Part One: Course Reflection
I have seen many instructors integrating technology into their classroom curriculum for the sake of technology implementation itself, without asking the question “Is this the best choice for student learning?”. Through this course I have learned about a variety of different forms of educational technology and the appropriate uses and benefits they have to meet specific learning outcomes. This idea guided me in developing and creating the final project and assignments throughout the course and show mastery in the AECT standards.
This course has provided me with an opportunity to explore and create a number of resources that I can use professionally in my career. I do not think I would of had the individual time to be exposed to such a variety of technology resources/tools without the creation of the final project and the assignments that were included. Even though I may have used many of these technology tools in my classroom before, the course allowed me examine them in greater detail. This detail will benefit me in the future by helping me provide a better structure for delivery of technology that I choose to use. I hope will lead to better learning outcomes of students when using technology tools for science education in my classroom.
The final project website has been my favorite portion of the class. Being able to explore, find, and create science content that is specific to me has been great. It forced me to think about and use a number of different technology tools that I may not have used before. This is especially true for the content area assignments. I really enjoyed stepping out of the traditional tools of my content and applying tools that may be associated with other content areas. Primary resources is a great example of this. I had never thought of using them in science class before, but really enjoyed developing a lesson using them and will definitely incorporate these types of tools into future curriculum.
I also found that that during the development of the final project, I kwas reflecting on what the delivery of each technology tool would look like in my classroom. This reflection will help me in the future when asking students to use technology, by planning technology use for the overall outcome of student success. If students feel successful using these tools and do not walk away frustrated, they will be more excited to try new technology tools in the future.
During the finalizing process of the final project, I went back and tagged each course assignment with the appropriate AECT standard that if met. It was nice to go back and see the connection between what we did in the course and how it is connected to the standards for the program. The final project demonstrates mastery of each of the following standards, especially standard 2.
Standard 1: DESIGN
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to design conditions for learning
by applying principles of instructional systems design, message design, instructional strategies,
and learner characteristics.
Standard 2: DEVELOPMENT
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop instructional materials
and experiences using print, audiovisual, computer-based, and integrated technologies.
Standard 3: UTILIZATION
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to use processes and resources
for learning by applying principles and theories of media utilization, diffusion, implementation, and
policy-making.
This course has been an essential piece in me developing and growing as a educational technologists and leader within my school. I plan on taking what I have learned and extending beyond just the course and sharing it with colleagues and fellow educational professional.
Part Two: Blog Performance Assessment
I have never been a very good writer and have always struggled with finding my own voice during the writing of a course blog. This results in me writing to meet the blog topic requirements to the best of my ability and spending a fair amount of time to accomplish this task. I enjoy the creation portion of the course more than the blogging, but see the value in reflection of the learning that is taking place during the course. Below is my assessment of my blogging during this course.
Content
Substantial information, thought, insight and analysis has taken place with some connection to previous or current content and/or to real life situations but lack of depth and detail.
60/70
Reading and resources
I primarily used the course text along with other resources that were APA style and APA cited. Readings and other resource materials are used to support blog comments. APA style is used to cite references.
20/20
Timeliness
This was a challenging aspect of the course given my personal time constraints. There were times I posted early in the week and there were a few time that I posted at the last minutes. I do feel that I was consistent in posting in a similar manner as my peers in the class.
18/20
Responses to Other Students
I always had two or more substantial to satisfactory posts with at least one detailed response made to address another student's' post.
28/30
Total = 126/140
