It is with a little sadness that I write my final entry in this blog for this course. I have enjoyed reading and responding to the blogs written by my colleagues. The breadth of topics and intriguing insights in the blogs allowed me to broaden my perspective on technology education, educational philosophy, and current trends in education. This course has enlightened my awareness of many issues in technology education!
In reviewing my entries in this blog I realize that I have learned a lot; not only in this course, but in the entire Masters of Education program. This is one of my final courses in this program. As I read through my blog entries again, I noticed I referred often to the diverse courses I completed in the program: philosophy, curriculum theory, learning theory, educational administration theory. The Masters program has allowed me to gain an understanding of many new facets of education that I had not known about previously. It is a great program that allows educators to see a bigger picture of education outside their classroom and school walls.
One key reflection for me is how my blog entries represent my evolving philosophy of technology education. I attempted to carefully craft each blog entry to represent not only a reflection of class topics, but also an application of those topics into other tangents. I related Guy Madden’s “My Winnipeg” to the school trend of replacing chalk boards with SMART boards. I elaborated on Heidegger’s references to ancient Greek philosophy. I applied Denis’ presentation about plagiarism to current trends in the music industry: digital sampling, “turn table-ists”, and video mash-up’s. In writing about Sid Davis’ safety video for children, I compared his idealogy to a recently published book “50 dangerous things you should let your children do” by Giver Tulley and Julie Spiegler. I introduced the class to concepts such as the “Creepy Treehouse”, Apple’s earlier failed attempt at tablet computing (the Apple Newton), and referenced great thinkers such as Marshall McLuhan. I attempted to bridge the ideas of past educational theorists with current trends and topics in educational technology. I hope my classmates found my blog informative and thought provoking.
I attempted in each of my posts to share different insights and extensions of ideas from the class presentations and discussions. I commented on every other student’s blog, writing feedback and providing alternative perspectives on the topics written by my colleagues. It was a privilege to share ideas with the critical thinkers in this course! I learned much from every other student’s blog.
Lastly, I want write a quick note of thanks to all the other students in this class, and Denis, for our lively discussions in class, and our lively online discussions on the blogs. It has been a pleasure and a treat for me to collaborate with such a great group of people!
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It was great to join you in this class, Roland. Congrats on (just about) completing your M.Ed. - well done! See you at ManACE again, I hope!
ReplyDeleteGee, Roland, that was so nice I could even cry (well, I won't push it!). In your posts you always brought to the table something unique. You wrote very well and made your points with power. Thanks for sharing your research/information and keen insights. I was very impressed by your use of McLuhan's Media Laws last class. You were right on with your examples; an excellent analysis. It has once again been a privilege to be in a class with you. Hopefully I'll see you at the ManACE AGM in June (I hope I make it!).
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