I was one of these factory-made students from China. We were like the products which are ready to be delivered to the society. Using Laptops and cellphones were not allowed in the classroom. The only assessment for us is quizzes and examinations. Unfortunately, this experience made me believe this is what does education should be. After I took EDIT 610, something new impacted my mind. I started to change my point of view since the first class. These new concepts about education and technology are quite inspiring. I tried very hard to obtain knowledge, but I did do enough research on my own. Passive learning is a problem for me; however, I am trying my best to overcome it. I firmly believed that become a positive learner will benefit me for this major.
On our first class, about 50% of my classmates said they were a teacher, or they had a background of education. At first, I am worried about what if I can not catch up with everyone. I spent several days to convince myself to stay positive. Soon after this, I began to communicate with my classmate and my professor. I tried to embrace everything I could. I think this is a significant step and my first success in this course. When I am ready, on the one hand, I kept learning technologies from the internet. On the other hand, I tried my best to understand the theories we have learnt in class. It is a process of jumping out of the comfort zone.
I also faced some challenges during my studies. I made hundreds of PPTs when I was working in the company, but none of them meet the requirements of this course. I started to find a way to improve myself. I was an administrative officer and trainer, and I thought my experience could help me in completing this course; However, the experience provided me with very little help. This time, I have to combine the fundamental theories of education and technologies. Mainly when I was writing my flowchart about my Final E-Learning Module, I realized it was so frustrating. I had to talk to my professor and my former co-workers to get some inspiration. Finally, with their help, I was able to complete my final project. YouTube almost became my second teacher because there are so many brilliant people and ideas on the channel. I also learnt to stream by using OBS Studio during that time.
Therefore, the idea of being a positive learner is essential, at least for me. Then I will ask myself: how to help your students become a positive learner? Should we wait till they realize it? I do not think so. I was lucky because I figured it out, but for most students, teachers have to help them discover their potential. It is our duty and job to engage our students. My audiences are adult learners, and it is more difficult to achieve my goal.
In the end, I have to confess I am better at dealing with problems of technology than problems of theories. I could improve my language skills in the coming months so that I can be more flexible while doing research. When my skills are balanced, I think I can go even further about technologies. I was able to write game strategies on the forum and record game videos when I was a high school student. I did not have enough equipment or a fancy computer to support me at that time. Isn’t it a way of teaching people? Because of the stress from the study, I had to quit. But eventually, I got the chance to improve my technology skills again. I will take the opportunity to go deep both in the fields of technology and education.