Friday, December 16, 2011

811 Final Reflection


                Upon reviewing this blog and my portfolio for this course, the areas for improvements seem to be a little consistent with past personal experience. Time management and attention to detail seem to be normal speed bumps for me. Added to these, was a newer challenge, where as in the last course 810, it seemed to focus on the technology (which I will admit I pretty comfortable with), this 811 course was more about adopting and exploring teaching methods with technology. This was a challenge in that I have little experience in teaching methodologies. I am capable of research and did not find this debilitating, but rather found it interesting and enjoyed learning the material. 

                The combination of time management and new material most significantly showed itself in the UDL assignment and discussion. Though I thought my post was insightful I must admit I got a little “gun shy” with the UDL assignment itself. I seemingly was challenged with motivating myself to complete the assignment. As I recall the assignment was based a previous lesson plan assignment, and though I did ok with the lesson plan, I felt challenged to apply the lesson plan to the UDL assignment. My lesson plan was designed to be a relatively informal lesson and I kind of struggled to apply the UDL assignment to it. I do see a personal characteristic showing though here too, I’m not sure if it is the Leo in me, but I struggle to motivate myself to complete work that I feel I would not be good at. I kept putting the assignment off until the last chance to get any credit, then opted to work on other assignments and try to get them in on time instead. I really should finish the assignment; logic tells me that if something is going to challenge me to submit quality work, then it’s the right type of assignment for me to be working on. 

                I finished one of the last assignments early (not by much, but maybe a day or two) but to my delight, I was afforded some feedback and an opportunity to resubmit for some lost points. I think this may have been mentioned to me, but sometimes it takes the experience to have it set in. I noted this and look forward to making this a goal in the future. After 135 credits one would hope I would have already realized and had this goal, but alas. 

                I can be critical at times…. Ok maybe most of the time. I also like to think that I’m open to criticism and generally objective. I also can be distracted and over complicate things. One thing I do sometimes is self deprecate to cover up or rationalize personal failings. It can be enlightening and helpful to be call out on it every now and then.

                As far as the technologies used in the course, I thought I did pretty well. The StAIR could have been improved. I could have used the technology that the lesson was about, I had originally thought to use Power Point because it’s a school supported application, but after reflecting on a comment about my choice and preferring the web application I think it would have been beneficial to have used Moodle instead. Another assignment I struggled with, not with the technology but rather an idea was the webpage. The assignment called to create a website I could use for my work, and after trying to come up with something cool, I ended up just settling with a generic concept for a online resume thing. I did not want to drag out the idea too long and lose the points altogether like I did with the UDL assignment. I really wished I did better on that webpage assignment.

                Regarding future plans for technology, well they will stem from work and more school. I am finishing up the third course in this certificate program this spring and also I am taking an advanced SQL course at LCC (hey it's free!). I have already started training with Desire2Learn through work and frankly it will be a large focus for me for the next couple months.

1 comment:

  1. Mike, thank you for your blog post. I appreciate your transparency and honesty. I know this course was a challenge at times, yet, you found ways to integrate it effectively in your situation. There are certainly areas for growth for you...and me. The best always want to do better...

    I know a little about SQL, but I would love to learn more. I hope that you learn a lot! Additionally, I hope the Desire2Learn launch goes smoothly. Good luck!

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