Learning Journeys

(Image retrieved Oct 2017: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DDV8foyU0AAIZTk.jpg)

Education is something I care passionately about. I love to learn new things; I love to share the things I learn with others.

As I’ve reflected on my personal learning journey during my first semester of online study a number of thoughts flitter through my mind. I think about the many challenges and strengths and what this means for myself as a learner and myself as a teacher.

I have explored a wide variety of online learning spaces and educational technologies. LEO has at times been a challenge as I have attempted to navigate the system. Once mastered I have enjoyed jumping on and logging onto the communication to keep up to date with the latest questions and queries. I have slowly become more confident in posting to forums and learning from the wealth of knowledge others in our Community of Practice (CoP) have been willing to share. It has been a new experience collaborating online; I guess it just takes more self-confidence to believe your ideas are worth sharing.

The CoP has been a great resource supporting our learning. Ideas have been freely shared within our cohort and I have benefitted from other’s collective knowledge. I have experienced support from the group and in turn, have been able to offer support to others.

Initially learning to navigate the many forum posts was quite a challenge. I had to learn to engage with these posts systematically and selectively. I can now search for threads that interest me personally.

I have experienced frustration with online learning spaces such as wix, but am beginning to feel more confident with it now. A major frustration has been the time working out the features; I wish I had more time to play with it. This will be an avenue I will continue to develop next year. I like the immediacy of Twitter, and was amazed when I ‘posted’ and some of the responses I received from far afield- the power of words!

I am a very self-directed learner, so I have enjoyed worked at my own pace. The study sometimes has been a challenge to fit in at work- some late nights burning the candle at both ends. Keeping a calendar marked with due dates, has kept me on task.

I am a visual learner so enjoyed representing my ideas in mind maps although often they were designed for myself and I felt pressure to have a standard at a certain level for posting online. I really enjoyed the visual aspect of using the wix program – playing with colours and images, I was a bit disappointed you had less power over text types and font size and being unable to manipulate the font as I would have liked.

I am certainly well experienced in the Liminal Space- it was a constant throughout the semester. I have experienced a sense of achievement in what I have achieved. I did not enjoy the feelings of discomfort that I experienced, if the end justifies the means I suppose it was worth it. One cannot be a teacher until one has been a student- this has caused me to reflect on what my students may experience in their learning experiences although I hope not to the depth in the Liminal Space that I have! I do know I don’t enjoy being in the Liminal Space, I need to focus on strategies that will keep me moving forward and not getting ‘stuck’ in a moment or overwhelmed with the enormity of the task.

As Dewey says, “We only think when we are confronted with problems”. I have been thinking ‘outside the square’ to devise solutions to problems I have experienced. Having a CoP has been instrumental in seeking support and guidance on my learning journey.

I enjoyed making connections between pedagogy of learning and adapting of learning spaces to best-fit practice. Visiting schools with best practice, I was able to share practical and achievable ideas with colleagues who share a vision for change. Positive feedback from colleagues has given me confidence in my ability to share contemporary pedagogy and share the learning I have made this semester.

Investigating challenging global environments was at times confronting and disturbing. It was however heartening to become more aware of the wonderful organisations like TWB who are working hard so that young learners around the world have access to education as is their right. My experience of this leads me to believe that there is hope, that refugees or displaced persons will not be forgotten.

From this experience I have learnt a number of things. I have strengths in being self-directed (although I do require gentle encouragement and positive support); I have strong self-efficacy and am determined to succeed no matter what challenge is posed to me. I am able to pick myself up and go back to my original focus. Self-reflection is something I need to do on a more regular basis, both myself as a learner and as a teacher and think about how I can grow in each area. The desire to achieve your best can be an Achilles heel at times. I am always telling my students, “Good better best, never let it rest until your good is better and your better best”.

This semester has been a steep learning curve, which has developed my skills of collaboration and assisted me in developing my PLN.