Reflecting on these last few months: My ETEC 565 experience (for the 2^nd time)

By: Ryan Edgar

Précis of my Flight Path (from Jan 17, 2010)…
I chose the MET program at UBC because it was delivered in an on-line format and afforded me flexibility when it came time to selecting courses.  I chose ETEC 565 because it appeared to be a course that would help me achieve my goals of finding and learning new ways to engage and improve my students’ learning.  At the time of writing my Flight Path I was unsure of what I wanted to learn because to be frank, I was (and perhaps still am) a relative neophyte when it came to educational technology.  How could I say I wanted to learn X or Y when I didn’t or don’t know what there is to learn?  To steal a phrase from this program, I simply was looking at ways I could increase the size of my current toolkit.

Reflection of my eLearning toolkit experience…
Speaking generally about the toolkit activities I would have to say that what I found particularly rewarding about this course was the practical components of it (like the toolkit activities).  We all know that learning styles are as varied as individuals themselves.  I for one know that I learn best by doing or watching rather than by reading.  So to take part in a course where we were expected to explore several tools and “do” the work rather than read or hypothesize about them was refreshing to say the least.

Some of the activities (in my opinion) were better laid out than others.  For instance creating a blog (the blog activity) and a moodle site (the LMS activity) were really straight forward, easy to replicate and (perhaps most importantly to me) didn’t take a lot of my time to do the initial set-up.  Other activities, such as the accessibility activity, were not so easy to navigate; I found this activity cumbersome.  I was clicking so many links that I ended up right back where I started on more than one occasion.  I now know what it feels like to be that dog chasing his tail?  What ended up happening for me was I got so tired of feeling like I was getting no where that I left the activity before actually doing anything.  Perhaps I should be more patient but I have really tried hard to keep to a designated time limit to my studies so I still have time to attend to my other responsibilities (like being a good dad and husband).

That being said, I still go back to what I first said about my toolkit experiences… being an active participant was so rewarding for me

What’s next for me?
Besides the obvious, like more courses in the MET program, what lies ahead actually excites me.  What I am most enthusiastic about is that my experiences with Blogs and Moodle have been relatively positive ones.  I have obviously (hopefully it is obvious to others) put a lot of time and effort into my Moodle site and I plan on launching its full version this September when the new school year starts.  Currently I have my senior students working on an ePortfolio assignment as part of the Grad Transitions 12 class. Back in September this (the ePortfolio) was not part of my master plan.

To be honest I have never considered myself to be a great student.  My views on education have centered on the idea of education being a means to an end.  Education never really got me excited before but this program, more specifically ETEC 565, has left me feeling invigorated.  Because I see merit to what I have been doing, I find myself thirsty for more.  I plan on spending more time exploring some of the technology that we have experienced in this course but I am most looking forward to the unknown.  Much like what I said in my original flight path, I know I want to learn something new, I just don’t know what it is yet.  I guess the only way to figure out what that is, is to try and experience something new.

Thanks…
I would like to say “thanks” to everyone in this course and even those from past years of ETEC 565 (I looked at their Moodle sites too for inspiration).  Even if we did not have direct communication I have taken a little something (at the very least) from everyone.  Whether it is from reading your posts or from exploring your sites, I feel as though there is always something that can be learned – and I have.

Finally, I would to give a huge thanks to John Egan.  For those that don’t know I was an emotional nightmare last year and got stuck behind the “8-ball” right from day one and was unable to get rid of that sinking feeling.  I withdrew from the course but swore I would be back when it was offered again.  Much to John’s dismay I returned this term and I have had a great experience.  This is only my fourth course in the program so my experiences may not be the same as some that are nearing the end, but I am so glad to have finally taken a course where I am walking away feeling like I have learned something tangible.  I wanted to learn about things that I would be able to use immediately.  Up until now most of my course work has been theory and researched based.  I like that I finally found a course with a lot of practical elements woven into its fabric.  It might sound like I am piling it on thick but it is refreshing to take an on-line course where the teacher is an integral member of the learning community rather than a passive constituent that hides in the background never to be seen or heard from.  It is also refreshing to hand in an assignment and get meaningful feedback that makes me think my prof actually read my work; what a novel concept!
So good luck to all – I wish you success in your journey through the MET program and beyond!
Cheers

~ Ryan