EDCI 321:

Course Reflection

With every passing year, I find myself searching for new ways to increase my effectiveness as a teacher. This course marked the beginning of my graduate studies, and it came at the right time. Education is in a state of change, and as I think about the next school year, I am inspired to revamp my curriculum and alter my approach. While this course helped me acknowledge that I am already doing a lot of the right things, it also served as a vehicle to synthesize my thoughts and questions moving forward. For example, my Technology Proposal is an amalgam of some of the steps I see as advantageous in our present system of modern education.

In my four years as a teacher, I have found myself constantly prioritizing student engagement, sometimes to the detriment of a well-rounded unit. In this course, I took more time to plan a unit, focusing on the transferable learning goals I wished my students to achieve at the end of the unit and working backward from there. I always teach with a purpose, but this unit goes well beyond my previous teaching experiences in that every component is intentional and standards-based. This is not my first experience with “Understanding by Design”, but it is the first time I have actually utilized all of its principles. Newer technological tools (Google Docs, Google Sites, Prezi, Easel.ly, etc.) both eased and enriched this process, with the added benefit of increasing my overall technological literacy.

In my correspondence with peers, I have been introduced to technological tools that are new to me, as well as better ways to utilize tools I am familiar with. Websites like Padlet and Thinglink are powerful tools of collaboration and creation. GoFormative, Socrative, and Kahoot are excellent for checking in on student progress and opinions while also keeping things fresh. Google Drawings, WeVideo, Easel.ly, Piktochart, and Prezi all allow students to demonstrate inquiry, integrative thinking, and creative expression.

Most importantly, these tools that I have learned about, and these skills that I have developed all empower me to be more effective as an educator than I ever have been before. They allow me to get to know my students in valuable ways that were not previously possible. They allow me to improvise when appropriate, adapt when necessary, and overcome a variety of obstacles I may encounter. As a teacher, I am excited to get back into the classroom and to put these plans into action. As a professional learner, I am excited to learn more.