Reflection Statement

I enrolled in graduate school because while I had experience and was self-taught on an enormous variety of applications and digital tools in the classroom, I didn’t have the provisions of research from a university to support ideas and learning processes beneficial to my students. My felt need was that I desired reassurance with data that the instruction I was providing was the best way to use technology. I hoped to gain insight by sharing discussions with classmates, and I hoped to discover what it meant to better facilitate learning with technology. I had some perceptions from classroom experience that technology could change learning, but no assurance that this route was the one to follow. Most aspects of my teaching were already digital, and I used a course management system with students upon my acceptance into the ISLT program. In spite of this, I had genuine concerns: Was I using the technology that I had collected in the best way possible? Were the tools my students used the ones that would deepen their understanding and prepare them? Were they experiencing authentic learning?

Creating a TILP (Technology Integration Lesson Plan) in the Introduction to Technology course enabled me to develop my teaching skills further by requiring me to implement technology in new ways to meet standards for models of learning. I learned the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 technologies and the benefits of each; most importantly, why the Type 2’s were best. I was able to apply this knowledge to a Tour of Missouri hybrid WebQuest I was developing, so the method was put to work immediately (literally, within weeks) and I was able to share what I had learned with my local community. Another useful activity was creating a lesson plan to accompany videos in Newsy. This initial exploration of the technology’s impact on learning supported some of the applications I was using in the classroom computer lab and caused me to reexamine others as to their benefits.

Concept mapping was relatively new methodology for me, and I was required to use it several times throughout the program. I had used it prior to my courses, but had no confidence I was using it correctly. Working with the Inspiration program for concept mapping showed me its potential. My first concept map activity required reflection on the relationships between teaching, learning, and technology. In a later course, I was asked to demonstrate the relationships between learning goals, learning activities, teacher roles, and learning assessment of a student technology activity with a second concept map. The cognitive skills required to map the relationships between ideas really opened my eyes to many more possibilities of meaningful learning by students. Concept mapping can be applied to all aspects of the curriculum, and I believe the benefits of it are enormous.

I also applied concept mapping in a course with a huge impact to me, Diffusion of Educational Innovations. Because I passionately believe schools must embrace technology, I was instantly engaged by the empowerment I could gain from understanding every role in the adoption of innovations. Development of the CBAM project deepened my understanding to the perspectives of all involved within an organization and gave me application for my workplace. I feel that what I learned about diffusions provides me with guidance for gaining acceptance of technology use at school. I’ll be able to create opportunities for adoption because I know how to collect, compile, and report data about users of technology. I am able to appreciate levels of concern and decipher levels of use, as well as move innovations in or out of use at work. I can empathize with co-workers now that I understand their point of view. This makes me a better facilitator, and I like to think, a more considerate colleague. I won’t allow my personal feelings to override my interactions with them because I was allowed their perspective. I also discovered a connection between this and another course, Instructional Systems Design, and how powerful this information is about users and design properties of technology instruction.

In conversations I'm often asked, "What do you receive from an ISLT degree?" Co-workers and parents are curious. I can tell them that the ways I've been using technology have been good, but I can now explain to them how they can be best applied for meaningful learning. The pedagogy has changed drastically from the traditional classroom and our experiences from the past no longer apply in the fullest sense. Before this program, I couldn’t have explained those changes. Reviewing learning theories I previously was taught as an undergraduate and applying those theories to the technology classroom has been a wonderful, enriching experience.  Because I now have a comparison, because I've been in both the driver's seat as an instructor and the passenger's seat as an online student, I have a renewed sense of exploration and excitement for the future. I've witnessed a small part of what can be, and I plan to step forward into the opportunity of making a great education available for students.