Topic 20: Final Reflections

I think that there were numerous areas of this course that I found to be beneficial. In the content, I enjoyed learning about the amazing amount of technology that is available to students. I thought that the way that the textbook organized the examples of the software/types of technology into reader friendly tables was very helpful. I gained a lot of knowledge from the chapters. The most beneficial part of the structure of the class was the flexibility that it provides. I think that it was very helpful to have an entire week to work on activities. That way we can work around our already hectic teacher schedules.

I did think that certain parts of the course did inhibit my learning. The textbook is packed with information and vocabulary. It was very difficult to be able to understand all of the technologies that were mentioned, especially when the reference in the book was so short. I think that this was one drawback of the online course versus a face-to-face course where questions could be asked and the terms better defined. While I LOVED the flexibility that the online class offered it did have its drawbacks. It was hard for me to understand the format of Blackboard and navigate to the assignments in the beginning. It is difficult to understand and connect ideas on concepts in the different areas of the Blackboard site. For example, the description of the activity was in the course documents but you have to submit it in the assignments area. Also, the functions operate differently in different parts of the site. When you attach a file to a message or discussion board, it is not the same way that you attach a file in the assignments section. Unfortunately I learned that out from experience.

Even with some of the difficulties I really enjoyed this class. Technology and education are the two things that I am most passionate about. I am very excited to learn about how those two relate and improve the quality of learning for our future generations.