Continue to explore how you have changed as an educator and how you can develop your leadership capacity to share with others.
In looking back, I am amazed at how far I’ve come as an educator in a relatively short time through the Innovative Learning program. I’ve always been willing to try new things but now in addition to just trying something new, especially when it involves technology, I am making more informed choices using the TPACK and SAMR models. I am hopeful that my enthusiasm for using digital tools to enhance student engagement will be contagious when I have the opportunity to share it with my colleagues in hopes that they will be willing to step out of their comfort zones to try something new. It is especially nice having a cohort partner at my site and a principal that has some technology related goals in mind for professional learning at our site. I think that together the three of us will be able to encourage, inspire and support our colleagues as they begin to understand that TPACK is at the heart of innovative learning.
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Reflection on the Building of My WebsitePart 1: Reflect on your process of building your website in terms of design, putting content and what you can now do…
Part 2: How can you take what you’ve learned from this master’s program out into the world and into your classroom immediately? Part 3: Finally, how do you plan to use what you’ve learned from this program in the future? I have to say that after I figured out how to use the tools and features in Weebly, I really enjoyed the process of building my website. Once I started adding content, I knew how I wanted my pages to look and that forced me to learn to use the features such as dividers and spacers. I especially loved the design aspects of creating my website. I began creating images for my categories in Logomakr when I had difficulty finding what I wanted using Creative Commons images. This allowed me to create a more consistent look to my pages. I have already taken what I’ve learned in this master’s program into my class as far as using digital tools to increase student engagement. One of my next steps will be to share my project with my colleagues at my site and beyond. I have already shared with a couple of teachers at my site who seem interested in giving blogging a try next year. I had a conversation with my principal recently and I’m excited that she wants to set some technology related goals that will provide our students more opportunities. I plan to share my enthusiasm and be available to help in any way I can. One of my big take-aways from this program is that I don’t need to be an expert at something to introduce it to my students - it’s okay to figure it out together and learn from one another. I look forward to staying connected with technology-using educators through some of the social media groups I belong to in order to learn about new tools and share successes and challenges. I’d like to get connected with the local CUE group as well. I will continue looking for ways to get to and stay in that “sweet spot” of the TPACK model we have all grown to love as I continue searching for new digital tools that will keep my students engaged. Finishing My Capstone VideoWooHoo!!!!! Yipee!!!!! YAY!!!! I just finished and uploaded my capstone video to YouTube and it’s officially on my capstone website!!!! I cannot even express the relief it brought to finally get to this point. Of all the tasks and learning opportunities we were given through this journey, this was the most challenging one for me and for that reason, I’m very proud that I persevered and created something that I’m proud of. Is it perfect? Not even close. Is it what I envisioned it would be in the early stages? Not really. Did I learn a tremendous amount through the process? Without a doubt. Will I try this again? Absolutely!
My JourneyWrite a blog related to your journey or your topic. Something that’s on your mind that’s been triggered through this journey.
In looking back on my journey to my master’s degree, I realize it’s been filled with so many mixed feelings - everything from frustration to hard-earned pride. My moments of frustration occurred early on when trying to write an IRB that would be successfully approved and then with trying to comprehend the challenging Dervin reading and now with the steep learning curve of producing an animated video for the capstone project. Although I experienced frustration, it was soon to be replaced with relief that I had been successful in my attempts and eventually, upon reflection, that type of pride that only comes from persistence. I am so thankful for this experience of being challenged to move outside my comfort zone as both a student and as an educator. This journey has made me aware that I am a more innovative educator in part because of being a student again and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2017
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