I am an OSDE certified teacher, with an undergraduate degree in Music Education from Kansas State University and a Master's degree in trumpet performance from the University of Central Oklahoma. I have five years of secondary level teaching experience in Kansas, and eight yeras of experience designing and teaching secondary instrumental and general/technology/worship arts music courses in Oklahoma.
At Oklahoma Christian School, I was privileged to team with colleagues eager to leverage available resources to help students discover and grow. Increasingly, those solutions were manifested through the use of digital technology. Presentations at music educator conferences hinted at the potential of these resources, and I found myself partnering with peers in many disciplines to determine how best to maximize these technologies to empower our students. It was exciting, and the possibilities in this fast changing field seemed endless. But paperwork, administration, and pep rallies continued to siphon attention and energy, limiting the time left for the design of curriculum effectively using the vast potential of these resources. I needed more time. So I left the front of the classroom, and once again joined the middle of it.
Through the completion of coursework toward a Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and the EdTech Masters degree, I have discovered there is more potential than I had imagined. I am fascinated by instructional design, and I am certain the effective use of Web 2.0 resources and beyond can close the significant opportunity gaps which exist for underserved populations. My experience with the Design Based Research course as taught by Dr. Asino exposed me to a method through which this investigation can take place.
Funding for education continues to be stretched. I will use effective instructional design partnered with Web 2.0 resources and create free, standards based, sequential curriculum which can be used to present secondary level general music education and beginning instumental jazz education. Arts are cut early, and yet they are one of the places that those who feel they don't belong find a home. I will help students create, experience, perform, and react to music experiences which humanize our society and draw us into community.
I will be pursuing a Ph.D. in education. I will explore the use of Web 2.0 resources, mobile technology, and standards based instructional design in expanding music curriculum options. Upon completion of that degree, I would like to serve on the university level, helping pre-service music educators become empowered to maximize resources through the use of hybrid courses and digital technology. I also hope to design and present online general music course opportunities for non-music major university students and adult learners.
I will seek cross-curricular opportunities and work in areas which will provide understanding of how instructional technology can best be implemented through effective instructional design and presentation. I hope to partner with other educators in collaboration to achieve similar goals.