Here we are! I cannot believe that I have reached the finish line. Looking back to just over a year ago, I would have never thought that I would be here today. It is such an amazing feeling to accomplish a goal like completing or conquering something you never thought you would be able to do. I hope that I can instill the drive, passion, and determination into my own children and students.
The past 8-weeks have flown by and have been very insightful. In 5320 (Capstone Course), we have been tasked with reflection. We have reflected and synthesized our journey throughout the Applied Digital Learning program. When completing these reflections I was able to take in the full extent of the learning and put all the pieces together of this program. The learning through doing approach really allowed me to put in the work so that I could truly learn deeper than ever before.
In 5320 we also participated in collaborative discussions which showed me that I was not alone in my thinking of this program. Everyone who is in this course seems to also have the same reaction when reflecting on their journey. I know that my group members (Samantha, Mistee, & Tosha) and I also have reflected through group messaging and they have all expressed the same sentiments. I will forever be grateful for this program, it's professors, and Lamar University.
In 5318, I thoroughly enjoyed making a professional learning course from scratch. This was probably my favorite course out of the whole program as this is the stuff I want to do. Obviously, I have a love for digital learning or I would not be in this program so online course making was right up my alley. I feel like I was able to fully indulge in this project with enthusiasm and even enjoyed making the videos highlighting the creation and design process. I also enjoyed reading about and getting ideas from my peers in the discussion posts. My group member, Samantha and I enjoyed collaborating and bouncing ideas off of each other for our course and videos.
As previously mentioned the learning through doing approach was greatly beneficial for me as a learner and showed me exactly what I can do to provide that same learning to my students, whether it be children or adults. The sit-and-get approach is out the door and we now know that the best way for an individual to truly understand is by giving them COVA, choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities. This approach further inspired me to implement my innovation project of implementing PBL into my classroom. Now that I have the tools that this program has taught me, I feel confident that this is the best learning model for my students as it entails every piece of COVA in the process.
I also found a passion of blogging throughout this program. To have a place to share my work, thoughts, passions, and just professional journey allows me to express myself and be truly authentic. Coming in I did not think I would find as much enjoyment out of it as I do. I had no idea how to blog or what to blog about. Now I cannot wait to pilot e-portfolios out in my 4th grade class next year. I have just recently received notice that I will be 4th grade self-contained next year and this makes me so excited because we will be able to use our e-portfolios to the fullest extent, in every subject. In my summative conference last week I shared my plans with my administrator and she was just excited about this as I am. I think that e-portfolios will be beneficial to my learners in many areas but I cannot wait to see the development throughout the year in their writing.
However, one thing that I know I could have been better at in this journey was how frequently I posted on my e-portfolio. Unfortunately, I do not have enough time in the day many days to post and when I finally get home and complete all the mom duties, I am exhausted. I need to set a block of time, even if just 10-15 minutes out of the day a few times a week to update my e-portfolio on things going on in my classroom, such as the project based learning projects we have going on in my classroom at the moment. I believe that if I set a time to do this, I could make sure that I do not lose my passion for blogging and keeping up with my e-portfolio.
In both of these courses I have made great strides to collaborate and provide feedforward to my peers and group members, completed all assignments & discussions in a fashionable manner and completed all readings, videos, & supporting resources. I have also went back and revised most of my assignments based on the helpful feedback I received. Based on these factors I would give myself a score of 95 to allow for room for growth.
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