Research Agenda

When I entered this program, I thought that I knew exactly what I was going to research

from beginning to end. However, I quickly found out that there was so much more to learn and

explore. I began with a focus on rural education and technology use. My first major research

assignment was a literature review on the perception of teachers of technology implementation in

rural schools. The research I uncovered led me to realize that the biggest hurdles that must be

overcome for effective technology use in the classroom are teacher buy-in and technology

training. This revelation led me to also do several class assignments that focus on the

professional development that teachers undergo throughout their careers, especially among the

rural population that is a little further away from training centers. My school district also

changed some aspects of our local professional development, partially as a result of my research.

Beyond classroom assignments, I have had two poster presentations at the Society of

Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) and two papers published in the SITE

proceedings. I have also presented at the Research Exchange Conference (REC) and Winter

REC, both hosted by the University of North Texas (UNT). One paper, co-authored with Mike

Serfin and Raul Lozada was awarded a Best Paper Award at the 2015 REC in Mt. Laurel, NJ.

An instructional design model I created has been submitted to the Journal of Applied

Instructional Design. I am also in the process of updating and polishing several of my class

assignments for publication in other journals, such as the Rural Educator and the Journal of

Research in Rural Education.

My research includes a mix of solo work and group work. While I am completely

capable of working alone, I do tend to work well with others. In most group settings, I find

myself being the voice of unity, tying differing opinions and ideas together to a cohesive plan. I
am also often the one who builds the framework of the paper and performs the literature review.

On some projects, I have been in charge of building the online presence of the findings as I feel

comfortable with website design and building. In our cohort structure, I have found that I tend to

gravitate toward the same core group of co-authors, but it is the result of building a solid and

trusting work relationship; we know that can trust each other to perform the work necessary to be

successful on the project at hand.

Throughout my courses, presentations, and publications, there are some trends that can be

discerned. While the topics of research have ranged from multimedia instruction to distance

learning to instructional design, the underlying connection is my pragmatic nature. I tend to

focus on assignments that have a real-life application or a benefit to my daily life. I want my

learning to benefit my school district and my own classroom; I try to find an outlet for each

assignment that allows me to grow professionally as well as academically. I have a vested

interest in the success of my rural hometown school district, where I live and work. If my

coursework can help us utilize technology for the betterment of our classrooms, that I want to

take advantage of that.

In the future, I do not necessarily see myself as a full-time researcher. Instead, I see

myself as a practitioner, either in the K-12 world, at a small universitys education faculty, or

assisting with technology in one of those environments. In those arenas, I will be able to use the

multitude of skills and assortment of knowledge that I have gained in this program in order to

most effectively use technology to help my students learn. Ideally, I will also be able to share

that ability with my fellow teachers and students, whereby others can build their own technology

prowess moving forward.