Final Reflective Post

Textbook

• Overall I thought the textbook (Transforming Learning with New Technologies) was pretty helpful and always relevant to what we were learning that week. Of course, reading out of a textbook as your main source of information isn't always fun, but especially in an online class, it is kind of a necessity. This textbook was easy to read and understand so it made it better.

Discussions

• The discussions were a good contribution to the class. Everyone was able to get involved and interact with each other. You were able to hear other students' point of view on the topics. Sometimes more people are able to get involved in a discussion forum than in a class discussion because there is not really a time issue and students don't have to be afraid of speaking up in class.

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• We were lucky this semester because I found everyone's discussion posts to always be relevant and insightful.

Activities and Assignments

• The activities and assignments given throughout this class were all very clearly explained and enhanced the lesson. Each one provided us with a different and unique way to incorporate new technology online tools.

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• One of my favorites was probably the WebQuest. We were able to do it on whatever topic we wanted and make it as if we were an actual teacher. I did mine on holidays around the world and might even consider using it in my classroom one day.

Technology Tools

• Coming into this class I had no idea just how many online tools there were and how much you could use them in the classroom. It is also extremely helpful when dealing with students with special needs or ELL learners. One of my favorite tools is probably Delicious. I have already used it outside of this class to bookmark all of my website resources for a research paper.

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• We also learned so many different ways to present information to students in a more exciting, easy to look at way. A couple of my favorites were Prezi and Haiku Deck which is why I thought it was appropriate to use Haiku Deck for my final reflective post.

Critique

• Honestly, there really isn't much I would change abut this course. If I did have to change one thing I would just say, if there are multiple assignments in a week, I would make them due on different days. I think procrastination may have gotten the best of some of us and were left doing multiple assignments all on Sunday. Other than that, I learned a lot and had a good semester. Thank you Prof. Coleman.

Advice for Future Students

• I would definitely recommend this course and professor to any aspiring teachers. You will be given so much knowledge regarding online tools in the classroom it is unbelievable. The one tip I have is stay on top of things. In an online course it is easy to say, "oh I'll do it tomorrow" but make sure you set aside some time throughout the week and aren't left scrambling at 11pm on Sunday night. Good luck!

Resources

• Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
• Burke, M (December, 10, 2015) Final Reflection. Presentation created with Haiku Deck: www.haikudeck.com