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First, a little about me. I am currently a 6th - 8th grade Mathematics Specialist at W.T. Chipman Middle School in the Lake Forest School district (Welcome to Spartan Country!). I get the distinct pleasure of working with all the teachers and students across the school, as well as handling a good majority of data management, analysis, and interpretation (including presentations of results).
 * -=Eric Walter's Wiki-Folio!=- **
 * [[image:Us.jpg width="301" height="372" align="left"]] Welcome to Eric Walter's Wilmington University Master's of Applied Educational Technologies Wikispace Portfolio page! ... or EW's WUMAETWSP for short! Well, maybe not so much "short," but... moving on! On this small portion of the greater Wikipedia universe, one will find all the work I have completed for the EDT program, as well as reflections and pedagogical musings as to my personal interactions, applications, and dreams of and for technology. I hope you enjoy!

Thinking about, "Why I'm here..."

My view on education and technology is as follows. Unlike church and state (in the current iteration of laws), technology and education go hand-in-hand with concepts of best practice. Effective use of technology in the classroom is not only known by anyone claiming "best practice," but the self-same technology can improve a teacher's disposition as well (assuming effective training of the teacher in the technologies being used). My purpose for pursuing this Master's degree is that I think there is still a lot of work to be done to truly bring educational learning into the true digital age. I believe I have a fairly solid ability-level when it comes to using and applying technology, but I know I always have room to grow. I am happy that this course has reinforced that idea. I love to learn new things, and I love to be able to take things back to my comrades at school to share new ways they can make the technology work for them.

Program Competencies:

**Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity**
 * 1) Technology, when used appropriately, encourages and enriches student learning. I want to make sure I know as many ways as possible to incorporate it into my teaching to keep my students engages.
 * 2) Students, when given the tools to be creative, consistantly surprise even the highest standards. I want to make sure they always have every avenue open to them to express themselves on assignments.
 * 3) Too often, students only see computers and technology as outlets for entertainment, and only for tools of learning when they are forced into the situation. I wish to encourage them to find the fun in using the Internet and computers to be active learners; to be self-motivated to extend their own learning.

**Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments**
 * 1) If I have learned anything from working with pre-teens and teens for the last 3-4 years of my life, they do so love the Internet. Why not have them use it to enrich their lives educably in addition to its entertainment values? Have them go about their daily lives, but develop something for them to think about. I want to come up with an assessment piece that takes something they enjoy doing... their choice, really... and find the math that goes with it. Math really is one of those things engrained in eery aspect of life, so if they can start finding that out, they can develop more meaningful relationships with, what I like to call, "the one true universal language."
 * 2) To master something, you have to teach it. Using the computer as a primare resource, I want my students to find something mathematical that motivates them, and develop their own presentation/lesson to teach us.
 * 3) There are assessment programs developed to address individual student's needs. Starting early, and applying it efficiently, students can progress through the issues they have had in math at their own pace. They can receive help on the topics they need, and being in this program will help me find the best way to do that.

**Model Digital-Age Work and Learning**
 * 1) As the data and resident "tech guy" of my school, I try my hardest to stay on top of the trends and tools that come out. I believe being a part of this program will teach me how best to stay on top of what comes out, how best to use it in my classroom, and how best to bring it to my comrades at school.
 * 2) I like e-school and email, but there really has to be something or some way better to allow students and parents to have more ownership over the responsibilities in class. For myself, maybe even for my school, I want to learn ways to bring the responsibility back to the parents and students by having a more autonomous way to check to see that content came on a certain day, what work they are responsible for, and where we're going... all easily accessable from home.
 * 3) The more fun and effective I make technology look, the more likely students are to stay with it, and teachers are to use it. I want to always find these technological "best practices," and this is the program to do it in.

**Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility**
 * 1) Given my technological ability, I have a good handle on how technology works and how efficient it //can// be. However, I would like to find more things that we can utilize in school to promote student achievement, and all the rhetoric and nuances involved in getting and employing them.
 * 2) I think it'd be really cool to start one of those "virtual classrooms" where my class of students can engage, converse, and work (in an appropriate manner) with students around the country, and, if possible, even around the world. I'm not quite sure how to go about that yet, though.
 * 3) While I have a good handle on "netiquette," I'm sure there's always something new to learn or something else that's being edited. I need to stay on top of these changes. And I need to know the tools present to stay there.

**Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership**
 * 1) It has always been a dream of mine to perhaps one day, once I've spent a good deal of time teaching, to develop a new math curriculum or initiative to meet the needs of the ever-changing world. Becoming a part of MSERC or another similar organization would be a crowning achievement of my current professional life, but to do so, I must continue to develop my skills, even those I have confidence in. This program is assisting me to achieve that end.
 * 2) Every district has a plan to involve the community more, but sending papers home with students is becoming less and less... I guess I'll stick with the word "effective." We need to move more into the digital age in our districts, and moving into less paper-heavy routines will also make everything more green. I don't beleive there's enough out there yet to make a true switch, but I want to be able to help advance in that direction.
 * 3) Maybe it's my youth, or perhaps my low number of years teaching, but I have felt the sting of disbelief because people passed off what I say as the idealism of the young. The more accredation I can achieve, the more those people that seem to have specific "requirements" on who they believe will be met so I can make progress in helping my school, my district, my state, and my country as a leader in the educational world.