Week+1-+Part+1.3+EDLD+5306+Course+Assignment+Reflections


 * __EDLD 5306 Concepts of Educational Technology Reflection__**

**//Self-Assessment //** The pre-course evaluation allowed me to get an idea of what to expect and help me to know what I needed to learn. I was familiar with e-mail, but blogs and wikis were new because we never really get to use them in my classroom. I was also introduced to the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology. Two items that I was comfortable working with were the Technology Application TEKS and the STaR chart. I am as honest as possible when filling out the STaR chart and encourage my colleagues to do the same. I stress the importance of accurate results which I learned about from one of the district technology committees I serve on. I learned that I have a lot to learn about the subject I teach. I would be doing my students and district a disservice if I wasn’t evolving with the technology needs of today.

**//Learn as a Learner //** As I mentioned earlier, I was aware of blogs and wikis, but never got to use them in class because of time constraints. Our district is really pushing for us to use more Web 2.0 tools in the classroom, so I felt that this was a great opportunity to absorb all that I could. I envision using these tools to help students put their thoughts into writing. They can express them self without class time limits. It can be accessed from anywhere so you can have a running dialogue. The benefits are when students are absent for more than a day, they can stay current with lessons and be involved with discussions from home. The challenges come when students get off topic, the moderator has to watch periodically to avoid conflict and maybe filter language. This would also pose a problem for students without home computers or internet access.

**//Lifelong Learning Skills //** My visions of what I would learn were in the course title- Concepts of Educational Technology. However, I had no idea how much I would learn. This course show me things that I only minimally covered these topics at a workshop or at staff development. I want to continue to understand technology more so I can be more helpful to my students and colleagues. One benefit was that I was able to use the wiki although my group members were reluctant to include this in their lessons. At least I was able to introduce this concept to them and maybe they’ll find a way to use it. They may even come to me for assistance. Another method is our district has recently announced that they want us to to obtain our CPE hours through summer sessions taught by district teachers instead of going and paying elsewhere. Our Director of Instructional Technology asked two other teachers and myself to conduct an Intel training offering several one-hour training sessions, to give teachers adequate time to explore existing software features, to plan how to integrate them, and to share their ideas with colleagues (Duffield and Wahl 2005). This will help teachers create classroom projects for learning and collaboration, and a sense of partnership for learning...(Burns 297). Young people may be ahead of us in using tools, but leaders like you will help them use the tools in educationally appropriate ways (Solomon & Schrum, 2007).

Burns, M. (2002). From Compliance to Commitment: Technology as a Catalyst for Communities of Learning. //Phi Delta Kappan// Duffield, J & Wahl, L. (2005). Using Flexible Technology to meet the Needs of Diverse Learners: What Can Teachers Do?. //WestEd// Solomon, G. & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools. //ISTE//
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