Author: Elena's Blog.

Originally published here.

Over the past six weeks I have taken part on a course named Crit101 to improve me English skills, to learn to work better in a team, but most importantly to improve and learn how to become an Independent Learner.

I have developed my skills to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses each week. 

I have also learnt how to become more independent when learning and boost my confidence and become more motivated.

I have also enhanced my skills on how to evaluate my work and reflect on what I have done well and what I need to improve.

I will take all the things I have learnt throughout this course to help me with my:

• Communication skills and my ability to work collectively in a group. 
• How I manage my time.
• How to carefully collect resources and evidence.
• Question the reliability of my resources.

Originally published here.

Unfortunately this week has been a huge challenge. Our whole group has been out of contact and we have been unable to reach each other. I partly blame half term and the fact we all had plans, places to be and it would have been easier if it was a school week as we could just meet in at a particular time; however I mostly blame our lack of communication skills.

For me this week was a particularly difficult week. The fact I dislike anything to do with myself and a camera, the fact I had little internet access for almost half the week and the fact I was away so I had to prioritise my time well, (I failed) did not help.

We have yet to join our videos together, however if needed we will make sure that happens. 

My video.

Originally published here.

This week we had to publish a critique on last weeks task. 

The reading and overall assignment this week gave me a better understanding of Validity and Reliability as I was unsure of the meanings beforehand.

This weeks research has also helped me have a better judgement on my use of sources.

This weeks reading has built up my knowledge on how to find and analyse sources effectively. These skills have helped me become an interdependent learner as I have had to be sure that the information I found was accurate and of use to me and my group. Not only this; I have to make sure that it is not only about the information I collect but how I go about collecting this information.

As we approach the half way point of this course, I have made some progress in my journey to become a interdependent learner; this is because I believe I have pushed myself to try harder as I am the only one responsible if this goes right or wrong.

This is my google document for this weeks task

 

Originally published here.

This week we were split into groups and given the task to research and come to the conclusion of ‘what is the best way to cook an egg?’

I learned many things when researching this. Such as:

• Learning how many ways there are to cook an egg.
• Different types of food that have egg as a main ingredient.
• That eggs contain - vitamins, nutrients and protein.
• How much fat goes into some eggs.

When it came to completing the project I feel like we were successful. However it was tough at the beginning as this was quite a confusing and random topic. However as the week progressed we were able to communicate online and discuss how we were going to break down the question. By the end we all knew what we were doing and were all able to finish.

I think I was an effective collaborator, however I would have to give some credit to Sabrina. She definitely steered me in the right direction when I was lost, confused or needed help.

I think the only real challenge for me was trying to write the conclusion and having to make sure I got everyone’s points down the way they had said them in the discussion. I’ve never been good at writing conclusions and I wanted to be able to challenge myself and improve seeing as that is what this course is about.

However overall I don’t think there was one person who didn’t try or weren’t focused on the task and the fact we finished is an achievement itself.

A link to our page is here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rGYam2bNXKwEBKNs0W4SkbDzYey-WWKTT0CSzs4Zs1k/pub

Originally published here.

Why have I chosen to take part in #Crit101?

There are many reasons to why I have taken part in #Crit101, they are:

To help me be more independent as a student and a learner.

To help me practice and be more prepared for the future.

To help me develop my skills as a researcher.

To be able to discuss topics and different ideas among my peers.

And finally, to help me become more independent as a student and as a person.

What is an Independent Learner?

I believe an independent learner is someone who allows themselves to push boundaries and will be able to do what it takes to educate themselves and go the extra mile when needed. I think people who take on, or have the ability to be an independent learner have true potential. 

Being an independent learner however, does not mean you have to do it all alone. It doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help. (which I am going to need a lot of to get through this course) You can ask for other people’s opinion and views and incorporate them into your own work.

Being an independent learner does not mean you have to do everything alone; ask for people’s opinions, read other people’s work, you do not have to know everything. I definitely don’t. It doesn’t mean I won’t try.

I believe the most important thing about being an independent learner, is not to be the best, or to know everything, but to believe in what you’ve written, and what you believe is your best.