Reflection

As this course began, I had several expectations or beliefs as to what this class would hold for me. I believed that this course would help create a connection between education and technology. Today’s education, as well as that of tomorrows, is greatly intertwined with technology. Drawing a connection between the two is vital to student and teacher success. I felt that this course would introduce us to new technologies that would be beneficial in the classroom. I looked forward to learning about technological uses other than blackboards and PowerPoints. The ways that technology can be used and benefit education almost seem endless. I greatly desired the knowledge to be able to put these things into use. As this course went along I began to see my desired outcomes for this course come about. I was introduced to blogging and podcasting. I was very unfamiliar with these areas of technology and never knew how they could be used in the classroom. The articles that we read each week enlightened me on many ways that technology could be tied to instruction. All in all I was very pleased with the knowledge I gained from this course. I felt that the information provided was truly beneficial to us.

The outcomes of this course that I achieved are very much relevant to the work I do in my school. As an educational leader, it is imperative that I educate myself on all areas of technology. I believe that integrating a blog into our school technology system will be greatly beneficial and would be something that I would like to see done. Our school is equipped with a great deal of technology but it is not being used effectively. I believe that is because our teachers do not understand how to make the connection between technology and instruction. As educators and educational leaders we have to educate ourselves on technology and its latest innovations to be better able to serve our students. I believe that the information in this course was a step in the right direction for me. I gained a great deal of valuable information and skills because of the activities and assignments we carried out. I have become more technological aware when planning lessons and activities for my students.

I felt that I was able to achieve all the outcomes that I had wanted to in this course. I learned a great deal about technology and how it can tie into teaching and instruction. I believe that teachers often struggle with how to integrate technology into the instruction. Through the round table discussions, assignment activities, and articles, this course was able to help me see this connection. I believe that there are many everyday technologies that we overlook using in instruction because we do not think about there being a connection between the two. The course readings really opened my eyes to all the different types of unconventional technological devices that could be used to benefit the students. I feel that I have been equipped with many tools that will benefit my instruction and therefore help my students become more successful. This is a technological world and we have to find as many ways as possible to tie it into our instruction.

I was able to complete my assignments without tremendous difficulty. The assignments themselves gave me the opportunity to learn a great deal about our technology within my school district and where it is headed. I found it interesting to see the ways my school was working to achieve the goals of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology. The main issue I faced was having difficulty using the discussion board. Several times I was unable to make posts or access the discussion board at all and would have to contact technical support to resolve the issue. One week I was only able to access the discussion board one day out of the entire assignment period. This was discouraging at times when I was trying to post comments, responses and assignments. The only other small issue I had was a minute. It was difficult to do a final word on the article postings when I did not always have replies to my article quotes and comments. However this did not hinder my getting my assignments completed. Overall, this class and its assignments were very enjoyable and provided a great learning experience for me.

This course taught me a lot about myself, my use of technology, my attitude and leadership skills. Prior to this course I was very much aware of the need for technology in the classroom. However, I had a preconceived belief that blogging was not useful to education and that cell phones and iPods should not be allowed in the classroom. Sometimes I think that ignorance on something causes one to have a negative outlook on the use of it. My problem was that I truly did not know that much about blogging or how cell phones and iPods might be useful. I was uneducated on the subject and therefore took a negative view on it. After completing the assignments and reading the course articles, my attitude has changed significantly. I am much more open to using things that may have seemed unconventional to me in the past. It is all about finding ways to effectively reach students and draw them into the lessons being taught. Technology is their world and we have to make it part of our instructional world.

Blogs possess great educational value. Blogs can be an extremely beneficial tool for instruction. They open another means of communication between students and teachers. Communication is always an issue and this as a means to help alleviate this problem. Students that may not be as vocal in class can have the opportunity to speak their thoughts, opinions and ask questions. I believe this provides students a means to grow and express themselves much easier. Students enjoy working on the Internet and I feel that they will enjoy posting their work online. I believe that blogging will become used a great deal more in the near future. Our school currently does not allow access to blog sites but I believe that our technology director should look into integrating it into our current technology plan. I believe that the members of our school will find it beneficial for instruction and for our own professional communication.

As with anything that involves the use of the Internet there are some concerns. I believe to head off the majority of these issues, students need to be educated on proper use and then monitored. If students are uneducated on proper use and safety problems can arise. A benefit to blogging is the lack of personal information provided. Unlike websites like MySpace and FaceBook, personal information should not be posted. There are no personal pictures or other information that can allow those outside of the school to know who is posting the blog. Another issue that may arise is the content of the blogs made by students. We would like to think that our students would post only what is necessary for classroom assignments and discussions. Unfortunately, there is always that one student that post graphic content or slanderous remarks about other students or teachers. This is where monitoring our students work is essential. We have to be visible, whether it’s posting comments to their blogs so they know they are being read or overseeing them as they work on their blog. I do believe that the advantages out way the disadvantages. It just comes down to educating the students and monitoring their work.

I believe that blogging can be an effective communication tool with our stakeholders. Educators and administrators could post information for parents. By teachers posting classroom information, parents can be aware of what students are learning, assignments and other skills that the students are gaining. Administrators can make posts for parents concerning school activities, early release times, school cancellations and other things that may arise. Information for special programs can also be posted so parents can take advantages of those activities that can benefit their children. Blogs can be excellent means for keeping other stakeholders within the community aware of what is happening at the school. Different departments and clubs could post blogs outlining their recent activities and accomplishments. Blogs could also be used to let the stakeholders know of upcoming changes to policies or other protocol. This would also allow stakeholders the opportunity provide their feedback to the school district. It is important to be in communication with our stakeholders. Their support is necessary to help achieve success for our school district. We must keep them informed and take advantage of all avenues of communication.