EDLD+5364+-+Course+Reflections

EDLD 5364 Course Reflections 

The course title alone excited me. I was eager to learn ways to integrate technology into curriculum so that I could implement these strategies in my classroom and share them with my colleagues at school. I envisioned learning specific ways to integrate technology into curriculum. The information that I received in this course helped me to achieve this goal. I learned many new strategies, but the information, strategies and activities that I learned about in Howard Pitler’s book “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works” were the most helpful to me.
 * 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? **

I have read “Classroom Instruction that Works” by Robert Marzano, and I use many of the strategies outlined in his book on a daily basis in my classroom. The format of “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works” is very similar to Marzano’s book and the strategies that were addressed are the same. As I read about the various activities, I instantly thought of ways that they could be implemented in the classroom. I have implemented several of the activities and shared many of the activities with my colleagues.

For a long time I was under the impression that integrating technology into curriculum was an expensive, difficult task that involved purchasing expensive software programs for each content area. This book took the mystery out of technology integration. It showed me that I could use the technology that the school already has to enhance student learning. The information and strategies I have learned are very relevant to the work that I currently do and will begin to do in January. I am currently a Pre Kindergarten classroom teacher; however; beginning January 4th, I will be the ESL Content Coach for my school. This information will prove invaluable to me as I assist the ESL teachers in planning content and as I provide intervention for ESL students who are struggling. I can’t wait to introduce Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to the entire faculty. I believe that UDL will transform the way that our teams approach planning. I hope that teachers will start by using UDL principles to plan interventions for struggling students, and then use the principles to teach their entire class. Our entire school uses Marzano strategies to enhance instruction. I believe that everyone will be very excited to learn about the strategy based technology activities from “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works” book by Howard Pitler.  I believe that I achieved the goal of creating a UDL Lesson Unit using the UDL Lesson Builder, but I want to become more proficient and efficient with planning using the UDL Lesson Builder. I believe that planning using the UDL principles would be very beneficial to our student population; however, it took me a long time to complete the UDL Lesson Builder lesson plan. I realize that it was a new concept for me and that I would not do it perfectly or quickly on the first try. I want to introduce UDL to our faculty, but I know that if it seems too difficult or time consuming, most will not attempt to implement it. I believe that I was not able to fully master the UDL Lesson Builder because of lack of time to dedicate to learning how to do it more efficiently. If my principal allows me to present the UDL principles to the faculty, I know that I will have to be more knowledgeable about the UDL Lesson Builder process so that I can offer ways to complete the planning process quickly and more efficiently.
 * 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? **
 * 3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them? **

 I was successful in completing course assignments, except for forgetting to post a “Final Word” comment to the Week 3 Discussion Board. Week 3 was a hectic week. We had been warned in the video conference that Week 3 would be challenging, but I had no idea how challenging it would be. I thoroughly enjoyed creating the UDL Lesson Unit using the UDL Lesson Builder, but it seemed to take me forever to complete. As soon as I thought I was finished, I thought of something else that I could include in the lesson plan. I kept revising and changing the plan until I realized that I would never be happy with it and should just stop.
 * 4. Were you successful in completing the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you? **

The Book Builder activity was a lot of fun. Once I got the hang of creating the pages, and finally found the “perfect” pictures to use in the book it was almost easy; until, I decided to add sound to the pages and discovered that only mp3 files could be uploaded to the Book Builder Site. I had to find a safe, free application online that would allow me to convert wma files (the file format that my computer recorded my audio in) to the mp3 format and teach myself how to do it. That process was a little frustrating and set me back a few hours, but I learned a lot and enjoyed the experience.

I believe that the most successful aspect of the course was my participation in the group project. When I found out that we were doing a group project, I almost cried. I am not very fond of group projects. As an undergraduate student and as a working professional, I had not had very many positive experiences with working with groups. On a personal level, I am an only child and usually prefer to work alone. This experience changed the way that I feel about group collaborative planning. I don’t know if it was the team members or the technology that we used to collaborate and plan, but this has been the most rewarding experience. I learned a lot about the other team members and about myself. But most importantly, our diverse group of educators located across the state was able to create a technology based learning unit without one face-to-face meeting. That feat was simply amazing to me.

 I learned that old dogs can learn new tricks! I had never heard of a Google Doc before this class. I was apprehensive and anxious about learning to use this new technology. Now, I love it! I have told my grade level (and anyone else that will listen) about it and we have discussed using it to do group lesson plans.
 * 5. What did you learn from this course: about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes? **

I have learned that my technology skills are improving. Once I got past my initial fear of permanently deleting something that was of vital importance or somehow damaging valuable hardware, I felt free to experiment with the various applications that we were presented with. I feel very confident in my leadership skills and in my ability to encourage others to try a new technology application in the classroom either for themselves and their productivity or for the students. With the new knowledge that I have acquired, I also feel confident in my ability to provide support for teachers as they attempt to integrate new technologies in the classroom.

I have learned that I am still very open minded and still excited about learning. The idea of a group project with no face-to-face interaction was frightening. I knew that we were going to be learning about a new technology application that would facilitate planning, but the idea of collaborating with team members from around the state without a meeting or a phone call was daunting. This experience has been very inspiring for me. At times, collaborating with teachers on campus at a time other than our planning or PLC time becomes a juggling act because we all have so many things to do, but now, because of this experience; I know that lack of face-to-face time is no excuse for not collaborating. Now, I can say that I have used technology to collaborate with teachers around the state to create a lesson unit and I know that it can be done on campus.