EDLD 5301 - Week 2 Reflection

Ofter completing this weeks assignment I do think I have a much better understanding of Action Research as it pertains to the educational environment. With the explanation of the narrowed focus sections in Chapter 2 of the Dana text I was able to begin a narrowing down process for my action research topic. Although the entire course, and especially this text is more focused on administrators and students preparing to be principals, I do feel that I can get SOME useful information from the readings. It would however be more helpful if the content at some point in time had some focus on technology since that is what I'm seeking a degree in, and not principalship.

I am still in a really vague era when it comes to exactly what I want to do for my project, and what will benefit me, my school, and my district the most.

I was unable to meet with my site director in person this past week, but am planning on getting together with her in the following week to help pinpoint my research plan and find a more narrowed focus. I know I want to research the effectiveness and implementation process for a blended learning classroom. The thought of a classroom that is part face-to-face instruction and part eInstruction is intriguing to me. I really feel that it can be a win-win situation for not only students, but for educators as well. I want to know what I need to do to create an effective blended learning environment in my schools, and eventually district.

Web Conference Reflection - Research 5301-Week 2

I was unable to attend the Web Conference for this week. The conferences are normally on Thursday evenings and I have a standing commitment on Thursday evenings from 7-10 which makes it difficult for me to have the opportunity to participate in these conferences. I would hope that throughout the program they will vary the evenings that they offer the web conferences so that others might have a chance to attend.
I did watch the recorded version. After viewing the conference I feel that, for me anyways, it wasn't an effective conference. They spent the majority of the first part discussing the switch to TK20. I had not been informed via email as many others had about the switch. It seems that the program will basically do the same thing that the ePortfolio wiki we created in EDLD5306 will do. I'll wait until further information before making the $100 purchase.

The rest of the conference was mainly about the topics that students had chosen for the action research project. Not having an opportunity to participate live, I didn't get much from that aspect of the conference. There were, however, a few topics that did benefit me a little. There were a few questions I had that were answered. Overall, this week the conference was not of much assistance to me. Really hoping that I get a chance to participate at some point, either a change of date, added conference date, or a canceled Thursday night appointment. If nothing else it seems to help with the comrade of the cohort group. I could use that to help me navigate the very confusing course outline and curriculum.

Course Reflection

To be honest I’m not real sure what I expected out of this course. I really went into this program blindly. I guess my general idea was that we would learn about the foundations of educational technology, why it is important, how it should be implemented in a school district. I guess since I learned about the foundations and the processes, and the ways technology can benefit education, then I did achieve those outcomes. The class was very informative and made me think about things that I had either forgotten about or shed some new and different light on. I can say that I was pretty aware of all the documents, concepts, and programs mentioned throughout the course, but I definitely learned more about them.

The concepts we learned about during this course are very relevant to the work I do at my schools. Now, some of the articles were a bit outdated, and there could be some new information included in the course documents, but the over all ideals are still relevant. The ideals will probably never change completely, just change form. I will say that I was a bit shocked, and unfortunately disappointed, that some of the articles written in 2005 and earlier were relevant. I would have hoped that articles about cutting edge technology and advancing technology in the school systems written that many years ago would be antiquated and outdated. It goes to show that although I believe we are making progress there is still a long road ahead of us.

There really were not any outcomes I didn’t achieve, because I didn’t go into the course with any outcomes that I had envisioned before hand. I guess the only thing I can say that I did not achieve was learning something totally new. Which I guess can be seen as a good thing or a not so good thing. I was hoping there was going to be some big revelation that was shone upon me during the course that would totally transform my life and career. Alas, there wasn’t. But I guess that can be a good thing if you think about the fact that I am at least aware of the major issues and processes that deal directly with my career. Granted I still have a lot to learn about each and every thing we focused on, but at least I’m not totally in the dark.

The course assignments were difficult. I would say that the course was much harder than I had envisioned. I very much underestimated the time commitment this course would be. I have two friends who previously took this course (cohort 1 I believe) and they said they spent about 5-10 hours a week on course work. I would say that I am definitely spending twice that much time, if not more. It is hard to squeeze another 20-25 hours into an already very packed week of being a full-time employee, a full-time, often single-mom, and a full-time student. I managed all the assignments, so far, and didn’t have too many roadblocks along the way. I did at times have to manage some time restraints, connectivity issues, and availability of personnel needed to gather some district information during a weeklong holiday, but I managed to get what I needed. I had to work at a McDonalds in the back hills of Missouri one night to get a Wi-Fi signal since my in-laws are in such a remote area they only have a dial-up connection, but it worked. Also, many of the assignments were confusing to understand what exactly was expected. There were times I had a difficult time trying to decipher what it was that was expected of me. But I guess I did ok.

This first course in my graduate work did teach me a lot about myself. I was pleased to learn that I have a strong core knowledge and background in my field of work. I enjoy my job and I’m glad that I seem to be on track with my career. While creating my Curriculum Vitae it was brought to my attention that I haven’t done much outside of my district. Although I have taught well over 250 hours of staff development courses within my district, I haven’t had much, if any, exposure to teaching or leading workshops outside my area. I’ve already spoken with my supervisor and we are working on setting up some teaching engagements. On a personal note, I learned that I can do this. School and I have not really played well together over the course of my schooling days. I have always struggled with reading, staying focused, and being successful. Although these things still offer me challenges, I know that I can over come them and be successful in this program.

Web Conference Reflection

I participated in the ELED 5306 - Cohort 17 Required Web Conference for Week 2. The conference was facilitated by Dr. Abshire.

Once we managed our way through the technical aspect of getting everyone's microphones and video cameras working and linked, then trying to turn off the microphones, it was a productive meeting. There were several classmates on the conference and it went quite smoothly. Dr. Absire shared some important information about what to expect in the class and upcoming course work, as well as some information about the Internship process. I found the web conference very helpful. It let me get a feel for Dr. Absire and her personality, something that a web-based class doesn't usually afford you the opportunity for. Knowing your professor is half the battle.
I also found it interesting to see some of the other class members "face-to-face." Although there wasn't much conversation between classmates, other than the few questions that came up in the Chat Log, it was good to get a feel for who my cohorts were. We got a feel for how everyone else was feeling about the class so far. Glad to know I'm not the only one who was feeling a little overwhelmed. During the conference we decided to create a facebook page and group to help us collaborate a little more outside of the Epic Bulletin Board. This was set up before the conference was over, and has already become a useful tool for me.


I look forward to the upcoming web conferences that I will be able to attend. Many of them are on Thursday evenings, and I have a standing commitment on Thursdays. I am going to try to make as many web conferences as possible. If I can't attend in person, I will be viewing the recorded sessions later.