Day: June 26, 2024

Going into this class I did not fully know what to expect. One thing that always came up when I talked to people about their experience doing this class was the learning project. The learning project involved us picking something we wanted to learn through online resource. I did not think about it much, but I was definitely excited to see what it was fully about. This learning project truly made this class fly by as each week I looked forward to learning a new trick or new skills with a deck of cards.

Photo by hanpen2 on Pixabay

When I heard about us doing this assignment, I couldn’t help myself but to go to magic right away! I spent some time thinking about some other options that might seem more practical, but card magic is something that I have always shown interest in. I have never been amazing with card tricks, but I have learned a few over the years, but I can confidently say I don’t even remember a thing, which is pretty crucial to something like magic. I believe one of my first moments that I became interested in magic was through the show America’s Got Talent. This talent show was something I would watch with my family each week and it was always my favourite when magicians came on. My favourite part in magic had to do with cards because it was something I always had at my house and always was easy to follow. Usually after watching an episode and seeing a magician is when my interest would be at the highest level and I would spend the next day or two trying to learn a trick. Unfortunately, I never stuck with it and by the time we were watching another the following week I had already forgot what I spent hours learning. Ironically my Tik Tok algorithm is what influenced this choice for my learning project as I always saw it on my feed. This led to Tik Tok being a primary source of how I learned. Now that you have a little bit of inside info on my learning project I will give you the full rundown.

Photo by nuno_lopes on Pixabay

My Learning Project Recap

Each week I blogged about what I did:

1. Starting the Journey of Becoming a Magician –

• Introduction
• Where I am at
• Why I picked card magic
• What resources I think I will use
• Where I hope to be

2. Card Basics –

• Working with cards before getting into magic
• Being comfortable with a deck of cards
• Shuffling
• Why it will be important while doing card magic

3. Learning my First Trick –

• Using basic skills with cards to perform magic
• Learning my first trick
• Learning from Ash Marlow
• Using Tik Tok
• Sharing the tutorial
• Performing the trick

4. Building a Magical Foundation Through Ash Marlow’s Teachings –

• Learning my second trick
• Learning from Ash Marlow using YouTube
• Comparing learning from Tik Tok Vs. YouTube
• Why I chose the trick
• Sharing the tutorial
• Performing the trick

5. Becoming More Fluent with the Cards –

• Learning my third and fourth tricks
• Using a website to learn
• Using pictures and directions to learn
• Not learning from seeing the trick
• Comparison of learning from pictures vs. videos
• Sharing the tutorial
• Performing the tricks

6. This Will Freak You Out –

• Learning my firth trick
• Learning from Oscar Owen on YouTube
• Comparing Oscar Owen and Ash Marlow Tutorials
• Sharing the tutorial
• Performing the trick

You can check out my full Journey of my learning project all together right here.

Assessment of my Learning

To show my level of learning I put together a video of me doing a short performance to my dad. (I had to keep it under 10 minutes or it would not upload to YouTube) The only way to demonstrate my learning was to show how I can shuffle, handle cards, perform the tricks and perform to my audience which were all things I learned through this project. I mentioned before when I have tried to learn magic in the past, I have never been able to fully perform tricks or even when I did, I could not remember all the steps or the whole trick. I set out to learn in a way that I could remember these tricks and perform multiple tricks to people. This video demonstrates that which I thought would be the best way to show my assessment of learning. I chose to do a performance to my dad of my three favourite tricks while displaying my handling of the cards and performing to the audience.

As you can see, I was able to achieve exactly what I wanted: the ability to perform card magic. I found the more I practiced the more I became comfortable with a deck of card which ultimately led to me performing tricks more fluently. I am happy that I kept working towards this goal of learning multiple tricks. This video is an example of something I could not do before but now can do because of the work I put in throughout my learning project.

Reflecting on the Process of Learning Through Online Resources

After doing such a great process of learning online I think it is important to look at what learning online makes possible and impossible

Online learning has revolutionized education by offering a wide range of possibilities, including:

• Accessibility and Flexibility: Learners can access courses from anywhere in the world and often on their own schedules, accommodating different time zones, work commitments, and personal responsibilities.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Online learning can be more affordable than traditional education due to reduced costs for transportation, housing, and sometimes even course materials.
• Self-Paced Learning: Many online courses allow learners to progress at their own pace, catering to different learning speeds and styles.
• Interactive and Innovative Learning Tools: The integration of multimedia, interactive quizzes, discussion forums, and virtual simulations can enhance the learning experience and cater to different learning preferences.
• Inclusivity: Online learning can be more accessible for individuals with disabilities or those who face geographical, economic, or social barriers to traditional education.
• Lifelong Learning: It encourages lifelong learning by making it easier for individuals of all ages to continue their education and stay current with new developments in their fields.
• Creating an Online Community: Creating a community where people can connect and learn from others like you could see with our class and our community of blogs.
• Data-Driven Personalization: Learning platforms can use data analytics to personalize learning experiences, providing targeted feedback and resources based on individual progress and performance.

Online learning has democratized education, making it more accessible, flexible, and tailored to individual needs and preferences.

Photo by OpenClipart-Vectors on Pixabay

While online learning offers many benefits, there are some aspects of traditional education that it may not be able to fully replicate or provide, making certain experiences and outcomes more challenging or impossible:

• Hands-On and Practical Experience: Fields that require hands-on practice, such as laboratory sciences, medicine, or performing arts, can be difficult to fully experience online. Virtual simulations and remote labs can help, but they may not entirely replace the tactile and immediate feedback of in-person practice.
• Discipline and Motivation: Some learners may find it challenging to stay motivated and disciplined without the structure and routine of attending in-person classes. The physical presence of a classroom environment can help keep students accountable and focused.
• Immediate Assistance: The ability to ask questions and receive immediate help from instructors or peers can be more straightforward in an in-person setting, where students can easily approach someone for clarification.

Final Thoughts

I think my biggest challenge throughout this was remembering all the tricks I learned. I have mentioned that this was what has stopped me in the past when learning magic as I would forget steps and just completely forget tricks. I found that continuously doing the tricks I was learning helped me. Each time I learned a new trick I tried to perform the trick(s) from pervious weeks. Maintaining this pattern helped me to remember my tricks and be able to perform them with one another.

Throughout this process I also found it hard to use a variety of online sources. For me it was a lot easier to learn from videos and seeing the trick done before trying to learn. This was displayed through me using videos more often than not but still finding a variety of magicians to learn from. I tried to compare and contrast between each trick and my process of learning. This process helped me to fully engage with the resource and get a full grasp of each trick or skill. It was important to focus each time on each trick as they were taught in different manners and each one was unique.

I would definitely see learning online as a benefit after completing this learning project as I was able to complete and succeed in something I have been challenged with for many years. This project forced me to have the discipline to learn online and each time I spent learning I realized how impactful it can be. I would say there is still benefits to learning something in person like magic but for me being able to stop and start videos and learn at my own pace was crucial to my understanding and success of this project.

Photo by b0red on Pixabay