The First Leg of the Race

I have made it to the end of the finish line of a four part series to receive a Certificate in Online Teaching and it’s been a journey. With all the biases I had toward online learning prior to taking this class; really put me in a different state of mind as I progressed through the class. I just knew with my learning challenges of needing face to face interaction that I wouldn’t grasp onto the concepts. Also with it being totally online, I struggled with dedicating the time needed to participate in some of the discussion post and balancing my family demands. However each lesson built upon each other and I learned more about myself then I ever could of hope for. The lessons I’ve learned throughout this course I will use in my career and it will help me become a better student, writer and educator.

In lesson 7 we learned the following objectives:

1. Discuss learning theories and the impact that the selection of theory has on the design of online courses.
2. Evaluate models of instruction in terms of their potential effectiveness in the online environment.
3. Discuss the factors involved in achieving the Seven Principles of Effective [Undergraduate] education in the online environment.

 

Reflection: This lesson opened my eyes to different way of looking at the instructional design model and tying together learning and teaching styles. The combination of both theories can impact rather or not you’ve created an all-inclusive lesson plan that will appeal to every student. A draw back to not knowing the students individual learning style prior to creating the lesson does make the plan not as solid as it could be. However with the use of surveys, games and team building exercises the professor can make adjustments to the plan to accommodate everyone’s learning style. The Seven Principles of Effectiveness, I began comparing my personal success in the classes where I connected with the teachers’ personality and learning/ teaching styles to those professors where I didn't. As a student the professors that followed the 7 Principles, I connected with their personality, teaching and learning styles I performed at a higher level than with professors I didn't.

 

Lesson 8 we learned the following objectives:

1. Identify strategies for addressing the 7 Principles in the online environment.
2. Select technology-based strategies for implementing the seven principles in an online course.
3. Discuss instructional strategies that are effective for distance education.

Reflection: In lesson 8 we took the 7 principles concept a little deeper and we applied it to creating our own teaching strategies. I have always been a fan of Case Studies, it allows the student to take in the information and relate it to their personal experiences. The new strategy I would use is self-directed learning, because I am a bit of a control freak and this strategy allows for more structure in the design of the lesson which appeals to visual learners and it helps set the time emphasis on assigned tasked. This strategy also allows for independent learning and self-paced which gives the student more control over "when" they learn. The theory behind self-directed learning would be that students are more motivated to learn when the constraint of when they take in the knowledge is on their term as long as they meet the deadlines for completed work.

Lesson 9: We were charged with creating a Wiki page as a group. I may have to say this until I’m blue in the face that group work for school is totally different from working collectively on project for work. Having my grade be dependent on rather or not a group member does their part or not doesn’t sit well with me. Yet the group I worked with on this project was tasked driven and my group-mates were easy to communicate with, which made the overall experience a good one.

Lesson 10: We finalized and added the remaining content to our e-portfolios that we started in lesson 6. Creating the e-portfolio was a good change of pace from the post and discussions throughout the course. It allowed for me to be creative and present what I learned in my own learning style.

Lesson 11: Asks the big questions, “Is Online Teaching for me?” and the answer would be yes. But not in the traditional sense or concept of online teaching but more as the designer to the course is the path I’m leaning toward. Now that I have 2 months under my belt as an instructional designer working for an online university it’s totally changed my view on delivering the actual face to face. In terms of creating the visual design of a course, the multimedia selection and coming up with assessments to enforce the objectives appeals more to me than being an actual teacher.

Now that this phase of the journey is over, I am very torn if I’ll continue with the other 3 courses only because I question the value in having the certificate. As a working instructional designer I get the opportunity every day to create lessons, storyboards, assessments, e-learning tools, modules and etc. without the certificate and I’m gaining real world hands on experience. I know there is huge value in having the Online Teaching Certificate, but I’m not sure the timing is right to continue on. I’ve learned so much about myself that this class was worth taking.

Sanovia   

ONTL 1st half Reflection

Reflection

Now that we are at the half point of the Introduction to Online Teaching I’m going to take a look back over the first 6 weeks and reflect on what I’ve learned thus far and how it I plan to incorporated into real life situations.

Lesson 1

My Reflection

The purpose of lesson was for the student to get to know each other by using online tools to communicate. The professor has given us all the tools that we need to be successful and lesson 1 gave us activities to explore blackboard. I found that the discussion posts were very informative and it allowed us to be ourselves as long as we adhered to the ‘netiquette’ standards. I’ve stated this so many times that I’m not a fan of online learning and that I prefer face to face instruction. With that being said I really didn’t have a clear explanation as to why I preferred that style of teaching. I wanted to learn more about creating online instruction and how to make it more interactive. Just sitting at a computer screen reading a lot of links and pretty much teaching myself was a new concept for me. The world we live in is so technology based, causing face to face interaction is being replaced with webcams and you-tube. I have to be able to change with the times in order to stay current and marketable. Also we had to create a blog and I was so nerves to do this assignment. It’s one thing to turn an assignment and post it for your teacher or classmates, but making it for cyber space is different because its available for everyone to see. After writing my first blog, I was very proud of myself. I conquered some fears I had with my writing skills and I found out that I have a lot share about life and my experiences that may encourage others. I am actually looking forward to keeping my blog updated and current even after this course is complete.

Lesson 2

My Reflection

In lesson 2 I revealed that I struggle with so some learning delays even as an adult and that I’m the mother of 2 special needs children. As a Masters student in Human Performance and Training the technology and online skills are very important component to this degree. I am very tech savvy and a loner so you would think that a High Tech, High Touch learning environment would work well for me. The jury is still out on that one. Lol Even though I’m skilled in varies online applications, retaining the content in the written language is where I struggle. After being introduced the theory of constructivism and little light bulb went off. The way this course has been set-up plays off our real life experiences and it’s incorporated into the lesson. As earlier stated in my post about constructive allows a student to read the information and pose discussion questions about the lesson is the great way to enforce that the content in the readings. This method does truly take the ownership of learning out of the teacher’s hands and directly in the hands of the student. If the student fully understood the readings and assignments putting what they’ve read into their own words is ingenious. During the first live discussion with the Professor, we learned how to use the headset as a method to communicate. I found this to be a great tool for learners who may struggle with instant text writing.

 Lesson 3

My Reflection

During this week we learned the difference between web-enhanced, hybrid, blended and fully-online courses and we discussed which style we preferred. Majority of my classes has been face to face, with hard copies of assignments and text books. Even though my classes are traditional in teaching style several professor are adding web-enhancements to their course structure. With the use of smart phones and tablets making the syllabus, documents and assignments available online increase the students to use more technology within the classroom setting. Week 3’s assignment asked use to take a class and explain if it’s a good candidate for being taught online. Based on my skills in instructional design I think any class can be converted into some form of online teaching platform. With a clear set of objectives and the use of multiple communication tools conversion of face to face, into the virtual world can be achieved.

Lesson 4

My Reflections

Lesson 4 for me was the most enlightening section so far, because I had to identify with a learning style and be honest with myself in my findings. I had an idea of what my learning style was prior to taking the VARK survey and as I stated before I’m a visual learner. Which in a nut shell means I need information presented more visually stimulating, with use of color, pictures, charts and graphs. A successful method for a visual learner is to have the written content broken down into timelines or in order as it happens. Even though having a clear understanding about my own learning style is important but being able to indentify my students learning styles will make me a better online instructor. Every student learns and takes in information differently, I believe it’s the instructor responsibility to create a learning environment for all styles and make adjustments as needed to accommodate everyone.

Lesson 4 was divided into 2 weeks; week 1 we were introduced to learning styles and in week 2 we focused on a group project to demonstrate what we learned. In the past, I haven’t had many positive experiences with working in groups for class projects and I tend to stay away from those projects. My group did work well together but my biggest fear did take place, a lack of initial organization and a clear plan wasn’t ready during our first meeting. Our first meeting was longer then it needed to because we were creating the planning stage as the meeting was taking place. The major challenge our group faced was, every member in our group read and interpreted the instructions a different way, which lead to confussion. However, by the end of the paper we were able to come together a create a great paper, but we respected the other members point of view and didn’t want to dismissive of someone’s creativity to their interpretation of the assignment. The strategies that we used to communicate were helpful because we were able to stay in contact with each other whenever we needed to either by email, IM chat or text. In the end the paper came out great, I will post it soon.

Lesson 5 & 6

My Reflections

What I found to be the most insightful was the teaching style survey and even though I’m not a teacher the results were in line with my learning style. I have an outgoing personal and I believe in inclusion when it comes to student's being involved in their learning. When my results came back weighted heavily in the personal model, facilitator and delegator I was amazed on how accurate it was, even though the questions were written for a teacher. With having 12 years of operations experience its second nature for me to create task and delegate those responsibilities out to others. Which is why I find instructional design as a great career move for me, it provides the structure that I need by creating training from beginning to end and in sequential order. My online classroom environment would be interactive by using online tools that encourage face time like Skype, IM webcams and etc. I would incorporate a constructive theory to the discussion will add to the classroom participation and allow the students to put what they’ve learned into their own words. As lesson 6 comes to an end, we’re in stage of one designing and selecting strategies in order to create our own e-portfolio. The challenged I faces was trying to select a website platform that was visually appealing, user friendly when it comes to the design features of the site and selecting the specific content for the site based on project guidelines.

Final Thoughts

I really didn’t know what to think about online learning except for my personal negative feeling toward online learning as a whole. I just didn’t see how I could learn everything needed about a subject or course without stepping into some sort face to face learning environment. My eyes are now wide open to the endless possibilities and advantages there are to online learning. I look forward to becoming a stronger instructional designer with the gained knowledge I’ve receive so far. Great 1^st half!!!!   

Who am I?

Hello Everyone and Welcome to my BLOG!!

I am so happy that you took the time to stop by. The initial purpose of this blog is for a class project, but I know this will be a great tool to use for sharing information, ideas, support and encouragement for other parents with special needs children. Once the requirements are of this class are reached I hope to continue using this blog as a resource and share with others my journey as a parent and educator of special needs children. With that being said, let me tell you a little about myself, why I’m taking this class and what I expect to get out of it.

My name is Sanovia Reynolds-Parks and I’m married with two beautiful boys. At the age of 2, I noticed my oldest son played differently and he saw the world differently. By age 3 he was diagnosed with having developmental delays. What those delays were and how it would affect him long term is an ongoing process. 7 years later we welcomed Prince Devlan and by 15 months I noticed he wasn’t hitting some of his developmental milestones and he suffered with serious respiratory problems. What is a mother to do? Will I have two special needs babies? My retail work life was a 45-50 hours a week and it didn't allow me the flexibility I needed to care for my kids. In March of 2013 I had to make a choice either work in retail for the financial gains it provided or change career paths that would allow me more time with my children. I’m sure you can guess I choose my children. ;)

Up until a few months ago my entire work experience has been retail, I’ve been an Operations Manager for over 12 years, now what? With the world becoming more and more tech savvy, will I be able to compete with other professionals. Loaded with passion and bachelors degree, I decided to become a substitute teacher to see if education is something I wanted to transition to. Also it allowed me to be at home more and still provide for my family. My first assignment was being an aide of a special needs, little girl name Cassidy. She was so smart and sweet; to look at her you would ever know she had a learning disability. By the end of the day, my heart was full of joy and I knew I wanted to something in the field of special education. Now loaded with all this passion and drive, but my degree is in management and I’m currently working on a masters, who has time to add going back to school of a teaching degree. Not me… Here I am today, four classes away from earning my masters in Instructional Design and Training.

I decided to take this class and become a certified online teacher because it will allow me the best of both worlds. I want to take the passion I have for educating parents on the meaning of learning disabilities, to be an advocate for special needs children, to create useful instruction after assessing a situation and come up with a solution, that is what God is leading me to do.

The skills I hope to gain in the class would be:

1.        After the instruction has been created, how to make it an online learning experience.

2.       Learn the different techniques and methods to create successful online teaching experiences.

3.       To help build confidence in my written skills.

For my first blog entry I hope I didn’t talk too much, but how are you to fully understand or relate to what I have to say unless you know my background story.

Thanks for reading and God Bless

Sanovia xoxo