EDLD 5352 Instructional Leadership: The Technology Link - My Reflection

After reading the syllabus, I was very excited about learning ways to integrate technology in my classroom and as an administrator, on my campus. Now that the class is almost complete, I am amzed by the knowledge I have obtained. Some of the interesting facts learned from the readings and lectures include: the major differences in knowledge of our students compared to that of their parents; the scary world of cyber bullying; and most importantly the desperate need for change in professional development for teachers in relation to professional development. Honestly, I learned more in this course than I ever imagined. There are numerous items that I can and will integrate into my classes immediately. I am now better equipped to integrate technology into my class and far more knowledgable about the social and legal ramifications of the internet. I feel that my goals were met, and I was able to far achieve the outcomes that I had envisioned.
Honestly, I have not been using technology in my classroom nearly as much as I should be – simply doing the bare minimum. After this class, I am definitely more knowledgable and comfortable using the internet as a very trusting and helpful tool to integrate in my curriculum. Now that I realize the needs of our “digital natives”, I will look for tools to enhance their educational needs. I feel like the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology will greatly impact our students education in positive ways. Thanks to this course, I feel like I can not only enhance my students education with the use of technology, but I will be able to help my fellow teachers with many of the concepts I learned in this class. The biggest way this class helped me and my educational venture, is by introducing me to blogs. Blogging will not become an integral part of my teaching and probably my every day life. I will also be using videos and webquests in my daily teaching. By achieving my “”learner outcomes” in this course, I have made technology a relevant part of my class.
There were numerous great ideas in this course, but a lot of them barely scratched the surface on how I could integrate the concepts in my class. I am extremely comfortable with using a blog, but I would have liked more information on blogging ideas in my classroom. There was a lot of talk about how cell phones and YouTube were assets, but currently those instruments are not prohibited for use in the classroom. I need more information to present to the current administration on positive ways we can use those very helpful resources. I also have some concerns about the current STaR Chart. It seems that the rubric is very vague and should become a lot more specific. As a teacher at Ennis High School, our technology has increased ten-fold but our scores have not changed that much at our campus. There needs to be some changes to the questioning to accurately gauge the impact of our vastly improved technology as well as the professional development that the school has been offering.
I feel like I was able to complete all of the course assignments, because the readings and lectures properly guided me through each step. What I enjoyed the most was the the hands-on use of the blog. Some courses give you the concept of a tool, but this course guided me through the practical use of my own blog (I actually had a great sense of pride with each blog entry). I also liked how each assignment was a summarization of what we should have learned each week. This allowed me to reflect on the knowledge obtained throughout the course.
Honestly, this course made me realize how little I knew about technology as well as how little I was currently integrating technology in my teachings. The greatest positive of this course was that with an open-mind and an eagerness to learn, anyone can use some of the most up-to-date technology tools. I was amazed at how easy a blog was to create and how helpful it could be to my career. I am so much more confident now in the area of technology and ways to implement it in my learning environment. As an instructional leader, I will have the knowledge, skills, and most importantly the vision necessary to create a better learning environment at my school. My goal is to turn all of my campus’ “digital immigrants” into “digital natives” – that is the only way to effectively reach our digital savvy students.
Blogging brings many positive aspects to today’s educational society. First and foremost, it gives educators an amazing sharing environment. Teachers, from all over the World, can communicate and wonderful ideas which will only enhance education. Another way in which Blogs can help in the classroom setting, is by providing a digital portfolio for students and their work. A student can submit assignments via their blog which will aloow for grading by a teacher as well as idea sharing with their classmates. Lastly, Blogging can be a great tool for communication between teachers and parents. Blogs can be wonderful online communication portals for teachers and parents.
I have very few concerns about blogs and blogging in education. As I stated above, there are so many positives to blogging for educators. The only negative might come in students copying another students work. The other negative which I feel could and should be closely monitored by teachers is cyberbullying. Students would be able to post negative comments about a student and their work if not monitored by a teacher.
I think blogging could illustrate a strong use of technology to a school’s stakeholders (a positive way for tax payers to see their dollars at work). Another way that Blogging could enhance a teacher’s classroom is by updating the community about “What’s Going on in Class”. Not only would parents be interested in knowing the in’s and out’s of a teacher’s class, but many members of the community would love to follow the classroom activities. Because almost everyone is on the internet these days, this is a quick and easy tool to not only post announcements and classroom activities, but it would be a great way to link other useful information to the community.