Final Post 5366

5366 Final Reflection

  Going into this class as a non- tech student, I was extremely scared about the entire process. Although I have led a few technology sessions at my school, I am nowhere near the level of a master student. I really enjoyed the first week where we learned about The 4 Basic Principles of Design: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity (William, Third Edition).   Although I have always thought I had an eye for design, this really helped give me some guidelines for me to remember for the remainder of the class. The entire animation process was new to me. My students have used Go Animate for projects in my class, but I have never played around with this technology. I really enjoyed the entire creative process and can see how kids get really involved in it. I have to admit that when I first found out that I was placed in this class, I did not see the value of a multimedia class. However, after completing the web page design I can see how this class benefits future administrators in a variety of ways. First, I only had a little experience with working on a blog. Creating a website helped me gain more experience adding a variety of multimedia to it. I feel this experience will help me as an administrator guide teachers in technology.

  The approach and strategies I used in completing the assignment really varied.   In regards to technology, I usually jump in and just spend time and play with the software. This is what I did with the flyer, logo, and animation lesson.  When I have a problem or question with technology, the first person I ask is my husband. He has a degree in computer science, so he usually can help guide me to an answer. This was the strategy I used to help download the animation program. During the web design I used you tube videos to help me. One thing I struggled with in the online technology class is not having an instructor there to show me real quick how to fix some issue.  If I had a question, I felt it took twice as long than when I have been in a technology class in my district. Overall, I am very proud of the work that I was able to complete in this course. For the group web site, I completed the logo and the animation site. I was so nervous my work would end up getting points deducted from the project but that did not happen.  Our web site was fantastic, and the interaction with my colleagues was successful.   The fact that our group collaboration google doc was shared with the professor and IA keep me responsible for my work. In addition, since we shared the web page this made you want to do your best because your entire group could see everything.  Yosinda states “They (students) feel a greater ownership of what they create and try harder to make it as good as possible because it will be seen by a larger audience.” This type of collaboration made you want to perform at your best, because you did not want to be the one who lost points for the group. I really do not get that same interaction with colleagues on discussion forums or web conferences.  I am just required to respond on discussion posts, but I do not feel like I let anyone down.

   

  The technology skills I learned in this class will help me on my journey to become an administrator.  I will need to use the Blooms Digital Taxonomy (Churches, 2008) to help guide them with activities. The actual hands-on activities have helped me, so I will be able to guide them as well.  My interactions that I have encountered in this class will help me because I have learned how to collaborate online. As a future administrator, I will use this skill to reach out to other administrators in the district for guidance or help when working on projects. I feel this class has really given me the extra push I needed to step out of my comfort zone with technology. This class pushed my abilities and challenged me a bit and I was able to complete the task. In the future when I see technology classes that may be a little more challenging, I will sign up for them, because this class gave me the confidence that I can complete them.

Resources:

Churches, Andrew. "Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally." Classroom Technology News. Tech and Learning, 1 Apr. 2008. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.

Williams, R. The non-designer’s design book typographic principles for the visual novice. DOI: The Non-Designer’s Design Book Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice

Yoshinda, Clyde. "Creating a Culture of Student Reflection: Self-Assessment Yields Positive Results." Edutopia. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.