CLOUD APPLICATIONS

After trying some cloud applications, I have found that the clouds don't recognize the Powerpoint format OR they appear to load, do so for a few hours then say the file is too big.

Hmmmm...

PART 2 OF 2

Not Yet..... but getting closer?

Through my trouble shooting efforts, I have found that you can reduce the size of a file by turning it into a movie.  So, after playing the 90 minute video to include narrations, I started to upload it and found the file was still quite big.  So, I split it into two parts for posting.

Then I discovered that the movie did not maintain the audio as my research said it would.

Back to the drawing board.

Now, it's personal- lol!

MY FINAL PROJECT

I am sorry to have to delay the process of uploading my final project.

Because it is in PowerPoint format, rather than video format, I cannot upload to this blog.

As identified in my Next Steps part of the course reflection, I will be able to overcome this snag by having the presentation in a different format.

REFLECTIONS ON SRL DURING PROFESSIONAL INQUIRY

SRL Learning Outcomes From Professional Inquiry:

Giving and Receiving Feedback:

The rubric presented earlier in the course pointed out to me two learning blind-spot, of which I was previously unaware: Collaboration and Feedback.  Perhaps these SRL techniques have been neglected as I have developed other SRL strengths like self motivation and self control, as a result of learning experience in years of distance learning. 

I brought these areas for development into my SRL project so that I could explore the potential benefits as part of my inquiry.   In planning and implementing my SRL project, I came to realize that the deepest learning came from the critique from my colleagues at work, who agreed to assist me with my project by providing constructive feedback.  Through the collaboration with these learning partners, I was able to widen view beyond the limits of my own self-focus and the project became a better process and product because of their questions and ideas about the professional inquiry topic.

Most Challenging Aspects of the Professional Inquiry:

Looking back over my blog was helpful in taking me back to challenges I had experienced in my professional inquiry.  The images and words I chose revealled that juggling learning from the course, the process of developing the blog and managing the workload of the distal goal of creating a workshop for Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, was my greatest challenge. 

In the midst of this chaos, I experienced  a high service peak at work and a bout of strep throat for my daughters, then later for me.  Managing balance of life, work and study did threaten my usual self-efficacy for the task at times during this course.  I think the only thing that saved me from not achieving my professional inquiry goal was my SRL strategy of self motivation promoting and early start of sub-goals.   This, along with abandoning perfectionism was the key to my completion of my project within the required timeframe.

Learning Transfer Beyond the Course:

I didn’t expect that there would be so many common concepts between my professional inquiry and SRL and so the learning transfer cross-pollinated across both SRL and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy.   Some of the common ideas that I hav noticed, and therefor allow for deeper learning transfer beyond the course are:

·      Best results come from engaging the individual’s motivation at a deep and personal level

·      Goal setting and visualization of a preferred outcome can direct the client’s behaviour to support the learning goal

·      Building on strengths to create the self-efficacy to address areas of need

·      Questions, in the form of collaboration and feedback can support positive steps toward change

Next Steps:

In consultation with my Manager, it was thought that PowerPoint was the ideal form of the project, so that it could be shared with others easily.  While it is true that the ease of sharing of the project is in the current form, I am not satisfied that PowerPoint allowed for the workshop to be as easily shared as if it was in YouTube or Prezi format.  My colleagues and I will take this discussion further, as we have, together, developed a new distal goal of sharing this workshop with the our Ontario College Employment Sector network throughout the province.  In doing so, we will be able to share the research I completed with hundreds of counsellors, rather than our staff group of 15 people in a free, completely accessible workshop format.  I don’t know that I would have considered doing so without the encouragement and vision from my collaboration with my trusted colleagues.  It also made the process so much more fun and rewarding!

Well, I spent most of my weekend working on my powerpoint for my professional inquiry and it is finally completed.  I had no idea how difficult it is to add audio messages so that the workshop can be presented without requiring a presenter to be in the same room.

After takes and retakes of my verbal messages, I now have a product that is worthy of submitting for the project.  I will be meeting this week with two of my colleagues who will be providing me feedback and suggestions for changes that I hope will make it even better for my intended audience.

I was talking about this professional inquiry with the leader of my division, and I think it can be used to provide a free training option for other agencies like mine in our network.  More editing will be required to make it less academic in focus, and more user friendly, but I think that it is a very good start and I learned so much in completing of the project about the subject of SFBT.  

They say that if you want to learn something yourself you sound try and explain it (teach it) to someone else.   This is so true in the case of this project.

REFLECTIONS ON FINAL PROJECT

My final project is now well underway and I am ready to start building my PowerPoint presentation.  The research materials have been outstanding and I find myself wanting to read and research more and more, but I am beginning to feel a sense of urgency to get beyond the cognitive stage of thinking about my chosen subject (Solution-Focused Brief Therapy) and on the more behavioural tasks of mapping out timelines and getting the ideas into the proper format.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I can tend to get stuck in perfectionistic design mode and I find myself struggling with this again.  Before, it was about building a blog that had the right look and structure and now again with PowerPoint.  Sometimes I wish someone would tell me, with grand authority, that I must use "this presentation theme only", so that I could better accept the choice and move on to working with what I have got.  Since that isn't going to happen, I think I am going to have to set a time limit for myself, and the best option during that time is the winner.  I am aware that self adjustment and correction are good SRL strategies, but so are setting timelines for the overarching goals.

I mentioned in a discussion in D2L earlier, that I am beginning to see SRL themes jumping out at me in everyday life.  In D2L, I used the example of my FitBit dashboard, which is helping me to learn about healthy lifestyles.   I know that deeper learning has occurred when what I notice and how I think about issues, problems and solutions are effected by what I am studying.  I am glad that SRL is such a practical and impactful study subject that I can use beyond the classroom and into my everyday life.  Life is learning.

Juggling Priorities

Module 4 is definitely proving to be the most challenging workload yet.  The kids have come down with the flu and work is at the highest peak of the year.  Yikes!

I definitely can not wing it.  I need a plan to be able to accomplish all of the goals for meeting in a small group, researching tracking and eval methods and doing the reflection on the project.

Once I have the group meeting, I can map out the rest of the work for the weekend.
I think the challenge would be to get the project laid out in terms of structure of the information first, then decide on citations and use of clips.  I have to remember to work within the time I have in order to ensure the project is not left incomplete.  Perhaps I will have to provide more of an overview and go into less depth.  I will see how the compiling of the research goes this weekend.

Scholarly Articles and YouTube Video Research NOW COMPLETE!

Over the past few days I have completed my research including:

Burtwell, R., & Chen, C. P. (2006). Applying the principles and techniques of solution-focused therapy to career counselling. (U. o. Toronto, Ed.) Counselling Psychology Quarterly , 19 (2), 189-203.

as well as all of the YouTube videos.

What I want to remember:

• This article mentioned "excavating" and digging into the client's past as unnecessary in the process of SFBT.  This gave me the idea for the presentation to be based on an analogy of building a structure... the building plans, the foundation, corner stones, building blocks etc.