Friday, December 17, 2010
Web Conference # 5: 12/15/2010
Our last web conference for EDLD 5306; was very insightful and rewarding. The overall theme was of encouragement and accomplishment. Dr. Abshire encouraged us to maintain our files; our blogs, wikis and CVs. She says that; we also need to continually change, add and revise our documents. Dr. Abshire was very reassuring, encouraging, and made a point; to let us know that, she is there for any help we may need. I also learned that; the goal for this course was for each student to find themselves. Our master’s program is about reflection; and taking all of the tools we have been taught, to develop our leadership skills. As future technological leaders; we are a work in progress, and constantly evolving.
Web Conference: #4 12/07/2010
This week’s web conference was definitely a learning experience for me. First of all, I was traveling across the country and had to rely on a horrid internet connection. The lag was incredible. I could hear past, present, and future talk. It was really quite comical, in a bizarre twisted way. Honestly, it was very irritating. All-in-all, I came away from the initial web conference with a little more knowledge than I started with, regardless of my inadequate internet connection.
I had never, even heard of a curriculum vita, before I started this master’s program. During the web conference, Dr. Abshire discussed a CV in detail. I was relieved to hear that, it was simply a focused resume. I have yet to do my CV, however, I am confident that; I will be able to put something together that will make sense. I also learned about a site called audible.com; they have books on tape. Unfortunately, my book of choice was not on their list of recorded books.
The single biggest lesson, I learned this week; is sound and inflection can be misleading, over a faulty internet connection. I listened intently to web conference, even with the bad connection. I was left feeling like a comment, I had made; was in some way offensive. Later, I had asked; the person with whom, I thought I had offended, if I had indeed offended them. They said no, I did not offend them. I later listened to the web conference again. In no way were any of the comments negative, or argumentative. I was left thinking that my internet connection was definitely messed up!
I had never, even heard of a curriculum vita, before I started this master’s program. During the web conference, Dr. Abshire discussed a CV in detail. I was relieved to hear that, it was simply a focused resume. I have yet to do my CV, however, I am confident that; I will be able to put something together that will make sense. I also learned about a site called audible.com; they have books on tape. Unfortunately, my book of choice was not on their list of recorded books.
The single biggest lesson, I learned this week; is sound and inflection can be misleading, over a faulty internet connection. I listened intently to web conference, even with the bad connection. I was left feeling like a comment, I had made; was in some way offensive. Later, I had asked; the person with whom, I thought I had offended, if I had indeed offended them. They said no, I did not offend them. I later listened to the web conference again. In no way were any of the comments negative, or argumentative. I was left thinking that my internet connection was definitely messed up!
Web Conference # 3: 12/04/2010
I am attending at least one web conference, each week and learning a lot, every time; I attend. This week, I learned; that I need to start gradually moving toward digital document processing. I am a hard core-hard copy, digital immigrant. If I was to gauge myself; by the process of 12 steps, toward a cure for my digital ignorance; I’m at a 2. I have acknowledged that, that I need to change and I am beginning to take the steps to make a deliberate and progressive change. I learned a few new words; digital printing and digital drop-box. I have a general idea of their use, but will have to do further research; to implement them into my everyday use.
I was also encouraged to hear Dr. Abshire comment, on how our future is going to need the creative leaders to solve problems. I am very creative; I simply need to get through this digital learning curve and I will be off-and-running. This week, I also learned how to use animoto. How fun is that? I had a great time with this video editing tool. In our web conference this week, I learned about edmodo.com (teacher facebook). Web conference is how my get my reassurance, that I can do this work and that I’m on the right path.
I was also encouraged to hear Dr. Abshire comment, on how our future is going to need the creative leaders to solve problems. I am very creative; I simply need to get through this digital learning curve and I will be off-and-running. This week, I also learned how to use animoto. How fun is that? I had a great time with this video editing tool. In our web conference this week, I learned about edmodo.com (teacher facebook). Web conference is how my get my reassurance, that I can do this work and that I’m on the right path.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Course EDLD 5306 Reflection
When I signed up for my masters program; only goal at the time, was to get my master’s degree. Raw and honest, but it’s simple; I need a master’s degree to make my life better, in addition to make more money. I had a very difficult time, when I made the commitment to sign up for my master’s degree; because I couldn’t decide which master’s degree to sign up for: Teacher leadership or Educational Technology Leadership. So, I decided to sign up for Teacher Leadership; however, at the last minute I changed it to, Educational Technology. I know now, that I have made the perfect choice. I am so excited, about the courses to follow. I love learning and enhancing my knowledge to help others. I feel like a kid in a candy store, when I learn new and progressive tools.
My technology training will be very helpful; once I find out exactly, what kind of technology is at district. In my school, I haven’t seen much of any technology; however, I have only been there for 6 weeks. The only technology, I have seen at my school are a few desktops, net-books, and promethean boards in select rooms. In this course, I have learned about technology tools; that will improve my access and organization in my workplace. I will eventually be able to use the tools that I have learned in this course EDLD 5306. I feel a little concern; as I plan my internship, at my school. My frustration at the moment; is not knowing, what exactly, I need to teach at my school for technology. I don’t know my school district well enough; to know what their technological expectations and professional development policies are; I hope that my site-mentor will be able to shed a little light on my concern.
My learning curve has been remarkable. I found myself constantly, trying to catch my breath. I was definitely, not prepared; for the magnitude of assignments, research and critical thinking assignments that I were given. I did not find any assignment too difficult, just time consuming. My signature statement for this course is, “I didn’t know what I didn’t know”. My brain hasn’t had this much stimulation in 18 years. I’m absolutely positive, that, the physical shape of my gray matter has changed; dramatically in the last 5 weeks. Man, the headaches, the sleepless nights and long drawn-out days, have definitely been worth it. I have learned so many useful, real-world techniques and how to use technological tools; such as blogs, wikis, and RSS feeds. I have been teaching my new found knowledge to everyone; I meet at home and at school. Acknowledging, that I am an old-learner or digital immigrant; on some level, really does help. I know, I’m behind and need to catch-up.
I have accomplished so much more; than I had ever imagined, I would in this course. I have been so impressed with the kind of expectations and critical thinking skills; that we were required to complete this course. The only hurdle, I have really encountered was time. I have been able to figure-out and accomplish my goals; however, I just wish I would have been able to gauge, exactly what kind of time; I would have need to accomplish this course. Between not knowing that amount of time, I would need to successfully accomplish this course and my dramatic learning curve, created a lot of anxiety. The amount of stress, I have had has been extreme; because of my lack of technology. I am simply behind-the-times and am trying to make up for lost time. Insecurity can be a real grade killer; however, my instructors were kind, patient and eager to help. I appreciated all of the words of encouragement and dedication to my successful completion of my course work.
After 18 years of no formal continued education, I was very concerned that I would not be able to do the caliber of schoolwork; that I had been able to do before, as an undergraduate. I was pleasantly surprised, and extremely grateful; that I was actually able to do very well. I decided to listen to my gut, and speak from my heart; my approach would be raw and honest. I still have a huge learning curve ahead of me, and after this course; I will be prepared. I now have, the perimeters and confidence to make the rest of master’s degree, happen. I am a leader and I know that, with the continued technological training; I will make a huge difference as a Technological Facilitator, in the future.
My technology training will be very helpful; once I find out exactly, what kind of technology is at district. In my school, I haven’t seen much of any technology; however, I have only been there for 6 weeks. The only technology, I have seen at my school are a few desktops, net-books, and promethean boards in select rooms. In this course, I have learned about technology tools; that will improve my access and organization in my workplace. I will eventually be able to use the tools that I have learned in this course EDLD 5306. I feel a little concern; as I plan my internship, at my school. My frustration at the moment; is not knowing, what exactly, I need to teach at my school for technology. I don’t know my school district well enough; to know what their technological expectations and professional development policies are; I hope that my site-mentor will be able to shed a little light on my concern.
My learning curve has been remarkable. I found myself constantly, trying to catch my breath. I was definitely, not prepared; for the magnitude of assignments, research and critical thinking assignments that I were given. I did not find any assignment too difficult, just time consuming. My signature statement for this course is, “I didn’t know what I didn’t know”. My brain hasn’t had this much stimulation in 18 years. I’m absolutely positive, that, the physical shape of my gray matter has changed; dramatically in the last 5 weeks. Man, the headaches, the sleepless nights and long drawn-out days, have definitely been worth it. I have learned so many useful, real-world techniques and how to use technological tools; such as blogs, wikis, and RSS feeds. I have been teaching my new found knowledge to everyone; I meet at home and at school. Acknowledging, that I am an old-learner or digital immigrant; on some level, really does help. I know, I’m behind and need to catch-up.
I have accomplished so much more; than I had ever imagined, I would in this course. I have been so impressed with the kind of expectations and critical thinking skills; that we were required to complete this course. The only hurdle, I have really encountered was time. I have been able to figure-out and accomplish my goals; however, I just wish I would have been able to gauge, exactly what kind of time; I would have need to accomplish this course. Between not knowing that amount of time, I would need to successfully accomplish this course and my dramatic learning curve, created a lot of anxiety. The amount of stress, I have had has been extreme; because of my lack of technology. I am simply behind-the-times and am trying to make up for lost time. Insecurity can be a real grade killer; however, my instructors were kind, patient and eager to help. I appreciated all of the words of encouragement and dedication to my successful completion of my course work.
After 18 years of no formal continued education, I was very concerned that I would not be able to do the caliber of schoolwork; that I had been able to do before, as an undergraduate. I was pleasantly surprised, and extremely grateful; that I was actually able to do very well. I decided to listen to my gut, and speak from my heart; my approach would be raw and honest. I still have a huge learning curve ahead of me, and after this course; I will be prepared. I now have, the perimeters and confidence to make the rest of master’s degree, happen. I am a leader and I know that, with the continued technological training; I will make a huge difference as a Technological Facilitator, in the future.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Web Conference #2: 11/23/2010
My second web conference was very enjoyable, except for the audio. The sound was delayed or it overlapped. I am currently trying to figure-out, why that is occurring. I had the same issue on the first web conference. I wanted to make sure, I hadn’t missed anything important, on the first web conference; so, I went back to the recording and listened to it. I found out, that the audio was just fine on the recording. It must have been my lovely internet speed. I was so excited, to find out; that we are going to setup an informal facebook page. On the facebook page, we can collaborate and ask questions. I am a very verbal and visual learner. I had just completed, my first weeks work and was completely exhausted. I couldn’t believe; how much time, I was spending doing graduate work. I went to the second web conference and found out, that my classmates felt the same way. Reassurance is so important, when the teacher isn’t easily assessable. I do enjoy these web conferences. I look forward to the next one.
Web Conference #1 (optional) 11/18/2010
My very first web conference, wow; I was very nervous and apprehensive. I managed to set-up my microphone and headset, correctly. I have to say, I was very overwhelmed; by all of the information, I had to process in a short period of time. I was second guessing myself, on every assignment and task. Once, I was in the web conference; my nerves started to settle down. I still wasn’t sure, what, I was supposed to do. The web conference helped me, clarify a few assignments; I wasn’t sure how to do. Dr. Abshire was very patient and understanding; of the nerves, that we all seemed to have. I came away from the web conference reassured. When in doubt, in a regular, face-to-face classroom; I could pick up on physical cues and ask questions in-person, if I’m not sure. Online learning definitely has its challenges. I am learning to work around them. Web conferences are definitely worth the time and effort.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)