When I first started this course I had only a miniscule idea of what to expect from the course description. I currently work in higher education and in a department where learning and development is done outside of the classroom. Therefore, this is completely new to me. From previous experience in the education field setting and taking online courses, I was able to grasp the impact that technology has on education. I had no idea about the planning, infrastructure, staffing and implementation of technology at a school district. After reading the RGCCISD technology plan and the Texas Long-Range Plan I was in awe of the work that is done to implement the use of technology in the classroom. Technology staff, teachers, and administrators are involved in serious planning in order to provide the best resources available to increase student learning and most of all success. Although I am new to the field the successful outcome of the course could be attributed to excellent instructors, helpful classmates and my own effort to study hard.
In my current job as a student activities specialist I provide about 10% of technology usage to our students at the college. Their main interaction is online registration and scheduling of our intramural sports leagues. We have provided tutorials on how to register and navigate through the software. Some of what I have learned in this course could definitely be applied to aspects of my job. I was especially intrigued with the wikis. We had a staff event planning meeting a couple of weeks ago and I could definitely see the usage of wikis in our events planning for the year. Wikis could be used to plan events, distribute assignments for the collaboration on projects for the college. Our college is unique because we are spread out through a district of five campuses and it would most definitely aid is the process of planning and implementing events.
Looking back at the outcomes I did not achieve is pointless. Like I stated before, going into this is definitely new to me. Although most of work full time jobs and have families from viewing everyone's getting to know you presentations, time management might be one of the most critical issues we might all face. After the first week, and getting bombarded with having to assist my parents to evacuate from their home due to flooding from the Rio Grande River, I definitely learned to complete my assignments prior to their due dates. Looking back at the wealth of information on educational technology was something that I have grown to appreciate. As in any field, research is consistently being done to promote advances and to find out if it is beneficial to us as a whole. If I would have more time I would definitely like to read more of the books that we had on our list of technology books.
The course load was manageable this first class and hope that it remains that way. Wishful thinking I am assuming! Although my background is not in the field I am up to the challenge of learning and being successful in this program. It was exciting to learn about the Texas Long-Range Plan and the STaR Chart. These are tools that are leading the next generation of teachers to be successful and ensuring learning is optimized by the use of technology. I don't feel I was discouraged by the workload. I do however found the need to become more resourceful and learning how to manage my everyday life along with learning something new every week of this program. I think back to a speech I heard at my brother's Border Patrol Academy graduation. The speaker told them, "you are going to miss birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, graduations and family events at times; but don't worry there will be others you can attend." That is the same outlook I have in this course. I must sacrifice some good times for even better times after I walk up the stage at graduation.
This course was very enlightening on how the use of technology in the classroom is growing. Being a digital immigrant is not anything to be bashful about. Although i have plenty of computer experience it is always amazing to see how it used by younger generations. I am envious in a way of all that has been afforded to them, but I would definitely not trade it all in to become a digital native. In a sense we have all been natives in some technological era. I was able to see that from reading my book I chose for the book summary assignment. Just as students today have never known a world without computers, we never knew of a world without color TV or electricity. I am looking forward to our upcoming courses and continued success. I walk away with a better understanding of the role of Educational Technology leaders.
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