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Gihan  Mohamad
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Fundamentals of Educational Technology Leadership

This page will house a portfolio of work and research in the Fundamentals of Educational Technology Leadership. It will be updated as I progress through the program. 
Subject areas include:

EDTC 801, Summer Institute I: This course is the initial intensive summer seminar for incoming doctoral cohort candidates. This is a foundational course which outlined the expectations and practices of the program. It also introduced candidates to the program’s mission of preparing effective leaders for an interdependent world.
      Cohort 2 Web Branding
          W
orking on the web branding project was a great experience that - from day one - helped form our cohort community. I  realized the importance of               social learning and collaboration which I applied later at work with my students.

        Leadership Style: Presentation and Trait Approach Handout
            In this assignment we explored different leadership styles and their theoretical approaches. Right at the beginning of program we were able to                     define ourselves as leaders and apply those traits to our jobs.

EDTC 802, Principles of Educational Technology Leadership: This course focused on concepts and strategies necessary for a leader in a technologically rich learning environment. Topics included strategic planning, leadership styles, institutional change processes, and policy issues in educational technology. 
      Project 1:  Learning Analytics
            
This project opened our minds to trends in the educational technology field. We got acquainted with the New Media Consortium Horizon report                     which I make sure to check every year. I chose learning analytics because as a librarian, I come across many types of data (Circulation, Database                     usage and computer use), and my extent of using it was the colorful yearly report. I realized that I can analyze the data to find trends such as peak                 times of usage, types of popular book genres and gender-based circulation and use that information to enhance library services
      Project 2: Technology Use Proposal: Khan Academy
           
I chose Khan academy (KA) for this project as an extension of the previous paper on learning analytics. As part of my strategic planning to enhance                 the library service, I proposed to run a peer tutor program at the library after school and KA was one of the programs I proposed to employ for that             program for its ability to provide student usage data.
      Project 3: Big Data Presentation           
            This PowerPoint presentation was one of my favorite assignments; I enjoyed reading the book Big Data by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger. The author                 introduced the science of big data and its uses in many fields, including education paying attention to the ethical issues that arise and their solutions.

EDTC 804, Global Issues in Educational Technology Leadership: This course investigated educational technology through a global perspective. The issues covered included development strategies, diversity, cultural values, and the systemic role educational technology plays in global economic development. The course focused on a cross-cultural examination of contemporary academic and workplace skills. 
      Project 1: Cultural Values in the Field of Educational Technology in K-12 School Systems           
            Working on this assignment, I learned the process of searching for relevant scholarly articles related to the field of educational technology.                             Experimenting with keywords, Boolean operators and limiters proved a to be a very helpful skill that I utilized throughout the program.
      Project 2: An overview of Educational Technology in the Middle East       
            This was a group project and in addition to the collaborative skills that we used for the assignment, we were introduced to term “data mining” which             is the exploring of knowledge from different perspectives. That proved to be very useful when I started to consider topics for my dissertation.
      Project 3: Course Proposal
            Opening up my horizons to the opportunities that a doctorate degree would offer me was one of the objectives of this assignment. Designing a                     course proposal for higher education introduced me to that community and helped me see the interaction between the course design, student                     learning objectives and assessment. 

EDTC 813 - Advanced Using Integrated Software across the Curriculum: Students will examine the patterns of traditional use, current issues and emergent trends of digital technology in learning, and develop an expertise to function as entrepreneurs in establishing new products or services. They will assess integration strategies that support and enhance educational experiences across a diverse array of learners and analyze professional development and training initiatives in technology for relevant stakeholders.
     Project 1: Universal Design
            UDL is one of the concepts that I found very useful in my line of work. Part of my job is to evaluate databases that the district needs to supplement                 the curriculum and enhance teacher practice. UDL became one of the criteria that I applied to my evaluation. For example, if a database offered a                 text to speech feature or articles in various reading levels, I would give it more weight in my evaluation over those that lack such features.
     Project 2: Blocks to Robots
            Project-based learning is among the information literacy standards that librarians follow in their practice. I chose digital photography and QR codes             to create a book trailer to promote reading. I used that project with my book club students this year and they really enjoyed it. The number of                         students who finished reading the whole book increased.
     Project 3: Flip your Classroom
            I never considered library curriculum suitable for flipping. After reading Bergmann and Sam book Flip your classroom (2012), I realized that the                         concept is universal enough to be applied to almost any curriculum. The videos I created for this assignment I incorporate in my library instruction                 and with courses I co-teach such as research and writing
     Project 4: Systems Thinking
           
Senge’s Fifth Discipline - which was the text behind this assignment - helped me to conduct effective PD sessions and standout in             
            committee meetings. I would always, in these situations, emphasize group learning and utilize the personal mastery of each member in  
            the community I interact with.
 
EDTC 815 - Advanced Administration & Supervision of Technology in Educational Settings:  This course prepares students to serve as professionals who promote the development and implementation of technology infrastructure, procedures, policies, plans, and budgets for schools and organizations at an advanced level. The course prepares students who desire to lead education and training organizations in improving teaching and learning through the scientifically sound application of educational technology. 
     Project 1: Admin & Supervision
            As a school library media specialist, I work as the unofficial technology coordinator. This assignment and the course in general gave me great 

           insights on all aspects of the job. I looked at the district’s mission statement, approaches to implementations of initiatives and the evaluation
           process.
     Project 2: Hiring Technology Coordinators
           
In this assignment I learned all about the qualifications required for a technology coordinator. It helped me since I am now in the process of asking                 for this job at work,t and it helps to know to how present myself for this job and how my evaluation would go.     
     Project 3:
Technology Implementation Plan
           
  While I worked on this assignment, I was researching a database that my district Assistant Superintendent suggested. I applied all aspects of this                 assignment to my research starting from the needs assessment to ways of implementation. My supervisors were very impressed with my report.  
     Project 4: Professional Development Experience                   
            Next year my district will implement Google Apps for Education (GAFE) on all levels. As a member of the technology committee , our
            meetings this year were about using GAFE as a learning management system (LMS). Armed with the knowledge I gained working in this assignment, I             was able to bring the attention to issues such as level of resistance of the staff members and the organization of the training. I suggested a survey
            to the staff members - based on  what I did on this assignment - that our superintendent put into action.

EDTC 812 - Teaching in the Adult Learning Environment: This course will emphasize teaching adult learners in post-secondary learning environments, including the workplace and corporate settings.  Topics will include:  learning theories applied to the adult learner; distinctions of post-secondary learning environments; delivering instruction in non-traditional settings and time frames; and assessing adult learning.


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