Overall Reflections
As my time at the University of West Georgia comes to a close, I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed every minute and learned far more than I ever expected to. Working as an AV/IT specialist, I entered this program with a strong technology background but little knowledge of pedagogy, instructional design, and just the plain complexity of educating a group of individuals. As I leave this program, my knowledge and application of technology has grown, but more importantly I now feel comfortable helping others apply this technology in their classrooms. I no longer blindly advocate technology for technology’s sake. I am able to analyze the positives and negatives of tools as how they relate to the educational process. Instead of merely suggesting that a teacher try blogging in her classroom because blogging is interesting and uses new technology, I can better listen to her needs and make recommendations as to what would best help her students (and accept that, in some cases, the best recommendation is to use no technology). In short, I am better equipped to fit the technology to the learning goals instead of altering the learning goals to fit the technology. With that in mind, I have applied all of the ISTE NETS in my professional life as I have used what I learned.
For standard 1, I collaborated with a non-profit to design a digital photography/digital story telling summer class. I supplied information on how to use cameras and age-appropriate photography composition information I learned in my digital photography course (rule of thirds, getting in close to the subject, etc.). I provided a list of software available for editing the pictures into a story, and then made a short tutorial for the software (PhotoStory) the instructor decided to use. Pulling from standard 4, I located resources (music) that could be used without copyright infringement and advised the instructor on the best way to share these stories on the web safely (restricted YouTube, since several stories featured pictures of students). While not as time-consuming as the digital storytelling class, after my experience in a MOOC for my distance education class I described and recommended the experience to a number of educators, and thus, in a small way, “model[ed] collaborative knowledge construction.”
For standard 2, I have spent a good deal of time assisting teachers in “design[ing] or adapt[ing] relevant learning experiences [to] incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.” After the roll-out of the Mimio interactive white boards, I worked with teachers to discover ways to incorporate them into their lessons. When doing so I always reminded myself to make sure that the inclusion of the Mimio was actually enriching the learning activity, not just using technology for the sake of using technology. Since the Mimio software has the ability to import PowerPoint lessons, I worked with teachers on ways to adapt these lessons to take full use of the abilities of the Mimio equipment.
For standard 3, my classes have introduced me to the concept of online personal learning groups, shown me great resources, and inspired me to join in and communicate and collaborate with my peers. While I am still not a Twitter convert, before the start of my degree I followed two blogs, and now I follow close to 15. I’ve joined professional forums and groups on websites and had the courage (and knowledge) to add my own voice to the conversation. There is a whole world of passionate, intelligent, and innovative educators out there, sharing their ideas and advice freely, so it is up to me to seek them out and collaborate.
For standard 4, after learning the true ins and outs of fair use and copyright, I became invested in helping teachers understand digital media copyright. After getting a better understanding of what did and did not fall under fair use, some teachers automatically wrote off some great media because they were sure they “would never get permission,” so I began encouraging teachers to “just ask” and came up with a form letter they could use to ask permission from copyright holders. At one point, some of the students sang a really moving song, which was videotaped for personal reasons, but the administration later wanted to use the video for promoting the school. Some people became rather frantic since no one had secured permission -- which they did not need for a performance within the school, but using it as promotional material to seek donations was another matter -- so I suggested I “just ask” the copyright holder for permission. Within a few emails, the copyright holder gave me permission to use not only the song, but any song within his catalogue (extensive) for any reason. So, when in doubt with copyright – just ask!
And finally, for standard 5, I like to think I am applying this standard on a nearly daily basis. I’ve spent the past two years seeking a degree in an effort to grow professionally. I’ve attended conferences, subscribed to journals, read and re-read magazine articles, made notations in books, and continually updated my list of “must read!” bookmarked sites so I could keep up to date. This standard is the cornerstone of what I want to do with my life, so I will always be seeking new avenues for growth.
For standard 1, I collaborated with a non-profit to design a digital photography/digital story telling summer class. I supplied information on how to use cameras and age-appropriate photography composition information I learned in my digital photography course (rule of thirds, getting in close to the subject, etc.). I provided a list of software available for editing the pictures into a story, and then made a short tutorial for the software (PhotoStory) the instructor decided to use. Pulling from standard 4, I located resources (music) that could be used without copyright infringement and advised the instructor on the best way to share these stories on the web safely (restricted YouTube, since several stories featured pictures of students). While not as time-consuming as the digital storytelling class, after my experience in a MOOC for my distance education class I described and recommended the experience to a number of educators, and thus, in a small way, “model[ed] collaborative knowledge construction.”
For standard 2, I have spent a good deal of time assisting teachers in “design[ing] or adapt[ing] relevant learning experiences [to] incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.” After the roll-out of the Mimio interactive white boards, I worked with teachers to discover ways to incorporate them into their lessons. When doing so I always reminded myself to make sure that the inclusion of the Mimio was actually enriching the learning activity, not just using technology for the sake of using technology. Since the Mimio software has the ability to import PowerPoint lessons, I worked with teachers on ways to adapt these lessons to take full use of the abilities of the Mimio equipment.
For standard 3, my classes have introduced me to the concept of online personal learning groups, shown me great resources, and inspired me to join in and communicate and collaborate with my peers. While I am still not a Twitter convert, before the start of my degree I followed two blogs, and now I follow close to 15. I’ve joined professional forums and groups on websites and had the courage (and knowledge) to add my own voice to the conversation. There is a whole world of passionate, intelligent, and innovative educators out there, sharing their ideas and advice freely, so it is up to me to seek them out and collaborate.
For standard 4, after learning the true ins and outs of fair use and copyright, I became invested in helping teachers understand digital media copyright. After getting a better understanding of what did and did not fall under fair use, some teachers automatically wrote off some great media because they were sure they “would never get permission,” so I began encouraging teachers to “just ask” and came up with a form letter they could use to ask permission from copyright holders. At one point, some of the students sang a really moving song, which was videotaped for personal reasons, but the administration later wanted to use the video for promoting the school. Some people became rather frantic since no one had secured permission -- which they did not need for a performance within the school, but using it as promotional material to seek donations was another matter -- so I suggested I “just ask” the copyright holder for permission. Within a few emails, the copyright holder gave me permission to use not only the song, but any song within his catalogue (extensive) for any reason. So, when in doubt with copyright – just ask!
And finally, for standard 5, I like to think I am applying this standard on a nearly daily basis. I’ve spent the past two years seeking a degree in an effort to grow professionally. I’ve attended conferences, subscribed to journals, read and re-read magazine articles, made notations in books, and continually updated my list of “must read!” bookmarked sites so I could keep up to date. This standard is the cornerstone of what I want to do with my life, so I will always be seeking new avenues for growth.