Coursework
Module 1: Engaged Learning
In module one, my favorite activity was the icebreaker. I have had to create a profile or
introduction in each of the online classes that I have taken, but this class put a unique spin
on it. I love the “view from my favorite window concept” and plan to incorporate that same
concept into courses I will be teaching. I also liked the del.icio.us social bookmarking tool we
registered for. This is one more tool I can add to my “teaching toolbox.” I was a bit
overwhelmed with all of the discussion board posting to read and respond to. Thankfully,
Dennis and Sara took time to help us figure out how to maneuver in and around the
discussion boards to make them less stressful.
Module 2: Building Learning Communities
Module 2 was an interesting way of establishing our netiquette rules. One thing I would like
to have changed would have been how we voted on the rules. I think that was pretty chaotic
and I’m not sure everyone even “voted.” I had created a survey which would have made the
process more clear and precise. Unfortunately this did not get utilized. Before I started this
course I was not a huge fan of Wiki’s. After completing this module I do see how there could
be some value in this for collaborative group work. I still am not a huge fan of them because
everyone has individual ideas of organizing and designing so it can be difficult to come to an
agreement on what the end product should look like. For me, they can look disorganized
and messy if not done correctly. I think this might be a good tool for small group (3-4
people) projects. I probably will not use this as a full class tool though. In this module we
also switched to the Moodle Course Management System (CMS). I found switching back and
forth to be a little cumbersome at first. I didn’t really understand why we were going into
another CMS when we were already in one.
Module 3: Activities to Engage Online Learners
In Module 3 we switched from student to teacher in Moodle. Ahh-Haa…this is why we
switched to a new CMS. Had we only remained in Desire2Learn we would not have been
able to become “teachers” since it is the official CMS of Stout. By utilizing another CMS,
Dennis and Sara had more control over the program and were able to set us up as
teachers. This module really helped me understand how to create great discussion
questions. This is one area that I feel many online classes fail. To often the discussion
board posting do not provoke any additional thought or comments. By asking open ended
questions you are creating a critical thinking environment. This module will help me out
greatly at my full-time job because I have several teachers that would like to begin using
Moodle for their classes. This module has given me the necessary tools I need to be able to
train them on using Moodle.
Module 4: Measuring Online Learning
Module 4 taught us about one area that many people struggle with, copyright laws. This is
one thing that my school struggles with all the time. Many educators feel they can use
whatever materials they want to simply by stating the educational fair use clause. Just
because we are educators does not me we have free reign with other people’s copyrighted
work. This is one of those topics that should be covered every year during in-service just as
a reminder. We were also exposed to creating surveys and quizzes in this module. I
enjoyed this portion of the course because I am a technology junkie. Anytime I can play
around with and create new web based materials I am in heaven.
Module 5: Knowledge Seeker
The “Teaching Zach to Think” article was very interesting to me. I know at my current job,
teachers do not teach this skill to students. I don't think it is because they don't have time or
they don't feel it is important, but because they themselves don't know how. Many of our
teachers are from a "pre-internet" generation so they are not comfortable around
computers, websites, and technology in general. They tend to shy away from using it
themselves because it intimidates them. Those that have moved past the intimidation and
have become "computer literate" have never been taught how to evaluate websites. I think it
is unrealistic to expect our teachers to teach kids how to identify good websites vs. bad
websites when they themselves do not know. I believe the first step in "finding the time to
teach searching and evaluation of digital resources" is teaching our teachers. Once you
know what to look for and how to evaluate digital resources it would not be difficult to
incorporate that into your curriculum. At the K-12 level that can and should be a part of the
meeting the 8th grade literacy standards. I have contacted our Director of Curriculum about
the importance of this issue and have volunteered to teach the skills I have learned to our
teachers during an in-service day. In this module I have learned a couple more tools to add
to my toolbox. The first tool is the http://www.archive.org website. I didn't’t realize this
website existed but definitely feel it could benefit me in the future. The second tool is http:
//21cif.imsa.edu/tools/evaluate/ website evaluation wizard. I have fallen in love with the 21st
Century Information Fluency Project website. This is one website I will be passing along to
my K-12 co-workers.
Module 6: Power Searcher
Wow! Another tool! This class seems to be full of them. In module 6 we created personal
search engines (PSE). I chose to create one in Eurekster because I figured other students
would utilize the Google Co-Op search engine and I wanted to provide an opportunity to
utilize another format. After first creating it in Eurekster I created it in Google Co-Op and
Rollyo to compare the three options. I do have to admit I like the Google Co-Op the best
simply because most people are familiar with the look and feel of Google. I think that makes
things less intimidating for the end user. I plan to create several “How-To” PSE’s for different
software. I think this will be helpful to me and to future students in technology programs.
Module 7: Your E-Portfolio
I love, love, love this module. I am a big believer in the power of a well done portfolio and
had actually created one on my own about 2 years ago. It is the best way to give a great
first impression to a perspective employer. This provides an opportunity to showcase some
of your talents and give them a glimpse into who you are and what you are about. My
original e-Portfolio is attached to my e-Portfolio for this class as my “Resume.” The hardest
part of the e-Portfolio is keeping it up to date. I also have not included much in the way of
course work so that is one thing I might want to add to my original e-Portfolio at some point in
time.
Module 8: Creating Your Online Learning Environment
Viewing the “Introduction to the Screen Reader” video gave me another big Ahh-Haa
moment in the course. It is amazing to me how technology has gotten to the point of allowing
visually impaired people to become independent with the computer. Although it is somewhat
cumbersome it does allow them to utilize a computer without much assistance. I was
absolutely amazed at how fast he could “read”. I had no idea what was being read at that
speed, but for him it was crystal clear. I would like to have had this information in module 7
rather than module 8. I had already completed most of my e-Portfolio prior to completing the
readings in module 8. I didn't want to have to recreate it from scratch so instead I double
checked that all of my graphics that linked to other pages had alternate text associated with
them. Had I had this information prior to starting my e-Portfolio I probably would have
changed some of the elements in order to make it more sensitive to special needs.
In Summary:
This has to one of the best experiences I have had with an online course. When I first
started the course I did not believe it was possible to build community in an online class.
This is the closest it has ever gotten for me. I definitely feel more prepared to teach online
should the opportunity ever present itself. The tools, tips, and tricks that I learned here will
help me both personally and professionally as I move forward.
In module one, my favorite activity was the icebreaker. I have had to create a profile or
introduction in each of the online classes that I have taken, but this class put a unique spin
on it. I love the “view from my favorite window concept” and plan to incorporate that same
concept into courses I will be teaching. I also liked the del.icio.us social bookmarking tool we
registered for. This is one more tool I can add to my “teaching toolbox.” I was a bit
overwhelmed with all of the discussion board posting to read and respond to. Thankfully,
Dennis and Sara took time to help us figure out how to maneuver in and around the
discussion boards to make them less stressful.
Module 2: Building Learning Communities
Module 2 was an interesting way of establishing our netiquette rules. One thing I would like
to have changed would have been how we voted on the rules. I think that was pretty chaotic
and I’m not sure everyone even “voted.” I had created a survey which would have made the
process more clear and precise. Unfortunately this did not get utilized. Before I started this
course I was not a huge fan of Wiki’s. After completing this module I do see how there could
be some value in this for collaborative group work. I still am not a huge fan of them because
everyone has individual ideas of organizing and designing so it can be difficult to come to an
agreement on what the end product should look like. For me, they can look disorganized
and messy if not done correctly. I think this might be a good tool for small group (3-4
people) projects. I probably will not use this as a full class tool though. In this module we
also switched to the Moodle Course Management System (CMS). I found switching back and
forth to be a little cumbersome at first. I didn’t really understand why we were going into
another CMS when we were already in one.
Module 3: Activities to Engage Online Learners
In Module 3 we switched from student to teacher in Moodle. Ahh-Haa…this is why we
switched to a new CMS. Had we only remained in Desire2Learn we would not have been
able to become “teachers” since it is the official CMS of Stout. By utilizing another CMS,
Dennis and Sara had more control over the program and were able to set us up as
teachers. This module really helped me understand how to create great discussion
questions. This is one area that I feel many online classes fail. To often the discussion
board posting do not provoke any additional thought or comments. By asking open ended
questions you are creating a critical thinking environment. This module will help me out
greatly at my full-time job because I have several teachers that would like to begin using
Moodle for their classes. This module has given me the necessary tools I need to be able to
train them on using Moodle.
Module 4: Measuring Online Learning
Module 4 taught us about one area that many people struggle with, copyright laws. This is
one thing that my school struggles with all the time. Many educators feel they can use
whatever materials they want to simply by stating the educational fair use clause. Just
because we are educators does not me we have free reign with other people’s copyrighted
work. This is one of those topics that should be covered every year during in-service just as
a reminder. We were also exposed to creating surveys and quizzes in this module. I
enjoyed this portion of the course because I am a technology junkie. Anytime I can play
around with and create new web based materials I am in heaven.
Module 5: Knowledge Seeker
The “Teaching Zach to Think” article was very interesting to me. I know at my current job,
teachers do not teach this skill to students. I don't think it is because they don't have time or
they don't feel it is important, but because they themselves don't know how. Many of our
teachers are from a "pre-internet" generation so they are not comfortable around
computers, websites, and technology in general. They tend to shy away from using it
themselves because it intimidates them. Those that have moved past the intimidation and
have become "computer literate" have never been taught how to evaluate websites. I think it
is unrealistic to expect our teachers to teach kids how to identify good websites vs. bad
websites when they themselves do not know. I believe the first step in "finding the time to
teach searching and evaluation of digital resources" is teaching our teachers. Once you
know what to look for and how to evaluate digital resources it would not be difficult to
incorporate that into your curriculum. At the K-12 level that can and should be a part of the
meeting the 8th grade literacy standards. I have contacted our Director of Curriculum about
the importance of this issue and have volunteered to teach the skills I have learned to our
teachers during an in-service day. In this module I have learned a couple more tools to add
to my toolbox. The first tool is the http://www.archive.org website. I didn't’t realize this
website existed but definitely feel it could benefit me in the future. The second tool is http:
//21cif.imsa.edu/tools/evaluate/ website evaluation wizard. I have fallen in love with the 21st
Century Information Fluency Project website. This is one website I will be passing along to
my K-12 co-workers.
Module 6: Power Searcher
Wow! Another tool! This class seems to be full of them. In module 6 we created personal
search engines (PSE). I chose to create one in Eurekster because I figured other students
would utilize the Google Co-Op search engine and I wanted to provide an opportunity to
utilize another format. After first creating it in Eurekster I created it in Google Co-Op and
Rollyo to compare the three options. I do have to admit I like the Google Co-Op the best
simply because most people are familiar with the look and feel of Google. I think that makes
things less intimidating for the end user. I plan to create several “How-To” PSE’s for different
software. I think this will be helpful to me and to future students in technology programs.
Module 7: Your E-Portfolio
I love, love, love this module. I am a big believer in the power of a well done portfolio and
had actually created one on my own about 2 years ago. It is the best way to give a great
first impression to a perspective employer. This provides an opportunity to showcase some
of your talents and give them a glimpse into who you are and what you are about. My
original e-Portfolio is attached to my e-Portfolio for this class as my “Resume.” The hardest
part of the e-Portfolio is keeping it up to date. I also have not included much in the way of
course work so that is one thing I might want to add to my original e-Portfolio at some point in
time.
Module 8: Creating Your Online Learning Environment
Viewing the “Introduction to the Screen Reader” video gave me another big Ahh-Haa
moment in the course. It is amazing to me how technology has gotten to the point of allowing
visually impaired people to become independent with the computer. Although it is somewhat
cumbersome it does allow them to utilize a computer without much assistance. I was
absolutely amazed at how fast he could “read”. I had no idea what was being read at that
speed, but for him it was crystal clear. I would like to have had this information in module 7
rather than module 8. I had already completed most of my e-Portfolio prior to completing the
readings in module 8. I didn't want to have to recreate it from scratch so instead I double
checked that all of my graphics that linked to other pages had alternate text associated with
them. Had I had this information prior to starting my e-Portfolio I probably would have
changed some of the elements in order to make it more sensitive to special needs.
In Summary:
This has to one of the best experiences I have had with an online course. When I first
started the course I did not believe it was possible to build community in an online class.
This is the closest it has ever gotten for me. I definitely feel more prepared to teach online
should the opportunity ever present itself. The tools, tips, and tricks that I learned here will
help me both personally and professionally as I move forward.
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