• What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?

When I heard this was a technology type course I was very excited and ready to learn all about the current ways educators are using technology and how I as an administrator could take it further. I’ve always been somewhat of ahead of the curve and knowledgeable in technology devices and use but the older I get this seems to be changing. Technology is changing faster that I am. This class was not what I expected. It seemed to focus more on the Internet and Web Based information instead of a multitude of different types of technology. Not that this was necessarily a bad thing, just not what I expected. I did learn further about RSS and blogging. Blogging is something that I would like to further explore in more of a professional role versus personal role.

• To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?

Learning about the long term technology plan was something new. This is something our school needs to visit and learn about as we work to modify ours or create a new plan. The hard part of utilizing much of the information learned from this course is the fact that our district has such strict guidelines and restrictions for internet use. If I move districts or my district makes changes then more things would become relevant for what I and teachers do. I enjoyed learning from the articles. There are several that have become a must for my notebook of articles for future reference.

• What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

I did not learn as much about our district technology plan as I would have liked. It was hard to locate and out of date. I got very frustrated during this course as things seemed unclear and confusing. Maybe I was over thinking things as once I let it go and just sat down and started working things fell more into place. I was never able to attend a successful web conference. After 3 attempts I gave up and just read postings from others about the web conferences. During the 4th week my desktop computer crashed and I had to completely change the way I have worked on assignments.

• Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?

After letting go of my initial frustration I completed my assignments. When I first saw the statement “Type your report here” or something similar I was stunned. We had always had a box and format to follow. Now I was free from those constraints and it was a hard to let go. I felt I needed those boxes. That’s when I had to step back and realize that that’s what life is about. It’s not all the same. Each day and each step will be different. Week 3 was a learning curve for me and I grew to step outside my box and complete the assignment.

• What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

I just touched on that in the previous question. This classed changed some of the things I had become accustomed to. At first I balked at the changed. However, I finally decide to look at things from a different view. That’s how life in general is and why should technology be any different?  I can smile as I type because I can look back and see how my attitude changed throughout this course. When I let go and embraced the new things, the class was fun and interesting. When I was holding on the previous expectations, I stressed myself which in turned made the class frustrating.

• What is the educational value of blogs and blogging to the 21st century learner?

As we have learned about and know what is best for students, blogging is a collaboration. Yes one person can blog and no one respond but I would guess someone is reading. The 21st century learner will grow up blogging. This is their norm, this is how they communication. As an education I must utilize this to my advantage. Not only are bloggers giving opinions or ideas they receive the same. How many times have we said 2 minds are greater than 1? Keeping the information relevant and useful is something that must be monitored but it can be done.

• What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?

The whole issue of Internet safety is a concern for allowing in more technology period, not just blogging. Of course it applies to blogs but as we learned from several articles we must teach our students to be safe. When creating and using blogs anyone has access unless you have set up a system in which you know who is logging in. Anyone can be behind a computer screen. As we work to incorporate these 21st skills we must also work to ensure our students are safe as they blog.

• How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?

I really feel like blogging is such a great way to communicate. This shouldn’t take the place of face to face communication but it does add a new dimension. With that said, I will have to work with and around my district to utilize this campus level as web based blogs are restricted from all use. During this class I did discover there is a way to have a “blog” within our school network. It is not a simple task like blogger.com but it can be used to communicate with in network stakeholders. If we can blog outside of network than we can all share information in the comfort of our own home and on our own timeline.