Is anyone else ready to smash their computer!
That is how I felt at times working on this past project. I was at the mercy of the software, and being new to PowerPoint my trouble shooting was not at its best.
If I new, what I know now know, at the beginning, things would have been that much easier. After thinking about it, that’s the point. The only way to learn is to try, fail, ask question, guess, and continue to apply what you learn in past experience to new experiences. At the end I felt complete. Not because of what the project looked like, but because I had a better understanding. At the end of the PP project I had thought of ten different ways to re-do or make the project even more successful. And so I will take those new ideas, and apply them to future projects, where I will probably feel like smashing the computer again. But after I get over the initial frustration, and I have failed, screwed up, guessed, and asked questions; I hope to be in the same place as before. Feeling complete, not because of what the project looks like, but because I have grown, and have an even better understanding of the software and how I can apply my creative ideas to it. As much as the project was frustrating, it also pushed me to keep thinking about how I can make it better. And with that I am grateful for the chance to have done the PP project, to me it was a success. If I wasn’t inspired to keep thinking of ways to make it better then the project would have been a failure.
I closing I really appreciated every one’s hard work on their projects. I got a lot of good ideas for the future.
April 26, 2008 at 8:17 pm
What a great attitude, Greg. We forget that learning new things can often be frustrating, challenging, stretching. Too many folks shy away from such learning experiences and are satisfied for what comes easiest -often not the most rewarding and beneficial in the end, though. What I find most inspiring in your post here is that despite the struggles it made you think of ten more different ways to make the project different or more successful.
In the end, my goal for you was to learn many new and creative features embedded within this presentation software that afford you the potential to be more creative and to allow your students to create rather than only present… and at worst, regurgitate. When we are encouraged to create and be creative when learning, we are much more willing to persist through the struggles and frustrations that arise.
May 1, 2008 at 1:53 pm
When it comes to our Power Point project I have to say that I could not agree more with the frustration, anxiety, and complete confusion. I also think it was even more difficult because we worked in groups and we had all these ideas and had to find a way to somehow be on the same page. Whenever we walked away from a group meeting I had ideas and things I wanted to change that I thought would make the Power Point better. I was frustrated with trying to create a lesson to fit this Power Point into because none of the three of us wanted to create a device that replaces teaching, but rather, reinforces it. I feel like what we submitted was only a draft to us. None of the three of us said, “Well, that’s as good as it gets!” We all had ideas and wanted more time to perfect it…which I guess when a project is done…it’s not a bad thing when we keep on coming up with new ideas and changes.
May 2, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I agree. Being able to share our powerpoint projects in close was definitely helpful. Seeing what other people had come up with and how creative everyone in the class was, showed me how powerpoint could be used in so many different ways. And you’re right. I walked away that day thinking “i should have changed this, and that, and that….”