Reflection

I have been considered to be the initial contact for technology-related issues on my campus for the last couple of years. Campus staff frequently came to me for help when an issue would arise with computers in their classrooms. These issues were primarily software management problems which I was quickly able to resolve. Any problems dealing with hardware were referred to our district Technology Help Desk. That said, my journey through this course of teaching with technology has proven to be quite frustrating for me on many occasions. I began with minimal background in the use of current technology. I came to this course able to “surf” the Internet, communicate using e-mail, operate campus software programs, and successfully compose documents or spreadsheets using Microsoft Word. Unfortunately, this was basically the extent of my technology-based knowledge.

Initially, I felt this course would teach me everything that I would need to know as a future campus administrator about using technology in education today. I thought upon completion I would be able to walk into any classroom and successfully assist teachers as they incorporated technology into their curriculum. I realized early on that this would probably not be the case. It appeared that while I was busy teaching, technology innovations grew much more quickly than I was aware of and able to keep up with. More importantly, it appeared technology had changed faster than my campus was able to keep pace with.

I struggled early with having to first learn the technology that was required to complete some of the assignments. I had heard of blogging, but I had no idea what that meant. I asked my teenage daughter, who responded it was like an online diary. Creating and posting to a blog proved to be simple feats, but I still have lessons to learn about following other blogs, uploading information, and additional blog-related management tasks. I know I will need to continue learning more about blogging as it is, and will continue to be, an asset to education. It provides a means by which students can communicate with other students with whom they may share interests. They might also post blogs about what they are currently learning, and ask others for collaboration on activities or projects. Blogging can be used as a tool by which teachers share ideas and successful activities with each other. Teachers could communicate with students by posting homework, lessons, or helpful Internet links. Teachers, and the campus as a whole, might post messages to the community regarding great things that are happening in classrooms. Blogging also has the potential for allowing dangers that exist in the cyber world to secretly enter our schools. As an administrator, I feel it would be critical to provide learning sessions for students, parents, and other community members on possible threats such as online predators and bullies.

In a later assignment, I had some difficulty creating a power point presentation. I had never been asked to do one, and again had to enlist the assistance of my daughter. I felt like I was one of the students on my campus who are also learning to do this same thing. I was proud of my final product, not because it was such a fantastic presentation, but because I accomplished something new. However, along with feeling pride, I also felt some embarrassment that I was so far behind current technology usage.

This course has taught me that I still have much to learn when it comes to technology and its possibilities. I had, and still have, limited knowledge of wikis, podcasts, desktop search engines, open source software, etc. My list entitled, “I Need to Learn More About…,” continued to lengthen with each reading and video segment. I was often frustrated with the amount of information that was being disseminated because I knew I had so much further to go on each topic. This course utilized a combination of too much information in too short of a timeframe with too broad of a spectrum for me to truly understand what I felt was expected for me to know. While I was eager to learn more about using technology in education, I was left with more questions than answers on how to achieve that end result. I was also concerned that the readings, which provided much needed information, did not always appear to be fully correlated with the required assignments.

I did learn many things from this course that will be beneficial when serving as a campus administrator. I found the readings discussing success stories in implementing innovative technology activities encouraging. I wanted to learn more on the specifics of getting online collaboration communities started. I would definitely like to pursue these types of activities as a future administrator. I discovered there are controversial issues relating to ownership of intellectual property. Professional development sessions on proper use will be essential to ensure teachers are aware of current laws before implementing research projects and other activities with students. Teachers should also be informed of what rights they may or may not personally have to various works they create. The readings about online predators and cyberbullies were alarming. As a parent, I have tried to have open discussions with my children on ways to stay safe in the online environment. As an administrator, it will be critical to provide similar information to students as well as parents to ensure steps are taken to protect children while online at school and at home.

The most important lesson I learned from this course was that it is ok go ahead and try new technologies in my classroom even if I do not know or understand everything about those technologies. In this way I can assume the role of learner in the field of technology. This will allow for students to collaborate with me in this endeavor, and we can all achieve a greater understanding of the possibilities when combining technology with curriculum. Additionally, I learned I must be more vigilant in staying on top of changes in technology, and how those new technologies might be incorporated into today’s schools and beyond.