Contribution to Learning

Score: 79/39
Rationale: 
      While I like to think of myself as a leader and hold a leadership role in my professional life, I have to admit that I have not been quick to take on that responsibility in my ADL learning community.  There are excuses I could make: 2 jobs, teenager at home, etc… but the fact is that taking on this program was intimidating to me, and when I’m intimidated I retreat and observe.  
Don’t misunderstand.  I completed my coursework in a timely fashion and participated in zoom meetings and discussion boards regularly.  My core group maintained a Google slide deck to curate resources and share our work outside of the Blackboard platform as well as a GroupMe for real time communication.  I contributed, but did I go above and beyond?  I don’t believe so.  
    As far as the key contributions are concerned, I satisfied them all.  After the first zoom, I posted an ‘advertisement’ in the student lounge for group members.  My friend and colleague Robin Ballard took it from there and built our group to include Danielle Pyle, LIndsay Hoerig-Cavanagh, Lindsey Wallace, Aliscia Drummond, Maria Rodman, and Avery Nihill.  I believe it was Danielle who created the GroupMe for communication purposes, and I used it daily to ask questions and provide feedback to my group members.  Danielle also started a Google slide deck where we all collaborated on gathering resources and sharing our work with each other before posting it on Blackboard.  Our group also hosted a zoom after the class zooms on Tuesday nights to debrief and reflect on our learning.  
    Where I fell short is within the supporting contributions.  While I participate and lead within my core group, I can’t honestly say that I’ve done that for the whole class.  My most meaningful interactions with my classmates have been in breakout rooms, since I’m much more comfortable in a small group.  My Achilles heel has been the discussion boards.  Ugh!  Coming back to academic writing after 30 years has not been easy, and I rarely posted anything with adequate depth or breadth, much less sources cited.  I feel I will do better in my future classes now that the rust has been knocked off, the wd-40 applied, and I have a better handle of how to navigate a discussion board! 
One area where I feel I did excel is the combination of the 5305 and 5303 coursework by embracing the notion of self-directed learning.  Dr. Harapnuik really practices what he preaches and wants us to learn by doing.  I’m not as much of a reader as Dr. H., but I am a dog with a bone when it comes to problem solving.  And figuring out the jigsaw puzzle of these courses was definitely a challenge that I could not pass up!   E-portfolios focus on making our learning meaningful to us as individuals and providing a place for us to display that learning.  But creating the e-portfolio in itself was a learning process that required innovative thinking on my part.  As I worked through the weekly videos and articles in 5305, I found myself applying that new knowledge to my e-portfolio.  For example, after watching ‘Picking Your Line’ I stopped getting caught up on so many small details, or rocks in my path, of the site and began focusing on the end result instead.  After watching Joi Ito’s ‘Become a Now-ist’ I realized I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel alone, I could instead reach out and use others’ expertise to help me.  And finally, after watching ‘The Power of Words’ I stopped stressing about the quantity of stuff on my page and focused on the quality and visual impact. 
I’d like to say I was a total rockstar and earned a 100% for my contributions to the class, but the fact of the matter is that I feel quite like the mom’s old station wagon in the original “Karate Kid” movie…I needed a rolling start before I could “Pop it!” and fire on all cylinders. 

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