Reflection
Prior to starting my Educational Technology master’s degree with a focus on Technology in Schools in the fall of 2009, I attended Franklin College of Indiana and received a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Spanish. I graduated in May of 2008 and began my teaching career in August of 2008. I have been teaching for two years in a fifth grade classroom for the Rush County School Corporation in Indiana.
I have always had a passion for technology and have grown up using computers and any type of technology I could get my hands on. I began to have a strong interest for web design in high school and almost took that route for my bachelor’s degree rather than going for education. My other love, education, led me where I am today. I have chosen to get an Educational Technology degree because I feel it gives me the opportunity to join two of my passions and use those to help the youth of today.
I have learned many valuable things throughout the courses of my master’s degree. Among many other things: I have learned how to create a successful teachers’ training through Instructional Systems Design; I have enhanced my web design skills and taken my knowledge of HTML and CSS to a new level through Intermediate Web Development; and I have learned to create lesson plans that integrate technology and focus on assessment through Technology and Assessment.
In Instructional Systems Design I was given the opportunity to prepare a two-day training plan on any topic I chose. I chose to base my training on a software program that we just began using in our school district. Seeing all of the steps required prior to writing the plans was very helpful in understanding the design process of trainings. This should help me to implement and assist with trainings within my school corporation. I have already had the opportunity to begin using the skills I gained by doing a short training with a small group of teachers. (My Instructional Systems Design Training)
During my Intermediate Web Development Course, I completed many activities that increased my web design skills. I learned to use CSS and further developed my skills in HTML through the activities I completed. In the end we had to create a web site and I chose to redo my classroom website. This was extremely helpful and the skills I gained in this class will be used time and time again as I continue to keep a classroom website to inform parents, students, and other teachers. Since this course, I have even redone my elementary school’s website. (Mrs. Meek’s Classroom Website – Through this location the website was last updated for the course, which ended November 2009.)
The other item I have chosen to discuss is my Performance Assessment that was created in Technology and Assessment. This course taught me a lot about the creation of rubrics and the importance of assessment and how to assess when using technology. I was able to practice creating my own rubrics and decide on the best types of assessment to use when giving a lesson that incorporates technology. The Performance Assessment assignment gave me a chance to create a lesson plan and really focus on the assessments that would be used for that individual lesson. Throughout the Performance Assessment I had to think about cognitive processes, the design of the tasks the students would take part in, the scoring rubric I would use during the lesson, and special considerations that I would need to keep in mind while teaching the lesson. It was very beneficial to think about each aspect of the lesson prior to teaching it. I was also able to think through the assessments that would be used in the lesson so that I could get an accurate and clear result of the students’ understanding. (Performance Assessment)
I completed the Educational Technology master’s degree in one year. I feel like I have grown to be a better teacher in that time and I feel even more comfortable integrating technology with education. The skills that I have gained and the ideas that have been presented to me through my courses are invaluable. Not only will I be graduating with a degree in Educational Technology, but I’ll possess the tools that are necessary to reach our youth in this technology-rich world. I can immediately use these skills in the classroom where I am currently teaching. By knowing how to conduct teacher trainings, implement an action research plan, and create websites, I have opened a whole new door to possible education careers in the future.
I not only look forward to the future and what careers may be ahead of me, but I am prepared for the present and using the skills now to enhance my students’ education. The Educational Technology master’s degree has helped me to improve as a teacher and will continue to help me in the future as I use the skills that I have gained.