Educational Philosophy

In the original format for the Blackboard Certification in the GUIA, there was a 3-hour, in-person guided lecture with an assessment at the end. Student could ask question throughout, but it was very traditional lecture based. Didn't make much sense for a course teaching you to use technology. In the new development, we are using technology throughout the whole orientation, and moving away from a single lecture to a lecture, followed by a semester of continued feedback and a post assessment after their term ended to see if the certification help and how.  The course starts with a survey of students. We inquire about who they are, what they want to learn, what they are teaching. Their answers guide what areas are focused on throughout the training and in the check in meetings.   Throughout the lecture videos of the online element, there are quiz questions that appear to check their reading. Additionally, there are areas throughout each section where they are told to practice in...

I feel that my leadership style has evolved quite a bit since starting this practicum, as well as working through the infrastructures course. I think that I have grown more confident in my abilities during this practicum, and because of this have become far less anxious when situations change rapidly. I am far more agile in my approach to things. I think one strength I have in my leadership style is seeing problems from a variety of perspectives (client, project management, infrastructure, etc.) and synergizing that into a singular solution. I tend approach things from a wholistic, global view. Getting everyone on the same page so that there is the most gain for all stakeholders is something I feel that I am fairly strong at.  One area I need to improve upon is that I often bite off more than I can chew. By approaching problems holistically, I often fine myself stretched too thin. I don't always have the bandwidth to be involved in every single part of the projects I am working on ...

 Oh, Dancing Guy. I had seen this video and others like it many times, but never with this voice over. What a cool way to explain things! I think my journey into being a technology leader has been very similar to Dancing Guy in some way. In my support desk days, I was a lone person looking at our data and trying to identify trends. No one was looking at the SD numbers aside from the sheer number of phone calls, but I knew there was more. So I start playing with the numbers. I started generating stats and creating data visualization for people. Eventually, some people started joining in. "Oh, hey, what if we looked at _____?" and I would look into and we'd review things together, eventually snowballing into a complex set of data reporting and ticketing/knowledge base structures used to make all kinds of inferences and decisions. Something similar happened as an ID where I was more like Dancing Guy's inner monologue. I had faculty think..."Hey...I'd like to use...

 I am not artistically inclined so this particular assignment was a bit of a struggle, but I did my best! Any and all feedback is welcome!

I believe that innovation means looking at the current landscape of you field, asking disruptive questions, and actively seeking answers through action. Not only is it reacting to changes with solutions, but it is taking actions to anticipate needed changes, as well as proactively improve your area of expertise. Innovation requires situational and environmental awareness, creativity in application of new and existing technologies and models, and a willingness to try, fail, then try again.  On the other side of this though, innovation is not using new technology for the novelty of using it, nor is it necessarily invention of new technologies. It is not re-labeling or re-branding processes.  As a technology facilitator, some days our jobs are simply to facilitate- to help the status quo along and keep the ball rolling on existing processes, however, I believe it is the responsibility of technology facilitators to be champions of innovation. In many instances, the technology faci...

Hello! My name is Mila Wagner. I am currently an Instructional Design Specialist at Sam Houston State University, as well as an Instructional Systems Designer with mPact Consulting working with FEMA. With Sam Houston, my primary responsibilities include developing and maintaining online courses for the departments of History and World Languages and Cultures, as well as developing organizations and special project sites. With FEMA, I develop or revise courses for various roles to train people to work different aspects of disaster preparation, rescue and recovery. My previous experience includes supervising the SHSU Online  Support Desk, data analysis work, developing forensic science and law trainings for the DPS, and more.  My educational philosophy is that though a 4-year degree may not be fore everyone, education and learning are. Education does not need to look like a traditional classroom, and learners do not need to look like traditional students. Everyone can learn, sho...