Final Class Blog (It's So Hard to Say Goodbye....)

As this course comes to an end, I can truly say I have learned a vast amount of knowledge regarding online teaching and what it means to be an effective instructor and student.

I’m glad I had the opportunity in learning how to create a blog. If it wasn’t for this course, my blogs will not exist!! This course has opened my eyes to more than I ever wanted to learn. I can’t believe we are near the end!!!!!! I will grasp this knowledge in hope of retaining it for use in teaching online courses in the future.

In the last half of this course, I have learned different methods/techniques to assist me in my online learning from synchronous conferencing, digital portfolios, learning theories, online pedagogy and the 7 principles, student/teacher-centered teaching models, instructional strategies and online technologies. Since I’m limited in my posting, I will make reference to only a few of these topics. Here goes………….

This course introduced me to Wimba (What is Wimba?) as I never heard of or even had the pleasure of using it until now. I have learned that Wimba would be great to use in online courses because it can be used for group collaboration, guest lecturers, special discussion topics, virtual classroom sessions and virtual office hours. I also found that Wimba is great for the online community because it help to create a sense of community for distant learners, provide more flexibility in delivery and help with accessibility issues.

As I recall, I had some computer problems when we used Wimba for our guest lecturer. Even though I missed the lecture, I was still able to listen to the archive recording of the lecture. The entire lecture was recorded, even the side jokes. The only thing that I was missing was the real-time interactive audio contact from the class. Go Wimba!!!!!

Let’s not talk about Wiki’s!!!!!! My first time using a Wiki was in this course for our group project. Let me say I was SOOO confused!!! I had no idea what a Wiki was or what it did. I had problems navigating the Wiki, attaching documents as well as trying to view certain documents posted in the Wiki. Thanks to my group members, Nancy & Gigi, who were patient with me and explained to me what they knew of Wiki. I later found out that we learned how to use Wiki together. It was definitely a learning curve for me. I think my biggest problem with using Wiki was trying to make it do things that it wasn’t suppose to do and I became easily frustrated with it. Nevertheless, I made it and overcome my fear of using Wiki’s.

This half of the course has also taught me that people learn different things in different ways because the variety of learning styles. As a result, people respond better to certain types of teaching styles than others because they think and learn differently. I also learned that some people need information presented in a variety of ways because most learners have their own unique perspectives and experiences and it will affect how they understand certain material. From our course online reading, it explained there is no single learning theory (Learning Theories) to follow and one can use a combination of theories to develop online learning materials. Furthermore, I still think it’s highly impossible to incorporate every learning theory into a specific teaching/learning situation.

I have learned how I would be able to use the 7 Principles (Seven Principles) to guide my online teaching and course development in the online environment. These principles would allow me to recognize and apply the best teaching practices in online teaching environments such as student learning, retention and outcome assessments. One of the principles that stick out to me is “Develop Reciprocity and Cooperation among Students” which includes allowing student collaboration on group projects and assigning weekly assignment that would definitely encourage cooperation among students. Also, this would allow students to share experiences and sources of information resulting in them building a strong sense of community among class members and increase students’ willingness to interact and cooperate with each other online.

I remember our in class discussion on student-centered instruction. There were long discussion threads on this topic. Some classmates had different views on whose responsibility was it to making learner-centered environments work (instructor or student). I agree that students are responsible for constructing their own personal knowledge and need to be able to think critically, independently and be responsible for and involved in their learning. Also, students need to be self-directed and become active players in the academic learning environment. However, studies have shown that the responsibility is on the instructor for making learner-centered environments work because student-centered instruction requires the teacher to exercise the necessary guidance to foster students’ interests and academic success according to their abilities.

In closing, I just want to say that it has been a blast learning in this class as well as learning from my fellow classmates. I enjoyed reading everyone’s postings. I am very thankful for the timely feedback and encouraging words from our instructor. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

While others are embarking on new tasks and goals, let’s not make this the end to our learning!!!!! I will be taking a break before I start the second course because I will be working towards my PhD next semester. I am determined to finishing the remainder courses soon. Let’s continue to share our knowledge and learning with each other.

Until we meet again…………………….

End of Part 1 Blog

Part one of this course included a myriad of topics including 1) Introductions to Online Learning 2) The Online Environment 3) Models of Online Learning 4) Learners in the Online Environments and 5) Online Teachers.

In the ‘Introductions to Online Learning’ section, the course started off with an introduction from each student. I felt the course was off to a great start. I thought it was quite interesting in learning the different backgrounds of each student and to know why they want to teach online. Although each student is uniquely different, I know we share a common goal as wanting to teach online.
This section of the course also teaches students how to follow rules of appropriate behavior while using the internet, also referred to as Netiquette.

Netiquette
The virtual classroom exists without the nonverbal clues available in real classrooms and it is easy to be misunderstood or to offend others in this environment. Netiquette (online etiquette) is about how to conduct and protect yourself during online chats or while using email, discussion forums and other communication tools.

Here are some sites that I found that could better explain the rules of netiquette:

The Netiquette Home page takes a serious look at behaving better online

Net Manners is a light hearted site with useful tips and insights into net behavior

Business Netiquette International is a site with a business focus for users wishing to develop a professional online style.

The biggest issue I had with the first part of the course was learning how to create a blog. I was new to the blog world and never wanted to learn about blogging nor created my own page. I had no idea of the legwork it took in creating a blog page. Nevertheless, I took my time in creating my blog page and found out that blogs are very easy to use as well as create. Now, I find the blog world very fascinating.

What is a blog?

A blog is a Web publishing tool that allows authors to quickly and easily self-publish text, artwork, links to other blogs or Web sites, and a whole array of other content.Blogs are set-up like conventional Web sites, with navigation links, and other standard Web site features. A blog is different from a typical Web site in that the primary content is comprised of a daily posting. Blog postings are text entries, similar to a diary or journal, which includes a posting date. They include subsequent comments made by people other than the author. Postings are often short and frequently updated. They appear in reverse chronological order and can include archived entries (teachingtoday.com).

Blogs work well for students because they can be worked on at virtually any time, in any place with an Internet-enabled computer. Blogs require minimum technical knowledge and are quickly created and maintained. Unlike many traditional Web sites, Blogs are flexible in design and can be changed relatively easily.

My favorite part of the course was Unit 4 & 5 (Learners in the Online Environment and Online Teachers) which consisted of students finding out their learning and teaching styles. I enjoyed learning about the four basic learning styles (Visual/Verbal, Visual/Non-Verbal, Auditory/Verbal & Tactile/Kinesthetic Learning Styles) that are identified in the VARK (Visual, Aural, Reading and Kinesthetic) model. When I took the VARK questionnaire, I quickly learned that I am a Visual/Non-Verbal learner. As you can see, each student has a different learning style. These learning styles tell us that all students do not learn in the same way. This is what makes each student uniquely different.

In Unit 5, I learned the different styles of teaching. See teaching styles here Teaching Style. Instructors develop a teaching style based on their beliefs about what constitutes good teaching, personal preferences, their abilities, and the norms of their particular discipline. Some believe classes should be teacher-centered, where the teacher is expert and authority in presenting information. Others take a learner-centered approach, viewing their role as more of a facilitator of student learning. What is your teaching style? Check here Teaching Style.

As Part 1 comes to a close, I can’t wait to get started on Part 2 of this course. I am experiencing new online web tools that I would have never given a second thought. This course gets more interesting as we get closer to the end!!!

Michelle's Self Blog

Before enrolling in this course, I had no idea of how much planning and structure it would take to design and teach in an online community. As this course progress, I realize it entails both effective planning and technical competence to teach in an e-learning environment.

I’m also learning that online teaching is not just about putting course materials on the web. Online teaching is time and labor intensive. Since online courses require individualize attention, online instructors must have a clear balance between effectively managing their time and being responsive to students. An online instructor should be willing to give individual attention to students who may need extra help. Being sensitive, open and flexible is not an option, it is a requirement.

Most instructors find that online courses actually provide a high level of personal contact, and many say that they get to know their online students much better than students in the traditional classroom setting. This is because asynchronous online courses offer many more opportunities for reflection, in-depth discussion, and interaction than a traditional course that meets maybe once or twice a week.

I have enjoyed the discussions regarding the different learning styles. Individual learning styles define who we are and how we process information. Since I’ve taken the learn style survey, I found out I’m a visual/non-verbal learner. As we learned in class, visual learners depend primarily on sight to absorb new information. Pictures, moving or still, diagrams, white-boards, flip charts, and written language are modes that suit visual learners best. Also, color variety, symbols, seeing charts, diagrams, and models are helpful to visual learners.

I have also enjoyed working on the assigned group project. I have come to realize group projects are what you make them. You get out what you put in. As I have stated in the online class discussion, group projects forces students to collaborate, improve their communication skills and participate more. Working in a group takes commitment. A group works well when its members are committed to collaborate. Also, group projects allow students to have a voice in expressing themselves and give each student a chance to show their ability. I found that group projects allow people to learn from each other’s experience.

I’m looking forward to the next part in this class. Let me leave this blog by saying.. "Online learning is not the next big thing, it is the now big thing." Donna J Abernathy, Training and Development Editor, 1999

My Online Experience!!

I'm hoping this blog encourages you to continue to seek online learning. In 2001, I decided to pursue my MBA online. I transferred from Keller Graduate School of Management only after taken two courses online to the University of St. Francis. I really didn't know what to expect since this was a new school for me. I was trying to find a school that could provide me with the flexibility that coincide with my work schedule and hectic life surroundings.

When I registered for two online courses at USF, I logged in every other day about 2-3:00 a.m. No one was online at that hour so I was able to post many threads and catch up on reading materials. I was able to keep up in class and the instructors were wonderful. The instructors were very patient especially with students who were new online. They provided several e-mail addresses as well as phone numbers. One instructor even gave his phone number out to the entire class. Also, the requirements for the course were very simple and the classmates really helped each other out. As I successfully completed both courses, I registered for the next two. I made sure when I registered for the next two courses, I chose courses with different instructors. The reason I wanted to take courses with different instructors was to learn the different teaching styles. I followed the same format as the other two courses in which I previous enrolled. Of course, some instructors had different requirements but the format was all the same. I even took essay exams online.

Once I got use to online learning, I was addicted. My experience with online learning has gone far beyond my expectations. Let me tell you.......once I received my MBA online, I never wanted to sit in the traditional classroom setting again. The coursework was challenging and fun unlike sitting in a classroom listening to boring lectures. Online learning requires students to read as well as interact with other students. Not to say anything bad about the traditionally classroom settings, but most instructors like to hear themselves talk and never let the students interact.

What I really loved about my online learning experience was the instructors used textbook examples and turned them into real life experiences. The instructors were opened to learning alongside of their students and highly committed to engaging the students to push harder and learn the material in a community environment. Also, online learning is a good way to meet new people as well as network.

Learning

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 2 or 8. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young."

----Moshe Arens