Portfolio

From a very young age I was always interested in technology. Also, I always loved to teach and tell people about the subject. In short, I tried to find a career that would also be a hobby and I’m having a blast doing it. I think that through the use of technology there is potential to teach in new and innovative ways. By being in this program I hope to gain insights into how students learn using technology and to research some new uses that could potentially help students as well as society as a whole. In particular, I want to research the use of fidelity and how experiences in simulations and other methods can benefit education. What follows are details on what I have accomplished attending the Learning, Design, and Technology program and what I want to accomplish in the Ph.D. program.

 

Research

 

While in the the LDT program, I have developed many skills in the development of educational curriculums as well as the use of research techniques such as interviews, and implemented the ADDIE approach in curriculum design. One primary area that I discovered a research interested in doing this work is the concept of case-based learning. Case-based learning in particular has many qualities that I want to add to learning environments by developing tools to make it possible. I have also used concepts of case-based learning in projects developed for my internship at Zax Inc., in which I have developed educational programs for disciplinary action and hiring practices using different case scenarios. Currently, I am working on educational modules on safety which will further implement the use of case-based learning techniques. In addition, I am in the process of refining my conceptual framework on the use of fidelity in medical education.

 

By working on the various development and research projects during the past few years I have further refined my research interest to be about the use of fidelity levels in specific methods of teaching. The conceptual paper will further my research goals and detail  the effective use of fidelity levels in medical diagnosis. I hope that through further research in the area I can better understand and expand on the concepts during the PhD. program. Specifically, the research on the material is a major area in which I wish to expand upon in the future by implementing the concepts of project-based learning and case-based analysis to break ground in the area of methods for educational use. I also want to collaborate further and make connections with others within the area of engineering and the medial field. By making these connections I can gain further insight into current events in the development of simulations and have access to simulations to research. Simulations are of particular interest since they are one tool that can be used to develop high fidelity learning environoments. I also desire to work more with technology that can actually create simulations. With many of the programs I have attempted to try I have had some technical difficulties. In the future I want to delve into these technologies in order to research how to create an effective simulation that can teach skills that result in change shown in the real world.

 

Teaching

 

I have taught students from various backgrounds from the high school level to the college level. Over the Summer, I have contributed to a group called Upward Bound, which provides Summer educational programs to high school level students who have the potential to be first generation college students. During this Summer program, I have created a curriculum based on project-based learning in which the students tackle open ended projects of their choice. These projects can range from video production, website development, to various other areas of their choosing if the technology is available.  Upward Bound's Summer program has been a wonderful experience that has taught me a lot about teaching.

 

In addition to Upward Bound, I currently am working as an assistant to instructors in the EDIT courses at UGA. I am currently helping Lucas Jensen with his EDIT 4020 class, which has portfolo projects, pitch ideas, and other projects connected to the undergraduate level. The experience has been very different from the high school level students and has given me a different perspective from my background as a high school level instructor.

 

Service

 

There are several ways in which my research can be of service to the educational community. I have also attempted to outreach to other departments on campus to develop relationships that may lead to research projects in the future. I believe the groundwork of prior research into simulations, project-based learning principles, coupled with ADDIE design principles will allow me to research as well as develop the ideas I wish to pursue in the Ph.D. program. Ultimately, this means that my future goals are to collaborate with other groups at the University of Georgia, such as the Engineering Department in order to research fidelity levels in educational curriculums. Through the use of high fidelity exercises through simulations and other methods, I want to research and develop educational programs that will benefit the medical field. By using these experiences I want to tackle educational technology in a different way and research effective ways to to teach this subject areas. Currently, the Engineering Department is developing educational software to teach doctors how to diagnose a brain disorder using a simulation with a virtual patient. I would like to work with this department to further research into the effects us using such a software to train doctors in the field.

 

In addition, I am also pursuing work in the Pharmacy Department in which I will help them with their educational curriculums. Through this assistantship I want to use my skills to create projects that will enhance learning in the department and allow me to hone my skills in the medical field.

 

Conferences

 

I am currently planning to attend future conferences such as the AECT. In addtion, I am preparing a paper for submission to two conferences such as the AERA and two conferences associated with the AACE. If accepted, I will present a poster presentation or a roundtable on the topic of simulations in medical diagnosis. Future planned submissions will be related to guidelines on the increasing level of fidelity in educational curriculums.