My viewpoint of distance education has changed over the course of this class. I use to think I would not like week after week of being at my computer instead of in a classroom. However, I have made a 180 degree turn on my viewpoint regarding a completely submerged online class and because of this I am daring to do it again in the fall.
My only qualms about this class is the structure of meeting every other week. I like my classes to be consistent week after week and though it was nice getting a week off twice a month I don't feel like I really recieved anything from the online text discussion. I feel that I learned more during the times I was "in" class verses reading articles and writing about them. This, in part, is due to the way I learn. I am an auditory and visual learner so I feel that might be why I didn't get a lot out of it.
This semester was a fun one and I'm glad I took this course. I learned a lot that can help me develop and understand online instruction better. I feel like I have the resources to find information if I am called upon to develop an online class.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Saturday, March 31, 2012
The Final Project
I have let my blog slip by the wayside the last month. It seems there is a lot going on within our classroom and sometimes it is hard to blog about it. For me, it is also good that I had a few weeks to reflect about my learning style and how this class is going.
The interview assignment presentation has passed by now and I feel that my video did the job or portraying the information from the research and the interview itself. I am looking forward to the mlearning paper and hope to make a video for that presentation as well. My topic is mobile learning and I am having a difficult time landing on a subtopic. mLearning can be an important tool for schools and businesses when it comes to learning and training. Part of the reason I chose this topic is because of my love for the iPad. This device has changed and is currently changing my life and the way I accomplish everyday tasks. It would be fun to take a week duration and simply use my tablet and/or phone. I could put my experiences in my paper and how or even if my findings from my own personal experience corrolate with the findings of the research. Including this in my final could be beneficial to my learning. I would like to understand what things mlearning is good for and how mlearning shouldn't be used.
Throughout this course I have developed a sense of distant learning. I often take online classes but I am usually not the online-ee. This class has helped my develop my own personality in an online environment. In the future I might consider more distant education programs; however, I don't feel that I could completely submerge into a completely asynchrounus class.
The interview assignment presentation has passed by now and I feel that my video did the job or portraying the information from the research and the interview itself. I am looking forward to the mlearning paper and hope to make a video for that presentation as well. My topic is mobile learning and I am having a difficult time landing on a subtopic. mLearning can be an important tool for schools and businesses when it comes to learning and training. Part of the reason I chose this topic is because of my love for the iPad. This device has changed and is currently changing my life and the way I accomplish everyday tasks. It would be fun to take a week duration and simply use my tablet and/or phone. I could put my experiences in my paper and how or even if my findings from my own personal experience corrolate with the findings of the research. Including this in my final could be beneficial to my learning. I would like to understand what things mlearning is good for and how mlearning shouldn't be used.
Throughout this course I have developed a sense of distant learning. I often take online classes but I am usually not the online-ee. This class has helped my develop my own personality in an online environment. In the future I might consider more distant education programs; however, I don't feel that I could completely submerge into a completely asynchrounus class.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Feeling the course load
As we all know there are two different types of weeks to this course, the on weeks, in which we read articles, meet and discuss and the off weeks, the weeks we read articles and then write summaries and distribute comments. I don't think it is so much the course load work differs its that having a discussion doesn't feel like work verses the written discussion.
When we have on weeks like this one I read articles but I also received an email from Tama giving questions and a short over view of this weeks discussion. I like this because I could keep these questions in the back of my mind while reading and than write down my answers to better reflect on my reading.
I think this has a lot to do with the fact that I am an auditory learner. When I do the readings I usually copy and paste them into a text-to-speech program/application and listen to them while following along on screen. Sometimes I will listen at work, so it is a nice time saver. Since taking the text-to-speech approach (Something I was nervous to do) I have "read" more articles than I would have without. Long articles intimidate me and I lose focus easily. This has always been a problem for me. It has also given me some ideas as to ways text-to-speech programs can help students and some features companies might consider adding like dual voicing if reading a play with different characters or being able to record your own voice for playback.
When we have on weeks like this one I read articles but I also received an email from Tama giving questions and a short over view of this weeks discussion. I like this because I could keep these questions in the back of my mind while reading and than write down my answers to better reflect on my reading.
I think this has a lot to do with the fact that I am an auditory learner. When I do the readings I usually copy and paste them into a text-to-speech program/application and listen to them while following along on screen. Sometimes I will listen at work, so it is a nice time saver. Since taking the text-to-speech approach (Something I was nervous to do) I have "read" more articles than I would have without. Long articles intimidate me and I lose focus easily. This has always been a problem for me. It has also given me some ideas as to ways text-to-speech programs can help students and some features companies might consider adding like dual voicing if reading a play with different characters or being able to record your own voice for playback.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Success
I think, for me, a big part of being successful in online instruction is structuring a class so that the students have a clear understanding of the expectations and what is due each week. A great process for me during this whole online learning extravaganza is talking with others in the class about what is due and when. I think when it comes to online education being able to talk with your peers is essential. I have a friend right now who takes online classes and the only thing she does for the class is read the book and take chapter quizzes. I can't imagine that she is getting much of an education from this format. She has no contact with others in class and she has told me that at times it can be frustrating to have a class structured like this.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Groups
I have experienced blended group projects where some people are online and some are in class. Last semester I was in a group with five people and two of us were on campus while another was in Arizona and the other two were located in the metro area. We managed to find a time when all of us could Skype which I thought was incredible. We managed to meet once towards the beginning of the project and once towards the end. We delegated tasks and completed the project on time. The tasks that we split up were shared which was a big help.
Other group projects I have done were totally asynchronous besides shared class time. These types of groups are a bit more challenging because they do not offer the instant feedback that is sometimes critical to collaboration. I like to be able to talk projects out to understand who needs to do what and to make sure that everything is going in the right direction.
I look forward collaborating the individuals in my discussion group. We got to meet synchronously and discuss the dynamics of our group. I think it went well and we have a better understanding of what each of us is looking for out of the weekly discussions.
Other group projects I have done were totally asynchronous besides shared class time. These types of groups are a bit more challenging because they do not offer the instant feedback that is sometimes critical to collaboration. I like to be able to talk projects out to understand who needs to do what and to make sure that everything is going in the right direction.
I look forward collaborating the individuals in my discussion group. We got to meet synchronously and discuss the dynamics of our group. I think it went well and we have a better understanding of what each of us is looking for out of the weekly discussions.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Distance Education
As the weeks progress I am learning there are some advantages to not always meeting in a classroom and having a face to face lecture/class. An example is this week. I was scheduled to work Thursday night at 7 and because this is a non-meeting week I could fulfill that responsibility. However, the class I was suppose to teach was cancelled so now I get a Thursday night to do what I want.
It has been a challenge trying to juggle each week as to what needs to be done and what doesn't need to be done. Because we met online last week I didn't need to fill out anything in the discussion but I feel as though my views were not expressed accurately during the discussion time. I would like to see the async discussion happen each week. Maybe during the weeks that we are going to meet we could just have a simple discussion over a few questions that will get the ball rolling and maybe trigger more reactions during class time.
On the whole I think my online educational experience is going well. In the future I will give consideration to online classes. Before I would not think twice in taking an online class. It would have to be a blended class because I do miss the lectures and verbal discussions each week.
It has been a challenge trying to juggle each week as to what needs to be done and what doesn't need to be done. Because we met online last week I didn't need to fill out anything in the discussion but I feel as though my views were not expressed accurately during the discussion time. I would like to see the async discussion happen each week. Maybe during the weeks that we are going to meet we could just have a simple discussion over a few questions that will get the ball rolling and maybe trigger more reactions during class time.
On the whole I think my online educational experience is going well. In the future I will give consideration to online classes. Before I would not think twice in taking an online class. It would have to be a blended class because I do miss the lectures and verbal discussions each week.
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