John Oswald, ETEC 510 Individual Reflection

During the development of our Final Design Project for the University of British Columbia
ETEC 510 Design of Technology Supported Learning Environments, I have learned a number of
important lessons. As this was my first course in the University's Master of Educational Technology
program, I had a bit of a rough ride learning the ropes of the Blackboard platform, interacting with the
instructor and my classmates to complete our project and adapting to post-graduate academic life in
general. Fortunately these challenges have provided the basis for much learning on both personal and
professional levels and I hope the results show in the design of our final project and in my future
courses.
From a personal perspective, time management, technological skills and communication of my
ideas with the group have been challenging for me. I left a lot of work until (or after!) the last minute
many times in ETEC 510 and with our group, The Technophobe Transformers. This caused myself and
the group some unnecessary stress and in some cases, compromised the quality of our work. An
example would be missing some important feedback until minutes before the proposal deadline,
necessitating last-minute revisions. When it came to the final project, I was submitting a headshot
minutes before Patrick was to press Send on the dropbox submission. This should not be the case. I
will be laying a schedule of assignments and study time around my two courses next semester instead
of trying to shoehorn coursework into an overcrowded life.
On the technical plane, I didn't orient myself to the Blackboard dashboard well enough at the
beginning of the course and I missed a lot of instructions and information that would have helped me
communicate better with my classmates. A lack of tech-savvy also meant the others had to convert
some of my files to web-ready content as I was unaware of how to make Google forms into PDFs.
My communication with the group was a final area of concern and new self-awareness. As I
have thrived most of my learning and teaching life in an individual context, it was shocking how poorly
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John Oswald, ETEC 510 Individual Reflection

I communicated my ideas. Admittedly, part of this was time managementsubmitting things late or at
the last minute makes them hard to discuss and considerbut even when we were on a Google
Hangout, I backed down a few times when I should have stood up for some things that might have
improved the project. An example of this was not forcing the issue on including a follow-up user
survey and suggesting a time period for its use. The group wanted to focus more on the web space and
the curriculum document so I let it go. I have begun discussing my small group professional
communication style and skills with my colleagues and I will be experimenting with different
techniques and ideas at work and in MET to find ones that are more effective for me.
With respect to professional learning during the design project, data collection for verification,
the SAMR model, motivation for technology integration and instructor feedback in learning were the
big takeaways. I have never given a survey and I have always despised answering surveys which
included the Likert scale. However, using the book Educational Research: Competencies For Analysis
and Applications (10th ed, 2012, Gay, Mills and Airasian) I began to understand that the selecting
survey questions involved a series of choices and compromises and I ended up using several Likert
questions in the final project. I also came to understand some of the ins and outs of online polling
using Google Forms and Survey Monkey that will be immediately useful in my classroom practice.
Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura's SAMR model for Technology Integration was another eye-opener for a first
time student in MET. Thinking about integrating technology to improve learning and provide
opportunities that did not exist in the past instead of simply 'tech for tech's sake' was eye-opening and
validating for me. Considering how to ladder-up an activity from one level to another was exciting and
I will now look at all of my lessons through this lens.
In the course of the project we had great contact with and feedback from our instructor, Jeff

John Oswald, ETEC 510 Individual Reflection

Miller. He responded almost immediately to any of our group's questions and requestsincluding one
for an online meeting with the group. This was a great model for future online or blended learning
professionals and according to my group, was exceptional for a MET course. The quality and timely
feedback improved both our understandings and our final product. I intend to provide the same quality
of feedback to my students in the future as opposed to the past where I have relied on limited written
feedback...when I could get to it. I have begun using a Moodle platform at school and returning
assignments and emails within two days. It was in the project meeting with Jeff Miller where I
received another insight that will shape my future technology integration and my future efforts to help
colleagues do the same: motivation matters. Jeff suggested accessing one's teaching perspective and
appealing to that when encouraging a reluctant teacher to integrate technology into their practice. This
makes so much sense but I have always appealed to practical (usually time savings) reasons for
adopting technology or not. If I and others consider our teaching styles and/or the learning
opportunities for the students that different technologies afford, we are going to be more likely to
change.
It has not been a stress-free way to learn but I have taken a lot away from my first major project
in the MET Program. I have learned from my mistakes, my classmates, my research and my instructor.
I believe that all of this is going to improve my performance in the MET program and my performance
at work and, at the root of it all, the learning of the students in my classes.

John Oswald, ETEC 510 Individual Reflection

Works Cited:
Anderson, M. (2013). SAMR: For purposeful use in educational technology. Retrieved from
http://ictevangelist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/SAMR-flow-chart.pdf
Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (2012). Educational research: competencies for analysis and
applications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Puentedura, R. R. (2012, September 3). Hippasus. Retrieved from
http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/2012/09/03/SAMR_ThoughtsForDesign.pdf