Plans and Ideas
After some thought and a discussion with the instructor I landed on three projects that would not only into my current role at CU Boulder but also offer me the opportunity to stretch myself by reaching out to those in the field on campus who may be able to impact my future as I hope to make a move into a Teaching and Learning or instructing role post graduation. The project overviews below reflect my initial thoughts on the selected projects. To review the final project click the title link to access the final project page.
Career Inquiry
I have worked as an Customer Service Representative, Executive Assistant, Small Business Owner, or Paralegal for most of my career. Although they all had a touch of teaching or training in them none of those jobs really tapped into my passions. Although I am very much enjoying the LDT program I admit I keep reminding myself that a transition to a new career at this point of my life may not be the wisest move financially and that I need to be prepared to face that face upon graduation. In light of that I would like to utilize this assignment to reach out to some people working in the field here at CU Boulder to see their take on the direction the Online Learning and Technology field is going and potentially make some contacts that would benefit me in the future.
A couple of options for interviews include Mark Warner who oversees the Canvas LMS here on campus, an interview with him would also tie nicely into my Data Literacy Project, and Aisha Jackson who is the current Associate Director of Academic Technology on campus. Recent developments here at CU Boulder included an announcement of the intent to create a Teaching and Learning Center within the near future and as a first step they named Kirk Ambrose as the founding director in February of 2019. I don’t know that I will be able to gain an audience with him, however I’d like to pursue and interview with him as well. More information on the center can be found through the links below.
https://www.colorado.edu/today/2019/02/19/kirk-ambrose-named-founding-director-center-teaching-and-learning (Links to an external site.)
https://www.colorado.edu/academicfutures/ctl (Links to an external site.)
https://www.colorado.edu/today/2019/09/03/creating-common-student-centered-approach-teaching-and-learning (Links to an external site.)
My plan would be to consolidate video clips to show a little about the Teaching and Learning Center that is being created on campus and gather some information on how to position oneself for consideration within the new department.
Curation Project
My recent interest in AR & VR and the early comments of students in my Teaching Strategies for Blended and Online Learning class have led me to a desire to take a deeper look into AR & VR options that are available and somewhat affordable today. Although costs are beginning to come down as new user friendly Apps are developed, those who are currently teaching have voiced their concern with development costs, time required to create an AR/VR tool, and whether they have the technical knowledge to do so. I believe it would be beneficial to provide an overview of the status, benefits, and drawbacks of AR/VR today as well as a selection of tools that are user friendly, low cost, and available to teachers wishing to explore the world of AR/VR with their students. I heard Len Scrogan speak on AR/VR at the COLTT conference this past summer and I plan to reach out to him to see if he is willing to speak with me.
Data Literacy
Data and statistics are definitely a weakness of mine, I admit I love Excel, however I’ve never been a fan of math and in my mind that’s what data literacy is all about. In an effort to change that mindset I’d like to delve further into data available in the Canvas LMS. We use Canvas at CU Boulder, where I work, and I am part of a Facilities Management mentor program that began using Canvas last semester as tool within the mentor program. This year’s focus is on more effective use of the Canvas LMS and in conjunction with that I would like to learn how to find and read the data to see if we are moving in the right direction. At your suggestion I plan to contact Mark Warner who supports Canvas here on campus to glean some information on what his experiences have been, what current trends are for use of Canvas, challenges, where growth is, and where support is needed.
I’d like to focus on media interviews within all of the projects, or at least have them available as part of the information presented. At this point I would be looking for information on how long the interview should be and whether I should include a paper outlining my plan and providing relevant information in a written format as well. I could see the final format as a post on my blog with a video link to my YouTube channel to highlight portions of the interview in that tie well into the project as a whole. The question is whether that would be an acceptable format to use for all of these assignments. If not, what should I do differently, or should I mix it up a bit as far as the final submission format goes?