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.
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