Are others experiencing this…or should I really hit myself in the head?
My epiphanies always include smiley faces.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
A True Epiphany or Simple Delusion?
I have to say I’ve been remiss about blogging. It’s a new skill that I need to develop in this age of New Media. One brick wall I constantly face is the feeling that I need to have something substantial to blog about, which means time is spent reflecting and we all know how time seems like a slippery commodity in your grad student years! However, as I was drawing my concept maps on the Kress Multimodality paper's margins (yes, I’m now drawing arrows connecting cloud shapes in the margins instead of my usual bland text based scribbles) an epiphany hit me at the top of page 41 (sometimes I need to be hit really hard in the head with an epiphany before it sticks : -) In switching from text driven abstracts to drawing concept maps filled with transformations, I feel I have changed from the Learning/Psych concepts model-where creativity is rare and inert acquisition takes place to…(this is the Ah Ha moment)…Semiotics/Sign-Making where creativity is “ordinary and normal” through mapping! So, if anyone thinks they are not creative…look at your concept map and let your self-efficacy blossom!
Are others experiencing this…or should I really hit myself in the head?
Are others experiencing this…or should I really hit myself in the head?
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I also found myself totally enthralled with a creative side as I drew representations of my understandings in the Kress article. Although art was never my strong suit, page after page of drawings and arrows and diagrams and metaphors filled my notes pages. It was so freeing to be able to use my modes rather than trying to fit into the girdle of the wiki while addressing a new topic. I could wiki my way to stardom in my own field of expertise (which is NOT new media.) I'll post my own notes on my on blog in hopes that others will begin to visit "my home" at http://nschoolcraft.edublogs.org/ (Still haven't figured out how to make a link yet, but I'm learning.)
ReplyDeleteYour glimpse of light looks awesome. Rather than just trying to unpack the meaning of a given thing it's important to see how it's parts relate to one another (if they don't relate well that's a good case for evaluation and constructive criticism), but more importantly is to draw connections between the piece and our own backgrounds (so that we actually not only make sense of it, but also learn it) and our own futures (so that it is actually functional and useful and contributes to our careers and interests in some way). I think these cloud maps are a fine entry point into some of these connections of significance.
ReplyDeleteI have learned that there's no need to have something substantial to blog about before you publish a new blogpost.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dianne. I certainly follow the analogy, and see how "traditional note taking" can look more like the decoding/encoding model, while concept mapping has a more meaning-making appeal. I wonder if you feel that the analogy extends to encompass the "social context" aspects inherent in semiotics. Are our concept maps somehow more illustrative of our society than traditional notes?
ReplyDeleteI'm just surprised your head didn't explode when trying to map that Kress article. My head still hurts from reading it.
ReplyDeleteAnd letting your self-efficacy blossom? Some socio-cultural motivation people may have issues with that. But you've sorta strengthened my point a bit. You're prior experiences (or lack there of) have contributed to you not blogging. But now that you have (and may continue to do) because you feel that you have successfully done so, your self-efficacy has increased. Now, with that said, i will not argue that you have produced something meaningful to you in a Discourse. Ok...enough on motivation...
Good job Diane.
Nancy...I'm glad you were experiencing this too! I've never attempted a concept map before, but I found it extremely enjoyable to actually see the connections between not only within the article but between articles. While I'm finding it more time intensive, I feel that I've found a valuable key for my long term understanding of new materials.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post Julie. I think as educators or being interested in how people best learn...we need to explore all of these possibilities since our paths will undoubtedly cross many cultures and multiliteracies. From my personal experience, I wonder if concept maps may be more beneficial to students who are more prone to favor visuals? I found that after returning to school as an older student, I can recall items best visually, like where pertinent information is situated on a page (top right hand page), or the images, graphs, charts, so the concept maps feel quite natural and aid in my sense making. I'm not sure if this is for everyone...it will be interesting to see how the class takes it up. Have you had experience in concept maps in your teaching? If so, I'm curious to know if they were successful?
ReplyDeleteMike, I'm still working on the concept map for Kress, so if you hear a "pop"...remember me kindly : -) And yes, I've discovered that blogging can be quite fun and I will partake in it more often. Your motivation notes are right on!
ReplyDeleteOk, but Mike, what about the social practices that surround blogging? To what extent is Diane's participation reliant on her understanding of and ability and willingness to contribute to the larger meaning-making processes of our p650 community? What 'counts' as a good blog post is highly contextual; and we have some tacit and fairly flexible norms guiding legitimate participation. Self-efficacy, though I don't know much about it (that has never stopped me from adding my .02 before), can be looked at from the perspective of a single individual's brain; or it can be examined at the community level: What counts as legitimate and valued participation? How are learners scaffolded toward authentic participation in those goals? Situativity theorists might go so far as to argue that it doesn't matter if Diane posts, as long as everybody in the community is engaged and participating in a valued and valuable way. Maybe she only comments on other people's blogs--that's also a legitimate form of participation.
ReplyDeleteI love this conversation and think that it's important to anyone wanting to use blogs in the context of a course -- it seems Diane that you are becoming more familiar with the practices of blogging over time :)
ReplyDelete