Synthesis Reflection

Flight Path Precis

My flight path for this course was inspired in part by Bates & Poole, and in part from my own experiences attempting to identify and utilize appropriate technology for school and work.  As this is one my last two MET courses, I am rather familiar with Bates and Poole by this point and I feel that the following quote aptly summarizes the challenges I feel when working with technology.

“Decision making about technology.. is a complex process, requiring consideration of a great number of factors. Decision making in this area is also about personal choice, driven as much by values and beliefs as by technical considerations. These different factors cannot easily be related to one another quantitatively. In the end, an intuitive decision has to be made, but based on careful analysis of the situation.”
(Bates & Poole, Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success. 2003. p.78)

Their identification of the “personal” as an important element in the choosing which tools to work with resonates deeply with me. In my flight path I aspired towards a level of fluidity working with technology which fostered an intuitive expression of thought drawing from a “magic bag of tools” which could be located, utilized and shared in a flawlessly smooth transition at which the “idea” remains always at the forefront of the interaction.  I foresaw these tools, in my own life, being applied towards the promotion of peace education – connecting people and ideas to unite efforts to share knowledge and break down barriers. It is my hope that upon graduation from MET I will be able to apply these ‘magic’ tools to this worthy cause. That truly would be ‘magic’!

Reflection on my Toolkit Experience

If ever there was a magical bag of tools, certainly the e-Learning toolkit is a part of it. The toolkit demonstrates an efficient means of organizing the tools and keeping them accessible.  I am hoping this resource will be available after the course is finished! In my Moodle Reflection, I commented on the experience of learning to use new tools and likened it to the experience of a scared mountain climber. I cling, white knuckled, to the rope for I know that if ever I lost the rope all would be lost and I would never find my way back again. So it is when I am learning new technology. I follow the directions without blinking, rereading the instructions repeatedly before attempting action. In this way, I am able to grope along and break new ground. The challenge is not to get frustrated. The tool kit worked very well for me in this sense. The explicit directions were easy to locate and relocate as I made my way along, helping to relax my white knuckled grip. As before, I would like to reiterate my hope that the toolkit will be available after completion of this course. This mountain climber has reached new heights – but could sure use that rope again at times! Inclusion of the Bates and Poole SECTIONS framework helped to connect the practice with the theory.

SECTIONS

As Bates and Poole informed my flight path from the start, and were additionally embedded within the toolkit, it is no surprise to me that without consciously focusing on applying the SECTIONS model to my LMS course design, I find evidence of it thoroughly woven throughout my work.  I am pleased to see that unlike learning the technology itself, the philosophical aspects which inform my work are confidently integrated into my practice, requiring no white knuckled grip to hang on to.  Perhaps this is a mark of the fluid integration of  tools of which I dreamed when outlining my flight plan. Applying the Bates and Poole’s SECTIONS model to the complex process of decision making about technology helps to make the ‘personal’ comfortable.

S – Students: Taking into account that the site users will be teachers (Learning Consultants) the content is appropriate to their knowledge and maturity level, and creates opportunities to involve participants to move beyond their current understanding and comfort level with technology to build new skills.

E – Ease of use and reliability: Moodle is a direct and straightforward program. I have tested it in several browsers and have identified no challenges which will inhibit ease of use.

C – Costs: What is the unit cost per learner? Moodle is free so there is no cost, other than my time building and monitoring it. The user may incur costs accessing the internet.

T – Teaching and learning: Several different methods of instruction and tools were used to engage the learner and to demonstrate technology which the user could apply to their own context. This is also intended to engage different learning styles.

I – Interactivity: The course is designed to be entirely interactive. Encouraging interaction with the material using a variety of mediums, and with other learners in the forum and chat spaces.

O – Organizational issues: The course content is organized to be chronological, ordered by units, however it can be completed as separate units. The asynchronous and synchronous options allow for differences in user approaches to time management and interaction with the material.

N – Novelty: While Moodle is not new technology, this approach incorporates interesting activities which may be a fresh interpretation of existing information material.

S – Speed: Moodle uploads and downloads are easy to learn and complete. The site works best with high speed internet access.  Course development was also quick using Moodle.

Next Steps

When I constructed my flight path it was always with an eye towards the future. Now that that time is here I will strive to apply what I’ve learned in practice. As the resources manager for a non-profit alternative education organization it is my privilege and my responsibility to employ technological tools to maximize the efficiency and ease with which learners and educators within the program access learning resources. This is a thrilling prospect as the tools available make information sharing an exciting experience.  During ETEC 565 I’ve developed greater confidence in my ability to select resources, drawing from Bates and Poole to inform the personal choices I will make. Through the process of discussing and debating the merits of different approaches using technology to problem solve case scenarios for Benoit, Dafna, and the others I have gleaned insight into other ways of using technology and expanded my understanding of the possibilities. I’ve also deepened my awareness of my own excellent decision making abilities. I came to see that amongst my peers and their many great ideas, that my own problem solving skills offered plausible solutions and that I am able to contribute meaningfully to the discussion.  The impact of this experience will inform a new approach to problem solving in my educational practice. I intend to participate and share more in my professional learning community, and to extend my perceived technological boundaries, releasing my white knuckled grip and enjoy myself.  At the beginning of the course I titled this blog site “Not A Solo Flight” – foreshadowing the change that has come.  Thank you.