CED 502 - Week 2

During our second class of this course, we spent some time talking about our role as the online instructor using the TACCLE resource.  We also looked at some online resources that could help us - most of us were familiar with Blackboard and Moodle, but we also learned about some very useful aspects about programs like Join Me, in which an entire screen can be shared easily with other participants.  Another very useful part of the class was finding and exploring a rubric for online courses - the one that we used for an assignment was quite long and didn't easily allow us to tweak it - the one found during class at csuchico.edu was much more user-friendly and will serve as a great guide as we continue to develop our online courses.

I had many more "aha!" moments while going through the TACCLE readings for this week (and a few where I wish my administrators had seen it).  In Chapter 18, I was a tad overwhelmed at all of the acronyms - and a little more when it said that they are all related, don't all mean the same thing, but are oftentimes interchanged for one another!  After getting over that, I was able to grasp the other concepts (just a little shell-shock at first).  I did enjoy reading about the Personal Learning Environments (PLE's), as the ideas totally make sense - about it being learner-centered rather than course/institution-centered - I totally relate it to the ways teachers taught when I was in high school and even when I first started teaching eight years ago - what a shift in thinking and in clientel.  I was amazed to find out the origin of curriculum as well (race or racecourse - and 1 path to get there - so NOT the case!)  I love that they referred to PLE's as not just a computer program, but a PERSONAL CONCEPT and should be designed to fit each individual (similar to all of us having our own filing and organization methods - especially when you look at teacher's desks in our department - I would freak out a little if mine was chaotic - but - maybe that's how other teachers operate!)

After many years of schooling, new-teacher meetings and eight years in the classroom, the idea of chunking material and switching gears a few times within the class period is not new - although some teachers continue to lecture entire class periods with no breaks.  I don't know anyone who could stay fully engaged that way - no matter what age they are.  These learning objects are designed and intended to be used in bite-size chunks - being much more interesting and to-the-point.  We all function best in this way - for example, you hear something on the radio or read it in the news and come up with a question - it's not answered in the story, but it is driving you nuts trying to think of the answer.  The course of action?  Google it!  Perhaps you will want to know more information about whatever or whoever you were thinking of, but usually you aren't interested in every detail of it or them - we want bite-size chunks of info - and at our fingertips (DLO's!)

The text-based DLO hints were mostly things that I had heard of before (with exception of the powerpoint slides containing no more info as what could fit on the front of a t-shirt).  We usually see these "don'ts" at faculty meetings - reading word-for-word off slides with paragraphs on them.  I must admit that I have done this - mostly because of nerves - but - seeing this as an audience, it is annoying and I tend to lose interest in the speaker.  The question also arises, then, that "why couldn't they have just sent this to us in an email?" - especially if the speaker doesn't add anything new.  (It's all about respecting the learner!)  The main thing with all types of DLO's is to keep them relevant and functional (with descriptive names).  Something new to me in this reading was the topic of copyright and copyleft.  I'm sure that there are plenty of copyright infringements in every classroom and at every school, but it may be more evident/obvious in an online course (more people can access your materials when online than by walking in your classroom.)  I also had never heard of copyleft and am going to see if I notice it on online resources.

One of our assignments was to create a virtual classroom and share some files and videos on it.  I used Blackboard and was quite happy that it was fairly easy to upload content.  During my session, I was also exposed to many tools within the program - all seemingly easy to use - I am excited to try this with students as "office hours" - showing step-by-step problems with arrows and a calculator in real time.  I was only a tad frustrated with it when I couldn't save content, but I found out that if sessions are scheduled, it is possible.  Through this experience, I am feeling much more comfortable with presenting in an online environment! :)

CED 502 - Week 1

   First, a little background.  I teach Chemistry and don't use much e-technology in my classrooom - primarily due to the size of my classes and the space constraints, some of my stubbornness of changing my style of teaching, and to limitations to types of technology in the building.  So far through this program, I am excited to physically work on an online course (which has been started) and was very pumped to Skype for the first time and start feeling comfortable with new e-learning possibilities.  I know that I will be able to use both of those quite a bit in my classes (Skype which will require only one computer and has so many uses - and definitely a program like Moodle in the very near future, as I believe we may be offering that for the next school year.)  I've also found that the social bookmarking and online storage sites can be very helpful to guide students to interesting, applicable and appropriate science websites and can also help teachers find and use great sites and share materials while saving valuable time and avoiding frustration.  I'm sure that there will be some more tools that we will cover that will also find its way into an online course or into the traditional calssroom.  I'm very much looking forward to learning these new tools!
   After reading section 2 of TACCLE, there were some interesting points raised that I am interested in showing our district, especially dealing with e-learning tools that could be used within a "traditional" classroom.  I have taken a few online courses in the past, and I was much more engaged in the content when both sychronous and asynchronous learning was happening.  I can remember a particular course where it was just text material and quizzes - very boring AND hard to stay motivated (talk about procrastination-city!)  It was also nice in Chapter 15 to point out that just putting content online wasn't enough - e-technologies are part of the toolkit but are not a replacement - we need to vary the content and delivery method.  I did appreciate reading in Chapter 14 that the teachers' role has changed to helping students become autonomous learners and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for their learning.  This works in both an online and a traditional learning environment (something that today's parents/students/teachers/administrators need to realize!)
    In Chapter 16, the primary focus was on assessment.  The idea of giving a clear set of instructions and making sure that assessments have a meaningful purpose was also brought up during our last online meeting when we were discussing the three articles.  The part of the chapter that really stuck out to me was the interactivity portion - that tests sometimes are not enough and don't mimic the learning process.  In my classroom, some of the greatest joys are when students are able to explain and help teach concepts to others - I always tell them that if they aren't getting something that I've already covered, that they should ask a friend - because, if they can explain it, I know that they've got it.  The last part that I found that was particularly interesting was the concept that we are teaching "digital natives," but in most schools, we nix the use of most technologies - mostly because of texting/cheating, the possibility of encountering predators, or (what I think is the main reason) a lack of understanding of how these e-technologies can help.  I am a rebel (haha!) and do break the school rule of no cell phones - since my class is heavy in math content, most students don't have or bring a calculator, but ask if they can use the one on their phone (my answer?  you bet!).  Sure, during a test I am more observant making sure that answers are not texted back and forth, but if they have that technology, I don't want to ban it from learning.  (Now, if I can convince the administration that using it is a good thing...any ideas?)