Course-Embedded+Reflections+EDLD+5364

**__Self–Assessment __**
 * Course-Embedded Assignment Reflection for EDLD 5364 ****﻿ **

My first thoughts once I saw the title of the course was that I would be taught to teach others with technology. I was excited about the possibility of learning how to teach the teacher in implementing technology into the classroom. This course was very inspiring and educational and I was taught more than I envisioned because of all the tools that were introduced within this class. I have accumulated a lot of knowledge based upon the YouTube videos, lectures, and readings. The majority of the lessons were based upon the Constructivism theory in the classroom. I agree that this style of teaching is for the students of this generation. This is Generation Y and they are multi-tasking people who need and deserve multiple ways, tools, resources, experiences and contexts of learning. They are technologically savvy and mostly self taught. They bore easily so in order to get their attention and maintain it, we must teach them creatively. Today’s students know that they are tech-savvy and report that their schools are not. Schools are still more text-dominated and do not integrate technology into student learning effectively (Solomon and Schrum, 2007, p. 31). Technology is the key to teaching and learning in today’s society. It must be used in the classroom because students are using it, continuously, out of the classroom. Social networking should be used with supervision, but, it’s a great tool that possesses the capacity to teach our students life skills. There are always problems when dealing with people within social networking but the benefits far outweigh the problems.

Technology is paramount to teaching and learning. We must use technology in every aspect of teaching Generation Y and generations to come. Of course, this is easily said than done. We still have districts that have not come to this same conclusion. We, (technology leadership), have to create an environment that will ease the minds of our district leadership. We must determine ways to implement web 2.0 tools into our schools so that our students will have a competitive edge. As I see it, schools have two choices: to ban any form of online communication that might present a potential danger, or to teach appropriate and ethical use of the technology. It is my opinion that schools should be proactive rather than reactive in this area, which is why I advocate for the second choice. My district has a powerful firewall on the district’s server that will not allow anyone, (teachers or students), access to YouTube, Facebook, or other educational websites. I do agree that there are inappropriate things to consider, but, with the proper supervision and technology safety education, there should be minor issues. YouTube has tons of educational videos and we could upload our own videos for the students to view at home. My class recently completed a Public Service Announcement (PSA) video and could not upload because of the firewall. They wanted to work on it from home and could not upload because without YouTube it was impossible to upload onto the class wiki. I spoke with the technology department and they just stated that giving access to these web sites would cause too many problems with viruses. They are actually doing our students a disservice by denying them access to these web sites. The PSA was saved to the laptop and is used to inform educators and parents what the Leadership Officers’ Training Corps (LOTC) class is all about and the extracurricular activities that are available to students. I enjoyed making this PSA with my students as much as the first time I made one with my college associates. The students were excited about it, although, we did have the issues previously mentioned. The main idea was to teach my students how to increase educators and the community’s knowledge about the LOTC program in order to get more students and parents interested. Working with a group has taught me how to collaborate with others through various means other than the telephone or emails. During group projects I was able to communicate with several people simultaneously without waiting for a response through sources such as email, voicemail, texts, etc. I participated in an oovoo conference call where we were able to brainstorm, set goals and benchmarks. Sometimes video conferencing is the ideal way to gain access to unique expertise, cultures, and locations (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007, p. 57). One of my colleagues who participated on the conference call was on vacation in his home country of Morocco. I was very impressed at that time but since then I have learned and taught my students about video conferencing or video chatting as they call it.
 * __Learn as a Learner __**

**__Lifelong Learning Skills __**

Although nearly all students have access to computer systems and the Internet while at school, the most recent census statistics reveal inequitable access at home. Nearly 70% of White (Non-Hispanic) and Asian-American children have both computers and Internet access at home, while fewer than 40% of American Indian, Hispanic, and African-American children have both computers and Internet access at home (Becker, 2000, p.166). This is an unfortunate truth that needs an immediate solution. It is very simple; the need for change is to be prepared for the 21st century which is here. Technology is here to stay and it is an integral part of our daily life. We must embrace technology and encourage our students to do so, as well, to become a competitive society. Educators, Administrators, Parents, and Board/Community Members must all be prepared to excel in technology so that our children will excel as well. Implement technology based curricula in the classrooms, professional development access 24/7, and our students should have access to digital tools anytime and anywhere to include at home. Educating parents, in my opinion, would assist with encouraging them to purchase computers for the home, if affordable. The parents may not understand the immediate need because of how they were raised and the fear of Internet danger. My school has just taken a huge step in solving this problem by contracting with a company that gave about 60 of our students Acer Aspire One Netbooks. The students must complete 40 hours of online tutorials which, in return, the student will be given ownership of the netbook. This is definitely beginning in solving the problem.

**References ** Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). //Web 2.0: New tools, new schools.// Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education. P31 & P166 Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works//. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. P57 = Course Embedded Assignments =