EDLD+5363+Course+Reflection

As another class comes to an end it is time to reflect upon my experiences of the past five weeks. Below is a sneak peak into my personal journey.
** 1. What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned? ** As a newcomer to //knowing// technology I really thought I would learn a lot about //how// to create, manipulate, and combine various technologies. This class appeared to be one of the more hands on classes, and gave me a hope that I would learn how to implement technology I had //heard// about. I wanted to own and be able to use what I had seen others creating. As much as I was made aware of technologies I do not think I am as comfortable with using them as I had hoped for. In some ways my perceived outcomes from the course did match up with the actual course outcomes presented by our professor. One outcome I feel inadequate is teaching others about these particular technologies. I found myself searching for help among my peers during our video creation period. I felt like a lesser group member because I did not have the knowledge that they did. It was a very humbling experience to rely on others to help me obtain my goals.

** 2. To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not? ** The anticipated outcomes put forth by myself and my professor most certainly do apply to the word I do in school. One of the most important reasons is that I stay relevant and up-to-date teaching with new technologies and that I also stay relevant to my students and staff. As an educator, I teach learning through the ages, and if I am able to represent such a philosophy and lifestyle myself then I need to. My students are continually surrounded and impressed by technology, and if I do not try my best to learn about their technology community their day at school with me will be inapplicable to their lives outside. I want what they do and learn in school to be directly related to what they see once they leave the school campus. By having extra knowledge of technology practices I can provide the education I want the students to have. One that involves new ways to use technology in their learning by creating or manipulating what they see.

** 3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them? ** As mentioned above I had hoped to be better equipped with teaching others about certain technologies. Throughout the working of our group Public Service Announcement I began strong with implementing a structure for our group to converse using a Google Document. I then created a document that took note of all of our collaborations and prepared for it to be turned in for grading. As someone who grew up with computers and keyboards I felt comfortable leading this part of our group. When it came to downloading videos and editing them, that is when I felt behind my group members. Because of this I not only had to rely on others to help me, I also was able to feel what it is like to not fully understand what to do. Around a group of colleagues, family, and friends I am usually the one who can figure something related to certain technologies, so being able to be on the opposite end of knowledge really showed me how important it is to have a knowledge base surrounding you. Just because I know a certain area of technology doesn't mean I will know another. If I am able to have someone in mind that I can run to for help this will alleviate frustrations.

** 4. Were you successful in completing the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you? ** Throughout the course I came upon many different unknowns, and with research and peer assistance I was able to conquer each of them. With each new assignment I was able to tackle unfamiliar technologies such as creating a Podcast, video, and picture story. Before this class I had never attempted to create any of them, so I was coming with an empty knowledge base. There were some trials of which file should the project be saved under so that it will be compatible with this website. As well as, figuring out why my sound was working on my video, but not the visual. Because of my lack of background knowledge I did stumble a few times. However, I was able to complete each project and be proud of what I was presenting to my classmates and professor. These assignments really showed me that we are always learning and growing in ways that will prepare us for our future experiences. ** 5. What did you learn from this course: about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes? ** There have been moments where I've looked at something and thought that there was no way I could do the same. I sat there telling myself I could make a power point presentation but not a video. I was completely preventing myself from growing in my knowledge of technology. Over the course I found that I //could// create the things I was seeing from other people on the web. How empowering it is to know you can do something that you once so fondly admired as being personally untouchable. In our group project I was able to use my leadership skills to maintain calm within the group and to create a foundation for our beginnings. Often groups find themselves wondering where to begin, but we were able to get started quickly because of the foundation that was created. During our last project of the class I found myself frustrated and bewildered on how to do some parts of the project. As much as I focused and researched how to do it I still had a hard time figuring it out. Because of these emotions and experiences with this I am able to be more compassionate to others who have a hard time understanding another form of technology. One that I may find to be far easier to understand.