Saturday, February 8, 2014

5366 Reflection


I truly gained knowledge in every assignment in 5366. I knew nothing about C.R.A.P, yet after learning what it was, I began to look for it everywhere. I found it interesting that the sites who had C.R.A.P. were more visually appealing and easier to navigate. I never would have thought to create a logo for myself, but had so much fun in week two doing just that. I created multiple logos and added them to my website and blog. Even though Lea Alcantara (2009) said that when you are working on branding, you aren’t your logo; creating the logo was my favorite part. I also have never experienced creating animations and was definitely a little intimidated. But, I found the software fun to use and will recommend it to my teacher to use in their classrooms. While I felt very confident in my overall technical abilities ( I have created websites and blogs before), this class pushed me to learn and apply new things and took us to the creation level of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy (2007) where we went above and beyond choosing a template and filling in information. I thought about C.R.A.P in every assignment. When we created our site, we chose to go with a red theme to correlate with Lamar.  We wanted repetition and uniformity with similar logos, fonts, and colors. I have high standards and always want to put  forth my best effort. Luckily, I was able to work with a group of ladies who share the same work ethic. Even though I always do my best, knowing they were counting on me heightened my awareness of my work and the time frame in which I completed it. Our group has been together since the first class of this program. We have grown to know one another and have bounced ideas off each other before. It was a challenge in this class to remember to use the collaboration document and not Facebook, which has been our sole form of communication throughout the program. I was already a fan of collaboration before starting this program, but as we have progressed, my support for collaboration has grown stronger. We have been stronger students because of each other. Reflection is another skill we have developed throughout the program. I like what Gerstein (2011) said about reflection; “Critical reflection is an important part of any learning process. Without reflection, learning becomes only an activity - like viewing a reality TV show - which was never meant to have meaning, but was only meant to occupy time." We don't want our kids to just watch and regurgitate, we want them to truly understand and be able to apply throughout their lives. Reflection helps students do just that. Being an advocate for collaboration, one thing I would like to research in the future is the use of rounds in education. I actually just purchased a book and the administrators guide to go with it. We have so much talent and knowledge in our building, yet we never have the time or the opportunity to learn from others. I am hoping, after learning about rounds that we will have those opportunities and improve our teachers in the process.


Alcantara, L. (2009). The art of self-branding. Retrieved from 
     http://www.lealea.net/blog/comments/the-art-of-self-branding-part-one/

Churches, A. (2007, April). Bloom's digital taxonomy. Retrieved from 
     http://www.techlearning.com/article/8670

Gerstein, J. (2011, August). Where is reflection in the learning process. Retrieved from 
     http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/where-is-reflection-in-the-learning-process/