Affinity Space Update & Affinity Space Presentation
It has been great being involved in the Minecraft EDU Affinity Space this semester. For my last update, I wanted to cover just a few major revelations I had as I prepared my Affinity Space Presentation this past week. If you want to check out my presentation, you can find it HERE.
Also, here:
Some of my Thoughts:
Interacting online is hard. For me, interacting online was difficult in that conversations did not often happen sequentially. For me, being a linear thinker, coming back to these again and again, being lost, not sure where I was, was disheartening.
Affinity Spaces are designed for people, by people. Knowing that people who engage in these spaces are responsible for their creation is good, but it also limits us. I, for one, found that some responses would be left unanswered for weeks, months, and knowing these people needed a certain type of help, (something I may not have been able to give) was a bit of a struggle for me. I like to help people, and being unable to do so was a bit depressing.
I’m not perfect, and neither is the technology. Knowing that affinity spaces are run by people, and me engaging in this space, means that there is no perfection. Especially while preparing my affinity space presentation, I felt the limitations of the technology. Luckily for me I was able to reach out to others in the course and find better technology, but I was still forced to learn it and engage with it quickly. I’m a Type A personality, and I like things to be really high quality. Sometimes the frustration peeks through, and it’s important to remember I can’t do everything. Or at least, I can’t do everything perfectly.
I can still do this! I have never had an online course before, and learning to engage with different technology, balancing work and school, and finding time to take care of other things still happening in my life. My mom very recently ended up in the hospital for 3 days over a potentially life-threatening event, and it made me realize how important a work/life/stuff happens balancing mentality is. She’s doing better, and I am glad that I have friends that are so supportive, and I am especially glad of the flexibility of this online course.
Good Gravy, don’t take everything so seriously…be playful. I think the most important thing I’ve learned this semester is the importance of playful learning. I love learning, and I find the things I’m interested in bring me joy, but being playful is just as important. If I make my learning a game, if I gamify what I teach my kids, then their knowledge acquisition will be more fluid and able to be retained. I want to encourage my students to be life-long learners, and I know that working in this affinity space has given me another tool in my toolbox to make that happen. I want them to enjoy learning as much as I do. If I can make that my legacy, then all the struggles I’ve had this past semester will be worth it.
Technology can change our world. I want to help my kids be that change.