I decided to enroll in the Ed.S.

Instructional Technology program because I was happy with my

experiences in my Master’s program in Instructional Technology at GSU. My Master’s was in the media

specialist side of things, so I decided to go the Instructional Technology route for my Ed.S. so that I could

add another field to my certificate and expand my career opportunities. I just started my first media

specialist job after teaching high school English for twelve years, and I’m enjoying it so far, so I’m not

looking to change jobs right now, but who knows what the future may hold.

The assignments in this course each shaped my ever-evolving perspective concerning what

instructional technology involves. The Clark-Kozma debate assignment made me reshape some of my

perceptions of instructional technology, even after having just completed a Master’s in the field. It also

reiterated what I already knew, that instructional technology choices are always subordinate to

pedagogical objectives for student learning.

The journal analysis project was a great way for me to delve into the differences in journals that

pertain to instructional technology. It was mentioned that our class’s work would be added to a growing

resource of previous students’ journal analysis projects, providing a valuable resource for future

research in my Ed.S. program. I’m wondering how to access that.

The interview assignment was perhaps the most helpful to me in terms of learning what

instructional technology jobs are really like day-to-day. This is largely because of the candid responses I

got from my interviewee about the ins and outs of her position.

The PLN assignment was interesting in that it provided a glimpse at how building a PLN on

Twitter can help me stay in touch with other instructional technology professionals, as well as learning

about the latest ways that instructional technology is being impacted and is impacting education.

Completing my innovation plan made me feel a little bit like an actual district or school level

instructional technology professional (other than my media specialist role I have now). While the
assignment seemed straightforward, when I got into the meat of it, I realized how much detail and

thought had to go into even the smallest of decisions regarding instructional technology solutions.

In conclusion, as I said previously, I’m happy with my new media specialist position. It combines

my passion for instructional technology with my love of books and inspiring children to love reading.

While I may or may not use my Ed.S. degree to start another career as a district-level instructional

technology director, I will definitely be able to do my current job better, thus enabling me to make the

most of the instructional technology side of my media specialist position. This class has been a great

start for me to begin to understand what it means to be a leader in instructional technology, whether

that is in my current position or a future one.