Module 1 Reflection 


My biggest takeaway from this week was to focus on the "why" I do what I do rather than the "how" so much. When I first began this Ph.D. program, my main purpose was to be able to provide future social studies teachers with a cache of strategies, skills, and best practices related to content.  Moreover, I wanted to motivate them to seek alternative methods and think outside the box to make social studies more rewarding and engaging for students. While, I still want to do this, I find that my professional objectives as a future Ph.D., teacher educator, and researcher is much deeper. This week's material, in tandem with the reflective assignments have given me the opportunity to explore my "why" a little more purposefully. I believe that I do what I do because I hope to champion kindness in education so that people, in all their future endeavors, are willing to be disturbed and challenged to engage in civil discourse with others. In addition to learning this information about myself as a professional, I also learned, from our discussion posts, that we have very intriguing people in our class from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life. Some are classmates are former teachers, athletes, entering different career fields, etc. and  I truly think having multiple perspectives and viewpoints will make discussions of course content much more engaging and interesting. I am very excited to move forward with the content and learn all I can about educational technology and leadership. Let the semester begin!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Module 4 Reflection

The biggest takeaway from this week's material would be that it is to the leader's benefit to take the time to develop and professional growth plan to frame their leadership. Leaders are expected to guide their colleagues and teammates towards their vision, and without careful thought, the risk of not attaining the goal becomes a reality due to unforeseen circumstances. The professional growth plan should be comprehensive and include all the small details that, if accounted for, will lead to the grander objective. I liken this to a mosaic. From a distance, a mosaic appears as one solid image, but as you look closer it can be seen that many smaller pieces make up the bigger picture. In regard to the educational technology goals. If a technology leader sets the goal for all teachers in the district to be proficient at using a certain Learning Management System, such as Canvas, that is the big picture (mosaic). However, the hosting of trainings and professional development for tea...
Read more

Module 14 Reflection: Final Post

Over the course of this semester, I have learned a great deal about how to be an educational technology leader. The biggest takeaway I gained from the course is the importance of creating a strategic plan, while having a missional mindset guide the planning process. In order for strategic plans t be successful, leaders have to be willing to take the time to know their colleagues and team members and work to gain their buy-in. It is necessary to establish a common mission to ground teachers and students in the school to work towards a common overarching goal. Teachers will more likely see the relevance and importance of technology when learning and facilitation are demonstrated in a way that visibly helps the team reach the objectives and goals outlined in their mission. Before all this though,, it necessary for the leader to take the time to get to know the strengths and weaknesses of all team members to be sure the necessary supports are put in place to aid their educational technolog...
Read more