Blog #1
When I first started the Health Information Science program, a lot of my first-year classes were about coding and web development. I learned HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python, which were all completely new to me. Since I had never coded before, I wanted to improve and keep up with my classmates. I decided to take extra online coding courses outside of school so I could get better at coding, do better in class, and prepare for future co-op opportunities.
In the beginning I was motivated because I understood how important coding would be for both school and my future career. According to Expectancy Value Theory, people are more motivated when they see value in what they are learning and believe they can succeed so I believed that if I practiced enough, I could become better at coding.
As the semester became busier, I started to become unmotivated because of how online courses were designed compared to my in person classes.The online learning felt boring and lonely because the lessons were just about copying the instructor’s code and then trying to type the same thing on my own.There wasn’t any interaction, feedback, or connection to real-world situations so it made the experience less engaging and interesting.
With the Self-Determination Theory, I can see that some important learner needs were missing. My confidence started to go down because I often felt like I was just copying code instead of actually understanding it. Relatedness was also missing because there was not that much communication with instructors or other students. Even though online learning is more flexible,there wasn’t much support and it was harder to stay motivated.The readings also explain that learning can be difficult because it often requires changing the way we think and building new knowledge. Since coding was completely unfamiliar to me, it took more time and practice than I expected. Like the “backwards bicycle” example, coding required patience and repeated effort before things started to make sense.
If the online courses had been designed better, I think I would have stayed more motivated due to more interactive activities, group discussions, real-world coding examples, and better feedback could have made the learning experience more engaging and helped build my confidence. This experience taught me that motivation is not just about the learner. It is also affected by how the learning environment is designed.
References
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. In Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology.
Siemens, G. (2020). Connectivism. In 25 Years of Ed Tech. https://25years.opened.ca/2020/10/26/connectivism/
Nice post! Starting Python, JavaScript, and web programming all at once when you’ve never coded before is really scary and I can really relate to that, so kudos to you for taking the initiative to take additional classes to keep up. Your explanation of the learning theories is interesting to read, especially when you apply Self-Determination Theory to demonstrate how a lack of hands-on skill and the isolation of online learning sapped your enthusiasm. I guess online classes are a bit boring sometime but for me I enjoy working on things at my own pace. I also really liked your mention of the backwards bicycle analogy since it exactly illustrates the difficult time when your brain has to retrain itself to think like a computer before anything comes together which really illustrates the things you’re trying to learn. But I believe the experiences you’re going through can have an everlasting effect on you and how you shape yourself. I also think that providing real-life examples is a crucial part of the learning process.