Our LLG group produced “Shake It Until You Make It,” a ‘How To’ video on creating the perfect ugly sweater and cocktail party. Our idea started as a very broad and all-encompassing ‘How To Throw a Holiday Party.’ After telling my wife our exciting idea, she seemed less enthusiastic. My wife said it wasn’t specific enough. She asked me, “Is your video about what music to play at a holiday party, or what food to serve, or what drinks to make, or what invitations to send?” Our original idea lacked specificity. Our group narrowed down our focus to an ugly sweater theme (because who doesn’t like the hideousness and hilarity of ugly sweaters?) and focused on making cocktails for our party.
As with any team projects in the working world, working on a team, in an online learning environment, certainly had its challenges. First, our team was spread geographically throughout the country. The three-hour time difference between EST and PST made scheduling a time to meet, and discuss, difficult. When a time worked for one person, it may not necessarily have worked for the other. In addition, for six weeks of this semester, I worked the overnight shift (6:00 p.m. to 6 a.m.) A perfect time for us to meet online was 12:00 EST on a weekend. However, my sleep schedule was completely different than one’s normal sleep schedule. At 12:00 EST, I was sleeping after a long 12-hour shift (yes I worked every other weekend as well!).
Our video turned out better than expected. Thanks to the creativity of our group, and the sacrifices our team members made to meet (on less than convenient times) we solidified a plan and executed the framework of a solid video. A member of our team did an excellent job of mixing and editing the final product. We received excellent feedback from our class. They enjoyed the light, spirited, humor filled nature of the video. The class also commented on the great introduction, which set the stage for the video, and conclusion, which created an overview of theories shown throughout the video. We enjoyed the process, as well as the result.
ODL 600: Adult Learning was a fascinating course. This course reminded me of my undergraduate classes in education. I felt like I was taking a graduate course in education. This excited me. Although I am no longer a teacher, I love the concept of learning. The learning process fascinates me. I am intrigued by what we learn, how we learn, and why we learn. As I grow older, my focus shifts to adults and their processes. This course helped me understand the motivating factors for how adults learn, and why they learn. I would recommend this topic and class to anyone interesting in studying the learning process, and how it relates to the learner.
Daniel Christie