Month 12 Discussion Board Post

Okay, so I started writing for our Month 12 discussion board and I couldn't stop. I looked back at the assignment and saw that there is a 500 word limit .... I went a little over :-) Well, I didn't want to merely erase everything that I had written, so I have posted it here. I will have to rewrite what I have here into a much shorter version before the Thursday due date. Until then, I hope that you enjoy my rants about our entire journey thus far.




A year is a long time and when you jam it full of fun and learning, you make it hard to remember the fine tuned details. Month One, Media Literacy and Research Methodologies, is where we began our literature review process. The perfect intro class. I really enjoyed learning how to research for information and I was able to apply some of that knowledge to my Cycle 2 implementation. The only thing that I felt was unclear about month one was that we were working on our actual Action Research Literature Review. At such an early state, many of us did not know what we were going to do for our action research project. I liked having the bulk of our research completed by the end of month one.

In month 2, Multiple Learning Theory Applications, I learned a lot about how people learn new information. I liked that we did not focus on only one way of learning. We had to learn about all ways of learning and then pick the one that applied to our Action Research project. I did not like how much reading we had to do this month, but that is a personal problem (I am working on the speed of my reading :-) ). However, I do feel like some of the reading could have been covered via multimedia. If I am remembering correctly, this is also the month we were introduced to Prezi! What an amazing tool!!

Month 3, Training and Motivational Development, the presentation zen book was amazing. I already knew about most of the techniques that we read about, but I was able to apply everything that I learned from that book to my Action Research Project, especially Cycle 2. This month was the first time that I had ever videotaped myself, which I did not like (but who does?). I loved that we critiqued each other on these videos. Even though we started using SecondLife in Month 1, I feel like this month was the first month of use. We had to tell how we could use a specific location in SecondLife for education purposes. I look forward to one day being able to take my class on a virtual field trip via SecondLife.

Month 4, Emergent Technologies in a Collaborative Culture, I only have one word... iGoogle! What an amazing tool. Not only did I plan on teaching Google to my teachers in Cycle 1, but my principal has hired me to teach my teachers technology this summer. Number one on the agenda is iGoogle. I don’t think I would be able to find anything if it wasn’t organized on my iGoogle page. Ahhh... and Lynda.com. The training that I received through Lynda.com in Month 4 is still being used today, not just in my Action Research Project, but also in my professional career as well. I learned about blogging and found a plethora of new technologies to use in the classroom.


Month 5, Education Design and Evaluation, where we didn’t just learn about the ADDIE model, but we put it to work. We used everything that Google has to offer us in the process. This experience really inspired my Cycle 1 implementation. The school where I was teaching used Google as their email provider and therefore had access to everything that I used in month 5. I think ADDIE was the most important thing we learned about in month 5. I loved collaborating with my classmates!! This was our first real chance to collaborate using Google. We used Google hangouts, Google chat, Google Docs and Google Drawings.... not to mention that our project was to make a website using Google sites. 

Month 6, Digital Media and Education Applications, WOW.... Flash is intense! The only dislike that I have is that the tutorials that were necessary to watch were very boring. I could not have done it without the videos, but they were very hard to make it through without falling asleep. I loved using Flash animation. It is on my list to watch the lynda tutorials to learn even more about Flash and the cool things you can do with it. As much as I loved learning about Flash, it had no connection to my Action Research project. We had to place our Literature Review on our WordPress site which was a helpful piece of the overall Capstone website.

Month 7, Music Theory and Education Applications, I can’t believe that I wrote my own song!!  I will probably never use music created by someone else again. Everything has been my own since month 7.

Month 8, Filmmaking Principles and Education, The best thing about this month was our mentor for the course, Kathy Kellen. I met a new life long friend through this course. The 48 hour challenge video was fun to make and truly a challenge.

Month 9, Game Strategies and Motivation, Again, I can’t believe that I have created my own game. My students asked me on the last day of school if they were going to be able to play “Matherstermind” like the kids a few month ago. I already used games in my classroom, but I learned the do’s and don'ts of games for educational purposes.  

Month 10, Learning Management Systems and Organization, I really enjoyed learning about learning management systems (LMS), because my only experience was with Blackboard and my teachers only used it for final grades. I can’t wait for the day when I am in an environment that is more conducive to using an LMS.

Month 11, Media Asset Creation, I’ve never been to a conference so I am ecstatic about the opportunity to present at one. Creating a presentation was easier than I thought it was going to be and I got to use one of my favorite tools... Prezi!

Month 12, Education Media Project Development, The End! I can’t believe that my journey to achieve my masters as come to an end. This month will like a show and tell session for all that I have been able to accomplish in the last 11 months.