This issue’s alumni spotlight is . . . Katrina Lehman

MAET Graduation Year: 2006

Current Employer: Taos Academy, Taos, New Mexico

Job Responsibilities:

Developer of Enrichment and Leadership Curriculum, Instructional Adviser, Digital and Classroom Facilitator

What are your “ed tech” responsibilities and challenges?

Since I’m on the faculty of a small, brand new charter school, every day brings new challenges. I’m learning the nuts and bolts of the programs that our middle and high school students use, including PLATO curriculum, Rosetta Stone, and SmartLabs: Creative Learning Systems. I’m especially excited about what could happen when students are able to self-direct and collaborate. They have access to programs that allow them to create robotics, claymation, and animation. The artistic applications and opportunities are endless. It’s all very exciting stuff!

How did the MAET degree program help prepare you for these challenges?

My MAET classes taught me, most of all, to not be afraid to dive in and try new things. As a digital immigrant, I grew up in a world without computers. My MAET classes provided me an educational framework to prepare me for 21st Century schools. Rather than fearing the technological changes that are occurring in education, I am now better able to see that the future of education is exciting, not scary. My professors served as models, and helped me to develop into a technology leader at my school. In many ways, my MAET experience was paradigm shifting: it exposed me to hands-on, student-centered educational models that I hope to emulate here in the States and abroad.