Image created by Samara Marin using Copilot 2024

Have you ever started something on a whim? Browsing the Lamar University website, I looked at the Applied Digital Learning Program requirements for the thousandth time. After the hour-long process, I filled out the application, pocketing my phone. I didn’t think much of it except for telling my husband, “I think I just applied for a master’s program.”

Come January 2024, I was swept up in assignments, readings, and discussion posts. To answer the questions simply: no. I don’t believe that my mindset has had a grand change; however, it has shifted. At the beginning of this course, I was a teacher who had been teaching for five years, with a bachelor’s in English and a minor in writing, and I was pursuing an alternative certification. Reading the responses from other educators, I felt as though my teaching career was one of those of someone who had been taught to teach by being thrown into the profession, much the same way some people are taught to swim by being thrown in the pool.

Image created by Samara Marin using Copilot 2024

When I first wrote my Learning Manifesto, I wrote it answering a set of questions given to me. I was following a formula similar to my first years as a teacher. While going back to read my learning manifesto, I still agree with much of what I wrote; however, after being in the Applied Digital Learning Program for about five months, I feel the confidence to support my learning manifesto with my experiences and knowledge. I no longer need to follow a formula of questions to feel confident in my responses.

Going back and reading my manifesto, I can see my ideas being restricted by a formula as I attempt to answer my questions. I also understand the necessity for said questions, as I was not ready to write my manifesto without them. I still see the need for technology integration in the classroom; however, I also see the need for digital citizenship discussions, which I learned in the ePortfolio course. I learned how to keep my portfolio professional while keeping my voice present in my work through COVA.

Once I complete the Creating Significant Learning Environment (CSLE) course I will be able to add the information to my repertoire of knowledge when it comes to support my learning manifesto. I will be able to rely on my knowledge and not a formula of questions which will allow my voice to shine through my ePortfolio.