Here I am again enrolled in the third certificate course for the second time. This time with a determination to move forward in a timely manner and to complete the course! The previous two courses for the online teaching certificate were completely different and let me explain why.
In the first course, I remember gaining a lot of information about different theories concerning the online environment. I obtained a lot of knowledge that helped me in the traditional classroom setting as an adjunct professor. For example, a few of the most beneficial topics dealt directly with different teaching styles and student learning styles. There were a host of activities and articles that address these two topics. Additionally there were assignments given that exposed me to some hands on experiences with creating online activities based on a students learning style. Oh and I must mention that there were a substantial amount of time given to working as teams in the online environment. Something I had never done before. But I must say the first class was very informative and the instructor did an awesome job with feedback and encouragement throughout the course.
Consequently, the second class focused more on learning how to facilitate an online class. The instructor gave each student in the class the opportunity to facilitate one class. Not only did we get to facilitate a class we also were able to obtain more student to student feedback. Again the hands on experiences were great with learning in this course as well. Both courses were great and have helped me gain a sufficient amount of knowledge about the online environment.
I am looking forward to learning more about designing courses in this class. As I stated before I started out once before and was not able to move forward and keep up. This time I am looking forward to staying on task and learning more about the development of online courses. One thing that is going to be very different in this class will be the weekly student feedback that we will be getting and giving as the class starts to work in the design teams. I am truly looking forward to learning how to design a course in this class.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
ONTL 652 Reflection One
I would have never thought about designing a course before and yet here I am enrolled in a design course. Not just enrolled in it for the knowledge but I truly have a desire to design an online course. Now is it reality? Yes, I believe it is. I also believe that now is the time for this to happen for me. This course is going to be the means in how I get it all started.
In the past I have taught an f2f workshop before and enjoyed doing it. Now I hope that some of the activities that were created in the workshop can be designed for an online course. I expect the design process to be different for online courses simply because it is set up with more projects to work on independently. There is also more student to student contact involved in the design course.
The two previous courses have helped me with learning how to work with different learning styles and teaching techniques for the f2f workshop. Both courses have given me a host of information that will help me in many other areas as well. When I think about the different learning styles it amazes me and makes me as an instructor more conscience of created activities that are adaptable to everyone.
One thing I must state is, after completing the first week of the design class I am really looking forward to moving forward with completing the upcoming assignments. I feel that there is going to be a lot of great information shared in this course.
In the past I have taught an f2f workshop before and enjoyed doing it. Now I hope that some of the activities that were created in the workshop can be designed for an online course. I expect the design process to be different for online courses simply because it is set up with more projects to work on independently. There is also more student to student contact involved in the design course.
The two previous courses have helped me with learning how to work with different learning styles and teaching techniques for the f2f workshop. Both courses have given me a host of information that will help me in many other areas as well. When I think about the different learning styles it amazes me and makes me as an instructor more conscience of created activities that are adaptable to everyone.
One thing I must state is, after completing the first week of the design class I am really looking forward to moving forward with completing the upcoming assignments. I feel that there is going to be a lot of great information shared in this course.
Monday, November 30, 2009
My first experience as an online facilitator
Facilitator and collaborative learning
As an online facilitator I really enjoyed putting together the power point presentation for the Wimba session. When I started preparing for the live wimba session there were a lot of uncertainties dwelling in my mind concerning preparing the right material. The first thing I did was to review the “pdf” Wimba resource guide online. Reviewing the guide helped me to understand some basic things about the Wimba tools. After reviewing the guide and logging into the practice Wimba session, I felt somewhat comfortable with using the Wimba tools. As the week progressed I felt the need to visit the Wimba practice room to review my power point presentation one last time, after that time it was do or die. Three things that were very successful for me was the reviewing the “pdf Wimba resource guide, taking time to practice or to become familiar with the Wimba tools and presetting the power point presentation for the live session.
My experience with working with the asynchronous activities or the discussion questions was somewhat surprising to me. I started out logging in three times a day, once in the morning, next at mid day and again in the evening to check for new posting. The surprise was that it did not take up as much time as I thought it would. I really think this worked out well for me even though I must say it did require me to be more conscious of my time management skills.
Overall the experience was rewarding and my perspective on the online facilitator has changed somewhat. The main reason for the slight change is because I now know from this one experience that to facilitate online is a two way street. If you have supportive classmates and your instructor is assessable you cannot go wrong. I mean you can consider the experience successful because everyone is learning together. The one important thing I will keep in mind is that collaboration is necessary for the online facilitation experience to be truly successful.
As an online facilitator I really enjoyed putting together the power point presentation for the Wimba session. When I started preparing for the live wimba session there were a lot of uncertainties dwelling in my mind concerning preparing the right material. The first thing I did was to review the “pdf” Wimba resource guide online. Reviewing the guide helped me to understand some basic things about the Wimba tools. After reviewing the guide and logging into the practice Wimba session, I felt somewhat comfortable with using the Wimba tools. As the week progressed I felt the need to visit the Wimba practice room to review my power point presentation one last time, after that time it was do or die. Three things that were very successful for me was the reviewing the “pdf Wimba resource guide, taking time to practice or to become familiar with the Wimba tools and presetting the power point presentation for the live session.
My experience with working with the asynchronous activities or the discussion questions was somewhat surprising to me. I started out logging in three times a day, once in the morning, next at mid day and again in the evening to check for new posting. The surprise was that it did not take up as much time as I thought it would. I really think this worked out well for me even though I must say it did require me to be more conscious of my time management skills.
Overall the experience was rewarding and my perspective on the online facilitator has changed somewhat. The main reason for the slight change is because I now know from this one experience that to facilitate online is a two way street. If you have supportive classmates and your instructor is assessable you cannot go wrong. I mean you can consider the experience successful because everyone is learning together. The one important thing I will keep in mind is that collaboration is necessary for the online facilitation experience to be truly successful.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Part Two Summary
Part two in the second covered a number of things that will help me with my future goal of teaching online classes and in the traditional classroom environment. As I Reflect back on the fifth week of class when the information presented was focused on the pedagogy of a virtual course. There were a number of things that will be useful for me. First it will be the idea of presenting a lecture in a story like format as pages rather than as one file. The fact of just sitting at home conducting a lecture for students sounds great and in fact is a very good thing. However there are so many things to consider when putting together an online lecture.
Another very interesting concept that was discussed was the social role of building a community for the online environment. This is something that is very important for the online teaching and learning environment. There were many activities presented in the reading about how to build a social community to engage in ongoing educational activities. One suggestion given was to discover and contribute to the communication etiquette for the group. Another suggestion is to supportive relationships with others as individuals and as group members. The social role in building a community for the online environment is definitely necessary for the success of any course.
The managerial role gave insight on strategies to help organize a online course before the class starts and after the class begins. The material had some interesting elements in both units concerning knowing how to structure the class from the beginning phase. This was followed by a variety of ways of setting up the syllabus and placing other resources on the home page in an organized manner. I found this activity quite useful. Posturing as students, the material broke down the use of all the online tools including chat rooms, discussion boards and calendars. The online tools were instrumental from the student’s perspective as it enabled one to experience how this all comes together from an instructor’s point of view.
The last unit in this session denotes the technical skills and role for the instructor, which requires teaching as well as designs and/or development of courses. Hence, it is necessary for the instructor to have the appropriate technical skills in teaching online. For instance, an instructor must be knowledgeable of a variety of electronic techniques as training tools to reach an array of students that have different learning styles. Also, instructors must endeavor to stay abreast with contemporary information in this industry in order to maintain effectiveness in the class room environment.
Another very interesting concept that was discussed was the social role of building a community for the online environment. This is something that is very important for the online teaching and learning environment. There were many activities presented in the reading about how to build a social community to engage in ongoing educational activities. One suggestion given was to discover and contribute to the communication etiquette for the group. Another suggestion is to supportive relationships with others as individuals and as group members. The social role in building a community for the online environment is definitely necessary for the success of any course.
The managerial role gave insight on strategies to help organize a online course before the class starts and after the class begins. The material had some interesting elements in both units concerning knowing how to structure the class from the beginning phase. This was followed by a variety of ways of setting up the syllabus and placing other resources on the home page in an organized manner. I found this activity quite useful. Posturing as students, the material broke down the use of all the online tools including chat rooms, discussion boards and calendars. The online tools were instrumental from the student’s perspective as it enabled one to experience how this all comes together from an instructor’s point of view.
The last unit in this session denotes the technical skills and role for the instructor, which requires teaching as well as designs and/or development of courses. Hence, it is necessary for the instructor to have the appropriate technical skills in teaching online. For instance, an instructor must be knowledgeable of a variety of electronic techniques as training tools to reach an array of students that have different learning styles. Also, instructors must endeavor to stay abreast with contemporary information in this industry in order to maintain effectiveness in the class room environment.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
End of part one course number ONTL651 Facilitating Online Learning
The first part of this class has ended and it seems like the time went by very fast. In a short amount of time we covered a lot of useful information. This blog entry is going to list a few of the things I felt was very useful. Also included will be some short reflections on reading assignments that enhanced my understanding through participating in online activities.
During the first week of class I learned how to communicate on a voice board. The voice board was a very good way to introduce new online technology to individuals. When I first read the assignment I thought it was going to be a difficult task. However I found out that there were great instructions given on how to use the voice board and it was not difficulty at all. The main thing is following the instructions step by step. After using the voice board I know it will be something that can be utilized by many facilitators.
The reading assignments during the first week assisted me in putting together a very good comparison between online verses fact to face instruction. The main objective of this was to get an understanding in knowing if there really is a difference. Many things are obviously different, like being at home teaching instead of in the classroom. However there are quite a few differences between the two settings. For example, online instruction will need to have strategies in place to assist student involvement in the online environment oppose to the f2f. Accordingly, there were seven principles given for effective learning for both online and f2f learning.
The second and third week reading assignments and resource materials covered topics such as facilitating a class online and the changing instructor and student roles. Some specific information that I found interesting and useful was the instructions on how to conduct a Wimba classroom discussion with a power point presentation. Now this particular assignment seemed like it would be fun to do. At least I wanted it to be fun because learning new technology can be fun. I also want it to be very informative and useful.
During this week everyone had to choose a week to facilitate a class. I am glad that everyone in the class will have the opportunity to facilitate a class in Wimba. However, I will need to start getting a lot of practice time scheduled. The key to be successful in many things for me is through practice.
During the third week there was a chart given out with at least 10 different roles listed about the student and the instructor’s role for the online environment. The chart along with the resource links that were given for supporting first time online instructors to help with getting started was excellent. It is good to know that there is such a host of support available for first time online instructors.
The final week of the first session gave even more information and resources on support for online students and instructors. This week gave some specific on resources for pedagogical, technical, social and managerial aspect of an online class. Again, there were so many resources available. I am now in search of how to organize my online files to keep all of these wonderful resources online. I also look forward to obtaining even more knowledge and online recourses in the remaining of this course.
During the first week of class I learned how to communicate on a voice board. The voice board was a very good way to introduce new online technology to individuals. When I first read the assignment I thought it was going to be a difficult task. However I found out that there were great instructions given on how to use the voice board and it was not difficulty at all. The main thing is following the instructions step by step. After using the voice board I know it will be something that can be utilized by many facilitators.
The reading assignments during the first week assisted me in putting together a very good comparison between online verses fact to face instruction. The main objective of this was to get an understanding in knowing if there really is a difference. Many things are obviously different, like being at home teaching instead of in the classroom. However there are quite a few differences between the two settings. For example, online instruction will need to have strategies in place to assist student involvement in the online environment oppose to the f2f. Accordingly, there were seven principles given for effective learning for both online and f2f learning.
The second and third week reading assignments and resource materials covered topics such as facilitating a class online and the changing instructor and student roles. Some specific information that I found interesting and useful was the instructions on how to conduct a Wimba classroom discussion with a power point presentation. Now this particular assignment seemed like it would be fun to do. At least I wanted it to be fun because learning new technology can be fun. I also want it to be very informative and useful.
During this week everyone had to choose a week to facilitate a class. I am glad that everyone in the class will have the opportunity to facilitate a class in Wimba. However, I will need to start getting a lot of practice time scheduled. The key to be successful in many things for me is through practice.
During the third week there was a chart given out with at least 10 different roles listed about the student and the instructor’s role for the online environment. The chart along with the resource links that were given for supporting first time online instructors to help with getting started was excellent. It is good to know that there is such a host of support available for first time online instructors.
The final week of the first session gave even more information and resources on support for online students and instructors. This week gave some specific on resources for pedagogical, technical, social and managerial aspect of an online class. Again, there were so many resources available. I am now in search of how to organize my online files to keep all of these wonderful resources online. I also look forward to obtaining even more knowledge and online recourses in the remaining of this course.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Faciliting Online Teaching
My expectation and concerns as a facilitator
I have a limited amount of experience with the online environment which causes me to have the following concerns. First, I am wondering if I will be able to complete the assignment without any technology problems. I have no experience as a trouble shooter when it comes to resolving tech problems. Next, I want to be able to do a good job on the lesson. Doing a good job on the lesson means to be on the giving and receiving end concerning the assignment. I want to give as much time as necessary on the assignment and consequently would like to receive constructive criticism that will allow me to become a very effective and efficient online facilitator.
I have a limited amount of experience with the online environment which causes me to have the following concerns. First, I am wondering if I will be able to complete the assignment without any technology problems. I have no experience as a trouble shooter when it comes to resolving tech problems. Next, I want to be able to do a good job on the lesson. Doing a good job on the lesson means to be on the giving and receiving end concerning the assignment. I want to give as much time as necessary on the assignment and consequently would like to receive constructive criticism that will allow me to become a very effective and efficient online facilitator.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
End of Part 2
This is the final blog posting and it seems like the time has moved quickly. At this point I am thankful that we were required to create a blog and to develop summary sections on it. It is going to give me something to reflect back on as often as I need to. It really is a nice way to keep an electronic notebook on the first class. I cannot imagine it being designed for that purpose however it is something that could be done. I must admit that sometimes it seemed like I was not able to post enough information on mine however every little bit counts for something. And as time moves on I plan to post more on this blog. I plan to share it with others often as well. I really believe that this class is very necessary for many if not all teachers. Because this is my final posting for this class I plan to summarize the final weeks of the course, starting with unit six.
Unit 6: Synchronous Conferencing and Digital Portfolios
This unit focus was to get the class ready for an online Wimba session and to review some different kinds of portfolios online. I reviewed two portfolios both of which were very interesting. One was an e-portfolio that told stories in a digital format. This digital story format would be great for individuals because it can give students an expanded online experience. Expanded in the sense that the portfolio add data clips along with a personal voice and fascinating music. The second portfolio was created on a website using livetext and it was more on a standard format. Standard format meaning there were different links to click to view certain portion of it. There were no videos or audios on this portfolio. However my reasoning behind adding this portfolio to my posting was because it was a document that was very easy to navigate through.
Unit 7: Learning Theories
In this unit there was information given out concerning seven principles along with numerous strategies identified for addressing the principles. In this unit I had to think about how people learn in different ways. Not something new but applying this to the online environment for different kinds of learners is something different. Something I never thought about until I received this assignment. There were two exercises in this unit. The first exercise was to describe how I would go about deciding on which learning theory would work for a specific teaching or learning situation and the second one was to develop a mini case.
For the first exercise I felt that designing a course would encompass a global outlook of a subject. It would take more details and more research than creating a lesson plan. One reason would be because lesson plans create activities to teach certain key concepts within a syllabus. However, when designing a course a title would be the driving force from the beginning. Lesson plans are generally develop from objectives. “The design of the course determines the effectiveness of the learning” In designing a course you would need to determine things like what type of book or research will be need to support the course. One important thing brought out in our reading about learners is…”Learners should be motivated to learn”.
The second exercise had specific instructions on using three mini cases. The assignment was to choose a theory that we felt would be good to use in developing an online training manual for it. The three theories we had to choose from were behaviorism, constructivism and cognitivism. Each theory was associated with a different principle. For example behaviorism theory was associated with non complex design principle, the constructivisim principle is built on personal interpretations of the world on experiences and interactions, and the cognitivism theory principle states that it is complex and entails internal coding and structure. After completing this exercise I learned that some of the principles describe above can be inter changed with different scenarios or different cases. It just depends on what the subject, what the age group is and how you set up the instructions.
Part 2 of unit 7-Learning Theories
This unit was so detailed about the seven principles and the instructional strategies. There was a host of examples for different strategies to associate with each principle given in the unit. One thing for sure is that a lot of the information was very good for me to use immediately as an adjunct and some ideas will certainly be used at a later date. One assignment for this unit was to identify two best strategies for each of the principles to teach a unit. Another assignment was to give input on student centered learning verses teacher centered instructions.
Completing the two assignments for this unit was very time consuming for me. While going through each of the seven principles and choosing two strategies I found myself thinking about my current class. How could I incorporate some of these suggestions into the class? Here is one example of what I came up with for now. To develop reciprocity and cooperation among students for an online class I would have various group lessons within activities. In my current class I only had one group activity so I changed it to make it three group activities. The assignment gave me many ideas that I could use in the future.
The second assignment for this unit on student learning verses teacher centered instructions. This was another part of the course that gave out some great resourceful information to be used now and later. I believe that teachers and students share the responsibility to create an effective learning-centered environment. I believe that on one hand students should be made responsible being active in class and participating as much as possible. On the other hand teachers or instructors should be held accountable for developing activities that are effective for the learning objectives as well as all individual learning styles.
Unit 8: Instructional Strategies
This unit referred ten principles that were effective in the online environment. It was a different viewpoint than the seven principles described above. The required exercises for this unit were very helpful to me. Most of the ten principles were familiar to me however one of them that was most interest was, the self-directed learning strategy. It was an interesting one because it gives individuals the opportunity to learn independently and it directs the learner to initiate his or her pace in learning.
Unit 9: Online Technologies and Content Resources
This unit had three weeks of work compiled into one unit. It seems like a lot of work but not really. Because all of the assignments were spread out well and I did not really feel any pressure until the final week which is now. One thing I must state is that being organized for online courses is the only way to make it through. When you think you have a lot of time to complete assignments and if you do not plan or organize the work; it can cause you to fall behind on things. This is especially true if you are not an organized person from the beginning.
The one thing about this unit that was the most fun was creating the portfolio online. It is a lot of work but it is work that I enjoyed doing. Starting the portfolio required a lot of research however in the long run I believe it will be worth it. There are still three more classes for me to take however I am very glad one is almost completed. I am ready to move full speed ahead to finish what I have started concerning obtaining the online teaching certificate. I have three classes left to finish.
Unit 6: Synchronous Conferencing and Digital Portfolios
This unit focus was to get the class ready for an online Wimba session and to review some different kinds of portfolios online. I reviewed two portfolios both of which were very interesting. One was an e-portfolio that told stories in a digital format. This digital story format would be great for individuals because it can give students an expanded online experience. Expanded in the sense that the portfolio add data clips along with a personal voice and fascinating music. The second portfolio was created on a website using livetext and it was more on a standard format. Standard format meaning there were different links to click to view certain portion of it. There were no videos or audios on this portfolio. However my reasoning behind adding this portfolio to my posting was because it was a document that was very easy to navigate through.
Unit 7: Learning Theories
In this unit there was information given out concerning seven principles along with numerous strategies identified for addressing the principles. In this unit I had to think about how people learn in different ways. Not something new but applying this to the online environment for different kinds of learners is something different. Something I never thought about until I received this assignment. There were two exercises in this unit. The first exercise was to describe how I would go about deciding on which learning theory would work for a specific teaching or learning situation and the second one was to develop a mini case.
For the first exercise I felt that designing a course would encompass a global outlook of a subject. It would take more details and more research than creating a lesson plan. One reason would be because lesson plans create activities to teach certain key concepts within a syllabus. However, when designing a course a title would be the driving force from the beginning. Lesson plans are generally develop from objectives. “The design of the course determines the effectiveness of the learning” In designing a course you would need to determine things like what type of book or research will be need to support the course. One important thing brought out in our reading about learners is…”Learners should be motivated to learn”.
The second exercise had specific instructions on using three mini cases. The assignment was to choose a theory that we felt would be good to use in developing an online training manual for it. The three theories we had to choose from were behaviorism, constructivism and cognitivism. Each theory was associated with a different principle. For example behaviorism theory was associated with non complex design principle, the constructivisim principle is built on personal interpretations of the world on experiences and interactions, and the cognitivism theory principle states that it is complex and entails internal coding and structure. After completing this exercise I learned that some of the principles describe above can be inter changed with different scenarios or different cases. It just depends on what the subject, what the age group is and how you set up the instructions.
Part 2 of unit 7-Learning Theories
This unit was so detailed about the seven principles and the instructional strategies. There was a host of examples for different strategies to associate with each principle given in the unit. One thing for sure is that a lot of the information was very good for me to use immediately as an adjunct and some ideas will certainly be used at a later date. One assignment for this unit was to identify two best strategies for each of the principles to teach a unit. Another assignment was to give input on student centered learning verses teacher centered instructions.
Completing the two assignments for this unit was very time consuming for me. While going through each of the seven principles and choosing two strategies I found myself thinking about my current class. How could I incorporate some of these suggestions into the class? Here is one example of what I came up with for now. To develop reciprocity and cooperation among students for an online class I would have various group lessons within activities. In my current class I only had one group activity so I changed it to make it three group activities. The assignment gave me many ideas that I could use in the future.
The second assignment for this unit on student learning verses teacher centered instructions. This was another part of the course that gave out some great resourceful information to be used now and later. I believe that teachers and students share the responsibility to create an effective learning-centered environment. I believe that on one hand students should be made responsible being active in class and participating as much as possible. On the other hand teachers or instructors should be held accountable for developing activities that are effective for the learning objectives as well as all individual learning styles.
Unit 8: Instructional Strategies
This unit referred ten principles that were effective in the online environment. It was a different viewpoint than the seven principles described above. The required exercises for this unit were very helpful to me. Most of the ten principles were familiar to me however one of them that was most interest was, the self-directed learning strategy. It was an interesting one because it gives individuals the opportunity to learn independently and it directs the learner to initiate his or her pace in learning.
Unit 9: Online Technologies and Content Resources
This unit had three weeks of work compiled into one unit. It seems like a lot of work but not really. Because all of the assignments were spread out well and I did not really feel any pressure until the final week which is now. One thing I must state is that being organized for online courses is the only way to make it through. When you think you have a lot of time to complete assignments and if you do not plan or organize the work; it can cause you to fall behind on things. This is especially true if you are not an organized person from the beginning.
The one thing about this unit that was the most fun was creating the portfolio online. It is a lot of work but it is work that I enjoyed doing. Starting the portfolio required a lot of research however in the long run I believe it will be worth it. There are still three more classes for me to take however I am very glad one is almost completed. I am ready to move full speed ahead to finish what I have started concerning obtaining the online teaching certificate. I have three classes left to finish.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
