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“Learning never exhausts the mind.”
Leonardo Da Vinci
REFLECTION
My academic and professional journey has consistently held a theme of coming full circle. While my academic pursuits appear disjointed, each academic pathway has circled back and benefited me as I continued my journey.
When I exited high school I pursued a degree in graphic design, studying color theory, typography, and multimedia applications. After completing two years of coursework in one year, I chose to switch majors to professional writing. While I loved and enjoyed art and graphic design, writing had consistently been my creative outlet and my strongest method of communication. In the professional writing program, I studied business writing, essay writing, science writing, and medical writing. These technical writing courses built my writing, research, and critical thinking skills. I became a more confident writer and that has directly impacted my success in the doctorate program. Three years after completing my undergraduate degree, I decided to pursue my graduate degree and enrolled in the library science program at the University of North Texas. My choice of the University of North Texas is another coming full circle moment. I fell in love with this university when I was thirteen and knew I would one day graduate from UNT.
I grew up as a teacher’s kid. My mother taught preschool my whole childhood and into adulthood. I was always drawn to the field. Every pathway I have journeyed down has circled back to education, forming my professional growth and outlook. I began my career as a math and social studies teacher. After taking time off to be home with my family, I returned to the classroom as a special education teacher. The year I returned was the 2019-2020 school year. My experiences that year helped provide direction as to which doctorate program I would apply.
At the time of my search for a doctorate program, the field of education experienced a massive shift in instructional approaches and expectations with the shutdown due to COVID-19. That shift impacted my instructional practices as a special education teacher. On my campus I found myself acting as a technology specialist for my department. I explored the learning management systems used in our district and how to include assistive technology accommodations in digital lessons. While my campus primarily used Canvas, my team and I found SeeSaw to be more effective at providing differentiated learning opportunities. I learned to create interactive digital classrooms using Google Slides and my Bitmoji. Through these experiences, it became apparent that my peers and myself needed to prepare for online and hybrid instruction.
When I applied to the learning technologies program I was working as a special education teacher. During this same time frame, I was also applying for school librarian roles. In August of 2021 not only did I begin my journey as a doctorate student, but I also began my journey as a school librarian. As a school librarian, I have learned more about the importance of all forms of digital literacy and the newly emerging literacy, AI literacy.
My experiences during the pandemic helped shape my interests. At the outset of the program, I was interested in Universal Design for Learning and assistive technology. As I progressed through the program I learned more about how to integrate technology into the classroom, learning theories, multimedia theories, and what technologies exist, my focus began to shift from supporting special education technology inclusion to preparing educators to effectively integrate technology into the classroom. I have continually tapped into my knowledge as a school librarian. For example, during my graduate program, I studied the effect storytelling has on cognitive processes. As a school librarian, I have used the soundscape application Novel Effect to create fuller reading experiences for my students.
Courses like Emerging Technologies, Theory of Media Systems, and Theory of Instructional Technology, have directly contributed to my growth as an information media specialist. While other courses like Scaling Methods, Quantitative Analysis, and Systems Analysis further developed my critical thinking and research skills. Within all of my courses, I have been allowed creative freedom to choose topics that align with my professional and academic goals. Some of the projects that came from my coursework include creating professional developments, addressing the digital divide, utilizing augmented reality applications, and exploring new technologies like artificial intelligence.
When my dissertation topic came into focus it was as if all the pieces clicked into place. All the various pathways I have been on throughout my adult life have led to this one unifying moment. While my initial focus was special education technology integration, I realized that for this to happen, pre-service teacher programs need to be digitally equitable and better prepare pre-service teachers for the technology-rich learning environments they will be working in.
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