space.template.Ref+crs+bsd+embed+assgn

== =Reflections of Course-based Embedded Assignments=

EDLD 5306
Change your thoughts and you change your world (Peale). This quote constantly came to mind during the first week of my first course in the Master of Education of Educational Technology Leadership program. Beginning with the assessment it was very evident I would need to change my thoughts and change my world. As I moved through the first week’s assignment I also discovered I had a lot of ground to cover in a very short period of time. I have served a number of years in the administrative area of education but I found I really did not know a lot about the curriculum side of education. As we studied the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology, the Technology Applications TEKS, and the Technology Applications Inventory it became very evident that many items controlled the curriculum standards. My thoughts until I began this course were not centered on implementing technology into the classroom but I soon learned that the focus of the future revolves around that very point.

The full impact of this focus in the future by the state made me nervous as I thought about the amount of change that would be required to fully embrace technology in the classroom. The largest change would be for the teachers as they would need staff development, equipment, software and practice to accomplish this goal. The training would have to be ongoing also to keep the teachers current with the new web 2.0 tools. This comment is backed by Williamson and Redish as they stated ‘the dynamic nature of the field amplifies the need to keep pace with emerging technological knowledge’. As a leader in the technology field it will be vital to the success of the change to support the teachers with the proper ongoing training. Teachers who have brought technology into their classrooms are aware that it provides an opportunity to differentiate instruction and change their classrooms into dynamic learning environments (Pitler, 2007). There is a movement for change and that change is changing our classrooms.

Quote Details: Norman Vincent Peale: Change your thoughts and... - The Quotations Page. (n.d.). //Quotes and Famous Sayings - The Quotations Page//. Retrieved May 29, 2011, from [|http://www.quotationspage.com]

Williamson, J., & Redish, T. (2009). //ISTE's technology facilitation and leadership standards: what every K-12 leader should know and be able to do//. Eugene, Or: International Society for Technology in Education.

Pitler, H. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works//. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ;.