Category: Reflecting

ADL Journey, ADL Program, Capstone, Collective, Contributions, Evolution, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, It's all about the learning, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Learning Community, Online Learning, Personal, Professional, Professional Learning, Reflecting, Relationship, Teamwork, Why

Contributions, 5320

The Advisor That Cares

Capstone Course

  • Fall 2023
  • Course Number: EDLD 5320
  • Course Title: Synthesis Digital Learn/Lead

Contributions to Learning and my Learning Community

The back of a yellow van is pictured travelling down a dessert roadway.

Crediting Core Group Members: Kelly Skillingberg, Shannon Bowles, and Rachel Hull.

I am giving myself a score of 99 out of 100

Wow, what a transformation from the first course in the program.

please reconsider and evaluate your work and grade with the same fairness as another student.”

March 11, 2022 paraphrased email from EDLD 5305 instructor

Here I am, emboldenly claiming 99 out of 100 for my contributions to my learning and the learning of my learning community. Who is this person I have become?

I know now what I didn’t know then. I know that my “assessment of/for/as learning” is mine to claim ownership over, too (Harapnuik, 2021). The ADL Program equipped me to take control of my learning journey, and I embraced it!

When I began the program, I didn’t understand how having a group would help me. I had always been a little better off on my own or a type A person who would prefer to do all the work to know it got completed.

This independence was also true of my professional life, now that I think about it. While I enjoyed collaborating with others at work, I would typically take the lead to ensure that none of us “got in trouble” for failing to meet expectations.

However, this program and the soul-searching reflection done throughout leave me knowing that I have given 100 percent effort toward my entire learning experience. I also have given 100 percent effort toward connecting with my learning cohort. I am not giving myself a perfect score because there is always room for improvement and more to learn.

The fantastic people in my collaboration group have shown me how much better my ideas and our experience can be if we work together.

My learning communities overlap so many periods and classes that I cannot limit my experience to a single learning community (though this one was top-notch because we have all evolved so much in our learning journey that we now “get it”) but instead try to approach each semester as my opportunity to support and guide my fellow learners in the learning journey.

I love connecting with new people, and weekly meetings are my jam! But I had to learn that they are not that for everyone. I had to adapt and learn to meet others when and where they were available. We have had so many chats and a few synchronous meetings. Still, the asynchronous ability to connect has significantly impacted my future innovation ideas.

Adding peer support is a transformative component of innovation in advising. I never imagined how learners could support one another in co-navigating a new experience. However, thanks to my experience with choice, ownership, and voice in this authentically significant learning environment (COVA + CSLE), I know firsthand that peer support and a shared experience can revolutionize a learning experience.

Key Contributions

  1. My learning community’s core group members have all done a fantastic job staying in touch throughout the semester. One evening, we were the only members of the course who attended the class call. What worked this semester was our continued commitment to learning as much as possible, improving our innovation ideas as much as possible, and getting as much as possible out of this last course in the ADL program.
  2.  Fortunately, Shannon, Kelly, and I have been in learning communities and have maintained ongoing chats over the last several semesters. Before this session began, we had an EDLD 5320 Capstone Community GroupMe started. We all did a great job sharing links to our works in progress for feedforward and periodically just checked in to see how we felt about our coursework and innovation ideas.
  3.  I completed an overwhelming number of revisions on my ePortfolio as a whole. I continually revised current coursework and previous courses/projects coursework as a part of the entire program synthesis process. It was amazing to see how much we have learned and evolved in such a short time.
  4.  I completed ALL of the course readings, videos, and supporting resources provided and actively sought additional resources to deepen my learning and improve my innovation.
  5.  I met the various course activity deadlines indicated in the calendar.

Supporting Contributions

  1. While our group maintained a well-balanced interaction, I took a leadership role by requesting and creating recurring Zoom meetings to chat about projects and our reflections throughout the course. I contributed to my classmates in class calls and discussions by answering questions and pointing to resources when applicable.
  2.  I contribute to my learning and the learning of my colleagues by participating in ALL activities.
  3.  I actively contributed to discussion posts with engaging and well-thought-out reflections.

Reference

Harapnuik, D. (2021, August 16). Assessment OF/FOR/AS learning. It’s About Learning. https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=8900

https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=8900

ADL Journey, ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Evolution, Focus on the learning, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Influencer, Innovation Plan, Instructional Design, It's all about the learning, Leadership, Learner's Mindset, Learning Manifesto, Online Learning, Personal, Reflecting, Relationship, Teamwork, Why

Professional Pitch

The Advisor That Cares

Soft pitch, day two.

Once again, I’m letting parts of my heart slip and show with my colleagues, and no one is running away screaming in fear. It seems like everyone is really excited about some of my ideas.

I pitched having brief Monday morning (WIG meetings – though I didn’t call it that) to set our goals and intentions for the week. I suggested Friday afternoon review of the week’s collaborations where teams “check each others work” to help cross each other T’s and dot each other’s “i’s” so to speak.

I pitched the concept of new year, new us. Beginning with the day after the last day to register, we are going to come up with a departmental New Years Resolution (WIG – didn’t call it that) but it really is happening.

A wonderful addition of review plus board games, team-building at the rec, adult coloring pages, board games, or whatever sounds fun to the team. I am so excited for the new year.

ADL Journey, Capstone, Reflecting

Final Focus

The Advisor That Cares
A single outdoor bulb hangs from a socket/cord with several out of focus glows in an out of focus background.

I have at least five ongoing projects for my final synthesis. This morning, while reviewing my thoughts, reflections, and content ideas, I realized I needed to shift my focus slightly.

I realize Dr. Harapnuik knows exactly what projects he’s had us complete throughout the program. He’s the program designer. So, itemizing each course focus, and the major projects completed during each is an excellent summary of my experience. Still, for the actual learning showcase, I should tell my best friend, my mom, or someone who wasn’t a part of this journey about all the neat things I did and built.

I keep running down rabbit trails in different directions. Should I consolidate? Should I distinguish them from one another more clearly? So much content to cover!

  • Option 1: This talks about me and my personal journey into my graduate degree program. Where I was professionally. The presentation then goes into each course, learning outcomes, major projects, and examples of completed work for each.
  • Option 2: Introduces the innovation idea and frustrations experienced by advisors and learners. It then explains my non-accelerated path to program completion and my ever-changing collaboration group.
  • Option 3: This is the most concise and cohesive representation of the ADL program and projects built.
  • Option 4: Currently has the least content but aesthetically aligns with portfolio (in its current state) – potential to combine and consolidate from others
  • Option 5: Simple infographic of the 10 courses of the ADL Program – brief summary of each needed or deleted
  • Option 6: The projects page – I have been working through course summaries and personal reflections course-by-course.
ADL Journey, Capstone, Reflecting

Reflecting on my Innovation’s Impact

The Advisor That Cares

This is one of my most favorite videos! I share this with my team at least once a semester because I genuinely want them to recognize that they are world changers! That they may NEVER know the impact they have had on one of their students’ lives, but undoubtedly, there is a student out there who remembers them as the one who helped redirect their lives. 

I am so excited to see this video here in the capstone course. It actually about made me tear up thinking about how this message being here in our final course of the program. I know I have said it before, but I think I will be saying it for a long time to come. I never dreamed I would be where I am today when I took the leap of faith to start this program. I thought I might end up with a degree, but I never considered what that might change about my professional life. I pictured myself doing the same job and continuing to help students in the advising capacity I was comfortable in for the last ten years. 

This program, COVA, and CSLE have opened doors and a perspective on how I can help change the world. A little less than 1/2 way through the program, the ADL program made me confident enough to apply for a leadership position. Now, I am a “leader of leaders,” as 4DX described it. I have had senior positions within advising units, but this is my first time being the boss. I went from being a lead surgery scheduler (team of four) and an advising coordinator (team of five) to an associate director (team of 19 advisors, 2 admins, and 4 student workers). Thanks to Crucial Conversations and Influencer, I have stepped into my leadership role and operate from a position I believe can help us all join together to become catalysts for change. I will honestly report that I have not pushed my innovation idea in my new role because this first year has been about winning trust and observing the impacts that change can have on our advising unit. I assumed my role with a team with no leadership for several months (the entire leadership team quit together). The advising department was undergoing an ongoing restructuring, and there was now a new hierarchy. The advising unit was previously structured around individuals specializing in advising specific majors. This resulted in islands where individuals were experts on a single program or two. Instead, under my leadership, we were transitioning into teams of advisors who were specialists in clusters of similar majors. 

As we have learned in the program, change is not typically well received, and we were asking these people to jump in with both feet on change at every turn. I have lost eight employees in my first year. Talk about heartbreaking. As someone new to leadership, it would be very easy to take this personally, but instead, I have recognized that I am building a team of visionaries. Those who stick it out through the leadership and structure change will be willing to take on this innovation project with me. 

As I have brought in new team members, I plant the seeds for my innovation idea and ask that they join me in making observations with their fresh perspectives to help change the “this is how we’ve always done this” culture that tends to exist in higher education. It has been affirming to hear from them how much they believe the innovation ideas that will help us flip advising would have helped their educational journey. Many of my newest members are recent graduates. I have weekly meetings with my leadership team (four advising coordinators), and we have developed a great collaboration of a safe space to share challenges and explore opportunities for our advising unit. 

Since I was transitioning into my new role in a new department, I did not push to also try to change how the team was advising. Nonetheless, this investment of time has allowed me to reflect on the most effective ways to phase into my innovation ideas. For example, we had an admitted student day event this past March, and I created a how-to video that the department is still using to show students how to register for the classes planned with their advisor. While this seems so simplistic, this was something our area has lacked. The program and my innovation helped me see that the most effective way to assist our leaders is to provide multiple inputs/formats so that they can each find what works best for them and their learning preferences. Internally, I have worked to create a team culture. I have allowed team leaders to select team colors. I have made all of the signage at events match these colors. I now have an incoming cohort of students who only know this restructured version of advising. 

I hope the next incoming cohort (Fall 2024) will be phase two of my innovation plans. I want to continue implementing aspects of the flipped advising approach as I bring in additional collaborators from my advising unit and other stakeholders from the campus. I knew that taking on grad school, a new job, my first true leadership position, and an innovation would be too much. Instead, I have implemented several aspects that assisted me in my advising role and serve as an example of the potential. I have also learned so much about leadership through the program. I hope to begin the new year with a true 4DX approach with the team. We close for two weeks at the end of December, so I think I will send my leadership team home for the break with an assignment to come back in the new year ready to propose a wildly important goal for their team. I will also have to spend the break considering my wildly important goal (flipping advising) and the lead measures that will impact that goal. I really want to give each leadership team member a copy of 4DX in hopes they will read it over the break, but I am so resistant to the idea of being “that boss” who assigns homework. I used to hear of bosses who did that, and I would get offended at the idea. I am still trying to find a way to get through the material together in the workday so that I am not implying they should give up any of their personal time.

Honestly, I would love to send them all through the ADL program! 

Innovation updates/Future Plans:

I have a working pilot of my innovation – an online advising resource at advising.blog, but I no longer advise those programs, so I am considering reworking the resources to include more programs and a section for undergrads vs. grads. I told my old department and the advisors working with my prior programs that they could continue referring students to my eP, but I do not think they have done so. I included my eP link in all correspondence but have stopped in my new role. I will spend the first part of my time after the program beefing up the information and resources section to again include my resource with others with the same excitement I did when using it daily in my advising role. 

I also enjoyed the instruction designing course I created and can see how that would help us as we onboard new students to the university. I did share my Advising 101 course with a few team members, and I think opening up collaboration opportunities beyond just creating it myself will significantly impact our advising unit and students.

I hope that as I bring more team members into my innovation project and implementation, we will have many suggestions and ideas for future innovation for advising. I will take each of the strategies and skills we learned throughout the program to customize which strategy will fit our next phase/project.

ADL Program, Evolution, Learner's Mindset, Reflecting

To Past Self & To Future You

The Advisor That Cares

Pay it forward… we have been asked to share some tidbits that we wished we’d known and embraced from the start of the ADL program. I feel like I really spent so much time watching Learners Mindset discussions and reading Dr. Harapnuik’s website that I absorbed a lot of good advice from those who paved the way before us. Thankfully, Dr. Harapnuik does a great job of sharing examples of the work that other graduates have created to give us a sense of some ideas or general concepts for different assignments and projects. Due to the open-ended nature of the program, each of us creates an entirely unique and authentic innovation project based on our arena and interests. Thanks to the COVA Approach to learning, there is a considerable adjustment period for many of us who are more accustomed to “just tell me what you want so that I can give it to you” (which we now recognize as just regurgitating information instead of authentic learning).

A silhouetted young lady is turning back to a reflection of herself within a heart shaped pink mirror. The girl is wearing a white dress and is standing to next to colorful flowers of various heights.

Here are some of the helpful nuggets I picked up when I was evaluating and deciding to join the program.

  • Tag your blogs with courses so that when you get to the capstone course, you will more easily be able to remember/review the work you did as you developed throughout the program.
  • Blog. Keep up with the blogging aspect of the program to really give yourself something to go back and reflect upon later.
  • Trust the process was something I consistently heard those ahead of us saying. I quickly realized that cutting corners or simply fulfilling assignment requirements would only shortchange myself of the tremendous opportunity this program presented for growth and personal evolution.

Since I am still very much at the starting line of this capstone course, I cannot say with certainty yet whether or not the first tip will help me, but I will undoubtedly echo and share my tidbits now and hopefully again at the end of this course.

  • Be vulnerable: I mean, to really embrace the learning opportunity that is this program, you must be willing to put yourself out there and be vulnerable with yourself and others. I spent the first few classes giving support freely but being reserved about how much I put myself out there for the same support. My best piece of advice is to lean into vulnerability and allow yourself to discover things about yourself you never imagined.
  • Be a collector: I have been bookmarking links to current and past ADL ePortfolios and use them frequently when attempting to wrap my head around a project or assignment. This habit of collecting ePs has been invaluable to me. I even started a shared Google doc so that our cohort of learners could leave breadcrumbs for those who come behind us. I love the spirit of giving back to others that is born out of this program.
    • Sadly, I don’t see one of my favorite early inspirations posted online anymore, but there is an outdated X account. The most heartbreaking part of this process is how infrequently posters continue developing their ePortfolio.
  • Reflect frequently: This is where blogging has really helped me along the way. By rambling about the things I learned throughout in blogs, I have the opportunity to look back on where my innovation began, how my thoughts evolved over time, and how much I have changed through a COVA approach to learning. In the same way that the content modules are overlapping and ongoing, the ADL program is overlapping and ongoing. The more frequently you reflect back upon topics you previously engaged with, the more often you challenge yourself to dig deeper into your innovation.
  • Don’t compare yourselves to others, but instead, respect that you are growing and evolving as a lifelong learner.
  • Trust the process. Everything eventually falls into place.
ADL Program, Growth, Online Learning, Personal, Publication, Reflecting, Why

Purpose…

The Advisor That Cares
Blank wooden scrabble tiles spread randomly on teal colored background. Letter tiles spell out "purpose" mid-image horizontally.

I am once again pulled to evaluate the purpose of my innovation. These final reflection stages of the ADL Program coursework really ask us to go back and evaluate our learning journey throughout the course. I can not help but reconnect with Sinek’s “why” for myself. My resounding answer is still to “care about people.” I have always battled the duality of my audience. Torn between addressing blended learning in advising as a benefit for students or to advisors. The answer has always been both! As I move into the final stages of my publication article, I recognize that this has the potential to continue a conversation with others in my profession about how technology can be employed to humanize the relationship between students, parents, advisors, and leadership.

I see overwhelmed student faces at incoming events and hear the exasperation in their family members’ frustrations over navigating the transition into higher education.

I hear and see how overworked advisors are as they attempt to serve many different requirements, demands, and recommendations and help their students do what is best for their college experience.

I believe that when we create significant learning environments about advising topics that help students connect with why and when they might need to know about a requirement, procedure, or general FAQ and How-Tos. By focusing on the learning outcomes using tools like Understanding by Design, we can equip them with learning skills they can apply to all areas of college and life.

As I made my second to last contributions to learning post, I realized that I am losing and will continue to lose much of my ADL learning network. My cohort is made up of K-12 educators and instructional technologists. I have met a few business professionals but only briefly interacted with individuals in the higher education arena. Recently, the program has afforded me the opportunity to connect other advisors entering the program. I hope that I will be able to provide support and encouragement to them as they work through the frustrations and challenges this authentic learning environment presents. I wish the timing worked out so we could have co-collaborated on much of the work since there is so much work to be done.

It seems to me that Dr. Harapnuik has carefully crafted this program to establish this handoff point. This publication opportunity is just what we need to open a dialogue with others in our fields, with our interests, or just to continue our conversation on personalized learning so that we can continue to refine, revise, and improve our innovative ideas.

So, what do I want to say to other advisors? What do I think I have to contribute to the literature of the advising profession? All I really have is my authentic personal experiences and a purpose to care about people. I want to use my publication article to create a conversation that helps to continue the mission of expanding advising relationships from mandatory synchronous advising sessions into ongoing learning relationships. I think that advisors are in a position to employ technology to support them in the purely information transfer and how-to topics they are required to cover with students into concise and specific resources that students can explore ad hoc. Then by posing questions of inquiry for discussion or reflection, advisors can create communities of learners that broaden peer support and collaboration opportunities. Advisors can help craft resources to develop and encourage students’ intrinsic motivation to seek information and make connections. For example, instead of transferring overwhelming amounts of information to students, advising can help students explore their questions, interests, and goals. I believe that the transformative work that advisors will have time to do, as a result, will enrich advisors’ and students’ experiences.

Collective, Contributions, Publication, Reflecting, Relationship

Contributions, 5317

The Advisor That Cares

Publishing Course

  • Fall 2023
  • Course Number: EDLD 5317
  • Course Title: Resources for Digital Environments

Contributions to learning and learning community

A wooden signpost is covered with hand written white wooden arrows to towns on Route 66 with rusty cars in the background of a scenic cloudy desert landscape with mountain range far in the distance.

I am giving myself a score of 95 out of 100

Crediting Core Group Member: Shannon Bowles and Chantilly Sweet

The remaining members of my core discussion group constantly changed based on discussion posting dates. I found it challenging to continue collaborating with the same core members (aside from Shannon) because I followed the course posting guidelines and deadlines.

I would like to give a proper thank you to all of those who regularly engaged with me in the course.

Discussion 1

Digital Tools in Digital Environments

  • Responses to Angela Deschner, Chantilly Sweet, Jane Burnett, Shannon Bowles
  • Responses from Angela Deschner
Discussion 2

Perusing and Sharing Publications

  • Responses to Shannon Bowles, Chantilly Sweet, Argelia Perez Ramirez
  • Responses from Shannon Bowles, Araceli Maria Lopez, Brenda Decuir, Angela Deschner
Discussion 3

Audio and Visual Digital Tools

  • Responses to Shannon Bowles, Angela Deschner, Brenda Decuir, Roostynel Tovar, Chantilly Sweet
  • Responses from Shannon Bowles
Discussion 4

Media that Engages

  • Responses to Shannon Bowles, Roostynel Tovar, Araceli Maria Lopez, Angela Deschner, Chantilly Sweet, Argelia Perez Ramirez
  • Responses from Shannon Bowles
Blue background divided midway by gradient, two thought/conversation bubbles are stacked slightly apart the top one with a row of 5 blue stars and the bottom with a row of four blue stars and one white star.

Peer Review Reflection

Shannon was an outstanding learning community member this session, and I was happy to provide feed-forward on her rough draft as she did for mine. Shannon provided valuable feedforward when concepts I sharing were unclear to the reader. What I found writing was that I had been working with the content and concepts so long that I was skipping details or failing to organize my thoughts in a logical sequence. Additionally, Shannon provided insight from their experiences during orientation, adding another layer to the audience’s perspective.

Feedforward to Shannon on her Rough Draft

Screenshot of Google Doc sharing/comments of Shannon's feed forward, questions, and suggestions to me.

Feedforward from Shannon on my Rough Draft

Screenshot of Google Doc sharing/comments of my feed forward, questions, and suggestions to Shannon.

This learning community aspect is something that I will miss moving out of the ADL courses and into professional life. This must be why the ADL program encourages us to get involved in our professional learning organizations to continue this community-based learning beyond our time together. What a fantastic project to culminate the program by submitting our work for publication. Carefully crafting the ADL program, we can now continue the conversation with those in our professions.

Contributions

Key Contributions

From the very start of the session, I did my best to contribute to building a learning community and provided a positive and collaborative contribution. Throughout the course, I worked to meet all activity deadlines outlined by Dr. Still and kept up with the content in each module. I have posted by keeping up with the course schedule so that other learning community members have ample time to respond. I have also found that having time for feedback allowed me to improve assignments by their due dates. I complete and reflect upon all assigned course readings, videos, and resources and share additional sources discovered throughout my learning exploration and reflections on learning connections. I post when I will be available for support on long-term project days and before deadlines. I take feedback, ideas, and suggestions from the comments on shared documents and discussion board posts to improve my work and clarify my thoughts. I provide thoughtful feedback and support to my classmates and community members.

Supporting Contributions

I did my very best to take on leadership responsibility and always asked clarifying questions during class calls in hopes of helping myself and others. I participated in all activities and rewatched the class call recordings to reinforce learning opportunities discussed with classmates. I routinely check the discussion board for posts and updates to keep collaborations active and timely with posted deadlines and due dates. I actively seek additional sources and resources. This course specifically had some links that were no longer active, but I searched and reposted updated links for future reflection. I included citations of source materials and reflected on the lessons laid out for us throughout the course.

What Could Be Better

Several semesters ago, I began sharing a GroupMe for a collective of ADL learners. I had high hopes that the group would continue to intake new ADL students, thereby creating a long-term mentorship group with veteran and graduate ADL students continuing to learn while giving guidance and perspective to future cohorts. The hope was that learners who struggled to connect with a community in their coursework would find additional opportunities to connect with others with similar innovations or interests.

In the past, this has been such an active and collaborative group. Unfortunately, a large part of our collaborative membership graduated, and many left the group. Watching members leave the group was crushing, as I thought we would be lifelong learners together. Buying into the idea of the learning collective.

I tried to keep casting conversation starters and offered ongoing support to other learners, but the group was inactive this session. It seemed like no one reached out for help from different classes, and no one posted assignments for feedforward. I cannot help but wonder if it was due to the discussion board requirement for posts and comments.

What Worked

For me, especially in the absence of the collective, collaborative learning experience I had become accustomed to, blogging helped fill some of the reflection and exploration I would have been doing in learning community meetings. I have tried to take every lesson that the program designed for us to heart, and I believe Dr. Harapnuik wanted us to continue blogging throughout the program. Many do not maintain the practice, but it is a key component of higher-order thinking and metacognition. I firmly believe that this authentic learning environment provides us with a frame of reference for our learning opportunities.

Pub Crawl

That is a bit misleading… because when I say “pub crawl,” I mean crawling through the publication process. In my typical form, in the ADL Program, the first thing I…

Tell Others

Moving through the module 1-2 content in this my second to last ADL Program’s publishing course, I am encouraged to share my success stories. To consider what digital technology I…

Fire

Let me tell you. It is not exactly easy to focus on much of anything when there is a 3,000-acre wildfire burning a dozen miles away. I’m really trying to…

Find your Element

In the On Point interview, Sir Ken Robinson (2013) shares that as a young person, he found himself in special education classes and recognized people around him. “Finding what lies…

Digital Tools in Digital Environments

5317 Discussion 1 (1 of 2) Technology can certainly enhance learning, as we have discovered throughout our ADL learning journey. The fact that I can connect with learners from various…

Technology and College

Saving these EDUCAUSE Review sources for later reflection and review. Students: 9 Ways to Help Students Use Technology to Get the Most Out of College Microlearning: The “OG” or Hot…

Perusing and sharing Publications

5317 Discussion 1 (2 of 2) The ADL program has opened my eyes to exactly how much the landscape of learning has changed and how little the landscape of education has changed.…

Schank you very much

Well darn. How in the world am I just now learning about Roger Schank! A link was thrown into the publication assignment, and I was off exploring another rabbit trail.…

What to Write

Going through Dr. Harapnuik’s content and nearing the end of the ADL program makes many connections between the strategies and learning accomplished throughout this authentic learning environment. I cannot help…

Always timely, EDUCAUSE

While written with IT Leaders in mind, innovative educators and support staff can benefit from these 10 Calls to Action for the Future of Technology in Higher Ed. Reference Gonick,…

Digital Tools

5317 Discussion 2 The concept of data-driven analytics and decision-making appeals to me very much. As advisors, we often run from one fire/crisis to another. Stepping into a leadership role…

Preparing Pitch?

Desperation: Man! I cannot tell you how much I am missing my tribe. I have been posting and engaging with my classmates, but I’m failing and failing to find my…

Mind Blown!

My goodness gracious, my two main collaborators this semester just blew my mind with their statements about how helpful they find Google Slides. I always found them overwhelmingly blank because…

Ott, to check this out!

I cannot believe that I have not yet posted about the amazing commentary on significant learning opportunities outlined by Jim Ott.

Leftovers

Media Project leftovers Mannn, there’s so much to share. I definitely wanted to include a million quotes and clips in my media project. I will put them all here for…

Searching vs. Trying

Thanks to the ADL Program, I love that I am constantly observing my learning behaviors.  I recently rearranged and connected multiple monitors. I still laugh at how much of this…

Engaging Media

5317 Discussion 3 In the ADL Program, we learn the importance of always focusing on learning. Technology, just for the sake of it, does not revolutionize education. We must be…

Purpose…

I am once again pulled to evaluate the purpose of my innovation. These final reflection stages of the ADL Program coursework really ask us to go back and evaluate our…

A New Culture of Learning, ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Focus on the learning, Goals, Influencer, Innovation Plan, It's all about the learning, Leadership, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Outcomes, Personal, Professional, Publication, Reflecting, Relationship

Engaging Media

The Advisor That Cares

5317 Discussion 3

EKG - pulse rate display

In the ADL Program, we learn the importance of always focusing on learning. Technology, just for the sake of it, does not revolutionize education. We must be ready to engage in crucial conversations about our innovation ideas to be effective agents of change. To do this effectively, we must work to enact organizational change as we influence others. Acknowledging that our learners come to education from a new learning culture, we must find ways to adapt and reach our learners by creating significant learning environments. With intentional planning, we can present learners with choice, ownership, and voice within an authentic learning environment (COVA).

One of the critical components of becoming a catalyst for change is drawing others into collaborative relationships so that ideas and innovations can continue to grow and evolve with the input and perspective that others bring. Engaging media is one thing that we can employ to ensure that our message reaches those who can contribute. Speakers Mathew Luhn and Nancy Duarte discuss how effectively using media through storytelling can draw the audience into your message (Marwick Marketing, 2017; TEDx Talks, 2010). In my media project, I describe the misery that summer orientation season can bring to the advising profession. I will be the first to admit that in its current format (a long, hot day of walking all over campus and hearing people present to you), it is not an engaging experience. I cannot describe how many students and parents sleep through presentations and content. Hoping to resonate with potential readers of my article, following the advice of Nancy Duarte I paint this picture of the status quo sets the stage for my description of an alternative solution (TEDx Talks, 2010). I hope to draw readers into my article by describing “the new bliss” of what learners and advisors can experience by adding technology to expand the relationship (TEDx Talks, 2010). 

  • Set up:
    • Beginning: Problem. Explain the problem that you set out to solve.
  • Build:
    • Middle: Solution. Describe how you solved it.
  • Payoff:
    • End: Success. Get excited about the success this produced.

(Marwick Marketing, 2017)

  • What is:
    • Beginning: Establish what is, the status quo
    • Compare a drastically different vision of what could be
    • Compare and contrast the status quo and the new idea
  • What Could Be – A Compelling Solution
    • Middle: What is vs. What could be
    • What is vs. What could be
    • What is vs. What could be
  • The New Bliss
    • End: Call to Action

(TEDx Talks, 2010)

References

Marwick Marketing. (2017, May 30). Story telling in business – Pixar story teller Mathew Luhn at CIMC [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYQOW34b-0g

TEDx Talks. (2010, December 10). TEDxEast – Nancy Duarte uncovers common structure of greatest communicators 11/11/2010 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nYFpuc2Umk

Behind the Scenes

Splunking?

Swing Batter, Batter

Discussion Videos

Participate in a class discussion in which you begin by addressing the following issues/questions:

  1. Discuss ways that media can engage the audience to influence their thinking?
  2. What have others done to engage you?
  3. How will you incorporate these ideas into your media project?
  4. How would you influence reviewers to read your publication?

Free writing and brainstorming for discussion response

One of the critical components of becoming a catalyst for change is drawing others into collaborative relationships so that ideas and innovations can continue to grow and evolve with the input and perspective that others bring. This Resources for Digital Environments course asks us to create a media project to advertise our publication article. Media allows the viewer to increase or decrease the speed of content. As a learner who still takes old-fashioned pen-and-paper notes, I appreciate the ability to back up and replay. The addition of closed captioning has been instrumental in my full understanding and is especially helpful when recording quotations.

Speakers Mathew Luhn and Nancy Duarte discuss how effectively using media through storytelling can draw the audience into your message (Marwick Marketing, 2017; TEDx Talks, 2010). Dr. Harapnuik does an exceptional job of placing questions of inquiry throughout his introduction videos. I always search for Learners Mindset Discussion podcasts on the topics we cover throughout the ADL Program. He has continually taught us about the power of storytelling and drawing your audience into your ideas through active, engaging, personalized learning. In my article, published in sources read by advisors, I reflect on the misery that summer orientation season can be for our profession. I cannot describe how many students and parents sleep through presentations and content. Improving these events through engaging media presents an opportunity to draw them into the event’s purpose, preparing their learner for the upcoming college experience. Mathew Luhn explains that you need to draw people in by creating something unusual, unexpected, or has some sort of action or conflict in the very beginning in [the] first eight seconds” (Marwick Marketing, 2017, 22:30). Nancy Duarte (2010) creates this hook by comparing “the commonplace of the status quo, [… contrasted …] with the loftiness of your idea” (TEDx Talks, 2010, 6:57-7:02). I hope to draw readers into my article by describing “the new bliss” of what learners and advisors can experience by adding technology to expand the relationship (TEDx Talks, 2010).

ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Focus on the learning, Goals, Innovation Plan, It's all about the learning, Leadership, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Personal, Professional, Publication, Reflecting, Relationship, Why

Searching vs. Trying

The Advisor That Cares
Cartoon male detective wearing a green jacket and hat, holding a magnifying glass, scratching his head while examining a red question mark.

Thanks to the ADL Program, I love that I am constantly observing my learning behaviors. 

I recently rearranged and connected multiple monitors. I still laugh at how much of this program I completed working on my laptop monitor alone. In my household, there are three adult technology users. My husband and adult daughter are gamers of every variety (board, tabletop, console, PC), and I have dabbled in all of the above, frequently poorly. We have accumulated several longer-used devices.

This morning, my taskbar is not showing on the additional monitors. I am constantly rearranging the monitors due to recording requirements vs. writing requirements. I create homemade teleprompters for digital media presentations, though I still need to find a way to scroll the text while recording. I discovered how to scroll text, but since I’m clicking between windows to advance presentations during recordings, it stops and annoys me! The display setting changes likely resulted in an unintended change or a misfired keyboard shortcut. 

Image of web browser open to web address https://www.google.come with the colorful logo.
Image of red background with white text "You Tube" logo.

Into my handy dandy search engine, I type, “can I extend the menu bar across monitors,” and while executing the search, I decide to go digging through system settings to see if I can find it myself. What do you know? Right there in Personalization > Taskbar is a toggle to do precisely that. I click back over to my results and mentally applaud my learner’s mindset that knows there is a resource I can utilize when needed. Still, I am also a solution-seeking, inquisitive learner who will go tinkering about and seek support as required.

THIS! The learners’ mindset is what I want to help learners discover: their authentic learning opportunities. I want to work with a team of advisors to channel the passions that feed their strengths and abilities. I want to help humanize the relationship of advisors and of students. 

The advisors feel like robots and that what they say isn’t heard and doesn’t seem to matter to many students. TAsked to justify the behavior and decisions of students who did not follow the advising they received or failed to follow the outlined procedures. They are placed into cycles with no finish line or celebration, leading to impending dread as the subsequent avalanche falls to them to manage. 

When stressed out, people are not usually the best version of themselves. Insecurity can express themselves in hurtful and accusatory ways. Learners and their parents often need clarification on rules and regulations. Because learners have yet to learn the terminology used at the university, they will talk to multiple offices and people before getting the necessary information to make timely decisions. Understaffed and overworked humans can make mistakes, which damages relationship building. If we can help learners learn how to learn, they will also seek, verify, and understand well-planned and executed learning outcomes. 

A New Culture of Learning, ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Evolution, Focus on the learning, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Influencer, Innovation Plan, Instructional Design, It's all about the learning, Leadership, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Learning Community, Online Learning, Outcomes, Personal, Professional, Publication, Reflecting, Relationship, Why

Leftovers

The Advisor That Cares

Media Project leftovers

Mannn, there’s so much to share. I definitely wanted to include a million quotes and clips in my media project. I will put them all here for now so I can revise and improve my thoughts, my article, and my innovation when I feel less limited by deadlines and time limits.

Quotes with YouTube clips:

This relationship has the potential to guide students through the unfamiliar landscape, and the language of higher education can also equip them with the skills needed to make informed decisions and choices in life. Jim Ott (2016) passionately echos this opportunity by saying that “significant learning comes through relationship” (TEDx Talks, 2016, 12:18-12:20). These connections allow the navigation of experiences, emotions, and the many questions that arise.

Sir Ken Robinson (2010) explains that the 21st-century educational landscape has “an unprecedented demand for innovation, for fresh thinking, fresh social systems, fresh ways of getting people to connect with themselves and have lives with purpose and meaning” (RSA, 2010, 32:37-32:40).

Jon Stolk (2015) says, “choice, trust, acceptance, encouragement, dialogue, care; when students feel these things, there are extremely strong positive correlations to a bunch of the stuff we we say we care about. So things like peer learning and active help seeking this is engaging with others in the learning process. Learners finding more value in what they do. Self-efficacy, the sense that you can be successful. Intrinsic motivation. Creativity. Very high level cognitive engagement, metacognition, thinking about your own thinking process” (TEDx Talks, 2015, 15:17-15:50).

Jim Ott (2016) passionately explains, “so if we are truly interested in the future of our children we must give them significant learning. We must give them a sense that they matter. We must invest in the emotions of now because everything about what we care about, their future, depends on them developing a foundation of believing in themselves. That they have value that they have purpose. That they matter. That is significant learning” (TEDx Talks, 2016, 14:56-15:27)

Craig Mertler (2019) challenges us all “to think about some aspect of your life, that you would like to change. No matter how big or how small. It doesn’t matter if it is personal, professional, academic. It doesn’t matter because you own it. It’s about you and your life. Find a different way of doing this thing and try it out. Gather some evidence of how well it worked for you and then make a plan for where you go next. Is this the solution or do I need to keep looking. Do I need to keep finding better ways to improve?” (TEDx Talks, 2019, 9:43-10:17)

Sir Ken Robinson (2010) “people do their best when they do the thing they love. When they are in their Element” (RSA, 2010, 26:45-26:51).

Sir Ken Robinson (2010) “evidence is persuasive when people get to connect to this powerful sense of talent in themselves, discover what it is they can do, they become somebody else. And that […] me is the premise of building a new education system” (RSA, 2010, 27:03-27:15).

Through discussions and reflections, advisors guide learners through encouraging questions. Working with students to help them understand their why (TEDx Talks, 2019), connect with their goals, and reignite the inquisitive mind. Sugata Mitra (2013) poses that “encouragement seems to be the key […] simply saying wow, saluting learning” (TED, 2013, 13:58-14:10).

Harapnuik, D. (n.d.). CSLE. It’s About Learning. https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=849

Horn, M. B., & Staker, H. (2017). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to improve schools. John Wiley & Sons.

Khan, S. (2011, March). Let’s use video to reinvent education [Video]. TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education?language=en#t-149503

RSA. (2010, February 4). Sir Ken Robinson – changing paradigms [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCbdS4hSa0s

Steele, G. E. (2016). Creating a flipped advising approach. NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources. Retrieved from https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Creating-a-Flipped-Advising-Approach.aspx

TEDx Talks. (2009, September 29). Start with why — how great leaders inspire action | Simon Sinek | TEDxPugetSound [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA

TEDx Talks. (2016, March 14). Significant learning | Jim Ott | TEDxBellevueHighSchool [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zos6lhaehfo

TEDx Talks. (2019, March 20). Personal empowerment through reflection and learning | Dr. Craig Mertler | TEDxLakelandUniversity [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzDsT-25w14