Professional Development Statement
As a doctoral student in the Learning, Design, and Technology program, I am extremely interested in studying online professional development for teachers in K-12 and higher education. I would like to become an expert in the essential strategies to implement virtual professional development in a way that will benefit the participants and ensure a positive and productive learning experience. In this pursuit, I want to study adult education, work force education, and instructional design, specifically for online courses. During my first year, I have been able to participate in activities related to course design and have begun to work on a grant with my advisor that would develop an online professional development curriculum for school library media specialists. This will be a wonderful first step in reaching my research and educational goals.
Goals
At the completion of my doctoral program, I expect to accomplish the following goals:
- Learn how instructional design and adult learning can intersect to create meaningful online professional development experiences for teachers in K-12 and higher education
- Participate in research and development about online education design and delivery
- Review the literature and learn the best research methods for my area of interest
- Publish at least one article about professional development in an online environment
- Design and develop a usable online professional development course for K-12 teachers in the area of technology integration
Research & Service
Conference Presentations
SITE
I presented a poster with Beth Pitman related to our work redesigning the instructional technology certificate, masters, and specialists program. The presentation outlined the change in the program to put more emphasis on pedagogy and theory in practice with the use of technology integration.
AECT
I submitted a presentation proposal with Dr. Kopcha Beth Pitman about the changing needs for school library media specialist in K-12 education. The proposal was accepted. The presentation will discuss the needs assessment done by the LDT department and how the department responded to it for their SLM program.
AECT
Dr. Nancy Knapp and I submitted a proposal about our work with online professional development with school library media specialists in relation to the Teacher Quality Grant. The presentation will discuss the creation, implementation, participation, and response to the online course.
GAETC
I submitted a proposal with Beth Pitman to present on the changing job of the media specialist and how virtual tools can extend and enhance collaboration with classroom teachers.
GAETC
I submitted a proposal with Dr. Kopcha and Beth Pitman to present the changes made to the instructional technology certificate, masters, and specialists programs.
Projects
LDT Instructional Technology Certificate, Masters, and Specialist Program Redesign:
I worked with T.J. Kopcha, Beth Pitman, and LDT faculty to look at the current program and redesign it with K-12 teachers in mind. The new program will focus on pedagogy and theory in practice and will be taught completely online. We began by marketing the new program, then course redesign based on the new vision, and finally PSC alignment.
Teacher Quality Grant for Online Course for Georgia School Library Media Specialist:
Dr. Nancy Knapp invited me to participate in her Teacher Quality Grant in which we will develop and deliver an online professional development experience for school library media specialists across the state of Georgia. The course will focus on emphasizing literacy in the media center.
Teaching & Grading
Curriculum Development
SITE
I presented a poster with Beth Pitman related to our work redesigning the instructional technology certificate, masters, and specialists program. The presentation outlined the change in the program to put more emphasis on pedagogy and theory in practice with the use of technology integration.
AECT
I submitted a presentation proposal with Dr. Kopcha Beth Pitman about the changing needs for school library media specialist in K-12 education. The proposal was accepted. The presentation will discuss the needs assessment done by the LDT department and how the department responded to it for their SLM program.
AECT
Dr. Nancy Knapp and I submitted a proposal about our work with online professional development with school library media specialists in relation to the Teacher Quality Grant. The presentation will discuss the creation, implementation, participation, and response to the online course.
GAETC
I submitted a proposal with Beth Pitman to present on the changing job of the media specialist and how virtual tools can extend and enhance collaboration with classroom teachers.
GAETC
I submitted a proposal with Dr. Kopcha and Beth Pitman to present the changes made to the instructional technology certificate, masters, and specialists programs.
Projects
LDT Instructional Technology Certificate, Masters, and Specialist Program Redesign:
I worked with T.J. Kopcha, Beth Pitman, and LDT faculty to look at the current program and redesign it with K-12 teachers in mind. The new program will focus on pedagogy and theory in practice and will be taught completely online. We began by marketing the new program, then course redesign based on the new vision, and finally PSC alignment.
Teacher Quality Grant for Online Course for Georgia School Library Media Specialist:
Dr. Nancy Knapp invited me to participate in her Teacher Quality Grant in which we will develop and deliver an online professional development experience for school library media specialists across the state of Georgia. The course will focus on emphasizing literacy in the media center.
Teaching & Grading
- EDIT 6330: As a GA for Dr. Nancy Knapp, I worked with her to grade SLM student book reviews.
- As an adjunct instructor for Brenau University, I taught Instructional Technology and Computer Science courses to undergraduate students through Canvas (an LMS) in a completely online setting.
Curriculum Development
- I worked with Lincoln Learning Solutions to create ELA curriculum for their LMS. I also worked to insert media into existing learning objects and edit them for accuracy.
- I worked with the media specialist at East Jackson Comprehensive High School to plan professional development to introduce teachers to Google Apps for Education.
- I worked with Lincoln Learning Solutions to create Interactive Learning Objects for online curriculum with Adobe Captivate.