EDLD+5306+Concepts+of+Educational+Technology

Concepts of Educational Technology



When I first started this course I was not sure what to expect, actually when I started the whole journey of getting my Master’s, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The self evaluation, at the beginning of the course, really made me start thinking about what I was getting into. There were things on the evaluation that I had never heard of such as, The Texas Long Range Plan. Surprisingly, I did not know that there were Technology TEKS. From that point on I figured we were going to learn about all the items that you were asked to evaluate yourself on. The content that I learned throughout the course exceeded what I had envisioned, summarizing the Technology TEKS, The Texas Long Range Plan, Texas STaR Chart, blogging, creating a wiki, and all of the course readings really opened my eyes to what the future holds for our students and us a educators. Many of the outcomes that I achieved throughout this course will be relevant to the work that I do or will do. I go to work every day thinking what I can do through technology that will help my students be more successful. If we are introduced to new technology through staff development I will ask myself, how will this benefit my students, instead, of why are they making us learn this. Learning about the Long Range Plan and how to break down the data in the STaR Chart I feel is very beneficial because now I know what they are talking about and what its purpose is. I know that when we had to fill out the surveys for the STaR Chart, I thought it was just another survey. Now when I fill it out I will look at it through different eyes. I now know the reasoning behind each question and I won't just mark something to get it done. I will not only think of myself as an educator but the future of our school and our students. I think that the one outcome that I would have liked to achieve more highly would be the online learning community. I was very disappointed in my colleagues, when after joining the wiki; they did not actively participate. When I received the assignment I felt like it would be a good tool for our campus to use to help improve our STaR Chart ratings and other issues that I feel are important in the future of our campus and our district. I know that our principal believes in what the Long Range Plan states but now he needs to implement it through the faculty. I think that if the faculty realized how important these issues were they would look at things through a different perspective. It makes me question whether our campus is ready for the digital natives or people who live in a world where technology is omnipresent, in our classrooms (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). I feel that if our campus had different views on technology and understood what the purpose of the wiki is then I would have been more successful. Throughout the course, I learned that I need to have better time management and that I need to learn how to prioritize my schedule, into what needs to be now and what can wait. I also learned that I need a refresher course on my writing skills. There were many things that I learned about technology that I can use throughout my career. I found the blogs and wikis very interesting and can see how they would be beneficial to my colleagues and also the students. Now the difficult part will be on how to incorporate it onto my campus. Not only did I learn skills that are beneficial, I also learned what the importance of technology is in education and in making decisions based on data. I learned how to us data to make informed decisions and strategies to help students, faculty and administrators become successful. I feel that I have a long way to go on my leadership skills. I understand the importance of leadership and what it entitles but I feel that I need more experience with it. I hope throughout the program I will grow more in this area. My attitude towards the present and future issues has changed some. I have always thought about what can I do to help these students succeed, what way does this child learn, is it different than this one, what can I do differently to reach each one of my students. If that was not my thinking, then I would ask myself, why am I here. According to Pitler, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, using this technology allows teachers to differentiate instruction more efficiently by providing a wider variety of avenues for learning that reach students of divergent readiness levels, interests, and learning styles.

References: Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Prensky, M. (2008). Adopt and adapt: Shaping tech for the classroom. Edutopia: The George Lucas Educational Foundation.

Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, new schools. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.