Learning Journal for My Ed.D. Journey

I'm feeling like the Energizer Bunny - I'm still going!  The Annotated Bibliography is the last assignment for the Research Seminar in Ed-Tech.  At least 30 resources should be summarized for the assignment.  It's the kind of assignment that requires persistence.  The questions that come to mind as I work on this project are: Are we giving students learning experiences and activities that foster perseverance?  Do students get one grade at the end of an assignment or do we provide feedback and encouragement throughout?  Is there a larger audience for their work? Do you discuss student work with individuals, small groups, and whole group? We need to give students reasons to want to improve their work.  How can we do that?  How do you do that now? 

I've been working away on my problems of practice and my annotated bibliography descriptions for EDET 780.  The idea of sticking with a project over a period of weeks is something that I haven't had the luxury of doing for quite some time.  It is helping me ground myself in the role of learner and better see things from the student perspective. These questions have been running around in my mind as I work on these assignments... When we assign work to students, is it meaningful? When we assign homework, is it truly helping students practice or is it more work for their parents to struggle through with their children? Do the students have everything they need to complete the work we give them?  Do we ask the students if that is true? Do we check in regularly to make sure students? When we teach students at a distance, do we utilize collaborative technologies, such as shared documents to stay in touch and guide students through the learning process?

I worked asynchronously for the past 2 - 3 weeks on a small group project to help us define the field of Educational Technology. It was fun working with my groupmates and getting to know them. Using Facebook, a shared Google folder and a Google Document helped keep us on task. We shared reminders, feedback, and a quite a few laughs together. This project helped me better understand the definition of the field based on the research we did, the different perspectives of our group members, and the cohort discussion! Here is our project: https://prezi.com/view/JoBXonbBHaZl7XKqMB4e

I am just beginning my coursework.  I'm working away, reading articles, working on our group project for Unit 2 in EDET 780, and jumping into being a student again after so many years on the teacher side of the desk.  I am having fun with it so far, and enjoying the challenge. It is interesting seeing things from the student point of view firsthand.  I believe educators must put themselves in into their students' shoes periodically, and take credit-bearing classes.  If we're not careful, we sometimes forget what it is truly like to experience having hard deadlines and receiving grades for our work.  We get a glimpse of it when we are observed and evaluated, but it isn't quite the same. The college experience this time around (even though we are just a couple weeks into it) has reminded me to keep the student experience in the forefront of my mind always. If we approach lesson planning with empathy for our students, how might our planning change? ...

I will be using this blog to document my learning as I work my way through the University of South Carolina's Ed.D. program in Curriculum and Instruction--Educational Technology Concentration. Though I have worked for many years in the field of educational technology, I already see that this program will challenge my thinking and help me grow as an educator and instructional coach! I'm looking forward to diving deeper into this program.  I hope visitors to this blog will feel free to comment with questions and offer ideas to encourage my growth.  I am looking forward to the journey!