CEP811: Personal Learning Reflection

Years ago, a futurist predicted we would have smell-o-vision as an added feature on our home television.  Well, there is no hurry to crowd near the TV while Paula Deen is deep frying Southern fried chicken.  I would, instead, advise everyone to grab every moment to try out tools and applications that are pouring down from the internet clouds.  With technology tools galore, the internet is a learner’s delight!

The class, CEP 810, has taught me the following effective teaching strategies by integrating technology in my courses:

• Using online communication, collaboration, and productivity applications - I now appreciate the advantages of Google docs and Zoho Writer.  Skype is no longer used just to talk with my family in the Philippines.  I have realized that it is a useful tool to connect with classmates and teachers.
• Participating in discussion posts is another valuable means of communication especially when I would like to correspond with my classmates. The posts from the class were very informative and helpful and I don’t need to be present at the same time they leave their messages.
• Joining online communities like Macul, Thinkfinity, and Classroom 2.0 - Being a member in a group with the same interest and expertise benefits me by being able to receive and share great information and tips on teaching with technology.
• Creating media-rich presentations with Prezi, and Google Presentation.  Incorporating multimedia elements to the presentation like YouTube videos, and creative tools like Glogster, Andrea Mosaic , Aviary, and Xtranormal (animation)  for visual enhancements.
• Understanding copyright issues and observing the best practices in fair use in media - Before I enrolled in this class, I never knew anything about Creative Commons.  I now support this concept and I have been using this at work.
• Supporting the awareness in digital citizenship - This is a widespread and a crucial issue especially when we teach our students on how to be responsible and be accountable to whatever information we share though the internet.
• Creating, publishing, and maintaining a personal blog for educational purpose.  I have created and disabled a couple of blogs before because I was unsure of what to incorporate and how to make it useful.
• Social networking using Twitter, Ning, Facebook, and LinkedIn - Social media have opened up the opportunity of interaction among internet users.   This technology has a great potential to be used in exchanging educational information with the global audience.
• Social bookmarking like Diigo and Delicious can be a beneficial tool as I research, create, manage, and share my library of resources for learning and teaching.  I will definitely encourage my students to use this tool.
• Use of web-based course management system like Angel and all its elements where I can clearly track my performance, take my course sessions, join discussion posts, and communicate with my classmates and teachers.

The internet has been my major means of finding resources for my school and work projects.  It's easy for anybody to put anything on the internet which may make a resource not reliable for teaching or learning use.  But the ease and the accessibility of the Internet also allow me to test and evaluate its relevance, purpose, and its currency.  The comments and reviews from other users who have tested a technology are readily available in the Internet.  These feedbacks can influence me in ensuring that the technology tools, sites, or resources are from reputable developers and are reliable for teaching and/or learning.

The special interest group (SIG) project summed up the strategies and skills needed for good teaching with technology.  The proposal enabled me to think critically as my team came up with ideas on how computer science and engineering can be applied to solve practical problems.  This activity called for teamwork and collaboration among the members.  I used Skype to communicate with my team members and Google docs to share ideas.  The team’s annotated resources gathered for the SIG enabled us to apply research skills to find and evaluate the relevancy of websites and technology. The SIG presentation brought out our creativity, innovation, and openness to try out new tools to bring life to our project.

As I look back at my Personal Growth Plan, I realized the goals I listed have been met.  At work, I took the initiative to research and evaluate online training and assessments products like Skills Assessment Manager/Training Online Manager (SAM/TOM), SNAP, Custom Guide, eLab, and SimNet.  These products support online/hybrid learning for MS Office applications.  Currently, our school is now using SimNet because of my recommendations.

I have introduced to some of my students the use of Wordle and Andrea Mosaic for creativity and Zoho  as a productivity tool.  A couple of weeks ago, I proposed and demonstrated to three of my colleagues the use of Google Spreadsheet for a grant project.  They need to share and collaborate important reports with other project members who are not from our school.   I have been given an opportunity to moderate our school’s social media like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook which have been created in the past few months to communicate with students and other people that contribute to the success of adult learning.

Another goal met was increasing my skills in using technology by meeting all the course objectives and requirements listed in the course's roadmap;  working  well with my team;  positively contributing to the class (I hope), and enjoying  the learning experience. 

Dr. Plair, one of my teachers, commented in my Personal Growth Plan that at first glance this seems to be a daunting and complex plan of action. However, with my background she is sure I’ll pull it off with great ease.  Her believing in me is very inspiring. My teachers and the course have set high expectations which motivated me to work harder to accomplish the goals.  They have supported every student’s success. There was definitely a partnership between learners and teachers -  as  we, students, committed to achieving  our learning goals, the teachers have dedicated their expertise in teaching us how to integrate technology in learning.

I have to keep focusing on incorporating technology tools in my teaching every time I get an opportunity. It will be an unending commitment for me to continue in keeping myself current with how to effectively teach through technology.  I should also constantly keep in contact with my growing personal learning network. It will be few more years to complete the MAET program, but CEP 810 has already paved the way for me to keep my dedication to stay as an active learner in the program.

This class has been an enjoyable and personal journey of growth and discovery!