Arianne Labrecque

EDT 180D

Mr. Lewallen & Ms. Warr

November 26th, 2019

Final Reflection Paper

Throughout the semester, I believe the most common thing that I discussed throughout all of

my reflections was trying to find a way in how certain pieces of technology could be used in a

different way than the way it is currently used in the classroom and in the future. Talking about

this issue of not knowing where and how technology could be used in education is important for

future and current educators. Current educators didn’t necessarily grow up with the same

technology we did, so for them to figure out how to implement a technology they didn’t even use

when they were students can be frustrating and difficult, and the same will happen to our current

generation when we become teachers and new technology will have been released. Discussing

these observations of how technology will change and how we will need to be able to understand

them to implement them in our own classrooms has definitely helped me learn the concept of

keeping up to date on technologies that are currently being used in classrooms and future

technologies that could be beneficial.

When completing assignments for this course, even in the classroom, the problem that I

continually faced was not knowing what was expected of me. It became very difficult, at least in

my eyes, for me to actually gain any knowledge from this course because I found myself create

my own guidelines as to what I should learn from each assignment and what I should

demonstrate in my projects. To overcome this challenge, I had told myself to give everything I
got in every assignment, even if I wasn’t 100 percent sure as to what I had accomplish and

demonstrate, no matter what. My strategy stayed the same throughout the semester as I continued

to not understand what was expected of me, but I pushed myself to the finish line for every

assignment as well as I could.

I don’t believe the way I learn with technology has changed because of this course; I think it

has actually made me more afraid of trying to use new technologies for my current and future

personal assignments. Before, I would stick with the programs I knew I could successfully

complete assignments with, which is normally Google or Office 365 applications, and I still

continue to do so since it is accessible and easy to use. I still do that to this day, but I do believe

that this course will force me to discover new technologies for my future classroom and lessons.

The main difference I can see between my first and last assignment for this course is the

level of creativity included in the project. My confidence and creativity in the technology I

thought I was already comfortable with has grown throughout the semester, as shown by my first

and last project for this course. For the first project, the Inquiry module with the IgnitED lab

research, I did whatever it took for me to get the best grade and kept it simple since it was the

beginning of the semester and wasn’t prepared for the work load I received. With my last project,

the Expression module project with my philosophy of education, I became more comfortable

with technology and decided to use the technology we learned about during the Construction

module to create my own visual for the last project.

From looking at other classmates’ projects throughout the semester, I would eventually like

to try using a program that isn’t readily accessible on my computer or phone to complete an

assignment or project. Seeing other people’s assignments throughout the semester and seeing
how creative they decided to be with the technology they used will definitely influence me in

doing the same in the future. This idea of being more creative in the technology I would use to

complete my assignments also falls into the category of something I would go back and change

in my module projects. I would change the technologies I used to complete projects as I stuck

with the same 2 to 3 technologies, which tends to keep me on the same pattern on how I

completed each assignment. But, if I had changed the technology I used for a couple of my

assignments, it would have made the process of completing the project more fun and a better

learning experience.

The biggest goal that I have for myself for my classes next semester is to step out of my

normal technologies and try some new ones for future assignments, projects, and other school

related things. Whether it be for an elective, general education, or a class related to my major, I

want to be able to be diverse in my use of technology for my education and for being a future

educator and having to quickly adapt to new technologies. This class has definitely helped me

create that goal, as without this class I definitely would continue to just use Google and Office

365 applications to complete assignments as it was the easy way out. But now, I want to

challenge myself not just with the content I am being taught, but in the way that I will express

my understanding of technology in completing assignments.