I started my career in Buffalo, NY and have somehow continued to have my connection to Buffalo last many, many miles away. In the mid 1990’s I began working for the State University of New York College at Buffalo (AKA Buffalo State) teaching ESL courses and entry level English literature courses to incoming students. Over the years, I gravitated toward K-12 schools, left higher education, had three children, and somehow years later found myself in Bangkok, Thailand enrolled in graduate courses from Buffalo State. The more I travel, the more I realize how small the world can really be.
The Certificate of Educational Technology and Information Literacy (COETAIL) program was designed by international educators and consultants Jeff Utecht and Kim Cofino. Designed in conjunction with Buffalo State, COETAIL courses can be taught online or face to face to help educators earn 15 graduate credits from SUNY. As a graduate from this program and certified instructor, these courses are pretty incredible. When Jeff and Kim began teaching these at ISB, our school and our classrooms were quickly brought into the 21st century. The beauty of the courses is the seamless integration of the course material into an educator’s regular lesson plans and unit development. As a COETAIL instructor, I am constantly amazed at the quantity of teachers that model life long learning well beyond the minimum requirements for their certification. If you are interested in finding out more about COETAIL, please feel free to email me at dana@coetail.com.