Caitlin Anderson

Prof. Lewallen

EDT 180

5 December 2019

Final Reflection

I think that during my projects in this class with new technology my approach to learning

it was similar. The steps that I followed were that: I would try to understand the overall project

and directions first, then I would tinker with the technology we were supposed to use so that I

could better understand it, and then finally, I would start the project in question. I think that this

pattern stands out to me because it allowed me to complete the projects better because before

starting the main part of the project I had a good understanding of the technology we were using

and the assignments criteria. I wouldn’t say that I was surprised by any of my observations of my

learning experiences because I usually approach projects in a strategic manner so that I do not

forget anything.

Some of the problems or challenges that I had encountered within this semester were

mostly being able to troubleshoot with the various tech forms this is because each different

technology requires a different strategy. In the beginning of the semester this would frustrate me

so I think that it took me longer to figure out how to do certain tasks with the technology.

However later on in the semester, with the powerpoint, I was able to get past the problems we

were facing with less frustration. I think that my overall strategy has changed over my time

taking this course because I learned early on that there will always be a way to get past tech
errors that occur, and that I just had to learn what that was for each technology that I was using at

the time.  

Before this class, I thought learning about technology was going to be a challenge but not

too hard because I already know a decent amount from previous experience. I think being in this

class reiterated this idea that learning technology is not impossible. Also it gave me more tools to

learn about technology,even outside of this class, so that I may be able to do things on my own in

my future classes or in a professional capacity. Something that has changed since being in this

class is my knowledge on the different types of technology available to me and the different

ways they can be used with the skills that I knew I already had and those I have learned in this

class. 

If I compared my podcast project and my powerpoint project there is a big difference on

how I approached those assignments. With my podcast, I kind of jumped in. I didn’t plan much

of it, rather than what I was going to say. Whereas with the powerpoint project, I feel like my

group did a lot more planning before we started to create the actual powerpoint. I think that the

extra planning and talking before we made the project helped us because it allowed us to create a

good foundation for what we had to do and that helped in the efficiency of our game.

One thing that I have seen in my classmates’ work that I would want to try was in relation

to the powerpoint project. One group was able to direct the players of their game directly to

certain websites from their game’s page. I think that this is a useful tool because it made their

game/quiz a lot better. I think that this little tool made it better because it added in a realistic

element that made what they created actually useful in everyday life. In addition if I was able to
do this, it would give me the ability to create a lot of different hyperlinks that could be helpful in

different projects.

I think that if I had to change how I did one of the projects I would change my podcast. I

would change it because it was the project that I had gotten the worst score on and, looking back

at it, I don’t think I used the technology to the fullest. I believe this is true because I didn’t play

around with the music abilities or that much sound editing. This is because I wasn’t sure how to

and I wasn’t even sure how I would figure it out. I think that if I did it again I would choose a

different topic as well because it was hard to talk about for a lengthy time like the assignment

entailed. I also think that, if I had to do it again, I would listen to more podcasts in order to create

a good prototype of what i was going to make. If I did all of those things, the project would most

likely be better overall and I may have enjoyed producing the podcast as well.  

One goal that I would set for myself in my next semester class is to do all the projects and

assignments right after they are presented in class or soon after. This will increase the quality of

my projects and will make sure that I have enough time to complete the work in a proficient

manner. Therefore increasing my academic performance and decreasing the amount of stressing

about certain classes. I also think that this is a skill that would help me in other things besides

just in the classroom setting.