Reflection:  The Community Matrix is similar in intent to the Professional Learning Community mind-map although it is much more verbal and explicit.  It explains the relationships between tech tools and the community and the way the tools are used in a course we're designing.  The tools and their reason for their use in the mini-course are self-explanatory, but the Connections name the relationship between the tools and the community. Which community members use them in what context with each other?  One of the technical things I learned from reflecting on this exercise and its feedback was a simpler way to embed a document that is longer than one page.  PDF's are one way to embed page-long documents on a web page, but I find taking screen-size pictures of them with Awesome Screenshots (Chrome app) or Microsoft's Snipping Tool (amazing and works when you're not looking at the web at all) and putting them together on the web page works well, too.  Soon I hope to find an even easier way!

 

My instructor's feedback for this portfolio artifact was glowing, which was nice 8-).  She appreciated my including the learner-to-self connection.  I must include that relationship, the metacognitive one we have with ourselves where we reflect, in my courses for WeBelong because self-reflection is essential to emotional healing.  She also suggested I add email to the list, which of course I did because she was quite right!  Email's become so ubiquitous I actually forgot about it as a tech tool!  So here it is as the primary connection it is between learners and facilitators, teachers and students.  Speaking of that relationship, the reflection over the Matrix below is inspiring me even more to think like a teacher because I am taking my own course, that I designed, seriously.  How happy that makes me!