EDLD 510 Expectations

• What obstacles are you going to struggle with this semester?
• After reviewing the syllabus, is there an #edtech tool you are excited to learn about?
• What are you looking forward to learning?
• What is your honest outlook on being a connected educator?

I was excited when signing up to take this course, yet nervous at the same time. This is my first graduate class and of course I want to do well. I was excited when enrolling because I am interested in learning all the new ways I can use technology in the classroom. I am nervous because I know that I have done a very poor job of incorporating technology as much as I should. I believe I am going to struggle the most with getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. A lot of our assignments involve uploading video responses using Flipgrid. It is always very difficult hearing or seeing myself talk. I feel as though I look away from the camera more than I tend to and I say “um” a lot! It pains me to hear it, but I know that through practice I will only get better.

After reviewing the syllabus, I am excited to learn and use both Flipgrid and WordPress for blogging. After using Flipgrid for the first time, I already started brainstorming ways to use it with my second graders. I feel as though it will really help my students who struggle with written responses. It will give them a chance to share their thoughts and participate more comfortably in some of our class’ discussions. I have also been interested in giving my students the opportunity to start blogging to share their writing pieces. I want them to be proud of their writing and publish it beyond the classroom. The more I learn about and use these two educational technology tools, it will prepare and allow me to be more comfortable to use it with my students.

Besides learning about the different educational tools that I can use in the classroom, I am looking forward to learning how to help other educators, like myself, overcome the fear of using technology with their younger students. I understand that many counties, like the one I work in, have limited technology available in classrooms. We do not have a SMART board or a set of iPads for every class, but we cannot let this stop us or be our excuse as to why we use little technology with our students. I work with second graders, and I must admit that I at first was very hesitant to use laptops with them because I felt as though they were too young to handle it. They are not too young! In fact, if we as educators wait until second grade to use different technology with our students, then we are failing them. This course has already helped me to admit to myself that I am not as comfortable as I thought with technology. I need to be more open and willing to not only use it, but to get my fellow educators to hop on board as well.

When I wake up in the morning, the first things I check are my social media accounts. I have no problem with using social media, but being a connected educator, that is a different story. On Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, I follow many educational pages. I like and save many posts that I agree with or would like to use in my own classroom. When it comes to sharing my own thoughts or feelings, regarding my profession, I am very hesitant. Creating this blog made my heart race a little. I am always nervous that I may not say the right thing. I used twitter in high school and college, but stopped once I started teaching. Creating a new, professional one for this class got me excited me to be on twitter again, but after not using it for about four years, I need to get used to it again. I am already following other educators taking the course and the professor. I find myself already “liking” their tweets and I am trying not to overdo it. I find myself wanting to post a tweet about something, but then I think to myself “is this tweet worthy”? I know I will get better and more comfortable the more that I use it.

I am looking forward to all that I will learn in this class. It will not only better me as an educator now, but it will help me with my goal of becoming an administrator.

– Myesha