EDU697: Week 1 Discussion; Learning in a Technology-enhanced Environment

    I found a very interesting article/study in the Ashford Library called Connecting Organizational Environments With the Instructional Technology Practices of Community College Faculty (Mars, 2007). It was a qualitative study that looked at community colleges, three specifically, and their integration of technology into their programs and how the faculty responded to it, or were affected by it. The results were somewhat expected in that those colleges who had a looser approach to the integration are not/were not poised for as much success as those colleges that tightly integrated technology along with specific policies, directives, and procedures. It is also interesting to think about the faculty and what they look for in terms of types of employment. Those instructors who are more familiar, comfortable, and partial to technology will naturally gravitate to universities or colleges that integrate technology more into their programs, or offer programs that are completely based online.

   I would really like to see this study redone. This one was completed 7 years ago and technology has changed so much, especially in terms of use in education. We are obviously completing a program that is completely online and based on technology, while the school does offer on campus classes as well. I would just be interested to see how professors feel about the integration of technology, especially with so many amazing tools available to use, today versus seven years ago.

  This article relates to professionals in higher education, but the same study could be done for any profession. Technology is such a huge part of society that every company uses it in some form or another. I work in real estate and there are always new apps and programs being invented to assist the realtors and home searchers. It is incredible to see how much the profession of real estate has gone to online platforms and uses. I think it is hard for many from older generations, but it has attracted a large amount of people from younger generations who are comfortable and successful at marketing with websites and social media. I think, in regards to technology integration, you have to either accept it and try to learn, or accept the fact that you won't do as well as you once did in this profession.

Here is the link to the article if anyone wants to read it.



Mars, M. (2007). Connecting Organizational Environments With the Instructional Technology Practices of Community College Faculty. Community College Review, 34(4), 324

About Me

Hey Everyone!
  I am Mark, and this is a little bit about me and my family.

 My wife and I have been married for just over 6 years, have 2 amazing children, and live in Payson, UT. Our little boy just turned 3 in April, and our little girl will be turning 1 in June. We love spending time outside on our boat, or at the park, and enjoy being active. I currently work in real estate, and coach football at the high school level.

I love football and hope that one day it can become my career instead of just a 2nd full time job that pays like a month of regular work. I am in the Teaching and Learning With Technology program and hope that it will help me get a job with a university down the road. I would love to teach online classes, or would even consider teaching in the classroom.

I was a fairly good student throughout my K-12 years and ended up graduating with honors. I actually really enjoyed school, most of the time, and had a pretty good experience. I had a couple of teachers who I especially liked and feel like they impacted me the most; I think they were most impactful because they were the ones who believed in me the most. Positive reinforcement can go a long way, and they seemed like friends more than teachers to me. They were positive about my future and wanted me to do great things in life. I am actually still in contact with both of them today.

One of my favorite quotes, which can also be related to education, is from Vince Lombardi. He said "practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect". This quote can be related to so many different things because it doesn't matter how many times you do something, if you are doing it wrong you will never get better at it. In education it is important for teachers, leaders, and administrators to be confident in what they are doing, and making sure they are constantly assessing and looking for ways to improve. We need to get better in order for us to help our students become better.

I think that creating a blog is a fun and interesting project. I personally enjoy doing things like this and have created several websites as well. I think, for the most part, anyone who is familiar with a computer could figure out how to create their own blog. The trouble is remembering to update it, if it is a personal blog. I feel that blogger is fairly user friendly and most people should be able to follow the tutorials and templates to figure it out.