End of Semester: Reflection (Task 2.5)

How has my knowledge and understanding of ID and learning technologies progressed this term?

Over the first semester my knowledge and understanding for instructional design has grown tremendously. It has made me more aware of the impacts learning theories/views have on the decisions I make for how I design learning content for both my students and staff. I have realised that it is extremely important to have a deep understanding of these theories to be able to purposefully use them to enhance learning experiences, rather than letting them occur by chance. I have found that my pedagogical practice and beliefs for how people learn are strongly influenced by a constructivist perspective, however I can identify where many of the other learning theories and views are woven throughout my learning programmes. 

I have found many of the tasks this semester to be helpful - particularly the collaborative tasks as they have helped me to understand how collaboration can be achieved in distance learning. Although I work in a blended classroom environment which is predominantly face to face, there is still a need for my students to be able to work in an online context also. I have also found the collaborative tasks beneficial in experiencing first hand both how the tasks are set up and to take advantage of the collaborative digital affordances many apps have to offer students in a blended learning context. Collaborating with others was something I also found to be a challenge this semester.

I class myself as someone who enjoys working with and learning from others, but the Technology Tools Organiser Task was one that I initially found challenging. To begin with, I had been working on some of the tasks from other papers and hadn't managed to check the instructions for the collaborative task immediately. It wasn't until I received a message from one of the group members that they had already started discussing ideas for the task - that I realised how behind I was. I felt terribly guilty and then felt obliged to make it my priority. It turns out, I ended up being fine with the task and level of contribution I made. This experience has helped me to be more prepared and aware of all of the tasks that are happening and to make sure that I show I am present in group tasks from an early stage (even in basic conversations), as it makes the my other team members feel as though all members are interested and taking group work seriously. This will be very important for our project design for assignment 3 which I am very much looking forward to. 

Overall, this course has surprised me with how strong links between theory and practice can be achieved in an online course. It has built my confidence in my ability to transfer my knowledge of instructional design, learning theories and digital technologies to the classroom when I return next year. 


  

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