Week 5 Relfection

When I began this course, I hoped to have learned about new technology that I could incorporate into the classroom. I was slightly disappointed after only using blogs in great detail, but the readings and lectures have helped me to focus on being innovative when incorporating technology into my lesson plans. Another outcome I had envisioned was being more comfortable with legal issues surrounding the use of technology. I am still uneasy and have many questions about this subject, but with the better understanding, I can continue to grow in knowledge as I complete my internship and shadowing of my campus administrators.
After taking this course, I realize that many people are just as uncomfortable with technology as I am. This has actually given me the courage to try new things because I no longer am ashamed of my lack of technological know-how. This is a learning process and will continue to be a learning process. What I have realized is that no matter how we try, we will never be technology experts because technology is constantly changing. This realization makes the learning outcomes of this course relevant to the work I do at school because I am now more prepared to try new things, thus becoming a stronger instructional leader and better prepared to set an example for other educators.
As I mentioned earlier, the one outcome I feel I did not achieve is obtaining a solid grasp on the legal issues surrounding the use of technology in schools. I feel very intimidated by laws, and I am terrified to break them. Maybe I just try to overanalyze everything, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. I need to address this topic more because this fear could hinder my use of technology in the future.
As far as the assignments for this course go, I feel I did was successful in all except for the Week 3 assignment. I did not receive an acceptable grade, but I have no one to blame but myself. I started to feel like this course was too redundant, and I got bored with it. I also slipped into a negative state after reading many of the negative posts in the discussion board. All these things combined, I did not put forth the effort needed to complete the assignment and the grade I received was a wake up call to me.
From this course I learned many things about technology, myself, and instructional leadership. I learned the meaning of many of the technological buzzwords that I previously avoided. I also learned that even though I do not feel comfortable with my technology skills, I can improve just by giving things a try. I was so nervous to set up that blog during week one that I put it off until the last minute. After it only took a couple of minutes to set up, I realized I stressed over nothing and felt pretty silly. More importantly, though, is the lesson I learned from the Week 3 assignment mentioned in the previous paragraph. There will be times when I am frustrated, bored, and surrounded by negativity as an instructional leader, but I will have to rise above those things for the sake of my students and staff.
Before this course, I never considered the value of blogs in education. I always thought of them as gossip columns, as a way for people to let others know what is going on in their lives, or as social networking sites. I love the idea of students using blogs to bounce ideas off of each other. They can be used to complete projects with students from other classes, campuses, and even other countries.
Concerns about the use of blogs and blogging in education have to do with safety. We don’t need malicious people manipulating our youth by hacking into educational blog sites with the intensions of harming students. We also don’t need people posting inaccurate information on the blog sites, either. Lastly, there are concerns about cyberbullying with the use of blogs. To avoid these problems, we must teach students about internet safety, ethics, and how to validate information.
After this course, I now see how blogs can also open up more lines of communication between parents, students, teachers, administrators, and the community. Schools can set up blogs on their websites for parents and other community members to voice concerns, give suggestions, and communicate with teachers and other parents. It would be a great way for all stakeholders to contribute to the success of all students and help mold productive members of society. This type of system would have to be regulated somehow, though. There would need to be some sort of safeguard to prevent inappropriate language from being posted. There would also need to be procedures for keeping the blog from becoming the complaint department.