Blog Post Week 10 (Mid-semester Evaluation)

I am not sure whether this post will be useful to anyone since it comes so late in the course ;-(. Nonetheless, I would like to share some thoughts as we finish the course. I always start each semester with great anticipation, raring to go. Then somewhere along the way, life seems to get in the way. This semester was no different, and it is always a wrenching decision what to give up from my plate at each point since I am just not capable of doing it all!

It seems I have given up on blog posts for the course. While these can be a strong personal development of ideas throughout the course, I don’t really see them as a critical part of my learning in the class. They are not necessarily user-friendly, as it took a while for all of us to figure out how to write and post them. I guess the bottom line is that a lot of work actually goes in to the writing, and it is not viewed by many. Perhaps more use of the discussion board would be a better place to write. I also do not like to have my posts public, but it is too much trouble to password protect.

Case studies have kept my head above water in this class. They definitely promote collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking. I was fortunate to be in a group of strangers turned friends, all who entered with great respect and humility, very different backgrounds, and a love for learning. So we came in already at the “point of productivity” where we struggled with the concept of the case study and were able to create one. As confusing as these seemed to be initially, they definitely provided an anchor in the class that kept me engaged.

I appreciate the use of LINE as a means of communication, even though I do not heavily use it. Fortunately, my group mates were willing to share their phone numbers, which made it much easier to communicate when needing speed and short answers. Zoom was also helpful; while I have a room, it turned out to be fine to use Dr. Bert’s room without running into other groups ;-).

Finally, the content of the course and resources and facilitation provided by Dr. Bert has met and gone beyond all my expectations. Technology changes so rapidly I feel this should be ongoing for all LTEC students, or at least repeated every two to three years. All of the topics are critical for all of us as users of technology, and even more so if we are instructional designers and educators. Mahalo!