Overall Reflection
Overall, my favorite class was MEDT 7490: Visual Literacy and the portfolio I had to create. Even though I am a science teacher I love being creative. I enjoyed the challenge of working with elements of design and telling stories about and with pictures. My most challenging class was MEDT 7492: Leadership and Administration of Online Learning, mostly because it covered topics that I had no previous experience with, such as developing a project management plan.
Most importantly, this program has prepared me to take more of a leadership role within my school, which fits in with my future career plans. Prior to this I knew some of the basics about change (the different categories of adopters, the SAMR model, etc.) but I didn’t know how to be an agent of change. My readings and journals for MEDT 8461: Diffusion of Innovation acquainted me with the concept of purposeful change. I had experience designing and implementing programs and interventions, but no experience "leading the charge" so to speak and being a true advocate for change. It just so happens that these courses dovetailed neatly with me needing to become a better advocate for change in my life as I overcame personal life challenges, etc. It was a completely fortuitous coincidence that learning about the steps for creating positive and permanent changes and lessons on being an effective manager allowed me to be more proactive and confident to speak up when change was forced upon me.
Most importantly, this program has prepared me to take more of a leadership role within my school, which fits in with my future career plans. Prior to this I knew some of the basics about change (the different categories of adopters, the SAMR model, etc.) but I didn’t know how to be an agent of change. My readings and journals for MEDT 8461: Diffusion of Innovation acquainted me with the concept of purposeful change. I had experience designing and implementing programs and interventions, but no experience "leading the charge" so to speak and being a true advocate for change. It just so happens that these courses dovetailed neatly with me needing to become a better advocate for change in my life as I overcame personal life challenges, etc. It was a completely fortuitous coincidence that learning about the steps for creating positive and permanent changes and lessons on being an effective manager allowed me to be more proactive and confident to speak up when change was forced upon me.
I was lucky to complete this program during a period of dramatic change in education: the COVID-19 pandemic. Overnight, schools switched to distance education with almost no preparation. It was chaos. The program contributed to my success because I had access to timely information. In the summer of 2020 I took MEDT 7464: Designing Technology-Enhanced Instruction just as I was having to . . . design my technology enhanced classes for my job. In the fall of 2020 I took MEDT 7476: Assessing Learning in Technology-Enhanced Instruction just as I was having to figure out ways to effectively assess the learning of my virtual students. Assessing learning is always an area of improvement for me, so my reading journals furthered my understanding of what constitutes good assessment. I was later told by my admins that I had the most comprehensive, instructive, and interactive online classes, and I know that my courses for my Ed.S played a huge role.