Final Reflection

I must admit that I was a bit intimidated when I began this class and had some doubts about my ability. We are now at the final countdown of this course and I am so overwhelmed with the amount of information and insight I have gained.  This course gave me the confidence to try things that I hadn’t thought to try and do things I haven’t done before.  The knowledge I gained since January has been vast and has given me the self-assurance to speak to others passionately and convincingly about educational technology.

Reflecting back on the semester I must say that was most excited about gaining understanding about blog readers.  Keeping up with blogs was something I shied away from because it was impossible to keep up with them, but blog readers allowed someone who was new to blogging to stay up to date.  I spoke to a few administrators about blogging and blog readers and I was asked to deliver professional development about my knowledge to help other teachers and professionals.  I also enjoyed doing screencasts and was able to deliver a professional development for my campus about using tweet deck for twitter chats my district hosts.  I can honestly say that there wasn’t any technology that I didn’t enjoy using. 

There were a few however that weren’t my favorite.  One of those being creating infographics and the other was the comic creators.  I’m not sure why these types of technology were difficult for me but I know that since it is a weakness then it is something I must continue to use.  I did discover through these assignments that the more I worked with these technologies the easier it became and that different interfaces were easier for me to interact with than others.  Some tools seemed easier for users depending on the ability level of the user. 

It is difficult for me to choose one tool that I feel will most benefit students. So, I’ll choose two, the first is podcasts and the other is the comics and cartoon creators.  As an elementary teacher of young students these two tools can be used across all grade levels at varying degrees based on the ability level of the user.  I feel any technology tool that can be used across all grade levels is most beneficial to students.

At times my excitement about educational technology is overwhelming for others who don’t always share my excitement.  I must remember when addressing teachers and staff members who roll their eyes at me when I talk about technology integration that I was once there.  When I began this journey into graduate school I found myself in tears with all the changes that I did not know about and how fast-paced everything moved.  It is very important for me to remember those feelings as I try to implement technology to my future colleagues in my role as librarian.  I will share my story with those I have the privilege to share technology integration with and hopefully they see that I have been where they are, and that allows them to trust me on the journey.