EDLD 5306 Post Course Reflection

September 20, 2011

Week 5 Assignment, Part 2: Course Reflections

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?

The outcomes I envisioned were to get an overall grasp as to what this whole graduate course and is about and to familiarize myself with the online systems that Lamar provides such as Epic, TK 20, etc. I did achieve these outcomes but still am a little slower than I thought I’d be to catch on and am a little overwhelmed with what all it entails but know with more practice, time and experience I will eventually catch on. I also envisioned learning more how to integrate technology in to the classroom in more specifics and details. I feel that instead, I have learned its importance but not so much “ideas” on specific uses like “use this technology with this subject and grade level” etc. but did get some great ideas from a teacher stand point to communicate with other professionals and learned how to better collaborate with my colleagues. Again, I envisioned it would be more kid based but am satisfied with what I have learned thus far. I am very pleased with this course overall and have learned a lot and know I will continue to throughout!

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?

Again, I was hoping to learn more about technology for the actual classroom to enhance lessons and engage students and instead learned of its importance which is equally of value but the technology I did feel I learned such as creating a wiki, blog, doing web conferences and learning about my district and school’s STaR chart and technology vision is extremely relevant to my work as a teacher. I not only learned how to better research, learn, and work with others, but learned important information about what my school is doing for our 21st century learners and their vision on where they want us to be and how they want us to get there. This obviously gives me insight as to what I need to continue to practice in my classroom already and delivering and planning lessons that are technology based, project based, and is engaging for a array of students.

3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

I did not achieve learning specific technology tools to put in place of my lessons for specific subjects and grade levels for the actual student. I assume that all the assignments and articles I read and did were based more upon researching the importance of technology in the classroom and how to be more technology savvy as a teacher with a class website, wiki, etc. and how to collaborate effectively with others which is very important in my profession. I also didn’t achieve my personal organization balancing grad school with being a full time teacher. This week, I feel a lot better with my organization because I finally feel I have learned about the online ways to which this course runs and works and it doesn’t take me 20 minutes to upload assignments to Epic and TK 20 so therefore, feel that the next course will go a little smoother and hopefully will give me better organization for the future of this graduate program.

4. Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?

I would not use the word “successful” to describe me carrying out the course assignments. I felt extremely overwhelmed and unorganized throughout the entire course. I did do everything that was required to the best of my ability, but am fortunate to be taking this course with a dear friend, Angela, who was there to help explain things when I had questions and keep me updated and motivated so I could stay better on top of things and make sure all assignments were complete and turned in on time. Nothing specific prevented or discouraged me; I do believe that this is a very difficult course, as probably all grad school courses are, to do with a full time job being a new teacher. Organization is key within the classroom and within this course and until that is mastered, I will probably never feel “successful” with any course assignment.

5. What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

I learned that I am not as technology savvy as I originally thought I was. I teach at a school where I am the absolute youngest teacher and by that, I mean by a lot of years. Therefore, I am looked at as one of the more “technology savvy” teachers only because they are not as much. I quickly realized soon after week 1, that I have far much more to learn and am nowhere near as good as I should be or could be. Luckily my motto in life for everything is “always room for improvement” and know this definitely applies for my technology use. I also learned how to be a better leader and put myself out there by asking questions and working with others. Having a mentor for this course and having a close friend take this course too, encouraged me to ask questions and get insight on various situations that I most likely would not have. This is something all leaders have to do; learn to work with someone closely, get their opinions, and be flexible and patient with other’s ideas and work styles. I have a very positive attitude on most things in life. This course has challenged me to keep this extreme positive attitude but know even with the difficulties and frustrations, in the end, this will all be worth it for myself as a lifelong learner and most importantly, for my students and their futures as 21st century learners.