For those readers who were children of the eighties,
there may be a hint of recognition emerging from the far reaches of your memory.
This image is a screen shot of the Sesame Street Letter-Go-Round computer game.
I have included a YouTube link in the references section of this blog for
anyone interested in seeing this game in action (I recommend watching up to the
1:45 mark to get a basic understanding). This game taught letter recognition,
case matching, and simple word formation with the help of the entire Sesame
Street gang. As a child I absolutely loved this game, even though I knew I was
learning. My favorite part of the game was the instant gratification I gained
from getting an answer correct. Of course, I was not always able to get the
right answer. Most often, this was due to my inability to follow directions.
While I understood the basic premise of the game, I failed to pay attention to
how to actually play. I would identify the matching letter and immediately
click the computer mouse. Unfortunately, the correct letter would not drop into
the spot on the teeter totter and I would be forced to try again.
At an early age, I
found that asking for help was not an option and I would have to instead rely
on my own abilities to solve this problem. As I watched Richardson’s (2011)
podcast, I felt an immediate connection between my fear of asking for help and
his wife’s response. His wife felt that their daughter was not ready to tackle
a Journey song on the piano (Richardson, 2011), and I was afraid my parents
would say the same thing. If couldn’t figure this game out, they may take it
away from me and say I was not ready. Since reading the directions was also not
an option at my age, I reverted to my click until it works methodology. I began
clicking on various parts of the screen until I finally realized that in order
to get the right letter to drop into place I had to wait for it to circle around
to the bottom of the ferris wheel and then I could click on the letter. From
that point on, I knew that I could tackle any issue that Letter-Go-Round threw
my way. I also knew that I enjoyed learning in my own manner and at my own
speed.
Through
my progression in age and experience, I have found that I still learn best in
this self-guided technology manner. As an undergraduate student, I struggled to
achieve a real sense of learning. I was able to attend class, read text books
and lecture materials, and eventually provide that information on a test.
However, I never really developed a connection to what I was learning. Failing
to develop a connection meant that I quickly forgot the material and was unable
to apply it later. Learning in this manner is a great example of Richardson’s
(2011) notion of school learning equaling test prep. I was filling my head with
information simply because I would be tested on it, not because I was
interested in it. As a graduate student, I honestly expected to have the same
experience which would ultimately be unfulfilling and unsuccessful. As I have
found over the course of my four semesters in this graduate degree program,
this is not the case. In addition to traditional methods of readings, quizzes,
and papers, students are given the opportunity to independently explore the material.
Explorations include internet and library searches based on topics of personal
interest, as well as discussion forums. Recently, I have been amazed by the amount
of times my opinion on a topic has been changed or improved based on the
discussion postings of my classmates. In a sense, each classmate has become my
teacher because they all have something valuable to add to my understanding of
the material.
In
order to increase this level of peer driven instruction, the members of EDOD
692B have been asked to create a blog. As a new member of the blogging
community I faced this assignment with fear and skepticism. I was afraid that I
would not be able to meet all of the criteria set forth in the assignment and
that I would not be a very interesting blogger. These fears were somewhat abated
after viewing Godin and Peters’ (2009) video on blogging. Godin (2009) mentions
that it does not matter whether or not you are an interesting blogger at first.
What matters are the levels of thinking, reflection, and humility represented
in that blog that helps the writer become part of the conversation (Godin &
Peters, 2009). After hearing this information I felt a sense of relief and
appreciation. I am relieved that I do not have to be fantastic at blogging on
my first attempt, rather I just have to do try. I am appreciative of the fact
that if I am not good at blogging, I can rely on my audience and fellow
classmates to provide me with feedback and suggestions for improvement. My
audience can be my guide and gauge for learning as I explore this non-traditional
method of educational interaction. So with this sense of relief and appreciation,
I submit my first blog for peer review. I am incredibly eager to join my
classmates in this new community setting as we attempt to redefine our local
and global learning interactions.
References:
Godin, S. & Peters, T. (Performers) (2009, March).
Blogging. OPEN: Inside the Entrepreneurial
Mind. [Video podcast]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=livzJTIWlmY#t=37
Richardson, W. (Performer) (2011, ). TEDxNYED. [Video podcast]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni75vIE4vdk#t=30
Sesame Street Letter-Go-Round video. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTRHY0V-Hcc
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