“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” ~ Soren Kierkegaard
Self Reflection #1
Wow—what a first week! I’ll be honest, it felt extremely overwhelming and, to some degree, gave me flashbacks of being back in school as a student. Sitting in that uncomfortable first class made me stop and think about my own students. Luckily, this course is online. Some of them may experience those same feelings of uncertainty and anxiety at the beginning of a course. It was a powerful reminder that we all benefit from a little extra patience, empathy, and grace as we step into new learning experiences.
As for this course, I’ll admit I am still not entirely sure what I am doing or where to start. Thankfully, the Moodle page listed this self-reflection as one of the first tasks due, and I’m taking it as my starting point. Writing this feels like a small but important baby step—a way to get my feet wet and begin grounding myself in the course expectations.
One thing I recognize is that I haven’t made navigating and working on my WordPress site a top priority this first week. Every time I log in, it feels overwhelming, and I find myself avoiding it. That said, I also know from experience that if I don’t push myself to dive in, I’ll never know what I am capable of achieving. My goal moving forward is to make it part of my regular routine and to approach it in small, manageable steps.
Overall, while this first week has been challenging, it has already given me valuable insight—not only into my own learning journey but also into the perspective of my students.
Self Reflection #2
Over the past nine weeks, I feel as though I’ve learned a tremendous amount. I definitely feel the pressure and time crunch of trying to complete assignments to a level I’m satisfied with before submitting them. Missing one session set me back a little, and I’ve felt somewhat behind the eight ball since. However, I’m hopeful that the rest of this week will slow down so I can get myself back on track.
One thing I am genuinely excited to continue exploring is creating H5P activities. I truly believe these will be a game changer for my students as I develop and share them. There are very few interactive online resources available specifically for exotic and laboratory animals, so providing study tools in this area feels especially meaningful.
I also feel that my WordPress exotics page is coming together nicely. I have a clear vision for what I want it to become, and I’m excited to keep building and refining it throughout my teaching career. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
This course has opened my eyes to a whole new way of teaching. I’ve always known my teaching style wasn’t the stereotypical approach, and for a long time I worried that might be a disadvantage. Now I feel the complete opposite. I’ve come to realize that my style represents a forward-looking way of teaching—one that can reach more learners. I love expanding my mind and my students’ minds; after all, we’re never too old to learn something new.
