Week #12 - EDUC5101G Post - End-of-Course Reflection

In reflecting back to all that I have learned in the Digital Tools for Knowledge Construction course  with Dr. Rob Power, where does one begin.  It has been quite a journey for the past 12 weeks– a lot of work, but in return, I have reaped the benefits of acquiring tremendous knowledge that I can apply in the workplace.

The course began with Issues in Technology Integration (Module #1) where we explored some of the challenges educators face when integrating technology into learning such as educators’ resistance to change, the media effectiveness debate, how to best accommodate the 21^st century learner,  and the policies around using technology. This was an interesting module that involved lots of different perspectives which highlighted some of the challenges and opportunities educators are facing today and tomorrow.  The media effectiveness and acceptable/responsible policies were new topics for me.

Exploring the educational technology tools in Module #2 was fascinating but at the same time overwhelming.  Just when I thought I was somewhat current with my digital tools, I soon realized there was so much more out there to discover.  We studied the category of tools (although an extensive list all by itself), which I found helpful as the tools could be grouped based on their main purpose.  Exploring the different evaluation tools such as Chan’s Checklist was also a new learning for me, and I will definitely be encouraging my colleagues to leverage some form of checklist when choosing our digital tools.  Currently, I don’t believe a checklist is used at all.  It was interesting and a relief to see how the checklists evolved as our learning environment, our learners, and our technologies have changed.   My PBL team used a wide range of tools – Google Docs/Slides used for collaboration, SmartArt and the Snipping Tool for enhancing our Powerpoint slides (which I now love and already using extensively), Weebly for creating our websites (great tool which I will definitely use going forward – so easy to use), MindMup and Realtimeboard tools for mindmapping, and several others.  The course Weebly was an effective way to house all of the course materials, assignments and our individual blogs.  I found it very well organized and easy to use – loved the inclusion of the To Do List.  For my personal blog, I used Blogger – which I now feel I know quite well.  Throughout this course, my comfort level and I think effectiveness with blogging has improved quite a bit – I now can see the power of blogging.

Our Module #3 on Designing Instruction with Technology provided an effective review for me of some of the learning theories with a few new ones introduced.  I connected with George Siemen’s Connectivism theory (no pun intended!), especially when writing my final paper.  It tied in so nicely with my digital tool critique and the instructional design principles of OCL (online collaborative learning) – the work of Harasim.  It was refreshing to see recent learning theories and instructional design models that take into consideration the changing learning environment.

This is a terrific course that provides lots of opportunity for practice.  My key learning is to examine and critique the digital tools available for the specific application, don’t get overwhelmed with the options, choose the one that works best, and leverage all that is available online and in your network to help you with the decision-making and the implementation. 

We are all passionate about learning and education, so I will leave you with this quote:

“There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.”  Jiddu Krishnamurti

As we wrap up this course, remember:

“The end of one chapter is just the beginning of another.  Read on…the best part is always yet to come.”  Susan Gale

Thank you class and Dr. Power for all of the knowledge shared on the topic of digital tools.  It was great fun!  Hope our paths cross again!