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Week 8 - Blog Reflection - Method of Loci & Implementation & Evaluation

For week 8, activity 6, we are asked to blog about our thoughts on the Method of Loci.  This is a mnemonic visually filing system that is used by many to memorize content for exams, sales presentations, stage performances, etc.  Simonides of Ceos, a Greek lyric poet, is attributed to coming up with such method. The story goes that Simonides had attended a dinner and after leaving the feast hall, it collapsed, killing everyone inside.  Using what would be the beginning of this method, he was able to identify all the bodies (Cohen, 2010).  
The mental activity was very interesting.  At first, I didn’t really cared for it but after a few minutes of practice, I got intrigued.  I actually got the method to work for me and now I want to be able to put it to use, particularly since I seem to become more and more forgetful about my to-do-list as I get older. I work with dental students, I can see how this method would come in handy for dental procedures students need to remember and follow when working with real patients.  All of the dental procedures have a starting point and an end point, so I can see how visualizing their room and a list of procedures would work great.  Using mental activities with this method in designing instructions would be a good idea to get the students’ mind warmed-up and ready to start on new assignments.

Reflect on the implementation and evaluation: What changes will you make before implementation? Why? What did you ignore in the client's feedback? Why? What did you ignore in your peer's feedback? Why?

As far as the implementation and evaluation part of my project, I have gotten some feedback from my instructor but it has been difficult for her to feel comfortable working in this new electronic format of her course.  She originally thought that by having her course converted to electronic format meant she could step back and count on the students to do their work independently.  At this moment, she wants me to monitor the course and communicate with her students about due dates and assignments.  I am willing to do this for her this year/semester but once a new school year starts, I will give her full control of her course.  I hope that in the meantime, she finds the time to learn the ins and outs of management a Blackboard course.  Because this course is already implement and running, any modifications will have to wait until next year. For example, it would be a good idea for the students to hear from her, via a five-minute recording how the group if progressing and remind the students of due dates, etc.  As far as what my peer’s feedback, I’m still waiting for it but I am sure she will have some great insights like she did with my other project.  

References

 Cohen, J. (2010, November 24). Simonides of Ceos - Art of Memory. Retrieved October 25, 2016, from http://blog.artofmemory.com/simonides-of-ceos-81.html

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