Final Thoughts

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I can hardly believe it, but the journey has come to an end. It has taken a little over a year to complete the journey and what a journey it has been. Each course, each module was in truth an adventure. The journey was well mapped out thanks to our instructors; however there were little side trips and detours (mainly when it came to learning styles, teaching styles, pedagogy, online models and who can forget learning objectives).

I was so naive when I started the course. I thought we would learn how to create online content; it never occurred to me that I would need to know what my teaching style was or even what my students learning styles were. It never even entered my mind that I would need to know anything about education. I know, it seems incredible but it is true.

So what did I learn in the certificate program? I learned that you can form a deep sense of community in an online course, but it doesn't happen by magic. It has to be planned and worked into the course design. I learned to create learning objectives (at least basic ones that work). That if I want my students to succeed the course must be designed with their learning styles in mind; it can't be designed based on how I like to learn. I learned what components are necessary for a quality course. A quality course is not based on the background colors, flashy animations or even all the bells and whistle.

What is needed is a good solid foundation. But it doesn't end there, just because you have a solid foundation that doesn't mean you can pay less attention to everything else. Each component that gets placed on the foundation needs to be complete needs sound and well thought out, especially if you want it to stand the test of time.

ancient Egypt - KingTutOne.com a Resource Center for Ancient Egypt

Will the course I worked on throughout this program stand the test of time? I hope so; it probably won't be look exactly the same. There will be changes made as I receive feedback from the students. It might migrate from WebCT to a different platform; we never know what the future holds. Will the material change, I hope so since the web is a constantly evolving creature. If my course is not allowed to develop and change it will stagnate. Instead of having a course that will interest and challenge students, I will have a course that is out of date and considered a joke.

Will I be the same? I hope not, I hope I evolve just as my course will evolve. I know that I am not the same person that started the program. Since beginning this course I have been touched and influenced by my classmates and instructors. With their support and encouragement I gained confidence in my abilities. Thank you, all of you for everything.

One final thought, this may be the end of one journey but it is also the beginning of a new journey. Where it will take me I don't know, but it will be interesting to find out. Maybe I will see you on my journey.

clipart provided by: http://www.worldatlas.com/

Sense of Isolation

This post should end anyone's doubt about the ability to create a sense of community in an online course. Over the past year while I have been taking the classes in the Certificate program I have developed a bond with my online classmates. Several of us has been together since the beginning, can you believe that was a over a year ago. I know that there was doubt if anyone would finish the class because it seemed like every week someone was dropping the class. But we persevered, took the summer off (they had get more students for the second course) and joined with new classmates to form a new group. It didn't take long before it felt like we had been together the whole time. It was same when the group grew for the third course.

What does that have to do with the sense of isolation? It wasn't just that we just grew close as a group, said hi online, or even nice job. We supported each other through difficult times, my nephew being shot, extended illnesses of loved ones, and even the death of loved ones. On the same note we celebrated the good things; anniversaries, holidays, vacations (much needed), babies, weddings and important projects being done. They were not just names, they were friends.

That is where the sense of isolation comes, before this course we were all in the class on a regular basis. There were the required discussions and there was almost someone posting on the cybercafe to letting us what was happening. And now it is gone. I know I am in a group and that I am not alone in the class but the interaction is gone.

I know, I know we are all working on our individual projects and this summer has been crazy. Boy do I know. But I also know that without the interaction I don't feel like I am working as hard as I should. Trying to keep up with everyone and all the great things they were saying and doing kept me on my toes.

Perhaps I am the only one who misses the communication and interaction. I just don't know. What I do know is that if anyone asks me if it is possible to develop a sense of community, I will tell them, "Yes, it is definitely possible to create a sense of community."

Learning Objectives

You may or may not remember my earlier post on Learning Objectives but for those who do, I am pleased to report that I am finally beginning to understand how to write them. I found a website that caused the light bulb to go on over my head. It was a miracle; all of a sudden I began to understand. I figure that at the rate I am going I should be able write a really good learning objective in about 15 or 20 years, maybe as little as 10 if another light bulb clicks on or I put in a higher watt bulb. Here is a link to the website that I found helpful:
image curtesy of Me
Writing Learning Objectives - Learning Objectives: Stems and Samples by the Education Oasis Staff

Roller Coaster Ride Continues

Well, three courses down and one to go. At times it has felt like a roller coaster ride with all the twists and turns, up and downs. Just when you thought you knew what what going on, the track would change or go straight uphill.

So, what do I think is going to happen in this course? More hard work, of course. Maybe some hair pulling or banging my head against a wall. I have worked in WebCT which will hopefully make it a little easier but I am not going to count on it (that would be the surest way to jinx myself). Besides that won't make the writing or the design aspect any easier.

Speaking of writing, that is one of, no it is my biggest problem). I don't have to do much writing for my job, the most I have to do is create tutorials using PowerPoint, which is not even close to writing a paper. I do an annual report which is basically a list of everything I have done for the past year. See my problem? I have not wrote a paper since I was in college many, many, many years ago. I can set papers up APA Style, I can do research, but when it comes to writing papers........ HELP!!!!! I know that our projects are not papers, but when you take a look at the courses we have taken there is a lot of writing involved. There is the syllabus, introduction, all of the components that make up the different modules. Need I go on? So, I say again...HELP!!!!

My other problem will be the design aspect. I have to try and remember everything we have learned and apply it to my course. I am afraid my mind will go blank and I won't remember anything. I want my course to be designed so that my students don't have to try and navigate their way around. I want everything to be seamless so that they can just concentrate on topic being covered. I want to take into consideration disabilities, learning styles, how much can be done in a week, etc. The list is endless, but all of the components are necessary for a well designed, put together course.

Where does that leave me now? Right now it feels like I am standing at the top of a crane getting ready to bungee jump (and I am afraid of heights and falling). So I am going to take a deep breath, exhale and start the journey. See you at the bottom.

Course Design - Final Thoughts

This was an interesting course, we learned about so many different components that are necessary for designing an online course. Not just any online course, my online course. Up until now everything has been theoretical; it was something that went into the class I was taking. Now I was actually applying the knowledge to start bringing my course to life. There are many aspects of course design that I find challenging, but there are two that really standout.

One is writing objectives; I thought I could simply state what I wanted done. Wrong. I read the resources and looked at many websites for inspiration and ended up more confused. An example from: A Quick Guide to Writing Learning Objectives

• Select a verb for performing the task.


• Determine if the verb you have chosen best describes the type of behavior that the learners need to display after training (see Bloom's Taxonomy).


• Under what conditions must the task be performed?


• Determine to what standards the task must be performed.


• Sample outlines for writing a learning objective:
  

If this was the quick guide, what was the long guide? The sample outlines consisted of sentences with blanks where you could put in your tasks, conditions and standards. This did not help, so I looked at more websites and finally tried to write the objectives. I ended up with short statements, which did not help me when it came time to write my student to student interactions. I had given myself nothing to work with and that's when it hit me. If I wasn't able to read my learning objectives and know exactly what was expected then how would my students. So I did more research, reread the resources, looked at the feedback I had received and tried again. I have by no means perfected writing learning objects, but I am getting closer. And you know what? It is okay that my learning objectives weren't perfect the first time, because they will never be perfect. I will continue to rework them to make them better and when I need inspiration I will read: Writing Good Work Objectives

"Writing good work objectives is not easy. This is true whether you are writing them for yourself or for someone else. Getting at meaningful content for a work objective requires you to think at length and in depth about the work to be performed. It is unlikely that you will be able to sit down and dash off a set of finished work objectives. Instead, you will have to write them, think them over, rewrite them, then rewrite them again." (Nickols, 2000)

So, I am doing ok. I plan on reading and reworking my learning objectives as many times as needed. It is not only my learning objectives that I will continue reworking, I am going to work on all of my weak areas. It may sound like a cliche but I want my class to be the best that I can possibly design. So in saying that I will work on my rubrics, student communications, and making sure that everything is clearly written and understandable.

The Importance of What I am Learning (Or how I learned the Hard Way)

Up till now I thought I understood what we learning and I never really consider the whys and what would happen if we didn’t follow through. I know now, boy do I know. I learned the hard way; I designed and am teaching an online course without applying everything I had learned so far. I can use the excuse that I hadn’t yet learned to design the course, but really that’s only part of the problem. I omitted some of the most basic, yet important things necessary for a well run course. You should also know that I work with everyone in the course, which causes other unique problems.

Were to start? Week 1, this week will set the tone for the whole course. This is when the basics are explained to the students, this is when you establish a sense of community. I missed the boat on that one; I thought that since everyone worked together there would already be a sense of community. Wrong, always plan the course with the assumption that the students didn’t even know that the rest of the students in the class existed until they appeared in the class. Make sure that they know what the course is about and what is to be expected. I didn’t because we had an f2f orientation session that I thought would take the place of the online orientation week. Nobody paid attention because at that point they didn’t care. They didn’t care until we actually started the course. Make sure the deadlines are clearly spelled out or they will think they you are arbitrarily picking deadlines each week. Oh, and don’t forget the netiquette like I did. First day I had someone making rude comments to another person.

What else have I learned? We had a discussion about the importance of having everything planned and done before the course started versus having the first several weeks done. Have everything done, don’t try to stay one step ahead. Once the course has started there is no time to stay ahead. There are discussion threads to be monitored, grading to be done, questions to be answered as well as everything else that is going on in your life. Also, make sure everything is consistent from week to week and if something is not working fix it before you offer the course. I know, it sounds wrong waiting to fix things but I know from experience that by changing things as the course is in progress just makes you look like you don’t know what you are doing. They will be wondering why you are teaching the course and whether you are actually qualified. I am speaking from experience so I know. Because I see everyone in the class on a daily basis, they have told us to let them know when we get our act together. There are also comments among themselves (they think we are deaf) that there are other people who could be teaching the course.

This is also key to the success of the course; when you are coming up with directions or explanations write as though you are explaining the slowest learner in the course. What about those who don’t need that much information or detailed of instruction? Be honest when was the last time you heard students say, “I really wish the directions were harder.” They don’t, what we hear is “I don’t understand how to do this, the directions didn’t make sense.” We even hear “I don’t understand what this has to do with what we are learning.” We need to explain why they are going to reading the resources, how they fit the subject. When we give directions on how to do things, (in my course create accounts for different technologies or add components to their blogs) we need to think of everything. I thought giving them the link to the website was enough, for example when they created their blogs I assumed that they would remember their usernames and passwords. But because I didn’t specifically say write this down, they didn’t. I think I have at least one student who has never been able to find their blog again. So, what lesson did I learn: never, ever assume anything, ever.

These are some of the most important lessons I have learned and that I will never forget. I am already starting to revise the course for this summer and I will be applying everything that we are learning. Right now I am just trying to survive the course I am teaching and using it as a learning experience of what not to do.

Beginning of the Third Course

This is the beginning of the third class where we will actually begin the process of designing our online class. I have learned so much in the first 2 classes, learning styles, teaching styles and how to use Wimba to mention a few things. I discovered that you develop close friendships with people in an online class, something that I didn't think possible. How can you become close to people you never see F2F? It was actually quite easy and effortless, did I just get lucky? NO! The course was designed to facilitate student interaction and build a sense of community. What I ultimately learned in the first two classes is that it Online classes just don't happen it's not something you slap together, it has to be planned and well thought out.

My previous teaching experience has been 2 hour workshops that are offered in the Library. It takes some planning and thought, I create handouts and PowerPoint presentation. The most detailed workshop I teach is basic Excel I have been using the same handout since I started. I change the handouts for the other workshops as the technology changes. I am also very good at finding resources, so how will this help me with the process in designing online courses? I am not sure, but what will help is the fact that I have learned to be flexible because the workshops I teach have students of all ages and technical capabilities.

The design process will require more thought and consideration. I will have to consider how much work can be accomplished not only in the span of a week but in an entire trimester. I will need not only resources but assignments and topics for discussion. There is also layout, colors and fonts to be considered.

I expect the design process for the online course will be challenging and exciting. The obvious things that I expect to accomplish are: what subject and what I expect them to learn. My overall goal is to learn how to design a course that is easy to navigate, has clear and concise instructions, and engages the students. I want the students to feel a sense of community, feel safe to post their thoughts on the discussion threads, and most importantly I want the students to finish the course with a sense of accomplishment. This will not be easy, but the first 2 courses have given me a good foundation to build upon. But I know that if I keep my goals in mind and not allowed myself to get distracted I can do it.