Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Last day of Camp: Outcome

The last day of camp was filled with a great deal of energy and enthusiasm. People were busily working on their robots getting ready to take on the Warrior course. There was an air of jubilation all around, no sense of panic or frustration, just eagerness to get going. There were last minute adjustments and the one last practice run. It all looked like it would run smoothly!! Our cohort, 13 of 12, went first. Robot one was successful in its run but didn't get the "warrior" passed to two. Robot two was somewhat successful but again the pass didn't go well. Robot three that had performed all week without issues, fell off the teeter-totter. Robot four climbed to the top of the tower with no problem. We wanted a re-do.

When I watched Robot three fall of the teeter-totter, I was heart broken; all that work and testing came to naught! How could that happen? We checked and re-checked!! What was going on? Now that I have had time to digest the happenings of that fateful, July day, I find that the robot falling off the teeter-totter, mimics life: No matter what we plan, no matter how we practice, sometimes things just don't work out the way we expect! This program is like that for me. I am a traditional type of student, the teacher speaks, I take notes, and then produce the product: a solo event. This program, relies on the ability to work together as a group, a community united for one purpose. I have to say that in all honestly this is tough for me. Here's why: All my educational life, I have striven to do the best I possibly could. My drive was to achieve those A's. Due to that drive, I found that group work was often not for me. When I was in school and group work was assigned, there were always those that didn't have the same values as far as grade that I did. This lead to them not buying in fully to the project the group was to work on and that left those of us that were "grade driven" to pick up the slack. I know that all those within this program are hard workers that are dedicated to the jobs ahead of us. Yet even knowing that in my heart of hearts, I have this area of anxiety that roams around in the back of my mind.
I am looking forward to working with all the Cadre 12 members and moving beyond the self-imposed educational box that I have created for myself. The challenge is in looking to the group first (there is soooo much collective knowledge there) then the instructors. (traditional way was instructor first and only!!) There is no doubt that by opening myself up to this I will improve my abilities to assist my students to learn!! I look forward to the journey and the many revelations it holds!!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Day Four: It All Comes Together

Today was a great day. It was less frustrating and anxiety ridden than any previous day. As I look back and reflect on the day, I find that the reason for that was the layout of the day. It was done in the traditional or "old school" way of instructing. This tells me that I am most comfortable with learning in the notes and lecture style. When moved out of that comfort zone, my level of anxiety raises leading to bouts of frustration. So the question is what does that mean for me?
1. I need to look at this revelation in regards to my classroom. The style of learning that we experienced over the past few days is a style that I feel would benefit my students. Their world revolves around the social tools, immediate feedback/information, and working together to find the answers to the questions. It is definetely an idea worth exploring and implementing in the classroom. If successful, then I can share the outcome with co-workers so that we might better meet the needs of our students.
2. I need to become more flexible and open-minded about the learning processes I might be exposed to. By being more open-minded and receptive, I stand to gain more and grow as an individual and an educator.
3. When I opened up to the idea of distributed learning and looking to my fellow cadre members for assistance, I found that the frustration was relieved. The best thing about working with the cadre members is their willingness to help and they were able to approach the challenge from multiple ways.
I believe this revelation is just the first of many!! I look forward to the journey more with each day.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Day Three: The Light Goes On

Today was a day of insight mixed with the frustration. I'm learning sooo much about myself, how I learn and where my comfort zones begin and end!! Today as we were to work on the web designs for our individual website, my frustration reached its limits and I needed to step out of the classroom and take some much needed deep breaths. I contemplated whether this program was for me or not. If I was feeling this much frustration at the beginning what would it be like in the middle or end of the program? After deep soul searching and questioning, I decided that I really wanted to finish the program (for many reasons).
During this soul searching, I found that I really didn't want to leave the program because I had built some good relationships with those within the cadre. I wanted to continue to build these relationships and the community I had become a part of. The people within this groups are giving, nuturing, and hard workers, I'm not willing to give these connections up!!
At the end of the day, I sat and analyzed what it was that was leading to the frustration I was feeling and the lack of success (from my point of view) that I was seeing. What I found is that as a learner, I want direction that is clearly stated, time to work through each step and the freedom to pursue the task that fits my particular learning style. This is the first time I have sat in a class and been so lost that I wasn't sure what I was doing. (it doesn't help that I have this need to compare what I am doing to what others are doing and finding my work inadequate. Just one of many things I will be working on). That's why I had to find the reason for the frustration and try to find solutions to the problem so I could move forward. I was looking to the instructors for all information, guidance and answers and they in turn were giving me broad unspecific instructions. What was I to do?
That's when the light bulb turned on: that's what this program is all about: cognitive learning, distributed cognition and team work. The instructors don't want us to look to them for all answers, but to work within our community cadre, with each other, to find the solutions ourselves. Checking with the instructors to ensure we are on the right track is a good thing but for the majority of what we are doing, we need to rely on each other. That is the purpose of building the community we have been working in this past few days. We have a lot of knowledge within our community to draw from. We need to use those connections to move our projects forward, drawing on the expertise of those within the group. (Yes, we are all experts in different areas!!) The past three days have been a hands-on example of distributed cognition and team work using the social networks and technology available.
So what is the solution: tap the experts within my group when I am in uncharted waters. Be willing to ask those that have the expertise for help and more importantly, be ready to listen when that help is offered. Finally, the light goes on!!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Day Two: Frustration Sets In

Today was a day of growth and frustration. It is amazing how quickly one can travel from elation to frustration, from joy to anxiety. The day started with using Tappedin which was a breeze for me (while being challenging to others). Then we moved onto the Lego challenge (challenge is the right word for it) and the anxiety began to set in. When the directions for the challenge were given my anxiety level went through the roof and traveled around the solar system a few times. All I could think about during instruction was what am I going to contribute, how was I going to be a working part of our team (I've played with legos but building robots!!! Way beyond me!). As we went to met with our cohorts, I dragged my feet and participated very little in the discussion of the division of labor (after all if I had little to contribute to the building of the robot, I didn't have anything to say about the work). As soon as our group was assigned it's part of the course, I immediately chimed in with "I'll do the documentation!!" (whew I said it before anyone else could take that job!) As the discussion about the robot began I sat, observed and documented. The further along we went with the task, the anxiety began to diminish. Once the anxiety was dissolved, I was able to participate more fully in the building of the robot. (Still didn't have as much knowledge as my partners, but had a few good ideas). By the end of the session, I was much more secure in my part in the lego challenge. But once again that didn't last long. We moved from lego to web banner and the real frustration set in. (Thank goodness for my tablemates and their words of encouragement). I had no problem with the conception of the banner, I knew exactly what I wanted, it was the computer that wasn't listening to my commands. By the end of the class, my frustration was through the rough and I was in the forget it mode, I'll get to it later!!. (Which I did and was able to finish the project!!)
So what did I learn about myself today: I don't like to move outside my comfort zone into areas of the unknown whether that is building robots or creating banners. I realize that the frustration felt will lead to growth (in fact, I look forward to June to see where I end up) but I don't like it!!
The best thing about today though was the support from those within my cohort. They were there to offer suggestions, advice and support in getting the tasks completed. I will survive and be better and stronger through this journey.

Community

This is day two of the Masters Program. The question tonight is about community and how our impressions of communities have changed or been challenged in the last 24 hours. The definition of community has broaden and expanded for me.
Before reading the book Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, I viewed community in a very narrow way. I saw community as the environment in which I lived and/or worked. After reading Shirky's book and participating in the development of Cadre 12's community, I see that community reaches far beyond the walls I see everyday. Due to the tools of technology, especially the social tools, our communities are no longer bound by geographical barriers. My community includes all that I interact with on the various social networks that I belong to. Community encompasses so much more today then five or ten years ago. Five years ago, people with common interests and goals were only able to connect with those within a given distance from their home. Now with the advent of the internet and social tools, we see people from all over the world uniting around a given "cause" and forming large numbers of communities.
Some of the communities formed are small and intimate with those within the community getting to know each other well. Other communities are large and the people within them are loosely connected. Community has moved beyond face-to-face contact to include computer-to-computer contact. A sense of community is evolving and will continue to evolve as the social tools and the internet grow and change.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Day One: The Beginning

A little over four months ago, I decided to apply to Pepperdine Graduate School in order to work towards a Masters in Educational Technology. Once the paperwork was done, the interviews conducted, I found that I was accepted into the program. I was excited and ready to tackle whatever came next. What came next was VirtCamp in Malibu. Leading up to camp were e-mails of things to accomplish (with all the anxiety of getting it done on time and not being behind before the journey began), reassurance that all was in order (even if I didn't know what the order was) and a warm welcoming tone.
Today is the big day, the first day of VirtCamp. I have moved through a series of emotions ranging from excitement to doubt to anxiety. It started off with excitement at meeting my roommates and heading to class. The beginning of class rocked with the getting to know you activity of video taping an intro with your team. After that the scary part began. The introduction of the expectations of the class and where we were headed on this journey to earning a Masters. There were times while listening to what was awaiting us that I thought to myself "What did I get into? Am I really up to this? What do I have to offer?" The most important question I asked myself was "are you sure this is what you want to do?" Listening to the outlines of what was to come sent waves of anxiety crashing through me. The positive part is this program will stretch me to be better at what I do. The one thing Paul and Margaret stated that made me think this is where I belong was "relationships are important in learning". This falls directly into the philosophy of my teaching. You need to establish a relationship with those you are working with to give them a vested interest in the outcome. This is the one thing I will hang onto throughout this journey. So here I am climbing into the car, holding on and getting ready to ride!! Join me as I travel through the Masters program.