That’s all, folks!
Well, this is it…the last blog post for EC&I 834!
I couldn’t be happier that this, my first ed. tech. course, was my third class of my program – I learned so many things that I know will be helpful to me throughout the rest of my program (and, of course, in my classroom).
I won’t bore you with restating everything my summary of learning video explains, but rather I’ll philosophically expand on it…
Going into this class, I knew I was about to greatly expand my tech-in-class horizons and I was really excited about that, but I told myself to learn a few (of the many) tools well and it will serve me well. That and my take on a piece of advice from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: DON’T GET OVERWHELMED. My little mantras paid off. It truly can be overwhelming to think of all the ways to enhance blended or online learning and to doubt that I’m doing enough in my classes. So, with each week’s class, I identified resources that best aligned with the courses I teach and focused a little bit more closely on those. In the end, I found a great handful of tools that I felt would be beneficial for my classroom and I leaned into them as the guilt/programming to not rely of the creations of others dissipated and I focused on choosing the right media for each module (8.6), even if that meant learning to and creating it myself.
Additionally, each week’s class was a new focus I never knew I needed. From learning what an LMS is, to being introduced to new tools, to OER’s, to video creation and purpose, there was always a majorly beneficial aspect to each class. I’m also glad we didn’t exhaust any of the topics or tools because that left room for curiosity and led me to further that professional development for myself in certain areas. I have a passion for planning and innovating, and a new branch of that passion sprouted and grew immensely throughout this semester, so the motivation came easy to do the hard work of learning more to do better.
I always start each semester off by telling my students that despite them all being in the same classroom, every single one of them is going to experience my class differently for a variety of reasons (personal background/experiences, what content lands with them, what doesn’t land with them, etc.). Now, at the end of our course, I can’t wait to read the blog posts of summaries of learning to see how each of us experienced this course a little bit differently from one another. The four teachers I learned from in this course, Katia, other participants of this course, course readings/articles, and myself, all added to my positive personal experience in EC&I 834 and professional growth over the past 13 weeks.
Enjoy my summary of learning video and feel free to comment on anything you deem noteworthy or related to!
Summary of learning video:
Transcript of video made with youtubetranscript.com
About The Author
Your approach to learning a few tools well and not getting overwhelmed is a great way to approach the task of enhancing blended or online learning. It can be easy to feel like you’re not doing enough or not using enough tools, but by focusing on a few key resources that best align with your courses, you’ve been able to identify and prioritize the ones that will be most beneficial for your students.
I love your reference to The Hitchhiker’s Guide and the importance of not getting overwhelmed. It’s a great reminder to take things one step at a time and not let ourselves become paralyzed by the abundance of options available to us.
It’s also great to hear that you’ve become more comfortable with relying on the creations of others, while also recognizing the value of choosing the right media for each module, even if that means creating it yourself. This balance is key to creating an effective and engaging learning experience for your students.
Keep up the great work, and I’m sure your students will benefit greatly from your dedication to enhancing their learning through technology.
Hi Jacquie! This class was my 5th Ed tech class and I would highly recommend taking all of them if you can! You will continue to use your blog and keep adding to it over the course of your masters. Then you will have a beautiful collection of artifacts from your ed. tech classes. I learnt so much throughout these classes and they were definitely an asset for my other classes especially when it came to creating digital projects. It also helped me a lot in applying for the connected ed program through rcsd as well. I really liked your summary of learning and how you brought everything together. The theme of it was super fun and I liked how natural you were when speaking. Which video recording platform did you use? I hope that you enjoy the rest of your mat leave!
Your strategy of mastering a small number of tools thoroughly while avoiding overwhelm is a terrific way to go about improving blended or online learning. I like the the way you explained LMS and OER. i also like to add here my point of view on this, LMS is essentially a tool for the production, management, and dissemination of any form of learning content. The current generation of LMS provides a superb learning experience on mobile phones and tablet devices as the focus changes to “anywhere, anytime learning.”
Be careful to thoroughly research the build vs. buy decision before thinking about developing your own LMS. Because there are so many SaaS LMS programmer available, creating your own is typically not the most economical option to acquire what you need.
I love your approach to teaching your students, developing classroom community, and your own personal mantras! I can relate so much to all of those, and would love to be a part of your classroom. Can we do an exchange? HAHA! The overwhelmed part of resources, tools, teaching, grading, any and all of it is so true. But, also can happen so easily in the ELA classroom too. There can be so much reading and grading and it can cause burnout and that overwhelmed feeling (she types as she is not completing her report cards marks). I like how you have created a balance in your classroom, and this is something that I will take as advice for my own classroom going forward. Awesome!
Great job Jacquie! I think maybe you should start making your own TikToks on navigating and creating Canva videos. I couldn’t agree more, “I always start each semester off by telling my students that despite them all being in the same classroom, every single one of them is going to experience my class differently for a variety of reasons…” In my opinion that’s one of the best things about being a teacher, the different connections and relationships we can build with students and the school community. Good luck in the rest of your courses! I enjoyed listening to your insights this semester.