Group Leadership Project- Fun with Wordle!

To deliver the Wordle tutorial we used a combination of tools. We used Wordle (duh), Google Presentations, screen shots, email and chat to communicate, Jing, Garage Band, and of course, YouTube. Google, as a whole, was a great tool as it allowed us to create, share and communicate quickly and effectively. We used Jing to narrarate but realized it had a five minute time limit. While I like the ability to start and stop in Jing, I dislike the inability to delete and re-do a specific section in case of verbal stumbling. The time limit on Jing and need to edit verbal mishaps forced us to use Garage Band and create a second tutorial to combine together in Youtube. The ten minute project requirement was acceptable, however also needed to be a ceiling as it is also the limit on Youtube.

In the development process, I learned that group work among five women can flow and feel effortless. In the past, I feel that I’ve been placed in groups where it was extremely difficult to have similar meeting times simply due to radically different lifestyles, time zones, and placement in the family life cycle. I think that the introductions we are asked to provide at the beginning of a class are often a basis for grouping considering grade, subjects taught, and tech interests. I believe this occurs with the best of intentions, but does not take into account so many other important factors that make good group work possible. However, as I said, I feel like our group was well matched because the work flow seemed close to effortless. We were able to communicate well and trust each other enough to let go while others were working on their part. Everyone pulled their own weight, took on a sense of ownership, and we were even done early! Fortunately, in effect, I learned that online collaborative work is possible contrary to my previous, more difficult and frustrating, experiences.

I don’t think I would do anything differently if I were to complete this project again. Everything worked well and I learned from it. I may not have necessarily ever learned garage band, or been effectively reminded that while some tools such as Jing and Youtube are free, they definitely have their limitations, such as time restraints. I think that if I did this assignment on my own, I would have stayed within my comfort zone of creating a “movie”, doing the narration with windows movie makes, and not had the opportunity to try new tools. I like our Wordle tutorial and hope that other educators on Youtube actually find it to be of use!