My learning thus far . . .

Photo CC: by Martin

To start off, and to be completely honest, I didn’t know what to expect before taking this course. I’ve taken other online technology classes before, but they were never much use (in my opinion) and in all honesty, I forgot about all the information just as fast as I learned it. This course has been different, however, and so far it has exceeded my expectations. I say this because there is so much independent learning taking place. To compare it to the other technology courses I’ve taken, they were much more rigid, and there wasn’t much room for exploration. It essentially was this: you did the required assignments, participated in the required forums (if there were any), took the quizzes, and moved on to the next chapter. Whereas in this class, we’ve all been encouraged to branch out, to break out of our comfort zone, and to learn about new topics and subjects that interest us, while still learning about and learning how to utilize the plethora of different technologies available to us. For example, I’ve learned a lot about my independent learning project, which is graphic design. I’ve also discovered that while I already utilized some types of social media platforms, such as Twitter, I’ve come to like blogging as well. I would’ve never thought twice about blogging before this, but it’s actually pretty fun. In terms of taking part in the modules, on the other had, I’ve really enjoyed them. While they’re each due Sunday night, what’s appealing to me is that we can work through them at our own pace (I typically should get started on them earlier in the week, however!) The ones that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the most, when I think about it, would probably be module 3: choosing your own education and module 5: building your own PLN. These have stood out to me because in terms of module 3, I’ve rediscovered my love for TED Talks (they’re literally the best thing in the world), and in terms of module 5, I’ve discovered that in whatever interests you, that there are literally thousands of professionals out there in which you can connect with. For example, as you all know, I built my PLN around children’s literature. There were numerous authors and illustrators I’ve followed, and there have been some that have even tweeted at me and followed me back! How cool is that? It’s mind blowing how one can instantly connect with people around the world like that. In terms of what module has been the most challenging, on the other hand, it has probably been module 7: ds106. I say this because I didn’t have a clue about what ds106 was/is, and it was difficult for me to wrap my mind around it for some reason. It’ll come to me, however! And lastly, in terms of what I hope to learn in the second semester, I hope to really dig into my ILP, even more so than I already have, and also discover new and exciting ways to implement all the different types of technologies into my future classroom. I also hope to take part in all the different daily activities/daily challenges that are available out there. In all, this has probably been one of my favorite online classes so far. It’s really kind of relaxing to sit down and work through the module . . . hopefully I’m not the only one who thinks this??