Joshua Marshall
Contributes productively to group-based design projects by showing a
willingness to listen to other's ideas and by extending professional
courtesy and respect to others.
Working collaboratively to build understanding and exchanging
ideas has been a constant in this program. While sometimes I have
not always agreed with fellow students, or even the professors, I have
strived to maintain a professional bearing.
I will one day look back fondly on the online debates and
discussions with my peers and my fervent disagreements with some of the
professors, Dr. Knowlton in particular.
I think Dr. Knowlton is an amazing teacher, but we do have
different philosophies, but that is perfectly acceptable.
The point is not whether we can agree all the time; the point is
if we can disagree civilly and still accomplish our goals.
Generally speaking, most of the projects in this program have not
been group assignments, but there are a few exceptions.
In completing this
presentation for
Design Studio II, I had to work with a colleague to make sure that both
products were uniform in appearance, layout, and form.
In EPFR 515, I had to work with a fellow student to create a
presentation to instruct the rest of the class on the use of a
particular software program designed to help students with special
needs.
Possibly the most labor intensive and expansive group project was
for Dr. Nelson's IT 580 class.
To complete this
project, we were in groups of three and we had to create a design
document outlining a series of proposals for the SIUE Early Childhood
Center. Rather than us
working on the entire project together, we took a division of labor
approach. We had meetings
and discussed the big ideas, such as the overall framework and theme of
the proposal. From there, we
would each choose a section and then peer review and edit it amongst
ourselves. Only after this
process was completed did we turn in our work to Dr. Nelson.
Another example of my contributing to the success of the group
was in Dr. Nelson's Managing Instructional Development class.
One of the assignments was for the class to evaluate and select
an online project management tool to be used for a development
simulation. One of my classmates outlined a list of criteria we
should look for in a tool, and I took it upon myself to create a
rubric that the class could use to judge each prospective site.
This rubric was further modified and expanded based on the input of the
other students. By using the
rubric, we were able to agree on a tool and the simulation was, in my
opinion, a resounding success.
Demonstrates a contribution to
the knowledge and success of individual classmates and/or professors as
well as the success of the SIUE ID< learning community.
I have even gone above what was required in an effort to help
other students, or to facilitate learning. For example, in Dr.
Nelson's Design of Interactive Learning Environments class, we had to
conduct an interactivity experiment and then write a report on the
results. In an effort to facilitate discussion and to give each
student a way of analyzing the data, I compiled each of our results in a
spreadsheet, complete with the results averages for each trial.
Using this information, we were each able to analyze and
deconstruct the data from multiple experiments, thus adding more weight
to our conclusions. Without me compiling that spreadsheet, the
class as a whole would have suffered because our conclusions would have
been very limited and narrow in scope.
I
have also helped individual students in meeting course goals, as
evidenced by
this exchange on a discussion board in Dr. Knowlton's Major Concepts
in Instructional Technology class. In this discussion board
posting, I am working with my classmates to find a common
understanding of an argument put forward by Kozma (2001) in his debate
with Clark (2001) on the media versus method issue. Although I disagreed
with Kozma's argument, as well as some of my classmates defense of it, I
tried to be respectful to all and instead using reasoning and evidence
from the readings to make my case. Similar discussions, and more
examples of me defending Clark are
here. In a way, those discussions, arguments, and
counter-arguments emulated the original arguments from Clark and Kozma.
Mimicking the atmosphere of an argument being carried out in the pages
of scholarly journals would be the epitome of fostering a learning
community.
In
Dr. Thomeczek's Computers in Education class, I had the opportunity to
peer
review the projects of my classmates. I also had a chance to
edit the projects of my peers in Dr. Knowlton's IT 500 class.
While Dr. Thomeczek made use of a checklist, Dr. Knowlton preferred for
use a more substantial commenting process, although he did provide a
wealth of guidance. These two approaches, while different,
achieved the same goal: foster a learning community among the students
and help each learner produce a more polished paper.
Articulates a plan for their own
continual professional development.
I am
also formulating a plan for my own professional development. In addition
to learning more design tools such as Captivate, I would like to further
my formal education, particularly in the realm of business. When I
took Dr. Nelson's Managing Instructional Development, I became
fascinated with project management. I bought some books on the
subject, but because I do not have a background in business, many of the
terms and concepts are foreign to me, so I am hoping to enroll in a
project management class in SIUE's business school. Expanding my
knowledge base in this direction will help me be better prepared to face
the demands of a corporate instructional design environment.
I am
also very interested in distance learning, including M-Learning, or
mobile learning, and the development of learning applications to be used
with smart phones. I feel that this is a growing field and gaining
some knowledge and experience with these tools and concepts can only
help me in the future. Additionally, I
would like to continue to enhance my abilities with various production
software. Hopefully in the not so
distant future, I will enroll in the local community
college and take a course for Flash and possibly Dreamweaver.
My progress through the Instructional Technology program has been, for the most part, enjoyable. I had hoped to graduate in December, 2011, but that is an impossibility because I am behind in the jury progress. I have completed all required course work, as well as Design Studios 1 and 2. Hopefully I can make up the lost ground and will happily graduate in the Spring, 2012.
My dream job would be to work for the Army in a civilian
capacity. I am fortunate to
have an upcoming job interview for just such a position.
If I am lucky enough to get that job, I will be working for
TRADOC, the Army's Training and Doctrine Command.
I am very excited about this prospect as I know firsthand how
effective the training is and I want to be part of a team committed to
developing such a world class product.
References
Clark, R.E. (2001). The media versus methods
issue. In R.E. Clark (Ed.), Learning
from media:
Arguments, analysis, and evidence (pp. 179-198). Greenwich, CN:
Information Age Publishing.
Kozma, R.B. (2001). Kozma reframes and
extends his counter argument. In R.E. Clark (Ed.),
Learning from media: Arguments, analysis, and evidence (pp. 179-198). Greenwich, CN:
Information Age Publishing.