Reflection

Reflecting back upon this Technology Application Teacher Certification course that started last September, I have learned so very much more than I could have by not taking the course.  Tying all of my artifacts to the TEKS really gave me a much better understanding of what I was to be able to apply to my students and help them in their learning experience.  Throughout the TATC course it was a tight fit along with my full time job as Director of Technology at Water Valley ISD, teaching, and facilitating.  I learned how to manage my time more efficiently as the time marched on.  My observation of others teaching helped me better understand how the learning process works and how to use that to my advantage with my teaching.   It will be a sense of relief when this course is over and yet as time goes on, I know I will have a sense of remembrance and missing the learning odyssey that I have gone through.  I will continue to learn in the future and most of all learn from teaching my students and learning from them.  As long as I breathe and learn I will be happy.  It is when I stop learning that I will not be in this world any longer, as I intend to keep on learning as long as I live on this earth. 

Standard I

This standard I believe is one of the reasons for taking the TATC course in the first place.  I have learned more technology-related terms, concepts, data input strategies, and ethical practices during my online courses to better able me to make informed decisions about current technologies and their applications.  I intend to keep up with technology by online research, email, meetings, and learning from what my students are interested in.  Just because this certification course is about over doesn't mean that learning stops, it is just the beginning to a life long learning odyssey that will go on.  I believe I have accomplished this Standard by my being able to learn and complete all of the TATC online courses that were made available to us.  I will and have applied this Standard to my job that I have now as Director of Technology.

Standard II

Electronic information covers a vast amount of subjects and areas of technology.  It is always changing with new and different information that has to be learned.  To be able to identify task requirements, apply search strategies, and use current technology to efficiently acquire, analyze, and evaluate a variety of electronic information is to keep up with technology and its ever changing ways.  To be able to teach students in technology, I believe the students will know if I am not keeping up with the information that I should be keeping up with.  Students have a way of knowing what the fastest and best is and usually will talk about it.  I believe that I have accomplished this Standard and will continue to keep up with the constantly changing information and the ways that it is delivered.

Standard III

Problem solving situations are what I believe technology is all about.  As long as technology has been around it has always broken down and needed to be fixed.  It is not a matter of if it will break down, it is a matter of when.  Along with this comes a way for us to be able to use task-appropriate tools to synthesize knowledge, create and modify solutions, and evaluate results in a way that supports the work of individuals and groups in problem-solving situations.  I believe that I have accomplished this standard by solving problems by myself and working within a group while in the TATC courses.  Solving problems is not always an easy task and the more tools used for this purpose the better.  I will always ask questions and not be afraid of thinking someone thinks I am stupid for asking these questions.  I want to know the answers and that is the only way in my opinion to make certain that I do.  The learners in my TATC courses have worked together very well to solve problems that we have come up against and I hope that in the future I will be able to ask for their help again and they will help me as I will help them. 

Standard IV

Not everyone does the same thing the same way.  With this in mind, technology is no different.  One person might think that the way they do things is so much better than the way someone else does it.  Different formats in technology is a changing world also.  Keeping up and being able to communicate information in different formats and for diverse audiences will always keep us hopping.  I have accomplished this standard by learning different formats in my learning odyssey with the TATC courses.  This accomplishment has not been an easy task as there are so many different formats depending on what standard you are talking about.  This standard along with the other standards will be changing and will be needed to be kept up with in the future.  The learning is never-ending and in a way, I like that.

Standard V

Teaching the Texas Essential Knowledge Skills (TEKS) to my students is a daunting task that has to be dealt with.  Knowing how to plan, organize, deliver, and evaluate instruction for all students that incorporates the effective use of current technology for teaching and integrating the Technology Applications TEKS into the curriculum has been accomplished through the TATC courses.  Each course showed what TEKS were being covered and each artifact that is shown in this portfolio shows what TEKS were covered by the TEKS matrix web page.  I have accomplished this standard by going over the TEKS over and over to see what TEKS every artifact covered.  These are shown on the Standards Matrix link on every page of this portfolio.  In the future, I am sure TEKS will change as all things change, but as teachers it is our duty to teach whatever standards are put before us to our students.

Standard VII

Desktop Publishing has come a long way since the first DOS programs that came out in the 70's and 80's.  It is almost an everyday usage at our school by the administration and the teachers.  Learning the knowledge and skills needed to teach the Foundations, Information Acquisition, Work in Solving Problems, Communication strands of the Technology Applications TEKS in Desktop Publishing (DTP) has been accomplished during my learning odyssey in the TATC  courses.  Annuals, newsletters, student handbooks, and so many more applications of DTP are being used at schools all over our nation.  The future of DTP will be no different and will only be used more by students, teachers, and administrators alike.  DTP will continue to change and only get better and more user friendly as time goes on.  Keeping up with these changes now and in the future will be a challenge for every technology applications teacher. 

Standard VIII

Digital Graphics/Animation has changed so much and is continuing to change as we speak.  It is getting more user friendly and I have really enjoyed learning about it.  I was not very familiar with Digital Graphics/Animation when I came into the TATC course.  Learning the knowledge and skills needed to teach the Foundations, Information Acquisition, Work in Solving Problems, Communication strands of the Technology Applications TEKS in Digital Graphics/Animation has been an odyssey all in itself. I have had so much fun learning how to change graphics, make things move inside the graphics, learning about resolution, working with cameras, learning how animation works and so much more.  I have accomplished this standard and enjoyed learning it thoroughly.  I know that in the future, Digital Graphics/Animation will change and keeping up with these changes will be a challenge.  I look forward to it and will use it to teach my students and myself as the changes keep coming.

Standard IX

Multimedia means more to me now than it did when I started my Multimedia course.  Learning how to integrate more than one software project together to make a project in itself was so much fun and I really look forward to showing my students how to achieve this goal.  Learning the knowledge and skills needed to teach the Foundations, Information Acquisition, Work in Solving Problems, Communication strands of the Technology Applications TEKS and skills in Multimedia has been an eye opener for me.  Making a Multimedia project come together will make you proud after it is all done.  It is time consuming but worth the effort.  I have accomplished this standard by learning how to make Multimedia presentations and learning the TEKS that go along with them.  Learning how software projects mesh together and learning the different formats that fit together has been fun and will continue to be a challenge for me in the future with the constant changes that happen in technology.

Standard X

Video Technology has come a long way from the beta and VHS technology that was available to the home user to what is available now with the digital cameras and camcorders.  I had fun learning this course, from learning more how to take into account the rules of thirds, lighting, background, foreground, and so much more to making a music video, learning how video software worked to changing the timing with audio tracks.  I have accomplished this standard by learning the knowledge and skills needed to teach the Foundations, Information Acquisition, Work in Solving Problems, Communication strands of the Technology Applications TEKS in Video Technology.  As with the other standards, this is also an ever changing technology.  Keeping up with it in the future will be a challenge that I look forward to.  Video was an enjoyable course to learn and I am looking forward to applying it to my job as a teacher, as Director of Technology, and as Webmaster of our school's web site.

Standard XI

Web Mastering has been a course that we have used so much in the TATC courses.  In order to show what we did, we had to most likely show it in a web site or a page.  Learning about themes, cascading style sheets, embedding video and audio, elements and principles of design, and so much more helped me to accomplish this standard.  Learning the knowledge and skills needed to teach the Foundations, Information Acquisition, Work in Solving Problems, Communication strands of the Technology Applications TEKS in Web Mastering was so much fun for me.  Being Web Master for our school's web site gave me a better insight as to how to apply all that I have learned in this course.  I will use what I have learned and continue to learn about Web Mastering in the future to better enable me to teach it to my students and to apply it in my everyday use as Web Master of our school's web site.