EDLD+5306+Activity+Reflection

**Course-Embedded Assignments**
 * 1) //Students will complete all parts of each Technology/Leadership self-assessments and thoroughly document the results as required.//
 * 2) //Students will thoroughly summarize key ideas of each section of their State’s Technology Plan and describe their State Technology Curriculum Standards.//
 * 3) //Create a blog and wiki reference document//

**Reflection**

**Self –Assessment**

As I began this journey I was overwhelmed by the information from the readings as well as the information we covered as we completed each assignment. While completing the various self-assessments, I was confident in my technology skills and believed this was the easiest assignment; however, my opinion changed as worked on the Leadership Skills Assessment. It was at this point I began to question my abilities as a leader. As I read through the list of skill, I realized that my skills were exceptionally weak in the areas of Community and Organizational Development and Project Planning. Though I have had some exposure to these skills, I have not made any effort to develop them. As I continue my journey over the next 18 months, I hope my Internship Plan will reflect the opportunities to improve these skills.

One way to build capacity as a technology leader would be to spend more time both in reading about technology and applying it in the classroom. The readings and assignments helped me begin this process. Many of the readings brought forth information that had been buried in my brain as something to explore when I had time. Sara Armstrong and David Warlick brought forth one overarching concept that teachers and leaders need to consider as they are working with students today. Though each of the 3Rs is still very important in today’s definition of literacy, we need to take it an additional step to convert to the 4Es due to the digital nature of information. This concept is one that is being reflected in the new TEKS for students. Teacher need to look beyond reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmatic to exposing knowledge, employing information, expressing ideas compellingly and ethics (Armstrong, S. & Warlick, D., 2004). By employing technology and teaching strategies that focus on the 4Es, teachers and students will be building their skills as 21st Century learners.

We were required to review the Texas State Technology Plan (TSTP) as well as the Texas Technology Application Standards. With my background as a Technology Applications teacher, I was aware of the standards set out by the State of Texas for the students and teachers. The depth and breadth of the TSTP did surprise me. It takes many, state, regional and local education groups to support the integration of technology into the educational settings as well as the support of the local community. The 21st Century Learner is challenging everyone from Superintendents through brand new teachers to increase their own technology knowledge and skills While reflecting on the TSTP, I realized that many of the technology initiatives that have been implemented in our district as a direct response to the plan. If our teachers had this knowledge, many who are currently balking at using technology in the curriculum, may be more responsive to integrating the technology and participating in professional development.

**Learn as a Learner**

As the week began, I reviewed the format of the instruction. This was my first online class and I wanted to be able to take full advantage of the learning as a student involved in the content, as well as, how to set up an effective online course. For me to learn the material presented each week, I found that breaking down the readings, videos, discussions and assignment into parts and schedule time to complete each part, allowed me to handle the additional work. Every week there was a reading that spoke to me. This was usually the one I would use in the discussion board.

As I worked on the reflections from the readings and compiled my discussion and blog entries, I found that I needed time to mull over the material before writing. Once I had my entries and responses written, I would wait one or two days before submitting so I may review my answers. This method allowed me to look at what I had done and evaluate it for relevancy and completeness.

This was the first time I have used the discussion board along with the web conference as a tool for collaboration and peer learning. As we worked through the weeks using these tools, I found I was very interested in hearing from the others in the cohort, both their ideas and opinions. When I compare it to a classroom setting, these methods allowed me to focus more on the content, as there were no other distractions. It also seemed to make a more level participation field. We all came from different backgrounds and yet each of us had something important to contribute. This last may be more a result of maturity and experience.

**Lifelong Learning Skills**

After the readings about the use of Web 2.0 tool in the classroom and the NTS Skills for students, I want to explore these avenues and how they would help our students. From my reading of //Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning// (Prensky, M., 2010), this style of teaching may be the perfect vehicle to incorporate the Web 2.0 tools. As teachers create differentiated lessons, they can include these tools as one option for use in learning.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Collaboration with other teachers has always been a problem at the high school level. Not many teachers understand technology or how it can be included in the curriculum. Because of this barrier, I have not been successful in collaborating with them as a teacher. Using the discussion boards, blogs and wikis, I can see how we can create a general area of collaboration that is not necessarily “subject” based but based on teaching techniques and ideas. In this way, we all can learn.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Boss & Krauss (2007) stated, “maximizing the use of digital tools to better reach essential learning goals, expanding classroom boundaries so that students gain real-world experiences and become global thinkers, and creating experiences that satisfy diverse learning styles and learner dispositions” (p. 22). With the technology available to the teachers on campus, I wonder if I can find a group of teachers who are up to the challenge of creating technology rich learning environments to develop students for the 21st Century? Finding the teachers who are willing to take a risk and explore the possibilities will be a challenge.

<span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Armstrong, S., & Warlick, D. (2004). The New Literacy: The 3 Rs Evolved into the 4 Es. //Technology & Learning,// 25(2), 20-28.

<span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Boss, S., & Krauss, J. (2007). Real projects in a digital world. //Principal Leadership//, 8(4), 22-26.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Prensky, M. (2010). //Teaching digital natives: Partnering for real learning//. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin, A SAGE Company.