The Life and Times of Matthew | W2 Introductions | Discussion

Hello All!

Here is a bit about myself, some of which is hopefully new information to many of you.

I took a somewhat wandering path through my 20’s to my current position here at MSU. I have 2 bachelors degrees (I would not recommend that to anyone else. I thought that a 2nd bachelors would be faster than a master’s, but it turns out that really is not the case). My first is from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where I had two majors; Physiology and skiing (just joking about the skiing, but I DID spend a lot of time in the mountains). After graduating I held various jobs including: a personal trainer at a gym, booking lodging reservations for ski resorts, and teaching English as a second language in Seoul, South Korea. I finally returned to school at Western Michigan University and obtained my 2nd bachelors degree in Secondary Education from Western Michigan University. Prior to matriculating at MSU I was a high school Chemistry and Biology teacher for a virtual school in Michigan. I am currently an RA for my adviser (Jen Schmidt), and a TA for TE 150.

My experience as a virtual teacher led to my interest in educational technology tools and ways in which virtual education can be improved using these tools. I am particularly interested in using educational data mining techniques to investigate engagement and achievement in virtual learning environments, inside and outside of a K-12 setting. Virtual learning has the potential to open many new learning opportunities for a variety of populations, and I am interested in investigating how these virtual learning experiences can be used most effectively. I am open to exploring career positions inside and outside of academia.

In the context of this course I am interested in:
1. The range of uses educational technology can play in educational settings, and how educations psychology impacts and informs educational technology.
2. How educational technology tools and ideas can be used to improve virtual learning environments.