My "Trailer"

Alright... here goes nothing

I must admit that I had a lot more fun with this than I expected once I devised my "medium" of choice and shook off the usual trepidation when Bill gives us a deliverable.

This is by no means a piece of cinematic genius but look at what I used to bring it to life!!!

And yes I built everything on my own :-D  .... but I thought fondly of the purple team.

Hopefully by the end you are singing and/or at least dancing. No judging here!!

Without further adieu...

CogTools Reflection- 3 (K.O)

Today was a long but seemingly productive day; it was mostly quiet in the studio today which enabled me to make great strides on several projects for my mentor. We actually had a chance to have several conversations today which was quite surprising because usually we rely on texts until a formal time is set to discuss anything and everything that either of us needs addressed during the time we are both available. I'm not sure if I was inspired by this class (Learning Theories) or perhaps the questions I answered for my annual review but regardless of what the motivation was I took the opportunity to express my interest in attending more conferences. It has been something that has been on my mind for the last few months but I hadn't said anything because I didn't think there was a chance of anything happening. Jill was very excited to hear of my expressed interest and reasoning for this request and now there is the potential of going to not one but two conferences in Spring 2015. I'm also being recommended as a proposal reviewer for the first one and may even be submitting a proposal to present with Jill at the second one. Mind you this is huge accomplishment for me and I am excited to explore these new opportunities with fervor and gusto (or whatever I can muster that isn't dedicated to this program *wink*).
Currently I have attended one conference as a moderator and another one with my colleague. While I realize the traveling isn't always the most enjoyable, I am still reveling in the thought that Jill and Berman (CIO) think that I am ready to present and being so new to this field still find value in conferences (I'm not burned out). I knew the goal was always to "learn to fly" but now that it is so much closer I am beside myself and I can't help but realize how much I've grown since January 2012.
As I have said before, I do not often think about what I do, why I do it, or even how I do it; I know it needs to be done and I get it done. I work diligently to offer high-quality support to the CI community as part of a small team that has begun to make much larger waves in the higher education community than I ever could have imagined. I am blessed.

Now if only I could extract my personal learning theory in the same manner as I did this post... but this is a tougher nut to crack but I know it's in my mind somewhere I just have to be patient until it is ready to bloom to conscious life.

Kristi's A.R. update (9/15)

Today I met with the Assistive Technology Specialist because I wanted to explain my action research project and ask him more questions on accessibility. I know that he will be a great resource and supporter during the process. We both agreed that it is important for all faculty to have a base knowledge and understanding about accessibility. Improving the accessibility of syllabi is a worthy topic to tackle at our University.

Towards the end of our meeting he showed me some of the computer programs and tools that students use such as audio recorders to record a lecture and replay it later that has the ability to have various folders that can be programmed for each course the student is taking or a program called Kurzweil, a text to speech reader that is useful for documents, PDFs, and other materials that also allows the student to highlight passages and then sort out those highlights as an outline of important information.

He was very supportive of my idea of incorporating a focus group of students within the Disability Resource Programs (DRP) community.

I am working on arranging my next meeting with the Campus ATI Manager.

Kristi's A.R. Update (9/8)

In an effort to learn more about accessibility and how to better frame my action research I decided that I wanted to meet with individual ATI committee members in hopes of gaining a further understanding on how to phrase my research question and how I could best affect change.

My first meeting was with the campus web supervisor. I wanted to see what his experience with requests for accessible material. We spoke a lot about last minute faculty requests that come in because a specific student will be enrolled in the course. While he primarily deals with web accessibility it is not uncommon for him to be asked to help when needed.

I don't know when I will be speaking with him next except perhaps when it comes to syllabi for online courses. One meeting down, another one on the 15th.

Kristi's Action Research- Logic Model

I decided that in lieu of writing about my logic model I would make a quick video instead:



I realize that this is just a start and there will be plenty to "update" along the way. Please feel free to add comments and feedback.

CogTools Insights- 2 (K.O.)

"Logistics is the science of centralized planning, the systematic organization of people and materials. It works toward the accomplishment of a single clearly defined and distant goal--one step at a time." F.Smith, p.  67"

I don't know about everyone else but the first thing that immediately came to mind when I read this was about the program (material), Cadre 17 (people), and our pursuit of each graduating with a Master's degree (somewhat distant goal). While the process has not been laid out in it's entirety to us at this point it does not mean that an overall plan is not already developed. I, personally prefer to get information in chunks (semesters) but of course I am curious about the January meeting. While I wouldn't go as far as to refer to us each as cogs in a larger system (as the book mentioned) I would absolutely say that we are a community which is far mightier to me than being just  a number (cog).

While I have not been able to connect with everyone I know that we all support each other and that I can reach out whenever I need to. This program is primarily a distance-ed style but I feel closer to this Cadre than I have in comparison to previous in-person courses. Despite the stress and never-ending to-do list (reading, blogs, etc...) I am enjoying the process so much so that I find myself laughing to myself throughout the workday because I know that I would not trade any of this because I'm happy, I'm learning, and I'm invested in this experience... HARD FUN!!

I wish I had more time to read through all the blog posts everyone is writing but I can only achieve so much each day. I know we will all achieve great things. If I can help in any way please contact me by email or text... however you choose. I'm here.

Anyone else have the urge or hankering to tinker with LEGO blocks?? I think there should be a LEGO blocks/game night surely that would be more fun that building alone.

CogTools Insight-1

"People don't weigh more when they learn not are their heads any bigger. Size of brain doesn't reveal anything about extent or experience or depth of knowledge." -Smith, The Book of Learning and Forgetting, p. 51

Two lines and twenty-seven words that have struck me deeper than expected. These sentences embody what I will refer to as simplistic poignancy in which the words/terms are simple but put together they are both touching and saddening when I think of all the young girls who think it is more important to focus on their outward appearance than on the pursuit of knowledge and learning. Some may scoff but I have witnessed it and experienced what it's like to be an outlier of this group prior to adulthood but frankly still occurs now but doesn't hurt nearly as much. I am not by any means bashing beauty. The female form is equisite in my mind but that doesn't mean that I am not concerned about the level of importance that is placed on most young girls shoulders and at such an early age. I am not including girls that play dress up but more so the ones that couldn't imagine leaving the house with "nothing on" their faces. Surely I am not the only that feels this way.

I couldn't say why I never felt the need to associate in this "club" perhaps it was because I had enough going on in my life and just living another day was my aim. I am not a member of many women's "clubs" and I am fine with that; makeup and fashion will likely forever elude me but experience and knowledge will not. I have never understood the process of  beauty (applying makeup or picking out just the right outfit) but I like to think I understand the process of learning and if not I'm well on my way in doing so.

I have spoken with young girls who also worry about their weight but as this quote says a person's weight doesn't not change when they learn so why is learning cast aside or bashed? Learning is healthy and crucial to empower girls and women alike. 

This quote also made me think more inwardly because I don't feel as "smart" as I used to and I don't have an explanation but it has been in the forefront of my mind regularly. I credit this to the fact that I have been contemplating ways of improving my professional image without compromising who I am. Perception is such a finicky thing particularly for someone like me that doesn't feel I should have to change my appearance for the sake of others to realize that I am no longer a student worker.
I have felt "on the road less traveled" in the sense that this learning path is a different experience than learning in a traditional classroom. There is a sense of mystery as I voyage into the new, unexplored realm of formal learning with an informal feel or informal learning alone. Don't get me wrong, I am very excited to be on this journey of discover and "re-definement"..... all aboard!!!

Kristi's Action Research: Force Field Analysis -3

Here is the first iteration of my force field analysis for my action research. I cannot say that this is a complete list of forces or that my desired situation is worded correctly and should be improved. I have attached a screenshot of the diagram I created.