EDLD+5364+Reflection

For this course, I envisioned being able to use different kinds of new and exciting technologies in my classroom for teaching. Not only was this achieved, it gave me so many different ideas for my classroom that I had to start writing them down so that I would remember them all. Also, what I found very interesting this last week of this class was the portion on authentic assessment. It had never occurred to me to use these same tools for assessment as well. Something else that pleasantly surprised me was that all of these technologies are found very easily online. Before the class started, I also expected to be learning about how to learn to use certain other electronic technologies for learning. I was happy to see that this course was only about easy-to-use technologies. Overall, this class exceeded my expectations. I learned how to use technologies, such as podcasts, in educational ways that I never thought was possible.

I felt that this class was very relevant to the work that I do at Genesis High School. Because we are an AEP school where students learn at their own pace using a computer program, these new technologies would be very useful and very easily accessed because of our one to one student to computer ratio. Also because we are AEP, our students generally learn in completely different ways. So on a student by student basis, these technologies will help us at Genesis find a style that is right for each one of their individual needs. I think what will be most used at our school will be wikis and blogs. I think that wikis and Google docs especially give a new and creative way for students to work together as a team to accomplish a task. I also will personally make much use of the UDL Book Builder for our future students who may have special needs.

I really felt that I achieved all of my important outcomes that I had set for this class at the beginning. I guess the only outcome I expected that wasn’t reached was that of using new electronic technologies. However, as I mentioned above, I am happy that we did not accomplish this. I did wonder before we started the course how we would even be able to accomplish using these technologies, because not everyone has them available to them. For instance, I would love to learn how to use a Smart Board in my class, but because it is not available to me I would have a hard time learning how it works. But because of these technologies are available online, it has really made it much easier to learn and use these technologies than I had expected before we began the class. Because of this, I was very happy with the outcomes of this class.

I was successful in completing the course assignments, but it was definitely not easy to do so. Thanksgiving week (week two) put me way behind because I had gone out of town for five days. So upon return, I not only had to catch up on week two, but it also put me behind on week three, which was a very difficult week for me, not only with this class, but also with work. However, I got through those two weeks, and I was able to get everything turned in! There were a couple of assignments that I had problems with. For whatever reason my week three wiki did not submit the first time, and I had to resubmit it when I found out. Also, my UDL book was a small problem because I did not share it with my Academic Coach. However, both of these mistakes were figured out and addressed.

This course taught me several things about new technologies and how to integrate them into my classroom, which I have discussed above. But more importantly, this course taught me that I need to think on a deeper level when it comes to how I teach, and how I give assignments to different students to meet their individual needs. There were several moments during the class in which I learned new ideas that seemed like they should have been obvious to me, and made me wonder why I had never thought of them before. Also, I learned that I can be a leader with these new technologies at my school. I feel that I know them well enough now to be able to teach them not only to my students, but to my colleagues as well. This course really helped to show me who I am as a teacher, versus the kind of teacher that I want to be.