The Journey: Program of Study
To build a solid grounding in the concepts that guide the graduate education program, I initially completed the required courses EDUC 5002G Research Methods in Education and EDUC 5001G Principles of Learning. One of our first assignments in EDUC5002G was the creation of a concept map, envisioning the framework of our future capstone portfolio. This was not an easy task, being only one month into the first course of ten. At that time (Fall Term 2012), I found myself in the midst of a fairly significant professional project. Leading a shift from a static computer lab model of technology skills training to a one-to-one mobile device model, my responsibilities included deciding on which hardware platform would best suit the needs of the school. Based on mobility, price point, and versatility in application, I pushed for the adoption of tablets over laptops. The school's administrators, who were admittedly conservative in their approaches to technology, were skeptical and pushed for laptops instead. This skepticism towards my preferred choice presented the opportunity to use my research in the MEd program to support why my choice of hardware platform would lead to new modes of student achievement. Looking ahead at courses I could possibly take to support my "tablets good, laptops not-so-good" stance, I envisioned three themes, all supporting the over-arching goal of student achievement: critical digital literacy, digital learning objects, and ongoing professional development.
Unfortunately, the courses that I assumed would support these portfolio themes were mostly unavailable during my time at UOIT. So instead, based on the requirements of the program, availability, and personal interest, I chose courses across three of the four clusters in the MEd program (Education and Digital Technologies, Leadership and Administration, and Curriculum). Surprisingly, when I revisited my original concept map from EDUC 5002G at the commencement of this exit portfolio, it is still viable, though perhaps with some tweaking. For instance, I consider the central concept of Student Achievement with Handheld Devices too narrow to represent my growth in the program as a whole. In addition, Pedagogically Sound Digital Learning Objects would be difficult to reflect upon, as many of the courses I assumed would support this were unavailable. I still see the Digital Literacy and Professional Development themes having a place in the proceeding portfolio reflections.
At this point, before a redesign of my portfolio concept map could be undertaken, I need to review all the courses in my MEd journey. The following course map charts my progress through the Master of Education and Digital Technologies program:
At this point, before a redesign of my portfolio concept map could be undertaken, I need to review all the courses in my MEd journey. The following course map charts my progress through the Master of Education and Digital Technologies program:
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Table 1: Course Map. Course descriptions retreived from http://faculty.uoit.ca/kay/gradfiles/UOIT_CourseOverview_NoOutlines_2015_2016.pdf
Artifacts
An important consideration in the concept map design is choosing appropriate artifacts from each of my courses. Doing a bit of backward design, I needed to see what artifacts should be included in this portfolio to consolidate my reflections. The following chart lists the artifacts I have selected that represent my work within each course. I hoped by organizing my work in this matrix, some consistent themes would present themselves.
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Emerging Themes?
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From the course map and the artifacts associated with each course, there are three emerging themes that I will focus my artifacts and reflections on. The themes are Pedagogy, Leadership, Digital Literacy. In the following section of this portfolio, I will synthesize these three themes within a conceptual model, breaking these themes further into subthemes. From these subthemes, I will choose artifacts from my coursework to expand and reflect on my understandings on the MEd program as a whole.