EDLD+5364+-+Teaching+with+Technology+-+Final+Assessment

Teaching with Technology Final Assessment **
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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?

At the beginning of the course, I did not have any specific envisioned outcomes. I was just excited about it because of the title of the class. Teaching with Technology is always an adventure. I entered the class with the hope that I would learn new ways to integrate technology into the classroom for the benefit of enhancing student achievement. As we moved through the course, my expectations did change. I realized that I was going to be learning how to manage my technology activities for the diverse populations in the classroom today. I have always been an advocateof cooperatively learning in the classroom, the fact that we got to work in cooperative groups to complete a project for this class made it that much more engaging. Being able to work collaboratively to achieve a common goal is beneficial. This is something to refer back to when presenting teachers with ideas. Each team member had great ideas and even though we chose a grade level that none of us had taught, we came together and put together a pretty awesome science unit.

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 experience of working collaboratively and cooperatively with my group members was very relevant to what I do on a daily basis. I work very closely with 12 campus trainers. We often have to work together to get district technology initiatives implemented. We also work together to make sure that our elementary campuses are integrating technology effectively as often as possible to enhance student learning and achievement. To continue to promote technology integration, it will be important that every team member share ideas and past experiences, create meaningful training experiences and most importantly to be there when teachers are ready to try something new that involves the use of new technology, be it using new equipment, new software or infusing Web 2.0 tools into their daily curriculum. Communication and collaboration are essential skills when working as a team, using a Google site to share and store information will become invaluable. Teaching teachers across the district to share their ideas and lessons will become much easier and productive because they will not longer have to be in the same room to accomplish this goal. **

3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

I do not feel that there were any outcomes that I did not achieve. As I approach each new course in this program, I always expect to learn something new. Again I have learned many new valuable tools during this course. Learning and becoming comfortable with managing a Google Site was the most beneficial for me. This is something I see of great value to teachers across our district. By eliminating the obstacle of team members having to be in the same place physically at the same time allows for collaboration and communication to take place as often as needed. When an idea or resource becomes available, no more waiting for the next team meeting, it is just a matter of a few clicks and the information can be shared with all. Important data can also be shared so that decisions can be made in a timely manner to the benefit of all stakeholders. I enjoyed this couse and I walk away from it better informed about integrating for diverse classrooms.

4. Were you successful in completing the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?

I feel that I was successful in completing all course assignments. I feel I was able to be successful because our group was very efficient when it came to completing each portion of our group project. We were in constant communication and each person was easy to work with and contributated equally to the project. Week 3 was quite challenging due to the amount and length of the assignments involved. It just happened to fall close to a holiday so that made it even more intense. As far as assignments to, I would have like to have seen some lessons given to us and then we would have to infuse technology into them. Practice on thinking of ways to integrate technology with curriculum that already exists in many districts is something I think would be beneficial to all educators. With that being said, I hold myself accountable for my learning and want to complete my assignments to meet the standards of the instructor and over all, I feel I was able to do that.

5. What did you learn from this course: about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?


 * During this course, I had the fortunate opportunity to work collaboratively with a group of five people. I know that in order for true collaboration to take place, there must be a common goal and each member of the team must feel that their contributions are vital to the success of the overall project. I have been given the opportunity to have a technology leadership role in our district. I work primarily with the elementary campuses in all aspects regarding technology integration. I work with the elementary campus level technology trainers to ensure they have everything they need from equipment to training to be successful at their jobs. I have learned I can lead a team to be successful. I also know the value of making each team member feel valued. Relational capacity is something you have to have in order to be an effective leader. This course showed me once again that working collaboratively and cooperatively is a skillset that everybody needs to experience and become proficient at. **