Final Reflection of my DLL Journey

I have enjoyed my DLL journey more than I could have imagined. Going back to school after taking a 12 year break is something I am very proud of. I joined the DLL program in August of 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, right before teaching in a hybrid setting. I have felt tired, stressed, and overwhelmed. I have also felt supported, encouraged, invigorated, and successful. It feels bittersweet to be here at this moment because it feels like the end yet the learning never ends. Working with my peers and collaborating has pushed my learning and it is something I want to continue to do in my classroom. I will miss the collaborating the most but thankful I can still do it with my team at work.

5305-Disruptive Innovation

My first class was Disruptive Innovation with Dr. Harapnuik. This class put me on a path that has changed me as a person and as an educator. Trying to decide on a proposal was a challenge, but blended learning seemed like the way to go because of what was happening in our classrooms during that time. I realized blended learning would be a great way to close achievement gaps and provide differentiated instruction to our kindergarten students. Our students have handled and adjusted to our new way of learning, why not give blended learning a chance? I realized blended learning could be done in my classroom and I could do the research to further the innovation.

5302-Concepts of Ed Tech

After creating an innovation, Concepts of Ed Tech course helped me further my understanding of the growth mindset. In this course, I also created my ePortfolio. When I added anything to my ePortfolio, I immediately shared it with close friends and family. I felt so proud of my work and my ePortfolio. This was something that intimidated me, so I really deliberated which site to use. I ended up using Wix and I love adding to it and making it more mine. My best friend is constantly telling me how she wished her programs had pushed her to put all her work in an ePortfolio. I remember some of the feedback I got was to make it more personal, add pictures of myself to further engage my audience.

5303-Applying Educ Tech: Portfolio

After creating my ePortfolio, my next class was Applying Educational Technology: ePortfolio. I had never heard the term eportfolio until I started my DLL journey at Lamar University this in August of 2020. My first course, Disruptive Innovation, introduced me to the idea of creating an eportfolio. Feeling intimidating and unsure which website to utilize, I held off as long as possible. I suppose I still was processing and understanding the meaning behind having an eportfolio. According to Dr. Harapnuik (2019), the eportfolio is defined as “a learner’s digital evidence of meaningful connections.” The more I progressed in this program the more I saw the benefits of having an eportfolio. I got to have a place to store my assignments and my thoughts, and also share the meaningful connections I’ve made along the way, i loved the collaboration and sharing of the ePortfolio.

5304-Leading Organization Change

My next class was Leading Organization Change. We began this course by identifying our why. For me, my why is that I want to make a difference. I want to see progress, even if it’s a tiny step. My why becomes the reason why I continue to teach and to want to evolve along with our students. Influencer Goals details how changing vital behaviors can bring tremendous change to an organization. At our school, we will be able to bring change in how our students learn and how our teachers deliver instruction. The goal being, lifelong learners. In this course we learned about crucial conversations, tweaking behaviors, and executing our changes. With the 4 disciplines of execution, we need to focus on one or two goals, act on lead measures, create a compelling scoreboard, and be accountable. You can read more about the 4 disciplines of execution (4DX) here. Using the four disciplines will help keep us focused and get to the finish line.

5313-Create Significant Learning Environment

In this class we learned how to create significant learning environments. We explored using different approaches such as Fink's 3 Column Table and the UbD template in order to create an environment where our students can take ownership of their learning. Using these approaches were useful, in order for our innovation plans to progress smoothly. In my case, wanting to bring blended learning to kindergarten. With the 3 Column Table and the UbD, my focus was to create opportunities for students to learn how to use grade appropriate games and apps in order to maximize our use of iPads. They get to choose games and apps that will help close achievement gaps or enrich their learning.

5314-Global Contexts

As we moved along the DLL program, we had to stop and reassess our innovation plans and apply new things we have learned along the way. No innovation plan is perfect, but we made changes that will make our chances for success increase. In Global Contexts, we created a video and updated our literature review to help with our innovation plan. We studied different case studies and learned what worked and didn’t for others who implemented before, I saw things that needed to be changed or added.

5315-Measurement

Action research, like blended learning, is something I had never heard of, yet they are both something we have been doing to a certain extent. Action research has 4 components: planning, acting, developing, and reflecting. In this class we wrote our 3rd literature review. We narrowed the research and I focused on reading achievement through the use of blended learning in kindergarten. It was a bit frustrating because there isn't a lot of research out there on the topic, but I was able to find articles and ones that were published recently too. It was nice to find current information and I hope that means more research is coming on blended learning and reading achievement.

5318-Instructional Design

As intimidating as it was to even phantom the idea of creating a course, I did it in 5318! I was really overwhelmed and could not wrap my head around the idea of making my own course. The fact that I had a UbD plan really helped me and gave me the confidence to move forward. I take away the importance of looking at your audience and making sure it is appropriate and useful. I did have to scrap my first choice of LMS and really stick to what is going to help my students learn and grow at their own pace, through Seesaw. Taking a step back, realizing you can change something to better fit the needs of your students is important moving forward.

5389-PD Planning

In 5389, we created a PD course we would find beneficial for our school and our innovation. My BHAG: upon completion of professional learning based on the 5 Principles of Effective Professional Development, teachers will be able to effectively implement blended learning in kindergarten to differentiate learning.

5317-Resources for Digital Environments

The use of media is powerful, especially when engaging the audience. In 5317 I created a media pitch. I tried to convince the audience of how blended learning can help kindergarten teachers. I also wrote an article for Edutopia that highlights 3 apps that help differentiate in kindergarten. It was exciting to write an article and have it published, especially since articles for the younger grades are needed.

5316-Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship was one of the hardest classes in the program. The information we learned was interesting and relevant, but it was a lot of information all at once. I learned a lot in such a small amount of time. I had a great group of peers in this course that were always helping out and sending information on our Slack channel. Digital citizenship was a term I was familiar with, but now I feel like I have a better grasp on the term and everything it encompasses. From defining digital citizenship, to learning about digital footprint, copyright, and cyberbullying, I have expanded on my knowledge and will continue to learn and grow for my students. I hope to be able to help my peers, students, and daughter with all things digital citizenship in the future.

5320-Capstone

The final class in the DLL program has been all about reflecting on the journey. I still cannot believe how much I have learned, gained, grown, and changed. I no longer see learning in school or professional development as simply sit and get situations. Learning through COVA and CSLE thought the program has made me to want to continue to learn and innovate. Reflecting is part of the process and I am forever grateful for this program and the impact it has made on me as a person and as a teacher. I am a lifelong learner.

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Reference

Harapnuik, D. (2019, May). Why use an ePortfolio. It's about the Learning.

http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6063