While completing the collaborative Digital Citizenship Learning Module [DCLM] I engaged in new learning about: process, content, and tools. Thus I have published my reflections about the DCLM in 4 parts: 

Part 1: Learning About Process- “Good Enough” Research

Part 2: Learning About Content

Part 3: Learning About Tools

Part 4: Learning About Process- Online Global Collaboration

What I was most concerned about in completing this assessment was the new digital tools I would be required to employ. I do not consider myself a tech-savvy person and I almost never try out new tools without some kind of guidance. However I had set up blogs (websites) for myself and my students before so I volunteered to set up a template for our group. This was a challenging experience as I found myself not satisfied with my original attempt on WordPress, so I followed it by another attempt on Wix, and then a final attempt on Edublogs. We used Edublogs as our platform but I think any of the three would have worked well enough, and I was frustrated by the time I spent setting up the websites.

A more gratifying experience was the use of Adobe Spark to create infographics that had a professional look even with my first attempt. A moderately challenging but ultimately rewarding experience was setting up my artifact on the new Google Sites. While I did spend a lot of time and had some struggle with the process, I was very pleased with how the final product turned out and how I integrated my content into it. The roadblock that I still do not feel I found a good solution to was my attempt to add a self-reflection questionnaire to the artifact. Every survey or form tool I tried required the respondent to send their answers to me, where I only wanted the results to appear to the respondent. I am proud of how I handled this challenge in the sense that, as per my preferred learning method, I asked for help: from a group member, a tech-savvy colleague, and finally my husband. I got support from all three helpers, though still was not able to find the tool that I envisioned. So the “Awareness survey” is the part of my artifact that I am not satisfied by, but when I find the right tool for that job I will update it. The silver lining is that I tried out quite a few online survey and form and lesson planners while looking for the right solution. Nearpod is a platform for creating lessons or interactive presentations that I see a lot of potential uses for, both in my teaching and in my MEdTL course.

Post script- The above reflection was a classic example of the “unskilled and unaware” level of learning (see From “Unskilled and Unaware” to “Unskilled and Aware” blog post). The work I did for my artifact on the learning module was awarded a “pass” mark, only one step above “fail.” Yet, I remain proud of extensive research and learning I did to create the learning module and the artifact. And I will say, I am still proud of the end product, even though it did not meet the standard my lecturer was expecting. For me, at this time, it is a big accomplishment to integrate new knowledge into new platforms. This assignment required me to be a risk-taker with technology, two things I tend to avoid. So in terms of my degree, this assessment was as close to a fail as I hope I ever come. In terms of my learning, though, it was far more than just a pass.