Teaching+w+Technology+EDLD+5364+Final+Reflection

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? While enrolled in this course, Teaching with Technology 5364, I had expected to learn a variety of methods in which technology could be incorporated into my classroom on a daily basis. Prior to enrolling in the course, I was already very convinced that teaching with technology tools had a very positive impact on the students, but I seemed to consistently incorporate the same tools and the same types of lessons. In other words, I was a little set in my ways. I had created some effective lessons using iMovie and GarageBand, which were included in my lessons on a pretty consistent basis. However, throughout the course of this class, I have found more innovative ways to include technology tools that I had not been using in the past. For example, some of the suggestions for how to use Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel that were included in this course were very simple, yet very helpful to me as a teacher, as well as my students. Not only did I learn some techniques and ideas for incorporating new software programs, but I also felt like the requirement for collaboration was another benefit for me. To be specific, the collaborative process forced me to use tools and consider ideas regarding my previously planned lessons and units from a different perspective. I believe this only served to strengthen my lessons and skills in using technology tools to teach. Therefore, I did achieve the outcomes that I had envisioned for this course. Additionally, I feel like some of the outcomes from this course were unexpected, but very useful. 

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 outcomes that I achieved in this course are extremely relavant to the work that I do on my campus. Being introduced to multiple technology tools to assist students on every level, with varying needs, was a very important and beneficial outcome of this couse. The idea of designing lessons in a universal format was also a very enlightening experience. The exposure to the website ([|www.cast.org]) that focused on the universal design for learning was very informative, and I believe this information will help me become a better teacher, as I will be able to effectively reach more students if my lessons are designed with this approach in mind. Teachers do not always have the time needed to design lessons with all the students’ differentiated needs in mind; however, this site introduced us to several resources and tools that will assist us in creating lessons that are more customized for each individual student.

3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?  I feel like I did not master some of the tools that I was introduced to because of time constraints. I do feel like the fact that I was introduced to so many new tools will be very helpful in the future, but I will need more time to experiment and practice the implementation of some of these new tools in order for me to reach a point that I can consistently incorporate them into my lessons. I feel like I will be more likely to familiarize myself with these tools when I am incorporating them out of genuine necessity, rather than for the sake of meeting a requirement. This fact somewhat follows the same philosophy that applies to students. That is, when we are told to do something as a requirement, without having an ernest need or cause for completing the task, it is somewhat meaningless to us. On the other hand, when we are called to implement a tool or a strategy for a cause that personally affects us, or our level of success, that task becomes more meaningful and the actual benefit seems more realistic and valuable to us. This same scenario was true for me in this class. In other words, there were some tools that I did not completely master, but that was due to a lack of time and genuine need. I feel like this issue will be resolved as time passes, and I have more time to experiment and more complicated needs, in regard to the new tools, arise. At that time, I will revisit the tools and gain a deeper understanding of anything I did not originally comprehend. Therefore, I am not disappointed by anything that I did not achieve. I feel like there will be time for me to achieve more as I have more exposure to these tools.

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

My team was able to successfully complete all of the assignments, and I truly feel that I have learned a great deal from the experience of collaborating with all of the members in my group. This has been a first hand reminder of how important it is to work with others and the reward that comes with it. It has been very interesting to see the different talents and perspectives each team member has brought to our group. I feel like I have learned a lot, as well as being a part of a team that has created a unit that can be further developed and adapted in my classroom as a very strong resource. Not only is our unit a strong resource, but the tools and skills that I learned while collaboratively creating this site and unit will be very helpful in the future. I feel like my group members were very cooperative and willing to compromise when we had differences. I was fortunate in the fact that the other group members agreed to target my content area and grade level to experiment with these tools. Now, I have a basic unit to begin my own digital library, and each group member was very dedicated to contributing ideas and lessons that were of high quality. I feel like this was a very positive experience. 

5. What did you learn from this course: about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes? I learned that collaboration through the use of Web 2.0 tools is a very important concept that teachers need to practice. Although we learned about these collaboration tools, such as Googledocs, much earlier in the program, I had not truly realized the potential of these tools until now. For instance, I had only used Googledocs (up until this point) for the purpose of sharing my work with others and having a place to store documents and images that was always accessible. However, throughout this course, my team members have actually been very dependent on the ability to collaboratively answer the questions each week and fulfill the weekly requirements. Since there was a great deal of work required in this course, one individual would not have been able to accomplish this task alone, especially within the time frame that we have. I feel that there are some parts of our unit, lessons, and overall GoogleSite that could be better, but in the process of learning, things don’t always come out perfectly. What matters most is that I have been exposed to a variety of very useful tools that I can continue to learn about and practice implementing in the future. This experience really called for the group members to actually use and exercise some of the strategies and tools that we have been told about. I am a strong believer in the power of project based learning, so I truly see the value in this course and the tasks we were asked to complete.