Matthew Midura’s Blog

This course has been particularly interesting for me. As we began this journey, I wasn’t sure how the concepts and materials would influence my thoughts on curriculum development and technology integration. As a technology professional, I’ve sometimes felt a bit removed from the classroom. I was originally concerned about how I could apply the concepts. Little did I know…As I began the readings and started to dive back into Bb, I felt as though I was beginning to connect the dots.

In regard to the course goals…

Goal #1. Create his/her own essential questions regarding learning objectives and teaching objectives (these questions should evolve through reading, doing, discussing, reflecting, exploring, succeeding, failing, picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and starting all over again)

This is a regular occurrence in this course and in my workplace. The activities and discussions have caused me to stop, step back (reflect), and see the big picture objectives with each new step. The concepts raised in Understanding By Design have had a significant impact on the way I approach curriculum development (as well as communications). The concept of enduring understanding has also truly stuck with me throughout this course. When we began, I knew very little about the concept of understanding. Our readings and discussions have continually challenged me to question the teaching and communication methods that surround us.

Goal #2. Create authentic tasks which incorporate technology skill(s) in a learning/training situation.

I feel that I’ve been able to incorporate this goal into both my action research project as well as many of our activities. I’ve tried to demonstrate this throughout the course as we have collaborated on projects using a multitude of technologies from blogs to wikis and everything in between! In my action research project, I’m introducing both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration tools into a committee at work.

Goal #3. Incorporate reflection of personal use of technology as a learning tool (intended or unintended) for the self and those in the immediate surroundings through blogging (we will discuss this in class #1)

Although I will be the first to admit that reflective blogging has not been easy for me, I feel that is a critical part of this process. Our ability to look at the lessons learned from a piece of technology and its use is invaluable. It is through this process that we begin to see glimmers of innovation.

Goal #4. Identify when technology is and is not an appropriate tool for learning and/or communication AND be able to articulate the reasoning for making this judgment.

One of key lessons learned this semester (for me) is that technology is not always the answer. I’ve witnessed how the appropriate use (and misappropriate use) can make or break the learning experience for a student or coworker and ultimately impacts how the learner constructs his or her knowledge. Being able to see the opportunities in certain technologies ties in very closely with goal #3…

On a more humorous note…I’ve learned that it’s “ok” to sometimes “just say no to PowerPoint” after reflecting on how the tools impact the enduring understanding related to learning scenario/opportunity.

Goal #5) Identify what is really being learned by the use of technology in particular situations.

For me, this seems aligned with numbers 3 and 4. Being able to recognize patterns in the appropriate use of technology goes hand in hand with this. I feel that I am continually learning in this regard. In fact, this is one of the reasons why I entered the OMET program. For many years, I’ve worked on the development of interactive/educational Web sites for higher education and for PBS. I’m now challenging myself to dig deeper and identify “what is really being learned” in a given situation or activity. I’ve found myself going back and surfing several of the pbs.org sites I developed over the years to re-evaluate this topic. I’ve found it fascinating to do a “then and now” reflection on the activities.

Goal #6) Meld the first 5 goals into the culmination project and be able to articulate where each of these goals lives within the project during an on-line presentation

In progress

Goal #7) Be prepared to examine, revisit, construct, and deconstruct the following questions and your answers…

Always — I’ve become very “aware” of this in OMET and continue to integrate this approach into my workplace.