in the area of technology in the classroom. Through the

teachings, readings, discussions, and hands-on assignments, I have become a better educator for

the student whom I teach. Through all my experiences in the program I have become a

technology expert in my department and at school.

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References
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), October 2001,

Lincoln, NE: MCB University Press.

Shelly, G.B., Gunter, G. A. & Gunter, R. E. (2010). Teachers discovering computers: Integrating

technology and digital media in the classroom. (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Course

Technology.
 HISTORY OF COURSEWORK
Course Information
EDTC 511 – Spring I 2010
Foundations in Educational Technology
Professor Bacer
EDTC 517 – Spring II 2010
Telecommunications
Professor Bruzzese
EDTC 527 – Spring II 2010
Special Topics
Professor Bettger
EDTC 518 – Summer II 2010
Global Learning/Cross-Cultural
Classrooms
Professor Bacer
EDTC 524 – Summer II 2010
Instructional Design/Development
Professor Silva
EDTC 523 – Fall I 2010
Instructional Apps of Hypermedia
Professor Silva
EDTC 515 – Fall II 2010
Emerging Trends
Professor Brown
EDTC 520 – Fall II, 2010
Applications of Tech Supported
Professor Silver
EDTC 572 – Spring I 2011
Educational Psychology
Professor Brown
EDTC 526 – Spring I 2011
Practicum
Professor Bacer
Key Learnings
• Learning Adobe Acrobat
• Using Tapped In for the first time
• Putting a webpage together
• Using the google applications
• Learning and using FTP’s
• Integrating technology into our classrooms
• Finding and sharing websites useful for educators
• Developing Global Learning Project
• Learning about Global Learning Projects
• Writing a backwards design lesson plan
• Writing a storyboard
• ASSURE model
• Ehtics of Digital learning
• Putting together a website for my Global Learning
Project
• Putting together a mini online lesson
• Using Moodle
• Looking at the district technology plan
• Making an implementation plan for our school
• All the discussions
• Spiritual focus
• Growth assessment
• Putting a website together