1.5+Six+Courses+with+Impact

Technology is continuously transforming the face of education as we once knew it. When I reflect on the past 18 years of my professional years as an educator, I am grateful for an experience that allowed me to witness the magic of technology in education. Beyond my years of hands-on experience in the classroom which began with my first teaching assignment in 1993 at Atkins Technology School in Shreveport, Louisiana, came the opportunity to gain a better understanding of technology in teaching through this Master’s program with Lamar University. The Master’s degree program, Educational Technology Leadership, brought me face to face with knowledge and experiences that became a capstone for my pre-technologist foundation. I credit these six courses with bringing clarity to my prior knowledge and experiences with technology and solidifying my understanding of the standards expected of me in the near future as an emerging technologist. Most of these courses that provided the most impact were rich in technology application and the constructivist theory. Considering that hands-on application is my forte’ when it comes to teaching and learning, I am not surprised that these six courses were most profound to me. ** EDLD 5362 Information Systems Management  ** This course was important to me because of the extensive knowledge I learned about information systems and their use in education. I read many interesting articles that helped ground my understanding of the benefits of these systems in education when it comes to data warehousing, teaching, and learning. The highlight of the course was analyzing our district’s technology plan and infrastructure and presenting my findings in a Power Point presentation. I am proud to be in Recognized district that totally understands the importance of technology use in education. For instance, for our convocation this year, our keynote speaker addressed 21st century education and the use of technology. His presentation which included how to do high end searches through other search engines was very enlightening. ** EDLD 5333 Leadership for Accountability  ** To develop leadership skills is important to this profession, and this course proved just how valuable those skills are as they relate to the principal being an agent of change and influence in school improvement. This course helped me understand campus improvement which is the basis for data collection and analysis and manufactured in a community of educators who understand the importance of consensus through professional development and learning communities. Senge’s (1990) idea of culture as people thinking together is the essence of what moves change forward in learning communities. I will use this idea to advance integration of technology in my school with this approach and improve our school. ** EDLD 5365 Web Design and Development  ** This web design and development course was intense and immensely rewarding. From the start of this it, the sheer excitement of knowing I would learn enough information to build a website was empowering. I knew that the skills learned in this course would be used to help advance a campus’ website as a powered elearning machine. The course assignment involved using newschoolspaces.com to assist us in redesigning our school’s website. This experience enhanced my ability to do project based planning. Breaking down the assignment in manageable parts is characteristic of what kind of assignments I will be responsible for as a facilitator or leader. ** EDLD 5363 Multimedia and Video Technology  ** Photography and video have always been an interest of mine in both my professional and private life. Since I have always desired an opportunity to work in film production, I thought that the applications learned in this course got me a little closer to that with an educational focus. As a child, I grew up watching Sesame Street, the longest running and most successful educational program to date. This program incorporates both of these mediums to help children learn. Like Sesame Street, learning to use photography and video to create a digital story and a group PSA was engaging and fun. The making of my digital story, a project that was the most meaningful to me, is one that I will always cherish because of its personal ties to the untimely death of a relative whose influence touched my life profoundly and led to my educational career. Making of the group PSA on Cyberbullying was the highlight of this course because of the team effort used to complete this assignment. For the first time, we engaged in a group activity that was centered in the constructivist theory which help students make sense of the world by synthesizing new experiences into what they have previously understood (Sprague and Dede,1999). Every aspect of this activity exposed me to what it would be like from the students’ perspective through this collaborative model that was steeped in the hands-on, multisensory learning design. This, in turn, will give me the patience and planning ideas needed when working with teachers and students in the future to create like projects. ** EDLD 5366 Digital Graphics, Animation, and Desktop Publishing  ** Appealing to my savvy sense of visual learning, this course’s activities were refreshing and not as taxing on time and involvement to complete them. I, once again, worked with technologies that lent themselves to visual design and a hands-on format. I can clearly see how this type of learning is engaging for the learner since most of them appreciate the arts. The skills I learned can be useful in helping students personalize projects through branding and creating logos as well as class newsletters, animation projects, and other interactive projects that taps into their technical ingenuity. Turning loose the reigns and allowing them to experiment could mean new discoveries as we let them try all the new methods these digital natives have already figured out (Prensky, 2008). ** EDLD 5364 Teaching with Technology  ** This course, considered to be the APEX course of my degree program, was the capstone of my learning experience. It was the one course that I met with pure excitement because I knew the rigor that it involved would thrust me headlong into learning that would be instrumental and invaluable to me as an emerging technologist. Consistent with my goals as a facilitator, I now have some expertise in designing engaging technology tools such as an e-book and curriculum models that are student centered. I appreciate the Universal Design for Learning concept which taught me how to construct engaging activities that foster differentiated instruction. Through this design, learners actively construct meaning and teachers support learning rather than impart knowledge (Center for Applied Special Technology, 2009). Center for Applied Special Technology, (2009). []. Retrieved on 11 May 2011.
 * eLeading and Learning: Six Courses with Impact **

Prensky, M. (2008). // Adopt and adapt: Shaping tech for the classroom //. Edutopia: The George Lucas Educational Foundation.  Senge, P. M. (1990). // The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization //. New York: Doubleday. Sprague, D. & Dede, C. (1999). // If I teach this way, am I doing my job: Constructivism in the // // classroom //. Leading and Learning//, 27(//1). Retrieved May 9, 2011, from the International Society for Technology in Education at [|http://imet.csus.edu/imet9/280/docs/dede_constructivisim.pdf] 