EDLD+5364+Course+Reflection



EDLD 5364 Course Reflection 1. What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?

Some of the outcomes that I envisioned for this course is just learning how to learn more technology in my classroom. Although I am currently working in a community college computer lab and teach a basic computer class as adjunct faculty, I have learned many new ways to incorporate things that I have learned into my courses. One thing in particular is that I have decided that I will incorporate rubrics in all of my projects and assignments so that my students will have a much better understanding of how they will be assessed. I also understand how the UDL works and how it can be used to plan a unit. Although I have worked with many students with handicaps, learning disabilities and deafness, I have not worked with a blind student other than one that frequents my lab. Learning about the Enable Mart ([|www.enablemart.com]) sells products for these learners has made me much more understanding of what they need or products that they can use to make learning much less difficult for them. I think learning about this area has also allowed me to learn how to design my lessons for the betterment of all students. The course outcomes did align with those that I envisioned for the course, and taught me so much more than I expected to learn. Having the opportunity to work with Betsy (Elizabeth Hancock) and Darlene (Billye Jones) who shared information from real students was really exciting to see how our unit could actually be planned, implemented and assessed by a live “audience.” This has been an exciting opportunity to participate in. 2. To the extent that you achived the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?

Although I am not in a K-12 enviroment, the outcomes that I achieved are definitely still relevant to the work that I do at my campus (comuity college) although I will have to adjust or change some of the requirements to fit adults. In addition to adding rubrics and creating a UDL for all of my course topics, I plan on implementing many of the sites, or topics that we learned in this course in addition to many of the sites that were noted in the text. In the past year, one thing that has “changed with me” is that with each class that I have taken, I have found that I genuinely miss working with the elementary-intermediate grade students. Just recently, I have been contacted to possibly go back to the intermediate grade level to a brand new school and computer lab. Taking these classes and sharing some of what I have learned must have made an impression because he was very interested in my ideas and said that he thought I would make a wonderful asset to his campus. We are negotiating salaries as we speak. Hopefully, I will learn of his decision after the first of the year. To answer the question of will the things that I learned in this class be relevant….absolutely.

3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

I do not believe that there were any outcomes that I did not achieve, although creating the original UDL was very intimidating for someone who is not in the K-12 teaching field. Many of the assignments for the courses in this program, assume that we are already familiar with what is expected on a campus or in a classroom, but to some of us, it makes us have to study just a little harder or do just a little more research. I do not believe that anything prevented me from achieving the goals of this course because I have learned over the years that sometimes you have to “work just a little harder” in order to be successful. I have certainly had to work harder in many of these courses, but I am closer to accomplishing my goals. I am in the process of applying to work in our local intermediate school…an experience that I am truly thankful for. I have also learned that sometimes in order to answer a question, get more information, etc. that you have to learn to network, or collaborate with other teachers, principals or administrators to get the necessary information. 4. Were you successful in completing the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?

I was always successful in completing my assignments, although on a couple of occasions it was a race against the 11:59 Tuesday deadline due to family and work emergencies. During the course of this class, my son had an accident while using a metal lathe and severely cut his fingers. My priority at that time was my son and I had two rocky weeks that we waited to find out if he would have to go through surgery (this past Tuesday) to amputate a couple of his fingers. Between emergency room, hospital stays, and many doctors appointments, I tried to use my time wisely to complete the course, no matter how hard it seemed at the moment. Although I was never discouraged, I did worry very hard whether I would have time to get my assignments completed, or receiving a “0” for the assignment. As with any job, or in any education such as this, we have to learn how to prioritize our lives. I think in order to be successful with any course, you have to have the desire to want to participate and the strength to do whatever it takes to get the job done. It is a great feeling to know that you have to put the extra effort in order for the success to pay off in the end. 5. What did you learn from this course: about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

The main thing that I learned from this course is that I want to be the best teacher that I can be. In January, I will share a big surprise regarding my teaching and my campus and although I already do the best that I can to incorporate all learning styles, I have also started to use some of the things that I have learned in my classrooms.

This course also taught me the importance of technology. I want to incorporate as much technology as possible to make my students as proficient as possible and to become self learners throughout their lives. The leadership skills that I have learned have already helped me to share ideas or thoughts with other instructors. Through my leadership, I want to help others embrace technology.

Regarding my attitude – I learned that there is no end to the learning process. This course has taught me new ways to make use of the old ways of teaching. I want to be able to use my attitude, my leadership, my skills to make not only my co workers and myself better teachers, but to help students to be successful learners.

I have enjoyed this course very much.