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Meaningful Product Reflection
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Introduction:
 | What is your Meaningful Product? My meaningful
Product is a Web Unit which explores history through the use of
genealogy.
| Why is it meaningful to you? I am an avid genealogy
buff who has developed a great interest in history through doing
research on my own family. Through my research I have met people all
over the world and have established wonderful relationships in the
process. For me genealogy has opened a new world full of excitement and
friendship. It is my hope that through this unit I might possibly spark
this interest in others. The second reason this product is meaningful is
that it allowed me to expand my knowledge of web based curriculum and
deal with some of the issues that evolve when doing such a unit. Since
my goal is to become a curriculum designer of web-based projects this
was an opportunity to "try my hand" at it.
| How is it greater than yourself? This product is
greater than myself in that it is something that is available to anyone
who has web access. It can be used by anyone in the world and may
perhaps turn a whole new generation on to history and genealogy. |
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| Description of the Product
| What skills were required to complete your product?
The first skill that was required to complete this unit was a knowledge
of the subject matter. Since I had chosen a subject in which I felt a
great deal of comfort this did not present a problem. Second, I needed
to have a knowledge of Curriculum design. I needed to know what
information needed to be presented in what steps to create a natural
flow. I also needed to have an idea of what types of activities would
work with a web-based design. I also needed to know how to use FrontPage, which is the software I used to build this web-unit. I have
used this before so I was familiar with it.
| How did you get those skills? The knowledge of the
subject matter was acquire over twenty years of doing genealogy. I have
probably spent 1000's of hours on the internet doing searches and
sharing information with people all over the world. So when it came to
subject matter I believe I had the skills and knowledge needed to create
the unit. As far a curriculum design is concerned, much of what I know
has come from college courses, books, and utilizing web based units in
my instruction. Over time I have learned some of the things that work
well and some of the things that do not. This is still a learning
process and I hope to continue to build my skills in this area. Using FrontPage
is a skill that I am still developing. Most of this has been
developed through using the manual, online tutorials and old fashioned
trial and error. I am by far no expert. But believe I have the necessary
skills to design the unit.
| What was the final outcome to be when it was
envisioned? The final outcome was a complete web unit that took students
through the process of tracing their family history while learning how
history is connected to their own lives. I wanted a unit that captured
students interests and got them involved with the learning process
intently.
| What was the final outcome? The final outcome is
the web unit called My Place in History. I believe the unit reflects my original vision
although I had to scale it down due to time constraints. However, I
believe the unit still captures the essence of the project and can be
used by anyone who has an interest. |
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| Sharing Production.
| Share what you experienced in the production
process.
 | Some successes: The success was in the
final project. Seeing the Unit come together in it's final form and
getting it done before the deadline was immensely satisfying.
| Some challenges: There were many challenges in
creating this unit. Making sure that the lessons flowed in a
coherent fashion, making sure that each unit focused on the
essential questions, finding the links needed, the graphics and the
right theme, were all challenges that I faced while completing the
project. I was not particularly happy with my background theme,
however, I could not find anything that I liked better and after a
while the one chosen grew on me. The greatest challenge was the
time. I have spent at least 60 hours creating this unit sometimes until
3:00am. but I feel that every minute was well spent and I am very
happy with the outcome.
| Anything special that happened during
production. Although I can name a specific event that I would
consider special in the creation of this unit, I believe the overall
feeling I had while creating it was special. I was excited with the
process of creating the unit and in the resulting outcome. The time
spent working often went so fast it was hard to believe that I had
been working for 6 or 7 hours straight. |
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| You might share a few journal entries to help you
share your experience. Journal 1:
Progress:
I have completed an
outline of the project and developed the essential questions, which will
drive the Unit. I went on the Internet and found the sites I will use
for the Unit. I downloaded
the graphics that I thought would work with the unit. I then set up the
layout in FrontPage. I began typing the introduction and then started
working on the lessons.
Time:
I began this on Friday
Night, June 13th and again on Sunday, June 15, 2003.
Reflections:
So far I haven’t
encountered any major difficulties. I still need some more graphics and
sites for the unit but will continue to look. I am trying to make sure
that the directions are at the targeted student’s reading level and
finding appropriate sites. I am trying to get as much as I can done. I
feel so far that the unit is progressing quite well and I am very
excited about the final product.
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| A Final Reflection,
| In this section, reflect on Constructionist,
Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Flow and how these concepts relate to
your experiences in creating the Meaningful Product. |
| This project has been a
constructivist activity. The idea behind constructionism is that the
learner is engaged in meaningful activities that are relevant and
meaningful to them. This project allowed me to experience
constructionism first hand. In creating a meaningful product, I was able
to see these principles at work and understand them more deeply. |
| Neuroscience has concluded that
learning is a whole body/whole brain activity. Again through the
creation of this product, I can relate to this principle. During the
process I was so intently working that I often did not realize the
amount of time that I had spent on the product. I was often unaware of
what was going on around me and was able to concentrate every part of my
being on the creation of this product. |
| In creating this product I
experience some very powerful learning due to my intense involvement in
the creation. This product was not just a product for a class, but it
was the creation of something meaningful to me. In essence a extension
of myself and an opportunity to share my passion with others. |
| As noted earlier, I often found
myself so engrossed in the activity that I didn't notice the lapse of
time. In one case, I looked up it was 3:00am, I had been working for
almost eight hours without even realizing it. It was during this period
that I experienced flow. Time stopped, the world around me seized to
exist, the only thing I was aware of were the thoughts and ideas that I
was typing into the computer. |
| My only hope is that this product
creates the same feeling in those students who use it and that they
will have the opportunity to experience real learning as I did in
creating it. |
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