ItallstartedwithanacceptanceletterfortheMastersforEducationinEducational

Technologyprogram.InthemonthofAugust2012,IenteredtheOTECOhanawith14other
memberswhomIhavenevermet.AsIflewovertoOahuforourfirstF2Fsession,Ianticipated
whatwastocome.IrememberthefirstdaywalkingthruthedoorsofWistHallhearingthe
soundsoflaughterechoingfromthefloorabove.AnyfearsordoubtIhadwerethenwashed
awayandIproudlycontinuedtowalktowardsthesoundsoflaughter.
AsIenteredthedoorway,myfeetsuddenlystoppedmovingasalleyeswereuponme.I
triedtocrackasmileandtomysurpriseIwaswelcomedwithopenarms.UnlikemyBachelors
program,IhadashortamountoftimetobondwitheveryoneasonlytwoF2Fretreatsessions
werescheduled.Athirdretreatwasscheduledbutwouldnothappenuntiltheendofoursecond
orthirdyear.Thelast(third)retreatisdeterminedonwhetherapersonwentthetwoyearroute
ordecidedtotakesomeextratimetofinish.
Althoughallcourseworkisdeliveredonline,theF2Fretreatswereoneofthebiggest
highlightsoftheprogramformyself.ForthefirstF2Fretreatsession,everyoneseemedtomake
animmediateconnectionwithoneanotherandfromthenwebecamethe2014OTECOhana.
Fromanoutsiderpointofview,onewouldhaveneverknownwehadjustmetandbondedinjust
twoshortdays.The2014OTECOhanaisoneofakindinthatdifferentprofessions,agerange,
andoutoftheeightHawaiianIslandsfivearerepresented.Toremainconnectedwitheachother
outsidetheboundariesofourprogramaFacebookgrouppagewascreated.Intheprivategroup
page,wecontinuetosharewitheachotherourtearsofjoyorpain,questions,personal
achievements,lifeactivitiesandthelistgoeson.
AsastudentIpreferthetraditionalF2FteachingmethodsbutIhavegrownaccustomed
toonlinelearning.TherewasanunsurefeelingpresentonthefirstF2Fretreatsessionand
sporadicallythroughoutthefirstsemesterbutIknewdeepdownthiswasdefinitelytheright
decision.Likemostonlineclass,theOTECprogramhadbothsynchronousandasynchronous
learningthatinvolvedlectures,smallgroupdiscussions,studentpresentations,discussion
boards,andvirtualclasses.
ItwasETEC602course,InnovationsinEducationalTechnology,withDr.Mike
Menchacawerethefirstmajorprojectassignmentwasgiven.Forthisparticularproject,target
colorgroupswereassignedandtheobjectivewastodevelopaconceptattainmentthatprovided
examplesandnonexamples.ThiswasthefirsttimeItrulyexperiencedworkingwithmypeersat
adistance.AlthoughthereweretwopeoplefromMaui,Iwasoftenpairedwithsomeonewho
livedonanotherisland.
TheelectivecoursethatIchosethat I chose in my first semester was a perfect
choice. The course chosen was ETEC 442, Computers in Education, with Dr. Lin. In this
course, I was introduced to many web tools that I was unfamiliar with such as WebQuest,
OERs, Screenr, Ning site, and much more. Not to mention that this class also taught me
new tricks in using VoiceThread and Google Doc. I thoroughly enjoyed this class and was
able to apply my skills gained in my other courses that I registered for.
Ifeltthatmysecondsemesterintheprogramwasalittlemorechallenging.Likethefirst
semester,IhadregisteredforthreeclassesthatranconcurrentlybutsomehowIfoundmyself
barelystayingafloatattimes.Allthreeclasseswerequitedemandingandontopofthatsmall
groupprojectswereassigned.Thechallengewasorganizingdaysandtimestomeetwiththe
differentgroupsandmanagingtostayorganized.ItwasduringthissemesterIwastakingETEC
651,HypermediaDesign.Thiscourseintroduceddifferentfreeandopensourcemultimedia
programssuchasGimp,Blender,andStopAnimation.Imustsaythiscoursewasfunbutareal
challengewhenitcametolearninghowtousetheBlenderprogram.Thereweretimeswhenit
tookmeafewdaystofigureouthowtomakemydesignlooklikethepictureintheinstructions.
TotellyouthetruththatdidnotalwayshappenbutthankfullyDr.Mike,theTAs,andclassmates
wereunderstanding.
SpeakingofTAsIwasgiventheopportunitytoGTA(graduateteacherassistance)inone
ofthecoursesofferedduringsummer2013.IwastoldthatbeingaGTAincollegeisagreat
honorandisalsoaverychallengingjob.IreallyhadtoknowwhatIwasdoinginordertotakeon
sucharesponsibility.AsaGTA,Iassistedaprofessorinteachinganundergraduatecourse.
DutiesofaGTAarevaried.Forthisparticularcoursesomeofmydutiesincludedassistinginthe
preparationofcoursematerials,assistingintheevaluationandgradingofstudentwork,and
attendingofficehours.Lookingback,IamreallygladItooktheGTAposition.Ithelpedme
developmycommunication/leadershipskillsanditwasagreatwaytoforeshadowmyprevious
professor.
ThefinalsemesterwasthetruetesttodemonstratetheknowledgeandskillsIhave
gained.Itwasduringthistimethatmythoughtsandideaswrittendownonpaperstartedtocome
live.Asnewskillswerelearnedtheoldwerebroughtbackintoaction.Muchofmytimewas
spentonthedevelopmentofmymastersprojectandwaitingtogetIRBapproval.Ittookalittle
overthreeweekstoreceivealetterofapprovalfromtheIRBdepartment.AllIcoulddodurning
thethreeweekswasprayandplaythewaitinggameinhopesthatIwouldreceivethatOkay
signofapproval.
Unlikethesemestersbefore,amoreasynchronousapproachwasusedtoallowfor
independentworktobeaccomplished.Formymastersproject,Idevelopedaninstructional
designWeeblywebsitethatmeettheneedsofaparticularpublicelementaryschoolinHawaii,
ontheislandofMaui,whoiscurrentlyintheprocessofreplacingLotusNoteswithGoogleApps
forEducation.
OnApril22,2014,eachmasterscandidatewastopresenthisorherprojectattheTCC
WorldwideConference.Afterpouringmanyhoursofworkandheartintodesigningmy
instructionaldesignprojectIwasabletoshareitwithothersfromaroundtheworld.Withatime
frameofjust20minutes,Iwastoshowcasemymastersprojectandsharethemethod,
process,thoughts,experienceandetc.Therewereanumberofgreatstudentpresentationsas
wellasguestpresenters.Theconferencewasasharedplatformofmanyideasandpractices
thathelpedtoguide,inspire,challenge,andempowermyownteachingmethod.
NotonlydidIpresentatthe2014TCCconference,Ialsohadtheprivilegeofpresenting
mymastersprojectattheGoogleSummitwithmyprofessorDr.MikeandclassmateDanaon
March21,2014.WewerechosentopresentourmastersprojectsinceitrelatedtotheGoogle
AppsforEducationtopic.Givenfreeadmission,IapproachedmyfirstexperienceattheHawaii
GoogleSummitasanopportunitytolearnandgrowandthatIdid.Asanindependentlearner,I
feltthatIhadafairamountofunderstandingofGoogleAppsgoingintotheSummit,butwhenall
wasdoneIhadrealizedIonlyhadscratchedthesurface.IalsoregisteredfortheGoogle
CertifiedTrainerBootcampwithJillSillandhadtheopportunitytomeetothereducators.
ObtainingaMastersDegreehasbeenalongtimepersonalgoal.WhenaskedwhyIchoseto
enrollinonlinecourses,Isayflexibilityandconvenience.ThecoursesIhavetakenintheOTEC
programhaveallowedmetodeepenmyknowledgeandunderstandingoftheworldofonline
learning.Allthecoursesofferedinvolvedcollaborationwiththefacultystaffandpeers.
Collaboratingonawidevarietyofprojectsallowedmetorealizemystrengthsandthoseof
others.AsIseeit,collaborationistheactofjoiningtogethertoaccomplishsomethingthat
cannotbeaccomplishedalone.ThefacultyandstudentsintheOTECprogramaresomeofthe
bestpeopleIcouldhavehopedtobeassociatedwith.Ithasbeenagreatexperiencebeingable
tocollaboratewithsuchpassionategroupofindividuals.Onthatnote,Iwouldnothavebeable
succeedwithouttheendlessamountofsupportgivenbythefacultystaff,instructorsandcohort
Ohana.Thiskindofloveandsupportcannotbefoundanywhereelse.
TheMastersinEducationalTechnologydegreeIwillhavecompletedasofthisMayhas
beenmostvaluable.WouldIchangeordoanythingdifferently?Asdifficultasthisprogramwas,I
wouldnotchangeonethingaboutit.Attheendoftheday,myfinalculminatingePortfolioisa
reflectionofmyscholarlyvoyage.Ihavecreatedalearningspacesothatthecasualpasserby
canlearnwhatIhavelearned.TheePortfolioincludesvisualmedia,links,embeddedwebsite,
andotherartifactswhichdemonstratemylearning.