Reflecting on Learning

“The only limit to our realization of

tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”

– Franklin D. Roosevelt

I have come to the end of the class. I am deeply saddened. Why is it, I only enjoying a class when I am banging my head on a wall to accomplish the tasks at hand? I suppose it is the same personal traits that make me cry while watching commercials. I enjoyed my classmates and some of them will continue on to the next course on assessment with me. But my biggest problem will be saying goodbye to Jen as my instructor. She has challenged me and prodded me to achieve throughout the course. I am going to miss her.

I have tried to think of what things I might do better in my own course. Then I realized that one cannot mess with perfection. I loved the set up of the modules and the way Jen recreated the course as we went along, based on our common class needs. I enjoyed the challenges of reading the Boettcher material and applying it. And, I think I am a fan of Backward Design. I get the concept one hundred percent.

Since I like video, I might have included a few more of them along the way. I would try to get the group to present a bit more light hearted material as well. Having fun and laughing can go a long way to relieve stress and may help bind people together in a more cohesive group. But I suppose so does beer and wine and especially food.

The one thing I learned and pondered the most was, how much thought and designing goes into the creation of an online course. Each step an instructor takes during the course is also time consuming and thought provoking. Learning the different technologies are equally time consuming and yet, are very rewarding. The finished product is what matters in the end. If my learners have taken away as much information as the students in this class have, it has been a successful endeavor and one worth being extremely proud of.

I hope I will be as good an instructor as Jen and Norma have been. I want to develop the skills that help make my courses exciting, instructive and fun. Learning doesn’t have to be difficult if one enjoys the final product and takes the time to laugh along the way. I am including the presentation I created at the end of this blog.

So, I am saying goodbye to my classmates and Jen. Hello new learning opportunities this coming quarter at Bellevue College. My neighbors might frown on the explosion of fireworks at the end of this quarter. So, I just have to think of a new way to celebrate. Anyone for a good pub with music and cold beer? Ahhh…low calorie beer that is.