Contribution to Learning In 5315
This semester, I took two courses, EDLD 5315, Assessing Digital Learning and Instruction, and EDLD 5304, Leading Organizational Change. At the end of our 8-week course, students must reflect on their time in class and assess their contribution to the class. For this course, I rated myself at 95 since there is always room for improvement within oneself. I achieved this goal by completing all my work on time or ahead of the due date.
​
Personal Reflection:
Things that worked for me were that I worked on my assignments ahead of time and did not wait until the last minute. I tried to ensure I had all my readings and discussions done promptly. I used my class conferences every day, I spent many hours after work until 7:00 p.m. staying late and researching for our Literature Review, and the weekends to achieve this goal. I planned accordingly, so I was ahead of the game. I even printed out my course grade book so I would know my due dates. I kept my ePortfolio up to date with our assignments and did not wait until the last minute to prepare everything. In fact, I had already drafted my initial course page for 5315 and the place holders for the material. Then, I linked the papers once I had completed the work.
​​​
On my first assignment, Action Research Design Outline, I scored a 92, and after talking to our Teaching Instructor (TI), Creighton, he showed me where some improvements could be made for my outline and my action research topic. He helped me understand what I was missing regarding breaking down my thoughts and getting to the heart of my issue/ matter. So, I appreciate him helping me. Once I reworked my question, my score improved to a 100. I also tried to write as much information as possible to help me on the backend for my final measurement and strategy paper, like Dr. Meeuwse heavily suggested in one of our lectures.
​​
On my second assignment, our literature review, I scored 148/150 points. This was the second most challenging paper that I have had to write in this course. The first was in Dr. Johnson's class, EDLD 5305. This paper gave me a lot of anxiety, but I'm proud of how it turned out. I also greatly appreciate the template that was provided by Dr. M. It helped me plug in my information and research. I worked really hard on this paper and stayed late, until 7:30 p.m., several nights a week after teaching class for a month. It was the shortest time I have ever had to write a paper of this magnitude, including how much research went into it, and I submitted it. I am beyond proud of myself for all the hard work and pulling it off. Also, for the amount of research I did. I ended up submitting my paper 5 days before the deadline. Creighton quickly looked at my paper and said, "At a glance, it looks great!" So, I was pretty excited about that comment.
​​​
Regarding class discussion boards, I took the lead and created the GroupMe chat for our class and actively communicated/ participated with classmates, not only in our discussion posts but also within our GroupMe chat. We discussed many of our assignments and helped each other grow not only within this course but in our profession as well. Within our discussion posts, I commented between two and four times on other classmates' posts. I tried to give constructive criticism and positive feedback. I also felt like I got the same in return.
​
Apparently, there were two sections of graduate students taking this course at the same time, the D section (EDLD), and the E section (Educational Tech. Leadership). For one of our discussion posts, we had to find fellow classmates who were writing on the same or similar topics, get feedback and ideas, and see what references and resources they had used. Unfortunately, there was no one in my D section writing/ researching on my topic. So, while I was sad that no one else had written about my topic, I was also a little excited to be the first to pave the way for my VR in the classroom topic. Then Sarah Enger invited her classmates in the E group, Donn Nauert and Christopher Highberg, to our GroupMe chat. It turns out that in our Blackboard groups, the classes are separated, and we are not able to see each other. Once they joined our big class GroupMe chat, Donn, Chris, and I started a separate chat to discuss our AR/VR topics. Donn and I talked a lot about our topics and shared information regarding our papers, research questions, and how we are going to assess our data.
​​​​​
Core Collaboration Group:
My core collaboration group comprised Keslie Adams, Ann Zastryzny, and Ayla Rightenour. We have been going through this program since October 2024 and established a group name when we had Dr. Johnson in January of 2025 called, ✨The Extras.✨. We have our own chat group going constantly and discuss our assignments, our life, and life in our classroom. I also talked to Benjamin Portillo a lot as well. He and I discussed many of our courses, their work, what we are currently doing, and what I have to look forward to in my upcoming classes. We talk daily as well about life and school.
​
In this course, 38 people joined our GroupMe chat and talked frequently. To name a few, those people are Kelsie Adams, Sarah Enger, Benjamin Portillo, Emily Matheny, Jelisa Davis-Sophus, Joseph Noonan, Monique Richardson, Rebecca Chang, Melissa Richards, Lydia McDonald, and Whitney Davis. However, most people, if not everyone, in the chat, even those not listed above, contributed and helped everyone in some way. We were a very active and chatty group.
​​
Conclusion:
In conclusion, I have gained considerable knowledge regarding this course. I'm very
proud of myself for writing an action research outline, a literature review, and my action research plan. We have had some great discussions and thought-provoking talks. I have made friends in this course and grown more as a person and educator. I also enjoyed this course. It was tough to crank out the research paper and find all the needed information. Still, I am beyond proud of myself for what I accomplished while teaching, balancing home life and personal life, and getting dinner on the table.
​
In addition to this course, I was also enrolled in EDLD 5304 with Dr. Fredy Padovan. So, while I wrote all these papers and research outlines, I also worked on his papers and projects.​
​​
Thank you, Dr. M and Creighton, for all your help and feedback on our papers.