Education ISP (MEd ISP)

Supervisor: Dr. Mira Bajovic

Program entry date: 2017

My name is Larry Nie, and this is my Brock Grad Story. I am currently doing my second term of my M. Ed. ISP program! Although my program is initially a course-based program, it has its flexibility because we can either apply for the Major Research Paper pathway (MRP) or take an Elective Master-level Education Course. I had experience as a research assistant working with my professor before which ultimately made me want to pursue my own research, and I have already submitted my MRP application package. I will focus mainly on the use of technology in the field of education; to be more concrete it would be the application of Chromebooks in Ontario elementary schools. Also, I am very interested in how computer-based video games help Ontario elementary teachers in their everyday practices. Since my research will employ a basic qualitative study design, I plan to collect data from interviewing elementary school teachers, students, parents, as well as app/game designers. I will first develop formal interview protocols and interview schedules and later modify them for the quality concern during the fieldwork. Moreover, casual interviews with students and teachers will also be added. Other than working on my future research, I am a big fan of volunteering. I am a long-term volunteer at two local elementary schools, I also serve for Special Needs Activity Program (SNAP) on campus every Saturday. This October, I won a Sunshine Award from the Brock University Students’ Union due to my outstanding performance in a series of volunteering during O-Week.

Brock University may not be the biggest university in Canada, but hey, I love being here because I have gotten to know a lot of beautiful friends and professors – I get the feeling that I belong to this terrific university. And Brock is exactly where my dream begins to come true!