The second course of the technology master’s program was Action Research. This has proven to be a very beneficial class for me. The course instructor included three insightful interviews of Lamar Alumni that has proven success with action research. It was great to see the research from a standpoint of someone who has experience with it. Sometimes it’s hard to visualize an idea without firsthand knowledge of it. The three men shared very different aspects of the research project. Tim Chargois does research at the district level, while the others are participating in research for the campus level. It opens your eyes at the possibilities out there.
Meeting with my mentor to agree on a topic and revise plan proved to be a difficult task. She is the school counselor and her duties include TAKS. The weeks we needed to meet were in the middle of the TAKS season. We ended up meeting via email and in the hall. She was able to guide me as much as possible, but the timing was just bad. It all worked out in the end and we feel my topic is well thought out and will be beneficial to our school.
The web conferences started off great and then chaos set in. As a technology guru, I wished I could have done something more to help. I need to learn more about that system, so that maybe in the future I can be of some value. The information was great and Dr. Jenkins did his best to keep us engaged and actively participating. The conferences were full of good information, both course-wise and teaching-wise. I was grateful to be able to attend the meetings and look forward to the last one tomorrow.
The textbooks selected were perfect for the course. I purchased a hard copy of the Harris book, and a digital copy on my IPAD of the Dana text. I was glad to see the digital version of the DANA text, less bulk to tote around. The texts were full of great information and I enjoyed reading them for the most part. Like most texts, some parts were tougher to hold my attention than others. Basically they helped me accomplish what I need, so they served their purpose. I foresee hanging on to those two texts for future references.
The courseware was pretty straight forward, one assignment each week and the discussions. I enjoyed participating in the discussions. Everyone seems to give thought to his or her responses and I appreciate that. I really enjoyed looking back to the first week to see how far we have come in just five short weeks. That is kind of amazing. I didn’t think it had been that long, then looking back it seems like so long ago I typed the first discussion prompt. Everyone seems to have grown and the discussions were a way to get great feedback.
Overall the course was well laid out and I enjoyed it. I worked very hard in this course and I hope my efforts show through my research in the end. There was a ton of information to learn very quickly, but it was set up nicely in that it was easy to handle. The professor did a great job, as did the IA in relaying all the information and answering questions. Thanks for a great course. 
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