EDLD+5370+Reflections+of+5365

.

EDLD 5365 Reflection By Raquel Cantu ET8021 __Self –Assessment __ The course Web Design helped me learn that there is so much more than goes into making a website than meets the eye. Like most great things web designs comes with a large amount of planning, formalities, setting up, editing, that one normally doesn’t think of. Before when I would think of composing a web site I thought that most of the process would be consumed by the design of the site and adding content. I was completely oblivious to factors such as web host, content manager, and web policy. I had never thought about all the work it would take to make a site functional in a user friendly manner. The relationship between the old and new information was stressful for me. I felt like it was a lot to take in a five week fast paced course. It did force me to grow though and now looking back I realized all that I gained from it. __Learn as a Learner __ My approach and strategies for completing the assignments were collaborating heavily with a colleague. We would talk over the phone, email, and skype. I could answer some of her questions and she could answer of mine. I had do read the assignments several times before I fully understood what it was requiring of me. I struggle to learn when a lot of new challenges are thrown at me at once such web design. Most of it was new to me. I had to break things down into parts and take everything step by step. If I was unsure how to do something then it took me twice as long to do. This course was my lowest grade of all my courses so I am not too pleased with my performance. However, I know I tried my best and proud that I made it through and could complete it. "Your visitors should be able to find the information they need easily, and do what they need to do without waiting, becoming frustrated, getting lost or stumbling across web site errors that prevent them from accomplishing their goals" (Shirley Kaiser, 2006). Interacting with colleagues was a beneficial in that you I was able to learn from them as well and not just the professor. The discussion forum could be so great but sometimes it could be stressful because often times I would think I was on the right track until I heard discussion or saw other examples and see that I was way off base with my web site project. Hearing others discussion blog helped me to stay on track when I would question if I was doing the assignment correctly.

__Lifelong Learning Skills __ What I gained about learning is that there is always more to learn and there are many different ways of getting to the end result. Also, sometimes you gain more from the process rather than the end product. The process is a time to grow and explore. Teachers sometimes put so much emphasis on the end product but should place more focus on the process. Everything is a process and will remember to recognize that in future learning. My past interactions and collaborations with colleagues in this course will help my collaboration skills with my coworkers. I learned how much can really be done online through skype, google docs, wikis, etc. As a life long learner, the questions and issues that challenge me and are worthy of future research and investigation are the methods to actually build a website are rapidly changing. I will have to make sure I stay up with the most current technologies as well as gain more experience in building websites to be able to become more productive in this area. Kaiser, S. E. (2006). //Deliver first class web sites: 101 essential checklists//. Collingwood, Vic: SitePoint. (Pages  239-256; 61-78; 79-92; 93-114; 115-146; 219-238).