This is a reflection on my contributions to my own learning and my learning community for both 5317 and 5304. This will be the third set of classes I have taken for the ADL program. I feel like this semester just got started and we are already to the end.
I am lucky enough to have created a group at the beginning and they include myself, Shaneigh Smith, Deena Fell, Mattheiu Brooks, and Lance Moran. So far this group has been an integral part of my success in the program and my sanity.
Work/life/school balance is hard. There are so many things that push and pull you in different directions all day long. Finding the time to do things can prove to be difficult, but having a great team surrounding you to remind you that something is due, or to even tell me "You got this" has proven to be one of the most meaningful and beneficial things I have gotten from my journey to my master's.
What went well?
This eight weeks flew by and has been by far the craziest of all my time so far. I was most nervous to complete the media assignment where we had to create a podcast. I do not like the sound of my voice so I knew I would struggle with that. However, being ablet to collaborate and discuss important topics to myself, Deena, and Shaneigh, I ended up having so much fun. I hope we will have another opportunity for that.
I am proud of the work I have completed with these courses. I feel like I was successful in making plans that would benefit my innovation plan and learned things about how to become a better leader. These two classes showed me that I am able to do much more than I thought I was capable of.
My group has continued to work so well together. We are each other's sounding boards, voice of reason, and cheerleaders. We didn't meet as often as we have but we communicated often through Remind, phone calls, and text.
What could have been better?
Trying to find that life balance is hard for me. There is a quote by Shonda Rhimes. She says, "Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in one area of my life, that almost certainly means I am failing in another area of my life." I couldn't agree with her more. There is only so much you can give in a day. If I am giving 100% to teaching, that means I probably forgot to do something for one of my own classes. If I'm being Baseball Mom on the weekend, that most likely means I didn't get to grade the papers I needed to grade before Monday.
Finding that balance was a little harder for me this time around than others. The excitement of starting something new has worn off and now I just have a ton of things to do on my to-do list. I am hoping that the next two classes will reignite that spark for me.
In our group, we weren't able to meet as often as I would have liked. Only two or three times, but we still made the mot of it. I also didn't feel as connected to these classes as I have. The meeting schedule wasn't as regular and many were missed for various reasons.
My Contributions
I was able to attend some meetings in 5317 and 5304. Like I said before some meetings were canceled because of emergencies or just Q&A sessions. It is always nice to see everyone's faces and get to do small group discussions with them.
For both classes, I read the weekly assignments, watched the videos, and posted discussions. I replied to at least two peers in the discussion post. When people had questions in our class GroupMe, I answered them to the best of my ability.
Once again Matthieu pulled through and created another awesome GoogleDoc for us to stay updated and see what everyone is working on. It is so helpful to have all of those things in once place and I am so thankful to Matt for creating it. I am still a member of the Facebook group and when someone posts and I am able to help, I always do.
Although this set of classes didn't go quite the way I thought it would, I am still proud of what I have accomplished. I worked hard to complete all assignments to the best of my ability and I have continued to learn so much in the process. I am looking forward to the next two classes.
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