Portfolio Reflections Assignment

Let’s Play Assignment 2 Reflection

https://youtu.be/8Tywxf0wB3Q

     This was one of my favorite assignments. Sure I enjoyed them all, but I really liked making videos and narrating them with what I was thinking at the moment. I really liked this particular Web 2.0 tool which made it more fun for me. I think that the future of training will be computer based, but if one must do training in person, I cannot think of a better way to get a group of people involved. Generally speaking, no trainer as of late has been able to go into a classroom without at least one person, most of the time more than one, pulling out a cell phone to answer a text. I say we should use that to our advantage and ask the students to participate with the session by texting. This web 2.0 tool allows us to do just that. I can imagine a class where the trainees ignore texts unrelated to the class because they are too busy participating and learning.

       Even though this was one of my favorite activities I still see some flaws in the delivery. In the future I hope to correct those flaws by creating a more in depth script than the one I used for this video which was really only a basic outline of the major points. Another aspect that I hope to change is the presentation of thee cursor. I believe that if the cursor is more prominent, then the learners will be able to follow along better.

     Although there were flaws, this Web 2.0 exercise also highlighted some key advantages to using the video for training.  The modality principle is that advantage.  While watching the video, the trainees received visual input as well as audio input.  Very little was read which should not have caused a cognitive overload for the trainee. One of my classmates, someone whom I’ve grown to admire, even commented “Well done! I am going to put this tool into immediate use!” I think that if a video gets even one response like that then the training was a success.

 

 

Daily Create Assignment 1 Reflection

     This is a project that I enjoyed because the object was to create a collage about me and my future goals or in other words to story tell through pictures my mission and vision. I chose the hand shake to symbolize partnerships and my desire to partner with businesses through my small business in the future. I chose the Ferris wheel as a symbol of life experiences and that one must sometimes wait for the ride to stop before we can get off. Additionally it is a personal belief that one should enjoy the ride of life. I think that we should have fun at work even if we are a little quirky which is why I chose the picture of me playing a retro game. I will graduate from ODU, thus the cap and gown at a graduation ceremony. I am a Navy veteran and worked in the ship repair industry for 20 years, which explains the ship in the sunset. I am happily married and committed to my wife which explains the picture on the bottom left. I love being a trainer and that photo in the middle at the bottom is me with one of my classes in the background. The hands represent all of the people who have helped me achieve everything I have come to enjoy in this life, or have had a hand in my development. Lastly the paper cutouts represent my commitment to diversity and being honest and fair to all.

     I think that this project really made me look at myself and how I would visually represent myself and my mission and vision statements. My interpretation of some of the items within my collage has changed over time. I initially thought that the Ferris wheel relay represented my desire to have fun and spend time with my family, but now it seems to symbolize the ride you take in life and that you can’t get off until the ride is over. Because my interpretation of this image has changed in just a few months I believe that perhaps the perception of all things change.

     I initially thought that this exercise did not have much to do with the course but then the class covered modality. My personal mission and vison statements are text on the screen. While I read them I have the inner voice on my audio channel. When I look at this picture my visual channel reinforces that audio stream and seem to transmit feelings instead of words. When I created the picture I was thinking of those words. Now as I look at the picture I think of how I feel and what might be changed to make this better. The repetition and colors are good and I even have some personalization and myself as a pedagogical agent. I think that if I were to change it the Ferris wheel would have to go and be replaced by with something that looks like a training environment or that is training related. This is because of all of the elements in the collage, the Ferris wheel is the only thing that does not fit the theme.

Daily Create Assignment 2 Reflection

 

     This daily create assignment was one that I did not really believe in. In other words, I did not associate learning or training with the creation of this like I did with many of the other projects. Although I understood that we were developing the fliers based upon CARP (Contrast, Alignment, Repetition, and Proximity), I could not visualize what learning we could gain from this. I remember thinking that this was just a time filler, something we could do to fill the time allotted for the class. Now I believe that I was wrong.

     I used what was learned at least twice this semester for other projects.  I even tried to convince my fellow URA program participants that we should incorporate CARP into our poster design, which was recently presented at the L. Starling Reid Psychology Conference, to no avail. I was successful by incorporating the things that I learned from this project into two different power point presentations that I gave this semester. I also believe that my WordPress portfolio website incorporates contrast, alignment (for the most part), repetition, and proximity. After completing this assignment I believe that I have become more aware of contrast in the design of my power point presentations. I have also become aware that I need to step back after making a presentation to try and determine through my design if I have properly used proximity to draw the viewer eyes in the right direction across my slides.

On the Town Assignment 2 Reflection

 

     I decided to challenge myself for this particular assignment involving the personalization principle and the pedagogical agent. I am glad that I was able to. This assignment was also one of my favorites. The picture that I chose was one in which I could imagine almost every conversation that was happening. It is really too bad that Michelangelo is not alive today because one could imagine him being the premier comic book creator. He gave life to all of his characters and understood the concept of the personalization and the pedagogical agent. I modified the picture by adding the conversations that I imagined. I was limited by space. I could have changed the tone of the painting with the imagined conversations, but chose to stick to a view that would be approved of by the church.

     I think that if I were to do this same project again using the same picture I might try to improve it by placing empty bubbles with no text on the picture. I may have filled in too many of the blanks rather than encouraging others to put their own imaginations to work. Another item that I did not initial notice in my analysis was Michelangelo’s use of CARP. He uses proximity to draw the eye from the corners to the middle.  Mike also uses contrast to bring us to the middle by surrounding the lighter middle with darker figures. Every group is aligned in a way that points the viewer to the middle and the repetition of groups makes the looser group in the middle stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Resume Assignment Reflection

     Resumes are something that most people use to pass the first hurdle of the hiring process. I can understand why it is important to have a good resume and I agree that it is very important to have someone look at that resume. I believe that this resume writing exercise did not benefit me as much as it did the younger students in the class. I periodically update my resume, perhaps as much as once every two to three months to reflect my current status. However, I can remember a time when this was not the case. Given the current environment and attitudes of our younger generation I believe that it would be advantageous to encourage them to update their resumes frequently because one never knows when a job might become available.

     Some unique experiences for me during this project were in the placement of the education near to the top and the addition of the personal statement at the top. I value these changes now because everyone can work their formats to look the same and one needs to stand out among the crowd in today’s job market. Previously education was not as important in my field as was experience, but know that I will soon be receiving a degree I can see that education should be placed close to the top. Additionally, in order to stand out, I can see that the personal statement will also provide a competitive advantage. Overall I am satisfied with my product and anticipate much success using this format.  Thank you Dr. D.