Course Reflections
Throughout this course, we developed an understanding of teaching and learning with technology through weekly chapter readings, gaining practical use of the different technologies, and reflecting on our experiences through blog postings and answering chapter questions. The course provided an integration of knowledge, skills, and abilities development as it relates to instructional technologies for classroom use. As we read and discussed about teaching and learning concepts, we also experienced implementing the knowledge gained through developing a course site, lesson plan, and creating content and materials for instruction on a self-selected topic and grade level, with the purpose of meeting a set of educational standards and objectives. Through a series of activities that although stood alone, were interconnected, we developed and used the same technologies that we would potentially use in the classroom for instructional delivery, and were able to demonstrate our understanding of the purpose and use of technology as an effective tool for teaching and learning. The following are a description of the projects that were completed, along with the technologies used, and a brief summary of the experience and the impression it made for using educational technology tools in my classroom as a future teacher. You can access each assignment/project by clicking the linked title or subtitle.
Building Platforms
Blog
In week one, we were introduced to a concept of online journal reflection, content documentation and collaboration through blogging. This lesson provided a rich experience for me (and I’m sure others) who were knowledgeable about logging yet never truly committed themselves to blogging. We created our blog site, which would be the platform in which we would discuss our experiences with our weekly activities and display/upload our completed projects. Blogging has proven to be an interactive medium in which allows us, as students (and our future students), to write down our thoughts in an asynchronous manner, in addition to, engage in synchronous discussions with group members or anyone else who has access to reading the blog. As a web-based technology tool, the blog offers a flexible, self-directed, and creative learning space where content can be developed and added at anytime, and others can join in discussion through the posting of comments. We used Weebly to create our blog. The site was generally easy to use, despite some minor technical glitches along the way with using the system. Still, I would consider using Weebly in the future in my classroom, as well as evaluate other similar technologies that may be more seamless to use. The benefits of this tool are the ability to create blog sites and websites on one platform.
Lesson Plan
In our first project, we developed a lesson plan for a flipped classroom method of instruction. We were given the liberty to select the type of course and grade level. I decided to create my lesson plan for a Personal Financial Literacy course for a sixth grade class. This assignment was a bit of a challenge for me in the beginning, as I do not have prior formal teaching experience; therefore, this was my first experience developing a lesson plan. The first thing we did was identify what curriculum standards the lesson met, and then identified the objectives for the lesson. The first draft of my lesson plan was too detailed, containing a lot of information that I realized based on the instructor’s comments that it caused confusion, and led to the plan of activities not being clearly linked to the lesson objectives. As I registered the instructor’s feedback, I began to see where I needed to be more purposeful with the class lessons, assignments and activities that I selected. As we progressed through the projects, I made adjustments to my lesson plan, ensuring that each teaching activity was purposeful and aligned with the lesson objectives. I imagine that, especially for first year teachers, this is a similar process they go through, and they become more versed with developing a lesson plan the more practice they get at doing it. There was ample information and online resources available on my topic that I think I became overwhelmed initially. However, as I reflected on the chapter reading that covered the DPA framework, I was able to take a step back, understanding that there is a logical process to developing an effective lesson plan, and at that point, that was my focus as I made several revisions to the lesson plan. Upon developing a lesson plan for our flipped classroom, we consequently developed instructional material that would be conducive to a flipped classroom setting, thereby, using different technology tools to support content delivery.
Google Drive Apps
Projects two-four required us to explore and use several Google Drive apps (Google Forms, Google Docs, Google Slide, Google Sheets) to create teaching material for our course, and I had prior experience using two of the four apps.
Google Forms
First, we developed a technology survey using Google Forms, to assess our students’ familiarity and use with different technologies that they would be required to use at home and in school as part of the Flipped classroom format. I was impressed with the ease at which I was able to use this tool, as well as able to customize my survey as I wanted to with the adequate types of features that were available to use. This was impressive considering it is a free tool. Although, Google Forms does not have the complex survey features as a survey tool like Qualtrics, however, it is a very good tool to use for creating basic, functional surveys. I would use this tool in my classroom in the future because it is a time saver with its simplicity, and can easily be shared for viewing and collaboration, and can be embedded into a course site.
Google Docs
Our next project required us to create a document using Google Docs containing content that would be used to teach the lesson to students. I personally enjoyed using Google Docs to complete this assignment, and noticed several advantages when compared to using Microsoft Word. The most significant feature was the instant saving mechanism that frees the user to focus on developing content without having to remember to save at intervals. Also, the document could be accessed anywhere and at anytime, asynchronously, and synchronously, and shared to other group members, allowing them to collaborate and make editing suggestions. As editing occurred between group members, an instant messaging feature allowed us to discuss and gain feedback as we were working in the document. I would surely incorporate the use of this tool in my classroom, possibly by creating assignments where students work in groups and collaborate to create a document or engage students in assisting in the development of course material to demonstrate their understanding of content covered. The bonus feature about this tool is that it is free all!
Google Slides
We used Google Slides to create a slide presentation to teach content from our lesson. Google Slides is similar to MS PowerPoint. This tool again was easy to use, and offered the same features (at least the ones commonly used to create basic presentations) as MS PowerPoint. I had prior experience using this tool in a group context in which we are tasked at creating a presentation for a course, each of us responsible for covering a portion of the topic to be discussed. I saw the benefits of this tool then for group collaboration, as I did in this assignment as we shared our presentation with our group members, allowing them to provide editing suggestions. Just as with the previously mentioned Google apps, we were able to communicate through instant messaging to gain additional and instantaneous feedback. I would use this tool in my classroom, as a tool to create teaching material to appeal to visual and audio learners (embed videos), in addition to a tool for students to use to demonstrate their understanding of concepts taught.
Google Sheets
Google Sheets was used to create a spreadsheet of students’ grades for different assignments, and to develop graphs that illustrated the data. This was one of the forms that I did not have prior experience using. It is similar to MS Excel but I did not find it to be as user friendly, as someone who has experience using Excel. The part that I found most challenging was configuring my table/diagram to display the way I wanted it to. It took several attempts, and using the help function to figure out how to access and apply certain features. Again, the collaboration, instant saving, and instant messaging features are great advantages to using this tool. I think that if I use this tool in my classroom in the future, it will be for students to use to complete an assignment, rather than using it myself as a database to manage course content.
Audio and Video Tools
Audio and video tools help to address the different ways that students learn best, whether through their visual or auditory sensors. In projects 5-6, we were required to create audio and video instructional tools using a podcast tool, and a movie making tool, respectively, that students could access at home prior to the classroom session.
Vocaroo
For project 5, I chose to use Vocaroo, a free online tool, to create my audio teaching material. I found Vocaroo to be surprisingly simple to use. I initially ventured to use Audacity (the other option provided), however, upon evaluating the complexity of both, I chose Vocaroo. When initially thought of the concept of creating a podcast or audio presentation, I thought it would be a technical process. Vocaroo allowed for easy recording, re-recording as needed, saving, sharing of the completed audio, and embedding into a website. The only think that I think could have improved the user experience was having the ability to replay and somehow edit the audio content, instead of having to start over completely when a mistake was made in the recording. As a result of this, I had to re-record the whole lesson various times. Other than that concern, I would use this tool again in the classroom for both teaching and learning, and would recommend it to future colleagues. In addition, I plan to also learn to use Audacity, as it seems that although it may take some extra time to learn to use because of more complex issues, however, it seems to be a popular technology tool used in academics.
Windows Movie Maker
For project six, we were tasked with creating a video presentation that students would use to learn concepts related to the lesson being covered. I would have to say that this was the most tedious assignment as in the beginning; I did not find Windows Movie Maker to be very user friendly. I watched several tutorials before I finally got the hang of it. What baffled me is that I had used this tool years ago, and successfully, and with much more ease to create a promotional video. I don’t quite understand why my learning curve was so steep, but can only account it to the fact that using technology tools requires that we as educators continuously use it, in order to hone and maintain our skills with using it. Once I got over my hump, how to use it started making sense, and through various revisions, I was able to create a finished product that I liked. I don’t know if I would use this tool in the future for teaching or instruction or not, however, I would explore other movie making tools that may be more user friendly, and require less of a learning curve. However, the fact that this is a free resource is inciting enough for re-use, so I will keep this one at the bottom my educational technology tool box, and maybe take it out for use on a rainy day.
Course Site
Project seven consisted of building a course site which students would use to access materials from home to review lessons, access readings, assignments, tests, and supplementary resources. We used Weebly’s site builder to create the site. The experienced gained from creating the blog site, made the transition to creating the course site much easier as I had become familiar with all the functionalities that the site provides. Building the site was an enjoyable experience where we were able to use our creative style, yet keeping in mind to build a site that was attractive, user friendly, informative, and easy to navigate. Aside from minor glitches experienced at times (as with the blog site), overall, the site was easy to build, and offered features to further customize using html code. After this experience, I would feel comfortable using the site in the future to create an online access points for students, as I implement the Flipped classroom method into my instruction.
Quiz and Forum
For project 8, we were introduced to two features in Weebly’s site builder which included the functionality to create quizzes, and the forum feature.
Quizzes
I would have to say that it was interesting that this feature was available for multi-purpose use. It can also be used to create basic surveys. Creating the question items was simple, and took little time. Upon completion, the quiz was directly embedded on the course site. Students could go to the site page containing the quiz, and complete it. Once completed, responses are recorded and stored. I thought Weebly did a great job at providing a feature that would simplify a busy teacher’s life as it compiles and stores quiz scores which teachers can access directly. I would definitely use this feature in the future in my classroom to quiz students after they have completed an assignment.
Forum
The forum was another Weebly feature that was simple to create. We were required to post two discussion questions related to our topic, and invite our group members to respond. It is a very convenient tool as forum sessions are conducted right on the course site. I would use this feature in the classroom to engage students in discussion, and in order to assess their understanding of the content presented.
Online Web Tools
In projects nine and ten, we used several tools that were all new to me, which included Easy TestMaker, RubiStar, Thinglink, and Scoop.It! these tools were used to create various types of course materials for learning evaluations, provide interactive and engaging course material, and provide resources to support student learning.
Easy TestMaker
The name of this tool pretty much describes its level of difficulty to use. This was an easy tool to use, as I found that it provided a good representation of general type of question items that would be used to create a test. The benefit of using this web tool is that it automatically grades performance. This lends to less time we (as future teachers) will have to spend on grading.
RubiStar
RubiStar was another easy tool to use for the purpose of creating a rubric. The tool provided pre-customized rubrics that were made available based on the type of assignment you were creating. Making edits and adjustments was easy as well. The rubric, once completed, could be easily saved and converted to an MS Excel sheet. The only thing that I can say could have made the experience using the tool more effective was to make available other formats for rubric. I say this because I had to make adjustments to mine, in order for it to conform to the assignment. I would use RubiStar in my future classroom, and I found another resource called RCampus.com that also provides tips on creating rubrics and a wizard for rubric creation.
ThingLink
I enjoyed using ThingLink to create an interactive online course material that provided access points for students to learn content through audio, video or text formats. We chose an image that was related to our lesson, and we added three points that would require students to click on it to access supplemental online resources that we found appropriate for our lesson. This is a great tool, as it helps prevent students from having a static understanding of content. Instead, it provides a way to help students connect supporting concepts to a main one, meanwhile, addressing the various learning styles that students have. I would use this tool in the classroom for teaching and student learning purposes. I think it would be a great way to see how students can utilize it to demonstrate their understanding of concepts, and explore the various ways that can be done using multi-media resources.
Scoop.It!
Finally, Scoop.It! was a great tool to experience. It provided a platform to expose students to targeted articles that were related to the lesson. Upon creating an account, we were able to create and customize our Scoop.It! page. This tool was easy to use, and the feature I liked most was the suggestive articles that were presented based on keywords input. Even though, I started with an idea of some of the articles I wanted to used, I was however, drawn by the many resources that were found based on my keywords. This offered a quick search for articles, which means time savings, and would be beneficial for teachers who might be time stricken. In addition, this tool provides a platform that is interactive as students can post comments to the articles, and current and relevant data about the lesson/content can be made available. I would most definitely use this tool for both teaching and learning activities. As an assignment, students may be asked to create a Scoop.It! related to the content covered, and be required to periodically update content, and interact with other students in posting to their articles, and have relevant discussions.
Through my experiences using these technology tools, I found that my area of strengths was in my ability to conduct research, and seek out additional tutorials in order to grasp how to use certain tools. Although, this resulted in me spending extended amount of time to complete assignments, however, the time spent means that I will be a step ahead in my competencies when I actually implement the technologies into my classroom. My weakness was feeling rushed at times to complete assignments in a timely manner, and therefore, not putting forth better accuracy as it relates to the requirements for the assignment (i.e. improperly linking projects). Overall, it was a great learning experience.
Building Platforms
Blog
In week one, we were introduced to a concept of online journal reflection, content documentation and collaboration through blogging. This lesson provided a rich experience for me (and I’m sure others) who were knowledgeable about logging yet never truly committed themselves to blogging. We created our blog site, which would be the platform in which we would discuss our experiences with our weekly activities and display/upload our completed projects. Blogging has proven to be an interactive medium in which allows us, as students (and our future students), to write down our thoughts in an asynchronous manner, in addition to, engage in synchronous discussions with group members or anyone else who has access to reading the blog. As a web-based technology tool, the blog offers a flexible, self-directed, and creative learning space where content can be developed and added at anytime, and others can join in discussion through the posting of comments. We used Weebly to create our blog. The site was generally easy to use, despite some minor technical glitches along the way with using the system. Still, I would consider using Weebly in the future in my classroom, as well as evaluate other similar technologies that may be more seamless to use. The benefits of this tool are the ability to create blog sites and websites on one platform.
Lesson Plan
In our first project, we developed a lesson plan for a flipped classroom method of instruction. We were given the liberty to select the type of course and grade level. I decided to create my lesson plan for a Personal Financial Literacy course for a sixth grade class. This assignment was a bit of a challenge for me in the beginning, as I do not have prior formal teaching experience; therefore, this was my first experience developing a lesson plan. The first thing we did was identify what curriculum standards the lesson met, and then identified the objectives for the lesson. The first draft of my lesson plan was too detailed, containing a lot of information that I realized based on the instructor’s comments that it caused confusion, and led to the plan of activities not being clearly linked to the lesson objectives. As I registered the instructor’s feedback, I began to see where I needed to be more purposeful with the class lessons, assignments and activities that I selected. As we progressed through the projects, I made adjustments to my lesson plan, ensuring that each teaching activity was purposeful and aligned with the lesson objectives. I imagine that, especially for first year teachers, this is a similar process they go through, and they become more versed with developing a lesson plan the more practice they get at doing it. There was ample information and online resources available on my topic that I think I became overwhelmed initially. However, as I reflected on the chapter reading that covered the DPA framework, I was able to take a step back, understanding that there is a logical process to developing an effective lesson plan, and at that point, that was my focus as I made several revisions to the lesson plan. Upon developing a lesson plan for our flipped classroom, we consequently developed instructional material that would be conducive to a flipped classroom setting, thereby, using different technology tools to support content delivery.
Google Drive Apps
Projects two-four required us to explore and use several Google Drive apps (Google Forms, Google Docs, Google Slide, Google Sheets) to create teaching material for our course, and I had prior experience using two of the four apps.
Google Forms
First, we developed a technology survey using Google Forms, to assess our students’ familiarity and use with different technologies that they would be required to use at home and in school as part of the Flipped classroom format. I was impressed with the ease at which I was able to use this tool, as well as able to customize my survey as I wanted to with the adequate types of features that were available to use. This was impressive considering it is a free tool. Although, Google Forms does not have the complex survey features as a survey tool like Qualtrics, however, it is a very good tool to use for creating basic, functional surveys. I would use this tool in my classroom in the future because it is a time saver with its simplicity, and can easily be shared for viewing and collaboration, and can be embedded into a course site.
Google Docs
Our next project required us to create a document using Google Docs containing content that would be used to teach the lesson to students. I personally enjoyed using Google Docs to complete this assignment, and noticed several advantages when compared to using Microsoft Word. The most significant feature was the instant saving mechanism that frees the user to focus on developing content without having to remember to save at intervals. Also, the document could be accessed anywhere and at anytime, asynchronously, and synchronously, and shared to other group members, allowing them to collaborate and make editing suggestions. As editing occurred between group members, an instant messaging feature allowed us to discuss and gain feedback as we were working in the document. I would surely incorporate the use of this tool in my classroom, possibly by creating assignments where students work in groups and collaborate to create a document or engage students in assisting in the development of course material to demonstrate their understanding of content covered. The bonus feature about this tool is that it is free all!
Google Slides
We used Google Slides to create a slide presentation to teach content from our lesson. Google Slides is similar to MS PowerPoint. This tool again was easy to use, and offered the same features (at least the ones commonly used to create basic presentations) as MS PowerPoint. I had prior experience using this tool in a group context in which we are tasked at creating a presentation for a course, each of us responsible for covering a portion of the topic to be discussed. I saw the benefits of this tool then for group collaboration, as I did in this assignment as we shared our presentation with our group members, allowing them to provide editing suggestions. Just as with the previously mentioned Google apps, we were able to communicate through instant messaging to gain additional and instantaneous feedback. I would use this tool in my classroom, as a tool to create teaching material to appeal to visual and audio learners (embed videos), in addition to a tool for students to use to demonstrate their understanding of concepts taught.
Google Sheets
Google Sheets was used to create a spreadsheet of students’ grades for different assignments, and to develop graphs that illustrated the data. This was one of the forms that I did not have prior experience using. It is similar to MS Excel but I did not find it to be as user friendly, as someone who has experience using Excel. The part that I found most challenging was configuring my table/diagram to display the way I wanted it to. It took several attempts, and using the help function to figure out how to access and apply certain features. Again, the collaboration, instant saving, and instant messaging features are great advantages to using this tool. I think that if I use this tool in my classroom in the future, it will be for students to use to complete an assignment, rather than using it myself as a database to manage course content.
Audio and Video Tools
Audio and video tools help to address the different ways that students learn best, whether through their visual or auditory sensors. In projects 5-6, we were required to create audio and video instructional tools using a podcast tool, and a movie making tool, respectively, that students could access at home prior to the classroom session.
Vocaroo
For project 5, I chose to use Vocaroo, a free online tool, to create my audio teaching material. I found Vocaroo to be surprisingly simple to use. I initially ventured to use Audacity (the other option provided), however, upon evaluating the complexity of both, I chose Vocaroo. When initially thought of the concept of creating a podcast or audio presentation, I thought it would be a technical process. Vocaroo allowed for easy recording, re-recording as needed, saving, sharing of the completed audio, and embedding into a website. The only think that I think could have improved the user experience was having the ability to replay and somehow edit the audio content, instead of having to start over completely when a mistake was made in the recording. As a result of this, I had to re-record the whole lesson various times. Other than that concern, I would use this tool again in the classroom for both teaching and learning, and would recommend it to future colleagues. In addition, I plan to also learn to use Audacity, as it seems that although it may take some extra time to learn to use because of more complex issues, however, it seems to be a popular technology tool used in academics.
Windows Movie Maker
For project six, we were tasked with creating a video presentation that students would use to learn concepts related to the lesson being covered. I would have to say that this was the most tedious assignment as in the beginning; I did not find Windows Movie Maker to be very user friendly. I watched several tutorials before I finally got the hang of it. What baffled me is that I had used this tool years ago, and successfully, and with much more ease to create a promotional video. I don’t quite understand why my learning curve was so steep, but can only account it to the fact that using technology tools requires that we as educators continuously use it, in order to hone and maintain our skills with using it. Once I got over my hump, how to use it started making sense, and through various revisions, I was able to create a finished product that I liked. I don’t know if I would use this tool in the future for teaching or instruction or not, however, I would explore other movie making tools that may be more user friendly, and require less of a learning curve. However, the fact that this is a free resource is inciting enough for re-use, so I will keep this one at the bottom my educational technology tool box, and maybe take it out for use on a rainy day.
Course Site
Project seven consisted of building a course site which students would use to access materials from home to review lessons, access readings, assignments, tests, and supplementary resources. We used Weebly’s site builder to create the site. The experienced gained from creating the blog site, made the transition to creating the course site much easier as I had become familiar with all the functionalities that the site provides. Building the site was an enjoyable experience where we were able to use our creative style, yet keeping in mind to build a site that was attractive, user friendly, informative, and easy to navigate. Aside from minor glitches experienced at times (as with the blog site), overall, the site was easy to build, and offered features to further customize using html code. After this experience, I would feel comfortable using the site in the future to create an online access points for students, as I implement the Flipped classroom method into my instruction.
Quiz and Forum
For project 8, we were introduced to two features in Weebly’s site builder which included the functionality to create quizzes, and the forum feature.
Quizzes
I would have to say that it was interesting that this feature was available for multi-purpose use. It can also be used to create basic surveys. Creating the question items was simple, and took little time. Upon completion, the quiz was directly embedded on the course site. Students could go to the site page containing the quiz, and complete it. Once completed, responses are recorded and stored. I thought Weebly did a great job at providing a feature that would simplify a busy teacher’s life as it compiles and stores quiz scores which teachers can access directly. I would definitely use this feature in the future in my classroom to quiz students after they have completed an assignment.
Forum
The forum was another Weebly feature that was simple to create. We were required to post two discussion questions related to our topic, and invite our group members to respond. It is a very convenient tool as forum sessions are conducted right on the course site. I would use this feature in the classroom to engage students in discussion, and in order to assess their understanding of the content presented.
Online Web Tools
In projects nine and ten, we used several tools that were all new to me, which included Easy TestMaker, RubiStar, Thinglink, and Scoop.It! these tools were used to create various types of course materials for learning evaluations, provide interactive and engaging course material, and provide resources to support student learning.
Easy TestMaker
The name of this tool pretty much describes its level of difficulty to use. This was an easy tool to use, as I found that it provided a good representation of general type of question items that would be used to create a test. The benefit of using this web tool is that it automatically grades performance. This lends to less time we (as future teachers) will have to spend on grading.
RubiStar
RubiStar was another easy tool to use for the purpose of creating a rubric. The tool provided pre-customized rubrics that were made available based on the type of assignment you were creating. Making edits and adjustments was easy as well. The rubric, once completed, could be easily saved and converted to an MS Excel sheet. The only thing that I can say could have made the experience using the tool more effective was to make available other formats for rubric. I say this because I had to make adjustments to mine, in order for it to conform to the assignment. I would use RubiStar in my future classroom, and I found another resource called RCampus.com that also provides tips on creating rubrics and a wizard for rubric creation.
ThingLink
I enjoyed using ThingLink to create an interactive online course material that provided access points for students to learn content through audio, video or text formats. We chose an image that was related to our lesson, and we added three points that would require students to click on it to access supplemental online resources that we found appropriate for our lesson. This is a great tool, as it helps prevent students from having a static understanding of content. Instead, it provides a way to help students connect supporting concepts to a main one, meanwhile, addressing the various learning styles that students have. I would use this tool in the classroom for teaching and student learning purposes. I think it would be a great way to see how students can utilize it to demonstrate their understanding of concepts, and explore the various ways that can be done using multi-media resources.
Scoop.It!
Finally, Scoop.It! was a great tool to experience. It provided a platform to expose students to targeted articles that were related to the lesson. Upon creating an account, we were able to create and customize our Scoop.It! page. This tool was easy to use, and the feature I liked most was the suggestive articles that were presented based on keywords input. Even though, I started with an idea of some of the articles I wanted to used, I was however, drawn by the many resources that were found based on my keywords. This offered a quick search for articles, which means time savings, and would be beneficial for teachers who might be time stricken. In addition, this tool provides a platform that is interactive as students can post comments to the articles, and current and relevant data about the lesson/content can be made available. I would most definitely use this tool for both teaching and learning activities. As an assignment, students may be asked to create a Scoop.It! related to the content covered, and be required to periodically update content, and interact with other students in posting to their articles, and have relevant discussions.
Through my experiences using these technology tools, I found that my area of strengths was in my ability to conduct research, and seek out additional tutorials in order to grasp how to use certain tools. Although, this resulted in me spending extended amount of time to complete assignments, however, the time spent means that I will be a step ahead in my competencies when I actually implement the technologies into my classroom. My weakness was feeling rushed at times to complete assignments in a timely manner, and therefore, not putting forth better accuracy as it relates to the requirements for the assignment (i.e. improperly linking projects). Overall, it was a great learning experience.
Future Learning Goals
Overall, this course provided an opportunity to engage in professional development through practical application of concepts learned through the completion of various activities using technology tools and integrating them into curriculum instruction. As current and future teachers, we were able to gain experience of the challenges, and decisions that teachers undergo as they develop curriculum that utilizes technology tools to support content delivery, teaching and learning. We discussed and explored issues and concepts related to Internet safety and its use, which is significant in the advent of using the many web resources available that are effective in addressing student learning outcomes. In addition, we were introduced to various educational technology tools that could be used to meet learning challenges of a diverse group of students. Integrating technology into instruction meant that we had to be conscious of the purpose for using the tool, ensuring that the tool clearly reinforced learning objectives. The experience also required us to think creatively through the development of course content, creation of a course site that was accessible, user-friendly, attractive, and purposeful, while adding our own unique touch to the various tools that we used - with our learners' needs in mind. The tools that we were introduced to throughout this course will prove to be valuable resources as they will allow me to implement my teaching philosophy through the use of technology tools that support engagement, interaction among learners, and reinforce practical application of concepts learned. In the future, I plan to consistently seek professional development opportunities to hone my technology skills and stay abreast new innovations and new strategies for utilizing technology to support teaching outcomes. This will also require me to build connections with my colleagues who will be able to share there varied levels of expertise, experience, and knowledge. Just as we aim to make learning a transformative process for our students, we as teachers must have a transformative mindset in the age of technology innovation, in order to build upon our knowledge base and skills, and be able to provide rich learning experiences to our students.