Journey of Self Discovery

Finding My
Vision

Tech Student
Infusion Centered

Life-long
Student

Alice Chin Kim

Azusa Pacific
University

GLP
Simulations Website
Wiki
 511 Found. EdTc 517 Telecomm.
Dr. KB Prof. Bruzzese

Theory
APA PLN

571 Curr. Found. 527 Spec. Topic

Prof. Suffern Prof. Bettger

ASSURE
Prof. Silva
524 Inst. Design
GLP

Dr. KB
518 GL Class
GA Cadre 15
526 Practicum:
Sept. 09 ~ Nov. 10
Dr. KB
572 Adv. Ed. Psych. Student
Dr. Brown Centered
Work in Progress 515 Emerging Trend 523 Hypermedia
Dr. Brown Prof. Silva
GLP Website, Widget,
Assistive Tech.
Phil. Of Ed.
Software Eval Rubric
Student Centered
District Tech Plan
Classroom
520 Curric. Tools 573 Hist. of Ed.
Prof. Silver Prof. Suffern
Running Head: JOURNEY OF SELF DISCOVERY 1

Journey of Self Discovery

Chin Alice Kim

Azusa Pacific University

JOURNEY OF SELF DISCOVERY 2

Journey of Self Discovery

Personal Growth

My journey at Azusa Pacific University (APU) has been one of the most

exceptional times in my life. There were many sleepless nights, tears of frustration, and a

trip to the cardiologist due to the stress, but I know that it had profound effect on my life.

Before APU, my life was just redundant, between work and home. It was just effortless

but dreary, as I had been doing the same thing for the past ten years. My mantra to my

husband was that I wanted to quit work in five years, just enough time for him to be

promoted to next level and earn enough to cover our huge mortgage. The greatest

personal growth for me through taking courses at APU is that I regained my first love

with God and found His purpose in my life. Continuous devotions for the past 15 months

and reading testimonials from other cadre members strengthened my relationship with

God. I once wanted to be a missionary, but by being in my comfort zone and with the

security of my family, I lost all drive and vision for His Kingdom. However, in the

course of doing the Master’s program, I found His purpose in my life and I realized that

my profession as teacher is not through my choice but by His will.

Realizing that fact that I became a teacher through His guidance and His will gave me

gave me a new purpose in life. I am not just a homemaker, or mother, or any old Joe, but

I am a child of God doing His work and my school is the mission field. I am in this

profession not to make money to pay the mortgage but to do His work to touch the lives

of many students. My job as teacher is not only to dispense the information or to get

better scores in California Standard Test but to have relationship with each one of His

children and to show God’s love through my actions. With this regained purpose; my
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daily encounters with students and the relationships with them has also changed. My

students are not just other people anymore, but they are God’s chosen ones for me to

work on. They are my sheep, and I need to convey God’s love to them through my

actions and sincerity of heart. Every morning has been different for me this September

because I have realized that God is with me in my classroom to change the hearts of my

sheep and to touch their lives.

With this new vision, God also gave me the heart to love my students. Now when

I think and pray about my students, tears start to well up. For example, I have a student

in my class whose his father is in jail for killing his mother. How can I not love, pray,

and cry for this student? This is a monumental gain personally because for the first time

in my forty years of life, I have found God’s purpose for my life. Having this purpose

takes away the anxiety for my future and the emptiness in my heart. I feel energized

every morning knowing that I am leaving home to do God’s work.

Professional Growth

I have learned so much in this program, but the most profound professional

growth has been in changing a teacher-centered instruction style to a student-centered

instruction style. Like most teachers, I was becoming too comfortable in what I was

doing. Elementary school teachers move from one grade level to another, reinventing the

entire curriculum, but high school teachers only teach one subject at different levels, year

after year. I have been teaching Biology, Advanced Placement (AP) Biology and Life

Science for past 10 years, and I was getting too comfortable at teaching the same thing

and doing the same labs; it was getting to the point where I was planning lessons on my

drive to school. I was planning lessons that suited me the most, which took least amount
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of preparation, and that I had done many times before. I did not realize that our students

are different from us and that I am getting unique students each time. What suits me does

not work for many of my students because according to Prensky (2008), “they have spent

their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players,

video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age” (para. 11).

Prensky (2008) also stated that our students learn differently from us because “the

environment and culture in which people are raised affects and even determines many of their

thought processes” (para. 18)

Just when I was getting comfortable with my teaching style and materials, the classes

at APU constantly challenged my attributes as a teacher. They made me reflect on my

teaching and the teaching materials. I realized that I needed to change my style of

teaching to student-centered instruction, where I am accommodating and facilitating their

learning styles and interests. I started introducing more labs, using different online

simulations, and setting assignments using YouTube posts. Just today, I had students

doing a rap song of cell organelles and functions. My discovery was intriguing. The

quietest student, who did not turn in most of my worksheet assignments, came up and did

an incredible rap song in front of 37 of his peers. It was amazing to see the students

come alive when I moved out of my comfort zone and moved into their world. When I

asked the student if he liked it, he answered by saying that it was his thing.

I like structure and formality, and this would have been unthinkable 15 months

ago. I am not afraid to try new things and conform for my students. I realized that

teaching is not about me, but it is about my students. My instruction should reflect my

students’ level and their learning style. I want my students to experience that learning
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can be fun. By using many different forms of teaching, I want to strike a chord for the

individual student.

Technical Growth

In the past, my understanding of using technology in the classroom was using

PowerPoint presentations and an LCD projector. From the classes at APU and article by

Sulla (1999), I have learned that technology should be infused into the curriculum instead

of showcased (para. 3). Infusion of technology means that all of our lessons and

curriculum should have technology components penetrated and instilled within.

Technology is not a stand-alone device but should be integrated and distributed

throughout our lessons. Infusion of technology should be obvious if we understand our

student population, because Bailey & Ribble (2007) states that our students have “digital

citizenship,” which means that they are fast paced, multi-tasking and tech savvy (para.

12). I delivered a speech on technology infusion during our Western Association of

Schools and Colleges (WASC) meeting, and I received a standing ovation from some of

my colleagues. I had some knowledge of computer and technology, but I never

considered myself to be tech savvy. I was able to navigate and surf the web but didn’t

even own my website. The result of my technological improvement through APU is that

I now have ten websites, five wikis, a blog, many podcasts, personal learning space, and I

am the owner of many videos published on YouTube.

I use many technologies that are unheard of on our school campus. I am one of

the most innovative, tech savvy teachers on campus. My proudest moments are when

my students look at me in surprise and amazement when I introduce wiki-based

assignments or YouTube-based assignments. Many of my students who are “digital

JOURNEY OF SELF DISCOVERY 6

citizens” do not know much about wikis or online poster-making sites, like the Glogster.

My AP class last year participated in three Global Learning Projects (GLP), including

mine, after the AP Test in May, which included many technological components, like a

virtual fieldtrip, simulations, videos, wikis, and Flickr.

Being able to utilize technology in my lessons is a powerful tool for getting and

retaining students’ attention. Many of them love doing assignments that are technology

based because that is what they are doing at home and that is what they grew up with.

Technology is not an option anymore because we live in a tech-based society. I feel that

the courses at APU have brought me up-to-date with most innovative technology

used in our society, and I hope to transcend and share that knowledge with my students

and my colleagues.

Life Long Learning Plan

With so much growth over the past 15 months, my next step is the

implementation of information into action. I want to change my entire teaching style,

lessons, and activities. I cannot do this over night, but I am going to take one step at a

time because I think I will be in this profession for a long time. As I am revamping the

class structure, I want to also transform my old school lessons to technology infused

lessons. I am already way ahead of many of my colleagues, but I still have a long way to

go in terms of true technology infusion. For example, I am having students upload skits

to YouTube but I want to take it further by adding storyboard or editing features to it. I

want to set up review session on Instant Messages (IM) or Skype like how we do it in our

APU courses. I want my class to be 21st century, technology infused classroom. Another

goal I have which will need lots of prayer and confidence is to work with my colleagues.
JOURNEY OF SELF DISCOVERY 7

I am timid when it comes to taking on leadership positions at my school, but I will try to

be bolder in doing this in future because it is what I believe in, and it will benefit our

students. I’ve already volunteered to make website for our science department and

presented my GLP during the department meeting. To accomplish my goals, I need to

learn more and be aligned with up to date technological materials. Without fine tuning

and updating what I learned through APU, it will become obsolete in few years because

technology is moving so quickly. I will subscribe magazines like “Tech & Learning” and

follow the websites like “edutopia” to be in tuned and focus of the topic of technology in

education. I will attempt to go to any conference that deals with technology in education

and volunteer for any type of staff development relating to technology. .

Conclusion

When I started the program, my sons asked me why I needed a Master’s degree

because I didn’t have time to cook for them or take them to their sports practices. At

first, I told them that my salary would increase and that was my honest reason for taking

the classes, but I now have a different answer for them. Now, I can tell them with

confidence that I took on this challenge to help my students because the more I learn, the

better I will be at helping my students. APU classes were so different from other

education classes I have taken. From the first day when I received bible as a welcoming

package, I knew that I made the right choice. The most valuable teaching from APU was

that it constantly makes me to be reflective on my teaching practices and therefore

transformed my attitude towards students, teaching strategy and lesson delivery. I am not

saying the courses were easy, but it was worth the agony because it was applicable to my

classroom and I was not just doing busy work. I was learning practical things that could
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be incorporated into my classroom the very next day. Even though it is an online course,

it was more personal and nurturing than any other classes I have taken. I have become an

avid speaker for the program, and I am promoting it to all my teacher friends and

colleagues. Perhaps they will develop, grow, and transform as I have done.
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References

All Nursing Schools. (n.d.) . APU Logo [Artwork]. Retrieved from

http://www.allnursingschools.com/schoolimg/00/00/77/apu_logo.gif

Bailey, G. & Ribble, M. (2007). Digital citizenship in school. Eugene, OR:

International Society for Technology in Education.

Design FTP. (n.d.). FTP Logo [Artwork]. Retrieved from

http://www.designftp.com/images/ftp.png

Favicon Blog. (n.d.). Google Sites Logo [Artwork]. Retrieved from

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Mac Hints & Tips. (n.d.). Acrobat Pro Logo [Artwork]. Retrieved from

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Moodle. (n.d.). Moodle Logo [Artwork] Retrieved from

http://moodle.org/images/moodle-desktop.jpg

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), October

2001, Lincoln, NE: MCB University Press.

Rotten Potato Man. (n.d.). Podcast Logo [Artwork]. Retrieved from

http://rottenpotatoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/podcast.jpg

Simply Zesty. (n.d.). Delicious Logo [Artwork]. Retrieved from

http://www.simplyzesty.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/delicious_logo.png

Sulla, N. (1999). Technology: To use or infuse. The Technology Source. Retrieved

September 20, 2010, from http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1034

Tanigent. (n.d.). Wikispaces Logo. [Artwork]. Retrieved from

http://tangient.com/wikispaces.png
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Wichita State University and Internet 2. (n.d.). Global Learning Logo. [Artwork].

Retrieved from http://members.internet2.edu/images/GlobalLearning.jpg