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July 22, 2013

Dear Educational Technology Faculty,

I began my educational journey after graduating from The University of Texas-Pan American with a BA in Sociology in August 2009. I entered into an Alternative Certification Program during my last hours of college in order to take the Math (4-8) content exam. I took the exam during the first week of August, and received a passing score the following week. I began calling school districts from Brownsville all the way to Rio Grande City in search for a middle school math teaching position. Call after call, I heard the same thing over and over that positions have been filled. Luckily, I was able to find an opening at Progreso ISD where I immediately applied for a math vacancy. The same day I turned in the application, I was called for an interview the following day.

I interviewed on the third Friday of the month very close to the start of the new school year. Impatiently waiting to hear back, I took the initiative and called myself the following Monday to find out the status of my application. I had gotten the news that I had been hunting for; that I was hired and needed to go in to sign my contract. I used the next day to get a TB shot and fingerprints done. I attended my first staff development that Wednesday and Thursday to meet and get acquainted with the faculty and staff of my campus. Friday was a workday where I decorated my first classroom with the help of my future husband. I had a weekend to prepare for the next chapter of my life, becoming an educator. Monday was my first day as a teacher; mind you I had no experience in the classroom. I didn't have college courses, substitute experience, teacher aide etc. to help prepare me for my new career, but I felt like I was where I meant to be. Nearly four years later, I am still teaching math at the same district I began at. 

I shared that with you because I was very motivated in finding a teaching position at that time and now I feel the same type of motivation now to complete my Masters in Educational Technology. It has been a long journey for me during this two-year process. The next biggest change in my life occurred during my second semester of my program, I became pregnant. For the most part of my schooling I was adjusting to being pregnant, gave birth, and adjusted to becoming a new mother. Despite all of these obstacles, I never gave up and I was motivated more than ever to finish this program for my family. 

Now that I am in my last week of my program, I am to reflect on everything I have learned during this process. I have been introduced to numerous technology applications that I have utilized in the classroom in order to enhance my lessons. It is great to see how technology has changed education over the years. I have also provided professional development over different Web 2.0 technologies to my campus and district in order to expose more teachers to the technology that is available for us to use. The best part of program was learning how to create, develop, and test online training modules. I believe this is the next step in professional development, and I believe I will have a greater advantage than most to start a career in this field. I will hopefully use the knowledge and skills I have acquired to start a career in creating online trainings for districts to use during professional development. 

I would like to take this time to thank all of my professors for the time and compassion dedicated to educating me. It has really been a pleasure working with all of you. Every one of you taught me something new and opened my eyes to different aspects of teaching and technology. 

Sincerely,

April Canales-Perez