Introduction

Carol commented on groups 2 and 3

Darcey commented on groups 2 and 3.

Survival Memos

Carol commented on Groups 2 and 3

Darcey commented on Groups 2 and 3.

Survival

Darcey Mitschelen

After allowing myself a moment to freak out, I took a deep breathe and dove into the task in front of me. It was important to have that moment and to recognize and understand the depth as well as the intensity of the work ahead.

From that moment of acceptance, I spent time thoroughly reading the syllabus and developed a chart for tracking assignments, their basic focus, and due dates. This helped me to take control of the work and kept me focused during the semester.

I realized early on that I needed to keep everything in perspective and to enjoy the journey, rather than make it into a larger challenge than it really was. Probably the most important part of the journey was the development of a strong relationship with my group partner. This relationship was founded in excellent communication which provided a way for the ability to challenge, question, and nudge each other. By doing so, we were able to produce quality work that brought us much satisfaction.

The relationship also brought another key component to survival…. Humor! Laughing. Teasing. Joking. All became a part of our work and was the bridge in moving our working partnership to friendship. This final step created a sincere concern for the others success and a desire to invest more into the task at hand.

I won’t sugar coat it. This course is a lot of work and it is challenging. Survival requires attention to several additional items: 

·         Take the time to understand the assignment and its rubric.

·         Make sure you write to align with the rubric.

·         Know when and how to submit work.

·         Technology… don’t be afraid of it. Dive in! Dr. Chang provides links to helpful information. Check them out.

·         Partner with a techie person. This is vital!!!

·         Review APA Style BEFORE you begin to write. It will save you from redoing work.

·         Begin earlier, rather than later, on the weekly postings. It will help keep that part manageable.

·         And finally, do not be afraid to contact Dr. Chang if you are uncertain, etc. She is very accessible and responsive!

For additional survival tips, please watch the following video.

I am confident that along the way you will discover learnings that go beyond the subject matter. I know I did.!Best wishes!

Survival Memo

Carol Freeman

I believe I can sum my survival kit up in three words, syllabus, syllabus, and syllabus!

With the information covered in the course, along with the specifics of the assignments and discussion board post, it is vital to pay attention to the syllabus. I made the mistake of glossing over it, in the beginning, and then mistakenly missed one of my discussion post by posting 2 instead of 4 times. The only person I can blame for that is myself because it was written plain as day, but browsing caused me to overlook it.

One thing to realize when you are browsing through the group project in the syllabus, is that everything is building on one common goal so choose your topics wisely. I was very pleased with the topic I had chosen however I initially was interested in two different topics (narrative and andragogy) that had some similarities. I erroneously thought that I could compare and contrast the two as part of the group project. What I did was create confusion which was all due to my not correctly reading the syllabus.

If you want to be successful in this course, you must refer to the syllabus often. If you have questions, reach out to your classmates/group members and Dr. Chang. I have found her to be very receptive to answering questions and clarifying the assignments. The discussion boards and group projects may seem substantial but they are most certainly relevant. Keep that syllabus close if you want to do well.  

Carol commented on Groups 2 and 3
Darcey commented on Groups 2 and 3.

November Monthly Summary

Carol Freemen

The month of November proved to be much smoother than October in regards to building on and nearing completion of our group project. With our group of two we were able to finish strong. I have a much clearer insight in researching and designing a program. Which says a lot considering my undergraduate degree is in Communication Arts, not Education, so I literally had no preconceived ideas of what designing a program entailed.

I think one of the highlights for this month was the results or our project evaluations. Developing a healthy living course definitely had us stepping into uncharted territory but the result was well received. Our evaluators were from two different educational fields as well as different parts of the state. However both gave us honest feedback that we were able to build on and reassured us that it was a very doable program. I really felt good about that.

This month, like the previous, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with my group partner Darcey. Not only did we share the same interest in Narrative Learning, we also found a way to incorporate both our ideas and techniques into our project. This can be a very hard task to accomplish in an online class as bouncing ideas off one another, in a face-to-face environment is a lot different from an online environment. There was a time or two when we connected via telephone for clarification but for the most part all communication was done through emails.

Monthly Summary - November

Darcey Mitschelen

November is THE month of thankfulness. And that certainly is true for my experience in working with Carol on our program design.

We had learned a lot through the experiences of October. In particular, we learned that individually and as a team, we could accomplish anything that comes our way. This attitude is accented by our dedication and commitment to each other as well as the class.

This month went very smoothly  as we stepped our way through program investigations, design, and evaluation. We quickly had a plan in place and divided the work based on our strengths.  We managed minor bumps through continual communication, mainly through emails. This enabled us to stay focused and on target while navigating the various assignment requirements. We were deeply rewarded by very positive evaluations from two experienced educators. This made all the trials of October worth the energy and emotion. And watching it all come together on our website, http://darceystar.wix.com/narrative634 , was indeed very satisfying,

The strength of our relationship allows us to challenge, question, and nudge each other in ways that are positive and supportive. I will always be thankful for Carol and her ability to truly be a partner… and a friend!