Self-Assessment
From my personal perspective, my first year as a PhD student in the Learning, Design, and Technology program was full of diverse experiences. I have had the chance to take courses with remarkable faculty, develop valuable skills in my assistantship work, and even assist in a doctoral level course focused on Games and learning. It was a year full of excitement and joy, even considering the eventual barriers along the way.
In every aspect of my coursework, I have tried to align my work with my focus on games and learning. For instance, my conceptual framework describes how game design pedagogies can support language learning. Additionally, I’ve approached faculty to get the most of learning experiences that can be valuable for my research and practice, such as developing an interactive narrative for Dr. Runco’s Creativity course in order to explore game development software. Above all, I aimed at being creative in every aspect of my coursework, and I think I have succeeded thus far.
I also took the initiative to approach Dr. Nancy Knapp to participate in the development of the Games and Learning (EDIT8400E) course, and that has been a great experience. As a result of this course, new ideas for research have surfaced. I plan to develop such ideas alongside my doctoral research.
My assistantship as an instructional designer at the Carl Vinson Institute of Government has also contributed to my knowledge of different development tools, such as Articulate Storyline and the Adobe suite. Working intensively in courses that are actively used by government officials has been challenging, but also rewarding, as our work has recently been certified by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy for its excellence.
All of this would not have been possible without Dr. Rieber’s guidance. He has always encouraged me to experience with different tools, starting from the Design Studio class in 2016. Moreover, his recommendations have been crucial for the development of my conceptual framework, not only in terms of theory, but also organization and visual presentation. I always appreciate his suggestions, and I feel comfortable and motivated with his interest in my ideas.
In the upcoming semesters, I plan to work towards developing research studies, such as the ideas that arose from EDIT8400E, as well as a pilot study for my dissertation. Furthermore, I will be attending more conferences, starting from the AERA annual meeting in April 2018, and the AECT Conference in October 2018, where I will hopefully be presenting my conceptual framework for the research community. I am also interested in attending practitioner conferences to discuss game design for learning. For different reasons, I have not been able to attend conferences this year, and I recognize the need for improvement in this area. Finally, in terms of my future coursework, I hope to strengthen my knowledge of research methods and dive deeper into theories of learning that relate to my studies.