This course has made me examine my approach to thinking about how to teach art lessons or projects, with regard to the use of technology. I believe that the landscape of students and their needs are evolving rapidly due to the availability of technology. It is an instructors responsibility to provide a platform for learning that excites, challenges, and rewards 21st Century Learners. Fortunately, Google Drive and the related applications provide educators and students a platform for sharing and collaborating in an educational setting. I, now, have a more well-rounded view of how convenient and powerful such applications can be when used synergistically. I must admit that learning how to produce a Screencast posed challenges, but I’m glad that I have a few in my portfolio! There were a number of first encounters, with regard to my use of Google applications, such as the Sheets assignment and the use of Tech Tools. Ultimately, I see the skills that I gleaned from EDUC 407 as building blocks for the future of my journey as an educator. One thought, is to build upon the projects and assignments, further refine engagement principles, use of technology and modeling. Keeping the latter in mind while searching for ways to imbue lessons with various forms of text and preparing students for the 21st century work force is the challenge that I have chosen to pursue as a future educator. The time spent with such strategies or processes allows one to further their mastery of such applications. As new as the process may be, over time facility will increase; I liken it to playing scales as a musician or drawing from real models in an anatomy class. I have reconsidered my approach to teaching the discipline of art and design, as a result of taking this course.
Ryan Rickard 
I enjoyed reading your post! Thanks for the update on how you liked this course. I thought it was extremely beneficial and informative as well. It certainly makes me excited for the possibilities in my own classroom one day. I think there are a lot of perks to participating in an online forum and it would give students a chance to express themselves fully. I would agree with your statements about technological advances. It can seem overwhelming at times and hard to keep up! If we don’t try, I feel as though we are robbing our future generations of new age thinking. Very excited to see what’s in store in the realm of technology and how it pertains to education!
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Your post was great to read! I too am now going to have to take another approach when teaching because of this course. There are endless possibilities when using tech to teach. I think it was a big learning experience when our group was learning how to use some of Google’s platforms to communicate. It is from those experiences that I have learned how to do things. Technology is the wave of the future in education and we will need to keep up with it in order to stay in the loop with education. It was nice working with you in our group and good luck to you!
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Thanks for persisting and hanging in there with this course. I know it hasn’t always been easy. I appreciate your continued reflections related to your teaching and the potential role of technology. I hope you have a great summer, Ryan!
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