OMET Application Statement & my current Reflection

Vision for Technology in Educational Settings
I work with students who learn by doing. Students, who are not successful in any other class, come to my classroom and excel. The success they experience motivates them to succeed in other classes as well. They find that they can write, and read and do math and science because they have a chance to apply it in the shop, the greenhouse and the classroom. I help them to overcome learning barriers that have existed in their past. Some of the greatest rewards in my life have come from watching students overcome barriers to learning and choosing a vocation and excelling in it. I have watched students at risk of not graduating from high school; become teachers, military men and women, Fish and Game officers, Biologists and professional-technical experts in their fields. One is an underwater welder, another is a journeyman electrician. All are best at learning by doing.

My vision for technology in my classroom is driven by my past experiences with how students learn as well as how they don’t learn. They learn by applying a new concept, and then reflecting on it and sharing it with me or the other students and then trying again. They don’t learn in a standard lecture format where I lecture, they read, and answer questions and answer more questions that “assess” their learning. I have found that this type of learning can’t be replicated. They can’t take what is “learned” in the text and actually apply it in the real world, such as the shop or field. They also don’t retain what they’ve “learned”. They often can’t discuss it or apply it later when they are called upon to do so in a real-life situation.

 I would like to learn how to use technology to improve the teaching/learning cycle in my rural classroom. I know that I can help my students visualize and create classroom projects through the use of technology that will assist them in the application of their learning. For example, I envision using 3-D drafting programs that will enable students to create metal fabrication projects and visualize the completed project better. This would allow for adjustments to be made and it would allow them to “see” their project before we begin cutting into an $800 sheet of metal. I would like to help them “see” how their measurements affect a project or how a different choice of materials or thicknesses alters a project. I often ask them to measure twice and cut once. Sometimes they don’t and costly mistakes are made. Sometimes they just don’t believe what I say and want to give it a go on their own and then find out later that perhaps they should have listened. Practicing virtually first will help them visualize their decisions before they are set in stone. This is just one example of how I envision technology in my classroom.

I teach several different courses each day, including: Landscaping, Animal Science, Introduction to Agriculture, Metal Fabrications, Large Engines, Small Engines and Introduction to Welding. I would like to develop new ways of using technology effectively such as using it for virtual dissections in Animal Science, or designing landscaping projects or using it to trouble-shoot engine problems or to “see” how the digestive process works. I would like to learn more about different opportunities for incorporating more simulation technology in my classroom.

As I help students to interpret their world and make sense of what we do in class each day, I also envision using technology to communicate with those outside of our school and town. Students here are very isolated. We live three-hours from a town with a stoplight or a post-secondary institution of study. We are surrounded by the Bitterroot Mountain range and live on the “River of No Return”. Many students that graduate from my program do not go on to post-secondary training or to college. Only 28% of all of our graduates actually finish post-secondary training (whether it be college or vocational). Only 22% of students in Salmon School District live in a home where one parent has at least a two year professional-technical or college degree. I would like to use technology to help my students form a learning community that transcends the barriers of distance, isolation and family inexperience and introduces them to the world outside of Salmon and all of its possibilities. I envision my students using technology in inspiring ways that will help them gain confidence in themselves and in the opportunities available to them.

I love my students and I want them to return to Salmon after they’ve experienced life somewhere else and earned the education of their dreams. There are very few job or career opportunities in this valley, I want them to come back with a degree or certificate that will help them provide a good life for themselves and their families.


Experience/Background in Technology
Most of my experience with technology is in software applications. I’ve learned several different applications, starting with the old DOS word-processing programs and spreadsheet programs of the late 80’s and early 90’s. I’ve used these types of programs to get work done for college courses or to create tests or activities for students.

Of course, I’ve used the mandated Student Information Systems at the schools I’ve taught at. I’ve also taken the following technology courses offered at the school during inservice training: iMovie; Idaho’s online Library Database Research Repository (LiLi); Office 2003 for the Classroom including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint; Adobe Photoshop Elements; Internet for Teachers; Classroom Response System (CPS); Using Technology Effectively in Instruction; and Classroom Web Design.

In 1998 I developed a portfolio of classroom projects that integrate technology in order to meet Idaho’s requirements for Technology Competency for teachers. This portfolio included using spreadsheets with students; using research and writing; helping students develop a database to track a classroom project and using simulation software.

I also use computer-based books with my students who participate in a Supervised Agriculture Experience Program. This type of program is an ag-based accounting, banking and budgeting program.

Currently, I’ve written grants to be able to incorporate a projector and computer in my classroom. However, this is very instructionally driven use of technology. The technology does help me introduce concepts and students watch safety videos and see pictures of different types of plants or meat cuts for example.



Personal Goals Related to the Pursuit of this Degree
My first goal is to become a better teacher. I’ve practiced the art of teaching for over a decade. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t work. Now, I want to take what I already know and build on it to become a better teacher. I know there is a lot out there that I don’t know. I want to read about what other teachers are doing and take time to change-up my practices and try a lot of new things in my classroom. I want to research the current technology trends in vocational education.

My second goal is to develop ways for my students to use technology in their learning. I want to use it as a bridge to the next level of knowing. So they may develop a deeper level of understanding. I would like to learn how to use technology more creatively and in ways that are non-traditional.

My third goal is related to the second goal. I want to develop classroom projects and experiences that are really doable in the classroom, shop or in the field. I want to find a way to get the technology in the student’s hands where it has the potential to impact their learning the most if I can design opportunities for that to happen. I want to research grant opportunities and write proposals that will help me fund these opportunities.

My fourth goal is to become part of a learning cadre that can support me in taking chances in the classroom and that will constructively assist me in my goals.

My fifth goal is to become a technology leader in my school and region. I want to share what I am learning with other vocational teachers in my region that have inspired me. I’d like to present my Action Research Project to my school and to my region and state.

My sixth goal is to challenge myself during this process and to become a learner again.