5302: Concepts of Educational Technology
During this course I was enlightened to a new way of learning. After teaching for over twenty years, and coming into the program as someone who enjoys learning, I quickly realized that my old way of learning was not what this program was about. My past experiences in a college classroom, where I would sit and listen to lectures, take notes, take a test, and move on to the next course with little or no thought about what I had learned was simply not what this program was about. This project-based program allowed me to reflect on what I was learning as well as take ownership over what I was expected to learn. This was reflected in my Growth Mindset Plan. In the beginning, this proved difficult for me to grasp, however, as time went on, and I began to dive deeper into the projects, research, and reflections, I began to enjoy each of the assignments and embrace the learning that came with them.
One thing that did not work well for me was attending the live sessions. My campus is a late dismissal campus and by the time I got home in the evening, the sessions had begun so I was continually watching them a day behind. I feel this gave me a sense of disconnect from the course and the learning community. For future courses, I will strive to make a few personal schedule changes so that I can attend the live sessions. I believe that live interaction with my instructor and fellow students will provide a sense of community that I feel was lacking for me.
Although I was not able to attend the sessions live, I enjoyed participating in all of the discussion board discussions and reading the other students’ comments, feedback, and feedforward. This particularly helped when I worked on my projects. Some of the students I collaborated with were Paola Rodriquez, Shay McDonald, Sara Weeder, and Elenor Wilson. While I didn’t get involved in a true collaborative team, I did enjoy the opportunity to receive comments on my posts. I also commented on other students’ posts to maintain an open dialogue about the learning. I realized that my mindset was not uncommon. Others were reflecting on the same ideas regarding COVA and the Growth Mindset. It was inspiring to share thoughts with others about how we would take these ideas and incorporate them into our classrooms. My Learning Manifesto shares my ideas and philosophies about learning and the COVA approach.
I completed all of my coursework and turned each in on time, and I appreciated the feedback that was given with each one. I did not have to revise any submissions for this class but the comments allowed me to reflect on the ideas I had submitted and dig deeper into the growth mindset.
After careful consideration of my contributions to my learning and the learning community, I feel I did meet all of my key contributions but in the future I will make sure to take a bigger leadership role and post reflections that site works using APA.
Blended Elementary 