Candidate Professional Growth & Development

Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to engage in continuous learning, reflect on professional practice, and engage in appropriate field experiences.

Element 6.1 Continuous Learning - Candidates demonstrate continual growth in knowledge and skills of current and emerging technologies and apply them to improve personal productivity and professional practice.

Element 6.2 Reflection - Candidates regularly evaluate and reflect on their professional practice and dispositions to improve and strengthen their ability to effectively model and facilitate technology-enhanced learning experiences.

Element 6.3 Field Experiences - Candidates engage in appropriate field experiences to synthesize and apply the content and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions identified in these standards.

FRIT 7739 Practicum Blog

Reflection for FRIT 7739 Practicum Blog

I must say I am enjoying the creation of a blog to journal my experiences through my practicum and my various sites. Though I know it is a great way to keep track of my hours, it also helps me process what I am doing, and I am able to see another side. This is a side, that as a teacher, I never really thought about. For example, keeping such detailed inventories for Title 1 items for example. Also, proper utilization of programs and proper functioning of technology is vital in a school with a blended curriculum. As a teacher, many times I have had to figure it out myself, due to the backlog the technology department may have. With my blog, I am able to keep my insights, not only tasks, written down and recorded.

FRIT 7233 Professional Learning Network

Reflection FRIT 7233 Professional Learning Network

In FRIT 7233 Selct. & Dev. of Digital Tools and Resources, I was able to create a Professional Learning Network to keep up with resources for my continuing development of what I am learning during my studies and classes. Since this class, I have continued to add to it from other classes, and my own interests of resources that I believe will help me in my future career in Instructional Technology and School Library Media.

When creating this professional learning network, I utilized the Web 2.0 tool, Pearltrees. I found this to be incredibly useful and organized. Creation of categories and subgroups was quite easy, and it soon became addictive, as there is a Pearltree button that will instantly add any webpage or resource to my account with just a click. I can see utilizing this as long as I possibly can, or may be working. This is a great way to gather and organize resources that can help on a variety of issues.

Reflection on Standard 6: Professional Growth and Development

To me, this whole experience has led me to prove myself in this standard of professional growth and development. I have continued to learn not only about proper use of technology, but how to properly diagnose the needs to my students. I am now able to inject the curriculum with technological resources that not only engage my students, and allow their growth, but also my own. Putting together this portfolio has proved to me how much I have grown since I have originally started with my first class two years ago. I now understand that though things may not work necessarily right the first time, I now have the tools to tweak my lessons and add to them to allow my students to reach higher levels of thinking and learning. It allows me to reflect not just on their performance, but on mine as well. I am also learning which resources and Web 2.0 tools allow more flexibility, and gain the interest of the children. We are always growing, especially in technology. It is vital that we continue to grow and not become stagnate. Technlogy changes everyday, and going through this program, I realize how important it is to be flexible. Identify the need, and use one's best knowledge to create plans that will help the need, if it does not, reflect and revise. Mistakes are part of learning, but I have enjoyed the journey.