Well, it’s done. As done as it will be for now. I am speaking of the culminating project for ETEC 565. It was certainly a project that challenged my technical abilities. A project for which at times I experienced great success and at other times, defeat.
As I said, it’s done and I am done. Here I sit in an Ellensburg, Washington Starbucks (Order a tea and get free wifi for as long as you need!). I have spent the last few days holed up in a small hotel room while my daughter attended softball camp.
During the last ninety-six hours she has experienced frustration, triumph, and learning, and she has developed friendships with girls from Washington and Oregon. During the last ninety-six hours I have experienced frustration, triumph, learning, and isolation.
I keep reflecting back to Module Two and Benoit. How long will it take? Longer than I ever imagined! I did not track the number of hours spent creating the course (actually creating an introduction and two modules meant to accompany eight hours of instruction). The good news is that creating the last three modules will be time efficient as the course skeleton is in place and the needs for creation have been learned (except the blasted GUI).
I still have much to learn and before I actually use my moodle creation I am sure that many changes will be made. The first moodle course that I created was the beginner’s long list of attachments and links. This recent project still has some elements of that but built within its structure are activities and purposefully planned learning and assessment opportunities.
What elements of the assignment were the most time consuming and challenging? Creating a splash page with GUI lead me to post “GUI? OMG!”. I never did get it right but . . . along the way I learned how to write code to insert images that could act as portals to other locals. Reading and viewing how to do the above was just not enough. I needed face-to -face help. But alas, I was working in isolation.
What elements of the assignment were the most rewarding? I now know the material and the concepts that I have included (and chosen not to include) in my moodle much more intimately. I have found further resources to enhance the experience of my adult learners. I will be facilitating, modeling and hopefully inspiring other teachers to learn how technology might enhance learning and creativity as I have had the opportunity to learn for the past year.
What have I learned about educational technology? I have learned much about moodle. I have learned to “design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments” (NETS, 2008). My learning will be transferable to other technological creations. Thank goodness! I have learned how to problem solve in this environment and learned about help available online. I have learned that the end must justify the frustration, triumph, learning, and isolation. And as I often commented during this wonderful experience that was ETEC 565, in the end the student must work harder than the teacher. Mission accomplished, John.
I still want to be able to create a splash page with GUI. I just need to see the final codes and work backward from that. That’s another thing that I learned, I like to work backward from a final product. Who knew? I meet the National Education Standards for Teachers. I am proud of that. My product may not be as polished as others, my abilities may not be as well developed, and my opportunities and learning to date with technology may be less, but ETEC 565 and MET are all about the journey.
National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/