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25 July 2015

Dear Educational Technology Faculty,

Introduction

Hello, my name is Gustavo Garza, I am so grateful with the opportunities life has given me. I am very grateful for what education has done for me. Much like other Hispanics living in the Rio Grande Valley, my life start with siblings being raised by a single parent. My mother was an immigrant of Mexico struggling to support and praying to provide her family a piece of the American dream. My mother does not have an education past the fourth grade. Old Mexico (late 1800s), Hispanic families would make ends meet from the back breaking, physical work of each family member no matter what the age. My mother was pulled out of school at a very early age. Education was considered a fools dream, a dream achievable only by the rich.

I owe my successes first and foremost to my mother, her ability to raise five children in a foreign country with no money, no education and no immediate family support. Wow! 

Education, Hard work, and dedication were words I recall hearing as I grew up. I recall those steaming hot migrating farm-working years, my mother would ask us, “how do you like this work?” this will be your future if you do not finish school, (Jr. and High School) she would say.

Education

I am here to say that, yes! Education is the best think a person can do for themselves. I recall struggling with dead end jobs before starting my career in the education field. My education path started in 1990, ten years after high school. Unsure of myself, I convinced a cousin to begin a new career with me. I graduated from Texas State Technical College with an associate in Computer Maintenance in 1992. I was very proud of my accomplishment since I was the first in my family to have attended a college and had received a college degree. After seven years of experience, I was given an opportunity to become an educator for the Electronic and Computer Maintenance department for what is now South Texas College (STC). After involved in the education field, I decided my studies were not over, I decided to complete my undergraduate studies at STC. I pursued a bachelors in Computer and Information Technology, this seem to be the extent of my education, I assumed my education studies were complete since there is no higher level of education in my chosen career. This seemed to be short lived when a couple of my colleagues and I yearned a higher level of education.  Our sights were placed on the Masters of Education in Information Technology at University of Texas in Brownsville. This has been the best accomplishment up-to-date. I am a poster child for those that say it is too late for me or I am too old or I work a full time job. Take if from this grandfather that works longer than forty hours a week, it is never too late, Fight for what you deserve. 

Undergraduate Experiences

Reflecting back before I started my undergraduate studies, I started the master’s in Education with two other colleagues at STC. This gave me some comfort, a sense of reassurance, someone will be there if I struggle. My first class was EDTC-6320 Instructional Technology, it sounded like we would be learning about technology, right up my alley. Imagine my thoughts when I found out there was more to this class then working with computers. Straight out of the gate I felt like a fish out of water. My Instructor was Dr. Mike Sullivan. The course was to enlighten us on subjects of designing a course that asks who is your audience? Know the settings of your design, know the environment for the learning that will take place. Huh? I felt confused, lost and intimidated by the subject, my so call “fall back group” felt equally confused. The course focused on techniques and technologies used in past, present and concepts of future tools that could be used to educate people. Dr. Sullivan challenged us to identify techniques and concepts that can aid in delivering a lesson to learners. After my initial semester, thought begin to surface, is this what I want as a major? Am I cut out for this, do I have what it takes to become an instructional designer? Maybe a masters is beyond the scope of my intellect?

After the initial shock of this new degree and the fall off of my colleagues, I dared to venture my studies alone. By this time I had four classes under my belt. I now felt determined and hopeful. My strategy for completing the undergraduate study became more of a must have. With my new determination, I changed the amount of classes I would take per semester, I attempted to take two classes a semester. Unsure of the success, I felt more at ease and I wanted to prove to myself that I could achieve this next level of education.

The courses EDTC-6321 instructional Design and EDTC-6325 Educational Communication have given me the ability to enhance my teaching techniques. The instructor for the EDTC-6324 was Dr. Sam Pan while the EDTC-6325 was instructed by Dr. Joseph Corbeil. The EDTC-6321 course was developed to challenge the student independently and as a group. The subject matter was to create effective instruction by creating five Instructional Units (IU). I had never created an IU plan, as usual this semester would be challenging, not only was I going to create IU plans, EDTC-6325 would require the class to create an e-learning project. The experience with both classes, was challenging but very satisfying and rewarding. I learned much, the ability to develop an IU plan with no prior experience was great. I understand the importance of knowing your audience and styles of learning. The ability to understand the learner’s abilities, their motivation, and the learning styles are all crucial for a successful instruction.

Lessons Learned

The class design and there goals have made me more aware of the importance in learning and the importance of teaching with the right tools. Learning and teaching go hand in hand, if the material is not deemed suitable or the method of delivery is not refined, there will exist a gap in the cognitive learning of a student. I have learned that having structure and goals are essential for the success of any design.

The courses taken here at the University of Texas Brownsville have giving me an insight of what an instructional designer must account for. During my studies, I was introduced to two instructional designs, the ADDIE and the Dick and Carey design. I have learned that researching the intended audience is crucial to the methods of your design and to connect with the learner at level they can comprehend.

I have learned to follow the ADDIE model which I intend to use in my classroom. The model is as follows, Analyze - Research the need to close the gap between the lack of results and the lack of knowledge to complete a task. Research the audience, what is there knowledge? Where are they from? Research what and how the instructional gap needs to be resolved?

Once your research is complete, the Design part is next, the methods of how you will present your content. Will a standard general instruction be suffix or will individual instruction be required. Will you need to divide the development into sections? What are the areas you need to target? What will be the measurement for the completion?

Follow the design with the Development, what type of content will be delivered, will a software program be required will the training be given online? Is instruction required? How is the instruction going to be delivered? What is the best method of delivery? Using web 2.0 tools are items that can be used to enhance instruction. The courses taken allowed me to use tools I did not know existed. I have learned how to use tools such as Softchalk, SpiceNodes, Camtasia, Captivate, Flash CS6, Wordpress, Weebly, Wikis and the list goes on and on.

Following the development with the Implementation. Use the products that have been developed, Will group sessions be required? Break up boring monologue lectures with activities. Allow the learner to be encaged with the lessons.

The final step is the Evaluation stage. Be reachable, allow for criticism and allow creativity to happen by receiving feedback from all that are involved. I have learned that feedback provides an important aspect of instruction. Formative and Summative evaluation plays a key role in identifying the effectiveness of the strategies and styles a learner needs to provide success. I have learned that methods of delivery should be researched and should be evaluated constantly.

What I have learned as I proceeded with my studies is to never give up. You will need to work hard and long but the ultimate goal is to learn. Reflect on your past experiences allow for growth. Allow the reflections you have written to guide you and expand your horizons.    

Future Goals

I have gained experience in filling in the learning gap that could exist in a classroom. I have become more aware of learning techniques that have helped me in my classroom. I am applying what I learned in my classroom for example, I open my courses with a class discussion and assessment. I provide a discussion asking to present themselves to the class. I assess my students experience and knowledge of the subject. I have added more class and group projects. I am using a mixed form of blended and flipped class instruction.

Thanks to the knowledge gained, I now think of the styles and methods to use to deliver the material I cover in my college. I will begin enhancing my lectures with multimedia presentations, I have used Camtasia and movie maker to create better presentation. I have created presentations that evaluate the learners as they discover new content by placing questions into my presentations. I have used rubrics to assess my students, I have modified lessons to include flipped learning, and I have substitute quizzes and exams with projects that require research and development. I will also require students to create an e-portfolio and reflect on weekly activities.

I have learned through the group projects that a student builds extra ordinary products when they are able to collaboration and share ideas with their peers. A group project gives the student personal growth and allows them to see aspects through the eyes of others. The learning that takes place when they are able to work together toward the same goal is paramount. I am creating project that challenge the learners cognitive thinking.

I intend on using more Web 2.0 tools in my courses. I have convinced my department to purchase a license of Captivate. I intend to use this program to create interactive presentations. I have also recently created an account with an education license of Softchalk my college uses.

I am very excited in starting multiple projects at once for my classes. I know the time and effort it takes to see a project through and now that I have graduated with my Masters, I anticipate having more time for projects that will benefit our students.

Last but not least, I would like to thank all the professors and assistant professors that had a part in my undergraduate education. I truly thank each and everyone that had the patients and understanding towards my needs and the knowledge shared to make my studies a great learning experience.

Sincerely,

Gustavo Garza