Synthesizing My DLL Journey

Since the Fall Semester of 2017, I have been on an adventure. I have been working on a Master's Degree in Education through Lamar University. I have been participating in the Digital Learning and Leading (DLL) program. The description page of the DLL program hooked me! I wanted to develop my digital knowledge and my leadership abilities. Dr. Harapnuik explains the DLL program in a video on his site, and includes a DLL map (see below).

You will notice that the DLL map looks like a house. The foundation of the DLL program can be found in the foundation blocks of the map. In 5302, I was introduced to Carol Dweck and her book about growth mindset. I learned about the power of the word "yet" in one of Carol Dweck's lectures. Being introduced to the growth mindset from the beginning of the program set the stage for growth, receiving feedback, and failing forward. As part of 5302 and 5303, I was learning how to create an ePortfolio. This ePortfolio began as an initial framework. I also had to start posting in a blog on my site. Through the courses, I have learned how to build an ePortfolio (a website).

EDLD 5305 was the next portion of the DLL map. The first two courses were interesting and developing, but not as intense compared to EDLD 5305. The 5305 course was a beast! I was called to stretch, grow, research, create, and plan. I had to decide on an innovative program or project to propose and plan to bring to reality at my school. I chose the topic of ePortfolios. The research was submitted in the form of a literature review. Using the research, I had to create a proposal explaining my initial thoughts on the innovation plan and an outline for the innovation plan. I'm at the end of the program looking back, and I can see how the original plan and outline are laughable. I did have enough of an idea to keep going, and thankfully, my instructors saw the potential and knew that the innovation plan would be further developed in future classes.

As the DLL map continues, you will notice EDLD 5304 and 5315. Those courses frustrated me more than anything, yet I value what I learned. I also appreciate that the instructors for these courses were Dr. Thibodeaux and Dr. Harapnuik, the founders and leaders of the DLL program. Those courses were about organizational change and significant learning. We began by diving into creating a significant learning environment with Dr. Thibodeaux in EDLD 5304. That portion of the course solidified my thinking on the intentional planning I did when preparing to open De Beau Microschool. It also helped me to realize that it would take even more planning to prepare for the next phase, ePortfolios. Learning how I learn and how that plays a role in my teaching was enlightening. The BHAG and Understanding by Design projects were next. The BHAG scared me, while the Understanding by Design project frustrated me. I realized that it was frustrating me because it wasn't meant for my type of project. Once I realized that, the stress I was feeling disappeared.

I was almost dreading the next class, 5315, because it was going to be taught by Dr. Harapnuik. I was scared and excited at the same time when I saw the name of the professor. The course began easily enough with a review and reflection on Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset. After that, we learned about why. That week helped me to summarize my why, how, and what regarding my classroom environment. Then things got substantially more difficult, at least for me. So difficult in fact that Dr. Harapnuik held me over once the class ended. I got an Incomplete for the course and continued with the course for an extra two weeks. He told me not to worry about it and to keep pushing and trying. He told me that I was on the cusp of success on the projects and not to give up. Through emails and a couple of phone calls, Dr. Harapnuik helped me to power through and truly understand the point of the Influencer Model and the 4DX project. When I finally got approval on my work, and the grade instead of the incomplete, I was thrilled and relieved. Looking back, I'm thankful that Dr. Harapnuik didn't give up on me and helped me to understand. I am thankful that a professor cared enough about me and my work to continue to help me even though the class technically ended.

EDLD 5315 was a continuation of the literature review. I had to create an action research plan about my literature review. My next course was EDLD 5318. In that course I was tasked with creating an online learning course. I chose to create a sixth grade science course on the platform Schoology. In the course of five weeks, I created an entire course covering the entire sixth grade science course, which my students are currently using. Upon the completion of the science course, I went on to create a health and history course as well for the sixth grade students. In EDLD 5388, I was tasked to think about professional learning using the coursework from previous classes as the framework. I incorporated the Influencer Model and the 4DX projects, and the skills learned while creating a course in Schoology.

From there, I revisited my literature review and expanded upon the literature review in EDLD 5314. This time I had to expand my thoughts from the local area and incorporate information from a global perspective. During that research, I realized the importance of reflection while learning. In fact, I went back to the courses that I created in Schoology and incorporated reflection assignments. EDLD 5317 was a continuation of that expanded literature review. My task was to use my research and knowledge to create an article for submission to a publication. I will not be providing a link to that article here because I have submitted that article for publication.

EDLD 5316 was a course about Digital Citizenship. The course centered around Ribble's Nine Elements that students should know. That course was aggravating to me. In the other courses I was expected to create and use the COVA approach toward learning. The Digital Citizenship course was not COVA. It was very structured. It was during that course that I realized that I had moved from a check the box mentality to get a good grade to a learning mentality regardless of the grade, yet striving to produce my best work to get a good grade. I did the work and passed the Digital Citizenship class successfully, even earning a Digital Citizenship badge. I completed several blog posts throughout that course. You can read the first blog post here.

Here I am in the final class, the capstone class, EDLD 5320. It is the roof of the house on the DLL map. This course has given me an opportunity to reflect and look back, in addition to revising my innovation plan and innovation plan outline. This reflection of the entire DLL program has given me perspective. I can appreciate where I began and where I am now. I can see growth. I have enjoyed looking back and seeing the evolution of my innovation plan. I also appreciate that everything is on my ePortfolio. My ePortfolio has been used to document my learning throughout this course. As a result, my ePortfolio has grown from an initial framework to a fully functioning website. It is an evolving site that I can refer to on a regular basis and can continue to add information to the site even after my graduation from the program.

References:

Dweck, Carol S. (2016). Mindset The New Psychology of Success. Ballantine Books, New York

Dweck, Carol S. (2014). Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck. [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiEeMN7vbQ

Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The new science of leading change. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Harapnuik.org. (2016). Why Create Significant Learning Environments. Retrieved from: http://www.harapnuik.org/?p=6691

Harapnuik, D. (2018). DLL Program Map. Retrieved from: http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=7018

Lamar University. (2019). M.Ed. in Digital Learning and Leading. Retrieved from: https://degree.lamar.edu/programs/master-of-education-in-digital-learning-and-leading.aspxhttps://degree.lamar.edu/programs/master-of-education-in-digital-learning-and-leading.aspx

McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2012). The 4 disciplines of execution: Achieving your wildly important goals. New York: Free Press.

Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools: Nine elements all students should know (3rd ed.). Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education