...on being linear

Of the many things I've learned through this process, through this independent study, the thing I've learned the most - or perhaps, felt the most, is that I'm far more linear than I've ever thought. That linear thought process extends to more than just how I learn; it heavily impacts how I teach, how I think about teaching, and how I approach developing the lessons I teach. 

When things are linear, they make sense to me. I can see the patterns, I can find the point, identify the objectives. However, when things become less linear, when the pattern isn't as easily discernible, that's when I feel less comfortable. That's when I feel like I'll be unable to keep track of things. 

I was challenged to develop a visual for the text write up I developed for my Grab Bag on Avoiding Death by PowerPoint. As, I discussed in a previous post, I'm also partial to words. In stark moments of self-reflection, I feel like a vulcan when I say things like, words add clarity. A picture might be worth a thousand words, but a thousand words add a clarity often not achievable by an image. My first attempt was to do something completely different - something with few words. Maybe if it was all pictures, it would translate better, or differently than my words. But, how do you create a picture out of words? I took my first stab at it, and even I didn't know what I was trying to create, what message I was trying to convey. In a word, it was a mess. I thought about it. A lot. I vented about my inability to do whatever it was I was trying to do, but had been unable to define. After a couple of days of thinking, and trying to figure it out, I decided to try something different. 

I have a background in graphic design. I know how to design websites. Again, a linear process. At least, a linear process. Navigation in easy steps, a logical process. Beginning to end. I decided to try that approach with trying a new visual. I thought about it as a website. How would students navigate it? How would I guide them through the process? How would I engage them in self navigation through the module? 

I can up with this - it was a mind map of what the website would look like, how students would access the information. How I would lay it out. Unsurprisingly, it's still highly linear, but there are multiple points of entry. A sort of choose your own adventure for the students. I have suggested a process, a logical progression, but if they want to do it differently, they have the freedom to move between the pages at will. 

Maybe it's still too linear for some, maybe it's not linear enough for others. There's no perfect solution. There's no perfect lesson. No lesson is one size fits all, no matter how much you try. The best you can do is try, see what works, and try again. Even if it is linear, or images, or highly illogical.