Unit 5 Lessons Learned

In uni 5, I found the Horton discussion very interesting. I enjoyed writing a post and having others challenge me on it and then having my chance to try to explain my view in more detail.

My discussion topic was about the use of drama in elearning. Through the back and forth discussion, in order to supply some valid examples of how drama can be used in elearning, I was able to think of new ideas that I hadn't really thought of before. These new ideas I will keep in mind as I begin to work more in an elearning environment.

The other members of the discussion team also had really good ideas and thoughts about their topics as well; storytelling, online library and absorb-type activities in general. Not being from an educational field, I found all this very helpful.

Unit 4 Lessons NOT Learned

This week the focus was on Common Instructional Values. We reviewed the various components of our eCollege course such as the survey, the blog, etc. and determine how these components match up with common instructional values.

Unfortunately I don't understand the CIV's. To me, they are still too nebulous. How do I make something concrete to match these CIV's?

For example: Learner Centered instruction is personal and motivating. As educators we are supposd to guide the learning, support the students as they take ownership. And the Learning environments include flexible physical structures, tools and rubrics. So I'm supposed to do . . . .?? What?? What does that mean? I don't even know what a rubric is. What is a flexible physical structure?

Unit 3 Lessons Learned

It's hard to say what the lessons learned were for unit 3. Probably I would have to say based on the "Best Learning Experience" that the most effective instruction is when it becomes personal to the student. Either the material has to be personal and apply to the student's life or just the experience of the class becomes personal through interaction with other students. Anytime you sit through a training or a class and all of a sudden you see how the topic truly applies to you, that is amazing.

I recently had that happen to be at a Women in Project Management conference I attended. This one speaker talked about what makes a person a good leader on a project. As she listed the key points that a good leader needs to have, I realized where my project was lacking and what I needed to do to become a better project leader. The information I received became very personal to me and has stuck with me since the conference.