JARED WOHL

CEP 810: Teaching for Understanding with Technology

Instructors: Nicole Zumpano & Mary Weaver | Fall 2017

Serving as my introduction to the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program – and the first of three required courses in completing my Graduate Certificate in Educational Technology – this course provided me with an overview of foundational topics essential for the MAET course of study. The course highlighted theories of learning and understanding, essential mindsets for teaching technology and creative uses of technologies for learning. Additionally, the course emphasized the importance of maintaining a growth mindset and building my professional learning network (PLN) to continuously improve my professional practice. Most notably, the course introduced TPACK (the intersection of technology, pedagogy and content knowledge), a framework for optimal technology integration in teaching, which has consistently resurfaced throughout my graduate coursework. Throughout the course, my knowledge and technology integration skills were developed, leaving me equipped to use a wider range of technologies in my work in thoughtful ways.

CEP 811: Adapting Innovative Technologies in Education

Instructor: Melissa White | Fall 2017

Building on coursework from CEP 810, and serving as the second of three required courses in completing my Graduate Certificate in Educational Technology, this course explored maker culture — the notion that individuals are innately creators, rooted in constructivism and personalized learning theory. The primary goals of the course were to create experiences that were Novel, Effective and Whole (NEW, dig deeper into the TPAK theory, apply theories of learning and continue to grow my PLN and professional presence. Throughout the course, I immersed myself in the act of “making” using Makey Makey, an interactive circuit board and invention kit, to explore ways of designing learning experiences rooted in creativity and purposeful design practices. The course culminated with development of a lesson encompassing classroom redesign for optimal learning and an infographic depicting the components of maker education.

CEP 812: Applying Educational Technology to Issues of Practice

Instructors: Alison Keller & Andrew Steinman | Spring 2018

Serving as my final course in the Graduate Certificate in Educational Technology program, CEP 812 encapsulated categorically defining and proposing solutions to systemic problems in education. The course focused on the ways we can use a range of technologies to address teaching and education-related problems. In collaboration with a think tank of peers, and utilizing Warren Berger’s “Why/What If/How” problem solving process as discussed in A More Beautiful Question, I researched and developed a proposal redefining the evolving role of educators. Additionally, I critically examined the impact one’s “info diet” has on their perception of the world and how curiosity can be fostered to enhance classroom learning experiences.

CEP 820: Teaching Students Online

Instructors: Dr. Anne Heintz & Cui Cheng | Spring 2018

With the rise of online education platforms, this course examined various online learning management systems, including their functions, strengths and weaknesses, and various teaching methodologies and how they should be used in the online environment to ensure teaching and learning success. Throughout the course, we explored ways in which educators can bring the world into their classrooms with technology to better meet the educational needs of students across the lifespan. Coursework enabled me to delve into the study of online learning modes (e.g., blended learning, flipped classrooms, etc.), evaluate a multitude of learning management systems, study educational standards for developing online learning experiences, and create my own online learning module. Further, the course provided an opportunity to analyze the relationship between synchronous and asynchronous communication pertaining to learning strategies and investigate both the benefits and drawbacks of online education.

CEP 800: Learning in School and Other Settings

Instructor: Diana Brandon | Summer 2018

Focusing on the relationship between psychology and education, this course explored several major psychological perspectives for appreciating learning that goes on in school and other settings. Coursework offered me the ability to dive deeper into several learning theories, including constructivism, schema theory, situated cognition theory, observational learning theory and behaviorism. As part of the course, I connected theories of learning to my own experiences as a learner inside this course, in other courses, in my job and in other settings. While developing habits is crucial to success in any endeavor, this course provided the opportunity to study and practice Charles Duhigg’s “cue — routine — reward” process as outlined in his book, The Power of Habit. Utilizing key insights from the course, my final project culminated in developing my own personal theory of learning.

CEP 822: Approaches to Educational Research

Instructors: Cui Cheng & Swati Mehta | Summer 2018

This course helped me ascertain knowledge and insights on categories of research studies, research strategies, and methods for conducting research. The course focused on identifying researchable problems in education and developing a research proposal. I selected and explored problem-based learning (PBL) as it relates to my teaching practice, and developed a research review project encompassing my findings. Overall, the course fostered my ability to make informed decisions rooted in empirical research.

CEP 818: Creativity in Teaching and Learning

Instructors: Andrea Zellner & Swati Mehta | Fall 2018

Creativity is often deemed difficult to define, especially given the complex, evolving knowledge ecology we live in. However, creativity is of increasing importance to educators’ professional success and that of their students. This course focused on studying and utilizing proven thinking tools outlined in Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein’s Sparks of Genius: The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World's Most Creative People and exploring a range of questions related to creativity, including: What does it mean to be creative? What does the creative process look like? How can technology help us become more creative teachers and learners? How can we integrate creativity in subject matter learning? How do we assess creativity? Ultimately, the course helped me develop a greater understanding and clearer definition of creativity, while also infusing it in my coursework, including my final project — a synthesis video on creativity.

CEP 816: New Media Literacies for Teaching and Learning Across the Curriculum

Instructors: Bill Marsland & Sarah Galvin | Fall 2018

Respecting today’s influx of digital tools in education, this course assessed the effectiveness and proper integration of new media text and tools in support of student learning. By examining new ways of teaching with technology to improve learning, this course explored how we might best adapt new technologies in teaching practice and transcend limitations of instructional material. Central to the course was the development of new mindsets and habits of mind that permit the affordances of new media to achieve important learning goals. Utilizing visual literacy theory, multimedia learning theory, cognitive load theory and a multitude of new media text and tools, I developed a series of lessons on digital footprints to showcase my learnings.

CEP 815: Technology and Leadership

Instructors: Dr. Michael Lachney & Kyle Shack | Spring 2019

This course explored how new technologies have the potential of changing what and how students learn, as well as teaching, in significant ways. It examines the complex responsibility of managing relationships between technology, teaching and learning. By looking at technology from multiple perspectives, we are assessing its potential benefits and challenges to different audiences. I am obtaining qualitative knowledge on professional development strategies, project management, planning, evaluation, relationship building and leadership styles and characteristics, equipping me with the skills necessary to grow into a technology leader while understanding the ethical and social implications of technology integration.

CEP 807: Proseminar in Educational Technology

Instructors: Dr. Matthew Koehler & Aric Gaunt | Spring 2019

This course served as the Master of Arts in Educational Technology (MAET) program’s final evaluation and enabled me to examine and summarize my graduate studies through the development of an online portfolio. The course provided me with the opportunity to review the work of my classmates and provide peer-feedback on their unfolding portfolios. Additionally, while having the opportunity to present my work in a group setting, I was able to demonstrate my competence in using technology to support teaching and learning.

*Header Photo by Good Free Photos on Unsplash