Reflection is a pain! I spend hours preparing a lesson, present my lesson and then find I have to reflect on the lesson, when really I want to get on with the next one. Well that's my opinion. However in all fairness it is a valuable tool and well worth doing it’s just a matter of time and looking at the next task in hand.
As for Blogging well at first I thought this was all a bit sad, why write personal reflections online for others to read?
Enter the ‘learning arena’ and suddenly it all becomes clear, it is useful to read both your own as well as the reflections of others. It is part of the learning and useful to read other experiences. The blog makes it efficient to keep a journal, it can be private or shared selectively. I have just written this blog whilst having a 5 minute break at work by emailing straight to my blog.
Where next, ‘Twitter’ I don’t think so I am not quite ready, but I said that about ‘Facebook’.
H808-09I: Unit 2 (part 2): Reflection and learning: "Post a comment to your blog reflecting on your own attitude to reflection in learning and on the usefulness or otherwise of blogging as a means of doing it."
Wednesday 30 September 2009
Core 2.4: Reflection and Learning
Should my reflection on H808 form a part of the course assessment?
H808 was developed to help explore some of the key issues surrounding professional practice in elearning and to further personal and professional development as an elearning practitioner. H808 Course Guide (2009).It therefore makes sense to make as much use of the tools available throughout the course. The course aims to support the development of the skills required by an elearning practitioner. Being able to reflect on this practice, as well as the ability to analyse and critique the ideas and practices of others by communicating proactively is also an important component of the course.
Whilst the e-portfolio becomes an important part of the course it would seem that the act of actually creating the e-portfolio and compiling the evidence to meet the course criteria is where the learning really takes place. Once the student realises that learning is taking place then the act of completion should no longer be seen as a chore.
Considering course reviews from previous students, Open University (2009), one former student wrote, “Reflective writing is applicable to all learning media, so I don't consider it an adequate assessment of an individual's application of elearning”. Another student wrote, “Whilst putting together an eportfolio was hard work but on reflection was well worth doing”. Clearly there are two different viewpoints, one students’ view somewhat contradicting the other. My first impressions lean heavily with the second opinion. It is clear that I am learning by reflecting, but it can also create a lot of extra work.
“If it is completed progressively and regularly throughout the course”, Crème(2005), then it should become an integral part of the course and a worthwhile experience. In terms of H808 what Crème writes bears relevance to both the reflective accounts I maintain at work and my studies. As a member of a professional body I am expected to produce both evidence of CPD and reflective commentaries on a regular basis in order to maintain my professional status. In this case all that hard work does count, and there is a clear motive for doing it. I have taught for a number of years and the idea of reflection is more natural I believe now, than it would have been if I was asked to reflect when I considered myself to be an engineer. H808 relies on the development over a period of time, a collection of personal accounts that are thought’s in my head. How can anyone assess what is in my head? Writes Crème, but the process of writing and reflecting on this in itself is the learning process.
This leads me to the question of whether my thoughts and reflective components should be used as a form of assessment on H808.
“The principal means of achieving and assessing these outcomes will be through the learning activities of the course and building your own professional development portfolio”. H808 Course Guide (2009)
Immediately there is an incentive to produce a good record of study, its worth the effort, both points that Crème discusses. In contrast the course assessment also relies on assignments but it is clear from the offset that a well organised record of reflection and development is required.
Other considerations include the available tools that should be used to complete the process. The use of PebblePad, makes the process more systematic, this application is used at my place of work. However already its limitations have led me to experiment with alternatives for H808 and on reflection Google Docs is currently my approach to this. Is it the only method though? I find ideas when reflecting bounce into my head too fast to type, they will often pass by without getting onto paper. I feel the need to experiment with a voice recording tool, enabling me to record what I think and play it back as a reflection or even as a piece of evidence.
The thought of walking around talking to myself is a scary thought at the moment though but it is clear that it would save me some time though. Other technologies that would form a part of a reflection portfolio include both video and power point presentations. With the ability to place a video on Utube, Hienguy (2006) being one example. Not a particularly good example but nevertheless gives an example of this technology being used within the context of reflection. Additionally power point presentations can be made available online with tools such as slideshare. Just one example being Kheru K. (2007). It is only a matter of time before I encompass these technologies within my eportfolio.
In conclusion my reflection and more should play a part in the assessment on H808 and in it is only just the beginning. I fully expect to further utilise many more technologies that are available as the course proceeds. Blogs, wikis, podcasts, e-portfolio tools of various kinds to name just a few.
References
H808 Course Guide (2009), ‘Open University H808 Course guide’, (online) available from:
http://learn.open.ac.uk/file.php/5194/resources/ebook_h808_courseguide_e4i1_web003217_l3.pdf
(accessed 29 Sept 2009).
Crème, P. (2005) ‘Should student learning journals be assessed?’, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 287–96. Available from: http://www.informaworld.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/smpp/section?content=a713605501&fulltext=713240928 (accessed 3 August 2009).
Open University (2009) ‘Student and tutor course reviews’ (online) available from:
http://www3.open.ac.uk/coursereviews/course.aspx?course=H808 (accessed 29 Sept 2009).
Hienguy (2006), ‘Tips for Reflection process’ (online) available from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4TjuOzmWP0 (accessed 29 Sept 2009).
Kheru . K. (2007), ‘How To Write A Reflection Report’ (online) available from:
http://www.slideshare.net/kheru2006/reflection-tips (accessed 29 Sept 2009).
Monday 28 September 2009
2.2 Reflection Core Activity
This is a my reflection on the first groupwork activity to find a number of eportfolio drivers from a given reading list. What has been driving eportfolios forward in the UK, USA, Europe etc.
My experience of group work online and Trevor's opening comments,
"I have to say from the outset that working together online can be difficult sometimes, BUT, with a little planning on everyone's part, it can actually be a rewarding experience. You never know, you may even enjoy it ;o)",
left me a little concerned especially when there was little activity in the conference over the first few days.
As for the task in hand I did not find it at all easy, a page of web links to read and trying to ascertain what were the relevant drivers from all this was a little confusing. Do I print? Certainly not it was clear from the outset. I found myself easily distracted and I wandered off. I posted a number of additional messages in the conference and suddenly there was life. My first attempt at spotting the drivers for the USA was posted other inputs started to appear. I found the reading was a bit difficult to concentrate on although once I focused on just spotting the drivers it wasn't so bad.
In terms of my PDP I would like to focus on my Research related competencies it was clear I was trying to read too much detail and not focusing on the actual task after all we were only after the drivers. I was distracted into RefWorks did I need to sort out my referencing? Along came an email with contact updates so my Google contacts were updated. A quick scan at what else I had to do and it was clear I had to focus back on the task. I must stop allowing myself to be side tracked. Just something as simple as checking my emails before I start studying can distract me from getting on with my studies. I conscious have tried to stop checking my mail until after the study period. One other slight distraction is my job of course, preparing my own lessons and planning the weekly teaching commitments means setting a regular study period is not easy.
Whilst my technology skills are pretty good, well I think they are. I was suffering a bit from information overload I thought I was on top of the course then I checked the Wiki and found I had missed a task out completely. I guess blogs, wikis, google docs etc will all become as natural as driving a car. I must admit though I am struggling to see the use of Twitter but then again Facebook took a while for me to accept.
Once a fellow student put up the post suggesting a Wiki it was clear we had to start moving forward. The Wiki was the trigger point. A reading list was added as suggested by other students in the group. This was my first attempt at using a Wiki and I have to say it was quite straight forward. I did however find it easier to produce the HTML in Frontpage rather than the Wiki editor. This enabled me to copy and paste the HTML straight into the wiki. I posted a gentle warning message in an attempt to trigger some activity, this received a response on the Friday evening.
Personally I was now able to pick a few documents and read them solely to spot the drivers which suddenly wasn't that bad. I was able to also start looking for useful sources of information for the TMA essay, bit early yet though. The activity in work group picked up and text started to appear on the groups wiki. I have to confess I printed some of the main sources to enable a relaxing read on the sofa, I still can't get used to performing everything on a PC.
When I reviewed some of the other messages in the group it was clear to me that I was more active than most I guess I have seen many online activities fail on previous courses so I wanted to do my bit to try and get it started. I made a conscious decision to back off a bit and posted a message to that effect. I was aware that I had steered this activity some what and I didn't want to appear pushy.
At the moment we are steering towards the end of this activity with our template looking OK it perhaps could do with a few more drivers but there are still a couple of days left for a few latecomers to add a bit.
My experience of group work online and Trevor's opening comments,
"I have to say from the outset that working together online can be difficult sometimes, BUT, with a little planning on everyone's part, it can actually be a rewarding experience. You never know, you may even enjoy it ;o)",
left me a little concerned especially when there was little activity in the conference over the first few days.
As for the task in hand I did not find it at all easy, a page of web links to read and trying to ascertain what were the relevant drivers from all this was a little confusing. Do I print? Certainly not it was clear from the outset. I found myself easily distracted and I wandered off. I posted a number of additional messages in the conference and suddenly there was life. My first attempt at spotting the drivers for the USA was posted other inputs started to appear. I found the reading was a bit difficult to concentrate on although once I focused on just spotting the drivers it wasn't so bad.
In terms of my PDP I would like to focus on my Research related competencies it was clear I was trying to read too much detail and not focusing on the actual task after all we were only after the drivers. I was distracted into RefWorks did I need to sort out my referencing? Along came an email with contact updates so my Google contacts were updated. A quick scan at what else I had to do and it was clear I had to focus back on the task. I must stop allowing myself to be side tracked. Just something as simple as checking my emails before I start studying can distract me from getting on with my studies. I conscious have tried to stop checking my mail until after the study period. One other slight distraction is my job of course, preparing my own lessons and planning the weekly teaching commitments means setting a regular study period is not easy.
Whilst my technology skills are pretty good, well I think they are. I was suffering a bit from information overload I thought I was on top of the course then I checked the Wiki and found I had missed a task out completely. I guess blogs, wikis, google docs etc will all become as natural as driving a car. I must admit though I am struggling to see the use of Twitter but then again Facebook took a while for me to accept.
Once a fellow student put up the post suggesting a Wiki it was clear we had to start moving forward. The Wiki was the trigger point. A reading list was added as suggested by other students in the group. This was my first attempt at using a Wiki and I have to say it was quite straight forward. I did however find it easier to produce the HTML in Frontpage rather than the Wiki editor. This enabled me to copy and paste the HTML straight into the wiki. I posted a gentle warning message in an attempt to trigger some activity, this received a response on the Friday evening.
Personally I was now able to pick a few documents and read them solely to spot the drivers which suddenly wasn't that bad. I was able to also start looking for useful sources of information for the TMA essay, bit early yet though. The activity in work group picked up and text started to appear on the groups wiki. I have to confess I printed some of the main sources to enable a relaxing read on the sofa, I still can't get used to performing everything on a PC.
When I reviewed some of the other messages in the group it was clear to me that I was more active than most I guess I have seen many online activities fail on previous courses so I wanted to do my bit to try and get it started. I made a conscious decision to back off a bit and posted a message to that effect. I was aware that I had steered this activity some what and I didn't want to appear pushy.
At the moment we are steering towards the end of this activity with our template looking OK it perhaps could do with a few more drivers but there are still a couple of days left for a few latecomers to add a bit.
Sunday 13 September 2009
1.3 Technical self development activity
Having considered the requirements of H808 I am in the fortunate position to have experience in the main applications that we will be using.
Discussion forums, as a an OU Tutor I have moderated my own conferences and indeed struggled to get activities going I anticipate a good level of activity in H808 purely because of the nature of this course.
Blogs, my blog has been up and running for a few years but not received a great deal of use but some housekeeping was performed to set it up for the course and my link was added to the course wiki.
Wikis not so strong here, happy with the content and of course familiar with Wikipedia but never really edited a wiki. I guess a key element is to prepare my entries and spell check content before adding. I have explored the course wiki. Pretty straight forward and I added my blog to the blog list.
Portfolio applications, I spent last year using PebblePad to compile my CPD evidence. Iinitially I thought I would use this again this year but I am slowly going off it. Discussion on this I am sure will follow but a big disadvantage is the way in which content is shared. I feel Google will be a much easy package to use and sharing is more straight forward. I have found an easy way to export in any case should I change my mind.
To this end I have completed some quick experimentation using Google Docs and Google Sites to start producing my portfolio of evidence.
I plan to develop my ideas and share with the rest of my fellow students as we start the course. I am confident I will reach a point where I can use these tools as I need, over the next eight weeks.
Three sources of support to help made available:
A map of the H808 virtual environment(in the Resources section of the H808 homepage). This will give an overview of the technical environment, and also some suggestions as to what you might focus on if you are a novice or an ‘old hand’ with these tools.
The various technical guides that you will find in the OU Computing Guide at http://www.open.ac.uk/computingguide/start.html.
The Technical and skills forum, where the online moderator will be available to answer questions and give advice, together with the more technically expert of the H808 student participants. Please make use of all these sources of help. If you hit a problem, don’t suffer in silence!
On reflection I found the map particularly useful even though I am an experienced user of the technology the amount of work was somewhat daunting the map made the technology clear and also gives a table of the core and supplementary tasks. Immediately printed and filed to use as a tick sheet as I progress through the course.
The technical guides are useful I have identified an area where I may need to perform some preparation work, that of academic writing. Its been a while since I wrote an essay let alone a piece of academic writing. I notice ref-works as well which might help so I have created an account to get things started.
As for the forums I have always been wary of spending too much time in them. They are useful and obviously a necessity for group-work but within a few days there were hundreds of unread messages. I decided to subscribe to my Tutors forums, this way I get an email each time an addition is made. Slight problem with this as it marks the messages as read which means when I look in the conference its not obvious what I need to read. I'll give it some time and review this I think.
Discussion forums, as a an OU Tutor I have moderated my own conferences and indeed struggled to get activities going I anticipate a good level of activity in H808 purely because of the nature of this course.
Blogs, my blog has been up and running for a few years but not received a great deal of use but some housekeeping was performed to set it up for the course and my link was added to the course wiki.
Wikis not so strong here, happy with the content and of course familiar with Wikipedia but never really edited a wiki. I guess a key element is to prepare my entries and spell check content before adding. I have explored the course wiki. Pretty straight forward and I added my blog to the blog list.
Portfolio applications, I spent last year using PebblePad to compile my CPD evidence. Iinitially I thought I would use this again this year but I am slowly going off it. Discussion on this I am sure will follow but a big disadvantage is the way in which content is shared. I feel Google will be a much easy package to use and sharing is more straight forward. I have found an easy way to export in any case should I change my mind.
To this end I have completed some quick experimentation using Google Docs and Google Sites to start producing my portfolio of evidence.
I plan to develop my ideas and share with the rest of my fellow students as we start the course. I am confident I will reach a point where I can use these tools as I need, over the next eight weeks.
Three sources of support to help made available:
A map of the H808 virtual environment(in the Resources section of the H808 homepage). This will give an overview of the technical environment, and also some suggestions as to what you might focus on if you are a novice or an ‘old hand’ with these tools.
The various technical guides that you will find in the OU Computing Guide at http://www.open.ac.uk/computingguide/start.html.
The Technical and skills forum, where the online moderator will be available to answer questions and give advice, together with the more technically expert of the H808 student participants. Please make use of all these sources of help. If you hit a problem, don’t suffer in silence!
On reflection I found the map particularly useful even though I am an experienced user of the technology the amount of work was somewhat daunting the map made the technology clear and also gives a table of the core and supplementary tasks. Immediately printed and filed to use as a tick sheet as I progress through the course.
The technical guides are useful I have identified an area where I may need to perform some preparation work, that of academic writing. Its been a while since I wrote an essay let alone a piece of academic writing. I notice ref-works as well which might help so I have created an account to get things started.
As for the forums I have always been wary of spending too much time in them. They are useful and obviously a necessity for group-work but within a few days there were hundreds of unread messages. I decided to subscribe to my Tutors forums, this way I get an email each time an addition is made. Slight problem with this as it marks the messages as read which means when I look in the conference its not obvious what I need to read. I'll give it some time and review this I think.
Wednesday 9 September 2009
1.1 Core Activity Introductory Audio 'The elearning professional'
My approach to this reflection is to consider where I am now and how my teaching practice has changed over the years. I consider myself to be a 'Professional', I am technically qualified, a member of two institutions and actively engage in my own professional development. However do I consider myself to be an elearning professional?
My career has seen me develop from a lecturer who traditionally taught using a white board and overhead projector, to one that now utilises modern electronic facilities. No I am not just talking about the dreaded power-point, although it does have its place. I look to develop web based material and online support material to provide both variety and additional support for students. I try to provide online quizzes and extra support material that helps to reinforce learning. I aim to add as much practical content and hands on experience as possible. Whilst I still see the need for some traditional lecture style learning, some of my colleagues see this as the only solution. Whilst I look to use elearning I try to consider what the overall student experience is and whether they are likely to learn. After all some students don't want to learn, elearning if not constructed properly will just give an opportunity to complete a course without actually learning anything. (Shock horror I know, not all students are paying for their course though)
This has meant that I have had to learn a number of new skills and change my approach to learning. I believe like Robin Mason that this skill has evolved and it has only recently been recognised as a profession. I have also experienced the evolution of elearning, I have been privileged to see the OU approach to elearning. Most people would agree that the OU are at the front as far as using the technology is concerned. However I have also seen some pretty poor attempts at turning a classroom based material into click and read web pages, with little or no activity required by the student.
I actually care about the way I present material, I acknowledge that a student these days has differing needs. The younger generation expect to be able to learn on an iPod, check mail from their phone or PSP but some students may prefer to sit and read a paper based course module. I accept that there is further to go but I am prepared to learn and adapt my style to suit the modern student with the main aim of improving the learning experience whilst still ensuring that the material is understood.
So am I an elearning professional?
My career has seen me develop from a lecturer who traditionally taught using a white board and overhead projector, to one that now utilises modern electronic facilities. No I am not just talking about the dreaded power-point, although it does have its place. I look to develop web based material and online support material to provide both variety and additional support for students. I try to provide online quizzes and extra support material that helps to reinforce learning. I aim to add as much practical content and hands on experience as possible. Whilst I still see the need for some traditional lecture style learning, some of my colleagues see this as the only solution. Whilst I look to use elearning I try to consider what the overall student experience is and whether they are likely to learn. After all some students don't want to learn, elearning if not constructed properly will just give an opportunity to complete a course without actually learning anything. (Shock horror I know, not all students are paying for their course though)
This has meant that I have had to learn a number of new skills and change my approach to learning. I believe like Robin Mason that this skill has evolved and it has only recently been recognised as a profession. I have also experienced the evolution of elearning, I have been privileged to see the OU approach to elearning. Most people would agree that the OU are at the front as far as using the technology is concerned. However I have also seen some pretty poor attempts at turning a classroom based material into click and read web pages, with little or no activity required by the student.
I actually care about the way I present material, I acknowledge that a student these days has differing needs. The younger generation expect to be able to learn on an iPod, check mail from their phone or PSP but some students may prefer to sit and read a paper based course module. I accept that there is further to go but I am prepared to learn and adapt my style to suit the modern student with the main aim of improving the learning experience whilst still ensuring that the material is understood.
So am I an elearning professional?
Thursday 3 September 2009
Write a short reflection on your first impressions of H808
H808 is about to start I have had a browse through the website, sorted out my Blog, emailed my tutor and popped an introduction in the tutor conference. At the same time I have experimented with Vstuff, iGoogle and pebblepad and we haven't started yet. I can see there is a great deal of reading on this course and I haven't wrote an essay for a long time. Concerned? no not really, I just know I am going to need to plan my study time. Life will get slightly easier when I wave goodbye to T224 students that complete their course in October.
As for H808 first impressions are good, the OU leads the way in Distance Learning and the standard of material and quality of the web interface is impressive. Everything is available from the student homepage. A few additional links added to my Student Homepage mean I now have efficient access to My Blog, Pebblepad and refworks. The PDF file of the first four units was requested by a fellow student and it appeared within hours, and a pretty useful document it is, I still like to read paper copies and jot notes occasionally. Another must is the environment map a few pages in and the table breaks down the activities into clear tasks that will help me focus on the key elements of the course.
Am I an Elearning Professional well I think I will save that for my next posting.
Any H808ers reading this I wish you all the best for the course and I look forward to sharing ideas and discussing the course content over the coming months.
Steve
As for H808 first impressions are good, the OU leads the way in Distance Learning and the standard of material and quality of the web interface is impressive. Everything is available from the student homepage. A few additional links added to my Student Homepage mean I now have efficient access to My Blog, Pebblepad and refworks. The PDF file of the first four units was requested by a fellow student and it appeared within hours, and a pretty useful document it is, I still like to read paper copies and jot notes occasionally. Another must is the environment map a few pages in and the table breaks down the activities into clear tasks that will help me focus on the key elements of the course.
Am I an Elearning Professional well I think I will save that for my next posting.
Any H808ers reading this I wish you all the best for the course and I look forward to sharing ideas and discussing the course content over the coming months.
Steve
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