Modeling the Way (Blog 6.2)

In Chapter 9 of The Innovator's Mindset, George Couros (2015) says that we "...can make the most of new opportunities by embracing the role of learner. Immersing ourselves in the learning process will give us a much better understanding of the opportunities technologies bring to our students" (p. 141). This is the mentality an Instructional Technologist needs so they can be an effective leader in their school. I have tried to model this behavior in my own daily work as much as possible.

One way I have modeled and explored new opportunities for learning at Lone Star College-CyFair is to volunteer to familiarize myself with the campus "One Button" studio and develop training for both faculty and students.

Another way I have modeled this is by collaborating with the Program Manager for our professional development department to provide training on Mevo cameras that are available for checkout. I will be explaining how videos created with Mevo cameras can be incorporated into online learning.

I also try to learn with the instructors that come to me for assistance. This semester, I have been lucky enough to have two different instructors come in with questions about their online textbooks. Each professor was using a different publisher and wanted to integrate the publisher into our LMS. I rarely get the opportunity to see the publisher's side of the website, and how the content is structured. I was able to work with each instructor and have them show me their courses on the publisher site and explain how it works, so I will be better equipped to help the next instructor that comes in with a question. I was then able to teach the instructors how to integrate their online textbooks with our LMS. 

Personalized learning is becoming increasingly popular in community colleges. When I started three years ago, everyone was talking about "flipping" their classrooms and I had no idea what they were talking about. Last year we were talking about metacognition. This year we are looking at adaptive learning platforms. Over the summer I was tasked with researching how artificial intelligence allows us to personalize learning for students. I presented the information at the D2L Fusion conference here in Houston.

As difficult and stressful as it was to research and present on this topic, I'm glad that I was able to gain a better understanding of how adaptive learning technology works. We will eventually move towards an adaptive LMS, and I will be ready and willing to work to understand the new technology and show instructors how to use it to the benefit of everyone.

Couros, G. (2015). The innovators mindset: Empower learning, unleash talent, and lead a

culture of creativity. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting.