Pathways for Professional Educators Fall 2022

PATHWAYS FOR PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS

MALDT GRADUATE WINS PRESTIGIOUS TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Alec Dood recognized by MACUL as 2022’s Innovative Teacher

MALDT graduate Alec Dood embodies creative and innovative uses of educational technology within his classroom. In recognition of this work, he was awarded the 2022 Innovative Teacher Award at the annual statewide MACUL conference on March 17, 2022. Jennifer Parker, Adjunct Faculty, nominated Alec for this award saying, “Alec builds enthusiasm for digital age teaching and learning through his innovative use of Ed Tech that engages students.”

Alec is a middle school English/Language Arts teacher in the Sparta School District as well as young adult fiction author. His book, Resurgence, is available for preorder now. For one class within the MALDT program, Alec chose to create a podcast series in collaboration with a cohort member as an alternative assignment to writing papers. As a part of his capstone experience, Alec created several interactive experiences – including hyperdocs, interactive, studentcentered notebooks, and amazing flashcard decks to name just a few. These interactive lesson designs included an Interactive Fiction Notebook that supported students in developing narrative writing skills using Inklewriter to create text-based, interactive fiction. In addition, he created an interactive Dystopian novel study unit, as well as a business showcase unit that had students partnering with local businesses to develop business history stories and infographics.

Alec credits the MALDT program for helping him grow as an educator stating, “The skills I have built throughout this program have been extraordinary. As a result, I have been able to provide students with a truly innovative technology learning experience, one that allows students to collaborate with local businesses, write meaningful fiction, and display their learning in local bookstores.”

“The skills I have built throughout this program have been extraordinary. As a result, I have been able to provide students with a truly innovative technology learning experience.” —Alec Dood

Listen to Teach Wonder wherever you get your podcasts.

Podcast Connection

Teach Wonder is a learning space that is not limited by distance and scheduling. Hosts Julie Cunningham and Ashley O’Neil meet with guests that are making powerful impacts in learning communities. With three seasons of stories and perspectives, each podcast will have a topic that is relevant to you. Motivate your practice and challenge your perspectives by giving it a listen.

Doctoral Student & Faculty Member Awarded Best Implementation of Digital Curriculum at ISTE 2022

Kate Grunow

and

Dr. Jennifer Parker

Recognized for Work on 21 Things 4 Educators

At the 2022 ISTE conference in June, Kate Grunow, and Dr. Jennifer Parker were awarded the Tech and Learning Innovator Award for Best Implementation of Digital Curriculum for the 21 Things 4 Educators Project. Kate is a graduate of the MALDT program and a doctoral student within the Doctorate in Educational Technology program. Jenn is a three-time Central Michigan graduate and adjunct professor within the MALDT program. In addition, Kate and Jenn are both ISTE certified educators and have brought their understanding of the ISTE technology standards to this project.

The 21 Things project began in 2010 and has grown to include resources for both teachers and students. An updated version of the project, which is based on ongoing educators choices about their professional development, as well as activities that are meaningful, won an award at the 2022 ISTE conference in New Orleans. This reboot was spearheaded by Kate as a part of her MALDT capstone project. For this update, Kate created H5P interactive elements that were embedded into the website, as well as interactive assessments that were added to each section. These design elements have already come into play as educators work through the 21 Things to learn about digital tools, resources, and pedagogy as well as earning SCECH hours. Kate’s favorite element of the site pulls from a database, allowing educators to search by standard or content area. She stated that one focus of the project was making the resources “important, impactful, and free for educators” while allowing for individual choice.

Being able to directly apply the projects from her capstone to her work was one aspect of the MALDT program that Kate particularly appreciated. The program overall, she

felt, was a good fit, especially “for new teachers, it could be super valuable.” Other aspects that she felt were beneficial were the ISTE certification option, “the certification too was a huge component for me. I had already kind of been thrown into the certification program, but I wanted more opportunities to create artifacts from my portfolio. So that was a huge selling point for me”.

Kate’s decision to jump into the doctorate program was also based on understanding more about theory and implementation of frame works to apply to her work. She stated, “The device doesn’t do anything for teaching and learning, like, without the pedagogy without the background, without these opportunities for flexible, professional learning, like 21 things or a master’s degree. It’s really just a 500 dollar pencil and it’s going to sit there without any use.” She is currently working, with Dr. Jenn Parker, on implementing cognitive coaching for school districts in response to the post-pandemic shift in how teachers are using technology within their classrooms.

The 21 Things 4 Educators program has been used by educators and districts across the state for professional development and SCECH hours. Because of the Seal of Alignment both 21 Things and the MALDT have earned, the MALDT now has a certification to credit program in place where educators can submit their SCECH hours or badge for completion of 21 things and be awarded six credits at no cost. Certification for earning a Google Level 2 Educator or Microsoft advanced educator can also be submitted for three credits.

Learn more about 21 Things 4 Educators

Two Master of Arts Degrees

That Result in Either Teacher Certification or an Endorsement

Our Master’s in Special Education provides avenues for initial certification in special education in the area of cognitive impairment, as well as initial or additional endorsements for already certified teachers in the areas of autism spectrum disorder, cognitive impairment, or specific learning disability.

Our Master’s in Reading and Literacy prepares students to obtain a Reading Specialist endorsement (BR). We are looking forward to future partnerships with districts that will allow them to expand their teaching workforces and address shortages in the field.

Both of these programs are applicable for the new Grow Your Own Program for School Staff.

Contact CMUedprep@cmich.edu to learn more.

PAYING IT FORWARD BY OPENING DOORS

Learn more about our graduate and online studies at ehs.cmich.edu/tse

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Learning, Design, and Technology

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Reading and Literacy (K-12)

Doctor of Educational Technology (D.E.T.)

Master of Arts in Education (Interdisciplinary)

Master of Arts in Special Education

“We are excited by the new opportunities provided by the State of Michigan that will provide financial support for current and future teachers.

CMU students in teacher preparation programs can take advantage of the Michigan Future Educator Fellowship and/or the Michigan Future Educator

Student Teacher Stipend. ” — Kathryn Dirkin

Learn more about these programs and apply!

New Pathways in Graduate Teacher and Special Education Programs

New programs, certifications and ways to apply credit

A lot of changes have beed going on in the College of Education and Human Services. This year we merged two of our departments. Special Education and Teacher Education & Professional Development have been combined into the newly titled Teacher and Special Education department. We are excited about all of the new programmatic changes occurring. We are looking forward to launching a graduate certificate in Disability Studies & Community Inclusion. If you would like more information, you can reach out to Dr. Shay Dawson, dawso2s@cmich.edu or Dr. JoDell Heroux, herou1jr@cmich.edu.

In the Fall of 2023, we will be implementing an updated 30-credit hour Reading and Literacy Masters program that is in alignment with state standards for the Reading Specialist endorsement as well as the International Literacy Center standards.

Additionally, two of our graduate programs – the Masters in Learning, Design, and Technology and the Masters in Curriculum and Instruction are now providing opportunities to apply certifications for course credit. If you are a GoogleLevel 2 Certified Educator – you can now apply to get 3 credits of graduate work. Many teachers have also been through the Brazelton Touchpoints Training program at CMU. Now you can apply that certification to our Contemporary Issues area of emphasis in the Masters in Education: Curriculum & Instruction program. Other certifications aligned with our programs include ACEs Training, 21 Things 4 Educators, and Microsoft Advanced Educator.

Please reach out to onlineprograms@cmich.edu for more information about these exciting program changes.

CMU Tech Bites: Motivating the Online Learner Virtual Collaboration

This edition of the Tech Bites newsletter focuses on a problem for many educators working in an online or blended environment-Motivating the Online Learner. The newsletter presents resources tied to four key areas of motivation in online learning that include: relevance, student choice, social presence, and collaboration. Additionally, our newsletters will also highlight the ISTE standards for educators that are relevant to each newsletter topic.

Learn more about ISTE Standards for Educators in the S’More newsletter

Want to dive deeper into virtual collaboration? This edition of Tech Bites provides useful resources, information, tools, and more to support virtual collaboration. Whether you have been teaching online for years or are new to virtual collaboration, you will find the tools, tips, and suggestions specific to synchronous and asynchronous collaboration practical and easy to implement.

Learn more about Virtual Collaboration in the S’More newsletter