This final blogfolio is my reflection of ITD 645, Technology in education. This reflection includes comments on the various technologies that were used throughout the duration of this class. It details how I feel about the technology, my experiences with the tools used in conjunction with our group projects, and my future plans with the tools. What I Learned in This Course I believe this class is a great course for anyone who intends to build training programs or courses in their professional career. As an instructional designer this course gave me tools that would be essential in the implementation of my courses. The textbook, Teaching and Learning with Technology, by Duffy and McDonald, shared great insight into understanding how technology and education are interrelated. It is extremely difficult to write a relevant textbook about technology since it is such a rapidly evolving field, and this book did a great job of staying up-to-date. This course also instituted several group projects throughout the duration of this course over summer of 2020. These projects provided the opportunity for us to collaborate and communicate with one another to effectively and successfully complete all of our projects. We worked together with these different tools to learn how each one worked, how to implement them in an educational setting, and how to troubleshoot them if issues arise. The group that I was paired with consisted of myself and three other very intelligent ladies based in differing fields. All of their collective expertise provided amazing insight into how each of these technologies could be implemented in various settings. Learning Tools Weebly The first project we were tasked with to complete over the course of the summer was a personal blog using the web hosting tool Weebly. We used Weebly to document our weekly learning experiences, and to communicate with our classmates. I have never used Weebly before this class, but found it fairly intuitive and easy to manipulate. I would consider using Weebly on a future project if it was not in-depth and for a short amount of time. I would not use this for a professional portfolio hosting site as it only has basic capabilities. Slack Originally, we were to use WeChat to communicate with our group members, but we had several technical difficulties in setting it up so we decided to use Slack to communicate about our group projects. A few of us were familiar with Slack and used it regularly so we saw it fit to use this for our collaborative efforts. I use Slack daily in my work correspondence, so I think it is a great, effective tool for fast communication. I intend to use Slack for the foreseeable future. Grant Writing Proposal The first group project we were assigned was a grant proposal for our ideal classroom. We all brought together our former experience with grant writing proposals to complete this assignment. You can check out what we included in our Ideal 21st Century Classroom by clicking HERE. I have successfully written two grant proposals before, and this project helped me gain additional insight on what should be included in future proposals. Lesson Plan Having come from an independent school and higher ed background, I didn't have a lot of formal experience with creating structured lesson plans that were reviewed by department chairs. My other group members pulled my slack with their classroom teaching expertise. We crafted an amazing lesson plan that would serve as a basis for the rest of our project. The lesson plan detailed the course title, objectives, grade level, activities, assignments, and resources. Since this was the base of the rest of our projects it was imperative that we created an all-encompassing document. Google Suite Apps (Google Form, Google Slides & Google Docs) The Google suite of applications is something that I use every single day. Forms are very handy to me because I can collect data and then divulge it into a spreadsheet with the click of a button. I rarely use Google slides just because I feel it is inferior to Microsoft's PowerPoint, but it is great if you are collaborating with others on a presentation. Google Docs are seriously a life saver for me. I use Docs on both of my laptops, desktop computers, and even my phone. Having my files stored in the cloud for easy access makes my life a breeze when I need to view or edit documents wherever I am. I will continue to use the Google Suite in my classroom and professional life. These products are amazing to aid in collaboration and are easily implemented with little to no learning curve. Podcast Production I have always been intrigued by the production process surrounding podcasting, so I was excited to tackle this project with our group. I love listening to podcasts and have considered starting my own podcast, but didn't know where to begin. I love the idea for instituting this in the classroom as a briefing for the day's assignments to give background before completely diving in the material. I plan to test the waters for my own podcast in the future. Listen to our podcast about Columbus being a hero or villain here. Video Editing Software Making and editing videos has always been interesting to me, so this project was something I was on board for. Exploring all of the applicable technologies proved to be a fun experience also. Each technology has its own perks and downfalls. Using video applications in the classroom allows for invigorating passive learning opportunities for students. Videos can help break up the monotony in the classroom. I plan to continue honing in my skills on video editing to become proficient in this field. Watch our video here! Interactive Learning Video I had never heard of the EdPuzzle tool, but I was totally enthralled whenever I started using it. I think it is a fun way to turn a passive learning situation with a simple video into an active learning scenario with questions and information presented throughout the course of the video. I plan to use this tool in various ways in my career. Check out our EdPuzzle here by using class code: dorsuja Course Website I loved the idea of building a course website. Afterall, I am an instructional designer, so this is right up my ally. I did, however struggle a bit with the idea of building a cohesive, structured course using Weebly since it is not fairly intuitive. It was a constant work in progress as we went through the process of completing and adding our group projects. This proved valuable in learning how different website elements work together to create a design that is easy to follow and not crowded. The course website included a home page, course materials page, assignments page, a resources page, contact page, and a page that linked the individual blogs from our group members. Padlet I think Padlet is an awesome tool. I use it in several of my online courses for discussion boards. I love the interactive aspect this tool has. I love the use of pictures, articles, and anecdotes that are displayed in an engaging manner by using this tool. I plan to use Padlet in my personal life as well. Thinglink / Scoop.it Prior to this class, I had never heard of ThingLink or Scoop.It. I felt that these tools are rather intuitive and easy to use for a first-timer. I think they are effective as a virtual bulletin boards, but I do not see myself using them more than I did in this course. I do have to praise how easily it is embedded into blogs though. I see a variety of ways it could be used, but I think there are better products that I am currently using. Quizizz Quizizz is another tool that I had never heard of before this class, but am officially in love with. Before this class, I had only used Kahoot! for a fun quiz option in my classroom. Quizizz is an intuitive platform that interacts well with several learning management systems (LMS). Quizizz is aesthetically pleasing but also easy to set up. I will try to integrate this tool into some of the courses I design over the next semester. RubiStar RubiStar was the tool we used to create the rubrics for our course. I felt that it was easily understood and manipulated. My LMs has a built in rubric building tool, so I do not see myself using this tool much. Strengths and Weaknesses As a former technology teacher, I felt that I was fairly up-to-date on educational technology tools and how to effectively pilot and implement them. This factor played an integral role in my success in this course. If I were not familiar with most of these technologies, integrating these tools into a classroom would be a daunting task. There were several things that I had never experienced before such as the DID method and various tools. This class was an amazing experience and left me with several new tools in my teacher toolbox. I am so glad that I was paired with the phenomenal group of women that Dr. Wang assigned because they were extremely intelligent and collaborative. Personal Goals I consider myself a career student after 24 straight years in school. I am excited to graduate from the USM MS HCD(ITD) program this week, but I am no where near done with my educational journey. I plan to enroll in a PhD program in the Spring of 2021 at The University of Alabama. I also intend to continue furthering my education in virtual reality (VR) and its production. VR has been a passion of mine for the last three years, and I cannot wait to see how it progresses in the future.
2 Comments
7/28/2020 11:46:13 am
Hi Ashleigh,
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Melanie Bryan
7/28/2020 12:45:24 pm
Hi Ashleigh,
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AuthorAshleigh is a student in the Masters of Human Capital Development and Instructional Design program at the University of Southern Mississippi and an Instructional Designer at The University of Alabama. Blogroll
Melanie Bryan
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