Unfortunately, I am a creature of habit. Although I am flexible enough to make changes
when I need to, I prefer to go with what always works in most cases. For this week’s blog assignment, I struggled
to find a small nugget of deviance from my pre-existing learning style. I looked and looked but there were no nuggets
to be found. In short, I am still a very
visual and hands on learner. Whether at
work or at home, I am constantly using my hands for work, learning and
communication. Still to this day, I
purposely choose not to give in to auditory learning. For example, I had an opportunity to sit in
on a webinar this past week at work.
This was going to be a very interesting talk on new ways to engage an
audience while presenting. I was really
looking forward to the webinar. I walked
in and took my seat. A few minutes past
the webinar start time, the participants were told that there was a problem
with the webinar host and that we would only have audio through our
speakerphone. So in short, the visual
aspect of the learning experience was not going to happen. So I sat in on the first five minutes of the
auditory webinar and I got up and left.
I just could not get engaged or excited about the information because I
did not have any visuals to stimulate my learning process.
I do have a greater sense of excitement
towards e-learning. I am fascinated by
all the potential that e-learning opportunities have to offer. “With the advent of e-learning, there is a
lot more mixing of delivery formats going on” (Piskurich, 2006, p. 155). The realm of e-learning is wide open and
ready for the challenges that are ahead of us.
Through e-learning, students can learn from a wide variety of delivery
instruments such as webcasts, module based training and more. The challenge is to make the e-learning
opportunities appropriate for each individual situation. We do not need to have a one size fits all
mentality.
More than anything else, I have a greater
sense of confidence or self-efficacy.
Self-efficacy is “an individual’s belief about his or her capabilities
for success” (Bohlin, Durwin, Reese-Weber, 2009, p. 180). I use to worry that my visual learning
preference and style might peg me into a hole where I would be missing out on
something better. I no longer feel that
way. Through some self reflection, I
have determined that my learning style has been with me since early on in life
and it has not steered me wrong yet. I
have begun to think that maybe I am not missing out on something better. Maybe my learning style suits me the best and
will continue to do so in the future.
In conclusion, I still view my experiences as
a strong component of my learning process.
The learning theory of empiricism still holds true in my life (Ertmer
and Newby, 1993). The learning
opportunities that mean the most to me are the ones that are rich and full of
experiences that link back to my professional or personal life. It is experiences that drive me to want more
out of life. Technology also has an
important role in my learning process and instructional design methods. By creating learning experiences that
incorporate technology in some way, I am paving the way for greater
understanding of 21st-century technology. I am making students more equipped for their
futures as adult learners and their success in society as a whole. I look forward to what my future brings and
what I can add to the futures of other people as well.
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T.
J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing
critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance
Improvement Quarterly, 6(4),50-71.
Piskurich, G. M. (2006). Rapid instructional design:
Learning ID fast and right (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Pfeiffer.
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