This will be a very short one since it's so late in the day. Well, I completed the Situational Analysis, Needs Analysis, and Learner Analysis for my Final Project and feel good about that because I'm very motivated about my project. And coincidentally, someone from the Digital Photography forum I frequent just offered some Flash script free with the trial download of his Gallery software. So I'm very excited about that because I realize that's what I need to make my website more professional, which is the goal of my project. However, unfortunately, I don't understand the download instructions--more technology knowledge than I have.

Madison, Jason, and I are also presenting the Case Study today--my first presentation for this class. And Ben, Kim, and I are presenting IT Model next week. Things are getting really busy!

I enjoyed last week's class although I felt bad about saying that I didn't like George's group's questions. What I meant was that there is often a tendency to think in "either/or"s. I actually do think that they did a great job with the questions because they managed to get me fired up!

As for my final project, it's finally been confirmed that I'll be working on my side business website: http://www.mycherishedmemories.net/ The syllabus idea fell through (and painfully, I might add). But at least I know what I'll be devoting my time and energy to.

The semester continues to be stressful--too much to do in too little time. Spring break is in 3 weeks :P

I enjoyed last week's Case Study presentation, and thought that the discussion was very productive. It gives us an idea of what a Case Study presentation can look like. As for this week, I'm just tired! And there seems to be no end in sight! It used to be that we can look forward to the end of the semester but that's no longer true for me. There's always the Dissertation sword hanging over my head, and having to think about what to do to position myself well for job hunting in the not too distant future. I've found myself getting irritated with all the little things that eat so much of my time, e.g. travel grant applications, course proposal applications, etc. The good thing is that I've actually drafted and sent off the syllabus for the new course I want to teach in July (this is what I'm working on for my Final Project). So I've actually done it a little bit backwards because theoretically, the syllabus is the product, but I have a pre-product sent off already (perhaps this is what Rapid Prototyping is all about!). The good news is that I have a clearer idea of what my course (my product) will look like going into the Instructional Design phases of my Final Project. Perhaps I'm going through the second round of Rapid Prototyping!

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by all the assignments which have staggered deadlines, and of course choosing partners for group assignments is a little more difficult when I don't see (and know) many people. It was nice not to have to do any reading for this week though and to get a (manageable) Final Project firmed up.

I personally found the discussion about the pros and cons of didactic vs. constructivism interesting. As I mentioned in class, there's always the impression that constructivism is always better, but that's not necessarily the case. Also, I wonder if constructivism might not work better with older students (I'm sure there are people who would make a very strong case for constructivism in the early years of schooling because of its engagement factor). I do know that I appreciated didactic teaching when I was growing up, and with the strong foundation laid by didactic teaching, I was better able to utilize and appreciate constructivism. Another difference between didactic vs. constructivism is that didactic teaching focuses on breadth while constructivism focuses on depth. I think that there are times when breadth should not be sacrificed for depth.

I also appreciated our class discussion about the ADDIE model and teaching. During the discussion, I was considering which model might be my favorite model and although it's old (read: classic?), there's something to be said for the simplicity and yet completeness of the ADDIE model. I like that recursiveness may be accounted for just through the many iterations of the model--like someone said, it's just a matter of how many times it goes round the wheel.