Taking Stock of this semester

 

Wow I cannot believe I have one more semester before graduation. Time really flies! Every semester is a fruitful semester, but this one is different because there is a chance to document my progress through this blog. A blog not only helps me to consolidate and reflect on my learning progress, but it also reveals how much a person has grown throughout the semester. I could never have imagined writing and keeping a blog rather consistent for 12 weeks. 

One of the memorable events in this course (besides writing a blog) includes writing a letter to my future self. I will be receiving the letter 5 years later and I believe by then, looking back at this pandemic and what it has done to this generation, would be very significant. I also enjoyed creating a new lesson on Sutori, a web2.0 tool that was introduced during one of the weeks. I was amazed when browsing Google Earth, and could totally reimagine how learning geography would be like for me when I could use this tool back then. I liked Pinterest but got rather disappointed when I realized I had to pay or subscribe when I clicked on some of the boards for further details.

I don't think I have done a very good job when it comes to interacting and learning from other classmates in this module. I became quite self-focused on the tools I need to explore and the assignments that I need to do, that I started not paying attention to the blog posts of my classmates. Weekly challenges and commenting on other blog posts have taken a backseat. I liked the idea of badges but didn't take the opportunity to participate in them. I signed an account with Twitter but I was not active at all. I wished I could be more intentional in how I position Pinterest as a learning tool for myself and my students.

But most importantly, my greatest takeaway is the development of my personal learning network. I know we have always been building on our PLN, but the module has made me be more intentional in how I want to build my PLN. I realized the importance of online communities and I have taken the initiative to join a few instructional design learning communities. These communities have led me to further resources such as conferences, webinars, workshops, tools, and podcasts, which helps me to gain further knowledge and awareness of this field. I hope I would be able to have the opportunity to work with some of these instructional designers and the opportunity to learn more from them.