Contribution to My Learning Summer Sessions 2023

I began my journey toward a master’s degree in Applied Digital Learning desiring to learn more and become a better-equipped leader in my school district, where I serve as an Instructional Technology Coach. My foundational courses include Apply Ed Tech: Portfolio (5303) and Disruptive Innovation in Tech (5303). Through a series of discussions, videos, modules, online discussion posts, readings, and meetings with the facilitator and peers, I have not only received affirmations that my instincts were on the right path but also learned my passion for digital learning runs deep. Throughout the courses, I designed, deleted, redesigned, changed, revised, and finally landed on Incorporating Play Through Project-Based Blended Learning as the focus of my disruptive Innovation Plan. It was through quality questioning with a meeting with my facilitator and the experiences in my courses, that I discovered my ultimate passion; creating learner-centered environments to promote lifelong learning using a natural way of acquiring knowledge through play using digital tools. (That is a mouthful! I'm still working on condensing the title.)

Throughout the Disruptive Innovation course, my brain was fed a delicious course of readings, books, and videos. Those combined with classroom

discussions reignited a part of my life that I didn’t realize was missing-talking about all the things I read with others. I am a voracious reader. I read all the time on many different topics. Reading and watching the videos listed in the weekly instructional materials was like a desert for me as I found myself going down many "rabbit holes" of further reading, watching, and thinking. I also found talking about my learning to be natural and easy. I even had the opportunity to learn how to use Adobe Video software for a portion of my Innovation Plan, which is something I've always wanted to do! However, there are some areas that need improvement. One area that I need to improve upon is physically writing my ideas down-and what prompted that idea-in addition to thinking and discussing them. Also, time management is a bit tricky when balancing a family, a leadership career in education, and going back to school. I need to find different ways to manage my time more effectively, so I have the dedicated time to think, collaborate, and communicate my ideas effectively and efficiently to adhere to course expectations.

As I worked through my ePortfolio course, I found I was naturally more excited to play with those ideas. It was a hands-on, fully creative endeavor. While I was learning the theory behind the purpose and uses of ePortfolios; I was actively creating one. I love to create things. Creating online content is fun for me, and something I have dabbled with off and on for many years. I was already comfortable with the whole premise behind content creation, and it was natural to extend my learning, by reading articles, watching videos, looking at examples, and talking about my learning with others. Also, I discovered I really love blogging and sharing ideas with an outside audience. Learning how to enable the counts for reading, liking, and commenting has been very motivating for me to continue developing this type of writing. I'm also researching other blogging styles and planning on incorporating some in the near future. That course in particular just felt a natural extension of what I already do, with solid refinements and continued practices now in place.

Despite my natural joy and excitement in the ePortfolio class, I have ample room for growth in this area as well. First of all, I'm not using the general Wix. I'm using their upgraded version called Editor X. I am still learning how to make my website translate into different viewing areas, such as tablets and smartphones. I'm learning their terminology and how to "anchor" things to pages and containers. I need to carve out time to plan, schedule, and create content. I also need to carve out time to read through and respond to discussion posts regularly. I found myself being able to read my peer’s posts easily and respond in my mind, but then forget to respond digitally in a timely manner. I would find myself just pouring out the thoughts I had collected in a mass bulk instead of reading and responding to things individually as I read. I must create and adhere to a schedule that allows for regular, dedicated time to respond to my learning and to the thoughts of my colleagues.

As I close out this first semester of learning, I must give credit to my collaborative learning group. Rebekah A., Ashely K., Paul S., and Jane B. have been so influential in brainstorming, meeting, and supporting each other’s learning through GroupMe, text messages, Zoom, FaceTime, and our Note/Idea Catcher that I created for our group using Google Docs. They have contributed to helping me formulate my ideas into sentences, helping me learn APA, and just providing feedback in a positive and constructive way. In addition, I have collaborated with my dear friend, and colleague, Dr. Christel Ghrist, as she is an influential educational leader and mentor in my learning journey. She has provided support, tutorials, and brainstorming sessions as I synthesize new learning. She also loves to talk “nerd” with me, enriching the learning conversations into practical applications for the shared teachers and students we serve! Our dependable, collaborative learning group has been essential in helping build new knowledge upon existing experiences and understanding of new ideas. I am looking forward to satisfying my curiosity as I continue this learning path.