“Thank you for coming to my presentation of learning. I am the expert on my own learning. I am also responsible and accountable for my own learning. You can expect me to give an honest evaluation of my progress. We will discuss my strengths and opportunities for growth. Thank you in advance for listening and for offering feedback that I can use to improve as a learner.”
This past semester had been a huge learning curve. For the past few months we have worked on multiple projects such as Becoming a PLP Learner, Interesting Images, Geek Out, Crusades, Middle Ages, and Winter Exhibition. Within each project I have learned something new about myself, and how to communicate my work in so many different ways I had never imaged of.
First Blog Post: Making Interesting Images
Interesting Images was a simple blog post showcasing different pictures we had taken using new techniques and tools that our iPad can provide to enhance our photography skills. If I were to re-write the blog post today, I would focus on adding more information and reflection to the blogpost, rather than simply doing the bare minimum. Luckily, this was my first blog post and had received and exceeding despite my faults.
My Geek Out blog post is probably my least favourite blog post… We all were asked to choose a topic that we could talk endlessly about, and chose to write about my cat, Mr. Bieber. The blog post did not seem interesting, and I never felt proud to post it. Next time I would change my topic to softball, something I think about and do all the time. However, with all the reflection given to this post, I learned so much about myself, and how to make quality future work. Ever since I published my Geek Out post I work on an assignment, I ask myself; would I be proud to show this to the world? Asking myself this question assures that my work has reached my standards, and is something I am confident to share. In the end, this blog post has helped me more in the long run, making myself not regret those mistakes.
Third Blog Post: Middle Ages Reflection
Throughout the past semester, this has to be some of my proudest work. In November we took 2-3 weeks to create two Keynote presentations; Middle Ages, and the Crusades. This blog post was used to look back and reflect on the previous presentations. While writing the above blog post, I was excited to say that I was proud of my work, received positive feedback, and learned a new strategy to improve my work quality.
After submitting the assignment my humanities teacher recommended I adjust my learning plan goal from an accomplished to an exceeding. This was my first project that required no revisions and made me very proud. But of course, I didn’t receive this success without struggle. While writing the presentations, I got stuck at constant idea blocks about how and what I should write to answer the driving question. Luckily, I began to ask myself the following question each time I got stuck; “if you were learning about *blank*, and read this work, would you understand and learn from *blank*?”
After asking myself this question and making sure my writing applied, I felt much more confident and proud of my work.
Fourth Blog Post: My First Winter Exhibition ❄️
The winter exhibition was a rough ride for me. I ran into multiple bumps dragging me slightly behind. While brainstorming ideas for our Pandora’s box, I went through many different ideas which ended up taking more time than expected. Before coming up with a final idea, most were either un realistic for the timeline, or was something I wouldn’t feel necessarily proud of. Until, I came to a consensus. My confirmed idea was physically appealing, and was on theme, however, I was not the proudest. After completing my box, I felt I could have answered the driving question with deeper thought and meaning, but it was already too late.
On the other hand, I am proud of the honesty that my blog post stated. I had an honest reflection, and have learned from my mistakes. For my next exhibition I will remind myself of the driving question, and make sure that my work has met the goal. Considering this was my first ever exhibition, I think everything went fairly smoothly and am looking forward for the next!
Overall Reflection 🔄
Despite the many different bumps I experienced during each project, there was one constant problem I went through with each assignment. With having a new and busy calendar this year, I have been procrastinating and using poor time management skills. I have left all four blog posts to the last minute, only creating more stress on my shoulders and possibly bringing down the quality in my work.
This semester I plan on changing my work ethic from procrastination to being organized, timely, and obviously no longer procrastinating.
Beginning steps to take;
- No making excuses for myself
- Plan time zones, and goals to complete homework
- Continue to use Things and Calendar to help organize activity and homework
I’m excited to make these changes for the better of my learning!