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Reflecting on Growth: Two Years in the Instructional Technology Education Specialist Program

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Whoa! The last two years have been a blur…. I’ve done so much reading, writing, research, and reflection! This time in the Instructional Technology Education Specialist Program (EdS) at The University of Montevallo (UM) has taught me a lot. In particular, I have put more thought into planning my instruction, reflecting on my practice, integrating technology, considering larger curriculum goals, and learning about the inner workings of educational institutions. When I started this blog at the beginning of my program, I struggled to write these posts and overthought every word I typed. While aspects of my personality still lead me to behave similarly even now, my writing has improved and I feel more confident discussing instructional technology practices. In this final post, I will share three of my favorite artifacts from the OPL record I have kept throughout my EdS program. The OPL record is a collection of items documenting various trainings and professional developments I’ve attended...
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Ensuring Continuity of Instruction in Remote Learning Environments

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The shutdown of schools and businesses due to the pandemic brought a great deal of attention to distance learning. Most of us were concerned about how businesses would continue operations and how schools would continue educating students. Continuity of instruction became a growing concern when we didn’t return to school as quickly as many of us had hoped. When most of us returned to our classrooms, things were staggered and restricted and the entire world of education was shaken. We’ve had to adjust to a new normal, but we learned that instruction can “happen anywhere, with the right tools in place to support administrators, teachers, students, and families” (CoSN, 2023). Although early concerns regarding the continuity of instruction were linked to crisis schooling during the pandemic; there is continued interest, especially in distance learning. “To ensure students can continue learning away from brick and mortar schools, it is essential that educators collaborate to provide best pra...
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Student Engagement in Distance Learning: Facilitating Communication & Implementing Appropriate Learning Strategies

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Student engagement is by far one of the most challenging aspects of instruction and “maintaining student engagement is no small feat” (Peterson-Ahmad, 2021). As educators, our goal is to teach students new information and help them make connections to prior knowledge and experiences. Keeping students interested in our content can be a challenge for classroom teachers whether students are K-12 or adults. The concern for student engagement becomes even more significant when courses are conducted exclusively online. In distance education, students are separated from their instructor which makes engagement difficult to gauge. In Five Ways to Engage Students in an Online Learning Environment , the author states that by “applying some of the same traditional methods for engagement that incorporate the use of free and readily-available technology, engagement in an online learning environment is achievable” (Peterson-Ahmad, 2021).  “Learners who are engaged in learning are actively partici...
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Distance Learning: How Did We Get Here and How Are We Doing?

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Distance learning has been a hot topic in education circles in recent years. While online courses have been around for a while, the COVID 19 pandemic seems to have drawn more attention to this non-traditional track. With all the recent attention, I was surprised to find that “distance learning is not a modern phenomenon. Before the age of computers, this form of education was possible via postal services” (Pregowska et al., 2021, p.20). As far back as the 1800s, eager students were able to connect with instructors through these correspondence courses. “Today, humankind is busier than ever before” and  “classical education no longer suits some of us” (Pregowska et al., 2021, p.1). It seems only logical that the progression of education brings us to an era where distance learning is a widespread and popular option. In Teaching and Learning at a Distance , the authors utilize the Encyclopedia Britannica definition adopted from Schlosser and Simonson to define distance education as an...
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The Importance of Safeguarding Data: How can Leaders Support Cybersecurity?

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As a student in the Instructional Technology EdS program at The University of Montevallo, I am required to collect documentation of my various activities and assignments that connect to the Consortium for School Network (CoSN) Framework . [ “The Consortium for School Network (CoSN) is the premier professional association for school system technology leaders. CoSN provides thought leadership resources, community, best practices and advocacy tools to help edtech leaders succeed in the digital transformation” (CoSn). ] These documents are gathered together in an “OPL Record.” This semester one of the activities I used for my “OPL Record” was a paper I wrote on district technology plans; in particular the importance of information security and safety. My paper was titled Information Security and Safety: Creating a Technology Plan to Safeguard Data , and I connected it to CETL Framework 10A. CETL Framework 10A is “ensure compliance with federal and state laws, board policy, and contracts re...
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Using Twitter to Build Connections and Keep Technology Integration Relevant

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Throughout the somewhat short time, I have been in the Instructional Technology EdS program at The University of Montevallo, I have learned a great deal about technology integration and leadership. An ongoing assignment for each class in the program is to collect documentation of various activities that connect to the Consortium for School Network (CoSN) Framework . [ “The Consortium for School Network (CoSN) is the premier professional association for school system technology leaders. CoSN provides thought leadership resources, community, best practices and advocacy tools to help edtech leaders succeed in the digital transformation” (CoSn). ] These documents are gathered together in an “OPL Record” that I will submit prior to completion of the degree program.  This semester one of the activities I used for my “OPL Record” showed evidence of my professional participation on Twitter. My documentation for this activity included tweets and Twitter chats that demonstrated the Professi...
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