journal entry 8, july 2, 2008

Wow, what a day! It's hard to believe that the first Studio experience is over. When looking back at the month (was it really only a month) I can't even fathom the amount of information I've learned. Before we began, hand I known we'd be exposed to this much information, I'd say, "NO! It's completely inconceivable that a human is capable of taking in that much information in that short of time. You can't do it!" But....now I know better. I remember walking back to my car the 2nd day of class, talking with one of my classmates, trying to figure out if I understood all the requirements and now looking back at that day, I wish I could have said to myself, "Jenn, you can do this!"

I'm very proud of the accomplishments I've made, and I hope to continue working on these skills, as I really enjoy doing this sort of work. As basic as my website might be compared to some, especially the 2nd timers, I am so happy with the end results. I put a lot of work into finding out information and writing it to make it unique and different than what was already out there about sleep. I want to continue my explorations with Flash as well. I feel that I can re-d0 my intro movie with Flash and it'll be a much more smooth jump for that sheep!!

The Studio Presentations were really fun. I loved looking around at everyone's finished projects. I also really enjoyed meeting some of the people from the department. I got the nicest compliment today as well. I was honored with the Allen Bullock Service to the Studio Award. When Dr. Orey read my name, a wave of emotion came over me. Then he read the letter that served as the nomination from a classmate, Gretchen, and I was just wowed by what she said. She was so eloquent in her words, I was stunned it was about me!! I'm very honored to have been chosen. Thank you.

This class exceeded my expectations. I really can say that out of all the courses I've taken, from undergrad--to my masters--to now, this will rank up there in my top 3. I became the self organized learner that Fiedler describes in his write up about the Studio Experience. I also appreciate, much better, the design theory discussed by Nelson. I will continue to take this design theory and apply it to my work as I move forward in the program. I especially will remember that it's a journey with many ups and downs, and in the end, once on top of the mountain, the view of the next mountain is splendid. Oh....and look I can even see my first foothold!


References:
1. Gal, S. (1996). Footholds for design. In Winograd, T. (Ed.), Bringing Design to Software (pp. 215-227). New York: Addison-Wesley. [PDF]
2. Fiedler, Sebastian (1999). The Studio Experience: Challenges and Opportunities for Self-Organized Learning. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia, Department of Instructional Technology [On-line]. Available online: http://it.coe.uga.edu/studio/fiedler.html