This week already marks the close of my first course toward my master's degree in Educational Technology Leadership. I'm surprised by how quickly the course has passed, but I am impressed with the many things I have accomplished during this busy time of year.
Coming into to this course, I was not quite sure what to expect. Since this course was my first introduction, I expected to get an overview of the 18-month program. I was interested to see how the pacing of the course would be given the 5-week time period, and I was curious to see the type of assignments I would be completing. I didn't really expect to be covering a great deal of new content, but as I took the post-course self assessment, I realized I had become more comfortable with things like the Vision 2020 plan, the STaR chart, and some Web 2.0 tools. I believe I achieved the course goals and outcomes, sometimes without even realizing that I did so.
The weekly assignments and how I chose to complete them were telling, as well. This is my first experience taking upper-level coursework while working full-time, so I had to balance school, work, and family responsibilities. I feel that maybe I was not able to spend as much time on the readings as I should have. Each week we were only required to read 2-3 articles, but as I scanned others, I know there was lots of quality content I probably missed. When I read through the downloaded assignment documents before beginning, I often felt overwhelmed with what was expected of me to complete independently in just one week. However, I was almost always able to fulfill all the requirements, and I feel like this course helped me form positive habits and attitudes that will help me as I progress through future classes.
The various self-assessments I took during Week 1 were interesting and helpful for gauging my attitudes, strengths, and weaknesses as I began the program. Some of the results told me things that I already knew about myself, but I did gain some new insights. Although I work at a technology magnet school, I am still a new teacher with just two years of experience and need more time to develop my technology integration skills. I don't have a great deal of leadership experience, in my opinion, and I need to feel more confident in my role as a valuable team member and potential leader. I pride myself on being a person that likes to keep current on technology trends, but the landscape is always changing, and I must actively seek out new information.
I do feel that I have been able to use some of the things I have learned immediately and that course content has been relevant to my current position. I feel much more comfortable creating and maintaining a wiki, and I can see how I might be able to integrate one into current classroom activities. I found lots of interesting links and resources through my technology book review, and I have already created accounts with Curriki and Connexions. I feel more knowledgeable about the STaR chart we are required to complete each year. I was also impressed with the fact that I was able to complete two in-depth internship plans without feeling completely lost.
I feel that this course was a positive introduction to the Educational Technology Leadership program, and I believe I am ready to move forward in the program and have continued success.
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