Teaching+With+Technology+Course+Reflections

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 start of this course I envisioned more or less what the name of the course suggested, that I would be viewing, using, and evaluating new teaching technologies and their usefulness. I feel that I have achieved these things if not in the way that I had originally imagined, I expected to view more different programs, software, etc.

The course has focused more on lesson planning and professional development than I would have imagined, and less on viewing actual programs, etc. I am by no means however stating this as a negative aspect of the course. Despite the fact that this course has not focused on the things that I may have guessed that it would, the experience as a whole has been an exceedingly positive one.

I did not know that I was going to be a part of a group project for this course, I have however been very fortunate to be part of a tremendous group and have really enjoyed the experience. 2. To the extent that you achived the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not? What I have achieved in this course and throughout this program have always been limited in their relevance to the work that I do based upon resources, school support, and the current educational system. The tremendous pressure of the TAKS test and the presence of one classroom computer severely limit my ability to make sweeping classroom changes. What I have always chosen to focus on is how what I have learned will relate to what I hope to do in the future. I have never shied away from the fact that my goal is to leave the classroom and move into a position where I can be of more influence and of more help. My hope is to take what I have gained in this class and pass it on to others who are looking to remain in the classroom.

3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?  I stated earlier that I thought at the outset of the course that I would observe a wider variety of technologies and programs, this did not happen, but that is not necessarily a negative. Whereas I thought that this course would cover a wide variety (or sampling) of technology, it focused on lesson planning and staff development. The course went deep and narrow as opposed to wide and shallow, that is by no means a bad thing.

4. Were you successful in completing the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you? I feel that I have been very successful in completing the course assignments. Completing the course assignments for this course has been veryeasy for me, firstly because the wiki site I am using is the one that I created over a year ago. The main reason that completing the course assignments has been so easy has been my awesome, tremendous, fabulous group. Daniel made the google site so easy to use and was very helpful with any problems that arose. My group was very cooperative and supportive, we all worked together so well and helped each other brainstorm, which in turn made the assignments easier to do.

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

The start of this course happened to coincide with the start of my work with a new committee at my school, the Positive Behavior Support committee. The combination of the two experiences have helped me tremendously, I have started to see the importance of not just being a ‘good employee’, but the importance of being a leader. While I do not believe that I will ever have top flight technological skills, I feel that I can use what I know to benefit others. I can not only influence other teachers around me, but I can take what I have learned into the next step, a new position and try to motivate more teachers to be leaders and incorporate better teaching practices into their classrooms.