Intro to Learning Project
This week, I started my #LearningProject for ECMP 355, a class about using technology in the classroom. The purpose of this assignment is to choose something significant and complex to learn online (using videos, text resources, podcasts, etc.) and to share progress openly in an online space. I decided to work on improving my chess game for my project.
Background
I was inspired to learn to play chess by my wonderful fiance, Kelly. Kelly started playing chess online last year and soon became quite addicted to it. He played live games on Chess.com off and on for about a year before enrolling in a Prodigy Program, which includes live lessons, study plans, homework, and guidance from a team of chess coaches, through the website. He also plays in the University of Regina’s Chess Club.
Anyway, when he first started playing I learned some of the basics with him. We used to play against each other once in a while, but he improved really quickly and I hate losing, so I started to reject his offers more often than not. This Christmas break, he convinced me to play a few times (by giving me a handicap of him playing down a rook) and I started to enjoy playing chess again (even though it’s still extremely frustrating). Now I’ve decided to fully take it up for my learning project for the next 3 months!
Rationale
I think this is a good choice for my learning project for a few reasons:
- It is very complex, so I know I can easily put lots of hours into learning it.
- I already know of quite a few online sources I can use to start improving my chess game.
- It is something I can easily work on every day if I choose to; I don’t have to set aside a ton of time to do it.
- I have a support person who is super passionate about chess and already tries to teach me chess stuff all the time.
- I think learning chess could actually benefit me in ways other than just getting better at chess (i.e. staying calm in stressful situations, thinking ahead, problem solving). It also might be good for my brain!
Have you ever played chess before? Do you find it fun, challenging, or frustrating? Share your thoughts/experiences in the comments!
