Kim Woodard

Reflection

     As I look back on this past year of learning, I would have to say that it reminds me of a roller coaster ride.  There were many moments when I felt the thrill of finally making it up that bumpy ride to the top.  Then, the next minute I was screaming down to the bottom getting there much faster than that trip to the top.  The one good thing these both have in common is that there was always someone there "riding" beside me to experience the thrill of success and helping me trudge back up the hill after I felt defeated.  This person may have been a classmate, a buddy, an instructor, or an administrator, but I never seemed to be taking this ride alone and for that I am most thankful.  In the end, as with almost any roller coaster ride, I look back and say what an experience that was and that I am glad I decided to take on the challenge.
     Being able to gain knowledge in all of the standards dealing with technology applications was worth the challenge.  I was very hesitant when trying to decide whether or not to enroll in this certification process.  I finally took a step back and realized it would be the right thing to do not only for myself, but also for my students.  I now know that it was the right thing to do and that my students have already begun to reap the benefits.  There were ten different technology application standards covered during this certification process and I learned more about these standards than I ever imagined I would.

Standard I - V | Standard VII | Standard VIII
Standard IX | Standard X | Standard XI

Standards I - V
     Standards I - V do not cover a specific technology application course, but rather general elements that should be covered in any course dealing with technology.  In all honesty, I really did not realize until close to the end that I was actually covering most of these standards during each of my other classes.  I learned many things dealing with Standard I.  I feel that I have gained a great amount of knowledge about many of the current technologies and can now make informed decisions about their applications.  I also feel that I now have a better handle on how to efficiently acquire, analyze, and evaluate a variety of electronic information, which is part of Standard II.  I have always known that there is a ton of information available at the tips of my fingers.  However, I always had trouble deciphering the good from the bad.  TATC has helped me see the process of deciding what to use and what not to use.  The knowledge I have gained from Standard III has helped me accomplish tasks in a more productive manner.  I have learned to identify what tools are appropriate to use in various situations that will help me create and modify solutions and then evaluate how well it was done.  This is knowledge that every person needs so that informed decisions can be made in this technological world.  Along with these decisions about tools, the audience must also be factored into the development of information.  Standard IV has helped me realize how important it is to look at the audience before creating communication material.  Without being able to inform all aspects of an audience, information may not be transferred successfully.  Another aspect of technology is being able to deliver the information in an organized manner.  Standard V has shown me how to develop a lesson that cannot only be delivered to my students, but one that can also be shared with other teachers.  The sharing of resources can help teachers gain better ideas on how to deliver topics to our students.

Standard VII - Desktop Publishing
      As I began the desktop publishing class, I thought I knew just about everything there was to know and that I would merely be reviewing topics dealing with the subject.  As the course moved on from week to week, and through my observation experience, I discovered many concepts that were important to the subject, but were never taken into consideration when I developed products.  I discovered how important it is to always consider the principles and elements of design when creating desktop publishing items.  Another thing I learned, that really still seems kind of strange to me is the impact of using the "bold" feature.  For some reason, this topic has really changed the way I produce documents.  Finally, I feel that I gained one of the best resources from this class.  The Non-Designer's Design Book is wonderful.  I plan to use it throughout the school year to remind students of using the proper design techniques and for myself as I continue to develop items for display. 

Standard VIII - Digital Graphics/Animation
     As I look back, I think this was the class I was the most apprehensive about.  I had never created any type of digital graphic, Photoshop scared me like no other software program, and the only experience I had with animation was teaching my multimedia students the basics using Swish.  Thankfully, I was able to attend a workshop covering Photoshop two days before this class started and from then on, it was a blast.  This is by far one of the classes I enjoyed the most.  I found that I still have a lot to learn about digital graphics and animation, but that it is also an area that I can successfully teach.  Along with the fact that I overcame my fear of this technological area, I also learned the how to analyze graphics as a form of art.  I learned that by using the proper techniques, a graphic can take on an entire new dimension and bring together two curriculums.  This class has made me try to get the art teacher in our district to learn Photoshop and incorporate it in her classes.

Standard IX - Multimedia
     This is the class I was really the most excited about and ended up being one of the hardest for me.  I was currently teaching my first multimedia class at the time.  I felt that I was not doing a great job due to both my knowledge and the lack of software programs available in our school.  However, after this class, I feel that I was better able to teach the various multimedia topics.  From this class, I feel I gained the most knowledge in the area of sound editing.  We covered many aspects of incorporating all of the technology application areas into one product, however in the end, I feel that I learned the most about sound.  I had not had a lot of experience with sound, but knew that I needed to incorporate it into not only my personal work, but also my students' work.  I was able to research the various sound file types and sound editing software packages and feel that I now have the knowledge to make informed decisions about what to purchase and what to use in certain situations.

Standard X - Video Technology
     The video class seemed to be the class that was the most time consuming for me.  I did learn a lot from the class, and I did have an enjoyable time creating the various videos, but it seemed to be the class that took up the most time.  I am grateful, however, for the pre-production knowledge I gained from this class.  I was able to see first-hand how important it is to plan, plan, plan, before creating a video.  The other knowledge I am grateful to now have is the post-production aspect of compressing a video.  I never knew how many different schemes were available and how important it was to compress to the proper scheme.  I realize that I still have a lot to learn about compression, but at least this class has given me the basics to start with.
     Video technology is also the class I decided to take as my elective.  I entered the class feeling I would be enhancing the editing techniques I already knew.  However, I learned many other things from this class.  I learned that you can take those wild and bad shots and use them creatively.  I also learned the amount of knowledge and research it takes develop a classroom from scratch.  In the end, I have gained numerous ideas about how to teach the various topics dealing with video technology. 

Standard XI - Web Authoring
     Web authoring was a class I felt really comfortable taking.  I felt that I learned a lot from the class, but also realized that I had known a lot about it also.  The aspect of this class that opened my eyes the most was that of cross-platform compatibility.  I honestly had never taken any web sites created by myself or my students and tested them for cross-platform compatibility.  I found out that what may work from using one web authoring software package does not always work with every web browser or computer platform.  This is something that I have learned to incorporate into my own designs, and have to enhance when teaching in the classroom.  Overall, I feel that creating the various web sites and incorporating the many design aspects such as global navigation bars, bread crumb trails, and continuity have helped me gain a knowledge base that will help enhance both the work that I create and the work that my students create.

     As I stated above, I learned more than I ever thought I would from this certification process.  On the other hand, this process has also made me realize how much more I need to learn in order to keep up-to-date with the ever changing world of technology and education.  Therefore, in order to make myself continue to learn about the various aspects of not only the actual programs and applications, but also of teaching them to the students, I must set future goals.  My first goal is to continue to receive training in the many technology application areas through workshops, other teachers, and hands-on experiences.  My second goal is to continue to enhance the delivery of my lessons to my students.  In some of my classes, I have just pulled what was used in the past.  I now realize that there are many resources that are available that will help enhance my lessons and continue to make teaching the lessons enjoyable.  Finally, my last goal is to transfer the knowledge I have to other teachers in my district.  I feel that technology can easily be incorporated into any curriculum to make covering topics fun for the students.  However, I also realize that these teachers must have a technology knowledge base that makes them feel comfortable incorporating it into their curriculum and that it is partly my responsibility to help them gain this comfort level. 
     As I end this Technology Applications Teacher Certification process, I must express my appreciation.  Thank you to all of my classmates (and especially my buddy) who have helped me through the difficult times, cheered with me through the successful times, and given me more knowledge than you will ever know.  Thank you to my instructors for all of the assignments you made me complete.  I now look back and see how important is was to cover all of those topics.  Thank you Connie for always keeping us all in order, reminding us of the administrative areas that had to be taken care of, and for giving us input when you deemed necessary!  I will be recommending this program to other teachers.