DOCTORAL PORTFOLIO
Home
Contact
VITAE CURRICULUM
Program of Study
Program of Study
Program Archive
Transcript
Portfolio 1
Goals
Original Goal Statement
An Analytic and Personal Essay
Knowledge essay discussion
A diagram shows connections among courses
Portfolio 1 Assessment Review Sheet
Portfolios2
Knowledge Application Essay
Analytical Personal and Professional Update
Knowledge Representation Essay
Portfolio 11 Assessment and Review Sheet
Portfolio3
Analytic Personal and Professional Essay
Knowledge Evidence Essay
Portfolio III Assessment and Feedback
My Blog
Analytical Personal and Professional
The government of the Sultanate of Oman has put a priority in qualifying Omani experts in different aspects. I am a leader in learning technology and was awarded a scholarship to expand my expertise in this area. Because open educational resources (OERs) are a new notion in the Ministry of Education (MOE), my original goal statement was to examine and investigate the impact of technology in increasing learners’ performance through several perspectives, including curriculum, teaching, learning, and training. Specifically, my proposal focused on structuring learning tasks by integrating OERs. However, after I gained knowledge of learning theories and skills of instructional design from the coursework during the first year of my PhD program, I recognized my goals and areas of interest. The projects, activities, and research I completed through EDIT 705, EDIT 730, EDRS 810, and EDRS 812 shaped the central goal of my doctoral study. As a consequence, my academic, professional, and research goals have been improved based on my newly acquired viewpoints.
Professional Goals
The main professional goals I would like to accomplish through my doctoral study are to improve my expertise and leadership in learning technology, work in academia, develop my research skills, provide a distance education environment, and present papers at national and international conferences.
First, I would like to enhance my expertise in instructional design and technology and OERs, and to improve my leadership skills in the field of learning technology. Therefore, I will have an opportunity to become a leader and a decision maker in multiple associations in the country in my areas of interest. For example, the government is working to establish a National Center of Open Educational Resources, and I would like to have a role in this center and others in order to increase the awareness of OERs in society, encourage lifelong learning and self-paced learning, promote learning outside the wall of institutions, and decrease the cost of purchasing digital content that supports the national curriculum. Additionally, I want to increase online Arabic learning resources to overcome the challenge of the lack of online resources for the Arabic language. Furthermore, from an instructional design perspective, I want to develop instruction for learning and teaching that aligns with constructivist learning pedagogies for formal learning, informal learning, and training.
Second, my plan after graduation is to work only two years in the MOE and then move to a position in academia. There are several opportunities for me in academia because the government is establishing a number of governmental and private colleges and universities. I would like to work as an assistant professor, and I believe by improving my research and academic skills will allow me to achieve this goal.
Third, I would like to contribute to educational research by developing my research skills. To achieve this, I will publish a scholarly work during my program of study. In summer 2016, I submitted proposals titled “Trainers’ Experiences in Technology-Based Training: Satisfaction, Motivation, and Challenges” and “Designing a Constructivist Learning Environment (CLE): Global Warming” to the E-learn 2016 conference. The proposals are the outcomes of the courses EDRS 812 and EDIT 730. I am also trying to publish an article titled “Five Things You Should Know About Collaboration” in a local magazine. Additionally, in the fall of 2015, I was invited by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to write a chapter for a book; the title of the chapter is “Open Educational Resources: Policy, Costs, and Transformation.”
Fourth, my additional plan after graduation is to provide a distance education environment that provides professional development for educators (teachers, curriculum experts, assessment experts, trainers) in both the Arabic and English languages. I will personally deliver online courses in the areas of instructional design, learning technology integration, and OERs. For other specialized fields, I will invite experts to teach online courses according to the society’s requirements.
Finally, I will regularly present papers at national and international conferences. Last April, I was invited by UNESCO and the Consortium for School Networking (COSN) to provide the country report about “Strategies that Foster Innovation in Education” based on technology integration. This type of participation will allow me to stay updated about the latest development in the field of learning technology and will improve my professional goals.
Academic Goals
Because I was the leader and the project manager of the project “Harnessing Open Educational Resources to Integrate ICT Into Teaching and Learning”, I want to explore and expand my knowledge in this area with the intention of creating and using OERs in learning and teaching. I would like to explore the concepts and theories behind OERs and understand different perspectives on integrating OERs in education at levels K–12 and higher. This combination will qualify me in the OER area and allow me to transfer the theory into practice in any educational field. In addition, after having designed a constructivist learning environment in EDIT 730, I am considering designing a constructivist learning environment (CLE) to train teachers on how to create, produce, evaluate, and integrate OERs in lesson plans; for instance, CLE like cognitive apprenticeship (CA) and a community of practice (COP). That is, there is a lack of availability of online resources for subject matter experts in the Arabic language. Therefore, focusing on producing and integrating OERs in education has priority over teaching them how to use OERs.
Furthermore, I led the development of the ICT competency framework for teachers, which included integrating OERs and developing the modules and content of professional training for teachers in order to attain competency. The development process of the ICT competency was based on UNESCO’s three different approaches, technology literacy, knowledge deepening, and knowledge creation. However, the development of training modules was customized from other countries. Therefore, studying instructional design concepts alongside educational research methods will enhance my skills and knowledge enough to build a framework of OER integration in education that aligns with the current status and future requirements of education in the country. After taking the courses EDIT 705 and 730 and reading many studies about successful experiences from leading countries, I realized how important it is to structure frameworks of learning, teaching, and training with learning theories such as constructivist learning theory and the ADDIE model. For example, I developed a cognitive flexible hypertext (CFH) to help students understand and explore climate change from different perspectives. Thus, I have a passion for learning more about the theories in education and their implications. I have participated in a few studies in the last 3 years; however, I consider myself a novice the educational research area. Therefore, I need to develop my research skills during my program of study. Finally, I will practice designing constructivist learning environments with different pedagogical models for formal and informal learning and for training purposes for grades K–12 and higher.
Research Goals
As mentioned above, I am a novice researcher. I have not carried out any independent studies. During my master studies, I focused on the coursework rather than on conducting real research. In fact, I fell in love with educational research after taking the course EDRS 810: Problems and Methods in Educational Research, which helped me to recognize the importance of improving educational systems, programs, and activities. Additionally, I was surprised at obtaining rich information and description from the participants of my study in the course EDRS 812: Qualitative Method in Educational Research through analyzing and coding the interview transcripts. I will develop my research skills by completing the core and elective courses of educational research methods. Initially, my thought is to focus on mixed methods between qualitative and quantitative research in order to qualify to carry out any educational method, especially in my academic career. In addition, I would like to work with professors in order to publish articles and journals in the fields of learning technology, instructional design, and OERs during my program of study.
In conclusion, I want to be an expert and a researcher and contribute to the educational research in the fields of instructional design and technology and open educational resources. Recently, I submitted a proposal for the E-learn 2016 conference as a first step. I will regularly attend educational research conferences that focus on my areas of interest, including professional development through the technology medium, open educational resources, learning technology, and instructional design. In April, I attended the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting in Washington DC, and I attended sessions related to the professional development of educators. For example, one of the presentations focused on the professional development of teachers in evaluating digital content. My presence at these sessions provided me with real-life applications for knowledge I have gained in my courses EDRS 812 and EDRS 630. I focus on technology-based training in EDRS 812, and I am developing an instrument to assess teachers’ self-regulation through an online learning environment in EDRS 630. Furthermore, I became a member of the educational research association, AERA, and in a community of practice, ACADEMIA and ResearchGate. Finally, by going forward in my PhD program, I will be able to form specific questions for my dissertation in the field of professional development in terms of producing and integrating OERs in learning and teaching.
Home
Contact
VITAE CURRICULUM
Program of Study
Program of Study
Program Archive
Transcript
Portfolio 1
Goals
Original Goal Statement
An Analytic and Personal Essay
Knowledge essay discussion
A diagram shows connections among courses
Portfolio 1 Assessment Review Sheet
Portfolios2
Knowledge Application Essay
Analytical Personal and Professional Update
Knowledge Representation Essay
Portfolio 11 Assessment and Review Sheet
Portfolio3
Analytic Personal and Professional Essay
Knowledge Evidence Essay
Portfolio III Assessment and Feedback
My Blog