I'm on the Curve

 I'm on the Curve

I have been on a wild ride in the past four decades of technology emerging and I am not ready to get off. I want to outline my journey as to why I feel I am at the cusp of Early Adopter to Innovator on the Diffusion of Innovation Curve and provide why the Masters in Learning Design and Technology will eventually push me over to Innovator.

My very first experience with technology was when I was in third grade, I always finished my work before anyone. I was that early finisher and needed enrichment to fuel my learning, so my teacher allowed me to play Oregon trail or Lemonade stand. I recall using floppy discs, a bulky computer with a black screen and green letters that I had to type (command), to play the games. I remember it just sitting in the back with a cover collecting dust until my teacher decided to give it a try and keep me busy. I ended up becoming the helper when other students started playing.

The next memory was when I worked for a major cable company, coming right out of high school working in technical support. At that time, I was going to a technical school. It was an exciting time in which home internet speeds increased by use of fiber optics, but the modem was as big as a VCR and costs around $500 to lease. Technical support was flooded with calls mainly on education and working out the bugs. People were calling in and willing to stay on the line, at times an hour to two hours just so that their high-speed internet would work correctly.

Another flashback, in my career as a quality analyst then turned trainer, I tested new technologies and processes before it went live for the organization. During this time, it was when the housing market crashed, and the government partnered with banks to help keep people in their homes with heavily mandated regulations and compliance set. I was always hit by deadlines and small window frames to complete a report on something that was foreign to me, but I made it work, of course with the support and collaboration of my teams. When I was a trainer in the financial industry, I did not have formal training to become an instructor. I researched methods and leveraged my resources to deliver the best instruction I was able to with deliverables from the company in mind. I remember one of my coworkers asking me, “How do you know how to do that?”, and that nobody taught them.  I simply said, “I Googled it and watched YouTube videos,” so there was my use of microlearning with no credentials attached. As Udell & Woodil stated all the resources you need are available just takes courage and motivation (2019).

When I switched careers and went into education, I used technology as my companion to help with balancing work and life, engage my students, and really give personalized learning to be able to differentiate my teaching. During the stay order of Covid, when most schools went digital, I was at the forefront of leading my peers on how to use the technology. I spent countless amounts of time researching software and testing it, then shared it with my peers. They found me to be a beacon light during a time of chaos and forced change.

In my current position, I am an online teacher working with middle school students to help in-classroom teachers with technology integration. One of the reasons I decided to pursue my Masters in Learning Design and Technology is to be able to learn ways to integrate technology into the classroom not only for students but for teachers, in a way that they will embrace it and see it as the norm.

I almost feel the shift of education and I am in the right place to become a part of the transformation of coming into the new. Through all my experiences in life with technology, I did not fear, I felt curiosity, determination, and to seek better solutions. My growth mindset pushed me to venture into the world of Learning Design and Technology.  

As I mentioned earlier, I am at the cusp of Early Adopters and Innovator, the Learning Design and Technology program is giving me more confidence each day to become a leader.  According to Diffusion of Innovation, Early Adopters usually take a leadership role in which their peers trust their knowledge and come to them with questions and help. (2022). When I was in the financial industry, I have passed up opportunities to become manager, in fear that it would have me neglect my duties at home since I was a single mother raising four kids at the time. In my education career, I have been voluntold to be the department chair, mentor for new teachers, or being groomed to become a principal. Something shifted inside the past couple years, no matter where I went, I ended up being in the role of a leader but not the official title. I now have that desire in my heart that it is time to take up my destiny and become a strong leader for my peers, which is the main reason I enrolled in a Master’s Program. I want to be a part of the movement to get education to embrace current events, resources, and technology that could restore the love for teaching in educators. As a research article discussed that teacher burnout is increasing and linked with dissatisfaction and leaving the profession (Nguyen & Kremer, 2022). In a leadership position, I will be in a better place to act on new ideas and innovations, and I won’t be on the cusp but fully an Innovator.

References

Diffusion of Innovation Theory. (2022). Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/mph-modules/sb/behavioralchangetheories/behavioralchangetheories4.html

Nguyen, & Kremer, K. P. (2022). Burned out and dissatisfied? The relationships between teacher dissatisfaction and burnout and their attrition behavior. The Elementary School Journal, 123(2), 203–227. https://doi.org/10.1086/721772

Udell, C., & Woodill, G. (2019). Shock of the New: The Challenge and Promise of Emerging Technologies. American Society for Training and Development.