The End

Honestly, I really did not know what to expect from this course, however I feel like I truly learned a lot. It sounded more like an instruction/curriculum course. I thought that since the class was called “Instructional Leadership” that it would be focused more on instruction in the classroom—not once did technology cross my mind. Therefore, the course outcomes did not meet my original expectations. I feel that because I did not learn how to become an “instructional leader,” that this is an outcome that I initially expected, but did not achieve. I guess not truly understanding what the course is about before going in to it does not allow one to have expected outcomes. However, once I read through the syllabus, it was clear that this was, in fact, a course based on technology! Once I understood what the course was actually about, I expected to learn more of how to use technology in the classroom, not necessarily why we should. But I have since learned that the how and the why are each important in their own way.

I feel that what I have taken away from this course has absolutely been relevant to the work that I do in my school. As a math and science teacher, there are many opportunities to use technology in the classroom. I have learned that the technology we use in my classroom barely touches the surface. Technology is necessary, and the kids know how to use it. Technology keeps our students interested and therefore they seem to learn more when technology is used. In Special Education, we have students using basic programs on computers, just to complete assignments. My students produce higher quality work when they use computers, and it is amazing how much faster a paper can be typed than it can be written. More than that, there are ways for me to communicate with my students other than pen and paper.

I must say that this has been one of my favorite courses by far, although it has been incredibly time consuming. The content was useful and the assignments, in my opinion, were left open to interpretation. It was interesting to see the different analysis from each of my classmates. We were able to take the assignment and pretty much turn it into our own. There were times though, that I did not think I would get the work done on time. It was often overwhelming, but I learned to buckle down and do it; and week after week, I everything completed on time. I do think that the readings, albeit short, were difficult to post about week to week. I do not feel that it was necessary to find something noble of posting about in every. single. reading. This was probably the worst of it for me.

What I learned is that there is a lot for me to learn. Because of my age, I feel as if I am ahead of the technology curve; however, my district is holding me back. There are so many opportunities for technology to be used, yet we do not necessarily have the resources or funding. I did not know that the reasons for using technology in the classroom were so abundant. While technology does take time to be put into place, and it takes time and training to teach people how to appropriately use it, once all of the glitches are taken care of, it is incredibly beneficial.

Blogs allow people to express the views and opinions freely. It allows blog users to communicate with a large number of people at once. Unlike email, the blog is not necessarily sent to someone, it is there for them to view at their pleasure on their own time. My biggest concern about blogs and blogging in education is security. In general, blogs are open to the public. And like we have learned, once information is out there, it is out there. Yes, it can be deleted, but it is always floating around in the digital world, and can eventually come back and haunt you. Another concern of mine is the danger that our students put themselves in when blogging, as well as when using facebook, twitter and myspace. These are all ways to communicate with those all over the world, and it opens students up to many unfortunate situations. The best thing we can do for our students and their families is teach them internet safety. Parents need to be made aware of the dangers their students face.

Blogging, along with other forms of technological communication, can be used to successfully communicate with school stakeholders. Communicating through podcasts, blogs and twitter allow users to express their thoughts, opinions, upcoming events, and other parts of information in a new way. Recently, our volleyball team made it to the state level. I was not able to go to the last round of games because it was during the school week, but I was actually able to follow the game on twitter! One of the parents kept the rest of us updated by “tweeting” the score during the entire game. It was really neat to know how the game was going because of twitter. Currently, our superindentent, as well as our principals, use the ConnectEd system to communicate with teachers and parents. They record themselves, and the message is sent to our school phones and cell phones. Using a podcast would be more relevant the 21st century learner.

Technology is here to stay. It is forever changing, and we must keep up with it. As teachers and future administrators, we are the leaders for our students. We must teach them the ways of the world, as our students are indeed the future.