Final Reflection

This class to me was really two separate parts. One part was technological and the other part was the educational design, the Webquest/Online Inquiry Orientated Learning Experience task.

The first part, learning Dreamweaver, was frustrating, intoxicating, and invigorating at times. Learning how to build web sites from the bottom up was challenging and rewarding. I now feel pretty comfortable that I can create one that does what I want/need it to do. But it was very frustrating to know what I wanted to do and couldn’t get Dreamweaver to behave properly or know how to do it. That is where I get myself in trouble. I would spend hours and hours trying to get something to work or look they way that I wanted it to rather than doing it a different way. I learned with these types of programs that there is more than one way to achieve the outcome. But as I learned more and more, with the help of many, it became exciting and rewarding.

I felt that early on in the class I was more consumed with the tech part that some of the educational planning may have be set on the back burner. As I became more comfortable with the technology I was able to focus on the WebQuest task. I learned a lot about what I think makes a good WebQuest and what I wanted my task to accomplish. Overall I am pleased with how mine turned out but I know that after my students try the task that I will have to revise it based on how they worked through it.

As a teacher getting my TIE certification I need to remember that technology can be an obstacle for teachers. Technology is constantly changing and it will be my job to get teachers to “buy” into using it. It can be overwhelming for those of use who like and are adept with it let alone someone who is terrified of a computer. I will need to remember how I struggled at the beginning and empathize with the Luddites of the world!