Reflections Blog - Just another Edublogs.org site - 1 views
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alexandra m. pickett on 11 Jun 12Hey Bill: i completely get the "technologically connected" fatigue. i am very plugged in... but, i remind myself that i am in control. I have boundaries. Also fyi - i don't have a cell phone. I know i know... hard to believe, right?! I just don't want to be that connected. me : )
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William Meredith on 25 Jul 12I envy you for not having a cell phone! I took mine to France but told people not to call me. One of the best parts of being away!
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it helps remove the filter.
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Alex mentioned her desire not to allow students to unsubscribe from the posts.
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Bill: i am actually really torn about this. I myself don't use the email subscription AT ALL. I find it confusing and disconnecting from the context and flow of the discussion. I have mine set to subjects only as a daily digest and i mostly just delete them... before even opeining them. I use the cousre interface to interact and view the interactions. I wish i could give students the option. But i can't. I have tried it both ways and talked about it with students from past courses. I even tried it once where i initially forced but then gave students the option to opt out... And i have come to the very reluctant decision that i have to force. I force the subscription, becuase frankly students don't login to the cousre. They disappear for days, and then claim they didn't know or couldn't find...and then claim they are overwhelmed. You also just can't "catch up" once a discussion has ended. The flow has moved on. There are also students that for some reason just prefer to get the posts via email. I've had several students tell me that they liked to view posts from their cell phones... So, i force subscription to all/only the essential forums in the course. The reality is that I can't force students to login to the course and click on the discussion and other areas of the cousre to see all that is happening. And i need a way to make sure that they are aware of the level of activity in the course and what is happening. me
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I feel as though students must be subscribed to forums, but be forewarned that they need to develop a system for themselves to allow for tracking of the dialogue and how they want to participate in that dialogue.
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i don't remember this being a problem in past semesters and i wonder if a default was changed at the system level. I thought everyone got a daily digest of subject lines and that highlighted new forum post tracking was automatically enabled by default... based you your feedback here, i have added "forewarning" : ) to 2 of the course information documents (contact and evaluation). : ) me
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my presence could be demonstrated in other ways than just logging in daily or talking to students.
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This is were the “earth-shattering” part comes in. I am learning that I am not letting the students go. I am going to be there.
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In the beginning of this course my intention was to translate my f2f assignments and activities to an online format. This made me feel comfortable as I knew that these activities worked for me and for most of my students. Yet, as I began to learn about presence and community it became apparent that these f2f activities did not embody presence or community building. They represented ease for me, and that cannot be the focus in online learning.
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My two issues with online education before the start of this class dealt with the actual education being offered as well as the connections being formed.
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But the theory in this course has allowed me to see that in practice, online education can allow for a sound education and a classroom community that can match that of most f2f classrooms.
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Online learning allows an instructor the opportunity to put everything into place before the course starts so that students come in being able to see all that they need to be successful. This may not always be the case with f2f courses. Additionally, to make sure that such theories as presence and community are present in online courses online instructors often have to do more to ensure success in their classes. For these reasons I am starting to believe that online education, when combined with effective theories can eventually surpass f2f learning.
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While it probably should not be surprising that I feel prepared to teach online at the end of a course in online teaching, for me, I feel as though it is quite a surprising development and one I hope to pursue.
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The article written by Mark Edmundson, a professor at UVA, questions the validity of online learning.
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I have discovered that my thoughts are completely different on online education as a result of this class. While this is probably not a huge development it has been interesting to watch my opinions change so much. So, for the moment that is where I am.
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Being truly present requires that the students feel your presence as they are completing assignments and learning – knowing what is expected of them and what they expect of the instructor.
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if a student knows what to do and how to do it (presence) he/she might feel more comfortable branching out in discussions and discussing points with a majority of students instead of just discussing with the same people at the same time. But community depends heavily on presence and the two really work in tandem.
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Instead, instructors, both f2f and online, need to assume that their students do not know how to do something. Taking the time to explain something may seem tedious but it will provide for greater clarification, greater learning, and more meaningful assessments. Taking the time to just let students know what to do and how to do it has the potential of increasing the enjoyment of learning for all involved!
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Coming into this course I figured we would read a few articles about online education and create a course shell for an online course. Additionally, I came into this course assuming online education failed to meet the standards of f2f education. Now, my thoughts are completely changed.
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Leaving this course I feel as though I could write an effective rebuttal of that argument and I believe that illustrates a great amount of growth for a person who entered this class questioning the merits of online education.
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Yet, I feel as this is one of the first courses that will let me leave with having a profound change in thinking.
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o in my new “educated” role, I would like to try and be an advocate for online education. I will try to discuss the field more often and when I hear someone mention online education I will ask them what they know about it and what they think about it. Striking up conversations allow for the spread of ideas and maybe eventually online education will gain the same prominence that many f2f courses currently possess. (4)