Final Course Reflection

As I reflect on this course, I think of the many connections and “aha” moments I experienced

through the learning activities. I came to the course with a good understanding of educational

technology, but found each module offered something new or served to deepen my understanding of

topics I was already familiar with. With that said, areas that were particularly meaningful for me and for

improving my own practice relate to the research of scholarly and peer-reviewed articles, artificial

intelligence (AI), and our focus on the 21st century skills of communication, collaboration, creativity, and

critical thinking.

Staying abreast of topics related to educational technology is an important part of supporting

digital learning. I often lean on resources including my PLNs, ISTE, Digital Promise, the Office of

Educational Technology and other mainstays, but have not taken advantage of Google Scholar and

proprietary databases for scholarly and peer-reviewed resources. I found exercises in using these tools

helpful in appreciating what they have to offer. The process of researching specific topics and reviewing

a multitude of articles to find what I was looking for was insightful. I not only learned about the chosen

topic, but developed a better understanding of where research in this field was happening through the

variety of query results returned and found myself bookmarking a number of articles unrelated to my

chosen topic to return to later. This includes articles related to blockchain and other future trends. For

instance, one article bookmarked, “Current Status, Issues, and Challenges of Blockchain Applications in

Education” looks to be interesting in its exploration of blockchain and its potential use in a

“decentralized education ecosystem” (Fang & Ma, 2020). Accessing current and future research around

these topics and the questions they pose will help guide decisions in our own implementation.
 The recent wave of attention around AI, particularly related to Chat GPT and similar platforms

has caused quite a stir in the educational arena. This is an area digital learning coaches need to be well-

versed in. I had not sufficiently delved into this area. Through this course, I have begun that journey and

have developed a basic understanding of the technology through course materials, presentations from

peers’ Key Trend projects on AI, and taking the opportunity to use Bing Chat in creating outlines for the

Key Trend Project and other learning activities. I see the value of this technology in my professional

practice for brainstorming ideas, developing professional development sessions, and lesson planning.

Regarding use in the classroom, I recognize the way it supports the continued shift towards the

evaluation of information and critical thinking skills. I will continue to explore this area to enhance my

understanding, to learn where it is going and the complexities it brings to education.

Learning activities in the course related to 21st Century Skills and building student competencies

in communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking were also highly relevant to me and the

work I do. My district has a strong focus on these skills, and we are building the language into our

coaching menus. I began the course with a good understanding of these competencies and digital tools

that can be used to support them, however, I found the learning activities reinforced and deepened that

understanding. For example, further research made me more cognizant of what we mean by creativity,

moving away from the obvious to the broader context of brainstorming and problem-solving, etc. I also

appreciated learning through resources provided by the instructor, those curated by peers, and tools

vetted and shared through our Online Tools Create and Curate Team Projects. I have new tools to

explore, including the Primary Resource Network and DocsTeach for engaging students in critical

thinking. I also plan to refer Common Sense Media’s Social Media Test Drive to my secondary

counterparts as a potential resource to add to their digital literacy curriculum.

In addition to these three areas, I found the resource sharing assignments, follow-up discussions,

and other resources including toptools4learning.com all helpful. I have saved the spreadsheet of curated
resources shared throughout the course for future reference and appreciate learning from their different

perspectives, their own experiences in implementing various tools, and strategies they have used in their

classrooms. I also found the toptools4learning.com site particularly useful in learning of trends in digital

tools and their use. It was not surprising to see ChatGPT climb the charts into 4th place for this year

(Hart, 2023).

Lastly, focusing in the final unit on key trends and issues in educational technology was valuable.

It is essential, as educators, to understand the direction technological advances are moving in so that we

can make important, well-informed decisions on pedagogical practice and how these advances can be

best used in serving our students and supporting their learning. Taking a closer look at adaptive learning

technologies, for me, made me more aware of their benefits and how to fit them into the learning

experience for maximum impact. Big data and the need to protect student data privacy were also big

take-aways. Having the opportunity to research these areas and to learn from classmates about their

respective topics expanded my understanding of adaptive learning technologies, generative AI,

gamification, and other trending areas of educational technology.

I feel, as a result of this course, I am stronger in my role and will continue to refer to resources

provided and insights and strategies learned to inform my professional practice moving forward. This

will include insight gained through the materials, online discussions, research, etc., in addition to the

actual design and structure of the course. While I often collaborate in my role with teachers and peers, it

was good to experience this as a student, along with activities for guided inquiry, learning from other’s

perspectives and experiences, and having choice to delve into areas most pertinent to my own gaps in

understanding. The course not only taught 21st century teaching methodologies and tools through

online resources and discussions, but through modeling them in the course design, itself.
References
Fang, Y., & Ma, Y. (2020, June 26). Current Status, Issues, and Challenges of Blockchain Applications in
Education. Retrieved from International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning:
https://online-journals.org/index.php/i-jet/article/view/13797

Hart, J. (2023). Top 100 Tools for Learning 2023. Retrieved from Top Tools 4 Learning:
https://toptools4learning.com/