Group items tagged

Be prepared to use a variety of delivery systems for feedback in case the technological system fails

Take note of students who don’t participate during the first session, and contact them individually after class. They may have technological difficulties

Provide substantive critique, comment, and/or evaluation for work submitted by individual students or groups, referring to additional sources for supplementary information where appropriate.

Provide private, weekly updates to EACH participant on their grade status.

Thank students publicly for comments submitted to the Virtual Classroom showing insight or depth. This will serve to model the types of responses and critical thinking skills you expect from other participants as well as give positive reinforcement to the student who contributed the message.

Make interpretive as well as descriptive comments.

the instructor should recognize quality work and intervene as the work is being developed to steer students in the right direction

Do not comment on every student posting. Much like in face-to-face class discussions let the conversation develop and give students a chance to participate before jumping in with in depth comments/feedback or analysis.

Use your students' feedback regarding course content, relevancy, pace, delivery problems, and instructional concerns to improve your course for the next time you teach it.

formative assessment

I really don’t know why I do things the way I do. Is it from years of routine as to this is how it needs to be done? Is it from no one stopping and helping me break these habits?

At first my fear was that I was a “dead-thinker”

I was predispositioned to not question, to memorize and regurgitate information. I was scared that I was passing this trait on to my students.

I’m losing that with all the hours it takes to create these.

I really began to question whether I am a teacher or a web designer.

After Alex asked me to think about how this may hold true in my daily life and routine I realized I really don’t speak up any where let alone in class.

I think this is not only my biggest challenge in this class but in my life as well

I think I’m just scared. 

Ya know Alex, I love you and all and this class has been amazing but I honestly think you are killing my laptop!!

Well no more soul searching I have a course to design. Best of wishes to all my fellow classmates as we begin to wrap up this amazing journey!

Lisa, I can’t believe how amazing your course is! I want to take it!!

Less than 24 hours later this article appeared in my inbox. At first I was really aggravated by this article because it seemed like it was ripping to shreds everything I have been working at this summer and I felt like he was sitting at home with an “I told you so” smirk. This quote just floored me “In terms of learning on the college level, the Department of Education looked at thousands of research studies from 1996 to 2008 and found that in higher education, students rarely learned as much from online courses as they did in traditional classes.” Really, what study? Everything that we have read seems to be in the complete opposite direction of this statement! I agree that for some there will be a financial obstacles and internet issues like we’ve all had but that’s where as a teacher we come into play and offer solutions and options. Upon reading it for a second time I feel that this article and any other article discrediting online teaching should be looked at as a challenge! I am strong and passionate about this endeavor of mine and no article or fuddy duddy teacher is going to come in the way of that. Well I hope you all have an amazing weekend. I will be attempting to cool my boiling blood as I sit by the calming cool waters of the Kinzua Dam with a delicious glass of Riesling.

As this class come to an end and I look back at where I was in May, I can only say I wish I knew then what I know now. This class has given me so much academically, personally and technologicially, lol. In only a short time I feel like I have grown so much as person and as a teacher.

These ideas are the modern theories in action,  of the students new role in the classroom, whether online or f2f. Professor's have said in the past "this is our class", but these ideas I have mentioned are really creating an "our class" type of atmosphere where the teacher and students are more equal participants in the learning process than the traditional model of the teacher being the boss, and the student being the subordinate.

Randy Pausch

This also shows the teacher asking the student to be an active participant in their own learning,

letting the student do the heavy lifitng. Professor Pickett told me that it is a hard concept to implement as a teacher and I am seeing that.

I am so glad I took this class. I learned so much, I feel so much more confident in my job as an instructional designer, and I feel more confident to take my skills to a new job envirnment. ANYONE HIRING OUT THERE?

I learned about some really important concepts for teaching online, like; -supply the students with a lot of information, module overviews, due dates, contact info, detailed explanation of how to complete assignments, rubric describing what type of work constitutes a Grade of A, B, C etc, -show your teacher presence in the course, by answering questions fairly quickly, posting in the discussion to guide, engage, provoke the student to do more research, asking for student input and using it, -Let the students do as much as possible instead of giving them everything ona silver platter. -Let students play the role of teacher in some of their assignments

After the first two weeks of this course, the first module, I learned so much, and grew so much more confident in my ability to work with faculty developing online courses.

Set clear standards for instructors' timelines for responding to messages.

Discussions should be focused on a task.

Discussion groups should remain small.

Only at the end of all presentations did the instructor provide an overall reaction to the cases and specifically comment about issues the class identified or failed to identify. In this way, students learned from one another as well as from the instructor.

Tasks should always result in a product.

Tasks should engage learners in the content.

Learners should receive feedback on their discussions.

earners should be required to participate

Instructors should post expectations for discussions.

"information feedback" and "acknowledgement feedback."

Information feedback provides information or evaluation, such as an answer to a question, or an assignment grade and comments.

Acknowledgement feedback confirms that some event has occurred.

We found that instructors gave prompt information feedback at the beginning of the semester, but as the semester progressed and instructors became busier, the frequency of responses decreased, and the response time increased.

nstructors can still give prompt feedback on discussion assignments by responding to the class as a whole instead of to each individual student. In this way, instructors can address patterns and trends in the discussion without being overwhelmed by the amount of feedback to be given.

egularly-distributed deadlines encourage students to spend time on tasks and help students with busy schedules avoid procrastination. They also provide a context for regular contact with the instructor and peers.

Communicating high expectations for student performance is essential. One way for instructors to do this is to give challenging assignments.

Another way to communicate high expectations is to provide examples or models for students to follow, along with comments explaining why the examples are goo

Allowing students to choose project topics incorporates diverse views into online courses.

Many synchronous tools allow us to use video or face-to-face chat,

 Synthesizing and formulating a mini-thesis is where learning becomes meaningful for me; this is where mere information becomes MY knowledge

I don’t know yet if my online students will step up to the plate, actively and enthusiastically contribute what they know to the community.

Kind of like a wedding planner who walks through the empty reception hall and can foresee the problems with lighting, photography, food, and traffic pattern…  I am the course designer, it is my job to minimize any possible glitches.  It is my job to provide students with a doable and engaging learning environment.

I see more clear vision of myself as an educator.  During this summer course I was confronted with questions that challenged my teaching practices. I started asking myself why I wouldn’t try to trust my students more, let them develop the social presence in the f2f class?  What was the harm in that I wouldn’t even consider trying it?

For weeks and weeks I was obsessed with making Jing videos, trying new communication tools. 

have 2 weeks left.  I want to make a difference.  I CAN make a difference.  I can use the web 2.0 applications as my allies.  There is enough time for me to plan and implement changes in the f2f courses before school starts.

My reflecting puddle may seem small, because there is so much to learn and I’ve just begun.  But my puddle is deeper and its water runs clearer now.  Taking education courses  is like a spring that feeds into my puddle, bringing fresh new perspectves and ideas.  I needed it.  It’s reshaped my outlook on teaching.

2 weeks ago I wrote my tagline on this blog as my “reflecting puddle”.  I still think it’s a puddle; it is still small(but so much deeper!).  I can recount the discoveries on this etap687 journey when I stare into the puddle.  I see the following things:

’t believe we are coming to the end of this course.  It wasn’t that long ago I was installing diigo toolbar, signing up for voice thread, and setting up this blog site.

Now the excitement of trying new tools has settled a bit.  I start to think how technology tools will impact my teaching. 

My self efficacy is low.  Does it matter in the end?  I only have two  options:  If I cant’ seem to do the work, I should leave the course.  Or, I try with my darnedest effort, and see where I land. Time to take a chance!  I think I will have a lot to gain!

So this is what I’m gonna do:  I will blog here periodically and document my journey in the Ed Psych course.  Let’s see if I can be honest with myself.  Learn because life in general is interesting and worth exploring, and I can’t capture all on my own.  So I go to the experts and learn knowledge from them.

For weeks and weeks I was obsessed with making Jing videos, trying new communication tools.  I thought WOW, these are the coolest things I’ve learned this summer!  Now the excitement of trying new tools has settled a bit.  I start to think how technology tools will impact my teaching.  What other tasks should be let go in order to make room for the new things in my practice?  What educational principles do I base on to justify the changes?  What kind of measured learning outcomes and students’ perceived learning do I anticipate after the changes are implemented?