by: Erika Peña
EDLD 5302: Concepts of Educational Technology
92/100
EDLD 5304: Leading Organization Change
92/100
My Road Continues
As I come to the end of my second set of classes for my Applied Digital Learning masters program at Lamar University, I can’t help but to continue to reflect on the road that led me here and the road that continues.
I have been an educator for over 9 years, learning and growing each year, but this school year has been the hardest one yet. Not only do we see huge gaps in our students’ learning but also in their emotional intelligence and behavior. Because of these gaps, and the fact that we are currently still in the midst of a global pandemic that continues to disrupt our day to day lives, I wholeheartedly believe that now more than ever we need to disrupt the current educational system and bring in a student centered Blended Learning model to grow our students at their pace.
Last semester, I gained a wealth of knowledge and more importantly I learned how to learn. I grew and pushed myself out of my comfort zone. This semester I not only gained more knowledge, but I learned how to become an agent of change. I am not going to gloss over it or sugar coat anything, this semester has been extremely challenging for me. After almost two years of staying healthy and Covid free, it finally hit home this past January. First, my husband became sick, a week later my teenage son, a few days after that, my elementary aged son, and finally a week after that, I got sick. Thankfully we have all made a full recovery, but being a caretaker and a patient definitely was difficult. I felt like I was behind both at work and in my classes, but by collaborating with my core group and my GroupMe crew, I was able to not only survive the semester but also thrive in it.
In order to continue to grow as a self-directed learner, I will reflect and assess my learning and contributions in both classes.
Self Assessment of 5302 and 5304
Due to Covid (as mentioned above) and other work and family commitments, I was only able to attend a couple of the live classes in 5302: Concepts of Educational Technology and 5304: Leading Organizational Change. Even though I was not present in the LIVE classes as much as I would have liked, I watched the recorded videos and participated actively in the discussion boards by completing the readings, videos, and other supporting resources. I also met with my core group several times a week to discuss the LIVE classes, discussions, readings and assignments. Furthermore, all my assignments were turned in by the deadlines indicated in the calendar and I reflected and revised my assignments after internalizing the feedback provided.
5302: Concepts of Educational Technology
In EDLD 5302: Concepts of Educational Technology, I learned about the power of one’s mindset. For years now I have taught my students Growth Mindset and the power of the word yet, but I had not practiced what I preached. After going through this course and interacting with the videos, readings, and discussions I began to internalize Growth Mindset as a learner and educator, thus creating my Growth Mindset Plan. I also began thinking more and more about my passion in education, the current emerging issues in education, and my plan moving forward while creating My Learning Manifesto. Besides creating our plan and manifesto, we also looked outside to social media for Professional Learning Networks to follow and learn from. By sharing our PLNs with our classmates, we were all able to add to our PLN learning toolbox.
Furthermore, I was able to continuously refine my e-portfolio on the WIX platform showcasing my ongoing learning in the ADL program. I not only spent hours adding blogs that reflected on my learning, while regularly adjusting my e-portfolio, but I also moved further out of my comfort zone by entering the editor platform of WIX. The jump from WIX ADI to WIX Editor was a big one. WIX ADI provided a very structured platform perfect for beginners, but WIX Editor allowed me more freedom. With the help of my core collaborative group, we were able to learn new navigational tools on the WIX Editor platform that have helped the style and flow of my e-portfolio. With self reflection and their advice, I continuously revised my e-portfolio.
5304: Leading Organizational Change
In EDLD 5304, Leading Organizational Change, I learned how to become an agent of change. Last semester, my collaborative group and I created our Innovation Project: Blended Learning: Personalizing the Future of Education. This semester we learned different ways to influence and execute that change in our organization. We first started with our WHY assignment, explaining WHY, HOW, and WHAT we want to implement in our organization. We then learned about the Six Sources of Influence by reading Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change by Joseph Grenny (2013). We not only learned from our readings, supporting videos, and discussions but we also applied what we had learned by creating an Influencer Model. In this Influencer Model, we detailed our desired results, how we would measure those results, the vital behaviors that need to take place in order to influence change, and the influencers that will aid us in our endeavor. We also used the six sources of influence to come up with a plan to motivate change within our organization. After we created a plan to influence change, we learned about The 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX). Similar to our previous assignment, we learned about 4DX by our assigned readings, supplemental videos, and community discussions. We then applied our knowledge of the topic by creating a 4DX Strategy. Through these assignments and our discussions, I have been able to learn to become an agent of change.
Collaboration Group
Although I am a part of a larger group of students on the GroupMe app, my core collaborative group consists of Veronica Balli and Ileana Reyna, because we currently work in the same school and are working on the same Innovation Project. We collaborated via text, Teams, and in person multiple times a week and we all took on leadership roles at different stages of our assignments. From discussing, planning, writing, and creating to giving feedback, we all participated and contributed to our learning. I have learned so much since beginning the ADL program and credit our synergistic collaboration for this.
The Road Ahead
As I look to the road ahead of me, I ask myself, “What can I do differently next semester?” Well, I will be taking my Spring Break vacation as a time to rest, reflect, and rejuvenate. I have looked over the ADL Program Map so that I can continue to learn with the end in mind. I have also looked at the upcoming two classes on my schedule, 5313 and 5389 and have looked at the reading lists, ordered my books, looked at the three column tables, and assignment examples. I continue to look forward to learning and growing from my professors and my collaborative group.
Resources:
Covey, S., McChesney, C., & Huling, J. (2012). The 4 disciplines of execution: Achieving your wildly important goals. Simon and Schuster.
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY: Random House.
Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer:
The new science of leading change. VitalSmarts.
Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., Cummings, C. (2018). Choice, ownership, and voice through
authentic learning [eBook]. Creative Commons License.
Patterson, K., Grenny, J., & Swizler, A. (2012). Crucial conversations: tools for talking when
stakes are high. (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill New York, NY.
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