5318 & 5320 score: 95%

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Photo by Adrien Aletti on Unsplash

An Unexpected Journey

I have struggled to start this post. Part of the reason is that “I just don’t wanna,” which became an anthem this semester. Try as I might, my motivation waned, alongside that of my peers. I think when you can see the finish line, each step forward becomes harder and harder.

However, the biggest reason that I keep putting this post off is that it signifies an end to this truly unexpected journey. While I know that it’s not an end to the relationships that I made along the way, I recognize that the relationships will change. We won’t create new inside jokes about what we’re doing in class. We won’t have the shared struggle of graduate work. Finally, we won’t have a need to talk to one another, rather our relationships will wax and wane because we have a desire for friendship. And while I can’t imagine a life without my new friends – particularly Stephen and Kim – a change in a relationship is always difficult.

On the other hand, if the Applied Digital Learning program at Lamar U taught me nothing else, it taught me how to learn, change, and grow like it’s my life’s work. Because it is life’s work.

Key Contributions

Glows & Grows

Glows:

I think this semester, my greatest pride stems from continuous movement forward. As I mentioned earlier, each step toward the finish line has gotten harder and harder. It is like I’m walking through mud. As I lift my foot, I have to pry it loose. Then, mud gets stuck to my shoe. When I go to plant my foot again, it’s even harder to dislodge because of the weight of the accreted mire. At any rate, slow and steady is name of the game. Or, as my husband liked to say, “Just keep typing.”

Regardless of my motivation or pace, I continue to have pride in my work. In 5318, as I created my digital course I carefully included accessibility features. I also expanded my knowledge and experience with Canvas. Finally, I used a new tool – Camtasia – for video recording! In 5320, I reflected until I could reflect no more. However, for the final assignment, I tried something new – I created a comic about my journey with voiceover for added zhoosh.

Grows:

The workload this semester helped me to reflect on my main goals as I work through the ADL program:

• Reflect on my confidence: I really did enact pieces of my Innovation Plan! Did it go exactly as I expected? No way! Did I learn along the way? More than I could ever imagine.
• Increase flexibility: I am going to listen to feedforward regarding my innovation plan for the paperless office. It will keep me from getting stuck. I definitely have room for improvement here.

Both goals were consistent with my work in each course. As I grow as a leader, I will continue to build confidence in my abilities. Also, I will continue to hold my ideas loosely that I am open to change. That way, I can refrain from getting stuck.

Collaboration 

I continue to be a proud participant in two collaborative groups for 5318 and 5320. The larger group consists of Charlie, Kelvin, Ileana, Erica, Andrea, Kim, Stephen, Danielle, Pedro, Andrei, and others. I am a self-identified empath. That is, I enjoy helping others so much that I have to work to identify my own needs. This semester, I continued a high level of involvement in the larger group even more than last semester. Not only did I share my class with everyone in our chat, but I also heavily supported my peers with questions. Finally, I shared my assignments with my larger group of classmates.

In our smaller group, I continue to grow my professional and personal friendships with Stephen and Kim. The three of us – coined by Stephen “The Three Amigos” – rarely go a day without chatting. I continue to grow with each assignment we share. I found it interesting that all three of us struggled with our motivation this semester. Regardless, without their moral and intellectual support, I am certain I wouldn’t have performed as well. I’m grateful for their friendship on this path.

Revisions

I made revisions constantly based on comparison and feedforward from my peers and from class and feedforward from Professors and their

• As I tighten up my ePortfolio for my final grade, I improved my front page.
• I made minor improvements on each assignment for 5318 and 5320.
• Finally, my drafts were continually changing with the support and feedforward of my group.

This semester, I read every book, watched every video that I found, and read most of the other required readings listed in the Classroom Modules in Blackboard. My intention in grad school – and in life, really – is to keep learning, reading, reflecting, and connecting as long as I can. I see this as a constant need for improvement. I met all of the various course deadlines.

Supporting Contributions

Leadership Responsibility, Participation, and Communication

I’ve mentioned my love of writing in the past Contributions to Learning. My blogs continue to be the basis of my learning in ADL – the opportunity to reflect and connect “dots,” or big ideas. By modeling my learning process, I believe I help others grow. Not a week goes by without a comment on one of my discussion board posts about how much someone enjoys my writing or how much they learned. That’s not to brag, but more to reflect the importance of the active role I take in my own learning. Really, the active (or inactive) role any of us takes in our learning.

As I said, I love to write. However, I feel like I am unable to put into words how much the ADL program means to me. The connections I make – from people to ideas – continue to push me to be a better leader, communicator, and person.

“Well, I’ve made up my mind, anyway. I want to see mountains again, Gandalf – mountains; and then find somewhere where I can rest. In peace and quiet, without a lot of relatives prying around, and a string of confounded visitors hanging on the bell. I might find somewhere where I can finish my book. I have thought of a nice ending for it: and he lived happily ever after to the end of his days.”

~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Photo by Caleb Jones on Unsplash

Much like Bilbo Baggins, I know that my journey isn’t truly over. I will use the tools and skills I honed in grad school to continue to learn and grow and change in our ever-changing world. I will also continue to write and reflect and make connections that I contribute to a growing collective knowledge base. Finally, I will continue to work to make our world a better place alongside my peers.

That is my happily ever after.