EDLD 5306 Reflection

This course is really my first introduction into teaching and educational technology as a whole. Before starting this degree I even though I have worked in the school district for over 6 years, I have very little to do with the daily “educational” part of the school and district. When doing a self-assessment I found that I really had little knowledge of the main reason that the school is here, to educate the youth. In the past I have viewed the school as a business and treat it as such. I don’t feel that my classes will fully change my view of this, but I do feel that they will give me a greater understanding and help me be a better employee, as this class and assignment have. One of the primary things that I have learned from this class is a greater understanding of the Long Term Technology Plan and the STaR chart. The class did give me a greater, and much needed, insight into these documents and has opened up my eyes to a wide array of other areas that I had not thought about before, such as creating a fully interactive classroom.

My approach to this assignment was straight forward and simple, find out how to present the STaR chart information to beginning teachers. This was complicated for me in that the only real exposure that I had before this class to the STaR chart was hearing the name. While at the beginning I was apprehensive about how I would be able to accomplish this, I found it much easier than I initially thought. One of the greatest resources that I had for this assignment was the technology director who, as with most of the classes, took time to explain and elaborate on any questions that I had.

I feel that understanding the information in the STaR chart, especially to the ability to teach it to others, will become an essential part of my job in the future regardless of my position in the school system. If I become a technology director it will be an integral part of information that I will be able to use to mold the district and/or school to align with the Long Term Technology Plan, and if I remain in Information Technology it will allow me to ensure that the technology is in place in the schools so that teachers can fully utilize current technology. Speaking about these items with the technology coordinator and superintendent has shown them that I am willing to put in the extra work and understanding for the district and has allowed me to play a greater part in areas that I have historically not been included in. One of the things that I would like to have a greater understanding about is the Long Term Technology Plan. Understanding this document can only come with time and research, but I feel over time I will be able to use this document in every aspect of my current and future jobs in the school system.