In this critical reflection I will apply Gibbs’ 1988 reflective cycle. I believe Gibbs' reflective cycle is very useful in inspiring thinking on the different stages of my experience, helping me learn from my experiences. Description The task is to write a reflective practice post concerning my experiences thus far with Rudaí 23, namely Things 3 to 5.
I used each of the tools from Things 3 to 5 prior to commencing Rudaí 23 so was confident that I could complete the tasks without difficulty. Feelings I felt relatively at ease in advance of doing the three tasks. I felt proficient in the tools and impending tasks. I am constantly looking for images that are labelled for reuse for promotional material and social media so using Google images for Thing 3 was unproblematic. As a librarian I am aware of copyright and copyright restrictions and Creative Commons licenses; although an overview of the same is always good. In saying that I could have gone outside of my comfort zone for this task, in fact I rarely used the photo sharing website Flickr. Thing 4 was always going to be fun, I love PhotoFunia, which I based my Thing 4 on, but I also use Quik to create short videos to promote our library, so I was comfortable with this ‘Thing’. Thing 5 was all about video presentations and again I am au fait with video presentations, having created video screen captures with PowToon. I love PowToon, it’s so easy to use, it's more than a standard presentation which make it more fun and engaging for the viewer, a great way to share information. Evaluation The overall experience I had with Things 3 to 5 was positive. I felt the Things were all user-friendly, practical and Things 4 and 5 are very attention-grabbing. I did tend to rush in with my ‘Things’, I think that was because they felt familiar and comfortable. I perhaps need to go back over the advice given by the Rudaí 23 contributors; and restrain myself from starting any story or information sharing presentation without planning it first! Thus, it could be said that my time management fell short; more time should have been spent planning what I wanted to share rather than, essentially, trying to get the task done. Nevertheless, I believe that I completed the tasks to a respectable standard and know that I will continue to use all the tools I engaged with in Things 3 to 5. In fact, I am currently in the process of creating a learning object using PowToon for an assessment that I need to submit shortly. Analysis The tasks were relevant and applicable to me as an information professional. All the tools can be used in my day-to-day job to communicate visually with library users, whether that be staff, students, external members or the public. I would have no hesitation in recommending any of the tools I used to complete the tasks, I liked them all and they’re all free; well the basics are anyway! PhotoFunia is such fun, the only downside I have with this online picture editing tool is that you cannot go back and edit an image that you have generated, if you wish to make changes you need to start again. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take long to regenerate an animated and fun image. I like the fact that PowToon continuously updates its props, characters and media. Conclusion I really enjoyed the three tasks. The fact that I had used all three tools in the past may not have benefited me as the three posts that formed part of the task we excellent. I will continue to use Google Images, PowToon and PhotoFunia in my professional role as well as for personal social communications. Communicating visually is easy when you have free, easy to use tools to steer you. Action Plan My aim is to be better organized to deal with taking on the next ‘Things’ for Rudaí 23. I intend to plan in advance, instead of hurrying to get the task finished as I admit I may have done thus far. The experience so far has made me realise that I am confident in using a variety of visual communicator tools and can adapt to the tool at hand, particularly if I take the time to read the entire post before beginning a new task…or ‘Thing’! References Gibbs G., 1988. Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit. Oxford Polytechnic: Oxford. WRSLAI, 2018. Rudaí 23 [online] Available at http://rudai23.blogspot.ie.
1 Comment
Kristopher Meen
3/23/2018 09:40:04 am
Lovely, thorough and well-constructed reflection! Thanks!
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