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 Instead of having a course that will interest and challenge students, I will have a course that is out of date and considered a joke.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.

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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."

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.

Reflections on Facilitating

I have had two turns at facilitating. The first time I was flying solo and the second time I had a partner. For my first experience I picked a topic that I thought would be a piece of cake for me, Technology. How difficult could it be, after all I know a lot about technology, right? All I would have to do is impart my wisdom and offer guidance; I would be great, right? Wrong!!! I might know about technology, but I don't know how to be an effective facilitator and that became painfully clear to me once I got started.

For the discussion threads I was supposed to read what everyone was posting, not a problem. After reading the posts I was to make comments, give feedback or ask questions. Big Problem!! I was at a loss, I could no longer think. All of my comments seemed uninspired (lame), feedback - it was as though I didn't know what the word meant, and questions -what a joke. This was meant to stimulate the discussion, encourage deeper thoughts on the topic and I failed. I was afraid of hurting feelings or coming across as confrontational so I just went with "Great job" or "I agree". When I did try to ask a question, it didn't invoke deep thought, it didn't do anything. Instead of taking a risk and trusting that my fellow classmates would understand if my questions or comments seemed abrupt or rude, I played it safe. When I received my feedback, there were no surprises (I knew that I had done poorly).

I thought that I would at least wow them with my presentation in Wimba. I spent all week getting the PowerPoint just right. I had some movement with the text, not too much just the right amount. I added links so that I could demonstrate different websites. I thought I had it all, and then.... You know the saying "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry"? I had decided to do a dry run about 1 hour before the class started, which turned out to be the best thing I could have done. I came to the realization that links do not work in Wimba, so I had to come up with Plan B. Luckily I had asked Bonnie to stop in while I was doing my dry run and she explained my options and helped me come up with Plan B. I decided that I would go out to my desktop and work from there. I could still use my PowerPoint, back on track, yea! The first part went okay, I was on topic and then.... I went off topic and tried to demonstrate Second Life. Why? It certainly didn't pertain to the topic. At that time I justified it as being the ultimate in technology. I got carried away and spent way too much time.

Did I learn a lesson from all of this? YES!!!

The lesson I learned was this: just because you know a topic, you have no more of an advantage than someone who doesn't. If they know how to ask questions or give better responses that keep the discussions alive, then they are going to be the better facilitator. A good facilitator can learn any topic while a poor facilitator no matter how well they know the subject area is still a poor facilitator. To be a good facilitator I need to master the art of responding to discussion threads. I need to learn how to ask the stimulating questions that require more thought. I also need to learn how to take negative feedback and turn it into feedback that will enrich the students' learning experience by having them look deeper into the topic. For my presentations, I will keep on topic and encourage students' questions and interaction. I will also keep it a reasonable length of time. My going on and on isn't going to impress anyone or necessarily add to the learning experience.

I mentioned that I had a second experience, this time with a partner. In some ways it was totally different, but in many ways it was the same. How can that be? Well, we split the discussion threads and I let him do the presentation. (I had already done a presentation and was not required to do a second one unless I wanted too).

This time I my only responsibility was monitoring a discussion thread and assisting my partner with his presentation. Here was my chance, a second discussion thread, my chance at redemption. I had the feedback; I knew what I had done wrong. I would be great this time. Right? Wrong!!! My discussion thread didn't take off and I didn't do my job of stimulating the discussion thread. However, my partner did a fantastic job, his discussion thread rocked (I wanted to be a part of his discussion). I knew what I needed to work on, so what went wrong? I tried; I thought I was asking better questions. But all I did was ask questions that weren't clear and quite simply caused more confusion. I feel short again, I failed becaused I didn't ask for help. (By the way, Rafael's presentation was fantastic.)

So what did I learn from this experience? Well I learned that if I work with a partner, we would both monitor all the discussion threads. I could have used his help and I really wanted to join the discussion. Why didn't I just tell my partner that I needed help and wanted to part of his discussion? I don't know why, it just didn't occur to me at the time. I also would like to do a joint project. I know, I know, it was my choice. But by not embracing the experience of having a partner I cheated myself out of a learning experience. There is no one else to blame but myself. What did I learn from this experience? I learned that I have a lot to learn about facilitating and that I have a hard time asking for help.

So what has this self-realization done for me? It has caused me to question whether I will be able to improve my ability to facilitate discussion threads enough to be a good facilitator. No, I am not going to throw in the towel, but I am going to work very hard at improving my facilitation of discussion threads and asking for help. But when all is said and done, I am going to be realistic. If I don't improve by the end of the next two courses, then perhaps I am more suited for designing the courses (or assisting in the design).

Diane

Facilitator Roles - Reflections

In the second part of the course we have been looking at facilitator roles and I realized how little I knew. When you are the facilitator you have to consider so many different things: time management, planning the course, technology, pedagogy, and creating a social community. All of these are necessary and must all be present and in balance to have a successful class. You can utilize the most cutting edge technology but without proper planning or taking into consideration the needs of the students your course is a failure. And once we have everything in order that is not the end, but the beginning. We will be constantly examining our course to ensure that everything continues to function.

So what is involved in creating our classes, lets start with pedagogy. The definition is: the art, science, or profession of teaching. That sounds simple, but it doesn't explain what is actually involved. It is not simply standing in front of a group of students and lecturing, especially when we are talking about an online course. Pedagogy is actually the accumulation of everything I mentioned earlier.

We need to understand our students and how everything in their lives will affect how they learn. They are coming from different ethic groups and age groups. They are going to have different learning styles and different personalities. Why is this important? If you have someone with a personality that is very "out there or pushy" they might end up intimidating someone who is more reserved. I as a facilitator will need to be aware and be able to offer an outlet for the student with lots to say as well as encourage and make the reserved student feel comfortable. Different ethnic groups and cultures also affect how a student learns. If they have been raised to respect authority figures, they might not feel comfortable questioning the instructor. These are just a few of the things to keep in mind. Is this an impossible task? No, it just means that we must pay attention to our students and keep in mind that they are all individuals with their own unique backgrounds. Just as we are the sum of everything that has happened in our lives, the same applies to our students.

This barely scratches the surface when it come to the art of teaching. We also need to consider how we plan to teach, because that too is a part of the art of teaching. Are we going rely on lecture notes? interactive material? lots and lots of reading? We need to figure out our teaching styles first then work to build the course. Right now I prefer the instructor led design, I feel it best suits how I want to teach. I want to include technology and readings on the web to support the topics. I will also encourage feedback and interaction among the students. But this alone will not make my course a success. I need all of the components including: Time management

Time management is a part of the planning stage as well as the maintenance. How much time to allow for assignment? Too little time allowed is a quick way to overwhelm the students. Too much time and your students are bored and not learning. When deciding on how much time to all you need to consider: number of hours in a day. Then split it up: sleep, work, other classes, family, and unexpected. Out of all this, how much can we reasonably expect them to have for our class. Are we asking them to read, post on discussion groups, and do weekly assignment? How much time would we have to spend? Then ask ourselves, are we slow and need time or we don't need much time? Probably somewhere between the two is reasonable. On the topic of time how much time are we going to allow ourselves to grade tests, assignments, respond to emails and spend on the discussion threads? What is reasonable? For this, I will ask advice from those with experience because I would be guessing.

And while we are on the subject of planning I learned that my syllabus has to clearly spell out everything that I expect from my students. I need to tell them what my policies are, what type of turnaround they can expect when they send me an email or turn in an assignment. As important as the syllabus is, I need to make sure I have an icebreaker activity for the 1st week of class. I want the students to get to know each other so that they will be comfortable asking questions, responding to posts and working together if group projects are involved. Why the icebreaker? To start to foster a sense of community. That is as important as everything else mentioned. It will enrich the learning experience for both the instructor as well as the student. The sense of community will allow for better discussion threads as students develop connections with each other.

By now I was thinking that that had to be everything, right? Wrong, now come maintenance and keeping up with technology. Technology is evolving quickly and even if we are using all the latest things out there, we need to know that they exist. How can we do this? By attending conferences, keeping up with research and talking to others in Online Teaching to mention a few ways. Perhaps we will discover things that will help us with maintaining our courses. Perhaps something to help us check links, keep track of bookmarks etc. We also need to keep an eye out for new articles to keep our readings up to date. Have I thought of everything, I doubt it. Do I know everything I need to know? No. Will I ever know everything? I hope not, I don't ever want to lose the excitement of learning something new. I hope to always be learning something new that will help be create an even better course and be a better instructor.

But I do know this, I know more today than when I started and I know I am on the right path to becoming the instructor I want to be.