I entered the course with an open mind. I honestly did not know what to expect, but I was eager to learn. I wanted to put myself in a position where I felt educated about the technology standards and expectations for the 21st century. I tend to have a reputation at my school for being a “techie” and I wanted to feel like I could live up to that reputation. I was completely blown away by what I have learned in this course. There is some much technology information out there that I was never even aware of. I also feel like I enhanced my vocabulary. I was in a meeting with my new principal the other day and I used the words stakeholders and infrastructure in one sentence. This art teacher has a brain! I just need time now to absorb the information and time for reflection. Sometimes when information comes to quickly, it is hard to transmit into real world situations.
The information I learned is extremely relevant to my personal job. Now that I have a better understanding of the technology standards, security issues, and future technology objectives, I can apply that knowledge in my lessons. I can also mentor other teachers who need guidance in those areas. Even as an art teacher, I need to be educated on these issues because they affect me and my students. I really enjoyed some of the websites I visited. My students and I especially enjoyed. www.wordle.net I am really looking forward to using it next year so my students can use typography to design a cover for their sketchbooks. As a middle school teacher, the eighth graders are nowhere near the level they should be for the 2020 technology goal. Learning about this will help me guide my students in a more proactive approach to reaching this goal.
I came into the course with an open mind, so I was not really disappointed about anything. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I did have frustrations, however. Using the wiki was a huge headache at times. I found the formatting un-user-friendly, and got discouraged when things would not format or upload correctly. This is a time when I needed to educate myself on how to complete these tasks correctly. Sometimes the strict deadlines hindered me from being able to fully grasp the concepts. I am still not a huge fan of the wiki, but will remain optimistic that my mind will be changed. The only other outcome that I did not achieve was time management. I submitted my assignments on time, but I wish I could have gotten through them quicker. Now that this class is complete, I am eager to spend quality time with my family and ready to finish my Christmas shopping!
According to my grades, I was successful at the course assignments. I also felt proud of the work I put into them each week. I was happy with my work when I submitted my assignments, and felt positive that I would receive a fair score. In the past, I have usually been a step ahead of due dates and timelines. With this course, however, sometimes I felt like I was running in place just to catch up. Sundays became submit day at my house. I was blown away at how many hours I spent at my computer each week, but in the end, it had a positive result. I tend to have the mentality that if I set my mind to something, I will follow through and achieve my goals. I never put forth effort toward something if success is not part of the plan.
I learned a lot about myself. Personally, I learned that I can work a full time job, be a full time mother, a full time wife, and complete my assignments on time. Apparently I don’t require as much sleep as I thought I did. I also learned that there is a lot more about technology that I need to learn. I consider myself pretty proficient, but my eyes were opened to many new things through the course. I try to always keep a positive attitude, but the work load made it challenging at times. In the end, I was proud of myself for being myself. I realized that I am a positive, hardworking, and loyal student. I also enjoyed reading A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink. It really gave validity to by job as an art teacher. I enjoyed learning about the different ways to educate the right side of the brain.
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