ISLT 9484: Teaching Online Courses
Fall 2012
Course Description
Examines emerging issues in teaching and learning online; instructor and student roles; instructional strategies for supporting diverse learners; methods of student assessment; online communication; classroom management; characteristics of online learning management systems. Broadly applicable concepts, with focus on K-12 learners.
Reflection
Before entering this class, I was very excited to learn about teaching online courses. My mom is currently a virtual teacher, and her transition from the traditional classroom was difficult. I found the idea of being a virtual teacher interesting and challenging. I was excited to learn a variety of best practices for teaching virtually.
As a learner, I am an individual who loves to learn. This is mainly due to my competitive nature for being right. As I inform everyone who asks, I like to be right and therefore need to be informed to do so. Because of this desire for correctness, as well as my intense attitude for knowledge, I have always enjoyed learning. As a virtual learner, I have found a variety of tools to be helpful, but certainly had never thought about how I learn and how learning virtually might be different. I was a traditional student when it came to undergraduate work, and attended all of my classes regularly. The decision to be a virtual learner for my graduate work seemed to be a no brainer, but the idea behind all of the information I gained from this course certainly has made me realize the difference between the two different means of teaching and learning.
As a teacher, I have changed a fair amount throughout my course work. I have begun to integrate technology in my every day teaching. Not just teaching “from” technology but “with” technology. My emphasis is to allow my students to learn as much about the concepts I teach along with learning new skills in technology. Because I do not currently teach virtually, I have not necessarily changed my instruction in my classroom, but I have gained a great deal of tools I can use in my traditional classroom. I have my class currently creating a class Wiki about the topics we learn in my Math class.
As a learner, I do not believe I have changed my view of how I learn or my process for learning. I have always been a diligent learner, and since college an efficient learner. Although that process has not really changed for me because of my participation in this course, I have changed my thought process as a teacher. The idea behind being an instructor or facilitator I have taken to heart. I seek out opportunities for my students to create, and learn from one another using prompting questions and allowing them to then lead the discussion and carry on with their learning without my direct instruction.
One thing that I gained from this course is the variety of tools available for teachers to utilize. I really liked the use of Voice Thread for a question answer session. I am hoping that I can find ways to use this program with my students. My goal is to find experts that my students can create voice thread questions about that the “expert” can then respond to. Throughout this course, I learned a variety of prompting techniques to help aid in conversation and higher order thinking skills.
One thing that I learned about myself that was not necessarily new, but was different because of the situation was that I am a procrastinator. I often put things off until they have to be done. This is often because there are so many things in my life that I believe to need to be done right away. Because of this, the group Wiki project was difficult. I often work hard on something and get it done and do well. This is difficult when you are working in a group and you never meet in person to truly discuss information. I have learned that group work virtually needs to be done in advance to truly get the best results. Because of this, I believe that if I were to set up something like a group wiki in my own classroom, there would be more specific deadlines to ensure work is not done at the last minute and ensure greater collaboration.
As a learner, I am an individual who loves to learn. This is mainly due to my competitive nature for being right. As I inform everyone who asks, I like to be right and therefore need to be informed to do so. Because of this desire for correctness, as well as my intense attitude for knowledge, I have always enjoyed learning. As a virtual learner, I have found a variety of tools to be helpful, but certainly had never thought about how I learn and how learning virtually might be different. I was a traditional student when it came to undergraduate work, and attended all of my classes regularly. The decision to be a virtual learner for my graduate work seemed to be a no brainer, but the idea behind all of the information I gained from this course certainly has made me realize the difference between the two different means of teaching and learning.
As a teacher, I have changed a fair amount throughout my course work. I have begun to integrate technology in my every day teaching. Not just teaching “from” technology but “with” technology. My emphasis is to allow my students to learn as much about the concepts I teach along with learning new skills in technology. Because I do not currently teach virtually, I have not necessarily changed my instruction in my classroom, but I have gained a great deal of tools I can use in my traditional classroom. I have my class currently creating a class Wiki about the topics we learn in my Math class.
As a learner, I do not believe I have changed my view of how I learn or my process for learning. I have always been a diligent learner, and since college an efficient learner. Although that process has not really changed for me because of my participation in this course, I have changed my thought process as a teacher. The idea behind being an instructor or facilitator I have taken to heart. I seek out opportunities for my students to create, and learn from one another using prompting questions and allowing them to then lead the discussion and carry on with their learning without my direct instruction.
One thing that I gained from this course is the variety of tools available for teachers to utilize. I really liked the use of Voice Thread for a question answer session. I am hoping that I can find ways to use this program with my students. My goal is to find experts that my students can create voice thread questions about that the “expert” can then respond to. Throughout this course, I learned a variety of prompting techniques to help aid in conversation and higher order thinking skills.
One thing that I learned about myself that was not necessarily new, but was different because of the situation was that I am a procrastinator. I often put things off until they have to be done. This is often because there are so many things in my life that I believe to need to be done right away. Because of this, the group Wiki project was difficult. I often work hard on something and get it done and do well. This is difficult when you are working in a group and you never meet in person to truly discuss information. I have learned that group work virtually needs to be done in advance to truly get the best results. Because of this, I believe that if I were to set up something like a group wiki in my own classroom, there would be more specific deadlines to ensure work is not done at the last minute and ensure greater collaboration.
Artifacts
Group Wiki
The group Wiki was a project where we created a Wiki page for new teachers who are just beginning to teach virtually. My group focused on Behavior Disabilities and ways to work with students who may have behavior concerns in your virtual classroom.
SIS Project
The SIS Project was a lesson that we were to create to teach a group of students from our class. This lesson was taught virtually using the Blackboard Collaborate feature