6.

1 Continuous Learning
Candidates demonstrate continual growth in knowledge and skills of current and emerging
technologies and apply them to improve personal productivity and professional practice.

ARTIFACT: Unstructured Field Experience, GaETC

The presentation took place at the 2017 Georgia Educational Technology Conference
(GaETC). The object of the presentation was to provide attendees with several Microsoft Office
365 suite tools that could be used, essentially for coaching, but also how the same tools can be
utilized in the classroom with students. The overall goal was to give attendees a “30,000 ft”
overview of the tools, followed by a live simulation of how the tool can be used, then how I have
used the tool in my practice as an iTeach Instructional Technology Coach.
The presentation entitled, “Suite” Coaching Tools and Tips using Microsoft Office Suite,
and the experience demonstrates the ability to continually grow in knowledge and skills of
current and emerging technologies. To plan and create a presentation on tools and tips to use
when coaching, a strong knowledge base for the MS Office Suite tools and components of
effective coaching practices were required to prepare, design and execute a meaningful
presentation. To ensure I was prepared for the presentation and ready to provide answers and
solutions real-time, I had to continuously study and brush up on each tool and how they can be
used in the manner I wanted participants to be able to grasp. This demonstrates the ability to
apply knowledge and skills to improve personal productivity and professional practice.
Education is changing and the ability to which we are able to use common tools is changing and
will continue to evolve in schools and throughout education for years to come. This experience
allowed me to not only set my mind on the future, but prepare others to do the same.
Completion of this artifact and experience reminded me that as a technology leader, it is
important that you are able to model and facilitate the effective use of digital tools and resources.
One can speak of the functionality of a tool and/or resource, but the effectiveness of the tools or
resources will not be grasped if the technology leader is unable to model to others how they may
be implemented in their areas of expertise. One must also be well versed and prepared to answer
any and all questions that may come about. If you are unprepared to answer questions, or direct
attendees to a source where answers can be found, the trust in your knowledge may begin to
decease. If I were to adjust something related to the artifact itself, I would have included some
direct examples of how coaches or educators outside of myself used these tools and found the
extremely helpful as it would have provided even more credibility to the tool and the O365
platform. Lastly, this presentation had the potential to cover a wealth of knowledge, however, an
hour per presentation was not nearly enough time to do so. With that being said and in situations
such as this, it was important to assess the needs and interest of the audience in some way and
allow that to be the driving force behind the presentation.
 As noted in the field experience reflection, due to the nature of the presentation, it is
challenging to assess the impact on school improvement, faculty development or student learning
because of the particular field experience. Attendees were provided with information they could
take back and implement the following business day if desired. Resources were also provided,
along with my contact information for continuous support as needed.