When I began this journey, I honestly did not know what to expect. My largest concern at the beginning was how was I going to know which class I was in? I had only had the acceptance letter and request for my tuition. The receipt of my email, banner ID, and course description arrived on Friday prior to the start of class.
On the first day of the class, my expectations were that the course work would be challenging and that I would be learning information relevant to my current and possibly future position. The outcomes from the course, I can’t say that I had any, with regards to the actual content; however, one outcome was to actually see and experience an online learning environment.
My interest, the past several years, has been in developing an effective online learning experience in my classroom for my students. I wanted to give them the experience of the many Web 2.0 tools available but in a controlled environment for safety. The District did offer the opportunity for implementing the Moodle on our campus and I jumped at the chance. My research into developing a successful online curriculum netted me more “guidelines” of what was possible along with how to use the Moodle environment, but no real examples of it being used effectively. The time working on the course these past five weeks has meet both my expectations and intended outcomes.
The work we did was very challenging both in content and volume. I found in order to be successful I needed to develop a schedule for the week. The week began on Sunday with the readings and, if time and energy permitted, the videos. The discussion quote along with the progress monitor quizzes came next in the week. From Wednesday on, I worked on the assignments. My intentions were to complete the assignments on Saturday and type “The Final Word” entry on Sunday morning. At that point, the cycle began again. Following this schedule allowed me to keep focused on the course work to be completed. I did find at the end of week four a surprise assignment, the superintendent report. Some how in the process of the week, this did not make it on the schedule; however, I was able to complete many of the assignment a head of schedule, thus allowing me time to complete the report.
Between the readings and research assignments, I have come away with knowledge that validated some of my beliefs and many that have me looking at how to improve technology integration at our campus. Including more project-based learning and embedding technology into lessons support my belief that these techniques will help engage students and improve their success in learning. Using the District technology plan, the results from the District and campus STaR Charts and additional input from the teachers, the campus can make informed decisions on the acquisition and integration of technology in the classroom.
Improving integration of technology on our campus is relevant to my position and also one of my visions for the campus. Working with several teachers that are currently interested in the use of technology in the classroom, I would like to create a cadre of teachers in each core area that can be role models for the others. Our teachers are fortunate to have a Professional Learning Community (PLC) period scheduled as part of their day. It is here I hope the cadre of technology using teachers will benefit the departments. This is just one idea I walk away with from this course.
In the final analysis of my first course in this journey, I have learned that my background has a depth and breadth regarding embedding technology in the curriculum and use of technology as productivity tools. Two of my weakest areas are: incorporating Web 2.0 tools into the curriculum, productivity of my position, and professional development instruction for the faculty; and, being a technology leader on my campus. As I work through my internship these next 18 months, I will be working on these weaknesses to become a technology leader on the campus and the Campus Instructional Technologist cadre.
On the first day of the class, my expectations were that the course work would be challenging and that I would be learning information relevant to my current and possibly future position. The outcomes from the course, I can’t say that I had any, with regards to the actual content; however, one outcome was to actually see and experience an online learning environment.
My interest, the past several years, has been in developing an effective online learning experience in my classroom for my students. I wanted to give them the experience of the many Web 2.0 tools available but in a controlled environment for safety. The District did offer the opportunity for implementing the Moodle on our campus and I jumped at the chance. My research into developing a successful online curriculum netted me more “guidelines” of what was possible along with how to use the Moodle environment, but no real examples of it being used effectively. The time working on the course these past five weeks has meet both my expectations and intended outcomes.
The work we did was very challenging both in content and volume. I found in order to be successful I needed to develop a schedule for the week. The week began on Sunday with the readings and, if time and energy permitted, the videos. The discussion quote along with the progress monitor quizzes came next in the week. From Wednesday on, I worked on the assignments. My intentions were to complete the assignments on Saturday and type “The Final Word” entry on Sunday morning. At that point, the cycle began again. Following this schedule allowed me to keep focused on the course work to be completed. I did find at the end of week four a surprise assignment, the superintendent report. Some how in the process of the week, this did not make it on the schedule; however, I was able to complete many of the assignment a head of schedule, thus allowing me time to complete the report.
Between the readings and research assignments, I have come away with knowledge that validated some of my beliefs and many that have me looking at how to improve technology integration at our campus. Including more project-based learning and embedding technology into lessons support my belief that these techniques will help engage students and improve their success in learning. Using the District technology plan, the results from the District and campus STaR Charts and additional input from the teachers, the campus can make informed decisions on the acquisition and integration of technology in the classroom.
Improving integration of technology on our campus is relevant to my position and also one of my visions for the campus. Working with several teachers that are currently interested in the use of technology in the classroom, I would like to create a cadre of teachers in each core area that can be role models for the others. Our teachers are fortunate to have a Professional Learning Community (PLC) period scheduled as part of their day. It is here I hope the cadre of technology using teachers will benefit the departments. This is just one idea I walk away with from this course.
In the final analysis of my first course in this journey, I have learned that my background has a depth and breadth regarding embedding technology in the curriculum and use of technology as productivity tools. Two of my weakest areas are: incorporating Web 2.0 tools into the curriculum, productivity of my position, and professional development instruction for the faculty; and, being a technology leader on my campus. As I work through my internship these next 18 months, I will be working on these weaknesses to become a technology leader on the campus and the Campus Instructional Technologist cadre.
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