I am looking forward to starting my learning journey in the Masters of Educational Technology. We began our journey as a cohort on Tuesday September 12th 2023. This process will be one of curiosity and collaboration that will span over 2 years. I feel as though we have already started to establish a wonderful learning community where we are able to learn and support each other along the way. I think the diversity of the group will help us create some interesting and inclusive research studies.

Since graduating from by Bachelor’s degree, I have always had an interest in technology and therefore completed a Certificate in Communication and Informational Technology. As a result, my interests and curiosity blossomed from there. My current jobs, have also been an asset to gaining experience and finding my passion for research. I believe that research is important as it helps us as educators learn and grow, while understanding why things work. It is one thing to teach and it is another to continue to learn, understand and discover new techniques. As a new teacher, I value that I am constantly learning and collaborating.

My work

I am currently teaching part time Gr 1/2 French Immersion, working for the Digital Scholarship Commons and working on the new French Education Program. These three jobs outline some of my key interests I wish to dive into throughout this program. As of right now, if I were to answer the following question I would have two overlapping themes: Generally speaking I am interested in technology and French Immersion.

What education technology issue, topic, or theme are you most interested in?

Below are some more specific examples of my interest related to these larger topics. As of right now, I am most interested in the benefits of digital badging specifically related to French Immersion programming and language acquisition in Higher Education. Feel free to link to some of my personal digital badges here or outlined on my About Me section of this WordPress.

Some other key elements of interests include

  • The benefits of technology related to language support, accessibility and diversity and more generally what are the benefits of technology for French Immersion language learners.

Here is an example of some of the potential of this project based on a new Francopass program at the University of Alberta (I could only find the video in French, so if you are interested feel free to watch with English subtitles).

This idea also goes alongside one of the projects I am currently working on for the Faculty and aligns with a previous article I co-wrote.

See link to an article, I co-wrote with Rich McCue regarding digital badges Makerspace Workshop Badges: Student Perceptions & Uses of Informal Credentialing

Overall throughout this program, I know I will gain new skills and experiences that will help guide my research. I am excited to start this process and eventually share my key findings. Education and Technology is a long term commitment, there is never one method and thus it is a never ending journey that is constantly evolving.