Reflections: CEP 811

The quality of assignments in CEP 811 was exceptional and had a big impact on the amount of growth I feel I achieved in this course. I learned to use Goal Directed Instructional Lesson Plan Design and apply it to my own lesson plan, but I also feel I was experiencing Goal Directed Instructional Lesson Plan Design from the perspective of the learner throughout the duration of the class!

This was my first on-line course and that in itself was another big learning curve for me. I think one of the really wonderful things about an online course is the possibility of interacting with students from distant locations, and that was definitely something I got to experience in this course.

I was also introduced to the MERLOT on-line resource for educators. I was able to publish two of my works on this site and also wrote a critical analysis of classmates work which was published on MERLOT.

I feel the work on application of UDL principles was the most important thing I learned.  The UDL checklist is something I will keep utilizing to make sure I am doing a thorough job of optimizing learning for ALL students. I was introduced to some assistive technologies I had not been aware of like free text-to-speech features available online that you could incorporate in your lessons to accommodate students who face challenges interacting with written material.

In addition to this blog that I created in CEP 810, I now have a classroom website, a coach's website, and a wiki that I want to start using in my day-to-day interactions with students, their parents, and my colleagues. I am enrolled in CEP 812 and look forward to completing MSU's Educational Technology Certificate Program in about 8 weeks.  I plan to apply for admission to the Master's Program and continue this journey through the summer and next school year.  I would like to take the remaining courses I need to get the State of Michigan Educational Technology Endorsement and then finish the rest of the Master's Program. I have always felt that education opens your eyes to "what you don't know."  My eyes are wide open now to many more things I would like to learn and be able to share with my students!