This blog is to take the form of a diary of progress with associated reflective thoughts.
"The term reflection can be a misleading word. When you stand in front of a mirror, what you see is your reflection - what you are. For reflective practitioners, it should be like the mirror in Snow White: it tells you what you might be. This mirror should use theory to enable the transformation from the what-is to the what-might-be." I know that I have been guilty in not applying the theory and training learned in these courses into practice. I hope by keeping this journal, I will become more aware of learning opportunities being presented.
The introduction of the course is a bit daunting. It's very well-written, probably nothing is left out, but I am afraid I'm probably missing something. Therefore, I'm glad more students have posted online and that we'll get a chance to connect. I was reluctant to be among the first to post and waited on the sidelines until Sheila posted her interest in Theme 4.When it looked like there were at least three of us interested in the same theme - I 'stepped out' and started Group 3's forum. This resulted in spending all morning figuring out Voice Thread which is posted in the sidebar. I've wanted to experiment with it since I first learned about it last year but didn't know I could use it without paying for a subscription. I think this is going to turn out to be a very interesting semester!.
I haven't blogged for a year and I thought it would be a little onerous to figure out how to get it started, but I guess it's like riding a bicycle!
Group Process
When I was in the Middle East, we had a dysfunctional team and despite our supervisor arranging for a counsellor to help us to become a more cohesive group, we didn't recover . The next year, one of our colleagues from Australia introduced us to Tuckman’s model (1965) of the group process: forming, storming, norming, and performing.
Since I began my studies at USQ, I have worked in two groups and both times it's been a very positive experience. We didn't really go through this group process - we just seemed to form, agree on our goal and strategy, and got to work. However, I think one of the most important characteristics of a good team is the ability to forgive and be patient. In my first group, one of the team members had difficulty being online and another member had some personal problems resulting in him being unable to finish his part. The remainder of the team picked up the pieces and finished the project. In my second group, we continually kept in contact through Knowledge Garden postings, e-mail, MSN, Twitter, Wimba and Elluminate conferences which resulted in a good working relationship. I am sure I will have similar experiences with this course.
The time zone difference will be problematic as always. In my last course, I was the only student in North America and I have a feeling such will be the case with this course.
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