Final Reflection

The Beginning
I was extremely overwhelmed with this class after the first class meeting. I was not looking forward to the blog posts and projects. I did however find it nice that I already knew how to set up my blogger account and how to make it look unique. I even helped out a few of my fellow classmates as the class was being instructed on how to create their accounts. Some of the people in class were falling behind in the instructions and since I knew what we were doing, I took time to show the few people around me what we were being assigned to do.

As The Semester Progressed
I was familiar with some of the projects that we were assigned to do this semester. I was able to complete them and post them to my blog better than I did last semester. Finishing my blog posts and comments was going pretty well until around the beginning of July when I kept getting behind. I picked myself back up and finished my work. My favorite assignment was the Smartboard Lesson project where we had to create a lesson and film us teaching the lesson using the tools on the Smartboard. My partners in this project were two friends I made last semester in other COE classes. I liked the interview projects too that I did involving my roommate and then the other one involving Dr. Baggett. I believe that these projects helped my to come out of my shell a little bit because I knew that all of these project videos had to be posted to YouTube.

As The Semester Comes To A Close
The work in EDM310 seemed to be piling on top of me as did the work from my other classes this summer. I was extremely overwhelmed but found a way to work on an assignment one by one until I had everything completed. I ask myself, "What have I learned?" This is simple to answer now that the semester is almost over. I have learned how to stay on task, how to manage assignments, how to look ahead for work due and how to work with others on projects for hours outside of class time. I have definitely advanced technologically with the help from this class. I also strive to be a teacher who creates her class blog, incorporates the class blog with classroom curriculum, and teachers her students the values of technology at an early age.

The End: Reflection
"What experiences have been especially meaningful to me?" This question would have been more difficult to answer throughout the semester. This is because I was more worried about getting work done on time than actually absorbing the lesson. I did take in most of this semester though. The experiences I enjoyed the most was exploring the class blogs from around the world. By taking EDM 310 this semester, I grew a greater respect than I did last semester. This is because I was able to understand the purpose of technologically literate teaching this time around. I hope to have my own class blog one day and have many students from around the world visit it and comment on my lessons. This class has changed my view of technology from that of just using Facebook to using programs like Symbaloo to organize my internet world, using Glogster for presentations, and many other sources that I have discovered through my second journey with EDM 310.

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I have actually already talked to multiple friends about this class. Some will have to take it due to degree requirements and others have never heard about it. I have spoken many positive words about EDM 310. I know that there are a few negative things to say about it, but I also stressed the importance of the class. If I were to talk to a friend who was taking this class next semester, I would stress on the importance of keeping up with your work. Getting behind in the work is the biggest issue with this class. If you stay on task, the semester should run smoothly. I would also recommend actually trying to absorb the lessons and techniques that you learn from other blogs and videos. The worst thing to do with the material is to skim through it and not get anything out of the time spent on the assignment! I would go ahead and advise my friend about a few programs that would help out during their EDM 310 experience. I would mention Symbaloo, Glogster, Delicious, Skype, Google Docs, Gmail, Blogger, and many more! I could show my friend some of my video projects to give an idea of what kind of assignments we have done this past semester. I would also stress that it is important to follow the class blog because I have forgotten to a few times and it has hurt me. Maybe showing what happened to me will help my friend realize the importance of staying on task with EDM 310. Hopefully what I have said to my friends and what I would say will help with their experience of EDM 310.