Learned+about+Myself,+Technology,+Leadership+Skills,+and+Attitude


 * [[file:04 Self-Discovery, Technology & Leadership Skills, Attitude McDaniels.doc]]

Self-Discovery** While completing the master’s program of Educational Technology Leadership, I have come to realize that I enjoy learning on a much deeper level than I did as a younger student. In other words, I have learned to value the knowledge gained through each assignment, and the experience of implementing and sharing this knowledge with others, as opposed to rushing through tasks, simply for the purpose of completion. I feel that the program has been quite challenging in itself. In addition to the rigorous coursework, I have experienced a number of personal setbacks throughout the eighteen-month program. During this time, I have dealt with life changing experiences, such as the devastating effects of identity theft, the pleasant but stressful purchase of a new home, and the responsibility of family members with severe health problems, among other things. Although it has been difficult to manage all of these factors on top a very time consuming career as an educator, I have learned that I am capable of accomplishing more than I sometimes think is possible. The benefits of effective time management and the gratifying results of hard work have been important motivators throughout the program. The pleasure of learning about new tools and technologies, in addition to the possibilities and benefits of collaboration, has helped me persevere when I seemed to lose momentum. I believe that the knowledge I have gained throughout the program has been invaluable to my personal growth and development as an educator. As a result of this experience, I have become more aware of the “big picture” of the entire field of education. Although I had already learned a great deal through personal experiences as a veteran teacher of sixteen years, this program has allowed me to become more aware of the tools and knowledge that will prepare me to pursue a career as a leader in the field of education.

**Technology and Leadership Skills** In regard to technology skills, I am pleased to say that I have learned far more than I expected to learn. Although I previously considered myself to be somewhat advanced in the field of technology, I have since come to realize that my advanced skill level was limited to a narrow spectrum of technology tools. Before completing all of the courses in the program, I had not developed skills in tools and applications outside the area of digital media editing and production. As a result of the program, however, I have become increasingly familiar with more advanced features of powerful applications such as, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Pages, Inspiration, and Audacity. I feel that the master’s program called for participants to rely on a variety of applications and tools to ensure the development of a broad and diverse set of technology skills. For example, I learned a great deal about spreadsheets, desktop publishing, and visual learning tools. Furthermore, I feel like I expanded on my knowledge of media production tools to include an advanced level of familiarity with tools outside my previous knowledge base. To be specific, I learned how to create similar multimedia productions, using software applications with which I was previously very inexperienced. I feel that the assignments throughout the program forced me to go outside my comfort zone to learn alternate methods of accomplishing things I already knew how to do. I feel that this was an important part of my educational experience, since it is often advantageous to be capable of accomplishing a task using various means and methods. This is sometimes necessary, due to software limitations or inabilities. For example, I have relied on iMovie to create a number of multimedia projects, without much range in the possibilities of including text. This problem resulted as a factor of iMovie’s limitations in adding text. However, this was an important obstacle I learned to overcome when I was required to use PowerPoint in the creation of a technology plan in Information Systems Management. This is merely one example. By and large, each course called for me to implement technology tools in such a way that I grew and developed my skills to a more advanced level. At times, it was frustrating, as learning something new can be; however, I feel that most of the frustration was due to time constraints and pressure to complete in-depth tasks with an already overwhelming workload upon me. In the end, I do feel this pressure has made me stronger and prepared me to exceed very high expectations of others, as well as myself. Ultimately, I feel the challenging experiences will make me a very strong leader with a diverse set of technology skills and knowledge.

As far as leadership skills, I am certain that the completion of this program has taken me to a new level in education. As I near the end of the internship, I feel a sense of excitement and confidence about sharing the information I have learned with others on my campus and in my district. At this time last year, I could not visualize myself conducting a professional development session at even a campus level, much less, a district level. I suppose much of this can be attributed to the fact that my knowledge base on school leadership was very limited. Through courses such as, Leadership for Accountability, Curriculum Management, and School Law, I have become more aware of the role of leaders and administrations in the field of education.

**Personal Attitudes** I feel very lucky to be part of a school district that requires teachers to pursue a master’s degree within the first ten years of employment with the district. My first thirteen years of experience in education were with another district that did not value the benefit of professional development as highly as the current district for which I work. I suppose my attitude was somewhat aligned with the previous district prior to this experience. As a result of this master’s program, however, that attitude has definitely changed. Previously, I did not see the significance of pursuing a master’s degree. Yet, I have been very surprised to realize the effect that post-graduate studies have had on my educational abilities and views. Although experience alone is a valuable teacher, I have now come to believe that it is quite important for individuals, especially educators, to practice life long learning in order to stay abreast of the most recent practices and research developments in education, technology, and specific academic content areas.

Another important change in my personal attitude is specifically related to collaborative work. Prior my enrollment in this program, I was more favorable of working independently. Nevertheless, through my exposure to many new and effective collaborative technology tools, such as the Web 2.0 tools comprising the Google suite, my opinion about working collaboratively has changed dramatically. I have come to realize that educators often face tremendous tasks and workloads that are more easily accomplished with the help of others. Thus, I have come to embrace collaboration not only in working with colleagues, but implementing this concept in the classroom with students, as well. I feel that this has been an important change in my attitude since it is obvious that far more can be accomplished when individuals are working together to achieve a common goal. Not to mention the fact that we enjoy learning and working together, which makes the benefit of collaboration even better.