Post-Course Self-Evaluation 5352

The course Instructional Leadership: The Technology Link was an exciting course to take. There were many outcomes that I looked forward to learning. I envisioned the course to be about how to implement the technology in the school to further the education of the students in today’s world. My previous Masters degree was an MBA e-Business, which bridged companies together via technology. I looked forward to learning the legal aspects of technology usage and emerging issues that are affecting the school systems. The implementation of technology in the schools and how to manage the systems effectively would be a necessary skill to learn. Additionally, I believed that the safety of the students was critical to advance their educational needs.


The blogging that I implemented from this course enabled me to be more effective in communication within the school; therefore, I am able to now relay information to others in a faster manner. The blogs used within the school’s server system are utilized now to communicate without interfering with the e-mail system. I realized the importance of technology within the classroom. It is relevant to improving student success, so I did assist other teachers in better using the technology that they had. Understanding the inventory of technology encouraged me to record what technology was assign to me and remove unused items so that others may use them.

All of the outcomes that I expected did occur within this course. I had a good knowledge and understanding of technology prior to the course. One outcome that I did not fully achieve was what technology in a classroom would look like without the availability of widely used tools and staying within the scope and guidelines of the district. The availability of time prevented the understanding of this concept. However, I have learned where to find the information and what state standards to follow in learning additional technology issues. Even though it wasn’t within the scope of the course, I would have like to learn more about the specific implementation of technology at the advanced level. Again, this is something that I have discovered widely available on the Internet.

I was successful in carrying out the course assignments as instructed. However, the Brighten system does not allow students to change an assignment once submitted or ensure that the assignment is correctly sent. It was difficult to arrange all of the interviews for the assignment, but I was able to improvise with alternate volunteers. The articles were insightful, but it was difficult working around other people’s schedules. That is one downfall with collaborative work. Most students were able to post comments in a timely manner. Often the discussion part of the assignment took longer than the actual writing of an assignment.

I believed that I was using technology in the best way according to current needs. However, there were many areas that I needed to improve upon. I have not created blogs before, but it was relatively easy once I began the process. Normally, I respond to blogs already present. I knew that my students weren’t using technology as they should, yet the unavailability of technology was what I felt was the hindrance. I now utilize the SmartBoard and Internet to maximize technology usage the best that I can in the classroom. I feel very confident that I can utilize technology in the manner directed by the state.

Blogs have a very important educational value for today’s learner. The instructors are able to use blogs to communicate best practices and deliver important information among their peers in an easier manner than previous methods. The students are able to use blogs to learn new material or to learn about a topic in a different manner than what is taught. Often students can learn best by using various mediums for information. The administration would utilize blogs to distribute information among all stakeholders of the school, and they would be able to clarify their positions on standards set within the campus. If all use the blogs effectively the primary benefactors would be the students, which is what the primary goal is.

Blogging in education can become misused. The Dallas Morning News has a blog site for the Dallas ISD. Some individuals post erroneous information or post negative and hateful messages. Many times the sources are not identifiable; therefore, we don’t know if comments to blogs are reliable. Some people actually believe the information posted, for I hear ‘news’ from the blogs on campus. Another problem is with the writer of blogs. Often, they try to release the news quickly without getting all of the facts. This causes a problem when it is vague and causes misinterpretation or the news is biased.

Blogging is an important tool to communicate with various people effectively. Especially those that are not with in one’s e-mail list are those that are not known like community members that haven’t been met yet. When introducing a concept or releasing information that affects all stakeholders of a school, blogging would become the most effective means. This would be alongside the traditional memo style to accommodate those without Internet access. At my school, we wanted to introduce the concept of gender-based classrooms, so we use an intra-school blog to receive feedback. The delivery of the idea was effective for the purpose that we wanted.