I'm Erica M Dean and This is How I Made It

It was the best of times and the worst of times.

Once upon a time.

Growing up on the cold hard streets of  "Motown".

Yeah, ok...that's more like it.

Seriously, I think we all have a story to tell, not just celebrities.

I mean, it's ok for them to share there struggles and triumphs, but regular folks struggle, too.

In my church, we call it "testimony service".

Anyway, according to family legend, I was born two months early and a bit premature.

It's 1977.

Spent time in an incubator.

Family would come, look at me through the glass and cry.

A stranger called me "a fighter".  I would be my parent's only child...if I made it out the incubator.

Fast forward a few years.

I'm a toddler with a foot bar connected to my shoes to help straighten my legs.

I'm a little kid riding a Big Wheel...then a bike.

At 8 years old, I fell in love with Mario...and his brother, Luigi.

...and Zelda, and Mike Tyson's Punch Out.

As an elementary school student, I turn out to be pretty good.

In the 6th grade, I happen to peek into a classroom full of odd looking machines with glowing green screens.

"What are those?" I ask.

Apple IIes.

"What are those black squares?" I ask.

Floppy disks.

I put a floppy disk into one of the Apple IIes.

Oregon Trail.

My heart jumped.  Twice.  I'm 11 years old.  Middle school.

Gotta get one of these computer things.

Way expensive, though.

Video games aren't that expensive, though.

Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64.

I'm in High School now.  I work in the library.  I hate Driver's Ed class.

Not dating yet, but I carry a beeper.

The computers in the library are those square cut Macs with the black and white display.

Clip art makes my reports shine...and the other kids take notice.

Excepted into Wayne State University. It's 1995. Just graduated from Detroit Public Schools.

The beeper is gone.  I have a cellular phone.

In the basement of the Science Library, I'm introduced to the World Wide Web, chat rooms, websites, and HTML.

The HTML code for black is #000000.

Chat rooms are...interesting.

It's 2001.  I am now a teacher. Detroit Public Schools.  Returning home to give back.

Teacher Technology Initiative gives DPS teachers laptop computers.

I chose the Compaq.  It's my first personal computer.  Ever.

After while, my parents bought a Gateway system for themselves.

I begin my first series of technology workshops...at home...training my mom.

Dad says he'll watch.

I'm now in the Wayne State IT program working on my Masters.

Afterwards, I will pursue Ed Admin at UMich-Dearborn, but become sidetracked by their Ed Tech program.

I'm good at this computer stuff.  I still play video games, too.  PlayStation 2.

Keeps my mind sharp.  Still not dating yet.

By now, I've been teaching for awhile...my role in DPS is changing...and I now play XBox.

Fast forward.  I'm a Literacy Coach.

I play XBox 360...and date...a little bit.

The World Wide Web has changed, too.

Everybody is on.  Oh, yeah, I carry a "BlackBerry" and "text" people.

...then Facebook showed up.

...and Twitter.

Tried my hand at both.  Epic fail.

But after much prayer, I came back strong in both.

One program for fun, the other for business.

I've got it now.  I know what to do.

I also have a better website, a wiki, and a blog, too.

Feel better about my career.  I am an Instructional Specialist at a PK-8 school.

Might just finish my Ed Admin goal as well.

Marygrove College.

But that's for part two.

For now, I'm Erica M Dean and this is how I've made it...so far.

Built by Wayne State - Powered by UMich-Dearborn

I'm the type of person who believes in giving credit where credit is due:


All of my Wayne State U IT professors.
All of my UMich-Dearborn  EdTech professors.
...and the IT Prof. who taught me how to make Flash movies that semester at Wayne State.

Thank you all.

You see, at the time I decided to pursue coursework in K12 Instructional Technology at Wayne State University,I looked around and found that there were not many students that (cough cough) "looked like me".  That didn't bother me too much, as I focused and excelled in all my technology classes because I really enjoyed what I was learning.

ADDIE - Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation

Yup.  The foundation.

While some of my family members needed an extra explanation of what I had majored in via earning my M.Ed, others simply thought that I was now able to become a extra fancy computer teacher.

Maybe.

Never one to rest on my duff, I somehow stumbled upon the Educational Technology program at The University of Michigan-Dearborn Campus.  Upon completion of the EdTech coursework, it appeared that what Wayne State had dropped into my spirit, UMich-Dearborn had polished.

Oh, what a shine.

God has a funny way of developing the skill sets of His children.  It took two very unique Universities to turn me into a certified K12 Instructional Technologist / K12 Educational Technology Leader.

Wow.

So when you look on my resume, I can't really talk about Wayne State University's Instructional Technology program without talking about The University of Michigan-Dearborn's Educational Technology program in the very next sentence.  It just wouldn't be fair to the faculty of both institutions.

Little do they know that both programs have changed my life, as I am still using what I learned today.

My personal website, wiki, blog, and Twitter account is brought to you by the letters WSU and UMD.