EdTech 541 Summation & Review
EdTech 541 Summation & Review
The following is a summation of what this researcher has gained over the course of participating in EdTech 541 for the Boise State Masters of Educational Technology program.
What did you learn in Edtech 541?
- I Revisited the History of Tech Education and Learning Theory.
- I learned what Relative Advantage is and its importance for the implementation of technology.
- I generated more effective presentations with interactive elements and checks for understanding.
- This course made me consider more cross curricular connections for my discipline.
- This course made me develop interactive documents that students can work on together in and outside of class.
- This course made me to explore and articulate my feelings on social media in the classroom.
- This course allowed me to make a really cool ebook.
- This course made me think about how I can better serve students in need of special considerations.
How does your work demonstrate a mastery of the AECT standards?
- Creating: My entire catalog of Projects for this course each have multiple examples of creating student materials designed to enhance music education through digital means.
- Using: Many of the lessons I’ve created for EdTech 541 require specific resources designed to enhance music education in particular ways.
- Assessing/Evaluating: Many of my lessons feature in built formative assessments that students can use to gauge their own understanding.
- Managing: My Spreadsheet Assisted Lesson demonstrates the managing of people through a class wide project that culminates in a group activity.
- Ethics: My Interactive Presentation demonstrates a commitment to proper online citation and attribution.
How have I grown Professionally?
Ed Tech 541 caused me to take a moment to look around at the many technological advances that have taken place in my field that will allow me to be a more inclusive and effective teacher. Apps like Piano Maestro and the music games on Cipher Prime will alter the way I teach.
This course made me revisit and refine course material I’ve taught for years while helping me revise and add technological components that will make the delivery of materials more inclusive, interactive, and engaging for my students.
It has allowed me the opportunity to explore and refine my teaching philosophy and generate my own theories in the form of the Asset Model which I hope to refine and explore further as I continue my MET program.
My technical skills have also grown. I am a much more proficient user of Google Docs as seen in the self generating charts that appear in the Mosquito Snow Day Worksheet.
The site I created for this course will be the site that I use throughout my degree. It was challenging to create but also fun to design and see it develop over the the past several months. I think it reflects my commitment to good design standards and humor mixed with serious educational thought.
How has your teaching practice or thoughts about teaching been impacted by what you learned in this course?
The largest change in my teaching practice and overall philosophy towards teaching has been the development of the Asset Model. Although not strictly linked to any one assignment given by this course it must be noted that this course gave me the opportunity to express what I have been thinking about for years with regards to the inadequacy of the lesson/unit format. As I develop as a teacher I hope to refine this philosophy and present it to other teachers for scrutiny and further refinement.
How did theory guide the development of the assignments you created?
Edtech 541 made me reconsider my stance with regards to Constructivism and Objectivism. While creating my assignments I have strived to make my lessons as Constructivist as possible in that I want students to take charge of their own learning and explore knowledge at their own pace. While I fully intend to maintain high standards I also would like my learning environment to be adaptive to the needs of every learner in my classroom.
Summation:
Overall I have treated this course more as an opportunity for personal growth more than anything else. On many occasions I did more than was expected of me; not because I was trying to impress anyone in particular or in search of good grades. My extra effort was the result of my philosophy that if you are going to create, create something worthwhile and beautiful. I fully intend to use what I create and the lessons and activities generated here oftentimes needed an extra sheet or plan to be useful later on during the school year. Therefore, everything I made was more in service of myself than the course requirements although I did meet them as well. If, as a consequence of my efforts, I earn a favorable mark then I think I am also setting an example for my students with regards to what education is really about. Education is about personal growth and challenging yourself to live up to the highest standard you can attain. I cannot ask this of my students if I cannot live this philosophy myself.
