Photo by Omar:. Lopez-Rincon on Unsplash

In EDCI 337: Interactive and Multimedia Learning, there’s a lot I hope to learn. Having graduated UVic last year with my elementary education degree, and being a substitute teacher for the past four months, I have some background in interactive and multimedia learning. Growing up, I found I needed a lot of different tools to help me understand a concept. Often, these tools simultaneously would show me how these concepts could be applied to the real world. Now as an educator whose pedagogy is very constructivist, I do my best to bring in as many tools as I can to aid in understanding and help students see application to the real world. Aside from text and audio, this often involves stories, videos, images, simulation or interactive games, or online learning applications or websites. I try to scaffold learning and teach in chunks, reducing cognitive overload and building students towards proficiency. However, I still feel like I am developing in this field and I have so much I want to learn. Although my goals are truly to just gain more knowledge, experience, and tangible tools in interactive and multimedia learning, I specifically want to learn more about online learning applications and websites and how and when to use them to increase effectiveness and learning outcomes. I also want to learn about how to create my own interactive learning resources without using up too much of my prep or free time. For example, clickable slideshows or stories, interactive pdfs, or websites. Finally, I want to learn more about using learning theories to justify design decisions. I know the foundations of each learning theory, but I seem to struggle with detecting what theory works best for each student and therefore, how to apply learning theories effectively. I tend to try incorporating them all throughout the year, but this leads to surface-level design decisions that are not grounded in observation. All of these goals align with my pedagogy. With the growing demand and interest in technology, as an educator, I want to grow with it. I want to make sure I’m setting my students up for success in a technologically advancing world. I also want to pique and sustain their interest, making learning engaging and productive.

Although one of my goals is to learn about how to create a website, it also seems the most technical and daunting to me. My only experience is creating and using blogs through other EdTech classes. When I am faced with a challenge in this course, I plan to remind myself that good things don’t come easy. The reason that I am experiencing challenges is because I am learning a new skill, a skill that I do not have yet and want to obtain for not only my own success, but that of my students. I will ensure I am also scaffolding myself, working and learning in manageable chunks, as to not get overwhelmed. I can follow course instructions, but also outsource to other resources or people I know who have experience in this field. My motivation is my eagerness to learn new skills, and I hope to do a lot of that in this course.