Week+3+Assignment+Part+3.2,+Comprehensive+Exam

Word document and link to download file at bottom of page. **Personal Learning** During this program I have learned a lot about myself. One of the main things I learned is that I prefer working collaborating face to face rather than through web 2.0. I found using a wiki and shared documents to be rather confusing. If it’s true that most of our communication is non-verbal, then it makes sense that I would find communicating only by writing inadequate. The assignments that required lots of communication were especially uncomfortable for me. I felt many times if my collaborators and I were sitting at a coffee shop, we could have figured out hwat needed to be done in about a quarter of the time. But with web 2.0, there would be a question, then an answer, then maybe another question to clarify, followed by another answer. Since everyone was a busy professional with a family and other responsibilities, there was always a delay. It made for some photo-finishes in some of our assignments.

I also found that I truly enjoyed learning at my own pace and time. One of the reasons I chose this program over others was that it required very little attending web conferences, chats, live discussions etc. I needed a program where I could access the material at a time that was convenient for me, whether that was late at night, or early in the morning. I found that I was able to budget my time, and assess that I was able to get all the assignments done correctly and on time. I learned from the professors, the material, and my fellow student

**Technology & Leadership Learning** I learned so much information about technology it is difficult to summarize. I suppose what I really am taking away from this is that technology is at it’s root, only a tool to improve education. The end result is not technology for it’s own sake, but using it to improve student achievement. The ability of computers to access and organize information is very beneficial to students, teachers, administrators, and anyone in the educational system. Adaptive technologies have the potential to truly provide individualized instruction. Data collection and management technologies can allow for educators to provide both intervention and enrichment. The challenge is that the pace of innovation is getting faster and faster so this requires me to be committed to keeping abreast of the latest trends in educational technology.

The leadership aspect of this program has been just as beneficial as the technological component. The difference has been in my ability to implement what I have learned. With technology I can use my computer or the web to use what I have learned right away in my professional or personal life. But due to my current position as a classroom teacher, and my postion as an instructional coach when I started the program, I have had very limited opportunities to be a technology facilitator (Williamson & Redish, 2009).

**Learning About Attitude** My attitudes have changed in different areas as a result of this program. Previously, I was fairly confident that online learning was comparable to traditional college. Now I am confident that there is no downside with a well designed online program. All the elements are there with an online program that there are with a traditional one: lectures, readings, assessments, assignments, and interactions with other students and the professors. I appreciate the flexibility that a distance learning provides for a professional with an active family life.

Another area my attitudes have changed is towards technology in education. I now see it not as a magic bullet, but as a necessary tool for getting our students ready for the future as I discussed in the previous section. My attitudes have also changed toward teachers and students. The brilliant analogy of digital immigrants and digital natives has helped me understand the gap between our students, teachers, and our educational system. I want to help bridge the divide by helping our teachers use the new technology that is available. I want to help our outdated school systems enter the 21st century in a time of limited resources. Finally, I want our students to see the benefit of some of the traditional ways of schooling. To sum up, my attitude is I want to do the best we can with where our schools are now, while being a change agent to keep up with the pace of technology in the future.

** References ** See Word document for references [|Link to Dropbox to download Comprehensive Exam]