One way to get the most out of life is to look at it as an adventure. I have read it, been told about it, and now I am finally living it. In life, we take chances, some we choose, some unexpected, and some we can say are just bound to happen. We are always given the opportunity to explore what else we can do, where else we can go, and how else can we improve ourselves. The past year has been a very interesting time for me. I took the plunge, changed my work assignment after 17 years, and decided to be a student again after 15 years. It was nerve-racking, kept me up a couple of nights, but here I am, no longer undecided, and a living proof that life indeed is an adventure, full of excitement, challenges, but so much fun from beginning to end.
I can already hear the graduation march playing in the background, our finish line is just a stone’s throw away, but the journey was and still is more meaningful because I share it with a wonderful learning community, our professors and my fellow educators from all over. This semester is no exception, I have kept my core group from during my first semester in the program. We maintain a GroupMe chat group with 24 members, where we get to discuss assignments, answer questions, and just support each other every step of the way. On a smaller scale, I have worked more closely with Sabine, Misma, Claudia, and Nadin this semester especially since we all are enrolled in EDLD 5315 and 5317. We have shared and provided feedforward, and feedback on each other’s assignments. We collaborate to understand requirements and clarify concerns we may have. We constantly share resources, readings or articles we find relevant to the course and we send one another reminders and follow-ups so we can all stay compliant. Another learning forum is our weekly Blackboard Discussion Board. It has become a regular part of our ADL routine to post our thoughts and reflections on weekly topics. But I enjoy reading my colleagues' posts. It’s always good to know other people’s points of view, find out some interesting perspectives, and share common sentiments with others. On each post, I always learn something new.
In EDLD 5315, I have learned a more detailed approach in writing an Action Research Plan. It allowed me to fully understand the process, from formulating my research questions, choosing my research methods, types of data, measurement instruments, planning implementation, to sharing the findings. As I complete my final action research plan, I have revised and updated my first literature review making it more substantial to support my innovation plan.
In EDLD 5317, I was able to learn how to utilize media as a tool to convey a message and share more about my innovation plan. I had the opportunity to write (and hopefully publish) my very first publication article to a selected educational online community. I also created a media project where I collaborated with Claudia, Tamara, and Nadin to record our very first podcast about blended learning. I was also able to invite Dr.Harapnuik to be our guest resource who made the experience more informative and fun (of course). We also provided each other feedforwards on our respective publication article outlines. As I reflect on this peer-review experience, I realized how much I have learned from them and how they have made an impact on my learning and growth this semester.
These are just a few of the many meaningful learning sessions I had this semester. When they say time flies when you’re having fun, it sure does, because here I am yet again, ending another semester, with tons of new discoveries and a heap of bonus wisdom to use.
Kommentare