Leslie Gerth
Annotated Transcript

Here you will find the courses I took to complete the Master of Arts in Educational Technology degree along with a brief description of the course and the activities that were completed during the course.  Some work samples are also included on this page.  For a more complete collection of work samples, including those mentioned in course descriptions below, please visit the Technology Showcase page.

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Spring 2008
EDU 508  Diagnosis, Remediation, and Differentiation of Reading Instruction
Instructor:  Fern Harris
In this transfer course taken through Central Michigan University, we presented case studies from our current classroom profiles.  These case studies outlined students who were below, at, and above grade level in their reading abilities.  We did an in-depth analysis of each student's strengths and weaknesses, along with an individualized plan for their reading instruction in order to optimize each student's potential.

Spring 2009
CEP 810 Teaching for Understanding with Technology
Instructor:  Susan Wright
In this course, technologies that have become popular such as blogs, RSS feeds, and podcasts were introduced as tools that educators can use to stay informed about technology and provide more opportunities to our students in the classroom.  Essential programs such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel were also given educational implications for classroom use.

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Image courtesy of UDL Center

Summer 2009
CEP 811 Adapting Innovative Technologies in Education
Instructor:  Melissa White
In this course, the concept of TPACK was discussed and we were introduced to the concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).  We also created a stand alone instructional resource using PowerPoint (STAIR).  My STAIR project focused on map skills for second graders.

Spring 2010
CEP 812 Applying Educational Technology to Issues of Practice
Instructor:  Carolyn McCarthy
In this course, our main project was to use technology to attempt to solve a problem in our educational setting and then to maintain a blog about it.  My project centered on a science issue of whether online simulations were as effective as hands-on activities for young students. 

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Spring 2012
CEP 891 Online Literacy and Reading to Learn in the Digital Age
Instructors:  Dr. Rand Spiro, Paul Morsink, Michelle Schira Hagerman
In this course, we learned about the unique challenges of reading online and how it differs from reading traditional print.  We focused on creating an online resource to reinforce online reading strategies in a targeted audience.  I created a website for second graders to help them learn to find key words and ignore common distractions found online.  My website did this within the context of our unit on the life cycle of plants.  Click to view my Second Grade Plants Website.

Summer 2012
The following courses were taken concurrently in a hybrid of face-to-face and online learning environments.
CEP 800 Psychology of Learning in School and Other Settings
CEP 815 Technology and Leadership
CEP 822 Approaches to Educational Research
Instructors:  Punya Mishra, Laura Terry, David Goodrich
For six weeks, I participated in this cohort session.  This experience was very challenging, yet extremely satisfying.  I was able to meet and work with many peers in a collaborative environment both in person and online.  The courses focused on teaching for understanding as well as providing us with the skills and knowledge necessary to be leaders in the area of educational technology.  During the face-to-face portion of the program, we used various technologies to discover how learners become motivated in and out of the classroom.  During the online portion, we collaborated with group members on various projects and worked on our own "dream" proposal for a technology grant.  Click to view my Dream IT technology grant project.

Clipart courtesy of English G3 NDL

Spring 2013
CEP 820 Teaching K12 Students Online
Instructors:  Sean Michael Leahy, Andrea Zellner
In this course, I learned how to design an online course.  Specifically, we focused on appropriate assessment and course design choices based on the population of the student body.  I created a course using Haiku LMS for second graders which would serve as a supplement to our classroom mathematics instruction and would reinforce and strengthen math strategies and skills.  Click to view my Math Strategies Course Module.

Summer 2013
CEP 807 Professional Seminar Capstone in Educational Technology
Instructors:  Dr. Matthew Koehler, Andrea Zellner, Joshua Rosenberg, William Cain
In this course, MAED and MAET students work to create a professional online portfolio.  Students are grouped together to provide each other feedback along the way.  The finished portfolios will be a showcase of all of the work completed during the course of the program and will show future prospective employers the skill set we have upon completing the degree.

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