My experience in MD 400 thus far has been very good overall. First, I cannot believe how much material we have covered in just 4 classes! It is hard to believe we are already halfway through the course. I entered the class not knowing much more than how to use email, create word documents, and search the web. That's it. Now I have already learned how to create and use a blog, access and manipulate digital imagery (I didn't even know how to upload a photo before), and how to create a concept map. I am beginning to grasp all the steps to create a website and a digital storyboard. These concepts were absolutely unimaginable to me just two weeks ago!
I find that the class time is extremely useful and that Ms. Cirino is very clear in her presentation and makes everything seem manageable for someone like me who is intimidated by technology. And Dan is fantastic at helping me figure out what doesn't come to me the first time around. I am amazed at the quality of the class website, with every link imaginable to the resources we need right at our fingertips. And the tutorials are very useful. In fact, I left class on Thursday not having completed the task of uploading my website to my Fairfield webspace, and putting a link to my website in my Stagweb profile. I just managed to complete both jobs (all by myself!) thanks to the excellent instruction in the tutorials.
My main reservation is that for me the pace of the class is too fast; I think I might have benefitted from taking the course in the regular term so that I would have 12 weeks or so to absorb everything, rather than 4. The instruction is great, as I said, but it is hard for me to keep straight all the intracacies of web design versus digital storyboards versus powerpoints in such a tight time frame. And during class if I get caught up in a problem with one thing we are working on, then it's hard to catch up to the next point as by necessity we are moving so fast. But I also feel that I do eventually figure out each concept, and of course with more practice I will continue to master the skills and gain confidence. It is exciting when an actual creation is complete!
I also am glad that we are covering not just design content but also application in the classroom. Having to identify a standard in our area of concentration is very useful to help us think about how to use what we are learning as a teaching tool. Learning about e-TIPS and understanding the ethics and general rules of copyright have been very useful. And again, being exposed to so many valuable resources such as Creative Commons is fantastic. Indeed, I have learned about so many sites such as Picnik, NVU, Photostory 3 that I never knew of, and I know I'm just scratching the surface of what's out there.
My only hope for the rest of the semester is to continue to keep pace! I am enjoying everything I've learned so far and there is a great feeling of accomplishment when a particular new task has been mastered. And I am so glad to have my eyes opened to so many great technologies for helping students create learning in the classroom.
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