This has been a great summer of learning! The EDTECH 501 course
really helped me to formulate my understanding of educational technology and it
allowed me to research tech tools and trends that would make an impact in
either my own class or the class of a colleague.
The main challenge presented in this course was simply
finding the time and place to complete the coursework required. I moved from
Okinawa, Japan to Tacoma, Washington at the beginning of the semester and have
been living, with my family, in my parent’s home. This coupled with an active
search for employment and a domicile, has made completing course assessment
difficult. To manage this challenge, I employed a strategy that Chris presented
early in the course; that being to dedicate a specific location and time period
for completing coursework. I found that the only way to have a quite spot for
study, in our crowded-to-capacity home, was to wake early.
Of the artifacts created in the course, I would have to say
that my Tech Trends artifact was the best. I feel that not only was the content
relevant, but my presentation of the content was visually appealing and sought
to provide an objective overview of technology tools that could be employed to
add video logs in the classroom to foster discussion and collaboration. I
enjoyed creating the artifact as it made me think about technology problem and
solution from the perspective of an Educational Technologist, advising on the
technologies to be employed by the whole organization, rather than a teacher.
The whole EDTECH 501 experience was enjoyable, from the content
presented, to the artifacts created, to the discussions had with my small group
members. I would have to say the one thing that I am sure to use as a result of
this course would be the incorporation of Google+ in my classroom to foster
student engagement and collaboration.
~Rachel
