FNDS 6233 Final Reflections

     FNDS 6233-what a journey! This class has been one of the most stimulating and thought-provoking classes that I have taken in a long time. If only I would have brushed up on my thinking outside the box skills, I probably would have been much more successful in the class. The traditionalist in me was longing for this class to be like the majority of the others that I have taken.
     The Wordle, 3rd World Farmer, and Alice assignments were all new to me because that was my first time using any of those tools. Wordle was very easy to use and I thought the end result was cute. I look forward to using it again. I thought the 3rd World Farmer assignment was pretty easy, but after an intense Skype session with Dr. Lewis and after hearing his feedback from the assignment that I submitted, I changed my mind. I obviously overlooked some of the concepts that I was supposed to grasp. Alice introduced me to some of the basics of programming. I have a lot of new found respect for everyone involved in designing video games and other related fields. I never new trying to get an animated cheerleader to kick could involve so much.
     The learning process that this class involved was very student oriented. The opportunity to resubmit assignments increased the chances for success in the class. When I refer to success in the class, I  am not just referring to earning an "A" or "B" in the class. I mean actually gathering meaningful information from the class that I will still know two years from now. My perspective on evaluation has changed. I no longer look at it as "the first time is the final time". Initially, when we came up with guidelines for the class, I felt like having so many opportunities to submit was not necessary. However, I do realize that several obstacles may prevent the learner from gleaning the information they need in order to proceed to the next level. It takes someone who actually cares about the welfare of his/her students to allow them to go back, correct things, and resubmit them. It is also a personal sacrifice.
     After listening to feedback on my assignments, I think that I can productively provide feedback to assist others. I will not just tell them what I think they want to hear. I will be positive and sincere when providing feedback. I will also recognize the person's contribution. When pointing out areas, for improvement, I will use clear examples and I will be willing to listen to the person explain his/her reasoning.
     One important concept that I already knew, but this class reemphasized is things are not always as they appear. This class forced me to engage in higher order thinking. I had to reach way back to my undergraduate days and all of the times my professors were drilling Bloom's taxonomy to me.
     Another important concept that was reinforced in this class was the concept map. Although, they were not new to me, the usefulness of them was emphasized when I did the assignment on the concept map. I plan on using them more because they can really help you organize information and present it to you in a simplified format.
    I did my Jing presentation on Zotero. I think Zotero is a very important tool to assist in research and I plan to use it in the future as I continue my pursuit for more education.