Portfolio Rationale Paper EdTech 592

Tammy H. Price High School Teacher Career & Technical Education, Floriculture Fall 2012

INTRODUCTION I began this journey in January 2010 not knowing where it would take me or if I could even understand the material and make it work for me. Now eight semesters later Im completing my final courses in the Master of Educational Technology Degree with a Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching of Adult Learners. Its not been easy completing these classes, pushing myself to do my best all the while teaching my floriculture classes to approximately 125 high school students each day. I am proud of this accomplishment and am excited to see where it will take me. Teaching online, knowing that floriculture seemed impossible to teach online, became my goal. I could live anywhere and teach online. My ultimate online teaching goal is to teach teachers who want to be certified in career and technical education at the secondary level. I would love to teach in the program where I earned my Washington State CTE Teaching Certification at South Seattle Community College. As much as I enjoy being a student, I have the skills and knowledge now to independently learn whatever I need to in order to push myself in my future in online teaching. My main goal is to teach CTE teachers in the program I was in, although Im not narrowing my options. There are many online teaching opportunities in community colleges and I feel confident I could teach beginning technology courses as well. I know there are various opportunities and I want to search them out. My Master of Educational Technology is a professional degree that has given me the skills not only to integrate many technologies into my floriculture classroom but extend my experience into adult educational opportunities in community college and teacher certification programs. I have learned theory and evaluation as it relates to technology, practical application of technology skills, and integration of these strategies into various levels of learning environments. PURPOSE The purpose of this Rationale Paper is to provide personal evidence that my completion of this program is merited. Examples of my work along the way will be showcased and confirm that even though I am proud of the grades earned, I actually completed the work at a Masters Degree level. These assignments provide examples of my ability to use various types of technology and Web 2.0 products to enhance learning in the classroom, teaching online and can also benefit floral organizations in the coming years. ORGANIZATION The organization of this paper is based around the standards stated by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). I will link all assignments to these standards. I am intrigued to see how this all lines up in the end and will provide an explanation

as to how I connected each learning activity to the AECT standards.

STANDARD 1: DESIGN
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to design conditions for learning by applying principles of instructional systems design, instructional strategies, and learner characteristics (Earle & Persichitte, 2005). 1.1 Instructional Systems Design ISD is an organized procedure that includes the steps of analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating instruction (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 31). 541 Floriculture: Relative Advantage Chart I learned in EdTech 541 to create a problem-solving chart. This Relative Advantage Chart provided a way to line up specific learning problems I have experienced in my Floriculture classroom with possible technologies that could help turn the problem around. Then I charted the advantage to using that technology and the expected positive outcome. Creating this chart lays all the information out without having think through it. I have charted learning problems such as the need for color photographs to use in our Cut Flower ID, ELL and special education students understanding our curriculum, curriculum issues related to map usage, design skills, industry connections and classroom photography needs. It's a great way to organize information that needs analyzing, developing and implementing. 503 Instructional Design Project The goal of this project is stated as: "Advanced Floriculture High School Students will apply technology and communication skills they already use in effectively leading and collaborating in a Floriculture Class Blog. Following the instruction and blog example research, they will participate in an ongoing Floriculture Blog created in our school districts Moodle site that comments on classroom designing and includes photographs of arrangements the students have completed." Designing this project provided me with the experience of working through this 1.1 Instructional Systems Design standard of analyzing, designing, developing, implementing and evaluating instruction. I categorized these steps in my project as follows:

Analyzing-Goal Development and Needs Assessment Designing-Instructional Objectives and Instructional Strategies Developing-Instructor's Guide and Learner Content Implementing-Instructor's Guide Evaluating-Evaluation Plan and Report

Knowing, using and understanding this standard as well as the experience I've gained through developing several online classes during this program provide me with the confidence to continue using this format to rewrite existing lesson plans as well as create new ones. I really want to approach the challenge of creating an online Floriculture curriculum in the years to come and this project gives me a strong base to build upon. It is a clear and concise method for designing units of instruction. 1.2 Message Design Message design involves planning for the manipulation of the physical form of the message (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 31). 506 Graphics Project The instructor in EdTech 506 provided instruction and experience in creating graphics using Adobe Fireworks. My project was a totally online lesson students could follow to learn various types of designing. I was thoroughly frustrated throughout the course because I could picture in my head what I wanted to convey through illustrations, but could not create an image in Adobe Fireworks at a high enough quality to satisfy me. This project had a steep learning curve for me. In the end I completed the assignments to my professors expectations yet my product still wasnt professional enough for my liking. This is an area that I need more experience in so that I can create a higher quality product for designing a floral design curriculum. Each assignment I worked through in the process of building this project taught me more about how to use graphics for teaching. I understand better the principles of contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity (CARP) (Williams & Tollett, 2006, p 113 ) and use them as I design webpages, blogs and handouts for my students. Williams & Tollett's book, The Non-designer's Web Book is a great addition to my personal educational technology library. It's easy to use and quickly reminds me of web design principles. Strong contrast guides the reader to each section of instruction. Alignment allows for easy transitions between sections. Repetition of page setup and headings keeps the reader organized as to where he is. Proximity provides a connection between the text and the graphics on a page. I used these guidelines to create and place my graphics within my webpages for this project. I struggle with the "cartoonish" graphics that I created and prefer to use more realistic images such as photographs to portray my instructional messages. Yet, these parameters for including graphics in a learning space were invaluable and absolutely come from the 1.2 standard on message design. 1.3 Instructional Strategies Instructional Strategies are specification for selecting and sequencing events and activities within a lesson (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 31).

502 Webquest EdTech 502 gave me an opportunity to design a WebQuest for Advanced Floral Design students. I chose to take this class during the summer so I could focus more of my time on it. I had never used Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) or Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to create a website. So saying it was difficult was an understatement. It was like learning a foreign language. Choosing this WebQuest for 1.3 was an easy choice as it sequenced the assignments in a way that stepped students through activities that in the end provided them with a greater appreciation of floral design as art. I created this WebQuest to involve five steps: task, process, example, evaluation and conclusion. The learner's final project was to design and create an arrangement to share a message with the viewer. This can prove to be a very intense assignment because you use the flowers to symbolize people, places and emotions. My example is based on how teachers need to be aware of possible child abuse or neglect and provide a safe classroom where students can learn. 1.4 Learner Characteristics Learner characteristics are those facets of the learners experiential background that impact the effectiveness of a learning process (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 32). 503 Instructional Design Project My EdTech 503 Instructional Design Project pushed me to create a whole project lesson where Advanced Floriculture Students research various floral industry blogs and collectively create one for their class. Projects that allow students to reflect on their learning experience as well as provide opportunities to comment on other students learning give them the chance to understand what they have learned and see their work from an objective point of view. Bartlett-Bragg states, reflective learning can be inferred as a process to achieve deep learning in which learners stand back from an experience, seek out connections between concepts, and contextualize meaning, (2004). My goal for this project was for students to use what they are already doing in a classroom setting and roll it over to a collaboration experience online. This is exactly what standard 1.4 states in that students need to be placed in experiences that cause them to look at their learning from another's point of view!

STANDARD 2: DEVELOPMENT
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop instructional materials and experiences using print, audiovisual, computer-based, and integrated technologies (Earle & Persichitte, 2005). 2.1 Print Technologies Print technologies are ways to produce or deliver materials, such as books and static visual materials, primarily through mechanical or photographic printing processes (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 37).

506 Pave Floral Design Plan Sheet Creating print technologies wasnt new to me. Ive designed many classroom handouts on the computer, but this time it became a part of an online lesson. Using our class text, Creating Graphics for Learning and Performance: lessons in visual literacy, I designed a new plan sheet for this lesson. I used a very readable font for the instructions of how to set up the page, (Lohr, 2008, p. 230). My Pave Floral Design Plan Sheet provides a tangible opportunity for students to think ahead in their floral design lesson by using a pencil and paper to design their arrangement ahead of time. I used this process in class with advanced floral design students and it helped greatly instead of just asking them to picture it in their head before actually designing it. Placing this artifact in the 2.1 Print Technologies standard is a perfect fit. Students now have quality static product that is simple for the learner to use as they design their Pave Floral Design. 2.2 Audiovisual Technologies Audiovisual technologies are ways to produce or deliver materials by using mechanical devices or electronic machines to present auditory and vision messages (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 38). 513 Worked Example Screencast In EdTech 513 I chose to create a how-to video on boutonnieres. This was my first opportunity using Camtasia as my recording platform. I barely began to figure it out but the basics were fairly easy. It can do much more than what I simply did. I created my PowerPoint first with photos I took of each step in making a boutonniere. Then as I watched the PowerPoint I created the timing and the script to work together. I really enjoyed the process and feel like it will be a great asset to online learning in the area of floral design. I understand the benefit for adding audio to enhance a PowerPoint. I can add information that is not communicated through the text and images on the slide. This is a great format for teaching online as I've seen in many of my EdTech courses. It's much more valuable to present material in an audio and video format since there are various student learning styles in each classroom. 2.3 Computer-based Technologies Computer-based Technologies are ways to produce and deliver materials using microprocessor-based resources (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 39). 541 Careers in the Floral Industry Website Aligning this artifact with the 2.3 standard shows how I can take a print lesson and allow it to evolve and be enhanced online. I expanded on this lesson plan and really brought it to life by transferring it over to a totally online unit. My students want to be active in their learning, so to provide them an avenue to reach around the world to learn about floral industry careers is putting the excitement back into learning. They could search out flower farms, research statistics on

floral industry jobs, visit art galleries and more. Learning didn't just involve reading words on a page about these places. I created this unit of instruction by combining all aspects of my assignments in EdTech 541 into a totally online unit. Students have everything they need at their fingertips to either complete the assignment online or use computer-based technologies such as Microsoft Excel. As I look back on this assignment I realize I was exceptionally focused during this particular semester and realize it was my very first semester. I took 541 along with EdTech 501 in January 2010. This is a very usable lesson in my Floriculture 2, 3, & 4 classroom because it allows me to expand on lessons I am already teaching. 2.4 Integrated Technologies Integrated technologies are ways to produce and deliver materials which encompass several forms of media under the control of a computer (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 40). Both of these artifacts challenged me to write, design and record learning materials using various types of media on my computer and on the Internet. I enjoyed both of these projects immensely and continue to use them in my classroom to keep students interested in the lessons. They can access these away from school and review the information provided. 513 Podcast-Flowers Blooming on the Air EdTech 513 gave me the opportunity to try my skills at podcasting. I created this podcast as the first in a series for the average, everyday flower lover, whether young or old. I learned to write a script, locate free music, manipulate the music for use as background or intermission music and then combine all the parts together in a pleasing manner. My voice sometimes left something to be desired but I am working on that part in order to continue this podcast in the future. My 80 year-old mother said, If you are going to talk about flowers, then you need to sound happier. So Im taking her advice and practicing more on my podcast voice and presentation. 597-Behind the Bloom Blog for Floral Educators Summer 2012 finally brought the opportunity for me to learn more about blogging in EdTech 597-Blogging in the Classroom. I created a blog for floral educators since I feel there is a great need for better networking between these teachers across the country. All my blog posts have either an image or a video embedded in them. One module required us to create a poll. I was not familiar with that aspect of a blog before but I found it super easy to create. I enjoyed embedding various types of media into my blog making it more enjoyable to interact with. Many of my course peers enjoyed my blog even though the information was new to them. It really educated other MET students on various aspects of the floral industry.

STANDARD 3: UTILIZATION
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to use processes and resources for learning by applying principles and theories of media utilization, diffusion, implementation, and policy-making (Earle & Persichitte, 2005). 3.1 Media Utilization Media utilization is the systematic use of resources for learning (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 46).

522 Symbaloo Tutorial In EdTech 522 I created this Tutorial on using the online resource of Symbaloo for organizing bookmarks. Most of my assignments have been created for use by high school Floriculture students, but this was for the teacher. I used Adobe Connect for the first time which was difficult. More time spent with this product will provide a cleaner final product. Using an online media resource for organizing bookmarks into various categories makes a lot of sense for teachers who might need their own personal bookmarks, a list of bookmarks specifically related to their teaching subject and another list of bookmarks for their students. I have had several positive comments from online users outside of BSU who have utilized the information I provided in this Symbaloo Tutorial. I want to create more online training options for students (teenagers and adults) in online classes. I also want to be in a position to teach teachers in an online or hybrid course environment, so this is an area I need to continue to work on. 504 Annotated Bibliography My 504 Annotated Bibliography is a list of resources and short overviews related to the theory of connectivism. This theory proves that there are learning resources all around us if we just reach out and use them. Using technology increases your knowledge and experience, then that experience can be used to teach others. We are already surrounded by technology in many of our homes, at our jobs and in our passions. Developing this annotated bibliography showed me the usefulness of this type of information. Organizing and summarizing various articles, blogs and books in one place is absolutely a systematic way to organize resources for learning. Using these examples for standard 3.1 show two very different options for organizing media as a learning resource. 3.2 Diffusion of Innovations Diffusion of innovations is the process of communicating through planned strategies for the purpose of gaining adoption (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 46). 501 Research Synthesis Paper EdTech 501 is the first class you take when entering the MET program. This Research Synthesis Paper put me through the steps of how to plan for the future in my Floriculture program. I need

to make my school district aware of why my class is important to the Career & Technical Education Department. Building interest in the program is vital not only with the potential students, but also with the school district administration. If I learn to use assignments from past semesters to show how this course can benefit students in the future, it will draw more interest. Understanding the purpose behind an assignment or even a course as a whole can engage students. Motivated students will motivate adults. Creating opportunities for students to learn is at the forefront of my mind now. This needs to be communicated throughout my school's staff. We need to plan for learning as a team at our school. Project and problem-based learning are keys to 21st century learning. This means students learn to work in teams, communicate effectively, use technology productively, complete internships and understand how to research information. Assessments in 21st century learning should start with desired outcomes and proceed with projects, products and performances and be completed with feedback. Schools as workplaces for 21st century students means that our classrooms need to reflect what students will use in the workplace including technology and tools. Technology and the 21st century classroom needs to provide students with on-on-one time computing and a collaborative learning environment that combines curriculum, assessment rubrics, living grade books and communication tools (Pearlman, 2006). Without a formal plan with a stated outcome, we will not have total staff buy-in. A formal plan for an "adoption" of learning is required. 3.3 Implementation and Institutionalization Implementation is using instructional materials or strategies in real (not simulated) settings. Institutionalization is the continuing, routine use of the instructional innovation in the structure and culture of an organization (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 47). 597 Blogging in the Classroom-Behind the Bloom This was one of my favorite classes. Even though I created this blog initially for a place to connect with other floral educators, Ive found that my students and more specifically my former students really enjoy it. Our assignments started out as just learning to set up a blog and make them personal, but grew into learning how to write specific types of posts. I wrote posts all related to the floral industry but they were created as reflective entries, commentaries, polls, and I even set up one as a guest entry from a former student. This is definitely a format I will continue to use inside and outside the classroom. In EdTech 503 I created a blogging lesson for Advanced Floriculture students in mind. The lesson guides them through researching floral industry blogs and then collectively creating one for class. My project goal statement stated Advanced Floriculture High School Students will apply technology and communication skills they already use in effectively leading and collaborating in a Floriculture Class Blog. Following the instruction and blog example research,

they will participate in an ongoing Floriculture Blog created in our school districts Moodle site that comments on classroom designing and includes photographs of arrangements the students have completed. Throughout this lesson students will continue to respond to weekly writing prompts provided by the instructor, but will slowly begin to provide their own direction. After about six weeks, students will share the responsibility of starting and wrapping up the weekly blog discussions. This is very useable in my classroom and I planned on starting it in September 2012, but my Advanced Floriculture class was cancelled and replaced by a Floriculture 1 class. But there are plans for its return in February 2013. Prensky states Our students have changed radically. Todays students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach. Todays students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors, (Prensky 2001). The classroom absolutely must teach with 21st Century skills in mind or our students will be dropping out at higher rates because high school doesn't challenge them anymore. 3.4 Policies and Regulations Policies and regulations are the rules and actions of society (or its surrogates) that affect the diffusion and use of Instructional Technology (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 47). 501 Digital Inequality Assignment EdTech 501s assignment on digital inequality made me think about my community. McConnaughey, Nila & Sloan (1995) described the Digital Divide as "the divide between those with access to new technologies and those without." So, I chose to write a letter to the mayor of my city. I stated how I see more and more students who dont have home access to the internet which causes them issues with completing some homework. Our school receives most of the new immigrants to our area because of a city link to a national program on accepting refugee families into our community. These are families who have rarely used a computer much less the internet, but could greatly benefit from it. Students who already have access to the Internet at home can stay connected with their teachers when they are absent and even benefit from the school district links to classroom websites, financial aid applications, career exploration and more. I want to rework this letter and actually mail it to our mayor (or new mayor) after the next local election. Understanding standard 3.4 should provides awareness to what is happening around you as related to educational technology. Those of us in education are more aware of this phenomenon than the general community. It is up to us to make our community aware of how technology can enhance and improve our city. Providing access to the Internet other than the limited number of computers at the local library needs to be a priority. We need to make our voices heard so more low income and immigrant families can benefit from technology. It's important for their children's education, for job searches and for increasing their understanding of the English language.

STANDARD 4: MANAGEMENT
Candidates demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions to plan, organize, coordinate, and supervise instructional technology by applying principles of project, resource, delivery system, and information management (Earle & Persichitte, 2005). 4.1 Project Management Project management involves planning, monitoring and controlling instructional design and development projects (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 50). 512 Final Project In EdTech 512 I created an online unit called The Retail Flower Shop. All aspects of this artifact are stated in standard 4.1: planning, monitoring, and controlling of the design and development of the project. It included five chapters:

Getting Started, Choose Your Target Customer Marketing Your Business Setting Prices Keep Customers Coming Back.

I originally created this in Moodle Sandbox and am very pleased with the outcome. But for some reason in the end I totally reset it up in Yola so it's available after I graduate. I plan on talking with the technology department in my school district to see if I can roll over the Moodle Sandbox version to our district Moodle site. I built this unit with parts of what I already teach in class and enhanced it by integrating various printed materials as well as online resources to provide students a more interesting experience. I included:

YouTube videos for visual enhancement Vuvox presentation of my Initial Course Design Plan Floral Blogs for additional industry point-of-views

4.2 Resource Management Resource management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling resource support systems and services (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 51).

533 My YouTube channel I chose my YouTube channel created in EdTech 533 YouTube for Educators. This is a class I am taking this last semester along with my portfolio class. I had hoped to get the chance to take it because it will be a great resource for students to use outside of class. I can set it up for different levels of students and even create a simple lesson plan that is posted directly on the site. All parts of the project showcase resource management. I planned out the YouTube channel to make sure it was visually appealing. I monitor it through watching for comments and providing tasks for students to complete when they finish an assignment. Controlling my YouTube channel comes from being able to manipulate what videos are featured and what videos are placed in my playlists. These three playlist lessons are based on different learning domains: Psychomotor Domain which involves physical movement and coordination, Affective Domain that involves feelings, values, appreciation, enthusiasms, motivations and attitudes, and Cognitive Domain that involves specific content knowledge and intellectual skills development. (Airasian & Russell, 2008). I feel confident that this is going to be a well-used platform for my students. I can also show these videos in class to enhance a larger lesson and already have them organized and available. Presently I am using it in my classroom to easily and quickly provide instructional videos related to whatever unit of instruction we are completing.

4.3 Delivery System Management Delivery system management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling the method by which distribution of instructional materials is organized...[It is] a combination of medium and method of usage that is employed to present instructional information to the learner (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 51). 521 Moodle Lesson on Prezi The link above takes you to my blog post about creating a lesson on Moodle and teaching it to a classmate.. You can follow the link at the bottom of the post to see some screenshots of the actual lesson. This assignment required me to create a lesson for a classmate using Moodle. I polled her with some options and she wanted to learn more about Prezi, so I researched more about and created this lesson. It was a little more difficult than usual since Prezi is not something I teach about already. Using Moodle was fairly easy since I took a Professional Development class in my school district about using Moodle in our classrooms. In the end my classmate was pleased with what she learned and felt the lesson was well organized. She is now able to use Prezi in a classroom to enhance a lesson instead of just depending on PowerPoint. I delivered it asynchronously for my classmate to complete at her convenience. This is a lesson I

plan to roll over to our district server to use for Floriculture projects in the next couple of semesters.

4.4 Information Management Information management involves planning, monitoring, and controlling the storage, transfer, or processing of information in order to provide resources for learning (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 51). 503 Task Analysis

This flowchart ended up being a great visual tool for myself as I built a unit of study. It provided a plan even when I felt like I already had a plan. I was able to see what I wanted my students to accomplish throughout the unit. This type of planning is essential in staying organized during lesson planning and allows for future planning as well. I can always refer back to this flow chart during the process of teaching the lessons and work with it as I go. Sometime unforeseen circumstances force you into being flexible with a lesson and this flowchart can give me that flexibility by adding or altering a step.

Blogging in Various Courses- EdTech 541, EdTech 513, & EdTech 506 I first learned about blogging in EdTech 501 and how to set up my Learning Log. During the same semester, I took EdTech 541. My link above will take you to that first blogging experience for a class. It was useful to reflect on each assignment and easy to go back to it again when I needed a reminder about a lesson. EdTech 513 & 506 are also classes that had a required blogging component. They were all about piecing together a bigger project in the end. I enjoyed

this format because it kept me organized and I could process information and also provide for easy access at a later time. These courses helped me remember to not just get stuck in a rut and do everything the same old way. I know what it takes to transfer lesson plans into a technology format and what it takes in the classroom to get the information across to the students. It's a little involved in the beginning planning stages but in the end its worth it. I've introduced blogging to my Floriculture students and see that its so useful for them to reflect on various floral designs they've created, comment on other students' designs and receive positive criticism about their designing from their peers as well. Blogging will enhance my curriculum as I fine tune my lesson plans over the next few months and allows me a place to share my knowledge and passions with others.

STANDARD 5: EVALUATION
Candidates demonstrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions to evaluate the adequacy of instruction and learning by applying principles of problem analysis, criterion-referenced measurement, formative and summative evaluation, and long-range planning (Earle & Persichitte, 2005).

5.1 Problem Analysis Problem analysis involves determining the nature and parameters of the problem by using information-gathering and decision-making strategies (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 56).

505 Evaluation Project EdTech 505 evolved into my toughest class. Even though I continued to strive to make every MET assignment related to my current content area, for some reason my brain constructed a huge brick wall during 505. I now understand that this is not an area that I excel in and therefore requires greater time and focus. Evaluation is necessary, yet I am not good at the breaking down, organizing and planning that needs to go into evaluation. I chose to evaluate a possible new Floriculture textbook for my course. Presently there is no specific curriculum set aside for this course and no guidance for the instructor as to what curriculum should be used. Decisions for this course, including the district course frameworks, have been left up to the instructor. I chose to go about this evaluation using a Goal-Based Model (Boulmetis & Dutwin 2005). This model bases the evaluation on stated objectives which in this case are the competencies for the Floriculture course as a whole. I gathered information from various sources; myself and two other Floriculture teachers outside of my district. In the end I came to the following decisionmaking strategies:

IMMEDIATE CONCLUSIONS Hard copy textbook is adequate for a Floriculture curriculum Teachers will need to supplement with up-to-date information from Floral Industry publications The online text is fairly useless except as an alternative to the hard copy textbook, since it is only a scanned version

LONG-RANGE PLANNING Online text is cost prohibitive based on the number of students who need access to it per school year Hard copy textbooks, even though twice the price, are a good investment Floriculture instructors need to be involved in Floral Industry related professional development in order to connect with other teachers and understand what curriculum is being used as well as how it is being used

5.2 Criterion-Referenced Measurement Criterion-referenced measurement involves techniques for determining learner mastery of pre-specified content (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 56). Rubrics provide information to the student about how each assignment is scored. Ive created several rubrics during this masters degree program. Standard 5.2 reiterates what is focused on in many professional development workshops I attend. Lesson standards need to be measurable. Reworking some of my rubrics and creating new ones that I've used with students proves that using a rubric increases grade and motivates students to work at a high level because they understand what is expected from them. 502 Interpretive Design Rubric In EdTech 502, I created an Interpretive Design Rubric to help students understand how their floral design will be graded. This tool gives students a specific scoring chart so they would be able to score themselves if they followed it correctly and it provides me guidance as well in case there is any argument on how I scored their arrangement. 506 Design Rubric In EdTech 506, I created a Design Rubric to help students understand how their floral design will be graded. This tool is also used to help students learn to evaluate other arrangements. There is a point in each semester where they use this rubric to grade their peers and then I compare their points to how I evaluated those same students.

541 Job Outlook Rubric In EdTech 541 I designed a unit on Careers in the Floral Industry. At the bottom of the page that is linked above, is the rubric for the Job Outlook Assignment. I based it on five categories: Career Choices, Training Needed, Average Salary, Growth Potential and Organization/Neatness.

5.3 Formative and Summative Evaluation Formative evaluation involves gathering information on adequacy and using this information as a basis for further development. Summative evaluation involves gathering information on adequacy and using this information to make decisions about utilization (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 57). 522 Tokbox Evaluation EdTech 522-Online Teaching for Adult Learners provided me with a lot of useful tools. This assignment was one of those. Each group was assigned a different online group chat format. My group needed to evaluate Tokbox, http://www.tokbox.com/ which is a live video chat room. We gathered information on this type of chat and found that it works well for all people involved. Everyone could speak at any moment and you could hear everyone all the time. It was interesting that up to twenty people could be in the video chat room at one time. Placing this under the standard 5.3 is possible because we were evaluating this tool from the very beginning. Formatively the evaluation was used to gather information on how well this product was basically working for each of us individually. Then we put it into a bigger picture and decided through its use that bigger groups of people could use it for online meetings or classroom discussions. 503 Instructional Design Project My 503 Instructional Design Project included formative and summative evaluations. I gathered information through a Needs Assessment Survey related to blogging, digital photography and online classwork. I then asked our district Internet Technology Specialist to review my data and lesson plans to help me realize if I am on target for a useful unit of study on the topic of blogging. This project gave me information that I didn't know about my students as related to their Internet usage inside and outside of school. I followed through with the evaluation by being able to analyze, plan, implement and evaluate through every step during this project. 5.4 Long-Range Planning Long-range planning that focuses on the organization as a whole is strategic planning. Longrange is usually defined as a future period of about three to five years or longer. During strategic planning, managers are trying to decide in the present what must be done to ensure organizational successes in the future (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 31).

551 Grant Proposal Ive never written a grant proposal so EdTech 551 was a bit overwhelming. I wrote a $10,000 grant to purchase cameras, color printer, ink, photo booth items, etc. It was a long, difficult process but if I chose to actually try for a grant of this magnitude in the future, my course could be enhanced in ways I can only dream of now. I have the desire in the back of my head to create a nonprofit one day related to providing a flower experience for low-income teenagers. So this grant writing experience will help me when I get to that point in my life. I wrote this Grant Proposal with a long-term plan in mind so these items and technology could be used for years to come. Various assessments would be used to determine if this was a good use of funds and whether or not students learning was increasing because of the format. A grant of this size should have a positive impact on how Floriculture students learn. It was written in order to increase student achievement

CONCLUSION Throughout this program Ive needed to push myself to think outside my usual realm of experience. What am I capable of accomplishing with technology? How can I continue to learn to integrate technology into my floriculture classroom? Do I have the skills now to teach an online course at the community college level? Can I pass on the knowledge Ive gained to other Career and Technical Education teachers? I am excited about the technology, technical skills and theory Ive learned throughout this program. Another goal Im considering is designing an online floriculture curriculum or working with a place like The Floral Design Institute in Portland, Oregon. They teach floral design to adults in person and through distance learning. In my humble opinion, their distance learning department needs some assistance. I feel its geared toward older women who think learning to make flower arrangements would be simply wonderful. They are missing out on a whole other market: the young adult who is just starting out in the industry or wanting to get into the floral industry. Using the skills Ive learned over the past couple of years to create better videos and online instructional materials, I could enhance their business or others like it. Im not sure if they even have any trained experts in the field of online learning, but Ive already made first contact. In the end completing this degree has been quite the learning experience and a journey of a lifetime. A Masters Degree was never in my realm of dreams. I was super proud of earning my BA. So to be here, at this place, at this point in my life is an incredible boost of confidence. I am sure that it will guide me into a new place in the world of education, a place where I can be confident and excited about what Im teaching and the technology that I am using.

REFERENCES Airasian, P. W., & Russell, M. K. (2008). Classroom assessment: Concepts and applications (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Bartlett-Bragg, A. (2004). Blogging to Learn. University of Technology, Sydney, 1, 5. Boulmetis, J & Dutwin, P. (2005). The ABCs of Evaluation: Timeless techniques for program and project managers. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Earle, R. S. & Persichitte, K. A. (2005) (Eds.). Standards for the accreditation of school media specialist and educational technology specialist programs. (4th ed.). Bloomington, IN: Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Retrieved from http://aect.siteym.com/resource/resmgr/AECT_Documents/AECTstandardsREV2005.pdf Lohr, L. (2008). Creating Graphics for Learning and Performance: lessons in visual literacy (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ., Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall. McConnaughey, J., Nila, C. A., & Sloan, T. (1995). Falling Through the Net: A survey the 'have nots' in rural and urban America. National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Retrieved from http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fallingthru.html Pearlman, B. (2006). Twenty-first century learning in schools: A case study of New Technology High School in Napa, California. New Directions for Youth Development, 2006(110), 101-112. doi: 10.1002/yd.170. Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants Part II: Do they really think differently? On the Horizon, 9(6). Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Williams, R., & Tollett, J. (2006). The Non-designers Web Book (3rd ed.). Berkeley, California: Peachpit Press.