By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
—Confucious

Reflections

Artifacts Reflections (completed during the class in which you created the artifact)

Reflect on each artifact that you've created in your coursework by responding to the following questions.

Comprehensive Reflection (to be created in ED 795B)

This is your opportunity to reflect on your experiences in the Educational Technology program.

As you do so, be sure to cite references for the ideas you discuss. Use the APA (American Psychological Association) style for citations and references (not necessary for the rest of your paper). Some useful resources:

What’s Love Got to Do with It?

Ignore for a moment those popular metaphors that imply that knowledge is a commodity that can be bought and sold, stored in books, and transmitted through the web. Consider the alternative view that knowledge can only be stored in the minds of knowers. In this view, real knowledge and real learning seem improbable without love.
Philosophers have identified many types of love. There is lust, and there is agape. In any case, it has been said that study is one of the higher forms of love. If this is true, then perhaps it can also be said that good students must love some aspects of what they have studied.

Your future happiness and satisfaction as a professional will depend on how well you understand your love for different aspects of educational technology and whether you pursue and nurture that love. So this query is about you, the aspects of educational technology that you love, and why you love these aspects. Your response will be evaluated not so much on what aspects you choose to discuss as on how well you describe these aspects and articulate why you love them.

Ideas Shine Through

There are ideas amongst all the lecture notes, project folders; the websites, books and journal articles; the very brain cells you have organized to sustain you this weekend. And some of these ideas shine through the mustiness of storage systems to illuminate the world of educational technologies. Select ideas to discuss…but make sure they are ideas you love and make sure they are ideas that illuminate our field:

The Ideas should be related to your future work as an educational technologist and they should be related to each other.

Try not to confuse infatuation and sentimentality with love; liking ideas because they are snazzy or cute or just plain familiar may lead you astray or not lead you anywhere. In the end, some attractive ideas are not even good enough to be wrong, just thought-candies—scene stealers for something that could have been important.
In 800 to 1000 words, describe important ideas you have fallen in love with, how they are related, and perhaps how they originated. Be sure to supply an example or two of how you have applied or realized The Ideas or how you have seen them applied or realized in the field of educational technology.

Your Love

Take another 800 to 1000 words to explain your love for The Ideas.

You need not answer all of the above questions but you must develop a coherent response to the listed issues that clearly demonstrates (a) your ability to formulate opinions and perspectives and (b) that these opinions and perspectives are informed by the contemporary literature and practice of educational technology.

Change

You will change. The world will change. And your feelings about The Ideas may change too. And maybe they should. The history of education is replete with false idols and fads, with flimsy panaceas and broken dreams. And even good ideas evolve and become something else, something clearer, more precise, more appropriate. Or maybe they just become hollow traditions. Ideas are the children of minds and schools of thought; without nourishment and a community, they die or withdraw. Yet sometimes, with the right kind of attention and challenges, they grow and become strong.

Use the space, time, and words you have allocated to this query to discuss the future trajectory of your love for The Ideas as children of yourmind and the communities of thought practice and thought that you might join.

Again, you need not answer all of the questions above but you must develop a coherent response that demonstrates your awareness and understanding of current trends in educational technology.