I am Back!

Well that was a major blogging hiatus! :(
The end of my last semester saw so much activity that I just didn't have time. I have been thinking a lot about what my semester in Digital Media Arts was like, and what worked and what didn't.

What worked:

•  The collaboration with Robyn was stellar and has spun off into a blended learning course proposal for video production. We will see where that goes; it is very exciting. 
• The flipped format for Media Arts went surprisingly well. I am still tweaking the balance between how much information students need to have in order to play and explore software on their own, with enough challenges to make it worth while but not be so frustrating they give up.  We explored more than I thought we would in some areas and were not nearly as deep as I anticipated in others. I really hope I get to try it again so that I can change few things and see how it goes. Thank goodness for my students, their expertise and willingness to try things out with me and to really be honest about what sucked and what didn't.
• My t-shirt factory was in full swing. Team shirts went out the door in significant numbers. Thank you, thank you, thank you to my wonderful students who gave up their lunch hours to weed vinyl. You are all amazing. Thank you to my second set of eyes for keep things straight.  :)
• Yearbook has been quite the learning curve for me. The online software has been really helpful, and luckily I have had access to the lab where the computers actually work. I can't wait to see the finished product. The extra hours by some of my dedicated students are a testament to their own personal investment in a great product. 
• The bits of flipping I explored went well. I am now on a mission for full integration! I am grateful for my colleagues who have been trying it themselves. 

What is not working:

• Students are not used to this approach to teaching. It took me a long time to get them on board with what we were doing. Time management has not been working for me. Anyone who thinks that this approach to teaching is easier or takes less time has not tried it. It might work better, but it is not less work. 

All of this has been a great learning experience, and I am not done. I have so much further to go. I can't wait.