EDLD+5364+Teaching+with+Technology+-+Final+Assessment

 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?

When I began this course, my hope was that I would better learn how to integrate technology into my instruction as well as be able to assist my colleagues in doing so. I received much more than I had hoped. Not only did I learn about and use a variety of Internet-based instructional tooIs, but I also experienced working with others collaboratively in the same way my students and colleagues would be able to do using email, Google Docs/Sites, and Tokbox.

In addition, I learned to design lessons using UDL principles and create electronic books on the CAST website, which was all new to me. UDL is based on CAST’s research which found that lesson design must address the three brain networks: recognition, strategic, and affective, or the what, how, and why of learning (Cast.org (2009). //What is universal design for learning?//. Center for Applied Special Technology. Retrieved on December 13, 2009, from [] .) Rose and Meyer convey that UDL’s goal is to give every student a “customized and responsive “ learning experience ( Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). //Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning//. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site. Chapter 6. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from [] .) Technology makes this possible. I have come to whole-heartedly agree with this philosophy as a result of completing this course and plan to implement it and share it on my campus.  

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?

The knowledge I gained from the readings, videos, and assignments in this course are very revelant to the work that I do in school. As an educator, my goals are for every child to succeed and learn. The learner-centered, project-based, cooperative task that I had to accomplish collaboratively with my group during this course exemplified the research-based concepts which we have learned each week and which we should apply to our own instruction. Pitler says in his book that technology can transform teaching and learning, move educators from being good to great, and aid educators in having a positive influence on student learning ( Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works.// Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 14. ) Learning about technology incorporated into lessons designed with UDL principles and applying those is helping me to improve as an educator by transforming my teaching and my students’ learning. In addition, I have also been able to share what I have learned with some of my colleagues aiding them in having a positive influence on student learning through integrating technology.

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

In completing the group project, I sometimes felt that not enough specificity was given in the directions for the project as to exactly what the desired outcomes for the project solution group web site were to be. Each week, I think the picture got clearer, though, and as a group, we did create a web site. However, we were always unsure if it was exactly what was being asked for. I am the type of person that likes everything to be spelled out exactly. In fact, research, cited by Pitler, supports that technology has an added positive effect on student learning when learning goals are clearly spelled out before the technology is used ( Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works.// Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 3. ) I am just the type of person that needs the extra clarity.

Personally, I would have liked to see an example of an entirely completed project web site, maybe showing a solution to a different scenario, so that we would have had an idea of exactly what the pages were expected to look like and include. I do realize, however, that “not knowing” allows for more flexibility in the group’s delivery of the final product. I am just very “left-brained.”

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

I was successful in completing all of the assignments in this course. Working collaboratively with a group was the most challenging assignment, as we had to work with each other from a distance. However, through the use of [|www.tokbox.com], our team video-conferenced every Monday night, discussing all aspects of our project. All team members contributed and worked together well. I had never video-conferenced before with more than one other person and found the experience to be very beneficial in finding a solution to the scenario and task we had been given. It is amazing how well the project came together and it is all due to technology. The use of the shared Google Doc for brainstorming, the shared group Google site, and Tokbox made collaboration easy. We were all able to work together from a distance, mostly on different days and at different times, yet we were able to learn from each other and accomplish a task. To me, that is amazing.

As an educator, I plan to use these collaborative Web 2.0 tools with my students and encourage their use with colleagues. Working cooperatively with others, according to research, cited by Pitler, helps us make sense of and construct meaning for new knowledge ( Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works.// Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 139.) This is needed and by experiencing the use of these tools myself, I know this, now, even more. 

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

From this course, I learned that the way we do school, today, needs to change. The factory model described in some of the videos where we move students through, year to year, as if they are on a production line does not serve all students well. I have learned that learner-centered activities need to be designed with thought given to how every student will be able to accomplish the tasks and what, if any, supports are needed for individuals to be successful. UDL principles regarding the three brain networks need to be addressed along with the implementation of technology to successfully motivate and reach each student. Because of this course, I am putting much more thought into learner-centered lesson planning and design.

In addition, I have gained more confidence in using Web 2.0 technologies and confidently share ideas for integrating these technologies on my campus. I have shared with a colleague the UDL Bookbuilder web site, brainstormed uses of creating books for use in middle school math with her, and encouraged her as she made an electronic book herself. I have definitely come to the place, especially after taking this course, where I know that I can help myself and others achieve more through technology integration and hopefully help facilitate a move towards a new way of thinking about school.

The last video that I watched for week 5, //Vision for 21st Century Learning//, really brought it home to me. What if students and teachers were able to use technology in such a way that students could learn in the ways and modes that were best for them individually, such as through gaming? Technology makes this possible. A shift in thinking and more funding is all we need to get the ball rolling in a new direction.