I experienced all the emotions, stress, excitement, and nervousness this last week. As part of my LRNT521 course requirements, I have attended the MALAT 2022 Virtual Symposium and watched various recorded presentations from previous years. It enriched my knowledge on multiple different topics. In addition, listening to so many diverse speakers with different backgrounds and knowledge bases made it enriching. I will highlight the two stories that stood out to me in this post.
The first is the PowerPoint Improv with Dr. Elizabeth Childs and Dr. George Veletsianos. I was amazed to see how the two of them could take simple pictures like the ones of a tree, pasta, and chameleons and translate the pictures into the work they have been doing in higher education and the digital learning sector. One of the pictures they shared was the tree on the mountain; this symbolized the notion of hope. Dr. George Veletsianos spoke about the notation of hope and what might come post-pandemic relating to education and technology. Next, he stated, we need to create “technology that helps people be better together,” which resonated with me as this is one of the biggest struggles I am dealing with in my current role in my profession.
As a working professional in a corporate setting, having a successful team was one of the most challenging issues we faced; I immensely enjoyed Julia Suzcus presentation on “Successful Teaming,” especially as it related to working with a team online. Working in a team, primarily online and not in-person, cause another layer of complexity than it would have working face to face. Julia has shared many ways to work together as an academic team which is different from working in a work-related team. This includes collaboration, different levels of listening skills, decision making, giving and receiving feedback, facilitating, and team agreements. Although most of us have previously worked or are currently working in a team environment, we need to remember an academic team is different from a work team. Yes, they have many commonalities, but the vital part for me is understanding the difference between a working team and an academic team.
These two presentations are the ones that stood out to me. Therefore, I wanted to share them as I gained much insight and learning that I will use moving forward in my day-to-day life at work and school.
References:
Childs, E., & Veletsianos, G. (2021, April 15). PowerPoint improv [Video]. Blackboard Collaborate. https://ca.bbcollab.com/collab/ui/session/playback/load/c5e490c22efb40a5aeacf457516237a1
Royal Roads University. (2022, April 13). Successful Teaming [Video]. Zoom.
I also enjoyed the PowerPoint Improv webinar. On the idea of hope, I liked how they talked about how this is a great field to be in to shape and mold the future. No matter what area we are in, we are all giving people knowledge to accomplish tasks. Whether it is learning how to subtract and divide or learning how to be a cardiac surgeon, it is our job to make sure the information sticks in their brains so they are able to use that knowledge. We also have the power to make people think deeply. I am hoping that this program will teach me more about various methods of creating engaging training!
Agreed, that is what I am hoping to get out of this course as well. Thx Heather.