Final Learning Reflection

What I have come to learn while taking this course is just how important the process of how learners engage, reflect and grow in learning is as what their overall takeaway is. In essence, it is just as important how learners get to where they end up as it is what they actually learned. Before I started this course I would say I had a very basic understanding of this and perhaps some of the ways that multimedia can support learning, however I didn’t see the true value in thoughtful design. I will now begin to reflect on not only what I have learned, but the challenges I faced that led to growth and how I can take these valuable lessons with me in my toolkit moving forward. 

What I liked about this course was that, at least for me, the outcomes were made very clear and provided me with a solid groundwork from which to work. These solid set of objectives were nicely laid out for us and I feel as if I was able to demonstrate my understanding of most of these objectives. In Challenge A I wrote a comic strip that demonstrated my understanding of storytelling as well as it applied multimedia design principles by using both visuals and verbal cues as well as it had good pacing to it. In our Challenge B project revolved around procrastination we applied the principles to combine both narration over our videos and using visual aids to support those theories. In Challenge C I looked at accessibility from a stand point of being in an inclusion mindset, with demonstrated understanding of UDL. Throughout these examples and my work throughout this term I feel like I met the objectives required of us as they pertain to multimedia learning. 

With all success stories comes a bit of “turbelance” as in order to achieve a desired result, there are going to be some bumps in the road that can be used as learning moments. I really strived to create a learner experience that just flows naturally while remaining both engaging and accessible. This is no small order and one that I worked hard throughout the term to achieve, even with some difficult moments along the way. As a prime example of this, initially when creating my comic I was very focused on getting across my main story idea which was that exercise matters. While this is a very important concept and one that is really important to me, I didn’t factor in that providing so much information could lead to potential overload and disengage the learner. So I took the feedback I received and in my final comic I focused more on scaffolding the text as well as using more visuals to make the story come to life. Another example, a similar issue, was in Challenge B where this time I was able to avoid unnecessary information but the captions used could also lead to a reduction in cognitive load based on the feedback we received. So workshopping this some more, I arrived at the conclusion that with each problem solved it would appear 2 more surface and that is just part of the process. Going forward I just carry with me that this is part of having a design mindset.   

At the beginning of this course my basic understanding of these assignments was essentially that we were making videos and comics that learners will either watch or read, but it is so much more than that. Multimedia Design is a journey for learners that is guided through the use of scaffolding, stories that are integrated and visual aids with learner thinking at the forefront. This is evident in my blogposts, as in the beginning my main focus was just all about the idea (for example – exercise is important), with my posts later evolving to be more about the design and the context. To me it became all about bringing meaning to the topics being discussed, about shifting my mindset to always be thinking in a more critical way as opposed to just from a very blanket mindset when my understanding was a lot more basic. I even began to dive deeper in my reflections and engagement with peers as I actively embodied the learning. This was also part of the process and having a growth mindset that strengthened as I moved further along in this course. 

There are so many uses I can think of for what we learned in this course that I will carry forward with me in my career in education. I think it is vitally important that I continue asking questions around who our learners are and what is their context, what stories are going to engage them, how do I continue to scaffold their way of thinking, how do I continue to make learning both accessible and inclusive? These are all questions that carry deeper meaning for me now than they did prior to this course and I hope to take this new perspective forward with me out into the world.