June 8, 2025 • 30 mins
Welcome to episode 31 of the Designing with Love podcast! In this episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Caroline Amberson, an educator who is currently completing the Master of Science in Instructional Design program at Grand Canyon University (GCU).
What happens when a veteran educator with decades of classroom experience decides to formalize their instructional design skills? In this enlightening conversation, Caroline opens up about her journey balancing over 22 years of elementary teaching with a master's program in instructional design at GCU.
Whether you're considering a master's in instructional design, curious about educational technology, or wondering how classroom teaching experience translates to other contexts, Caroline's journey offers valuable insights into the evolving landscape of educational design. What educational paths might you explore that build upon your existing expertise?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello and welcome to the Designing with Love podcast.
I am your host, jackiePellegrin, where my goal is to
bring you information, tips andtricks as an instructional
designer.
Hello GCU students, alumni andeducators, welcome to episode 31
of the Designing with Lovepodcast.
(00:21):
Today I have the pleasure ofinterviewing Caroline Amberson,
who is currently completing hermaster's program in
instructional design at GCU.
Welcome, caroline.
Hi Jackie, thanks for having me.
You're welcome.
Thank you for coming and doingthis interview today.
So we'll start off with thefirst question when did you
start your master's degree ininstructional design here at GCU
?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I actually started this January and it's mid-May as
of this recording, so aboutfive months ago.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Great.
So you're well along in theprogram and you're trucking
along right, yes, getting yourclasses done and then great.
So what aspects of the programare you enjoying the most so far
?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
You know, I found that I was a little bit anxious
coming into it because I did myundergraduate many years ago and
I've had some other graduateexperience with different
programs and things, but I'venever really done a fully online
course before, so I was alittle concerned that, oh, I'm
not sure that I will like thepacing or the platform.
(01:24):
And the LMS actually has beenso streamlined and simple and I
am a sucker for a nice userinterface and I really think
that it's easy to use.
So I have to say online andbeing able to, you know, create
an organization, organizationalsystem that works for myself has
been one of my favorite aspects.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Yes, it helps when you can have that everything
laid out to, where you know whatyou need to do, how you need to
do it, when that really helps,and I think that's one of the
things that GCU has done reallywell is they've laid out the
curriculum really well so thatthat way you go from class to
class and you know what toexpect in general.
And that way the only thing thatmay change is your instructor.
(02:06):
But you kind of have that ideathat two DQs are due each week,
one's due on Wednesday, or let'ssay one's the first one due
Monday and the second one's dueon Wednesday.
So you at least have thatstructure.
You know assignments are due onWednesday, so it's nice to have
that that nice structure inplace.
And knowing just the patient'salways going to be worth a
certain amount of points, and soare DQs, and the only thing
(02:29):
that may change is assignments.
You know those vary, so it'snice to have that structure.
Great.
Well, that's wonderful.
So you're always going to be aLope now.
Yep, that's great.
So what kind of work do youcurrently do right now?
Speaker 2 (02:44):
You know, I'm in kind of an unusual position where I
am currently, so this is my 22ndyear as a classroom educator.
I have worked for SanBernardino city unified for a
little over two decades Now.
Uh, I teach at an elementaryschool right now.
I have a combination class, soI teach fifth and sixth grade,
um, but on top of that, for thelast 12 years I've also been a
(03:04):
program specialist, so I am ademonstration teacher for my
district, which means that notonly do I maintain my full time
classroom, which is open toguests who want to come observe
lessons or see strategies inaction, but we also do live
recordings in our classrooms oflessons that then post online.
(03:26):
We also do a lot ofinstructional design for the
district.
So we have a pretty regularCSTP workshop.
Cstp is the CaliforniaStandards for the Teaching
Profession, so we do workshopson those for new teachers I
present at New Teacher Academy.
I basically am kind of a jackof all trades.
(03:46):
The demo teachers all are.
So if any department in ourdistrict says, hey, we really
need somebody to come presentabout blank, then they tap us on
the shoulder and, like asuperhero, we kind of spin
around, activate and then jumpright into it Right.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
That's great because it helps to be able to have that
on-demand type of skills thatyou can be able to just jump in
and be able to help.
And you mentioned instructionaldesign.
So you've got some experiencealready, you know in that
forefront of it and now you'reable to kind of take this
program and learn some differentthings that you can apply in
(04:21):
the job now.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
So that's great, very much.
Yes, yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Very much.
Yeah, yeah, that's great.
So, even though you don't havethe title of instructional
designer, it's amazing becausewe can still do instructional
design work without having theofficial title.
So it's it's kind of like, youknow, being a leader.
We don't have to have the titleof a manager or supervisor and
we can still be a leader.
So that's great, that'swonderful.
So are you?
So it sounds like you're reallyhappy with what you do.
(04:46):
So you're probably not lookingfor work or planning on looking
for work as an instructionaldesigner.
You probably want to stay whereyou're at, but is that
something that maybe, down theroad, you would look at going
into, maybe as an instructionaldesigner, like maybe in a
different industry, higher ed orcorporate or anything?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
So for now no, but I started teaching when I was 22
years old and I'm 22 in, so youcan do the math.
But that means I'm also 21years out from retirement.
And while I absolutely adoreteaching elementary school and I
love being a demo teacher Ialso have to consider like what
would future Caroline want IfI'm hitting 43rd year?
(05:24):
Is it possible that I might beexhausted or maybe just burned
out or maybe just looked forsomething new?
So I want to sort of set up thepossibility that there could be
something outside, but forright now I'm not necessarily
interested in pursuing it ifthat makes sense, yeah, it does.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
It's not off the table, but it's more like you
know I'm good where I'm at, butthere's always that possibility.
That saying goes.
We should never say never right, because you just never know
where life will take you.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I think too, you know , because I have to create and
develop presentations for, youknow, my mentees and for other
teachers within the district,and then I present them.
So I've been really hands-on ininstructional design for many
years, so it does make sense tosort of like formalize some of
(06:14):
that education because I hadI've been very lucky.
I actually started this programwith a friend of mine who is my
grade level partner, butbecause I had so much graduate
experience from similar classesthat they were able to carry
over the unit.
So now we're not at the sameplace in the program anymore
because I've already had severalof these classes, but I also
(06:34):
consider so.
Before I became a teacher Ithought about several different
careers and something thatalways really just struck my
fancy was I've been veryinterested in natural history
museums for my whole entire lifeand I look at some of the
educational outreach programsthat, living in Southern
California, we have some of themost amazing natural history
museums in the world, just likeright at our doorstep, and I
(06:57):
look at their educationaloutreach programs and I'm very
impressed, very curious, andwould like to know, hey, if
there was ever a time when Ifelt like, okay, maybe I need a
change.
Or, you know, maybe it's justthat you've been doing this for
so long and now it's time tolook for something new and, you
know, try something that youhaven't done yet and stretch
yourself in a different way.
(07:18):
That might be something thatI'm interested in pursuing as
well.
So with this program I hope to.
This is, you know,instructional design, and I'm
looking at a doctorate, maybe aninstructional technology, to
sort of move forward and see ifthat was something that what I
would still find interesting andmaybe eventually parlay into a
career.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Right, that's great.
Yeah, that's something I'vebeen kind of looking at too is
whether I want to get adoctorate degree or not.
There's I can tell you laterbecause I don't want to say the
university but there's one whereyou don't have to do a
residency.
So I'm I'm tinkering with it.
I'm not sure yet.
And I guess you can use AI.
To someone said the other day ina webinar that I attended about
(08:00):
AI in higher education and theysaid, well, you know what?
You can use chat, gpt toactually ask you for good
dissertation topics.
And I'm like, oh, my gosh, whydidn't I think of that?
Maybe I can do that becauseI've been doing that to ask for,
like, episode outlines for mypodcast and other things.
So I'm like, wow, okay, so youcan use, use it for so many
(08:20):
things.
So, and of course,instructional design, you know,
really helpful too.
But yeah, that's great, I lovethat.
And the nice thing about thesemuseums now I saw one of my
former students that actually uh, kind of introduced me to some
of that too, because she's alsointerested in uh education at
the museums and um and othertypes of places like that, and
(08:43):
she's like here, go onlinebecause I think it's the Natural
History Museum in New Yorkwhere they have this whole
entire online program forstudents for different ages and
they can still go in person andlearn too.
But it was really neat.
They had like all thesedifferent elements of history
and it was all segmented fordifferent grade levels and I was
like wow, and they hadimmersive experiences for them.
(09:04):
I'm just like Exactly, andthat's so exciting to me.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
So I thought, oh, I would love to be a part of that.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Because I stumbled upon it as an educator, having
my students explore differentmuseums and the California
Science Center, and we're soclose to Los Angeles, so we've
got the LA Natural HistoryMuseum, the La Brea Tar Pits
there are just over a dozen ofthem in this area that we can
send kids to in person and thenalso, before we were taking
field trips there, we wereexploring their online
(09:32):
components and, similarly, itwas things that were just.
I was in awe of their outreachprogram and thought, oh, I think
I would love to be able to dothat someday, that would be neat
.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Wow, and I think that museum too.
They had like a whole Hebrewclass where you could learn
different languages, and one ofthem was Hebrew, so you could
learn how to write and even,down the road, speak in Hebrew.
They had like a Jewish scholarthat taught it Like wow, so they
had classes, too that you couldtake online, and some of them
(10:02):
were just in person, but somewere online too.
So I was like wow, that's,that's pretty amazing.
And they, they were expandingtheir catalog and stuff.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
So yeah, I can imagine how excited people are
when they stumble upon that youknow and realize, oh, this is
free and it's something thatmaybe.
I take the class online today,but maybe I work up to being
able to take a trip there inperson in the future, or even
just having that as a spark fortheir you know creative pursuits
of education.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Right, exactly, yeah, there's definitely some great
museums that I want to visit,like in California, and then I
want to go on the East Coast andvisit the ones in DC and go to
the ones in New York.
Like there's the Museum of theBible.
I'm like that's like at the topof my list of places to go
museums to see is Museum of theBible.
I'm like that's like at the topof my list of places to go
museums to see is Museum of theBible, because they've got all
these different exhibits and I'mlike, oh, I want to go to that
(10:52):
one, oh, I want to go that one.
So that's really neat.
So, and they've had artists andother people of faith that have
gone there and done recordingsand stuff like that and they
show different aspects of it andthey've done, you know, virtual
tours and I'm like they showdifferent aspects of it and
they've done, you know, virtualtours and I'm like, wow, that's
amazing.
So I can imagine how excitingthat would be to work there.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yeah, I was going to say now imagine like being the
person who's responsible for thecreation of those things.
That sounds.
That's where I get reallyexcited.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Yeah, it's like it just puts a fire inside you,
right.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
And you're like, ooh, this is this is amazing.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
This is amazing.
Yeah, that's great.
Yeah, because I've heard youknow that education is just.
You know, it doesn't matterwhat age you are.
It's just started helping hisson with a business.
But he used to do instructionaldesign and he worked for a lot
of fortune 500 companies.
He worked in higher ed and thenfortune 500.
And he's like, yeah, higher edis good, you can, and even
education in general is good.
They don't pay as much, but ifyou have a passion for it, it's
(12:02):
go for it.
But he said, with corporatethey pay more but you don't stay
there as long.
So he kept bouncing around.
Why are you bouncing around?
He's like because your time isup after four years design and
then you move forward and youmove forward.
So I'm like, oh, I don't know ifI would like doing that.
I don't know if I'd likehopping from place to place.
I mean, he got to work forfortune 500 companies and then
(12:23):
when he got, his last job was atApple and I'm like Apple wow,
that's pretty big.
But he was able to build up tothat and so it was a good
experience for him.
But I'm like I don't know, justhaving to learn the culture
over again somewhere else, oh mygosh, I didn't even consider
that aspect, that soundsexhausting, yeah.
And then having to go throughnew hire training, I'm like,
yeah, I don't know.
(12:43):
So I can understand why thelongevity of something is just,
it's appealing.
So yeah.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
And I feel like for me, I've already been a teacher
for 22 years, so I have whatsome people would consider a
full career behind them and yetI still see so many years ahead
of myself that I feel like I cancontribute positively and that
I just genuinely I cancontribute positively and that I
just genuinely I really lovebeing in the classroom with kids
and to have I think I luckedout, because I don't know of any
(13:16):
other districts that offer theopportunity for you to be able
to stay in the classroom and bea classroom teacher working with
children, which is definitelywhere my passion lies but then
also to be able to, you know,take that and expand upon it as
a program, specialist positionand work with adults and teach
new teachers and work withveteran educators who just want
(13:37):
to like improve other skills or,you know, develop lessons
together, that sort of thing,and I don't I don't know that I
would have had that opportunityanywhere else.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
So I think, like you said, when you see something
that's good, I think I'm goingto stick with it for as long as
I can.
Exactly so your, it's yourdepth of knowledge, and what
you're able to teach is justit's pretty neat because you're
able to teach the little kids,but then you're also able to
learn adult education principlesand theories and apply those
(14:06):
and be able to do that too.
So it's it's a holistic type ofjob that you have really yeah,
you know it's funny, youmentioned that too.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Actually, um, you asked about what I've, you know,
been excited about the programand that's one of the things
that came up.
Uh, I, in a class that I Ithink I just finished it in my
last class actually, uh, wereally were talking about
andragogy and the like learningstyles of adults, Right, and
I've been working with adultsnow for 12 years and writing
(14:37):
lessons and lesson designs forthem and never really I guess I
didn't it was able to put towords a lot of my experiences
and I felt very validated by oh,that is exactly how I do it.
I didn't realize I was doing itthe right way this time, Okay.
And then also, oh, I wasgetting close to that, but I
just needed this bit and oh, Iwas nowhere near that and I've
(14:59):
been having grownups do thewrong thing.
So it really has been a greatexperience for me being able to,
you know, sort of self evaluateand reflect on what I've been
doing for the past 12 years andwhat I can do for the next 12 to
make it better.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Right, because it's not just a, because sometimes
people will say, well, it's notreally part of my job
description, it's just anadditional part of what I do,
but it's like no, I kind of I,because I do the same thing.
I help with curriculum, highereducation curriculum but I also
help with professionaldevelopment and training for the
employees in my department andthen in the wider spectrum of
(15:35):
that too.
So even though it's not in myjob description, I still look at
it as part of what I do everyday you know and stuff.
So or even it's not.
You know, it's kind of I guessit's part of my job title, but
just not.
It's not in the traditional jobdescription, but it still has
has meaning and yeah, it's, it'spretty.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Definitely in my job, my job description, but it's a
description that has evolvedover time.
So when they initially createdthe demonstration team, we were
meant to just be teachers in theclassroom demonstrating lessons
that they recorded and thenoccasionally podcasts and that
sort of thing.
But then over time it hasreally become actually.
We need you to move out intothe educational community and
(16:14):
start developing professional orstart creating professional
development modules and thatsort of thing.
So it's not necessarilysomething that I was initially
hired to do, but it has evolvedinto that's what I'm doing.
So I really I really appreciatethat now I'm like getting my
feet wet with the principlesbehind it, like the driving
principles of Android, right.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Yeah, exactly, and you've kind of touched on this
somewhat too but are there anyspecific areas you wanted to
point out in which you're ableto expand your knowledge and
your skills with this programthat you feel like you're really
trying to hone in and reallyget to the heart of with this
program?
Speaker 2 (16:54):
So, absolutely, working with adult learners,
it's again something that I'vesort of been, I guess, like had
a blindfold on and like feelingmy way through the hallway of
making sure that I was gettingthings right and getting
feedback, and, you know,receiving feedback from, like,
my supervisors and also from mystudents, my adult students and,
(17:14):
uh, participants in my, myclasses and that sort of thing.
But this has really helped mehave a clarity of mission that I
didn't have before, and that'snice.
And then I think, on top ofthat, um, I, as I mentioned, I'm
considering doing a doctoratein instructional technology and,
uh, while I've been doing thisfor quite some time, we've been
(17:37):
doing it in, uh, I guess, a morehands-on, in-person way.
So my district has a verywell-established structure and
routine of what presentationslook like, of what professional
development looks like, and,while there's absolutely a lot
of wiggle room and they doencourage us to incorporate new
(17:58):
technology, in fact, I'm verylucky we also have an
opportunity to put forth our ownsuggestions of what we would
like our professionaldevelopment to be.
And a lot of us ask for, oh,we're trying to stay on the
cutting edge of technology, but,honestly, there's no, it's, it
just moves so quickly?
How do you?
You know, by the time you learnsomething and master something,
there's already a new programor a device to replace that.
(18:20):
And you're like, oh okay, letme catch up on that one.
So I'm really excited to justsee what other people are doing
with technology, cause, you know, I was in a DQ conversation
with another scholar in ourclass earlier today, as a matter
of fact, who was asking meabout oh, you mentioned this,
what is that platform?
And I was able to explain it.
And then I'm the person goingwait, what are you talking about
(18:41):
?
I've never heard of that before.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Tell me all about it and being-way street.
I I give so much as far as whatI've learned over the years,
but then I I learned things too,um.
So it's pretty amazing.
Like a couple years ago one ofmy students introduced me to
genially.
I was like what's genially?
And she showed me one of hergenially's and I'm like what is
this?
I've got to check this out.
So then I did their introcourse and then then within an
(19:24):
hour, I created my first Genie,which was an interactive image.
And since then I was like thisis cool, I can use this for
these things.
And so I try to find ways touse those types of tools that
are interactive and engaging.
And then with Canva yeah,canva's gone, just the AI now.
It's just amazing.
And Canva code and all thatstuff.
(19:44):
You know that I've been playingaround with a little bit more
and I I've got a vocab game Ican share that.
I'll share it in the class.
It turned out really good.
It took three attempts to getit the way I wanted it to,
because each time you go intoCanva code and you, even if you
give it the same prompt, it will, it will give you something
different every time.
It's never the same.
That's what I've noticed aboutAI it's, it's, it's different
(20:06):
each time.
You're never going to get thesame result, no matter what you
do.
But it was pretty cool to kindof try it again and say, oh no,
you know this is not working,can you correct the counter?
And it and it and I was likecorrect these things and it did.
But it was funny because ittook two hours for it to correct
it.
But I thought if I tried to dothat on my own and code, oh,
that would take me weeks to dothat.
(20:26):
So I'm okay with waiting acouple hours if, uh, if, you can
do it for me, rather thantaking weeks to do something on
my own.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
So I haven't used the Canva AI uh features.
But I have been.
My district did provide us.
You know like, hey, here'sCanva, go jump in both feet.
So I have been.
My district did provide us.
You know like, hey, here'sCanva, go jump in both feet.
So I've been kind of an earlyadopter and I have found just
amazing luck getting fifth andsixth graders to buy into a
topic.
(20:55):
If you say, yeah, you canabsolutely do your report in
Canva.
And then all of a sudden youget this creative infographic
that shows everything theylearned and you know.
So I really love the creativitythat is possible with Canva.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Yes, it's amazing.
There's so many great tools outthere.
You know that are that can beused for K through 12 education.
So Adobe Spark is another onethat's.
A lot of students love that too.
So, yeah, if we can introducethem to that early on and get
their interest in it and knowthat you don't have to be
intimidated by the technologyand really get creative with it,
I think it really gets them,you know, fueled with that and
(21:30):
then they really want to do theassignment.
They're like, oh, I'll do it,It'll be great.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Yeah, and that you can't break it.
That's something that I have tokeep reminding my fifth and
sixth graders.
You know, you just try it.
The worst that can happen is itjust doesn't work and then
we'll start fresh, like go backto the homepage and start all
over.
You really can't break it.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Exactly, that's so true.
Great.
I love that.
Those are great things that youcan continue to build upon
because, like you said,technology just keeps evolving,
keeps changing, and we know AIis not going anywhere, so it's
just going to keep changing andevolving in so many ways, and
education is one of those placeswhere it's going to get better
and better.
So it's great.
So what are some tips andadvice you can share with those
(22:11):
that are considering enrollingin the master's program?
An instructional designer maybehave just started, because my
audience is expanded quite a bit.
It used to just be the niche ofthe GCU students, but I now
have listeners all over theworld.
I my my highest listenerdemographic is the United States
, of course, but then secondhighest which I'm very surprised
(22:32):
is Germany.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
I don't.
I know I've never had studentsin.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Germany before in my classes.
So I'm like okay, they'refinding it somehow, like uh, so
it's really neat, oh, there goesmy camera, but anyway so.
Um, so what are some tips andadvice that you can share?
Speaker 2 (22:48):
um, for those that are considering enrolling in the
program, you know, um, firstand foremost, uh, I have had
such a positive experience withmy GCU counselor, so shout out
to Samita, uh, she's prettyfantastic.
Vcu counselor so shout out toSamita, she's pretty fantastic.
(23:09):
When I was even wonderingwhether or not I could fit the
program into my schedule and Ihave a full-time job with
another job on top of that.
So I thought for a while Idon't know if this is going to
be the right time or the rightfit, and then I thought, well,
wait, when is the right time?
Because I'm not going to beless busy as I go, I'm just
going to continue, if not getbusier.
So, being able to sit down withmy counselor and have her, sort
(23:32):
of like, give me a rundown ofexactly which courses were
needed for the degree, what itwould look like to be in those
courses, and she was very clear.
And she also offered memultiple opportunities of oh, if
you're interested in thisprogram, you can make it look
like this.
If you're interested in thatprogram, you can make it look
like that.
And I don't know if I wouldhave necessarily realized that
(23:57):
this was for me if she hadn'tmade that such a transparent and
seamless process.
So definitely work with yourcounselor.
First, yes, and then my secondmajor piece of advice.
Uh, I am fortunate to be sortof one of those obnoxiously
organized people that it comesto me pretty naturally.
But if you are not that way, um, I really recommend creating a
(24:20):
structure at the outset.
Don't wait until you've gottena couple of courses in and you
start to realize that you aremissing things or something's
falling through the cracks oryou're falling behind.
I'm even such an organizedperson that I sort of like
triple dip into my organization.
So I have everything organizedon my hard drive of my computer,
everything backed up on myGoogle Drive, and then I also
(24:42):
keep a spreadsheet that hasevery you know assignment that's
due and make sure that I gothrough them.
So really, just keep your taskspretty well organized.
But the you know I mentioned itat the top ultimately the user
interface of the LMS is so, sostable and so easy to work with
that you're it's going to behard to miss anything.
(25:04):
So as long as you stay on topof your deadlines, you'll be
okay and know that you canabsolutely fit those DQs in by
just working on them.
You know, half an hour, 45minutes at a time here.
Same thing with yourassignments.
It's a manageable workload.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Yeah, definitely yeah , and it's great that
organization piece that youmentioned, because I'm the same
way.
I love being organized.
I always have been that way andso, yeah, it helps, because
when I was in my master'sprogram at Walden University, I
went and did my master's therefully online.
So, yeah, I had to make sure Istayed organized and that really
(25:39):
helped to keep things in checkand know, okay, I'm not going to
miss an assignment or a DQ,because I know everything's in
order.
So that's great.
And I agree that LMS makes ahuge difference If it's
organized well and the userinterfaces is good, that really
helps.
And they're always makingimprovements to the system,
which is really great, becausethey want to make it easier, or
(26:00):
as easy as possible, for facultyand students to navigate it and
to utilize it.
So, yeah, so it's really greatto have those in place so
wonderful.
Are there any other ideas orthoughts you would have that you
would like to share as we wrapup the?
Speaker 2 (26:16):
podcast.
I just really want to emphasizethat it's a lot more manageable
than I expected, to the pointwhere I'm doing a bit of a
course overload.
So for me, I decided not totake breaks between classes.
So I finished one class onWednesday and I start the new
class on Thursday, and it'sdefinitely I'm not going to
(26:36):
pretend that it's not, you know,it doesn't require an outlay of
energy, because it absolutelydoes and you have to be serious
about it, but it's somethingthat can be done in a reasonable
amount of time.
So I started in January and mypredicted end date is November.
So if you really are seriousabout it and then maybe take
(26:58):
short breaks between, or nobreaks between, and be prepared
to get through it, you can dothat in a truly reasonable
amount of time.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
That's great I love that.
Yeah, Again, it sounds likeyou've got your momentum going
and you're just like, okay, I'mjust going to keep going, no
breaks, and that way I can getdone at a at a good amount of
time.
Especially if you'reconsidering the doctorate, you
want to probably be able to justtransition into that and and
just keep keep that momentumgoing.
Right, Exactly.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
That's exactly what I'm doing.
Yeah, I'd like to not slow down, because I've sort of got my
feet under me, so I might aswell run while I can.
And then I also think too um, I, I put off this program and I
pursued other graduateopportunities, but I put off
this program just reallythinking.
You know, I've been a teacherfor such a long time.
(27:48):
I don't really want to, I don'twant to learn more about
teaching.
I, I'm tired of, you know, Iteach all day and then I'm going
to go home and talk aboutteaching and learn about
teaching.
And so if there are any veteraneducators out there, it's not
just retreading everything thatyou know.
There's going to be a lot thatsupports what you know and a lot
that validates what you know,but also there's going to be a
(28:10):
lot that reminds you of oh Ithink I remember touching on
that lightly during undergrad orduring my credential program,
but I never really looked at itin depth or from this
perspective, and having othereducators in the classes along
with me has really led to sortof like a wealth of experiences,
because there are someeducators who have come straight
(28:30):
from their bachelor's degreeand then there are others who
are second career educators, whoare getting this degree, and
then there are others who, justyou know, like me, are doing it
sort of because we like totorture ourselves.
We see the fun opportunitiesthat could be in the future for
us, but it's not going to be.
It's not a one size fits alleducation, and you'll be able to
(28:53):
find a way to make it fityourself.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
I like that.
Yeah, that's a.
That's a great piece of advicetoo.
I love that.
Thank you Great.
Well, thank you, Caroline.
I appreciate your time andbeing able to offer some great
information, because all mylisteners just they thrive on
that and they love being able tolearn from others that are in
the field in different ways, soI appreciate that.
Thank you, Of course.
(29:16):
Thank you for having me.
You're welcome.
Thank you for taking some timeto listen to this podcast
episode today.
Your support means the world tome.
If you'd like to help keep thepodcast going, you can share it
with a friend or colleague,leave a heartfelt review or
offer a monetary contribution.
Every act of support, big orsmall, makes a difference and
(29:38):
I'm truly thankful for you.
Hello and welcome to the Designing with Love podcast.
I am your host, jackiePellegrin, where my goal is to
bring you information, tips andtricks as an instructional
designer.
Hello GCU students, alumni andeducators, welcome to episode 31
of the Designing with Lovepodcast.
(00:21):
Today I have the pleasure ofinterviewing Caroline Amberson,
who is currently completing hermaster's program in
instructional design at GCU.
Welcome, caroline.
Hi Jackie, thanks for having me.
You're welcome.
Thank you for coming and doingthis interview today.
So we'll start off with thefirst question when did you
start your master's degree ininstructional design here at GCU
?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I actually started this January and it's mid-May as
of this recording, so aboutfive months ago.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Great.
So you're well along in theprogram and you're trucking
along right, yes, getting yourclasses done and then great.
So what aspects of the programare you enjoying the most so far
?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
You know, I found that I was a little bit anxious
coming into it because I did myundergraduate many years ago and
I've had some other graduateexperience with different
programs and things, but I'venever really done a fully online
course before, so I was alittle concerned that, oh, I'm
not sure that I will like thepacing or the platform.
(01:24):
And the LMS actually has beenso streamlined and simple and I
am a sucker for a nice userinterface and I really think
that it's easy to use.
So I have to say online andbeing able to, you know, create
an organization, organizationalsystem that works for myself has
been one of my favorite aspects.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Yes, it helps when you can have that everything
laid out to, where you know whatyou need to do, how you need to
do it, when that really helps,and I think that's one of the
things that GCU has done reallywell is they've laid out the
curriculum really well so thatthat way you go from class to
class and you know what toexpect in general.
And that way the only thing thatmay change is your instructor.
(02:06):
But you kind of have that ideathat two DQs are due each week,
one's due on Wednesday, or let'ssay one's the first one due
Monday and the second one's dueon Wednesday.
So you at least have thatstructure.
You know assignments are due onWednesday, so it's nice to have
that that nice structure inplace.
And knowing just the patient'salways going to be worth a
certain amount of points, and soare DQs, and the only thing
(02:29):
that may change is assignments.
You know those vary, so it'snice to have that structure.
Great.
Well, that's wonderful.
So you're always going to be aLope now.
Yep, that's great.
So what kind of work do youcurrently do right now?
Speaker 2 (02:44):
You know, I'm in kind of an unusual position where I
am currently, so this is my 22ndyear as a classroom educator.
I have worked for SanBernardino city unified for a
little over two decades Now.
Uh, I teach at an elementaryschool right now.
I have a combination class, soI teach fifth and sixth grade,
um, but on top of that, for thelast 12 years I've also been a
(03:04):
program specialist, so I am ademonstration teacher for my
district, which means that notonly do I maintain my full time
classroom, which is open toguests who want to come observe
lessons or see strategies inaction, but we also do live
recordings in our classrooms oflessons that then post online.
(03:26):
We also do a lot ofinstructional design for the
district.
So we have a pretty regularCSTP workshop.
Cstp is the CaliforniaStandards for the Teaching
Profession, so we do workshopson those for new teachers I
present at New Teacher Academy.
I basically am kind of a jackof all trades.
(03:46):
The demo teachers all are.
So if any department in ourdistrict says, hey, we really
need somebody to come presentabout blank, then they tap us on
the shoulder and, like asuperhero, we kind of spin
around, activate and then jumpright into it Right.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
That's great because it helps to be able to have that
on-demand type of skills thatyou can be able to just jump in
and be able to help.
And you mentioned instructionaldesign.
So you've got some experiencealready, you know in that
forefront of it and now you'reable to kind of take this
program and learn some differentthings that you can apply in
(04:21):
the job now.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
So that's great, very much.
Yes, yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Very much.
Yeah, yeah, that's great.
So, even though you don't havethe title of instructional
designer, it's amazing becausewe can still do instructional
design work without having theofficial title.
So it's it's kind of like, youknow, being a leader.
We don't have to have the titleof a manager or supervisor and
we can still be a leader.
So that's great, that'swonderful.
So are you?
So it sounds like you're reallyhappy with what you do.
(04:46):
So you're probably not lookingfor work or planning on looking
for work as an instructionaldesigner.
You probably want to stay whereyou're at, but is that
something that maybe, down theroad, you would look at going
into, maybe as an instructionaldesigner, like maybe in a
different industry, higher ed orcorporate or anything?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
So for now no, but I started teaching when I was 22
years old and I'm 22 in, so youcan do the math.
But that means I'm also 21years out from retirement.
And while I absolutely adoreteaching elementary school and I
love being a demo teacher Ialso have to consider like what
would future Caroline want IfI'm hitting 43rd year?
(05:24):
Is it possible that I might beexhausted or maybe just burned
out or maybe just looked forsomething new?
So I want to sort of set up thepossibility that there could be
something outside, but forright now I'm not necessarily
interested in pursuing it ifthat makes sense, yeah, it does.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
It's not off the table, but it's more like you
know I'm good where I'm at, butthere's always that possibility.
That saying goes.
We should never say never right, because you just never know
where life will take you.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
I think too, you know , because I have to create and
develop presentations for, youknow, my mentees and for other
teachers within the district,and then I present them.
So I've been really hands-on ininstructional design for many
years, so it does make sense tosort of like formalize some of
(06:14):
that education because I hadI've been very lucky.
I actually started this programwith a friend of mine who is my
grade level partner, butbecause I had so much graduate
experience from similar classesthat they were able to carry
over the unit.
So now we're not at the sameplace in the program anymore
because I've already had severalof these classes, but I also
(06:34):
consider so.
Before I became a teacher Ithought about several different
careers and something thatalways really just struck my
fancy was I've been veryinterested in natural history
museums for my whole entire lifeand I look at some of the
educational outreach programsthat, living in Southern
California, we have some of themost amazing natural history
museums in the world, just likeright at our doorstep, and I
(06:57):
look at their educationaloutreach programs and I'm very
impressed, very curious, andwould like to know, hey, if
there was ever a time when Ifelt like, okay, maybe I need a
change.
Or, you know, maybe it's justthat you've been doing this for
so long and now it's time tolook for something new and, you
know, try something that youhaven't done yet and stretch
yourself in a different way.
(07:18):
That might be something thatI'm interested in pursuing as
well.
So with this program I hope to.
This is, you know,instructional design, and I'm
looking at a doctorate, maybe aninstructional technology, to
sort of move forward and see ifthat was something that what I
would still find interesting andmaybe eventually parlay into a
career.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Right, that's great.
Yeah, that's something I'vebeen kind of looking at too is
whether I want to get adoctorate degree or not.
There's I can tell you laterbecause I don't want to say the
university but there's one whereyou don't have to do a
residency.
So I'm I'm tinkering with it.
I'm not sure yet.
And I guess you can use AI.
To someone said the other day ina webinar that I attended about
(08:00):
AI in higher education and theysaid, well, you know what?
You can use chat, gpt toactually ask you for good
dissertation topics.
And I'm like, oh, my gosh, whydidn't I think of that?
Maybe I can do that becauseI've been doing that to ask for,
like, episode outlines for mypodcast and other things.
So I'm like, wow, okay, so youcan use, use it for so many
(08:20):
things.
So, and of course,instructional design, you know,
really helpful too.
But yeah, that's great, I lovethat.
And the nice thing about thesemuseums now I saw one of my
former students that actually uh, kind of introduced me to some
of that too, because she's alsointerested in uh education at
the museums and um and othertypes of places like that, and
(08:43):
she's like here, go onlinebecause I think it's the Natural
History Museum in New Yorkwhere they have this whole
entire online program forstudents for different ages and
they can still go in person andlearn too.
But it was really neat.
They had like all thesedifferent elements of history
and it was all segmented fordifferent grade levels and I was
like wow, and they hadimmersive experiences for them.
(09:04):
I'm just like Exactly, andthat's so exciting to me.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
So I thought, oh, I would love to be a part of that.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Because I stumbled upon it as an educator, having
my students explore differentmuseums and the California
Science Center, and we're soclose to Los Angeles, so we've
got the LA Natural HistoryMuseum, the La Brea Tar Pits
there are just over a dozen ofthem in this area that we can
send kids to in person and thenalso, before we were taking
field trips there, we wereexploring their online
(09:32):
components and, similarly, itwas things that were just.
I was in awe of their outreachprogram and thought, oh, I think
I would love to be able to dothat someday, that would be neat
.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Wow, and I think that museum too.
They had like a whole Hebrewclass where you could learn
different languages, and one ofthem was Hebrew, so you could
learn how to write and even,down the road, speak in Hebrew.
They had like a Jewish scholarthat taught it Like wow, so they
had classes, too that you couldtake online, and some of them
(10:02):
were just in person, but somewere online too.
So I was like wow, that's,that's pretty amazing.
And they, they were expandingtheir catalog and stuff.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
So yeah, I can imagine how excited people are
when they stumble upon that youknow and realize, oh, this is
free and it's something thatmaybe.
I take the class online today,but maybe I work up to being
able to take a trip there inperson in the future, or even
just having that as a spark fortheir you know creative pursuits
of education.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Right, exactly, yeah, there's definitely some great
museums that I want to visit,like in California, and then I
want to go on the East Coast andvisit the ones in DC and go to
the ones in New York.
Like there's the Museum of theBible.
I'm like that's like at the topof my list of places to go
museums to see is Museum of theBible.
I'm like that's like at the topof my list of places to go
museums to see is Museum of theBible, because they've got all
these different exhibits and I'mlike, oh, I want to go to that
(10:52):
one, oh, I want to go that one.
So that's really neat.
So, and they've had artists andother people of faith that have
gone there and done recordingsand stuff like that and they
show different aspects of it andthey've done, you know, virtual
tours and I'm like they showdifferent aspects of it and
they've done, you know, virtualtours and I'm like, wow, that's
amazing.
So I can imagine how excitingthat would be to work there.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yeah, I was going to say now imagine like being the
person who's responsible for thecreation of those things.
That sounds.
That's where I get reallyexcited.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Yeah, it's like it just puts a fire inside you,
right.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
And you're like, ooh, this is this is amazing.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
This is amazing.
Yeah, that's great.
Yeah, because I've heard youknow that education is just.
You know, it doesn't matterwhat age you are.
It's just started helping hisson with a business.
But he used to do instructionaldesign and he worked for a lot
of fortune 500 companies.
He worked in higher ed and thenfortune 500.
And he's like, yeah, higher edis good, you can, and even
education in general is good.
They don't pay as much, but ifyou have a passion for it, it's
(12:02):
go for it.
But he said, with corporatethey pay more but you don't stay
there as long.
So he kept bouncing around.
Why are you bouncing around?
He's like because your time isup after four years design and
then you move forward and youmove forward.
So I'm like, oh, I don't know ifI would like doing that.
I don't know if I'd likehopping from place to place.
I mean, he got to work forfortune 500 companies and then
(12:23):
when he got, his last job was atApple and I'm like Apple wow,
that's pretty big.
But he was able to build up tothat and so it was a good
experience for him.
But I'm like I don't know, justhaving to learn the culture
over again somewhere else, oh mygosh, I didn't even consider
that aspect, that soundsexhausting, yeah.
And then having to go throughnew hire training, I'm like,
yeah, I don't know.
(12:43):
So I can understand why thelongevity of something is just,
it's appealing.
So yeah.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
And I feel like for me, I've already been a teacher
for 22 years, so I have whatsome people would consider a
full career behind them and yetI still see so many years ahead
of myself that I feel like I cancontribute positively and that
I just genuinely I cancontribute positively and that I
just genuinely I really lovebeing in the classroom with kids
and to have I think I luckedout, because I don't know of any
(13:16):
other districts that offer theopportunity for you to be able
to stay in the classroom and bea classroom teacher working with
children, which is definitelywhere my passion lies but then
also to be able to, you know,take that and expand upon it as
a program, specialist positionand work with adults and teach
new teachers and work withveteran educators who just want
(13:37):
to like improve other skills or,you know, develop lessons
together, that sort of thing,and I don't I don't know that I
would have had that opportunityanywhere else.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
So I think, like you said, when you see something
that's good, I think I'm goingto stick with it for as long as
I can.
Exactly so your, it's yourdepth of knowledge, and what
you're able to teach is justit's pretty neat because you're
able to teach the little kids,but then you're also able to
learn adult education principlesand theories and apply those
(14:06):
and be able to do that too.
So it's it's a holistic type ofjob that you have really yeah,
you know it's funny, youmentioned that too.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Actually, um, you asked about what I've, you know,
been excited about the programand that's one of the things
that came up.
Uh, I, in a class that I Ithink I just finished it in my
last class actually, uh, wereally were talking about
andragogy and the like learningstyles of adults, Right, and
I've been working with adultsnow for 12 years and writing
(14:37):
lessons and lesson designs forthem and never really I guess I
didn't it was able to put towords a lot of my experiences
and I felt very validated by oh,that is exactly how I do it.
I didn't realize I was doing itthe right way this time, Okay.
And then also, oh, I wasgetting close to that, but I
just needed this bit and oh, Iwas nowhere near that and I've
(14:59):
been having grownups do thewrong thing.
So it really has been a greatexperience for me being able to,
you know, sort of self evaluateand reflect on what I've been
doing for the past 12 years andwhat I can do for the next 12 to
make it better.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Right, because it's not just a, because sometimes
people will say, well, it's notreally part of my job
description, it's just anadditional part of what I do,
but it's like no, I kind of I,because I do the same thing.
I help with curriculum, highereducation curriculum but I also
help with professionaldevelopment and training for the
employees in my department andthen in the wider spectrum of
(15:35):
that too.
So even though it's not in myjob description, I still look at
it as part of what I do everyday you know and stuff.
So or even it's not.
You know, it's kind of I guessit's part of my job title, but
just not.
It's not in the traditional jobdescription, but it still has
has meaning and yeah, it's, it'spretty.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Definitely in my job, my job description, but it's a
description that has evolvedover time.
So when they initially createdthe demonstration team, we were
meant to just be teachers in theclassroom demonstrating lessons
that they recorded and thenoccasionally podcasts and that
sort of thing.
But then over time it hasreally become actually.
We need you to move out intothe educational community and
(16:14):
start developing professional orstart creating professional
development modules and thatsort of thing.
So it's not necessarilysomething that I was initially
hired to do, but it has evolvedinto that's what I'm doing.
So I really I really appreciatethat now I'm like getting my
feet wet with the principlesbehind it, like the driving
principles of Android, right.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Yeah, exactly, and you've kind of touched on this
somewhat too but are there anyspecific areas you wanted to
point out in which you're ableto expand your knowledge and
your skills with this programthat you feel like you're really
trying to hone in and reallyget to the heart of with this
program?
Speaker 2 (16:54):
So, absolutely, working with adult learners,
it's again something that I'vesort of been, I guess, like had
a blindfold on and like feelingmy way through the hallway of
making sure that I was gettingthings right and getting
feedback, and, you know,receiving feedback from, like,
my supervisors and also from mystudents, my adult students and,
(17:14):
uh, participants in my, myclasses and that sort of thing.
But this has really helped mehave a clarity of mission that I
didn't have before, and that'snice.
And then I think, on top ofthat, um, I, as I mentioned, I'm
considering doing a doctoratein instructional technology and,
uh, while I've been doing thisfor quite some time, we've been
(17:37):
doing it in, uh, I guess, a morehands-on, in-person way.
So my district has a verywell-established structure and
routine of what presentationslook like, of what professional
development looks like, and,while there's absolutely a lot
of wiggle room and they doencourage us to incorporate new
(17:58):
technology, in fact, I'm verylucky we also have an
opportunity to put forth our ownsuggestions of what we would
like our professionaldevelopment to be.
And a lot of us ask for, oh,we're trying to stay on the
cutting edge of technology, but,honestly, there's no, it's, it
just moves so quickly?
How do you?
You know, by the time you learnsomething and master something,
there's already a new programor a device to replace that.
(18:20):
And you're like, oh okay, letme catch up on that one.
So I'm really excited to justsee what other people are doing
with technology, cause, you know, I was in a DQ conversation
with another scholar in ourclass earlier today, as a matter
of fact, who was asking meabout oh, you mentioned this,
what is that platform?
And I was able to explain it.
And then I'm the person goingwait, what are you talking about
(18:41):
?
I've never heard of that before.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Tell me all about it and being-way street.
I I give so much as far as whatI've learned over the years,
but then I I learned things too,um.
So it's pretty amazing.
Like a couple years ago one ofmy students introduced me to
genially.
I was like what's genially?
And she showed me one of hergenially's and I'm like what is
this?
I've got to check this out.
So then I did their introcourse and then then within an
(19:24):
hour, I created my first Genie,which was an interactive image.
And since then I was like thisis cool, I can use this for
these things.
And so I try to find ways touse those types of tools that
are interactive and engaging.
And then with Canva yeah,canva's gone, just the AI now.
It's just amazing.
And Canva code and all thatstuff.
(19:44):
You know that I've been playingaround with a little bit more
and I I've got a vocab game Ican share that.
I'll share it in the class.
It turned out really good.
It took three attempts to getit the way I wanted it to,
because each time you go intoCanva code and you, even if you
give it the same prompt, it will, it will give you something
different every time.
It's never the same.
That's what I've noticed aboutAI it's, it's, it's different
(20:06):
each time.
You're never going to get thesame result, no matter what you
do.
But it was pretty cool to kindof try it again and say, oh no,
you know this is not working,can you correct the counter?
And it and it and I was likecorrect these things and it did.
But it was funny because ittook two hours for it to correct
it.
But I thought if I tried to dothat on my own and code, oh,
that would take me weeks to dothat.
(20:26):
So I'm okay with waiting acouple hours if, uh, if, you can
do it for me, rather thantaking weeks to do something on
my own.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
So I haven't used the Canva AI uh features.
But I have been.
My district did provide us.
You know like, hey, here'sCanva, go jump in both feet.
So I have been.
My district did provide us.
You know like, hey, here'sCanva, go jump in both feet.
So I've been kind of an earlyadopter and I have found just
amazing luck getting fifth andsixth graders to buy into a
topic.
(20:55):
If you say, yeah, you canabsolutely do your report in
Canva.
And then all of a sudden youget this creative infographic
that shows everything theylearned and you know.
So I really love the creativitythat is possible with Canva.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Yes, it's amazing.
There's so many great tools outthere.
You know that are that can beused for K through 12 education.
So Adobe Spark is another onethat's.
A lot of students love that too.
So, yeah, if we can introducethem to that early on and get
their interest in it and knowthat you don't have to be
intimidated by the technologyand really get creative with it,
I think it really gets them,you know, fueled with that and
(21:30):
then they really want to do theassignment.
They're like, oh, I'll do it,It'll be great.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Yeah, and that you can't break it.
That's something that I have tokeep reminding my fifth and
sixth graders.
You know, you just try it.
The worst that can happen is itjust doesn't work and then
we'll start fresh, like go backto the homepage and start all
over.
You really can't break it.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Exactly, that's so true.
Great.
I love that.
Those are great things that youcan continue to build upon
because, like you said,technology just keeps evolving,
keeps changing, and we know AIis not going anywhere, so it's
just going to keep changing andevolving in so many ways, and
education is one of those placeswhere it's going to get better
and better.
So it's great.
So what are some tips andadvice you can share with those
(22:11):
that are considering enrollingin the master's program?
An instructional designer maybehave just started, because my
audience is expanded quite a bit.
It used to just be the niche ofthe GCU students, but I now
have listeners all over theworld.
I my my highest listenerdemographic is the United States
, of course, but then secondhighest which I'm very surprised
(22:32):
is Germany.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
I don't.
I know I've never had studentsin.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Germany before in my classes.
So I'm like okay, they'refinding it somehow, like uh, so
it's really neat, oh, there goesmy camera, but anyway so.
Um, so what are some tips andadvice that you can share?
Speaker 2 (22:48):
um, for those that are considering enrolling in the
program, you know, um, firstand foremost, uh, I have had
such a positive experience withmy GCU counselor, so shout out
to Samita, uh, she's prettyfantastic.
Vcu counselor so shout out toSamita, she's pretty fantastic.
(23:09):
When I was even wonderingwhether or not I could fit the
program into my schedule and Ihave a full-time job with
another job on top of that.
So I thought for a while Idon't know if this is going to
be the right time or the rightfit, and then I thought, well,
wait, when is the right time?
Because I'm not going to beless busy as I go, I'm just
going to continue, if not getbusier.
So, being able to sit down withmy counselor and have her, sort
(23:32):
of like, give me a rundown ofexactly which courses were
needed for the degree, what itwould look like to be in those
courses, and she was very clear.
And she also offered memultiple opportunities of oh, if
you're interested in thisprogram, you can make it look
like this.
If you're interested in thatprogram, you can make it look
like that.
And I don't know if I wouldhave necessarily realized that
(23:57):
this was for me if she hadn'tmade that such a transparent and
seamless process.
So definitely work with yourcounselor.
First, yes, and then my secondmajor piece of advice.
Uh, I am fortunate to be sortof one of those obnoxiously
organized people that it comesto me pretty naturally.
But if you are not that way, um, I really recommend creating a
(24:20):
structure at the outset.
Don't wait until you've gottena couple of courses in and you
start to realize that you aremissing things or something's
falling through the cracks oryou're falling behind.
I'm even such an organizedperson that I sort of like
triple dip into my organization.
So I have everything organizedon my hard drive of my computer,
everything backed up on myGoogle Drive, and then I also
(24:42):
keep a spreadsheet that hasevery you know assignment that's
due and make sure that I gothrough them.
So really, just keep your taskspretty well organized.
But the you know I mentioned itat the top ultimately the user
interface of the LMS is so, sostable and so easy to work with
that you're it's going to behard to miss anything.
(25:04):
So as long as you stay on topof your deadlines, you'll be
okay and know that you canabsolutely fit those DQs in by
just working on them.
You know, half an hour, 45minutes at a time here.
Same thing with yourassignments.
It's a manageable workload.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Yeah, definitely yeah , and it's great that
organization piece that youmentioned, because I'm the same
way.
I love being organized.
I always have been that way andso, yeah, it helps, because
when I was in my master'sprogram at Walden University, I
went and did my master's therefully online.
So, yeah, I had to make sure Istayed organized and that really
(25:39):
helped to keep things in checkand know, okay, I'm not going to
miss an assignment or a DQ,because I know everything's in
order.
So that's great.
And I agree that LMS makes ahuge difference If it's
organized well and the userinterfaces is good, that really
helps.
And they're always makingimprovements to the system,
which is really great, becausethey want to make it easier, or
(26:00):
as easy as possible, for facultyand students to navigate it and
to utilize it.
So, yeah, so it's really greatto have those in place so
wonderful.
Are there any other ideas orthoughts you would have that you
would like to share as we wrapup the?
Speaker 2 (26:16):
podcast.
I just really want to emphasizethat it's a lot more manageable
than I expected, to the pointwhere I'm doing a bit of a
course overload.
So for me, I decided not totake breaks between classes.
So I finished one class onWednesday and I start the new
class on Thursday, and it'sdefinitely I'm not going to
(26:36):
pretend that it's not, you know,it doesn't require an outlay of
energy, because it absolutelydoes and you have to be serious
about it, but it's somethingthat can be done in a reasonable
amount of time.
So I started in January and mypredicted end date is November.
So if you really are seriousabout it and then maybe take
(26:58):
short breaks between, or nobreaks between, and be prepared
to get through it, you can dothat in a truly reasonable
amount of time.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
That's great I love that.
Yeah, Again, it sounds likeyou've got your momentum going
and you're just like, okay, I'mjust going to keep going, no
breaks, and that way I can getdone at a at a good amount of
time.
Especially if you'reconsidering the doctorate, you
want to probably be able to justtransition into that and and
just keep keep that momentumgoing.
Right, Exactly.
Speaker 2 (27:26):
That's exactly what I'm doing.
Yeah, I'd like to not slow down, because I've sort of got my
feet under me, so I might aswell run while I can.
And then I also think too um, I, I put off this program and I
pursued other graduateopportunities, but I put off
this program just reallythinking.
You know, I've been a teacherfor such a long time.
(27:48):
I don't really want to, I don'twant to learn more about
teaching.
I, I'm tired of, you know, Iteach all day and then I'm going
to go home and talk aboutteaching and learn about
teaching.
And so if there are any veteraneducators out there, it's not
just retreading everything thatyou know.
There's going to be a lot thatsupports what you know and a lot
that validates what you know,but also there's going to be a
(28:10):
lot that reminds you of oh Ithink I remember touching on
that lightly during undergrad orduring my credential program,
but I never really looked at itin depth or from this
perspective, and having othereducators in the classes along
with me has really led to sortof like a wealth of experiences,
because there are someeducators who have come straight
(28:30):
from their bachelor's degreeand then there are others who
are second career educators, whoare getting this degree, and
then there are others who, justyou know, like me, are doing it
sort of because we like totorture ourselves.
We see the fun opportunitiesthat could be in the future for
us, but it's not going to be.
It's not a one size fits alleducation, and you'll be able to
(28:53):
find a way to make it fityourself.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
I like that.
Yeah, that's a.
That's a great piece of advicetoo.
I love that.
Thank you Great.
Well, thank you, Caroline.
I appreciate your time andbeing able to offer some great
information, because all mylisteners just they thrive on
that and they love being able tolearn from others that are in
the field in different ways, soI appreciate that.
Thank you, Of course.
(29:16):
Thank you for having me.
You're welcome.
Thank you for taking some timeto listen to this podcast
episode today.
Your support means the world tome.
If you'd like to help keep thepodcast going, you can share it
with a friend or colleague,leave a heartfelt review or
offer a monetary contribution.
Every act of support, big orsmall, makes a difference and
(29:38):
I'm truly thankful for you.
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