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Reflections From A Digital Education Student

Blog posts from my participation in Introduction to Digital Environments for Learning, amongst other stuff

Month: September 2016

How do you like them apples?

By

On 30th September 2016

In Uncategorized

From Good Will Hunting

I’ve been thinking about this scene as I’ve been reading the discussion board posts over the last week. There has been a lot of talk about feeling overwhelmed by the amount of posts on the forums and how best to navigate these. Do I read everything the community has posted? If that is not possible, how do I choose what to read? How do I prioritise?

There has, of course, always been a wealth of information available to students. I still remember my first visit to the Library at George Square. My provincial upbringing had meant I had never seen such a collection of knowledge in one place before. But this is where reading lists came in. Someone else did the prioritising for you. Matt Damon’s character is of course mocking this kind of learning in this scene. When someone else does the prioritising for you, it’s all so predictable. How can you possibly have anything new to say?

And what now for students who have access not just to their local lending library, but to the internet? Surely, the role of curating  information is more important than ever? But how do we guide our students through a sea of information (the drowning metaphor is frequently employed) without stifling their curiosity and creativity? I want to think on this some more. I also think there is a link here between the tutor’s role in curating, and the student’s. And it is here that I think technology can add real value. A technology that can facilitate making connections between online resources (whether they be a journal, a blog post, a video etc) is surely essential to the contemporary student. I want to research what is currently available, and how technology can be used to help students make sense of their learning, and in so doing help build their own unique voice.

Why am I here?

By

On 21st September 2016

In Uncategorized

I have always felt privileged to work in roles where I am learning all the time.

If you are any good at all, you know you can be better.

I first applied for the MSc Digital Education (MSc eLearning as it was then called) a few years ago. I had been working as an eLearning content technician for Citizens Advice Scotland, and subsequently as an instructional designer for ICAS – the professional body of CAs. I seemed to arrive in the world of eLearning by accident, rather than design. After graduating from the University of Edinburgh with an MA in History of Art and English Literature, I worked for a project within Queen Margaret University providing training for Arts professionals in Scotland. After a few years I then joined a small and vibrant design and multimedia company called 59 Productions. Now in my 30s and no clearer as to what I wanted to do to earn money, I stumbled across the eLearning opportunity at CAS. Having experience in both training provision and design suddenly made sense!

So, here I am, with several years experience of working in the field of eLearning and I want to learn more. And the next logical step seems to be to go back to School. I was excited to be awarded a place on the Master programme at UoE but a bereavement meant I decided to postpone my place. Fast forward a couple of years and I now have a child and a new job as Learning Technologist for Edinburgh College of Art at the University of Edinburgh. Time has never been such a valuable commodity. But I hear of a bursary for 60 credits towards the same Masters programme I previously applied for. And I hear of colleagues who are planning on applying too. I decided that there will always be reasons as to why it isn’t a good time to commit to further study. But a better reason why it is. Because I love learning. And, despite having doubts about whether I am still capable of writing an academic paper, I am excited about returning to academic study nearly twenty years after I last experienced it.

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