Reflection
When I first decided to go for a Master’s degree, I chose a program that would be beneficial to education, but it didn’t seem like something I would love to do. I decided to change my program to Applied Digital Learning and a couple days later, I was taking my first two classes. I was nervous becuase I didn't really have time to process and read before my classes began, but I was excited none the less.
EDLD 5305 (Disruptive Innovation) taught me how important it is to create a learning environment that allows students to have the opportunity to choose how they learn and use their voice. EDLD 5303 (Applying Educational Technology) allowed me to understand what my students would be feeling while trying to create something that is authentic. I thought that as a dance teacher, I would feel comfortable with the assignments and learning style, but I was very wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed both courses, but I was definitely pushed past my comfort zone each week. Now that I am at the end, I realize that each of those emotions were necessary, and I do feel like I have grown.
What I did appreciate by taking both EDLD 5305 and EDLD 5303 is that I was able to work on both courses simultaneously. Most of the assignments and projects seemed to align with one another which allowed me to practice both daily. What was difficult about taking both courses at the same time were conflicts with daily life. I am a dance director that was responsible for drill team summer camp, I taught summer school, and each of my children had all of their activities. It was a lot to juggle, but I did it!
What I will try to improve on moving forward in this program, is my participation in collaborative groups and asking questions during class. The introvert in me and my stress levels definitely kept me from being as active as I could be. I would also try and develop a schedule for myself to keep me on track and help balance my school, career, and personal life better.
I had the same group for both EDLD 5303 and EDLD 5305. The group consisted of, Lindsay Kruger, Ashley Kennedy, Mikeela Pittman, Mikeela Mask and Robyn Payne. I responded to a post made by Ashley searching for group members. She reached out to me via e-mail and informed me of collaboration meetings. Mikeela also reached out to me via email after seeing my post, and I asked Ashley if the group had room for her also. We had Zoom meetings every Friday. I attended the meetings as best as my schedule would allow. If I wasn’t able to attend I would text our group chat for anything missed. I would regularly text Robyn and we would discuss our assignments. We met with Dr. H one Friday afternoon to gain clarity on our literature review assignment. I was a little skeptical about having to join a collaborative group. Again, I am introverted. Now that we are at the end of the courses, I feel very lucky and thankful for the group I was a part of. Many of them navigated through the assignments with ease and definitely helped me feel comfortable. They provided feedforward suggestions that helped me make sense of each assignment. Robyn and I would also review each other's assignments and provide help frequently. Hillary created a collaboration document which was a place for all of our assignments such as the innovation plan and literature review. This made it easier to see each of our work and provide feedforward. There was also a collaborative document for our literature review information.
Assignments and deadlines
I did complete readings, videos and utilized the resources provided. With the discussion posts, I took notes and responded on a Google document, but failed to remember to paste them on the actual post! I did go back and paste my responses. I appreciate Dr. H giving me opportunities to better my grades after receiving feedback. Blogging is something that I do believe I can enjoy; I tried my best to write weekly. As far as meeting deadlines and revising work, If there was a time that I knew I may need more time I reached out to Dr. H or Mr. Creighton. For EDLD 5303, I was always able to submit my assignments prior to the deadline. EDLD 5303 was very enjoyable for me, and I look forward to growing and becoming stronger at allowing myself to use my creativity. I liked having check-in assignments that consisted of us linking to specific pages on out e-portfolio. This helped me to stay on track with creating different pages, such as "about me" and posts. I was able to receive my feedforward and apply changes to my e-portfolio before submitting for a grade. I look forward to sharing my experiences with my students and allowing them to freely create also.
Grade
Reflecting back on my efforts in both of these classes, I am proud of myself. I know that there is always room for improvement, but that’s why I am here – to learn and to grow. For EDLD 5303 I believe I earned a 95 out of 100, and for EDLD 5305, 42/50.
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