Course Reflections: EDLD 5306 Concepts of Educational Technology

1.)    I feel that I have learned a great deal of new information in my first graduate course. I envisioned at the very beginning that I would form a new outlook on technology and become familiar with more terminology in this field. I can truly say that I achieved positive outcomes with being able to create hands-on Web 2.0 examples as well as understand terms that I did not have any idea about at first.  I can recall from the very first self-evaluation in this course and not having much of a background in a lot of the terms that were used. One thing that stood out that I learned is how to copy a website and embed it to a document. I had always seen this done, but had no idea how that was actually done.  I feel a lot more comfortable with the new material I used and am looking forward to the courses to come.

 

2.)     I feel that everything that I was introduced for can easily be used in my classroom. For example, I had no idea what a Wordle was. Currently, my students are preparing for midterms. I had the students answer a set of questions as a review and then typed the answers into the Wordle. This gave the students a new way to visualize the important words or phrases over a particular topic. My students also brainstormed other ways they could use this program in the future. I also felt that as I learn new skills and become familiar with new terms, this gives me another gateway to be able to teach my students about technology. I also believe it opens doors to new ways for students to understand information.  Even though technology can provide both a positive and negative assessment to learning, I feel that it has brought nothing, but positive reinforcements to my classroom and school.

3.)    I truly believe that overall I was able to form positive outcomes from this course. I was able to get a new outlook on different tools used and become familiar with terms that I had never heard before. One outcome I hoped to achieve in this course was to be able to use other tools and not just read about them. I was already informed about blogs and wikis, but never created a podcast.  I would have enjoyed learning a little more about the tool as well as apply it to my classroom. Another outcome that I felt would be achieved is from the first week’s assignments. I would have really enjoyed getting a lot more out of the evaluations about our personalities and interests. Those topics always caught my attention when I was in school. I believe they can give you a true assessment of yourself and your future.

4.)    I believe I was able to carry out the course assignments successfully. After three years of teaching, I felt I was ready to get back in the swing of things with school. I think the most important priority in graduate classes is time management. I was able to make sure I looked over assignments the week before they were due. This allowed me to see what I needed to get done and set up a time frame for achieving the necessary assignments. It was important to be able to know what I needed to check off once I completed it. The first week was the biggest challenge since I had not been in a school for a few years and it seemed like such an overload of things to do. I believe  what has guided me through this first graduate course is knowing from the beginning that Mrs. Borel laid out the expectations at the very beginning as well as informed us how fast it will fly by.

5.)    Finally, this course allowed me to learn more than just technology, but a lot about myself. A technology facilitator is a role that I probably would have never thought I would aspire to be right now. I always felt that those skills could only be achieved through numerous years of teaching and not someone who was only twenty five years old. As this generation of students continues to use technology as a main component of their life, I believe my background can really help them. In the 90s, the main reason we used computers at my school was to type a paper or take a quiz on the Accelerated Reader. Eventually,  as I got older, I learned a lot more about basic applications and programs that went beyond Microsoft word or paint. I am looking forward to sharing new ideas with my students and other teachers as I go through this journey through Lamar University. I believe it will help me professionally to learn how to be leader in my future endeavors as well as bring a positive outlook of technology to my school.

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National Educational Technology Plan

Blog Posting: #3

In the National Educational Technology Plan many items were addressed. The main goals established in the plan are focused on making a major transformation in American education. Learning is something that should be engaging and empowering. The use of technology is critical in today’s youth and in order to prepare for their future, we must adapt to all various learners.

In respect to teaching, everything we teach must match up to what students need to know. They need to be able to have 24/7 access to technology. As educators, it is essential for us to learn new items regardless if that was the way we were taught when we were younger. I grew up in the ‘90s and 2000s where computers, cell phones, word processing and PowerPoint were a part of my daily life. Now, in 2011 I can’t even begin to say how drastically technology is changing and can be even more challenging. It is important that we make sure that we teach relevant information that can easily relate to a student’s daily life.    

Also, it is important for educators to teach students that they need to be lifelong learners. Learning should not stop after high school or college. It is important that we all work together, but do give students that ability to know how to control their own learning.

Finally, professional development should be an ongoing process. As our world changes, so does everything around us. It is essential to have the needed training to be able to implement skills for our students. Educators need to be able to have a good background in working with various types of technology beyond the basics.

To conclude, the national plan is very informative in how we need to engage, prepare and connect our students to a new means of learning with the use of technology.

School or District Technology Plan

Blog Posting #2:

The Galveston-Houston Archdiocese in which I work for has a technology plan updated until 2013 that contains all the five elements. That is their goals, professional development strategies, assessment of software, budget resources and ongoing evaluation process.

First, the Archdiocese’s main goals are to utilize all uses of technology that reflect the Catholic faith. Teachers and students must be current with technology as well as use it on a daily basis. The safety and responsibilities of all technology will be addressed to both faculty and students. I believe these goals are essential for providing the basics for a technology plan.

Next, the strategies that are to go with this plan is to continue funding for necessary material needed for schools. Administration is to continue to encourage their school to apply for E-rate funding in which they will be able to utilize the funds needed as long as it addresses curriculum effectively.

Professional development should also play a vital role in teaching educators the proper training needed in order to introduce new ideas to their students. Any extra funding that a school is given should be used as an integral part to technology as long as training is provided.

The technology committee for the plan is made up of representatives of various schools in the Archdiocese that continue to want to strive for ongoing implementation and assessment in the use of technology for all students. As long as schools can identify their reasons behind needing specific technology, the funding should be available. If not, donations will always be taken as long the material is up to code.

Finally, committee and administrators are to make sure progress is occurring from the original plan’s goals. They are to create follow-up evaluations and make sure technology is used to its advantage with positive results.

Technology Assessments

Blog Posting #1

First and foremost, I feel that assessing the knowledge and skills in technology for educators’ and students is critical to learning. It is the backbone of how to understand where you as well as your students are in their performance.

As educators, we need to make we are aware of our own capabilities in the classroom. If more than half of the faculty is not up to date with new technology, this would create a problem. The necessary training would need to be enforced before we are responsible for working with particular technology. My school last year bought interactive whiteboards from a company that unfortunately did not offer an on-site training. Only a handful of teachers including myself knew how to upload the software, calibrate the icons and complete all needed responsibilities before we were able to use them. Since majority of the faculty was not current with how to use the new material, it can be very challenging if you do not have the appropriate training. An assessment could have possibly changed the outcome to this situation.

As for students, they play a crucial role in what type of material should be purchased in a classroom. An exaggerated amount of money spent on items that students would have difficulty understanding would be meaningless especially if they do not have the advanced skills. Material needs to mold what can easily fit the students’ needs.

I feel that an assessment for educators and students can really give your insight to what someone already does or does not know about technology. The pro to an assessment is that it lets you see the big picture of how you need to go about preparing the future of your students. Like many high school level private schools in my district, lab tops are the main form of note-taking. It would important to make sure that the teacher knows their own great deal of technology in order to guide their students. As always, the disadvantage of doing a written assessment is that anyone can fill out answers and color in circles. Sometimes, you need to see hands-on what an educator or student knows.

As you can see, I feel that assessments are necessary and can show an accurate account of what background people have in technology. It can truly shape a school, but also can have a negative outcome if training and hands-on interaction is not used to its full advantage.

Week TWO Conference

I participated in week two conference on November 17th.  I think this conference was very informative. I really appreciated the time that was taken to discuss the internship. I know it can seem overwhelming, but it is important to be able to see a layout of everything during the next eighteen months.  I felt a lot of good questions were addressed by my peers in this cohort. I can tell that we are all interested in this program and the outcomes to benefit our own individual goals to further our career. I feel that getting this masters’ will truly open a lot of doors and will give you a lot of options down the road like Ms. Borel had said. It was interesting to know that our degree plan is equivalent for being able to take the test for a principal’s certification. Overall, I really benefited from this conference and I learned a lot of new information about the program as well.

First Web Conference Ever!

I participated in the first week option conference. First off, this was my very first experience doing any type of webcam use. I was actually a little worried that the technology would not work or I would find some part of it challenging to get to work. Nonetheless, everything turned out pretty good. I was able to easily see myself and hear others. It was definitely a unique way to be able to introduce yourself and feel like you are in a classroom setting.  Ms. Borel, the professor to administer the conferences made sure to let us know to take it easy this first conference so we can just get use to everything.  She also told us that theses 18 months will definitely go by fast. I’m looking forward to this new journey and the use of this technology a lot more.