The theoretical foundations and mindset that I’ve always been a believer in, states that tools must be attractive, must be multitaskable, and must be easy to use. With this in mind, when I was conceiving the creation of this course I originally looked at other CMS’s and compared Weebly, Wikispaces, and Schoology in order to find the one that would be able to deliver the look, flexibility, and ease that I was needed. This comparison was part of my first critical design decision because I would establish the success or failure of my CMS on the aspect that the learners will find it easy to use and attractive. Although I’m sure that regardless of the CMS I used I would have found some frustration, I believe that the my second critical decision was to take the time to know the CMS completely, and do the research necessary to find the tools needed in order to achieve the goals desired.
The critical pedagogical decision that I made was pertaining to the argument depth vs. breadth. I know that I have the internet at my disposition, but I must make sure that the students stay within the confines of what was being thought. If not distraction and to broad of a focus can be an issue. On the other hand, with too much depth key aspects and relationships are not established as ideas are being formed and developed because students have blinders and are suffering from tunnel vision. My final decision was based on the idea that students must have an active role in their education, and the best way to do this is by making them aware of what they need to learn, and giving them the know how on how to find more information regarding particular subjects if it is necessary. This obviously is harder to do, and so far the results are promising.
The one pitfall that was the most challenging had to do with limitations. It could have been easy to forgo the search of the required individual tools that makes my CMS attractive, multitaskable, and easy to use. I could have moved over to a different CMS, but it was important to follow my vision and stay true to what I felt needed to be. The limitations that I encountered in the creation of my CMS required me to conduct research on Weebly and it pushed me to get to know the Weebly site, its shortcomings and advantages much more, and I think that this is the reason why I was able to create a successful CMS. The general lesson here is that if you trust the vision you have about your CMS, then you should do the necessary homework and get to know what you will be working with.
The one pitfall that was the most challenging had to do with limitations. It could have been easy to forgo the search of the required individual tools that makes my CMS attractive, multitaskable, and easy to use. I could have moved over to a different CMS, but it was important to follow my vision and stay true to what I felt needed to be. The limitations that I encountered in the creation of my CMS required me to conduct research on Weebly and it pushed me to get to know the Weebly site, its shortcomings and advantages much more, and I think that this is the reason why I was able to create a successful CMS. The general lesson here is that if you trust the vision you have about your CMS, then you should do the necessary homework and get to know what you will be working with.
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