500-word Narrative Summary ~ Laurie White

Hello, my name is Laurie White. I am a third-grade teacher in the Conejo Valley

Unified School District. Teaching is my second career. After earning a Bachelor of
Science in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Management Information
Systems, I worked as a systems analyst, later pursuing a career in education. When I
made the decision to find a masters program, I looked for a program that would help me
combine these two areas of interest. I found that in the MIST program at CSUMB.
My experience in the MIST program has included courses in learning and
behavior theories that brought a shift to my teaching style. These courses enhanced my
knowledge of how humans learn, bringing me additional insights as to why some
teaching activities or strategies work better than others. There is now more of a focus on
student-centered learning happening in my classroom, and less teacher directed
instruction.
The courses in multimedia introduced me to various software and programming
tools that will continue to enhance my teaching methods as I move forward. Tips in
video and audio production improved my abilities to reach my students through this
medium. Learning to use the Camtasia software helped me create engaging video
lessons. These skills transfer to my students as I teach them new ways to share their
understanding of a concept by making multimedia presentations.
Taking on the roles of designer and developer throughout several of the courses
has improved my ability to use Captivate. This has also helped me to focus on details
critical to the design process. Starting with a big picture idea for a piece of training and
then narrowing down the details to create SMART objectives takes time and skill.

500-word Narrative Summary ~ Laurie White

Ensuring that my training modules are meeting the desired objectives requires reflection
from a learner's point of view.
At first, I thought learning to use Dreamweaver might be overwhelming as we
began the course on web design. Instead, I found the creativity I was able to include in
my web design a pleasant challenge to code. Web design is an area I will continue to
develop, and may try to incorporate into my teaching.
So much of what I've learned in this program ties directly to my need to support
the use of technology in education in my classroom. The students coming to me today
know far more about using various devices than the students I taught ten years ago.
While most of these students may still use devices as a distraction or way to play, we are
beginning to see a move toward using technological tools for academic gains.
As an educator, I believe it is important to continue improve upon the skills
gained through the MIST program at CSUMB. As our society moves toward an increase
in digital citizenship, educators will need to be able to work with technology as easily as
they work with books, papers, and pencils. Understanding how to combine learning and
instructional theories with the current technologies will aid their instruction and provide
students a rich educational experience.