EDLD+5366-Reflection

Reflection itself has been a big part of my learning in this class and my other classes in this degree program. Although this is a practice that I have not engaged in consistently in the past, I have found it to be quite helpful. It has caused me to think through what I have read and experienced in completing assignments so that the skills and concepts become clearer in my mind and, at times, even uncovers some things that I hadn’t thought of as I was doing the work. I was not familiar with the CRAP principles of design (Williams, 2008). I find the acronym whimsical and memorable. Although I have designed many PowerPoints, posters, flyers and business cards in the past, I didn’t know about CRAP, but intuitively, I’ve adhered to the principles at one time or another. Having the knowledge of the design principles grouped in the acronym CRAP helped me design throughout these assignments and will continue to help me in my designing. As a learner, I utilized many resources to help me understand and complete my assignments. The more difficult parts to contend with were those which included the use of unfamiliar software, such as those used to create logos and animations. I found consulting Youtube and high school students to be very helpful. Once I was able to see the videos or talk to the teenagers, I was able to navigate the software myself. I was also able to consult the other members of my team while working on the various parts. I was able to learn more with my team. I enjoy working in teams and I believe that brings out the best in my performance because I feel a big responsibility for the team’s success. The most valuable thing I’ve gained in this class that I will carry with me throughout my studies and my profession is the practice of reflection. Time seems to go by so quickly that I rarely take the time to reflect upon things that happened throughout a day or after a meeting, for example. I see now that reflection can be the ribbon that ties a nice bow around my experiences and helps me to make sense of them and extract more learning than I would have otherwise. As a classroom teacher, I could see how making time to allow students to reflect would seem like an impossibility. However, if we’re going to require students to write in their journals anyway, why not have them write reflections. They would be so much more useful than writing to some corny prompt. The use of websites to provide access to learning on demand is something that could be done at all grade levels. From parent/child activities available to PK students to access to assignments and collaborative online documents/projects for high school students, and everything else in between, students and parents, more and more expect this kind of access. We are fortunate in our school district to have it. We use a common web tool called School Fusion. This gives the webpages a consistent look throughout the entire district. It is helpful because students can navigate their teachers’ sites without any problem which comes in handy when they have a different teacher for every subject. Each teacher has a webpage and can set up access for her students. My school is a PK-4 campus. I would use the School Fusion site to post announcements, notes, handouts, links, assignments, and discussion questions to encourage further exploration and understanding of classroom topics. Further, I would set up individual, protected, teacher-moderated student blog sites to provide students a forum for reflection, expression and discussion (Barrett, 2005). The students would also have a place to comment on items as appropriate and communicate with their teacher and peers via postings and e-mail. All of these activities would help to develop students’ technology and thinking skills such as those listed in Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy (Churches, 2007). I would provide parents with the login information their own students will use to access and utilize the site, and have computers available in the parent center of our school where parents without home computers or internet access could log on to see what their child is learning and discussing in class.
 * Self –Assessment**
 * Learn as a Learner**
 * Lifelong Learning Skills**
 * The use of web sites in PK-12 classrooms**

References:

Williams, R. (2008). //The non-designer's design book// (3rd ed.). Berkeley, Calif.: Peachpit.

Barrett, H., (2005). //The reflect initiative. Researching electronic portfolios and learning engagement, collaboration, through technology//. Retrieved from []

Churches, A. (April, 2007). //Bloom’s digital taxonomy//. Retrieved from []