THE ROD CLASS
ADL Capstone
COVA + CSLE Reflection
I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The Applied Digital Learning Program at Lamar University has been a great experience for me as a professional learner and person. I have learned a wealth of information and also made some friends along the way. The ADL program has proved to be a challenge and exciting opportunity to build upon the foundation of my career in elementary education. When I first entered the ADL program at Lamar University I honestly did not know what to expect. As a person, I am someone who doesn’t respond well to surprises. So stepping into a program that was sort of a mystery was something out of the ordinary for me. It wasn’t long into our first online meeting with two of my professors that I realized that the program was going to rely heavily on my own innovation and creativity. From my undergraduate experience in college, I always followed the rubrics and assignments to a “T”. However, after sitting in our first meeting, I quickly realized that I would have to step out of my own comfort zone in order to truly get as much from this program as I wanted. In our first assignment for the Capstone course we were tasked with composing a reflection of our experience with the COVA and CSLE models. One thing that I believed worked to my advantage was that I love to create graphics and work on audio/video projects. I learned that this would be one way that I could take control of how I showcased my learning throughout the program. My reflection for this task will be divided into Part A and Part B in order to describe my overall experience and observations throughout the ADL program.
Part A
I first realized early into this program that I would have the opportunity to take charge of my own learning. There weren't quizzes or multiple choice tests like most college courses. My initial reaction to this approach was excitement… and a little nervousness. It is kind of difficult to complete an assignment when you ask your professor “What are you looking for?” and it is met with “It is open to your interpretation.”. At first I found this frustrating. However, after thinking on it for a short while I realized that this was my shot to be creative and contribute to the learning and skill building of students and teachers I interact with. One of the things that also caught my attention was that there was a lot of emphasis on ADL students promoting change within their own organizations. This is something that I truly feel passionate about. Heck, a lot of educators feel this way. But now I was given an opportunity to put a plan into action that could benefit the campus and people I work with. My innovation plan involves teaching and implementing the use of ePortfolios in third through fifth grade classrooms. As utilizing technology is something that my classroom was always known for, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to include other students across different grade levels at my campus. I have worked really hard on developing my innovation plan and am constantly thinking of ways to make it better throughout the building process. The COVA approach is something that influenced the idea of implementing ePortfolios in the classroom. COVA, described by Dr. Harapnuik (2018) is a learner centered approach to learning that provides students with choice (C), ownership (O), and a voice (V), through authentic learning (A). One of the things I am a believer in is that learning can take place in many different formats. And as learning can take place in a variety of ways, I believe that proving what you learned can be the same way. My perspective of learning has very early on into the program. I went from resonating with a fixed mindset into identifying more with a growth mindset as I took feedforward from professors classmates into consideration while also constantly seeking ways to improve my ideas.
Part B
I have always been the biggest advocate for choice for my students. However, sometimes due to standardized testing and assessments, those opportunities get pushed to the side. I think one of the biggest challenges in using the COVA and CSLE models are getting people out of their comfort zones. For me at first my comfort zone was completing assignments in a standardized form with not much originality. However, as we were encouraged to think outside of the box and really focus on our audience, I began generating ideas and content that I would never have thought of. In this program we had opportunities to build ways to showcase the potential that our innovation plans have through the use of literature review, call to action videos, and the presentations of our 3-column table, UBD template and created digital course. In my experience, whenever an idea is presented at campus meetings it is always met with the request of relevancy and proof that it is beneficial. So as a way to address those concerns, is to put the plan into action one step at a time so others will take notice and interest. As it is a possibility that I will be starting at a new campus next school year, I see it as an opportunity to share what I have learned in this past year. Influencing change, especially as a fresh face will be very difficult. However, I believe that if I continue to adopt a growth mindset I could persuade others to do the same. I am excited to not only provide students with the steps into building their own educational ePortfolio, but I am also excited to provide support for teachers and additional campus staff in guiding their own students in this journey.
References:
Harapnuik, D. (2018, July 14). CSLE + COVA. Harapnuik.org. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6988 
Innovation Plan Update
My innovation plan is to teach and implement the utilization of ePortfolios in third through fifth grade classrooms. When I first began thinking of an idea during the early stages of the ADL program, I was drawing blanks. I think one of the hardest things for me was figuring something out that could help many people on my campus and something that I knew that I could achieve. Funny enough, I actually figured out my idea when I was swimming on a hot day in my brother’s pool. I guess I just needed a little time away from my computer to think better. One of the first things that I had to focus on was my “Why” as this would help determine the importance of implementing my plan.
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At the beginning of the process for the implementation outline, I broke it down into 5 phases. In phase one I highlight the introduction of my proposal to campus leaders and administrators. During this process, I would share the review of literature, responses to questions/concerns and pending approval, and begin assembling a team to help with the process of the project. Although one of the hardest tasks in the ADL program, the Literature Review that I composed felt like it could answer some of the questions and concerns for those who are considering greenlighting the plan.
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The next phase of the plan would have been to introduce the process into two third grade classrooms who are teamed together. This would be a 3 month process and that provided time for two third grade teachers to train and teach their students the fundamentals of building their ePortfolios. From this part of that phase a new four month period would begin with the leadership providing professional learning opportunities for the remainder of third-fifth grade teachers. In that period of time the team would lead a series of workshops on utilizing Google Sites, websites and tools, and how to upload artifacts of all media to their ePortfolio. In phase 3 of this plan, I planned to have a three month period where all students participated in the building of their own ePortfolio. In this phase teachers are to assist students in a special allotted time during the week while innovation leaders provide in class support for students and teachers.
The last phase of my plan consists of students who are returning to campus the following year adding a new section to their ePortfolio for the next grade. While most students and teachers would have knowledge of building their ePortfolio, transitioning grade levels should not be an issue. However, as new students and teachers are expected every year, early training should be a priority.
The Good, The Bad, The Future
As I have not begun the process of implementing my plan, one of the things that I have truly relied on is the feedback from colleagues about my innovation plan. The feedback that I was searching for came from teachers and campus instructional coaches who the plan is geared toward. One of the things from the feedback that worked was that the overall goal of utilizing ePortfolios appeared to be a good way to incorporate site building skills while also providing students with opportunities to showcase their work in a variety of ways. Another positive characteristic of my plan is that I designed it with the use of Google Sites in mind. Although, I have had some people within the ADL program try to convince me away from Google Sites as an ePortfolio platform, I maintained the idea that it was still the better option as the district I work for is a Google district and Google Sites would be a great introduction program for elementary students to build websites.
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What Could Be Better
A lot has happened since I began developing this plan in May 2022. In my head I had an idea that I thought was well thought out and was easy to follow. However, as I continued my journey through the ADL program, I’ve learned that there were so many missed opportunities that I passed by to really make this project even better. One of the things that I learned early on is that I had to consider who my audience was. I had to consider that there could be many teachers who may not know how to utilize Google Sites and many of the web tools needed to successfully implement ePortfolios into their classrooms. One of the things that always held back many people at my campus was the lack of technology, and as someone who always embraced technology, it was wrong of me to assume that most would welcome it with open arms. Another thing that I feel that I could have done better with developing this project was the timeline. During 5318 and 5389 we focused a lot on developing a course that ties into our innovation plans. During these courses I originally planned an online course that would take 5 weeks to complete, however after receiving feedforward from not only classmates but potential participants (colleagues), I realized that I was trying to force too much information into 5 weeks. This made me take action and adjust the duration of my course from 5 weeks to 10 weeks as now the information is more specific and allows the participants to go at their own pace. With the Usability and Reflection assignment in 5318, I was able to gather data from a survey of participants who previewed my course. Much of this information was beneficial to me as the people who were involved are potential participants in the online course. Their feedback and suggestions were important because it provided a view from the participant perspective rather than my instructor perspective.
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I think one of the most important things that I will consider for future innovation projects is utilizing resources such as the UBD template and 3-Column Table. When utilizing these methods throughout the development of my innovation plan and course development, when I wasn’t sure if an activity or resource seemed appropriate, I was able to refer back to them to make sure that they met the learning goal and expectations.
Where Am I Now
At this point in time, I feel like I am ready to share my Innovation plan with my campus administration team. I have not officially presented my proposal but have had small conversations regarding its future and it has been well received and labeled as “something they would like to see in action”. Hearing this from my campus leader has given me more motivation to continue working in order to make this project a success. During 5302 we discussed the Growth Mindset. One of the elements of this was being content with a fixed mindset or building on what we have done. I will admit that I mostly identified with being in a fixed mindset especially when it came to my academics. However, when I am able to find something I am extremely passionate about, like education technology, I work hard to develop ways I can make the experience and functionality better.
What I Learned
Throughout the process of building my innovation plan, I think one of the most important things that I have learned is to be more comfortable with stepping out of my comfort zone. Generating the idea and designing the process was a hard task for me because before this program I was used to doing things in a “cookie cutter” fashion. The best overall benefit of being able to create and develop my own ideas has given me more confidence and an outlet to collaborate with others.
ADL Journey Synthesis
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ADL Course Content
5302 Concepts of Education Technology
In 5302 we took a look at the differences between fixed and growth mindsets. During this course I was able to take a look at my own learning style.
5305 Disrupting Innovation in Technology
During 5305, I was able to create my innovation plan. I ultimately decided on a plan that would implement ePortfolios in third through fifth grade classrooms.
In 5303, I began developing my ePortfolio. During this course I was able to take ownership of what I was presenting and showcase my work in my own unique way.
5303 Applying EdTech: ePortfolios
5313 provided me with the opportunity to create a learning environment that is impacts student learning. During this course, we were able to develop plans with the utilization of the UBD template.
5313 Creating Significan Learning Environment
5304 Leading Organization Change
In 5304 we began the course with identifying our "why". It allowed me to have a better understanding of my purpose.
5317 EdTech Publication
5317 provide me an opportunity to find a topic related to my innovation plan and work towards online publication. In this course I focused on blogging with ePortfolios.
5318 proved to be an interesting and challenging class for me. However, I was able to create an online course for to train teachers on constructing and implementing ePortfolios into their classroom.
5318 Instructional Online Design
In 5389 I was able to create an alternative professional learning plan. As professional development is something that I have strong feelings about, I enjoyed the opportunity to analyze and provide a solution to increase relevancy for educators.
5389 Developing Effective Professional Learning
5315 Assessing Digital Learning
In 5315 one of the main objectives was utilizing research and data to help me analyze the effectiveness of the plan being carried out. As I was not able to execute my plan yet, I instead described how I would utilize data and research in the future when my plan begins.
5320 ADL Synthesis Capstone
Finally, in 5320, I described my reflection on the COVA strategy. I also provided an update to my Innovation Plan. To wrap up this course, I created a slide presentation that details my journey in the Applied Digital Learning Program