Introduction
Our reflections may not be a perfect picture but it is a critical skill to keep our learning on the move. In Thing 8 you can review the excellent video (6 mins) on reflective writing and review the tools suggested. At this end of a digital literacy journey we want to accomplish two things. Firstly, to reflect on critical learning points of the journey and to see if there has been an improvement or change in our digital literacy.
Thing 1 outlined a tool called ‘All Aboard’ which had a self-measuring tool. The first activity in Try will revisit that tool. By reflecting on change we can enhance our learning and be able to plan for future activities.
Reflective Practice can be defined as the capacity to reflect on actions so as to engage in a process of continuous learning (Schön, 1983).
(http://rudai23.blogspot.com/p/thing-9-reflective-practice.html)
Read Wendy’s Facilitator reflection below, then take a look at the activities under ‘Try’ and finally, share your thoughts and comments with us under ‘Share’. Thank you for spending a little more time this week to improve your digital literacy!
Try
- If you completed the activity in Thing 1 – Complete the ‘All Aboard’ activity to compare the picture of your digital literacy. Have they moved? Is it what you expected?
- Did you write a Reflection at the point of Thing 8? Review the writing and write another reflection of your work towards improving your digital literacy.
- Send us some feedback! Approach one or more of these questions:
- How has this program of professional development worked for you?
- The flexibility of order and timeframes was intentional, did this help you in working in the areas that you needed?
- Did you have any difficulties completing the Try activities?
- Was there a Thing that had something which surprised you or one that you particularly enjoyed?
A Facilitator Reflection
Sometimes the hardest part is just to write! I’m going to share my facilitators reflection here, based on the Rolfe et al.’s (2001) model of What, So What and Now What.
Writing and facilitating this professional development program has been a weekly task for the last 6 months. For the sections that my co-facilitator Sue Tucker wrote, I would review and provide feedback; likewise, the sections I wrote, she would review.
When Sue and I discussed the design of this program we considered this to be primarily a collation exercise as we had identified a number of sister sites that we could utilise as open educational resources (OER). The reality was more involved. For each week I would contextualize the material to Charles Darwin University (CDU) and create new exercises that would use both current open tools and those behind the University walls. I would often need to test things (self training) while designing the Try exercises. A hidden gem was learning WordPress design features (like embedded 3D objects in Thing 9) . Interacting with participants and guest writers also helped me refine the writing and assist others in their digital literacy thinking.
This program stands as a good record of my work this year. As a learning technologist that supports others to teach online, it is not always easy to have this visibility of work. There are a couple of options ahead, including creating an e-book and running it again with facilitation in the future. I will continue to use this as a reference point for Professional Development (PD) when the frequent requirement comes up in my work for the need for underlying digital literacy skills before more complex tasks like teaching online.
Share
If you used the Record of evidence form to record your work, comment below how effective this was to provide evidence to your work colleagues on digital literacy. If you have further questions, please contact us.
References
Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001) Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: a user’s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books.
Photo by Max Bender on Unsplash
Thing 23 was written by Wendy Taleo
