Introduction -- Educational Psychology Project?

I feel like a psychology experiment. We are into the fifth week of a group, project-based learning experience for a graduate Foundations of Education class. I have decided to write this blog because I believe from this point forward I am going to learn as much about Constructivist Philosophy and its real world application--working with others and my assets/limitations in this area--than about the psychology of education or technology application in the classroom. I have a lot of work to do.

This class, billed as an on-line course, met for the first time in early January. At this point we went over accessing WebCT, filled out forms for classroom observations, and were given a basic syllabus. Automatically, I thought "there are no dates, no specific exercises, no schedules with time frames." My left-brained organizer went into melt-down. I have survived my whole life by compensating for my creative spirit with detailed organization and planning. Then, our professor, Dr. A, a small woman with a clear, demanding presence read aloud our project assignment: "Based on your readings in Woolfolk's 10th Ed of Educational Psychology and research, identify virtual and other technological ways to enhance the educational process for students of all ages." She held up another book that she wanted us to read in addition to our text, for research: A Whole New Mind—Why Right-Brainers Will Rule The Future by Daniel H. Pink. My right-brain cheered, “Finally, an opportunity to learn something my own way!”

We were then given a break and a brief opportunity to introduce ourselves before "finding" our group members. Most people had already formed their groups during the break, most of them knowing each other from work or other graduate courses. I was recruited, I think, because I have education and work experience in computer support, which I talked about in my self-introduction. I was honored to be asked to join this group: the members are gregarious. I could tell they have a passion for education and wanted very much to succeed in this class.

We are a group of seven: myself--a single mother of two boys, poet, literature teacher, editor, and computer technician; and as I write, I realize that I do not know a lot about my group members, so I am going to post a question on our discussion board to find out more about them. I’ll talk more specifically about my group members and our interactions in the next post. I am going to post a few times in the next day or so to catch up with what is actually happening today. Until next time…

Currently I’m Reading:
Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning, Concept to Classroom
A Passion For the Past: Creative Teaching if U.S. History, James Percoco
The Spectacular Spider Book, Valerie Davies