Portfolio Activity 6

Microlearning Project

Tool: Microsoft PowerPoint (to create infographics)

I picked Microsoft PowerPoint because of its flexibility and my familiarity with the tool.

Reflection

The main learning theory that supported my learning is Constructivism. I constructed new learning based on my already acquired knowledge in using PowerPoint to create slides and presentations. I analyzed my previous knowledge of PowerPoint and applied that knowledge to create new skills in creating standalone graphics (in this case, infographics).

I was intrinsically motivated to find the quickest way to achieve a satisfactory result. Because of work, raising a 2-year-old, and pursuing an M.Ed. in Higher Ed while also taking edX LDT100x, time is of the essence.  After testing a few cloud-based free infographics tools, I found them too limiting from a creative design standpoint, at least in terms of the amount of time I had to invest in both learning the tool and then using it. Although the ones I experimented with provided various templates and design choices, the choices seemed "cookie cutter" in design. I didn't feel I could use the "cookie cutter" approach to design what I pictured in my mind in a time efficient way. I decided to try a tool I am very familiar with (Microsoft PowerPoint) to see if I could use it, not as it is intended (to create slides and presentations), but to create pictures to be used as infographics.

In an "ah ha" moment, I realized that the skills I already possessed in PowerPoint were just as useful in creating standalone graphics as they were in creating presentations. All I had to do is construct new learning in terms of making use of a new delivery format (infographic saved as a .png file). Thus, the slide became only a workspace, not the end result.  I learned to use the slide to assemble my infographic.  Once complete,  the infographic was converted and saved as a picture.

Cognitivism played an important role as remembering what I had previously created in PowerPoint, understanding how those same skills could be used to create a different output, applying that understanding through experimentation, and then evaluating the result helped me acquire my new learning skills.

Connectivism also played a role as I learned from the infographic examples that others in the cohort had created along with the learning experiences that shaped their tool choice selections.