Planned Next Steps for eLearning--EDUC250

As I look to the future, my plan is to take Assessment of eLearning, the next class in the Certificate series and an elective to complete the series.  After that, I will continue to learn about and experiment with online tools, evaluating them for their usefulness with students.  I also hope to broaden my connection with online instructors, exchanging teaching ideas and viewpoints.  My ultimate goal is to secure a teaching position as an online instructor, perhaps even designing curriculum that can be used online in learning modules.  The future is open and it looks exciting to me!

My Learning Experience in EDUC251

When I signed up for this course I was quite nervous because I had no appreciable technology skills and I was registered simultaneously for EDUC250, the introductory course to eLearning.  It was almost like performing medical surgery before I had even learned the names of the surgical instruments or anything about the body system I would perform surgery upon!  However. . . here I am, 12 weeks down the road at the end of the quarter and I have become a real "surgeon"!

Essentials of eLearning has become a highlight in my educational career because everything I learned was 100% new!  Not only were the technology tools new, but the instruction delivery method was new.  It felt strange at first to interact with my classmates through the frame of my computer monitor instead of looking into their eyes, but as time went on and we began conversing and sharing opinions, thoughts, and ideas in DIIGO, that changed.  Classmates began establishing their "presence" through their individualized writing styles in blogs and comment boxes in DIIGO as well as through the questions they posed or addressed.  Associating a picture and bits of personal information with each student also helped to establish my classmates' presence.  It was like having a number of very interesting "pen-pals" with whom I would exchange information but rarely, if ever, would this exchange be face to face.

This course would not have been as academically thrilling to me without the expertise of Jennifer, our instructor.  She honed a very strong online learning community by setting excellent guidelines and expectations from the beginning as well as establishing herself as a fellow-learner.  When a teacher can say, "I don't know, but let's find out together", he/she has my utmost admiration.  Encouragement to step out and discover for oneself is a very "constructivist" approach--one that Jennifer surely embodies!  She knew just when to loosen, then remove the "training wheels" so that we could each speed down the road toward our own destination!  For that, I truly admire HER!

There are three distinct pieces of our Essentials of eLearning class that are superior stand-outs for me.  They are all of equal importance in my toolkit:  1) the technology tools we learned about and used 2) the expert modeling of what an online instructor should be 3) the development of our strong online community.

As a final note, there is only one thing I would make more liberal use of if I were designing this course: pictures!  They say "a picture is worth a thousand words"--in some ways this is true.  I would have loved to see personal videos or picture galleries of each of my classmates and instructor from the get-go because these would have personalized the course for me much sooner.  However, not all people need to "see" those they go to class with so perhaps this is a frivolous suggestion.

Reflection of eLearning so far in EDUC250

To date, we have been presented with numerous challenges designed to lead us toward the goal of becoming effective online educators.  I have at times felt overwhelmed, challenged, confused, excited, frustrated, encouraged, and successful as I have taken this learning journey.  In truth though, I can unequivocally state that this has been one of the most wonderful journeys I've ever taken!  I think this is so because 100% of the course material was new to me!

Thanks to the step by step guidance of a very skillful instructor, I am nearing the end of the learning path with valuable skills of my own!  These skills:  using a variety of Search Engines, posting to class Discussion Boards, posting to Diigo, responding critically to the work of other students, working collaboratively with a classmate to develop a Google Presents document, learning to use Voice Thread, Wikis, Google Blogger, Animoto, Jing/Screencast, as well as designing an activity for an online Learning Module are among my many take-aways from EDUC250--Introduction to eLearning.

As a future online teacher, I will be able to select appropriate online tools supporting the learning outcomes I set for my students;  I will be able to search quickly and effectively for needed information using Advanced Search techniques on any of the many Web Search Engines; I will be able to create meaningful Learning Modules for my students containing clear directions, assessment rubrics and step by step instructions; and I will know how to teach about copyright laws and plagiarism so that my students will be effective online students producing quality products.  Creating a professional online presence is another among my developing skills. Using my own ePortfolio as an example, I will be able to show my students how to do the same for themselves.  It is never too soon to learn how to present oneself professionally!

Wow, thats a lot of learning!!

EDUC251 Module 7 Portfolio Activity: WELCOME TO THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS!

This posting is to satisfy Activity 7.4 of Module 7 in EDUC251, that is, the design of a learning activity for our Course Framework complete with introduction, instructions, grading, and resources.  Please note that this Course is being created for Middle School students 13-14 years of age.  Currently, it is for students in a full time online science "classroom" or a hybrid classroom setting, but with a few tweaks this course could be  geared up for older students (high school and beginning college level).

Introduction:  Welcome, "Scientists", to the Galapagos Islands!  You will spend time here with your colleagues learning about the Islands: their flora/fauna, geology, marine, and human environments, as well as the major issues surrounding biodiversity and sustainability practices here.  You are probably asking yourselves, "What is biodiversity and what are sustainability practices?"  That mystery will be solved quickly as you begin your research.

Learning Outcomes:  At the end of this Module you will be able to:

     1. Define the terms, biodiversity and sustainability practices and apply your definitions to the Galapagos Islands.

     2. Begin development of a Field Notes Journal that will catalog all of your research findings, musings, and questions gathered during your stay in the Galapagos Islands.

     3.  Use your current skill with these online tools (Diigo, VoiceThread,Google Docs, Discussion Boards/Spreadsheets) to share your initial research results with the other research teams.

Activity 1:

     1. Locate your research team of four students in the spreadsheet on our class Discussion Board.
     2.  Begin your initial team research by "touring" the Islands through the eyes of your Galapagos Guide (instructor). Your team may click on this link to connect to the "tour".
http://animoto.com/play/Synz0X99HacnZyAjc753rA?utm_content=challenger
     3.  "Open" your individual Field Notes Journal (Google Blog) and record your impressions of the "tour", also noting any questions you have about your experience.
    4.  In your team, discuss each scientist's field notes then create a Voice Thread document summarizing your teams' "tour" impressions and questions.  Post a link to your Voice Thread on our class Diigo account so that other teams may listen, view, and respond with a comment on at least one other Voice Thread summary.

Assessment:  Scientists will receive full credit for completing each portion of Activity 1. Your Galapagos Guide will read all Field Notes Journals, posting her comments or questions in each journal and will follow the Voice Thread links you have posted in Diigo, adding her evaluative comment to each Voice Thread.

Exploring Online Tools in EDUC250

Playing is Learning!  I felt like a kid this week as I explored a myriad of online tools!  Making a video with Animoto was my favorite activity, but a sneek peek into the upcoming Monarch Migration through the eyes of a Mexican citizen on Learner.org, a fabulous musical journey back in time witnessing Carol King and James Taylor evolve as singer-songwriters on PBS.org, as well as an interactive exploration of the Galapagos Islands with a Charles Darwin expert through Scholastic Online Activities, rounded out my experience!  Whew, it was fun!!  As I continue to develop my Galapagos course, I think I will find a place for the Scholastic activity.  It offered colorful graphics, sound, interactive "research" with a clue-finding scope  for detecting a mystery animal living on the Galapagos, as well as the voice of a leading researcher guiding the process; kids will be enthralled.  Part of the activity is a bit elementary but for first time Galapagos "student research scientists", it is a perfect introduction to field techniques used by real-world scientists: careful observation and recording of field notes.

Using these tools, as well as a few others I experimented with, will definitely add dimension and depth to any educational activities I might plan for future use.  I'm hard-pressed to imagine how we 20th century educators got along without these vibrant tools!

Draft of an eLearning Module for EDUC250 Presentation on 3/1/11

Introduction:  You were introduced to the bio and geo diversity of the Galapagos Islands in Learning Module 1 as you viewed and discussed the slide presentation of your instructor's trip.  For this Module, you will be working as "scientific research teams" investigating sustainability practices in the Galapagos Islands.

Learning Outcomes:  At the end of this Module you will be able to:
     1. Describe the sustainability practices currently in place in the Galapagos  Islands.
     2. Explain how scientists and stakeholder organizations (both Ecuadorian and other world groups) are able to influence the implementation of sustainable practices for the Galapagos Islands.

Activity 1: You will begin this activity by forming a research team of 3-4 student scientists.  Post your team members' names on our class spreadsheet available on the Discussion Board then indicate which one of the listed Search Engines (Yahoo, Bing, Google, Ask.com) your team will use to do its' research.  With each team using a different one, we are likely to get very diverse information for discussion.  Follow the steps below to complete this activity:

     1. Find and review three examples of sustainability practices currently in use for the marine, flora/fauna, geologic, and human environments of the Galapagos Islands (they may be videos or text or a combination).

     2. Bookmark these examples in Diigo with the appropriate URL and add a summary comment about the information.

     3. When all teams have bookmarked their examples, each student scientist should read or view the information provided by another team then write a summary of what he/she learned overall (including your teams' research findings) and post it to his/her personal blog site.

     4. Once the blog post is complete, provide a link  in Diigo so that all student scientists may read what you, as a student scientist, have learned.

Assessment: Completion of the team research, Diigo posting of research findings, and personal blog  summary of your overall research learning will be used to reflect your understanding of Learning Outcome 1.


      

PLE Reflections (EDUC250)

A new window opened for me today--one that looks out on a Personal Learning Environment or PLE.     It is not a definable location, rather it is an ethereal dimension characterized by all of one's social media connections, a variety of web tools, and even some very concrete tools like notebooks, journals, and PEOPLE!  Although my particular PLE is not very "digital" at the moment, it does include an "80 something" teacher mentor from the early days of my career.  She has been most influential in guiding the development of my pedagogy through the years as we have taught together, served on a Board of Directors together, offered in-service opportunities for teachers, and co-authored a book about curriculum development (yet to be published).  Facebook and Linkedin accounts as well as my online connections with the students/instructors of EDUC250/251 comprise the current digital piece of my PLE. I understand how important it is in this 21st century world of ours, to be represented and educated digitally.  Hence, I fully intend to expand my network and successful use of online tools as I begin to change course in my teaching career.  I would like to develop a very professional website, showcasing my skills and accomplishments as well as begin to connect with other professionals through Twitter and other social networking tools.  But. . .  I will not let go of my books or in-person connections--these concrete friends continue to be my Personal Learning Environment of choice!!