November

 4,  2010  
 
To:  Univ.  of  Colo  Denver  Faculty  of  Information  and  Learning  Technologies  
Campus  Box  106  P.O.  Box  173364  
Denver,  CO  80217  
 
From  Craig  Magtutu  
980  Utica  St.  
Denver,  CO  80204  
 
To  Graduate  Admissions  Representative,  
 
I  am  applying  for  admission  into  the  certificate  program  for  Designing  eLearning  
Environments  (DeE).  
 
I  have  been  a  K12  educator  working  in  Denver  Metro  area  middle  and  high  schools  
for  six  years.  Throughout  that  time,  I  have  continuously  worked  to  increase  
students’  exposure  and  access  to  electronic  interaction  with  course  content.  Prior  to  
teaching,  I  graduated  from  the  University  of  Colorado  in  Boulder  with  a  BS  in  
engineering  and  worked  for  five  years  as  a  software  developer  and  systems  analyst  
on  a  variety  of  projects.  
 
I  am  presently  volunteering  at  the  National  Multiple  Sclerosis  Society’s  Denver  office  
as  an  instructional  design  intern.  I  am  working  within  a  team  to  design  online  
instruction  that  simulates  the  use  of  an  internal  web-­‐based  application  for  society  
employees.  
 
Through  my  experience  in  software,  I  learned  the  value  of  clearly  communicating  
with  clients  and  other  stakeholders.  The  importance  of  bringing  a  team  together  to  
create  a  clear  plan  is  something  that  I  learned  and  have  made  use  of  many  times  
through  my  professional  career.  My  experience  working  with  students  taught  me  
more  than  I  can  summarize  here,  but  one  item  relevant  to  your  program  is  the  value  
that  efficient  instructional  materials  bring  to  student  motivation.  When  learners  see  
that  only  the  most  important  material  has  been  presented  to  them,  and  that  they  
have  been  spared  the  unimportant,  obscuring  details,  they  begin  to  appreciate  other  
design  considerations  that  have  been  made  from  them.  Ultimately,  they  apply  more  
effort,  learn  more,  and  have  more  fun.  I  found  this  aspect  of  designing  instruction  
rewarding.  
 
I  believe  that  as  we  venture  into  projects,  we  must  not  be  too  focused  on  the  final  
result,  but  rather  that  we  must  always  pay  attention  to  see  what  learning  we  can  
obtain  in  its  pursuit.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  success  might  be  achieved  by  
disregarding  expectations.  However,  we  make  a  profound  mistake  in  our  own  
professional  development  if  we  constantly  expect  to  succeed  at  any  challenging  
project.  If  we  constantly  look  toward  its  end,  we  drain  our  attention  away  from  the  
effort  before  us.  Quality  learning  is  then  quickly  sacrificed.  
  
I  believe  that  as  we  move  forward  as  learners,  we  must  make  a  habit  of  facing  
discomfort  and  insecurity.  Education  literature  often  describes  this  sensation  of  
discomfort  as  cognitive  dissonance.  As  learners,  we  must  be  able  to  identify  this  
feeling  and  mindfully  forge  ahead  if  we  are  to  make  any  significant  progress.  As  
teachers,  on  the  other  hand,  our  job  is  to  offer  opportunities  for  our  learners  to  
make  the  same  type  of  adventurous  steps  so  that  they,  too,  may  experience  the  
empowering  feeling  that  comes  as  new  understanding  is  reached  through  the  
expansion  of  one’s  comfort  zone.  
 
We  should  consider  any  challenging  endeavor  within  the  context  of  three  powerful  
concepts:  autonomy,  mastery,  and  purpose.  Daniel  Pink  is  a  writer  who  uses  these  
words  extensively  in  his  work  to  share  information  about  motivation  with  the  
corporate  and  educational  worlds.  Although  typical  problems  within  business  and  
education  are  becoming  more  complicated,  we  still  find  ourselves  faced  with  the  
need  to  get  people  to  solve  them.  More  incentives  and/or  firmer  consequences  for  
failed  performance  are  not  the  answer.  
 
Following  Pink’s  conclusions,  I  believe  that  we  must  give  our  students  the  
opportunity  to  practice  autonomy,  or  self-­‐direction  whenever  possible.  People  who  
guide  their  own  learning  are  more  likely  to  retain  the  material.  They  are  also  more  
likely  to  have  original,  creative  thoughts  on  the  subject  that  might  lead  to  new  
investigation  and  useful  progress.  
 
I  believe  that  we  must  also  offer  the  chance  for  our  students  to  truly  become  
“experts”  within  an  area  they  are  studying.  When  they  interact  with  material  at  the  
mastery  level,  they  are  better  equipped  to  successfully  connect  it  to  other  subjects.  
By  definition,  they  are  also  ready  to  aid  in  the  instruction  of  other  learners.  
 
Finally,  I  believe  that  learners  are  best  engaged  when  they  feel  there  is  a  purpose  to  
their  efforts  that  goes  higher  than  mere  grades  and  knowledge.  In  the  present  world,  
there  are  many  ways  we  might  choose  to  spend  our  time.  If  we  expect  students  to  
spend  their  valuable  time  learning  about  a  subject,  then  we  must  find  ways  to  offer  
an  authentic  purpose  to  that  learning.  
 
Through  my  efforts  in  your  program,  I  plan  to  learn  about  the  state  of  the  art  in  
eLearning  technologies.  I  have  spent  three  years  working  with  my  own  learning  
management  system  (LMS),  but  have  not  recently  made  significant  learning  
progress.  I  plan  to  master  introductory  layout  design  skills  that  will  create  a  more  
appealing  space  within  which  students  may  interact.  I  also  plan  to  learn  about  how  
eLearning  environments  can  be  structured  to  offer  opportunities  for  students  to  
successfully  practice  collaboration  skills.  
 
Finally,  I  know  that  online  learning  is  often  prescribed  to  students  because  other  
options  have  failed  or  are  otherwise  not  available.  This  is  a  clearly  a  niche  that  is  
filled  by  eLearning,  however,  I  plan  to  learn  what  can  be  done  within  courses  to  
increase  student  motivation  beyond  what  is  possible  within  traditional  classroom  
environments.    
 
Through  admission  into  this  program  I  will  have  the  opportunity  to  modify  and  
extend  skills  learned  as  a  software  designer  and  classroom  teacher.  After  working  
and  studying  other  professional  instructional  designers,  I  ultimately  desire  to  work  
independently  and  with  receptive  school  agencies  to  create  the  best,  most  efficient  
professional  development  materials  for  teachers  and  administrators.  There  is  a  
tremendous  lack  of  understanding  in  the  K12  education  community  today  about  
what  constitutes  useful  training  time  for  teachers.  To  date,  I  have  only  seen  
exploratory  efforts  by  district  and  school  leadership  to  engage  their  staffs  with  
online  professional  development.  
 
Thank  you  for  your  consideration  of  this  application.  I  am  excited  to  begin  
connecting  my  experience  in  education  with  the  potential  that  eLearning  can  bring  
to  those  organizations  most  in  need  of  training.  Please  do  not  hesitate  to  contact  me  
if  I  can  answer  any  questions  you  have  about  my  preparation  for  this  program.  
 
 
Sincerely,  
 
 
 
Craig  Magtutu