Course Reflection 5306

I envisioned that I would get an overview of what educational technology leadership was all about. I believe that this course has done just that. We studied everything from ethics, to technology plans, to TEKS. I think I achieved the outcomes that I envisioned and more. I did some things that were difficult, but necessary for my success. I also thought that I would learn a lot about how to do more things on the technology side. I learned how to create a blog and wiki as well as how to attend a web conference. There were some aspects that I didn’t know what to expect or envision, so a lot was new to me. It is hard to say if the actual course outcomes aligned with those I envisioned. I didn’t have a lot envisioned – I didn’t know what to expect. I know that I have learned a lot through this class and improved on the skills that I already had; as well as learning new skills.
The outcomes are somewhat relevant to the work I do in my school in that I am able to think more about incorporating technology into my lessons. I am more aware of what my students are doing on the Internet and how I can teach them about cyber-bullying, ethics, and safety. I also understand why the STaR Chart is important and that Texas has a long-range plan for technology. I used to fill out the STaR Chart because it was a requirement, but now it has meaning to me. I can see how our district is aligned and planning to meet technology goals. I would like to use blogs and wikis in my classroom, but there are strict rules against such use. I never used to think that those things had a place in a classroom, but now I see a need for them. I believe the things I have learned are being applied to how I teach.
There were some outcomes that I did not achieve. When I took some of the self-evaluations in Week 1, I realized that I was lacking in some of the areas. I thought that I would learn how to use certain things like Internet research, web-publishing skills, and graphics usage. Although there were lots of new things I learned, I had hope to touch on those previously listed above. I hope that I do learn those things that I don’t know a lot about. I don’t believe anything in the course prevented me from achieving them; they just weren’t addressed. I have not had time to do those things on my own, to teach myself. I do believe that I will learn how to do these things by the time I finish the program.
I think I was successful in carrying out the course assignments. I was able to complete them all to the best of my abilities and followed the rubrics for maximum points. I scored very well on most assignments. On one assignment, Week 3, I scored lower than all other assignments and was unsure why. I had followed all directions as stated in the assignment and read the rubric to make sure I had done everything correctly. I’m not sure what happened. I also struggled to upload my site-mentor agreement to my wikispace. It seemed like a simple task, but took me hours. I had a new computer, new printer/scanner and had never tried to upload a file to a wiki before. After trial and error, I learned how to do it. It was discouraging at first, but when I overcame the barrier, I felt awesome!
I learned a lot about myself and my attitude from this course. I learned that I achieve this goal and dream if I just tried. Long ago, I had envisioned that someday I would get a masters degree. I always had excuses and recently it seemed as if it would never happen. Through much thought and support from my family, I decided to just do it. I have always tried to keep a positive attitude, and this course has encouraged me to keep it up! I have learned and assessed where I am with my technology and leadership skills. I have also taken steps to improve those skills. I have also learned how to rely on others to reach my goal. I always try to do things on my own and don’t ask for help. I was required to secure a site-mentor and in the process I ended up with two of them! Never in my wildest dreams would I have done that on my own. The best thing is that they are both very open to helping me out. Both my mentors are knowledgeable in their areas and are going to teach me and encourage me to meet my goal.