EDM 510, Final Blog Post

As the course comes to an end, it is time to reflect on what I have learned in EDM 510. The purpose of this course is to expose teachers to various technology resources, make them aware of the need for greater technology integration, and provide resources to do so. I feel that this class fulfilled that purpose for my career. I gained some big takeaways for my classroom, found a new favorite resource, and discovered new ideas to use in my classroom this year. This course was very friendly in format, material, and especially for students who have jobs and/or other courses to work on. Even though this course was eight weeks, I was able to pace myself and spread out my assigned activities to keep me from feeling overwhelmed. I must say, I’ve enjoyed every assignment and blog response this fall course.

The first takeaway from this course is the SAMR model. The SAMR model provides a view of technology integration. Technology integration is meant to make things easier. The SAMR model is helping me integrate technology with meaningful intentions.

The second takeaway from this course is blogging. Blogging forced me to slow down and reflect on my work and also enjoy my peers' assignments and ideas. When I signed up for this course, I was not familiar with having my very own blog. Since I started blogging, I find that I will keep updating my blog throughout graduate school. I often thought about the advantages and disadvantages of using digital tools or platforms. In the beginning, blogging was difficult for me. Instead of Wordpress, I went on to explore Wix for blogging.. I prefer using the Wix website for blogging because in my opinion, it was more user friendly.

The third takeaway from this course is the collaboration opportunity. During this course, we were tasked with creating a Google Site on instructional strategies. I worried at first about how we would complete this task virtually. It worked out well. My group members collaborated through direct messaging. We continued to make adjustments together without challenge. Everyone did their part. I am so grateful for that positive experience. I remember, while I was in undergraduate school, group assignments were a challenge.

The fourth and last takeaway I got from this course is the exposure to all of the different technologies. For example, LibreOffice, WordWall, Wordpress, Wix, and Sutori. LibreOffice is actually my least favorite program to use. LibreOffice was a program that I was not familiar with. Once I completed the LibreOffice assignment, I haven’t used it since that assignment. I am accustomed to Google Drive and Microsoft Office 365.

My favorite assignment was the Instructional Strategies assignment using Google Sites. For the longest, I let Google Sites intimidate me. It “looked” challenging, so I never embraced it. I overcame that challenge during this course. I watched some how-to videos about Google Sites on YouTube and put those tips into action. As it turns out, Google Sites was not too difficult. It’s amazing how sometimes we get in our own way.

During this course, there were methods that were a review, but I still gained new knowledge that I plan to use in my work setting. First, I will introduce WordWall to the faculty as an option to check for students’ understanding. This is an easy and electronic assessment that the students will enjoy. Also, I will use the SAMR model when planning lessons with teachers. My lessons will improve by using technology to do things that I could not have made possible.

I should’ve taken this course sooner. This course is beneficial for me, given that we are dealing with unprecedented times. Whether I’m in-person or virtual, I feel confident with knowledge from this course to make some things a little less difficult. I was able to step outside of my comfort zone with the Google Sites assignment and the video recording of myself. It’s not easy being in front of a camera. I am also motivated to find my own resources in addition to the resources Dr. Gaston shared during this course. I am thankful for the opportunity to be in this course to gain all of this experience. Technology is not a burden. Technology allows learners of all ages to collaborate and discover anything.