1. What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?
2. To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?
3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?
4. Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?
5. What did you learn from this course... about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?
Upon making the decision to obtain my Master’s Degree in Educational Technology Leadership, I did not feel very informed as to what exactly I would be learning. Would I be learning more on the curve of software or facilitating technology integration in the classrooms? EDLD 5360 has helped me realize I will be doing it all. The first two weeks of the course were tough, but made more sense the more I practiced what I was accomplishing. I wanted to understand different components of social networking and have a better grasp of how to utilize technology in my classroom. The course exceeded my expectations and envisioned outcomes. I learned so much useful technology information that I hope to continue and prosper above and beyond what was taught. I also wanted to learn more about the Technology Standards. This course, as stated before, helped achieve that desire. I learned much more about the standards than I would have ever sought on my own time.
My classroom is full of very diverse learners. I work hard daily to reach each and every learner. I am teaching the 21st Century digital natives and must realize that my ‘normal’ way of teaching is no longer reaching the rigor that is required of me (and my test scores). The technology I learned in EDLD 5360 is a great jump start in the direction of raising rigor. For example, I am attending training next month over the district’s blogging website. Had I not taken this course, I would not have given blogging a second thought in my classroom; now I can’t wait to get started! I have so many ideas and hope that this ‘digital learning’ will help my students stay motivated, encouraged, and meet all academic standards. Another concept that I mastered/achieved was becoming more aware of Internet safety and ethics. I feel much more prepared to allow my students on the Internet with just the right amount of freedom. I have already developed a lesson that will be presented before any students are allowed to have free reign on the Internet while at school. I feel the information presented in EDLD 5360 was extremely relevant for the work I do in my school.
During this course, I do not feel there were any outcomes I did not achieve. However, I am a life long learner/educator and feel there is always more to learn. I may not have had any specific outcomes not met for this course, but I will always be on the journey to find new ways to teach, to learn, and to provide support. As technology grows in our classrooms and for our students, I feel the need to research and absorb all that I can. If I am always on the hunt for new ways to integrate technology, then I will always have an outcome I am yearning to meet.
I often find myself wondering why in the world I am attempting my Master’s Degree. I am a full time educator, a single Mom, and just trying to survive on a daily basis. If I learned anything during this first Educational Technology course, it was to pace myself and my assignments. My personal motto has become “One day at a time”. I was successful in completing all of my coursework, but not without a few less hours of sleep. I have been out of college for five years, but this course was my first online course. I came to realize there is a big difference between self-teaching online and listening to a lecturer. The coursework had a few ‘heavier’ weeks than others, therefore I tried my best to always look ahead to future weeks and plan accordingly. I am very proud of myself for completing my first course and I hope I can continue my stamina and enthusiasm.
If I was told to classify myself in a technology category, I would place myself in the intermediate level. I am involved with social networking, I blog on a regular basis, and I use mediocre technology in my classroom. Yet, this course made me take a step back and see that what I am doing is not enough to keep up with the digital natives I am teaching. Not only am I going to need to incorporate more rigorous and in depth technology, but I am going to need to step up my leadership skills. My Internship Plan showed me where I need to further develop and where my strengths in leadership already are. My attitude towards my Master’s program is upbeat and motivated, yet I could see myself getting tired and bogged down very easily. I will strive to take one day at a time, be a continual learner, and help to also motivate the technology immigrants (fellow teachers) who surround me on a daily basis.
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