Ed Tech 522: Course reflection

As I reflect upon my learning experience this semester in Online Teaching for Adults, the theme I keep coming back to is my confidence in my own ability to learn how to use new software.  I have had significant progress in  getting over the fear of technology and nervousness that it somehow isn’t going to work for me.  This fear came from experiences with technology from a long time ago.  As I have learned and experimented with unfamiliar applications, I have come to see that software now is user friendly and reasonably simple to learn how to use. This is especially true with the availability of google searches and you tube videos about how to do virtually anything.  

This confidence helped me to tackle the two big projects in this course, the rich media tutorial and the online unit project.  I came into this class feeling that it would not be possible to translate my strength of working one on one or with small groups of students to help them understand difficult math and physics concepts.  I rely on eye contact and a back and forth discussion with students, that I did not believe could translate to an online format.  The rich media tutorial I chose to use google hangouts along with the whiteboard application cacoo.  This software could allow me to use small group and one on one interaction but in an even more efficient way than I am currently using in my face to face classroom.  Google hangouts can be recorded and posted to youtube.  Using this feature would allow other students who were not involved in the small group problem solving to view and learn from my explanation.  The students involved in the interaction could go back and rewatch to refresh themselves on the problem solving techniques.  Over time I could keep an archive of good discussions for frequently asked questions for each unit, to help reduce my workload.   

I chose to have google hangout problem solving sessions as a component of my online unit, and will use them or a similar feature for any future classes I teach in math and science.  I also plan on trying them for small group problem solving sessions, possible as jigsaw group activities that can be done online.  The jigsaw method of having expert groups that focus on a problem together and then splitting the expert groups up to work with other students from another expert group to share what they learned would be a good fit for google hangouts. And, the feature of saving a record of the hangout allows students to go back to reflect on their problem solving session, or to allow for other groups to view different approaches to the problem. This component, that students can reflect on their  discussions, is a strength of the online discussion format that face to face discussions do not have.     

This use of google hangouts to do what I currently do in my face to face classroom, only better online, is I think the main lesson I will take away from this course.  Online teaching requires careful thought and planning to facilitate successfully.  But the tools available are user friendly, and often allow for a deeper learning experience for students than what they could have in a traditional classroom setting.  

Rich Media Tutorial for EdTech 522: Using Google Hangouts to Interact with your Students

The assignment for my Online teaching class this module was to create a tutorial on a type of software or application.  I can see that this will be a skill I will use when creating content for online courses I teach.  Creating this tutorial had a lot of false starts and learning opportunities for me; I am proud of the final product in that it is completed, and I was able to work with the screen cast software Camtasia and to convert the file into a youtube video successfully.

 

 

 

EdTech 522 Mod 1 DQ: Reflection on the week’s readings**

 

What is andragogy and how does it apply to online learning?

Andragogy describes the principles of adult education:  andragogy is to adult education as pedagogy is to the education of children. Malcolm Knowles set forth six principles of andragogy, several of which are directly related to online learning.

The first principle that adults are self directed learners, and the fifth principle that adult learners need internal motivation to learn, apply to online learning tremendously.  Online learning requires that the student take the initiative to sit down and do the course work without an instructor to keep them on task.  As a high school teacher, I know that just getting young learners started and helping them stay focused is a challenge many days.  Taking that role out of the instructor’s duties makes online education more suited for adult learners who are self directed and internally motivated.

As I have settled into the EdTech program these first two weeks, I have found that the instructional model is one that is more student centered.  I am expected to ‘bring something to the table’ in my online courses instead of being fed information by an instructor.  This relates to the second principle of andragogy, that adult learners are a reservoir of experience and knowledge.  This model is more challenging, but also more rewarding.

What is involved in designing an effective online course?

As I reflect on my first two weeks in online courses and think towards when I may be the instructor of one, I realize that organization prior to the start of the course is very important.  I, like many beginning teachers, sometimes am only a day or so ahead of planning for my students.  This method obviously wouldn’t work with online courses where students work at their own pace, some possibly working ahead of their peers.

Effective online instructors also recognize that the traditional lecture/ practice model of education does not work for online learners.  Some lectures may be necessary to transmit information, but because it is easy for students to tune out during lectures they cannot be the only means of instruction online.  Activities that encourage students to interact with each other and to build knowledge in a non traditional (non drill and kill) way are essential in online courses.  Students may resist these interactive assignments since many are comfortable with the more traditional methods of teaching.  It is the instructor’s job to carefully craft the course assignments to move students through what Lisa Dawley describes as the four stages of student engagement for an online course. The teacher sets a tone and encourages peer cooperation, collaboration, and finally brings the students to be course leaders who direct their own objectives for learning.

Ko and Rossen also make several good points about what is involved in good online teaching.  They point out that while technical support from the institution one works at may be rare, it also doesn’t take a tech wizard to be successful in teaching online.   There is a lot of user friendly software available for the less tech savvy instructors.  They also made a good point that an important quality found in online teachers is not their computer expertise, but being people oriented, and having the drive to make connections with their students.

 

EdTech 522: Online Course Evaluation assignment

Lindsay Davis

EdTech 522

Compare & Evaluate Two Online Courses

Rubric (3 points each)	Finite Math Online	Tech Tools for Teachers
Course overview and Introduction:  Instructions make clear how to get started and where to find course contents.	3Getting Started link makes clear the technology requirements, and gives an overview for the course	3The Front page  of the site makes it clear what new students should do.
Learning Objectives:  Stated clearly and written from the student’s perspective.	2Topics are listed, but are not worded in the format of learning objectives.	3Each unit has clearly and ‘casually’ worded goals.
Assessment:  The course grading policy is stated clearly.	3On the Grades page there is a clear description of what will be graded and how much weight it will be given.	0It is not clear if grades are given, if the course is available for credit, or if any feedback is given on student work.
Instructional Materials:  Contribute to the achievement of the stated learning objectives.	1There are well presented videos on how to solve various problems, but without course objectives stated, it is not clear if they relate.	3There is a direct link between the goals of each unit and the materials used.
Learner Interaction and Engagement: activities provide opportunities for interaction that support active learning.	2Help available through the ‘Ask a Teacher’ forum.  Interaction among students not available.	3Active assignments such as creating websites and customizing browsers.  Interaction available through discussion format.
Course Technology: Navigation  the online components is logical, and efficient.	3well laid out calendar page makes it easy to navigate site.	3Sidebar table of contents makes it easy to navigate.
Learner Support:  there is a clear description of the technical support offered and how to use it.	1Support for Content help is available in ‘Ask a Teacher’ Forum, but technical support is not described	1Students are encouraged to use the discussion forum if they have questions, but technical support is not listed.
Accessibility: Course design facilitates readability and minimizes distractions.	3Each page is well laid out.	3Each page is well laid out.

I chose to evaluate the Finite Math Online and the Tech Tools for Teachers courses because each held a special interest for me.  As a Math and Science teacher, I could see myself one day instructing a course similar to the Finite Math Online course.  And, the Tech Tools for Teachers could be a resource to help me with tech support I might require as I work through the EdTech program.

I enjoyed this activity, and found it helpful to think about what are the most important components that contribute to the success of an online course.  This analysis helped me to narrow down the topics for the rubric I adapted from the Quality Matters Standards. Out of those I think the most important two are to have clear instructions on how to get started, and a clear description of how to find technical support.  Both of the classes I evaluated had clear instructions on how to get started, but were lacking in technical support.  This was a surprise to me, since it seems like an easy and obvious component to include in an online course.  I think it is important for instructors who are lucky enough to have technical support available to their students to make it clear what the difference is between content questions and technical questions, and where to go for each.  This will help instructors to avoid getting bogged down with tech questions and to be able to focus on the content of their classes.

I plan on using a rubric to self evaluate any online courses I teach.  This will help me to make sure I have all components necessary for student success included in my course.

Rubric adapted from: http://howto.wikispaces.umb.edu/file/view/QM+standards+2011-2013.pdf

Finite Math Online:  http://www.math.ncsu.edu/ma114/114/General_Info.html

Tech Tools for Teachers: http://learn.caitlincahill.com/moodle/course/view.php?id=2