Personal Reflections

When I decided to enroll in Educational Technology this past summer I wasn't entirely sure that I had the skills needed to complete the course. I felt a range of emotions. After the first class, I actually considered dropping out and trying to get my money back.  I reminded myself that, although I am not much of a risk taker, it would be crazy not to give the course a chance.  On the one hand, I felt like I had enough classroom experience and training to be able to apply the technology to real life lessons.  However, I felt like I was going to fail miserably when it came to using the technology and putting it into practice.  Although, I have begun each of the projects that have been assigned with a feeling of dread, by taking small steps, or as we say in teaching, "chunking" the assignments, my confidence has grown tremendously.  Not only am I managing to complete the work, I'm actually having a lot of fun!!  

What I am realizing now is that Educational Technology is turning out to be a life changing class for me.  I know that sounds like a ridiculous exaggeration but more and more I'm certain that it's a valid claim.  I am really proud of the work that I have completed.  The Adobe Photoshop image manipulation was definitely the toughest project for me. There were so many tools and options and I had a hard time keeping the layers straight.   I loved using Photostory3 to create the digital story.  I also really enjoyed using Inspiration to create the concept map on Universal Design for Learning.

This is turning out to be a terrific course for me.  Coming from a very traditional educational background, it is refreshing to be able to express my learning in a format other than a written paper.  The  course is well organized and the content is extremely relevant.  I definitely plan to recommend it to others!

Please note:   My website is under construction and can be viewed at:  students.fairfield.edu/alexandria.cirasuolo