As I mentioned before I found a passion for teaching Spanish when I moved to the US in 2004, however, prior to that, I never imagined I would work as an educator. When I finished high school, I realized I wanted to become a journalist. My love for reading and writing was key in defining my path to a career in Communications and Journalism. As a student, I started to focus on literature. I created my first website Revista Azul, where I publish my first articles, book reviews, and interviews with other authors in Latin America and Spain. Then, I started writing short stories and became a freelance author. In 2007 I published my book. At that time, I was also working in Kumon and learned about successful students utilizing this popular method for math and reading. For almost five years, I witnessed how young people and children can transform their lives through education. I like to think that there was a connection between these experiences and what was waiting for me in the future. Learning foreign languages in Canada, I became a student again, and my curiosity about teaching Spanish began. In the US, I worked as a Spanish tutor, a Spanish teacher for Middle School and High school, and as an Online instructor.

 

While working online, I started looking for a master's program to expand my knowledge, support my students and find more opportunities to grow in the field. The Master of Arts in Education with a concentration in Technology and Learning fitted perfectly with my needs at that moment. The flexibility of the online program helped me achieve my goals, work and take care of my family.

 

During my time in the program, my interests and goals changed as I moved into different positions throughout the years, but I could always find courses related to my new responsibilities. I am grateful for having the opportunity to be part of this program, each course I took left a remarkable memory that I can see reflected in my professional and personal life. Looking back at some of my experiences can help me describe how far I got and to identify what is coming next. 

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Teaching Online, Learning Online 

 

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Being part of this course, CEP 820, was very significant since I have experienced the pros and cons of teaching with technology in my job as an online instructor and wanted to find new approaches to enhance my skills. After taking this course, I offered my students different options on how to process language acquisition and engage in the online classroom.

 

One of my biggest concerns as a Spanish teacher is that learners develop the four skills of language learning: writing, reading, speaking, and listening comprehension through fun activities and the creation of my online course helped me better recognize different approaches and guided me into new resources. During this process, I reflected on my choices regarding design (platform, visual aids, among others), content (instructions, objectives, communication, etc.), and the uses of assessment to measure students' learning. One of the critical decisions I have made was to plan my module and the structure of each lesson, producing learning objectives that meet the expectations while incorporating specific activities to support those learning goals and identifying common elements to assure quality, such as rubrics for online learning, communication policy, the course syllabus, the purposes of assessments and Universal Design for Learning. 

 

Learning about assessments was another important aspect we focused on during class and something that I needed to understand better as I didn't have much experience in grading. I learned how to incorporate online assessments where learners obtain knowledge, evaluate, communicate, present information, and use the target language. I was able to understand the concept of assessments where students could interpret communication in the Spanish language, connect, acquire information, and demonstrate understanding. The theoretical foundations regarding the design process were an essential part of the course that helped open my mind and explore my inquiry. Having this foundation was key to putting all the ideas together in one place and playing the role of a designer, which I found enjoyable since I could develop other skills and grow as a professional. Over the course, we also analyzed and compared previous OCM (Online Course Modules) and various online platforms to reflect on technology uses in education. 
 

New technologies, more ideas!

 

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my Innovate Learning Plan, I identified some of the struggles of my newcomer students in producing basic English language. Especially since they are part of the Latino community, their connections at home and school are mainly in Spanish, and they have fewer opportunities to speak the target language. For this reason, I focused my plan and learning objectives on helping students improve their pronunciation and speaking skills.  

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In addition to this plan, in CEP 111, I also worked on a variety of projects and designs that represent my teaching and learning journey. I reflected on how failure plays an important role in any professional context and how we can learn and create better experiences for the future. I tested my ideas and reflected on the results. I found ways to improve my teaching skills and learn how to apply something new in an online environment. I explored how to use media from the Internet, giving the appropriate attribution when sharing or republishing online content, how to manage media consumption, and ways to support diverse learners through two essential concepts: Universal Learning Design (UDL) and intersectionality. I implemented new concepts on how to see the big picture of some issues we face as educators and how to bring additional ideas to the table. I designed an innovative classroom environment to develop students’ creativity and passion for learning. I learned to create infographics with Piktochart and Easel, made a 3D online space with HomeByMe, and edited videos with Wevideo.

 

Diverse Learners in the 21-century classroom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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One of the main assignments was to read Start here, start now by Liz Kleinrock and make connections with our experiences, schools and communities. Through this book, I learned how to implement specific strategies to improve our teaching practice through ABAR (antibias and antiracist classroom) work and create classrooms that promote more opportunities for diverse learners. I also reflected on particular issues regarding ways to change stereotypes in the classroom, help students feel safe in the classroom, create opportunities for conversation and dialogue with responsibility and respect for each other. Something that resonated with me was the exercises on how to connect with your identity and find ways to help my students explore theirs more deeply by presenting activities such as practicing Calling in, writing agreements, or using a chart with specific approaches towards people's races, cultures, religions, etc. I also learned about the connections between music and healing and community encounters, and how to implement specific strategies to improve our teaching practice through ABAR and create classrooms that promote more opportunities for diverse learners. 

 

When I took this course, it was in the summer and I was spending some time in Colombia, which gave me more opportunities to compare different cultures, backgrounds, and points of view. We participated on discussions about the book and other readings in weekly encounters posted online and into the MSU Desire2Learn System. I learned more ideas on how to motivate students to find purpose in their learning despite their obstacles, background, or mindset, created new content for future Spanish classes related to ABAR (the Kleinrock community-building activities in my classroom, I am from - poem, personal identity map, and bio bags). We learned how to build classrooms that promote more opportunities for students to solve problems, make decisions and collaborate and learned other ways to be involved in my community, and to foster relationship with students and families by, for example, joining an after-school program or working with small groups of students in other settings.   

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Looking back and looking forward...

 

Now that I am about to complete my master of arts in education, I look back with gratitude for all my experiences during the program. When I applied in 2020, I sought ways to improve my teaching skills and incorporate technology in the classroom. But I gained more than that. In every course, I created new ideas, observed, expanded my thinking, inquiry. I reinforced my abilities as a creator and was able to produce more than I ever imagined. I read, reflected, and wrote about educational learning theories, history in education, different beliefs, and authors. I dreamed about designing a flipped, student-centered classroom, using technology, creating collaborative environments, and implementing multiple ways to assess students and build effective lessons for all learners. I challenge myself by thinking about more strategies to provide an equity and safe environment in schools where students feel heard. I thought about how schools could be more flexible and have open spaces where teachers and students work together. I learned how to develop awareness of students' own identities, to practice social justice and how to understand the negative and positive impacts of power. I gave and receive feedback, and collaborated with an online community. I connected with colleagues and instructors on various digital platforms that allow us to express ourselves and share our opinions freely in other formats. Having the opportunity to also earned the Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching was another benefit for my career.

 

As I finish the program, I also think about what is coming next for my future and my new goals as an educator and learner. I will keep moving forward, finding more ideas, opportunities, and strategies to empower students, as well as looking for ways to implement all the resources and abilities I acquired during this program. I feel confident to give my first steps toward developing learning materials, courses or textbooks, and finding more experiences and possibilities to serve students around the world. My projects, my dreams, my next steps are open, and I can see with more clarity my real life purpose.