LearningHowtoMakeTechnologyWorkforMe

CraigAstor
EDUC526CapstoneExperienceinDigitalTeachingandLearning
Dr.JoanneGilbreath
OrangeCountyCampus
http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1072779
July,22,2014

CraigAstorEDUC526GrowthAssessment Page1
OrangeCountyRegionalCenterSummerJuly2014
SECTIONONE:
Introduction
WhenIcompletedmycredentialprogramatAPU,IknewthatIwouldsomedaycomebackandfinish
myMastersdegreetheirlateron.Afterall,Iwouldonlyneedtotakeanadditional5orsixclassestocompleteit.
Itseemedlikeanobrainer.IcompletedmystudentteachingintheSpringof2011andwasfortunateenoughto
landateachingjobtheverynextfall.Thefirsttwoyearsofteachingwerealotofwork,soIdecidedtopostpone
takingMastersclassesuntilIfeltmoreready.AsIbeganmyMA,Iwasteachingmildtomoderatespecial
educationclassesinHistoryandreadingattheSDCandRSPlevelatMayfairMiddle/HighSchoolinLakewood,
CA.MywifeandIhadalsojustpurchasedapatiohome,andwelcomedababygirltoourfamilyinFebruary
2013.MygoalsforpursuingmyMastersdegreeinDigitalTeachingandLearningweretoobtainmyMAand
improvemyteachingskillsintheareaofteachingwithtechnology.

PersonalGrowth
IhavelearnedthatIlearnbestbyseeinganddoing.Iwanttoseeallofthestepsofaproblem,or
visualizationstoaccompanyastory,andthenactuallyputwhatIamlearningintopractice.Ihaveneverreally
hadthebeststudyhabits.Itendtoprocrastinate,waitinguntilthelastminutetodosomething.IalwaysthinkI
willbeabletofititinbeforeitsdue.IalsohavelearnedthatIactuallyworkmoreefficientlywhenIprocrastinate,
becausethepressuretogetitdoneinashorteramountoftimeforcesmeto.Personally,inthisprogram,Ihave
notmadetoomanylastingconnectionswithotherstudents.NotbecauseIwasagainstit,butmoresobecause
IamsobusywithmyownpersonalandworklifethatIdidntreallyhavetimeforit.Also,Ithinkthenatureofan
onlineprogramlikethismeansthatyoumightnothaveallthesameclasseswithallthesamepeople,and
becauseofthelackofphysicalpresence,youdontgetachancetointeractwithclassmatesbeforeandafter
classoronbreaks.Spiritually,Ihavehadtodoalotofprayingforhelptomeetmyschoolguidelinesaswellas
balanceschool,work,andfamilylifealotbetter.Ithinkitisalwaysgoodtolookatteachingfromaspiritual
perspective,andtoremindourselveswhyitisthatwedecidedtobecomeateacherinthefirstplace.Mydesire
toteachisdefinitelygroundedinmyspiritualbeliefs.Onpersonallevel,thecompletionofthisdegreemeans
CraigAstorEDUC526GrowthAssessment Page2
OrangeCountyRegionalCenterSummerJuly2014
thatIwillhavemoretimetospendonthethingsrequiredofmeasahusband,father,friend,andhomeowner,
andIwillhavealargersalarytohelpmedothosethings.

ProfessionalGrowth
ThroughmystudyatAPU,Ihavedefinitelygrownasaneducator.Mostly,Ihavebeenchallengedtouse
technologyintheassignmentsinthisprogramandthathasforcedmetocreatemeaningfullessonsthatgo
waybeyonddefiningthetermsordoingaworksheet.MyeducationalvisionhasevolvedasIhavetriedto
implementsomethingsthatIhavelearnedinthisprogram.Thisyear,asIcontinuedtointegratetechnologyinto
mylessonplans,Ilearnedtonotusetechnologyfortechnologyssake.Makesurethatitwillbeused
successfully,andthatagoodlessonplanisincludedwithitaswell.Ihavealsolearnedthatstudents,my
specialeducationstudentsespecially,oftenneedalotoftimetocompletetheirlessons,andIhavelearnedto
balancetheinstructionaltimeneedsthatarepresented.SincebeginningmyMastersprogram.Ihavenottaken
onanynewresponsibilitiesatmyschool.ThefollowingareafewnewinstructionalstrategiesthatIhave
incorporatedintomyteaching.From512,Iusedawebquestformygeographyclasstodoatravelblogona
countryoftheirchoice.From514,Imadeavideoofmystudentssayingthegettysburgaddressandeditedit
together.From515,Imadeaclasswebsite,whereIintegratedvideos,resources,andassignmentsthatIused
inclass,sothatthestudentscouldaccessthatinformationoutsideoftheclassroom.Myactionresearchstudy
involvesmetryingtofindabetterwaytodoquiettimeseveryday.LifeisbusywithakidandIamstilltryingto
figureoutthebestwaytobeconsistentonspendingtimewiththeLord.MyresearchquestionisCanIhavea
quiettime,inthemorning,ofatleast5minutesaday,6daysaweek?

TechnicalGrowth
Mytechnicalprowessatthebeginningoftheprogramwasprettygood.Iwasalreadyadeptat
incorporatingtechnologyintomylessonplansinanexciting,engagingway.AfewthingsthatIdidlearnwhile
doingmycoursework,washowtobuildafunctionalwebsite(512&515),howtoeditsound(514),andI
improvedmyabilitytoeditvideosandposttheminanefficientmanner(514).Technically,Ialreadyknewhowto
dothebasicsofallofthose(Ivebeeneditingvideossincehighschool),butthiscoursereallydidhelpmeto
CraigAstorEDUC526GrowthAssessment Page3
OrangeCountyRegionalCenterSummerJuly2014
refinethoseabilities.Forexample,Ilearnedagreatdealaboutlightingandsoundinmy514class,andwas
abletousethatinavideothatImadewithmystudentssayingtheGettysburgAddress,andthedifferenceinthe
qualityofthevideowaspalpableandisdirectlyattributedtothisnewlyacquiredknowledge.Asaresultofthe
coursesIhavetakenInowuseTwitter(515)alotmoretointeractandlearnfromtheonlinecommunityof
educators,weebly.com(512&515)forawebsiteformyclass,aswellasawebquestformyGeography
studentsinparticular,andkeepvid.comtodownloadyoutubevideosforeditingandsavingvideosinmygoogle
docs.

LifelongLearningPlan
Aftercompletingthiscourse,IfeelIhaveamuchbettergrasponhowtoutilizetechnologyinmy
classroom.Thenextstepformewillbetopracticeitbydevelopingandimprovinglessonsinwaysthatbest
usethetechnologythatIhaveavailabletome.Iwillcontinuallydevelopmyskillsbybeinganaviduserof
Twitter,learningbyreadinghelpfullinkspostedby@edutopia,@edudemic,andfreetechnologyforteacherswith
@rmbyrne.Iamawarethatpersonally,inordertobecomethebestteacherpossible,Ineedtomakeuseofthe
breaksIgetfromteachingatsummersandholidays.Ialsoneedtoalwayskeepinmindthereasonsand
passionsthatIhadforteachingwhenIdecidedtomakeitmycareer.Keepingthosethingsinfocusweekly,if
notdaily,hasreallyhelpedsofarandwillundoubtedlyhelpinthefuture.Inordertostayabreastofnew
developmentsinthefield,Ineedtobecontinuallylearning.Ineedtoreaduponnewthingsinjournals,follow
cuttingedgepeopleonTwitter,attendingteachingandtechconferences,andmostimportantly,continuingto
createnewlessonsandinfusenewtechnologyintooldlessons.BycreatingIwillreallybeabletostaysharp
becauseIwillhavetosynthesizealloftheinformationthatIamreadingaboutorhearingaboutinconferences.I
wanttocontinuetodevelopmyskillsincreatingcurriculumthatiscompletelyonline.Iwouldalsolovetobeable
tosetupaflippedclassroom,havingallofmylessonsavailableonyoutube.Ialsowouldlovetolearnhowto
gamifythelearningthatgoesoninmyclassroom,inordertoincreasestudentinteractionandmotivation.Infive
years,Iseemyselfstillteachingspecialeducation,probablyatadifferentschool.In10years,Icouldsee
myselffurtheringmycredentialsoIcouldteachatechnologydrivencourse.

CraigAstorEDUC526GrowthAssessment Page4
OrangeCountyRegionalCenterSummerJuly2014
SECTIONTWO:

HistoryofCourseworkandCourseEvaluation

Name:
Term:
Craig Astor
Summer 2014

LiveBinder
URL:
http://www.livebinders.com
/play/play?id=1072779
Course
Course Title & Instructor
Name
Term
Complet
ed
Key Skills Acquired Comments/Suggestions
EDUC
511

Foundations in Digital
Teaching and Learning

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Joanne
Gilbreath
Fall 2
2013
*organizing of thoughts
and information in the
livebinder
*Livebinder seems like an
awkward website/binder thing.
It seems like it would be easier
and more fluid to just use a free
website like weebly or wix
EDUC
512

Instructional Applications
Productivity Software

INSTRUCTOR: Torrence
Temple
Fall 1
2013
*building websites and
webquests
*good introduction to
the program for me
*give more examples of the
practical steps of how to do
different types of webquests
EDUC
514

Digital Video in the
Classroom

INSTRUCTOR: Timothy
McKean
Fall 2
2013
*editing videos
*lighting videos
*editing sound
*downloading videos off
the web
*camera framing
techniques
*storyboarding
techniques
*I really enjoyed this class and
thought Tim did a great job
teaching it!
EDUC
515

Evolving Educational
Technologies

INSTRUCTOR: Mark Rounds
Spring 1
2014
*learning to use various
technologies
*being able to learn and
develop a use for a new
technology in the
classroom
*needs to chunk his lectures
better (too long and prone to
rambling)
*record some elements of
lecture before hand, so some of it
can be viewed like a flipped
classroom
EDUC
522

Learning in the 21st
Century

INSTRUCTOR: Richard Geib

Spring 2
2014
*teaching to multiple
intelligences
*Instructor needs to teach us
how to teach to multiple
intelligences, not just tell us to
do it
*Needs to model what teaching
to MI looks like, not just expect
us to figure it out on our own, we
can do that without a class
EDUC
526

Capstone Experience/
Digital Teaching and
Learning

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Joanne
Gilbreath
Summer
2014
*Summarizing what Ive
learned
*Categorizing my skills
*Creating a summary
video
*So far so good!
*spread out the assignments and
have 1 due at each meeting,
instead of 3 or 4 due at once

CraigAstorEDUC526GrowthAssessment Page5
OrangeCountyRegionalCenterSummerJuly2014
EvaluationoftheImpactoftheDigitalTeachingandLearningProgram
OnenewinstructionaltoolthathasreallycomeinhandyistheclasswebsitethatIhavecreated.Ihadto
makeawebsiteinseveralofmyclasses,butthefirstoneIdidwhileinthe512class.Ihavebeenusing
Weebly.comandIvehadagreatexperiencewithitsofar.Ihavemadeseveralmoresites,includingawebsite
forallofmyclasses,awebsiteforthefinalprojectofmyGeographyclass,andevenapersonalwebsiteto
sharethingswithmyfamilyandfriends.
TheWeeblywebsiteisintegratedintoeverythingthatIdo.EveryYouTubeorquicktimevideothatIshow
inclassislinkedtoonthewebsite,soitservestobothhelpmeinstructtheclass(bygoingtothepageand
clickingonthelinktoopenit)andprovidesaplacewherestudentscangobackandreviewmaterialatalater
time.Icanputupacalendarforthestudentstofollow,sotheyknowwhenthenexttestorquizwillbe.Ican
evenintegratesomeassignments,orputlinkstoothertechnologybasedthingsthatweuseinclass,suchas
classdojo.com.Inshort,itisagreattoolthatIcanuseinmanyfacetsofmyclassroom.

ProgramEvaluation
MyoverallexperienceatAPUhasbeenagoodone.EveryonewhoIhavebeenincontactwith
throughoutmytimeherehasbeenveryniceandhelpfultome.Iwaslookingforaprogramthatwouldhelpme
obtainthenecessarycredentialstohelpmelandajobasateacher,andAPUwasabletotothatforme.
Somestrengthsoftheprogramwouldbethesmallclasssizesandtheassortmentoflocations.Ialso
likedtheonlinecomponentfoundintheseMastersclasses.Whenwewouldmeetonline(viavideochat
especially)itreallyhadthefeelingofarealclassroom,beingabletoaskquestionsoftheteacherorhave
discussionsinrealtime(asopposedtoaclasswhereweastudentwouldjustsubmitworkandmake
commentsinacommunitychatroom).Someteachersdidagreatjob,likeTimothyMcKeaninEDUC514.He
hadagreatbalanceofteaching,wheresometimes,heflippedtheclassroom,havinguswatchayoutubevideo
ofhimteachingaskillviaascreencast.
SomeweaknessesintheMastersprogramwerethefactthatsomeclasseshadteacherswhowould
actuallyteach,andsomewhowouldjustassignworktodo,andnotreallyteach,justsortofgiveashort
explanationofwhatthestudentsweresupposedtogoandfigureoutontheirown.Especially,forexample,in
CraigAstorEDUC526GrowthAssessment Page6
OrangeCountyRegionalCenterSummerJuly2014
EDUC522,whentheclasswasaboutteachingtomultipleintelligences,theteacherseemedtoonlybegivinga
shortexplanationofwhatwasexpected(helpfultoauditorylearners),butdidntactuallyteachusaboutthebest
waystoteachtostudentswithmultipleintelligences.Theinstructorjustmadeusgofigureitoutforourselves.
Obviously,Ididworkedhardattheassignments,anddidlearnafewthingsaboutteachingtomultiple
intelligences,buttheonlywayAPUhelpedmetodothatwasbyrequiringthatIdoinordertogetthepassing
grade,notactuallyteachingmehowtodoit.
Someteachersdidagreatjobofteachingandexplainingthings,suchasmyexperiencewithTimothy
McKeaninEDUC514thatIexplainedabove,whereassometeacherswouldjustgettoatopicandrambleon
aboutit,asifbecausetheywereanexpertinthatparticularfield,theydidntneedtoreallyputeffortintotheway
theyconveyedtheinformationtheyknew.Anotherweaknessisinthewaythatsomeofthecourseswere
designed.Somefollowedawellbalancedtimeline,whereonormaybetwoassignmentsweredueeachweek,
thusgivingtheclassagoodpace,andprovidingampletimeforteacherfeedbackatappropriateintervals(i.e.
classtime),whereotherclassesseemedtojustassignabunchofworkatrandomtimes,makingthestudent
feeloverwhelmedwiththeamountthattheywererequiredtodo.
Thefollowingaremyrecommendationsforcourseimprovement.First,makesuretheinstructorsare
modelingwhatbeingagoodteacherisbybeinggoodteacherstothestudents.I,asateacher,cantellifmy
teacherisworkinghardtoactuallyteachwell,orifheorsheisjustspoutingoutabunchofinformationand
makingusgoandfigurethingsoutonourown.IfImgoingtospendtimefiguringthingsoutonmyown,Icando
thatwithoutgoingtothetroubleandcostofenrollinginschool.
Secondly,makesurethateveryonlineversionoftheclassisheldinavideochatroom(googlechat)as
opposedtojustanaudiochat(adobeconnect).Ithinkitismuchbettertobeengagedinwhattheteacheris
talkingaboutwhenyoucanactuallylookattheteacherthanwhenyouareonlytryingtopickupwhatheorshe
issayingthroughaudio.Itisanapproachthatismoreuniversallydesignedtobetterinstructlearnersofmultiple
intelligences,notjustpeoplewhoareauditorylearners.Plus,ittotallyhelpswithclassroomdiscussionand
interactionwhenyoucanseewhatyourclassmateslooklikeandreadtheexpressionsontheirfaceswhen
theyaretalking,nottomentionbeabletocommunicatemoreclearlyyourself.
CraigAstorEDUC526GrowthAssessment Page7
OrangeCountyRegionalCenterSummerJuly2014
Thirdly,whengivingoutassignmentsthatcarryovertothenextclass,makesuretoexplainthebig
pictureofhowthatwillplayoutasyouareexplainingthefirstpartoftheassignment.Forexample,theMultiple
Intelligencesunitplanthatwehadtodesignin522endedupcarryingoverinto526.Ourinstructormentioned
thatitwouldhelpuswith526,buthedidnotletusseethebigpicturesowecouldunderstandexactlyhowwe
wouldbeusingitwiththenextclass.IfIhadunderstoodthat,Iwouldhavedesignedmyunitplanbackin522in
amuchdifferentway,anditwouldhavebeeneasierandmoresensicalinthemidstofthewholedesigning
process.
Finally,seektohavetheassignmentsintheclassesbeevenmoreapplicabletoourownclassrooms
thatweteachin.Forthemostpart,therewereopportunitiesineachclassforustomakeanassignmentone
wecoulduseinourclassrooms.ItookadvantageoftheseasoftenasIcould,andwasmuchmoreengagedin
theassignmentbecauseitwasmuchmorepracticalthanoneforatheoreticalclassroom.
Aftercompletingthisprogram,IamstillverygladthatIchosetodothisprograminlieuofaMastersthat
wasmoreabouttheoriesofeducationorwhatever.IknowthatitmayseemlikeIjustcomplainedalotbutIdo
wanttomakesurethatIsharemyopinionsoftheprogrambecauseIwanttheprogramtogrowstrongerevery
year.IreallydidenjoytheprogramandtheworkthatIhadtodowasverypracticalandhandsoncomparedto
whatIveheardaboutotherprograms.Iwilldefinitelysaygoodthingsaboutthisprogramtomyfriendsand
colleaguesandIwillcontinuetobuilduponwhatIvelearnedherefortherestofmycareerandlife.
CraigAstorEDUC526GrowthAssessment Page8
OrangeCountyRegionalCenterSummerJuly2014