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Growth Assessment

A Life Transformation to a Teaching Career


Laura Lopez

EDUC 526 Capstone Experience in Digital Teaching and


Learning
Professor: Joanne Gilbreath
Azusa Pacific University San Diego
LiveBinder : http://www.livebinders.com/edit/index/1378866

Laura Alcaraz
Sa Diego Regional Center

EDUC 526 Growth Assessment


Fall II

1
1/2015

Growth Assessment

Introduction
I graduated in Mexico with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Mexico. I later on
came to the United States and raised a family here. I was a substitute teacher when I
first started to look into getting my educational credential. I was not sure what to do
to get ahead professionally, but I knew I was not content with what I had done so far.
I entered a Teaching Internship in the San Diego district, but due to budget cuts, the
district cut the program all together, and I was left wondering what else was there for
me. A friend told me about Azusa Pacific University and what a great experience
she had had so far. She told me it was a Christian school with a very supportive staff.
It was exactly what I needed. I believe God had led me to this school, and he was
guiding me all along.
I was working two jobs to make ends meet when I enrolled in the Special Ed
Mild/Moderate. During my Student Teaching program, I met a teacher who became
my mentor, and with her professional advice, I was able to obtain a job in the San
Diego Unified School District. After working as a Sped teacher for a year, I felt
motivated to go back to school to complete my Masters. Being a former engineer I
thought Masters of Arts in Digital Teaching and Learning was a good career choice
for me. Now looking back, I can see how God intended to bring purpose in my
professional life. My goal now is to implement technology to differentiate instruction
with my students in the classes where I collaborate. I hope to someday achieve even
more in the field of education and hopefully give glory to God by bringing education
and technology where is most needed.
Personal Growth
Through this journey I have learned a lot of things about myself. First of all, I
learned that I can be an example for others in my family. I was the first one in my
family to obtain a bachelors degree, and now I have the opportunity to be an
example to my sons by getting a graduate degree. If I could do it, that means they
can do it too. I also learned to work under a lot of financial and emotional pressure.
I believe that I have been able to do it just and only because God has been very
generous with me. He has always provided the means and instilled in me the desire
Laura Alcaraz
Sa Diego Regional Center

EDUC 526 Growth Assessment


Fall II

1
1/2015

Growth Assessment
to persevere. I had to learn that despite the obstacles I had to go through, it takes
perseverance to obtain my goals.
I have grown as a person and as a professional in this field. I learned to collaborate
and build relationships with the staff at my work and with my peers at Azusa
University.
The completion of this master program will be a great accomplishment in my life
because it means a more secure future for me and my family, and at a spiritual level,
it means that Gods plan is been realized in my life. It gives me the assurance that all
my struggles have not been in vain, and it sets an example for my children and their
children.
Professional Growth
Since I started my credential and then my master program at Azusa Pacific
University, I have grown as an educator. I am currently working as a high school
educational specialist, and I am now more open to technology in the classrooms
than I have ever been in the past. I hope to eventually work in a more specialized
educational technology department at the school district.
My educational vision has evolved since I started the program. I remember in one of
my first classes in the credential program when I learned to use Google docs to share
a document with my peers. Back then I felt as if there was a mental barrier I had to
overcome to feel more comfortable with the use of technology and to collaborate
with others. Since then, I am now much more comfortable with technology and my
views on educational technology have also changed to the point that I advocate for its
use as much as I can. I see a bigger purpose to implementation of technology in
schools and I think that technology will provide the necessary tools to allow access to
education in ways that will change how students learn. At work I use technology in
different ways, for instance in order to provide some accommodations to students
with disabilities, I use my iPhone to take pictures of the lesson that is been taught,
and I email it to parents so that students can review the lesson at home. I also
differentiate instructions and plans to tap into the students style of learning.
Knowing about the multiple intelligences has opened my mind to think of the
different activities that the students can use to learn the content. I am also more
Laura Alcaraz
Sa Diego Regional Center

EDUC 526 Growth Assessment


Fall II

1
1/2015

Growth Assessment
aware of the educational apps available and I implement them in the classes where I
collaborate in Math. For instance last week I made sure that all students with
smartphones installed the graphic calculator app Desmos and that they were able to
use it in class to solve problems.
My Action Research is on Time Management. My Research Question is: How can I
organize my time at work so I dont become overwhelm with all the tasks I have to
do? Time management is very important for me because I work full time and I am
enroll in the Masters program as well as the Districts Induction program to clear
my credential, I have too many responsibilities and deadlines to meet. Sometimes I
feel overwhelmed and I get the feeling that I am being pulled from many directions
and not having enough time to do what is needed. I am working on achieving my
goal of being able to organize and plan my day at work at the beginning of the day. I
am also keeping a diary of the activities I do during the day to see if the end results
match the initial plan, and to make the changes to improve my strategy.
Technical Growth
Throughout the master program I have grown in my technical abilities. At first, in
my class EDUC 511 Essentials in Technology and Learning, I was introduced to the
skills I would need to develop in the Master of Arts in Digital Learning program. I
became familiarized with the essential skills needed to build a portfolio and learned
how to use the iPad. I also learned about websites such as Weebly, Wordle,
Livebinders, and how to use YouTube for educational purposes. I became aware of
the many tools and resources we could use to enhance our lessons. In my class
EDUC 512 Instructional Applications of Productivity and Software, I learned about
the many educational apps that are out there as resources to educators. I also
became aware of the many laws and regulations that rule and oversee technology. In
my EDUC 514 Digital Video in the Classroom class, I learned the basics of video
production and composition. I explored the different shots that compose a good
video. I created an instructional video on How to Paint a Concrete Patio in 5 steps, a
visual documentary of The Great Depression (Social Studies), and a movie for a
Science lesson on How Waves are Formed. All of these movies were enhanced
with sounds and music. In addition, all course material I produced is fully aligned
with the Common Core standards. In my class EDUC 522 Learning in the 21st
Laura Alcaraz
Sa Diego Regional Center

EDUC 526 Growth Assessment


Fall II

1
1/2015

Growth Assessment
Century, I built a one week lesson on the Holocaust and I presented it to the class in
a video created with iMovie and You Tube. In this Social Studies lesson I embedded
technology, and differentiated the instruction for students with disabilities. Finally in
the class I am currently taking EDUC 515 Evolving Educational Technology I am
learning how to build educational websites, how to blog about technology and
education, how to do Twitter, participate in various chats and conferences, and how
to connect with other educators through social media.
Life Long Learning Plan
I have many plans for my future. My immediate goal is to complete my Masters. I
am working very hard towards that goal because when I finish it, I will be able to
focus all my energy at work where I will also get financial credit for earning a
Masters degree. I am also working on another program designed to support
teachers who are new in the field of education, the BTSA (Beginning Teachers
Support and Assessment program.) While I attend this program, I am taking
professional development programs such as i21 Data Director: Online Assessments,
Quality Assessments: Data Director, TRACE, ELL, Motivation, De-escalating
Strategies, and other professional development opportunities in the field of
educational technology that are offered through the districts website. After
completing my BTSA, I plan on attending professional development programs in
the areas of educational technology to further my education in this field. I have
always loved to learn new things, and now that I chose the teaching career, I have
even more opportunities to continue learning new things in this field of education. I
plan to stay abreast of new developments in this profession by continuing taking the
professional developments offered at my work and online.
When I began my Masters program, my personal goal was to obtain my Masters of
Arts in in Digital Teaching and Learning to create a technological environment
where all students could gain knowledge to move forward with confidence into the
21st century. Now looking back, I continue to have the same goal, but now I would
love to expand this dream to other places where there yet have to discover
technology in the classroom.
One of the areas that I would like to develop in my future as an Educational
Specialist is the use of technology to differentiate lessons and how to implement this
Laura Alcaraz
Sa Diego Regional Center

EDUC 526 Growth Assessment


Fall II

1
1/2015

Growth Assessment
knowledge of technology in other countries such as Mexico where there is a great
deficit in all areas of Special Education. I hope to one day be able to contribute to a
project that would benefit many special education students.

Laura Alcaraz
Sa Diego Regional Center

EDUC 526 Growth Assessment


Fall II

1
1/2015

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