Final+Assessment+-+EDLD+5363+Course+Reflections

The outcomes I envisioned were exceeded by this course. I thought we would be examining video productions and the how-to's, not really thinking about actual video production. I do have a new appreciation for any type of video produced because I now understand the basic elements involved, and I have first-hand knowledge of the amount of time it takes just for an extremely simple and short clip! The outcomes were much more than I expected or envisioned. This course also showed me how much more there is for me to learn regarding video and multimedia technology.

The work we did in this course is so relevant to the classes I teach - junior and senior English. More and more, based on the long-range technology plan, I have been incorporating technology in the classroom. This new knowledge I have will help me to make MY instruction and class production more relevant to the times and therefore engage the students in the literature or grammar we study.

The outcome not achieved was the level of understanding I desire - through no fault of the course itself, but perhaps simply the novelty and the gaps in my knowledge of technology. Being a digital immigrant does not have to be a drawback, but it certainly can be.

I was ultimately successful in completing the course assignments; however, Week 2 took me weeks to finish. I had trouble downloading the clips from Youtube due to my technological ignorance and/or my computer. Week 5 presented a challenge when attempting to download our final PSA from the team. My attempts were unsuccessful until I finally realized a teammember had posted the correct format I could download from our team wiki.

I learned that it takes time, patience, creativity and teamwork to produce a PSA. I learned that I absorb some of the technology know-how at a much slower pace than I expected, and I need to give myself plenty of time to figure out what I am doing by experimentation. What looks easy on paper is not necessarily simple and quick to do! Overall, my attitude was fine, and I came to so appreciate the willingness of my team members to carry me through the parts of our assignment that were difficult for me to understand. I learned I need to ASK questions SOON, QUICKLY before I get lost on an assignment. This course gave me insight to how much more I have to learn!