At a recent Apple event, I ran into Tod Baker, a former participant in the TCEA Technology/IT Director Certification Program. While chatting, Tod mentioned how grateful he was for TCEA’s certification program and how it really helped advance his career. I had the opportunity to interview Tod, and I am excited to share it with you today.
Please tell us about yourself.
I currently work as a Technology Coordinator at The Magellan International School in Austin, Texas. The Magellan International School is an independent, not-for-profit, IB World School with 450+ students from preschool to eighth grade. I work closely with our Information and Digital Literacy department and Technology Committee to coordinate the instructional technology and the technology infrastructure that is needed for teaching and learning and school operations. I also enjoy teaching our MYP Design course.
I completed the Technology/IT Director Certification Program last April, and have since landed a job as a Technology Director in Bangkok, Thailand. I will be moving this summer and am very excited to start this new adventure.
Why did you choose to participate in the certification program? What were your goals?
I joined the certification program to boost my resume, fill some gaps in my education, and learn more about how Texas educators get things done and what concerns them.
What was your favorite part of the program? Why?
I was allowed to choose the sessions and workshops that fit my needs. My choices, as you can imagine, related closely to my current needs at work. In addition, the experiences and resources in many of those sessions turned out to be valuable right away.
As part of the certification program, you had to complete an online portfolio and final project. Briefly describe what your final project was and your thoughts about completing the online portfolio.
For my final project, I formed a professional learning community at my school and we delved into the ISTE Essential Conditions to understand how prepared we were to leverage our technologies for teaching, learning, and leading. We mapped out how well we met 13 of the 14 critical elements and then we highlighted our next steps. The report created many useful talking points and helped give direction to my school’s strategic planning.
The online portfolio pulled my learning experiences together and put them in one place for me to reference later. My portfolio continues to be useful. When putting it together, it forced me to find the significance of my learning experiences. Without the portfolio, I suspect I would have learned less. My portfolio can be found here.
Overall, how did the certification program impact you, your school, and ultimately, your students?
The certification program has helped me develop a more comprehensive perspective of technology in schools that stretches from hands-on usage to overall program development. The course work helped us at the school open conversations about technology planning, teaching, essential conditions, and more. I think that it is very valuable for anyone interested in not only advancing their career in the field of educational technology, but also for anyone who wants to broaden their skills.
Many thanks to Tod for taking the time to share about the TCEA Technology/IT Director Program. Shanghai will be lucky to have him. You can always find Tod on twitter at @todbaker.
If you would like to learn more about the Technology/IT Director Certification Program and the other certification programs we have available, be sure to check out our Certification offerings.
