Course+Reflection

 =Course Reflection =

==What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned? == I knew from the moment I heard the title of this course that I would love it. I am now happily overwhelmed with new and valuable information. I plan to use every single statistic, fact, figure and recommendation, when I approach my principal and ask if I would be able to help my coworkers on this campus integrate technology into their own curriculum. I am flooded with idea after idea for what I would like to accomplish in the classroom. I get so excited about the possibilities available to our students today. One example from our week 1 readings is from the article, How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (Expanded edition), “another way to bring real-world problems into the classroom is by connecting students with working scientists.” (Cohen, 1997) This is just one example of thousands that I have been exposed to during the five short weeks of this course. I hope that I do not forget everything I have learned. Part of me wants to stop right here and process all that I have learned that I want to remember and use to benefit the students. I plan to try to do that over the short Christmas break, but unfortunately, busyness will more than likely take the place of processing and planning. When choosing to work with a group, it is difficult to choose collaborators because of the online nature of this course. Since we have been in the program for several courses now, it is getting easier, but there are still issues that must be overcome. I believe that our group achieved success due to the fact that we were all willing to jump in and carry our own weight and assist each other if needed.

==To the extent that you achived the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not? == Actually, this course will be most relevant to the work I do now, in addition to the work I will do, hopefully, in the future. Currently, I am a Technology Applications and CTE teacher, but I do everything I can to encourage the other teachers on my campus learn to use technology in their classrooms. I believe that the data, facts, and ideas that I am taking away from this course, will enable me to become a better teacher, as well as offer a better system of support for those on my campus that need it. In the article, “If I Teach This Way, Am I Doing My Job,” the authors point out that “when one integrates student experiences with technology into the curriculum, the role of the teacher changes.” This is hard for some teachers to understand, much less carry out. I am currently working with my principal to set up dates for “mini-workshops” for individual departments. The idea behind this idea is to allow each department time to get together, brainstorm ideas for technology integration for each class, to get some of their technical questions answered individually, and offer a spring board for successful integration ideas, if needed. Collaboration with my group was mostly unproblematic except for finding a common time to meet that corresponded well with everyone’s schedule. We worked well together and mostly everyone in the group shared the work responsibility equally. This type of project is similar to what most educators face when collaborating with other teachers in order to work together effectively to ensure students’ success in the classroom. We divided up the work load as much as possible, however, I feel that Melba was at more of a disadvantage because she has had no experience inside the classroom.

==What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them? == Because I am so satisfied with the content and the material presented in this course, it was hard for me to think of any actual outcomes that I feel I did not achieve. I finally thought of an outcome for this graduate program that I will not be able to achieve after completion. When I began pursuing my Master’s degree, I actually started working on it through University of Texas Telecampus. With that program, upon completion, I would have had the opportunity to become Master Technology Teacher certified. It would be excellent if that certification would be possible through the completion of the Lamar Master of Educational Technology Leadership program. I believe that both, Lamar and UT Telecampus university programs are comparable, and Lamar should qualify for an acceptable certification process. I imagine that certification would generate even more interest in Lamar’s Academic Partnership with school districts throughout the state. I am very appreciative of the opportunity that Lamar has presented educators, already, by partnering with the school districts in order to provide an affordable way to continue my education.

Were you successful in completing the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?
The answer to this question would be yes, mostly. Although for a few days, I was beginning to think that maybe I would not complete the course assignments for Week 3. When a person has too many events and difficult experiences happening concurrently, there are areas that will obviously suffer. Apparently, one of those areas would happen to be two of my Week 3 assignments. I completed the assignments Sunday evening, but somehow overlooked the fact that I had not yet submitted the assignments in the courseware. I normally go back through the week’s activities to make sure that I have everything completed. Apparently, that week I did not go back to double check. In addition to that the assignment that I did submit, Assignment 4, did not include working links. I am still not sure what caused the links in my assignment not to work for Daphne. However, I truly appreciate Daphne’s patience with this situation and Dr. Abernathy’s assistance when I experienced my “nervous breakdown” due to my frustration with the situation. I attempted to locate Dr. Mason’s contact information when I was too impatient to wait until I heard a reply from Daphne. I could not locate Dr. Mason’s contact information anywhere in the courseware, syllabus, or on the Lamar website, which only added to my frustration level. I am thankful for this difficulty with so much understanding from my professors and academic coach. I know that it will help me become more aware in my future courses. Because all members of our group share a similar work ethic, it was not difficult to complete the assignment on time. Arelthia and I shared the technical workload, Kim and Arleen narrowed down a lesson and created lesson plans, and Melba did some research justification for the technological integration.

==What did you learn from this course: about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes? == Where do I begin? I think that Schacter and Fagnano explain my philosophy exactly when they stated, “applied effectively, technology implementation not only increases student learning, understanding, and achievement but also augments motivation to learn, encourages collaborative learning, and supports the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills.” One of the main things I learned about myself is that encouraging others learn to integrate technology is one of my passions. Having experience working in many collaborative groups now, I have also realized that I am very proficient at completing tasks, but I do not like being put into a group leader position. I am not skilled at making decisions confidently, so I tend to second-guess most decisions which decreases my confidence in myself, as well as the other team members’ confidence. If I were able to choose, I would choose to work independently simply because I do not like to rely on other people to complete a task, and I don’t want the pressure of being responsible for other team members’ grades.