"Those who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do"

 

To answer the question about education, I really had to think for a moment. The more I pondered, the more I wondered about the importance of education in my life and how it had brought a desirable change in my behavior. The systematic change, the knowledge I gained, the skills I learned, and the understanding I achieved about life, about humanity, about my existence, and about the world and its inhabitants all have a new meaning and has reshaped me into a new person than the one I was. After going through the LTEC-PhD rigorous program, I see the world with different eyes. The enlightening experience of learning has taken me into a new realm of life, and I want others deprived of such a precious element to benefit from it.

The journey towards my Ph.D. was not the result of an impulsive midlife crisis but was a calculated and well-educated decision. After many drastic mishaps in life, instead of retiring, I ended up making a detour of doing my own Ph.D. To continue my loved ones' legacy, I promised myself that I would become a beacon in the darkness of illiteracy. In my efforts towards bestowing quality education to the underprivileged, I needed a global institution that could reach the masses. The accreditation agency required a Doctorate from the head of the institution. I asked many professionals in the field, but no one had the same passion as I had.  With nowhere to go, I ended up getting into the LT-PhD program at the University of North Texas (UNT). Completion of Ph.D. coursework in just a short 18 months reflects my commitment and dedication. Becoming a scholar was never a consideration in my life, but the devotion to serving humanity has led me to this noble profession.

I intend to empower the coming generations with self-esteem, autonomy, self-reliance, competence, and affinity to success. These desires may be overzealous but could be accomplished by the power of education. By invoking the strength of educational technology, hypermedia, and innovative delivery methods, I am confident that I can make a change in their world. I am in the process of developing a system of education to pass my gained knowledge, practices, and rationality of belief to the coming generations. My principle is that we, as the best creation of God, must balance out the gained knowledge and experiences by passing them to the world.

The LTEC-6210 course was a pivotal factor in my drive to develop such an educational delivery system that could use multi-facet technology to deliver education, where it is hard to reach. The transmedia capabilities of an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS), with its AI-based technological strengths, has the power to incorporate machine learning and AR/VR techniques with adaptive teaching, to lighten the lives of millions. In this course I went through an extensive literature review on the topic of my interest, which not only resulted in a paper that was presented at an international conference but also helped me gather precious material for my dissertation. It is not cost-effective for me to build an ITS at this time or use one available at any governmental or academic institution. Hence, I intend to do systemic research and meta-analysis on the proven technologies available in the advanced nations and recommend the proven investigation that it could be a mode of delivering education, with all of its AI-based features and adaptive teaching technology.

 

I am a great proponent of Piaget's Constructivism. I have experienced that learning is a continuum of cognitive, social, and radical constructivism.  My beliefs are built on Vygotskey's (1978) approach that learner's Zone of Proximal Development should begin with guided teaching, scaffolding, and facilitated discovery learning. I intend to combine these methodologies in my system of education. I am fueled by my desire to take hold of this great opportunity that life has given me and use my knowledge effectively to serve the most deserving. My diverse background, combined with my yearning to help the needy and contributions to the field of education can bring a new but very committed perspective to this profession. I am inspired by Goethe and his words are always echoing me: "Whatever you can do or dream that you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now." 

 

What would you like to see future iterations of this class do differently?

Great course taught with excellent teaching methodology. Group projects, blogs/discussions, assignments, extensive literature reviews, and a potential publication make this class one kind. Exceptional learning opportunities for a budding educational technologist. As I stated earlier that I am a staunch proponent of constructivism and believe that learning is a process that involves the active participation of the learner, who develops and constructs knowledge by active involvement rather than passively receiving information in a classroom environment. Having said that, I would recommend to my valuable professor to include a capstone project in the class. Students can work in groups or individually to apply their gained knowledge in a practical project that could be implemented in the field. Maybe a class for the unemployed, a training for the unskilled, or just a fun project to boost UNT's moods overwhelmed students. Our knowledge should not be preserved in papers, theses, or dissertations. It should be applied for the betterment of people. A closed water container is of no use to anyone unless it quenches the thirst of a dehydrated.

Thank you, Dr. Hayes, for teaching this class. I really learned a lot