Total+Internship+Experience


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Total Internship Experience** The internship has been a very challenging experience for me. I feel that I would have benefited more from the actual internship course if it spanned the length of the entire program, which would allow participants more time to complete each part. I understand that the program has been revised, which I believe was a necessary change. I feel that all the requirements inherent in the internship have been valuable, and will ultimately lead to an excellent e-portfolio representing my self, my beliefs, my goals, my vision, my accomplishments, and what I have learned. However, it has been extremely difficult to complete the highest quality of work within the time allotted. As previously noted, there has been an overwhelming amount of work, in my opinion, and much of it has been repetitive, thus creating very time-consuming activities, with little additional learning value. Some of these activities, such as the numerous postings of reflections in various places, could have been eliminated, with the same amount of skill and knowledge gained. Specifically, the requirements to reflect and post on certain classes, and then reflect on the assignments within those classes and post, has created some confusion and redundancy on my Wiki, which houses my e-portfolio. Generally speaking, the material and expectations have all been of the highest quality, but I feel the entire program needs to be more clearly organized and well planned in order to eliminate repetition and confusion.

One of the most important classes in this educational experience was the very first course, Concepts of Educational Technology, EDLD 5306. This class was extremely important for me because the information covered helped me gain a broad understanding of educational technology and the different areas this massive topic is divided into for examination. Prior to my enrollment in this course, I felt like the topic of technology in education was so vast and expansive that I did not have a concept of the big picture and how all of the pieces fit together. EDLD 5306 served as an excellent starting point and somewhat of a roadmap to what the entire master’s program would encompass. I was introduced to the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology, which helped me to realize that the field of educational technology is divided into manageable areas, identified as Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation and Development, Administration and Support Services, and Infrastructure for Technology. Once I learned about the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology, and the four major areas addressed in the plan, the field of educational technology began to take shape. Another important concept covered in this course was the introduction of the Technology Applications TEKS. I was surprisingly unfamiliar with this set of knowledge and skills that students must master, and I feel that it will be helpful to reference these TEKS when planning technology lessons in the future. As indicated by Wiggins and McTighe (2005), the backward design process, begins with the end in mind. In order to ensure the creation of lessons that are worthy of understanding, this backward design model is very instrumental. According to these authors, “We are not free to teach any topic we choose by any means. Rather, we are guided by national, state, district or institutional standards that specify what students should know and be able to do” (p. 13). Therefore, these TEKS will be a valuable framework in designing curriculum for technology integration.

Concepts of Educational Technology, EDLD 5306, also provided me with an understanding of the Texas STaR Chart and its significance as a tool in evaluating a school’s technology status and needs. Finally, the introduction to Web 2.0 tools, such as Blogs, Wikis, and Google Docs, was a very important part of this course. These tools will be important in facilitating collaboration in the future, and I have learned that collaboration is necessary if educators are going to accomplish our goals and prepare students for success in the 21st century.

Another course that I found to be particularly useful in my education was EDLD 5363, Multimedia Video Technology. As previously indicated, I have a particular interest in video and multimedia production, but my experience has been limited to a few independent projects, created using the same tools each time, with no need to collaborate and share media files. This course and the requirement to collaboratively complete a PSA taught me many new skills that will be helpful in future collaborative efforts. For example, I did not know how to compress a video file and share it via email. This was not difficult to learn, but it was a task I had never found to be necessary, since I did not work collaboratively. My experience in this course was the beginning of my change in attitude about collaboration. As a result of the requirement to share media files, I learned a lot and began to feel more positive and very enlightened about the concept of collaboration. I was pleased to discover this newly acquired knowledge, and I feel as if it will certainly eliminate some of the time consuming steps of video production, since collaboration has been facilitated through this learning experience. In the beginning of the course, I was simply posting small size video clips to the Wiki or Blog that was created in EDLD 5306. I found this to be somewhat helpful in our collective effort to create a multimedia production, but a little tedious, with unnecessary steps. I was doing my best, at that time, to implement the use of the Web 2.0 tools, such as the previously created Wiki, to share media files. However, through the process of collaboration, I learned from my colleagues that video files could be compressed and emailed to others for editing. This was definitely an important discovery for me, and I have already begun to apply what I learned in this class. In addition, the end result, the PSA, is valuable in itself, as it addresses an important cause. Finally, the PSA serves as an excellent model for other educators and students to reference in completing similar projects. The implementation of this project in the classroom would also serve as an indicator of TF/TL-II.A., which calls for educators to “Design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the diverse needs of learners” (p. 44).

The third course that I found to be particularly valuable to my learning experience was EDLD 5301, Research. Although I did not find this class to be particularly interesting, I did feel that I gained some very important knowledge. To be specific, I became more familiar with the research process. With educators becoming increasingly accountable for the use of effective strategies to ensure student mastery of technology and content TEKS, we must be aware of the significance of research. Research can provide valuable contributions to teachers’ planning processes and instructional methods. I came to realize this through the early readings and assignments in this class. In completing the course work, I learned to locate and implement other researchers’ findings to assist in the creation of effective lessons. I also became familiar with action research, which will allow me to conduct my own research and document the findings to support future technology projects and address forthcoming educational technology issues. Research lends credibility in solving problems and can be a necessary component to any new proposal or program. Therefore, I feel this new knowledge will be instrumental in my career as a technology leader or administrator.

School Law, EDLD 5344, was another very important course in the Master’s of Educational Technology Leadership program. Prior to enrolling in this course, I had sixteen years’ experience in education, so I had become somewhat familiar with the laws regarding education during my career. However, the readings in this course caused me to become more informed on the history and development of legalities in education. I began to understand important changes in legislation and the ensuing issue of accountability. Since I have plans to pursue a position in technology leadership, I believe it is important to be aware of the laws that affect educators on a local, state, and federal level. After completing this course, I feel more confident in my knowledge of students’ rights, teachers’ rights, management issues, and overall school leadership. I feel that leaders should definitely be knowledgeable of laws and legal issues regarding education, so I feel this course was an important part of the program.

With the passing of NCLB, teachers, administrators, and school districts, in general, have become more accountable, which has led to a rise in data-based decision making and specific processes, such as the implementation of site-based decision making committees. The readings and assignments in Leadership for Accountability, EDLD 5333, helped me to understand important aspects of being a leader and the responsibility that accompanies leadership roles in education. For example, in Leadership for Accountability, I learned that campus leaders should begin with the collaborative process of creating a shared vision that is based on goals and objectives. I also became aware of leadership responsibilities in matters such as campus planning and continuous improvement. I came to realize the value in a campus improvement plan and why this plan should be designed around data-based needs assessments, rather than other influencing factors. Although some of the assignments in this course were quite tedious, I became very familiar with reading important reports, such as the AEIS Report, which is an important part of the Texas Accountability System. The assignments called for extensive examination of disaggregated data, such as ethnicity, genders, special education status, and ELL status among other categories. I found it helpful to get a broader perspective on all of the aspects and factors involved in evaluating education at all levels.

Finally, Teaching with Technology, EDLD 5364, was very beneficial to my educational experience. I found the readings in this course to be particularly interesting. I especially enjoyed reading about Constructivism and connectivism, since these theories closely align with my own personal opinions about learning. Additionally, I was somewhat fascinated by the discussion of three brain networks and the specific strategies suggested to address each network. I felt like many of the resources referenced in this course were very useful. To be specific, the CAST website, which thoroughly explained the Universal Design for Learning model, was a very significant tool that I became familiar with in this course. In my opinion, the UDL model is very important because it aids teachers in creating lessons that are effective with all students. This results in an improvement in the use of teachers’ time, since universally designed lessons allow for differences in learning abilities, language barriers, emotional and behavioral issues, and many other differences. Lessons designed according to this model will ultimately save time for teachers since it reduces the likelihood of having to redesign or make time-consuming accommodations due to individual student differences. I also felt like the requirement of creating a UDL and sharing this lesson with group members to produce an academic unit for a specific content area was a valuable experience. In sharing this information and completing these assignments, I was exposed to another valuable collaboration tool, Google Sites. Overall, I feel like some of the most important knowledge gained in the entire master’s program related to EDLD 5364, Teaching with Technology. This opinion results from the broad based nature of the information gained and far-reaching implementation possibilities for tools introduced in this course.

References:

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). //Understanding by design.// Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, p. 13. Williamson, J., & Redish, T. (2009). //ISTE's technology facilitation and leadership standards//. Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education, p. 44.