An Overview: Emerging Themes
Looking back at my journey in the Master of Education program, pedagogy, digital technology and authentic assessment emerged as three central components required to create effective learning environments. Figure 1 serves as my current understanding of the relationship between pedagogy, digital technology and authentic assessment. Equally important in this framework is how these domains interact and influence each other. The outer circle illustrates that these three components exist and interact within a specific context, influenced by curriculum, as well as the social and cultural background of the individual learner and community of learners. Click on the image below to view a more detailed video description (Length - 2:16 min).
Figure 1. Conceptual framework for Master of Education learning portfolio
Figure 2 is the concept map that has guided the development and organization of my digital portfolio. The artifacts that I have selected serve a dual purpose in this learning portfolio. They have informed my understanding of each of the themes, as well as serve an exemplar of each theme in action. Note: The concept map enlarges with mouse hover when using Google Chrome. Creating the code to create this effect is another demonstration of how my technical competency has improved as a result of my participation in this program.
![](http://demeestermedportfolio.weebly.com/files/theme/conceptmap3.jpg)
Figure 2. Concept map